Matthew 15:2

Tradition; traditions were laws or precepts of men, which they said had been handed down by word of mouth from past generations, and many of which were afterwards written. They were often treated as of more authority than the laws of God. The scribes were the interpreters of these traditions, and could thus control the minds of the people. One of those traditions required the hands to be always washed before taking food. The object of this washing was to remove any ceremonial defilement that might have been unwittingly contracted in the intercourse of life. Our Saviour disregards it as a superstitious punctiliousness not required by the law of Moses. The Bible, as a rule of faith and practice, is perfect; and human traditions, however sanctioned, or by whomsoever taught, that add to it, take from it, or in any way pervert its meaning, are sources of error.