7. Their worship of me is worthless.The things they teach are nothingbut human rules they have memorized.’ Isaiah 29:13
8. You have stopped following the commands of God. Now you only follow the teachings of men.”
9. Then Jesus said to them: “You think you are clever! You ignore the commands of God so that you can follow your own teachings!
10. Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother.’ Then Moses also said, ‘Anyone who says cruel things to his father or mother must be put to death.’
11. But you teach that a person can say to his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you. But I will not use it for you. I will give it to God.’
12. You are telling that person that he does not have to do anything for his father or mother.
13. So you are teaching that it is not important to do what God said. You think that it is more important to follow your own rules, which you teach people. And you do many things like that.”
14. Jesus called the people to him again. He said, “Every person should listen to me and understand what I am saying.
15. There is nothing a person puts into his body that makes him unclean. A person is made unclean by the things that come out of him.
16. [Let those with ears use them and listen!]”
17. When Jesus left the people and went inside, his followers asked him about this story.
18. Jesus said, “Do you still have trouble understanding? Surely you know that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him unclean.
19. Food does not go into a person’s mind. Food goes into his stomach. Then that food goes out of his body.” (When Jesus said this, he meant that there is no food that is unclean for people to eat.)