Korban Teaching
Korban Teaching
Although Jesus demanded allegiance to himself over family, as we have noted, he also resisted religious arrangements by which one sought freedom from responsibility for caring for aged parents. This concern appears in a passage where he is accusing religious teachers of focusing on external purity concerns while ignoring deeper principles of the law such as caring for parents. Apparently some were devoting resources to the temple that were needed to care for their parents.
Mark seems to imply that this was being arranged through what his tradition calls “Korban,” a distinctly Jewish oath meaning “gift.”45 The term was applied to an offering to God, including what was vowed to the temple.46 One could dedicate an object for sacred use, and even if Pharisaic teachers agreed with Jesus that the vow turned out to be inappropriate, given what we know about their views on vows they probably would not have used their authority to cancel it.47 As far away as Alexandria some Jewish teachers could use such vows to keep property from other family members.48 By exploiting some commonly held traditional practices, an unscrupulous person could have circumvented some biblical principles.
Jesus’ portrayal of the issue and his response both fit his environment. A Pharisaic teacher could have offered the same sort of argument that Jesus offers here, since Pharisees could argue by laying one text against the interpretation of another. As much as or more than in surrounding cultures, Judaism heavily stressed honoring49 and obeying50 one’s parents. They likewise highly emphasized the obligation to support one’s parents in their old age.51 Not only Jesus, but Pharisaic tradition also unremorsefully criticizes Pharisees who fell short of what they considered virtue.52