He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
3. Why do you also transgress? There are here two answers that are given by Christ, the former of which is addressed, as we say, to the person; while the latter decides as to the fact and the question in hand. Mark inverts that order; for he first represents Christ as speaking on the whole subject, and afterwards adds the reproof which is directed against hypocrites.
These men from Jerusalem, who should have been better, were worse. They accused Christ's disciples of breaking tradition by eating with unwashed hands, a decent custom the Pharisees had turned into a religious duty. That this was the worst charge they could bring shows how inoffensively His disciples lived.
AI summary
Commenting on Matthew 15:1-9
But he answered and said unto them,.... Taking no notice of the tradition about eating bread without washing the hands, whether it was right or wrong; it being at most but an human tradition, of no moment and importance, whether it was broke or kept; he makes a very just recrimination, by putting another question to them, why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?