"The pernicious tendency of these traditions is very strikingly illustrated, in one of our Lord’s discourses, by an example. God commanded them to honour their father and mother, on pain of death [Matthew 15:4For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
See All...]. It appeared hardly possible to set aside so plain a precept, without altogether renouncing the Scriptures. But by one of their traditions, it was not only made of none effect, but its observance actually forbidden; and the process by which this was accomplished was very plausible. It must be granted, that the claims of God upon his creatures are paramount. This was plainly taught in the law [Deuteronomy 13:6-10 [6] If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; [7] Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; [8] Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: [9] But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. [10] And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
See All...]. Now, a man devotes to God what otherwise should have been applied to the support of his parents. He consequently says, whatsoever thou mayest be profited by me—whatever you might have been entitled to from me—is corban, a thing devoted [Mark 7:10-13 [10] For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: [11] But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. [12] And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; [13] Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
See All...]; and not only was he free from any obligation to maintain his parents, but he was not suffered to do any thing for them."