Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) (Mark 7: 1-4)

Jesus was almost always patient, forgiving, and loving. But he was often impatient, critical, and harshly condemning of the Pharisees.

The Pharisees were religious reformers who sought to preserve Jewish life and faith from Hellenistic influences. To do this the Pharisees adapted Temple regulations to daily life. A Pharisee organized his life to reflect the rituals and rites of priests. In this way daily existence was to be suffused with spiritual purpose. The Pharisees believed the people of Israel should be as a nation of priests.

The rituals and rites of the Temple priests were principally an oral tradition. This unwritten law was understood by the Pharisees to constitute a second Torah having at least equal authority to the written law of Moses.

Above is Purificaiton a sculpture by Thomas Matsuda.