Respect for tradition was strong among Jews during the period at the beginning of the Christian era. The Rabbinic Tradition supported the written law. An important collection about tradition was the Pirke Aboth, Traditions of the Fathers. This collection of comments by famous rabbis added explanations of the written Law in scripture. A collection of rabbinic traditions became an authoritative commentary on the written law. These collections of traditional wisdom were considered to be equal to the written Law.
The Pharisees used the expression "tradition of the elders" when speaking to Jesus about hand washing (Matthew 15:2; Mark 7:5). In his response, Jesus referred to the "traditions of men," drawing attention to the human origin of the traditions.
In Mark 7:8, he definitively set the commandment of God over these traditions. Jesus talked about how the tradition had become a burden to the people. Jesus criticized the scribes and Pharisees for the way traditions were enforced as law (Matthew 23). He noted that following the tradition had become more important than the moral and personal effect of the teaching.