 There were some Jewish law teachers, and some of the Pharisee mob, that were strong for the Jewish law, they went from Jerusalem to see Jesus and his followers. A long time before that, those mobs made up a lot of rules that are not in Gods book. One of those rules that they made up was this. Before they could eat anything, they had to wash their hands in a special way, and after people came home from the shops, they had to wash that same way. There were other rules too, that those leaders made up, a long time ago. They had rules about the way to wash cups, and billycans, and cooking pots, and the chairs they sat on to eat their food. Those rules didnt come from God. After they got there from Jerusalem, they saw that some of Jesuss followers didnt wash their hands that special way before they ate food. 