And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. (18) And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, (19) since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) (20) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. (Mar 7:17-20)
I just read an article that China is reclassifying dogs as Pets rather than livestock (food) in response to COVID-19 outbreak. Most of us will throw up at the thought that some people eat dogs as food. Just imagine reclassifying the next examples as food like cockroaches, worms, maggots or street rats.
Hope you are not just eating something, but I try to make a point here, most of us would not classify or consider these examples as food, period! So, this raise the question; when Jesus referred to ‘all foods’, what did He classify as food? Did He refer to ‘all food’ as that what was classified as food within scripture or did he classified as food anything that was eaten at that time around the world? It is important for us to understand what Jesus classified as food in order to read this scripture within proper context.
Mark 7:1-23 is the key scriptures used today to preach in church doctrine that Jesus declared all foods clean, including that what was classified in the Bible as unclean (Leviticus 11).
Other scriptures used for this argument are:
- Acts 10:15, were Peter has a vision of a sheet with unclean animals
- and what Paul writes in Romans 14:14
We are going to look at these scripture within the proper Context of what the passage is trying to say.
Mar 7:1-23 Clean and Unclean
When reading the whole passage you will notice that not once is their any reference to any food being eaten which was classified as unclean in the Bible! We don’s see the Pharisees getting upset because the disciples of Jesus were eating prawns or pork, no they got upset because the disciples did not was their hands before eating as it was custom to do based on their traditions.
Mar 7:1-5 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, (2) they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (3) (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands, holding to the tradition of the elders, (4) and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) (5) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?“
It is quite clear that the context of the whole passage has nothing to do with the eating of unclean animals but to do with eating with unwashed hands, which according to the man-made commandments made the person unclean. As such we have no reason to even think that Jesus definition of ‘All foods’ would include animals considered unclean in scripture.
Jesus response to them speaks volumes to what He thought of their traditions and man-made commandments and is key to understand what Jesus is actually saying to His disciples in the end. We read His response in the next few verses:
And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”‘ (that is, given to God)– then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.” (Mar 7:6-13)
Now just think of this: He calls them hypocrites for honouring God with their lips but not with their hearts and in doing so establishing man-made commandments and traditions making God’s word void. Then Jesus, according to today’s church doctrine, does exactly the same in verse 19, declaring unclean animals clean, an in doing so making God’s word void! Honestly, would that not make Jesus a bigger hypocrite than the Pharisees?
The argument used for this is Jesus explanation of the parable to the Disciples as we can read in verses 17-23:
Mar 7:17-23 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. (18) And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, (19) since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) (20) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. (21) For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, (22) coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. (23) All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
So, the key argument in summary here is:
“That what goes into the mouth does not make a person unclean but that what comes out of the heart of that person does.”
Just think for a moment:
This argument is valid today as it was 2000 years ago, but it was also valid the day God gave that law, so the question than is: Why did He gave the Law in the first place?
This also does not make any sense; He first gives the Law and then abolish that Law using an argument that was valid on the day He made that Law!
Any Bible believing christian, being honest to themselves, should by now have some serious questions about what is being taught to us by church doctrine regarding this subject!
Beside this, Jesus could not have abolished the Dietary Laws given to us in Leviticus 11, if he would, he would actually break the law and therefore not be able to fulfil the law perfectly, which is something all Bible believing Christians are in agreement about He did! We can read this in:
Deu 4:2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.
and in:
Deu 12:32 See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.
So, if Jesus fulfilled the law perfectly than this simply means he did not abolish any laws. Something He tries to also make very clear in Mat 5:17!
We have another passage in the Bible that refers to the same event and highlights exactly what the real context is for Mar 7:1-23, we find the same story in Mathew 15:16-20:
Mat 15:16-20 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? (17) Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? (18) But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. (19) For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. (20) These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.“
So, when we read the text “Thus he declared all foods clean” He is simply saying that not washing your hand, or not doing any of the other man-made commandment, will not make foods, which are clean in itself, unclean! Instead of nullifying or making God’s word void, Jesus made the man-made commandments void!
Acts 10:15, Peter’s vision
Act 10:15 And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.”
This passage is about God giving Peter a vision of a large sheet hanging by its corners and within it all type of animals, both clean and unclean, and then instructing Peter to eat them. When we read this passage we notice first of all Peter’s strong refusal to what God is ordering Him to do, we read:
Act 10:9-18 The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. (10) And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance (11) and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. (12) In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. (13) And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” (14) But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” (15) And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” (16) This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven. (17) Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood at the gate (18) and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there.
Peter says “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”, from this we know that the animals shown were according to Peter common and unclean. But the key question we must ask here is; why did Peter refused a direct instruction from God, especially in the context of Mark 7:19?
If Jesus clearly explained to the Disciples in Mark 7:19 that from now on all animals are to be considered clean, then why would Peter refuse to obey!
The only explanation is that Jesus never implied this in Mark 7:19, this is something that is implied by church doctrine and has no scriptural foundation!
Again, if we look at Peter’s response “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” we notice that Peter identified 2 types of animals:
- Common (opposite of Holy so basically unholy/impure)
- Unclean
While in scripture we only have the distinction between ‘clean’ and ‘unclean’ animals (Leviticus 11). The text says that within the sheet were all kinds of animals …, this means both ‘clean’ and ‘unclean’ were within the sheet.
So, why did Peter identify the clean animals as common and why did he not kill the clean animals and eat those?
Understanding this will help us to understand the whole topic much better. The reason why Peter called the clean animals common has to do with Jewish Law that states that once a clean animal touches an unclean animal, the clean animal becomes common or impure.
Because all animals in the sheet touched one-another, Peter no longer considered the clean animals as clean, but instead classified them as common (unholy)! The Gentiles were also viewed by the Jews as either unclean or common, due to the very likelihood they get in touch with unclean things or they did something that made them unclean.
I hope you start to see why God showed Peter the sheet with animals, and how this links to Cornelius the Gentile, who is mentioned before and after the vision.
Christian doctrine today will use the words; “What God has made clean, do not call common.” as an argument that God declared animals that were unclean, now clean. But is this the case?
Notice that God only addresses the ‘common’ part of Peter’s argument and not the unclean part when He said; “What God has made clean, do not call common“.
God never referred to the unclean animals, and never declared unclean animals clean, this is what gets read into the text! He rebukes Peter for calling “clean” animals “common”!
Peters response shows us a few more things:
- He was still keeping the dietary laws as given to us in Leviticus 11, even after Jesus resurrection and Pentecost.
- Peter was also still under Jewish law, and that is what prevented him from doing what God asked of Him.
- Peter’s understanding of what Jesus said in Mark 7:19, is clearly not what mainstream doctrine teaches today.
As mentioned already, Peter was wondering what the meaning of the vision was, and if we keep on reading, we will find out what God revealed to Peter, and what the vision actually means!
Act 10:25-29 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. (26) But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.” (27) And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. (28) And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. (29) So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”
As we always say, context is everything! God showed Peter that he should not call any person common or unclean. So God was not declaring unclean animals clean but he wanted to teach Peter a lesson not to call any person common or unclean, especially if that person is seeking God.
It is important to note that when Peter mentions that “how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation (gentiles)”, that He was not referencing God’s Law but Jewish Law (man-made laws). It is nowhere to be found in the Bible that gentiles are to be considered unclean, quite the opposite, the Law specifies that they should be considered as one of their own, we read:
Lev 19:33-35 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. (34) You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. (35) “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity.
Num 15:14-16 And if a stranger is sojourning with you, or anyone is living permanently among you, and he wishes to offer a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the LORD, he shall do as you do. (15) For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute forever throughout your generations. You and the sojourner shall be alike before the LORD. (16) One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.”
Deuteronomy 10:17-19 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. (18) He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. (19) Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
Again, reading a verse within context shows us clearly what the Bible tries to teach us, while reading the verse by itself would result in taking the text out of context and leaves us with a con (context-text=con)!
Romans 14
Basically, the whole chapter is about food and it tells us not to judge others about what they eat or do not eat. It also tells us not to eat or drink anything that might cause others to stumble even though you believe that it should be perfectly okay to do so. Before we start to go through this chapter verse by verse, it is important to note that Paul never references the word Sabbath once in this chapter or in the whole letter to the Romans! As it is a letter, we must take the whole letter into account in order to understand the proper context.
Let’s have a look, the first verse is key in the whole chapter!
Rom 14:1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. (ESV)
Rom 14:1-2 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgement on disputable matters. (NIV)
Paul starts this chapter indicating that he will be talking here about opinions, disputable matters. The definition of disputable is; not established as a fact, and so open to question or debate. So, we are talking about matters that are subjective and not objective!
God’s Laws are not subjective, they are objective and are actually used to judge others! We read in the same letter in (Rom 2:27) that Paul tells the Jews, who are physically circumcised but are not keeping the laws, that they will be judged by the gentiles that are actually, keeping those same laws! You cannot judge someone on disputable/subjective matters, and that is exactly what Paul tries to make clear in this chapter. On the other hand, we are taught that we have to judge on matters of the law!
When it comes to God’s Laws, we read:
Rom 2:27 Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law.
1Co 5:12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?
Mat 18:15 “If your brother sins against you,[2] go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.
Luk 17:3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.
1Ti 5:20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.
Joh 7:24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
Joh 7:51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?”
Zec 8:16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts;
So, if the whole chapter is about subjective matters and we are asked not to judge the weak in regards to these matters, while at the same time the Bible instruct us to judge our brother when it comes to breaking God’s Laws, then we can only conclude that:
- The whole chapter is not talking about God’s Laws
- Instead it is only talking about personal beliefs, opinion or man-made rules, things we should not judge others on as long as they do not conflict with God’s Laws.
Now that we established that this chapter is not referring to God’s Laws lets continue with the key verses that are being taken out of context. The first one is verse 5 which is used to say that we can worship God on any day we like:
Rom 14:5-6 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. (6) He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.
First thing we noticed is the reference to what “One Man considers”; what man consider to be holy is disputable as long as it does not conflict with what God instructs us to do. As Peter and the other apostles said “We must obey God rather than men!” (Act 5:29).
So what are these sacred days referring to? We read this at the end of verse 6:
“He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God”
To abstain from food is the definition of fasting, which makes a lot more sense given that the whole chapter is about food. So why the dispute about what day to fast or not to fast? The reason for this can be found in Luke 18:12
Luke 18:11-12 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. (12) I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
The Pharisees were eager to announce to the whole world that they are fasting 2 times a week but the Bible does not specify what days they fasted. From other writing in those days we know that the days were most likely on the second and fifth day of the week and also that Christians were encourage not to keep those same days as those hypocrites the Pharisees. We find this in the First century writings “The Didache – Chapter 8”:
The Didache (Teachings of the Apostles – First Century Writing), chapter 8:
“But let not your fasts be with the hypocrites, for they fast on the second and fifth day of the week. Rather, fast on the fourth day and the Preparation.” (Wednesday and Friday).
(http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/didache-roberts.html)
Noticed that Fridays is mentioned here as the day of Preparation. If the Sabbath was no longer to be observed as the Day of Rest, like church doctrine is trying to imply, then what were they preparing for on that day? Anyway, it shows a very good reason why their were disputes about what days to fast or not to fast, and explains a lot better what this paragraph is talking about.
The fact that church doctrine is trying to read the Sabbath into this text makes totally no sense, and shows again how they try to use a single verse to build support for a doctrine that is not supported within scripture. To elevate what man considers to be holy to the same level as that what God calls Holy is simply unbelievable!
Another verse that is being used in a similar way as Mark 7:19, is Rom 14:14
Rom 14:14 As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.
Paul seems to reference what Jesus said in Mark 7 and would classify food in the same way as Jesus would, which is based on what is defined as food within Scripture. The context here again is not unclean food, nowhere in the whole chapter do we read anything related to eating anything classified by scripture as unclean. Similar to Mark 7 we dealing here with issues in relation to the food and not the food in itself. We saw already that this chapter is about opinions or disputable matters, as such some people might be of the opinion that something is unclean because of:
- a person not washing their hands, similar to Mark 7
- the food comes from the markets and might be food offered to idols
- the pot or the plate, that contains the food, is not cleaned in a specific way
- they did not pray for that food before eating it
- etc…
So, we see many personal reason why one person might consider something unclean and what Paul tries to teach us here is to accept that person and don’t judge them. He even tells us that it is better not to eat or drink something if that would cause a person to stumble:
Rom 14:19-23 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. (20) Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. (21) It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall. (22) So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. (23) But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
In Conclusion
By using 3 single verses we see that mainstream churches try to build a doctrine that is not based on context!
- Mar 7:19 For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”)
- Act 10:15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
- Rom 14:14 As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.
By ignoring the context of these verses we get misled to believe that today we can eat anything we like. Jesus did not nullified the laws given to us in Leviticus 11 and when reading these verses within proper context we can clearly see that none of the verses support this doctrine that most churches are teaching today.
We even find some very strong rebuke with regards to this type of teaching in the old testament:
Eze 22:26-27 Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. (27) Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain.
It seems that God has a very good reason why He tells us not to eat anything what He considers to be unclean. More than anytime, now with the COVID-19 outbreak, we should think about this! I personally believe that the COVID-19, SARS and the Swine flu would never happened if people would keep God’s Dietary laws.
I hope that this article helps you to:
- keep what God declared Holy and clean as such, Holy and clean.
- distinguish between what is Holy and common and between what is clean and unclean.
May God Bless you and don’t forget to test everything!