There are some topics that are clearly a challenge to cover in a daily post or article which is intended to be read quickly. There are clearly topics that one can only touch on and stage some ideas in a brief setting like this one and then those who are reading must pray and choose to study and consider more thoughtfully after they have finished reading. Today’s subject is one of those topics from scripture.
There is a phrase included in some, but not all, English translations of the Bible in Mark 7:19 that goes something like this… “(Thus He declared all foods clean.)”
Many wish to immediately jump on this, if it is in the translation of the Bible they are reading, and declare that all foods are clean. They jump to the seeming conclusion that they already want to be true, despite the inconsistency it creates with regards to scripture in broader context and comparison. We should take caution and tread carefully before jumping to conclusions. Test everything against the full context of the entire Bible.
Mark 7:1-23
Followers of Tradition
1The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, 2and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. 3(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; 4and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) 5The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?”
6And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,
BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
7‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME,
TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’
8“Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”
9He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. 10“For Moses said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER’; and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER, IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH’; 11but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’ 12you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”
The Heart of Man
14After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 15there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. 16[“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”]
17When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. 18And He said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, 19because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.) 20And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. 21“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. 23“All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”
Several things draw my attention in regards to the phrase “(Thus He declared all foods clean.)”
1- The declaration that suddenly all food is clean is completely out of context in the scripture. The scripture is about the flawed basis of traditions of men that people cling to and specifically about being made unclean by not washing hands before eating. It has nothing to do with what things are considered appropriate to eat or not.
2- Cross check with other English translations shows that this phrase only shows up in some versions. I suspect, but have not completed, a further study of the history of this verse and tracing it back might prove interesting to determine if it is original or was added in some translations at a later time. For example… it is not in the King James Version. Is it in the original Greek?
3- Similarly, a cross check with the other gospels, such as Matthew 15, reveal that this phrase is not included.
The Heart of Man
15Peter said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16Jesus said, “Are you still lacking in understanding also? 17“Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? 18“But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. 19“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. 20“These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”
4- Other detailed cross checks and study across scripture identifies many other conflicts with the claim that all things we could eat are considered good and appropriate to eat. We could cite many Old Testament scripture but also just observing the behavior of Jesus and the disciples shows a complete continuity of their lives lining up with God’s instruction from the Old Testament.
5- We could further explore this phrase… “all foods clean”. When I say to someone I like cupcakes, it does not mean that I like every possible cupcake that could be imagined… such as ant and cricket stuffed straw cupcakes. It means that for the wide variety of things that I consider to be described as cupcakes, I generally like them. Similarly, one could ask … “If I say all food is clean, then what exactly do I mean by “food”.” Would it make sense that I mean “anything that I put in my mouth”? Of course not. I can put rocks in my mouth but that is not food. Exploring a bit deeper in the culture of the ones speaking and documenting the scripture… they are Jewish. They define food in that culture and context consistent with God’s definition of food from the Old Testament. That is very different than what we, today, may consider to be food.
The clear message of the scripture is simply that in regards to man’s traditions, such as washing hands before eating, we will not be defiled by failing to follow these traditions. We are much more defiled by our attitudes in which we dishonor or disrespect God and His instructions that come from our heart and reveal our lack of obedience and faithfulness to God.
For those of you who are “germ conscious”… have no fear… it is ok to wash your hands before you eat to address your germ concerns. That is not really the point of the scripture either.
I invite you to pray with me:
Father, please help me to challenge and test everything against Your word. Let me not simply accept what is commonly taught. Help me to have a desire to study and seek You diligently. Open my eyes to the truth of Your word. Help me to see through Your eyes. Help me also remember that those who may disagree with me on certain doctrine are not my enemies. We should test and challenge scripture with one another. Amen.
Shalom
Devotion by John in service to Christ
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