Does Mark 7 Tell Us it is Okay to Eat Pork? | Sabbath School Net (2024)
Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.) Mark 7:19 NLT
First let me say that I am explaining this with the NLT instead of the KJV, because most of our friends will be asking about this passage after reading it from the NLT and we can properly explain it using the NLT, so let’s do so.
In Mark 7 the religious leaders are asking Jesus why He does not have His disciples follow the man -made tradition of washing of hands before eating. Jesus replies by defending the Old Testament Scriptures over man-made traditions.
Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ Mark 7:6-7 NLT
Jesus is using the Old Testament as the standard against man made traditions. So it is very clear that Jesus is not doing away with any Old Testament teachings about eating pork or not. He would not defend the Old Testament and condemn man-made traditions and then turn around and do away with the commands in Leviticus 11 all the same breath. That would not make sense. The context in both Jesus’ and the pharisees’ minds is ceremonial washing and not pork. Jesus explains that it is not what goes in and out of our bodies that make us clean or unclean,but what comes out of the heart. Jesus finishes by saying,
Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.) Mark 7:19 NLT
Now in the KJV Mark 7:9 ends with “purging all meats” While the NLT says “every kind of food.” The NLT is actually more accurate here. The word that the KJV used for meat is the Greek word, “bromata.” Bromata simply means food. It does not necessarily mean flesh. So the NLT is right. Jesus said the food that will come out of your body is clean, whether or not you did the traditional washing of hands. Clean or unclean flesh is clearly not the issue here. Jesus would not exalt the Old Testament over the traditions of man and then turn around and do away with what the Old Testament taught. He is doing away with the traditions of man. “Bromata” simply means food, not flesh, of any kind though it could include flesh. So Jesus declared all foods clean, regardless of the ceremonial washing.
When the NLT says every food is acceptable in God’s eyes it is absolutely accurate. Pork was never considered food in this context, either by Jesus or the pharisees. We have to keep things in context. When you tell your kids there is no school today so you can do whatever you want, it goes without saying that they still can’t go rob a bank. When you said “anything,” the context was automatically understood. Likewise when it says “thus purging all meats” in the KJV or “declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes,” the context is automatically understood that the food is clean whether or not one did the ceremonial washing. The Ceremonial washing does not make the food clean or unclean. The context in this story has nothing to do with pork or other unclean flesh being made clean. Matthew makes the context even more clear:
For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.” Matthew 15:20 NLT
Matthew 15:19-20 makes it clear that in Mark 7:19 Jesus is talking about washing with unclean hands and not unclean meats. Unclean meats were not the issue to any of the parties participating in the discussion in Mark 7 and Matthew 15.
If Jesus had declared pork clean in Mark 7 then I would really be confused why later, in Acts 10, Peter was still following the regulations in Leviticus 11. And even then, Peter makes the context of the vision of Acts 10 clear in Acts 10:28 NLT “But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean.” Peter tells us the context of the vision was about Jews and Gentiles and not clean and unclean meats. Also, in 1 Corinthians 8, when Paul is saying you can eat whatever you want, 1 Corinthians 8:1 makes food sacrificed to idols the clear context. Eating pork or other unclean flesh never crossed Paul’s mind while he was speaking or writing.
Whether we are Jew or Gentile, before the cross or after the cross, we all have the same stomachs, and we don’t need just the Bible to tell us how unhealthy pork is. Just ask you doctor. My doctor, who is not an Adventist, had a video playing in the waiting room, telling us that pork triples your chances of heart disease.
We should look at every Bible teaching, in the light of the cross. In Romans 12:1-2 we are told to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. Just as Jesus gave His body for us on the cross, we give our bodies to Christ as a living sacrifice. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that whatever we eat or drink we should do for the glory of God. That includes way more than just eating pork or not. This is a challenge for all of us, including myself especially. Let’s live and eat and drink in the light of the cross, and eat and drink to have healthy bodies to help us spread the Gospel of Jesus.
For a video presentation of this topic click here.
To study more about healthy living in light of the cross click here.
So Jesus declared all foods clean, regardless of the ceremonial washing. Matthew 15:19-20 makes it clear that in Mark 7:19 Jesus is talking about washing with unclean hands and not unclean meats
unclean meats
In some religions, an unclean animal is an animal whose consumption or handling is taboo. According to these religions, persons who handle such animals may need to ritually purify themselves to get rid of their uncleanliness.
Christians may eat pork because God has declared it once more to be clean. “What God has declared clean you must not call common” (Acts 10:15). Pork is one of those “foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth” (1Timothy 4:3).
According to Leviticus 11:3, animals like cows, sheep, and deer that have divided hooves and chew their cud may be consumed. Pigs should not be eaten because they do not chew their cud. The ban on the consumption of pork is repeated in Deuteronomy 14:8.
The principal argument made by Seventh Day Adventists for their prohibition on eating pork and other "unclean" foods is that while the moral and ceremonial requirement to abstain from them has been removed, "unclean" foods would not have been prohibited by God unless they were in some way fundamentally bad for us.
“Pork is a source of high-quality protein and also contains a number of nutrients,” Zumpano says, “but it's also a source of saturated fat and cholesterol, so it should be limited in terms of how often you eat it and how much of it you eat.”
The text states that pigs are forbidden because they do not chew cud, yet it frustratingly does not explain why not chewing cud is so problematic! As in many ritual texts, the explanation for the practice clarifies very little.
Beef was uncommon in ancient Rome, yet more common in ancient Greece. Jesus was a Jew and Jews ate a variety of meats except for what they considered unclean animals (pork, snake, shellfish, etc.). Jesus was not an exception.
18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don't you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn't go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)
Freedom of conscience as to what to eat and drink is part of the liberty that is found in the crucified and resurrected Christ. But it was not Christ himself who gave rise to the claim that he had "declared all foods clean". He did no such thing. Jesus never declared all foods clean.
The only dietary restrictions specified for Christians in the New Testament are to "abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat of strangled animals" (Acts 15:29), teachings that the early Church Fathers, such as Clement of Alexandria and Origen, preached for believers to follow.
May Increase Your Risk of Foodborne Illness. Cooking with pork isn't without risk. "In places around the world with high pork consumption, an infection called trichinosis is a concern. The infection can be fatal.
Pork contains high amounts of saturated fat and omega-6 fatty acids like linoleic acid. These fats can demonstrably worsen the effects of alcohol abuse and cause fatty liver disease. It can worsen liver health and lead to cirrhosis. The exact way pork affects the liver is still unclear and requires more research.
Good Friday is a particularly significant day during Holy Week. For Catholics, fasting and abstinence from meat are mandatory. This means Catholics over the age of 14 should eat only one full meal and two smaller meals that do not equal a full meal, and avoid meat altogether. Fish is often a suitable substitute.
Pork is a rich source of certain vitamins and minerals your body needs to function, like iron and zinc. It's also an excellent source of high-quality protein. Minimally processed, lean, fully-cooked pork eaten in moderation can provide certain benefits when added to your diet.
Hot dogs, bacon, sausage, and regular ground beef should be avoided or consumed sparingly due to their high fat, calorie, and sodium content, and potential health risks. By using this ranking system, you can make informed choices about the meats you eat and maintain a healthy diet.
In general, red meats, such as beef, pork and lamb, have more saturated fat than skinless chicken, fish and plant proteins. Saturated fats can raise your blood cholesterol and increase your risk of heart disease. If you eat poultry, pork, beef or other meats, choose lean meat, skinless poultry and unprocessed forms.
The moral and spiritual ambiguity about eating meat is made more explicit in the ninth chapter of Genesis (Genesis 9:3-6) when God tells Noah in the covenant made with him after the Great Flood, "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
God states that cud-chewing animals with split hooves can be eaten (Leviticus 11:3; Deuteronomy 14:6). These specifically include the cattle, sheep, goat, deer and gazelle families (Deuteronomy 14:4-5). He also lists such animals as camels, rabbits and pigs as being unclean, or unfit to eat (Leviticus 11:4-8).
However, of those that chew the cud or that have a split hoof completely divided you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the coney. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a split hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you. The pig is also unclean; although it has a split hoof, it does not chew the cud.
Both Judaism and Islam have prohibited eating pork and its products for thousands of years. Scholars have proposed several reasons for the ban to which both religions almost totally adhere. Pork, and the refusal to eat it, possesses powerful cultural baggage for Jews.
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