Dear brothers and sisters,
I know this may have been analysed before, but recently, I started to have questions about eating pork, rabbit and sea food. Well all know that Leviticus 11 tells us that these types of food are forbidden by God. However in the New Testament Jesus said:
- Mark 7:15 - There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
- Matthew 15:11 - Not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man; but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.
But Jesus also said:
- Matthew 5:17 - Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
I know that some say that one should obey God´s law regarding Clean and Unclean food and others go for Mark 7:15 and Matthew 15:11. However, I´m not sure what to do. Until I have my answer, I´m stooped eating pork, seafood and I will stop eating rabbit.
What are you thoughts about this?
God bless!
Mark 7...
Mar 7:1 Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem.
Mar 7:2 Now when they saw some of His disciples
eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault.
First of all, we are talking about bread, not meat. The real subject is found in the rest of the verse, eating with out washing as the Pharisees prescribed...
Mar 7:3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat
unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders.
Mar 7:4 When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.
Mar 7:5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk
according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?"
The discussion was around eating bread without special ceremonial washings. The subject is not clean or unclean meats but rather TRADITIONS of the Pharisees.
Actually, Mat 15 gets to the heart of the matter...
Mat 15:1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying,
Mat 15:2 "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."
Mat 15:3 He answered and said to them, "
Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?
Christ did not "nail the Law to the cross", our penalty for BREAKiNG those Laws was nailed to the cross.
Lev 11 is not about ceremony, it is instruction from the Designer and Creator of the human body about what is food and what is not.