Preaching through Romans, I have encountered the issue of clean and unclean foods (chapters 14-15). Apparently this was a major issue and a big point of contention between the Gentile and Jewish believers in the early church.
It had to be.
Imagine something as simple as a men’s breakfast on a Saturday morning. Not only was it on the Jewish Sabbath… a big hurdle for any Jew to overcome. But it also had bacon and eggs on the menu. How could any Jew eat pig’s flesh? He had grown up his whole life eating only kosher food. It was not only part of his religious training but also an identifying mark of being a Jew. During the Maccabean period, when the Greeks tried to erase Judaism, it was the Jews’ strict allegiance to the rite of circumcision and to their dietary laws that made them distinctive and identified them as “true Jews.”
So the move from avoiding unclean foods to being free to eat them had to be a major paradigm shift in any Jew’s mind. And some could never make that leap.
Which raises the question: Why did God establish clean and unclean foods in the first place? What was the point? And why did Jesus’ coming suddenly end all of these dietary distinctions?
The laws regarding clean and unclean food are found in two primary passages: Leviticus 11:1-47 and Deuteronomy 14:3-21.
Among the clean animals which a Jew could eat: animals which chew the cud and have cloven hooves; fish that have scales and fins; flying insects which have jointed legs to leap on the earth; and most birds except those specified on the unclean list.
Among the unclean animals: all those animals with paws or don’t chew the cud, including the camel, badger, rabbit, and pig; all those fish without fins or scales; all flying insects that creep on the ground; all animals which creep on the ground; and a list of birds including the eagle, vulture, buzzard, raven, and owl.
There have been several theories as to why God makes these distinctions.
- Hygiene. This theory believes that the Jewish diet is just plain healthier than any other diet. It is an attractive theory…and the kosher diet does have some health advantages…but it does not explain all the animals. Camel meat is considered quite low in fat and healthy and is enjoyed by many Arabs. Rabbit meat is also considered to have some nutritional benefits and my family enjoyed eating them growing up. Even pork can be considered a good meat if it is cut right and cooked thoroughly and who doesn’t love a good piece of crisp, lean bacon. Plus, if hygiene is the major issue, then it doesn’t explain why suddenly these meats are okay to eat in the New Testament. Does health no longer matter because Jesus died and rose again? Our bodies are now even more important since they are the temple of the Holy Spirit.
- Pagan Associations. Since the dietary laws were part of what made Israel distinct, the thought is that the unclean animals must have been associated with pagan worship. “Pig’s flesh” is associated with pagan worship in Isaiah 65:4 and camels, dogs, cats, rabbits, snakes, and rats were known as sacred animals in Egypt and other Canaanite nations. But the bull was also considered sacred and yet was on the “clean” list. Plus, this view doesn’t explain the long list of other animals which were unclean.
- Carnivores. When it comes to the list of unclean birds, it does seem like all of them are carnivorous birds with claws and beaks designed for eating flesh. Jewish tradition also affirms this. Animals with paws are also typically carnivorous. So there does seem to be some association with an animal being “unclean” because it eats blood or touches dead things which are “unclean” activities. But, again, that explanation doesn’t cover every animal since camels and rabbits are herbivores. Pigs eat anything, which could make them unclean, but so do goats and they are considered clean. Plus, this reason doesn’t fully explain why these animals are suddenly okay to eat after the institution of the new covenant.
- Symbolic. One of the more recent theories is that the “behavior and habits of the clean animals are living illustrations of how the righteous Israelite out to behave, while the unclean represent sinful men” (Wenham). In other words, the “clean” animals function in a way which matches the way they are supposed to behave within their original creation category. Animals are supposed to eat herbs and run on hooves. Fish are supposed to have fins and scales. Birds are not supposed to eat flesh. Reptiles are not supposed to squirm on the ground. It is a little bit of convoluted theory but it does seem to have some merit. If nothing else, it points to the fact that there is a symbolic meaning behind the clean and unclean animals that we shouldn’t miss.
Just as the OT world had a division between the priests, the Jewish nation, and the Gentile nations, even so the animal world was divided into sacrificial animals, clean animals, and unclean animals. Israel was to recognize that distinction in everything they did. They were to be a holy nation, set apart for God’s purposes, distinct from the pagan nations around them. Every time they sat down to eat, they were to be reminded of this fact.
You shall therefore distinguish between clean animals and unclean, between unclean birds and clean, and you shall not make yourselves abominable by beast or by bird, or by any kind of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine. (Leviticus 20:25-26)
Just as God chose Israel out of all the nations for His own purposes, so God also chose certain animals out of all the animal world for His purposes. The clean animal was the symbol of Israel. The sacrificial animal was the symbol of Israel’s coming Messiah.
When Israel’s Messiah came, everything changed.
All the law pointed to Christ.
And Christ fulfilled all of the law.
He was the perfect King. He was the final sacrifice. He was the display of the moral law in human form. He was the fulfillment of all the feasts. He was the Year of Jubilee. He was the Sabbath rest. And He was the One who made the unclean clean.
In the OT, if someone clean touched something unclean, then they would become unclean.
But, in Christ, this was reversed.
When Christ touched the unclean, He made them clean.
Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. (Mark 1:40-42)
Christ broke down the barriers.
The sacrificial Lamb healed the division between the clean and the unclean.
The Messiah bridged the gap between God and humanity.
The Messiah abolished the barrier between Jew and Gentile.
Everything was changed…even down to the food laws.
What was once unclean has now become clean.
What was once untouchable has now become redeemable.
What was once held at a distance has now become near.
The messianic kingdom has invaded this present world.
Israel (the clean animal) gave birth to the Messiah (the sacrifical animal) to open the kingdom gates to the Gentiles (the unclean animal).
This was God’s plan all along.
This was the purpose of the cross.
This was the picture of the kingdom.
Where the Jew and the Gentile are united as one.
Where the child plays with the serpent.
Where the lion lays down with the lamb.
Where the Messiah makes all things new.
steve foster i’ve been looking for you. can’t wait to talk to you.
Thank you… Makes sense. It’s all about Jesus through whom all is created all exists all is sustained all revolves.
Jesus never made unclean animals into a clean one. I never read any verse in the Bible that He made unclean animals into clean one. I do read that He cleans human being but never read any unclean animals into a clean one.
Don’t mistaken and please don’t misinterpret human that can be clean. Jesus and His disciples never even eat unclean animals as what Peter replied when God open the heaven in his dream and asked him to kill and eat unclean food. We should understand Peter answers when God asked Peter to eat the unclean animals, Peter replied “not so Lord, for i never eaten anything uncommon or unclean. Meaning, even when Jesus cleans the dirty human while Jesus still on earth, the disciples of Jesus never eat any unclean food during and even after Jesus died. Why the verses in the Bible has badly misinterpreted?
In Mark 7 When Pharisees ask Jesus why His disciples don’t live according to the tradition of elders about eating their food with unclean hands. We need to put in our mind that it never mentioned about unclean food. It mentioned about unclean hands, not unclean food. We cannot add or subtract what the Bible say.
1 Peter 1:13-16
Therefore with mindset that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the Grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to evil desires you had when you lived in IGNORANCE. But just as he called you holy, so be Holly in all you do, for it is written: Be Holy, because I am Holy.
Even in new testament, God wants us to be Holy. Is eating unclean food made us Holy?
I am the Lord your God, consecrate yourselves and be Holy, because I am Holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground…..be Holly for I am Holy. Lev. 11
If Jesus cleans the unclean food, why they eat anything unclean during their time? Why even the disciples never eat unclean food? Where is the verse in the Bible that Jesus eat pork? Or even the disciples eat pork? I never read any.
Only the misinterpretation of when God cleans the gentiles (it’s not food, it’s human being that he cleans), the ritual washing of the hands that Jesus didn’t follow because it was the elders tradition (it was talking about the dirty hands. Nothing of it mentioned about unclean food.
Hope we open our heart and mind to understand and do not add and subtract what is written in the Bible.
“The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being. “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.”
Genesis 9:2-3, 5-6 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.9.2-6.NIV
God does not look at a pig and see a filthy beat. He knows it as his creation. Jesus didn’t follow the wash your hands rule, to break man’s tradition and rules, not God’s rules. Jesus is the new testament. His life, his death, his life again unto us. He lived by the old testament of the father. He broke so many laws of man, but never God, the father’s law. Men write rules and laws. Good broke all laws of man, by sending the masiha to to wash all hands of crimson stain. All hearts from evil, all souls from seeing grace again. Love the neighbor. The rule over religion, over intolerance, the rule over hate, the rule to be heard. Love the neighbor. In God I pray. Amen
When Israel’s Messiah came, everything changed. All the law pointed to Christ. And Christ fulfilled all of the law.
Wrong. He didn’t fulfill the law. That idea comes from Matthew 5:17, where Jesus says: “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.” Do you think he said “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets and then right after that disagree with Himself?
The Greek word pleroo, translated “fulfill” in Matthew 5:17, means “to make full, to fill, to fill up . . . to fill to the full” or “to render full, i.e. to complete” (Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2002, Strong’s number 4137).
In other words, Jesus said He came to complete the law and make it perfect. How? By showing the spiritual intent and application of God’s law. His meaning is clear from the remainder of the chapter, where He showed the spiritual intent of specific commandments.
Many distort the meaning of “fulfill” to have Jesus saying, “I did not come to destroy the law, but to end it by fulfilling it.” This is inconsistent with His own words. Through the remainder of the chapter, He showed that the spiritual intent of the law made it more broadly applicable, not that it was annulled or no longer necessary.
Thanks for the comment, Brian. I think you are arguing semantics. Jesus came to fulfill the law. That’s clearly what Scripture says. Even the definition you provided gives the same meaning, fulfill means “fill to the full” or “to render full.” Romans 10:4 reiterates this with these words: “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” Completion. Fulfillment. The point is not that the law does not have value. The point is that the law is fulfilled in Christ. In other words, to follow Christ perfectly is to follow the law perfectly. This is what Romans 8 makes clear: “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Thus, our focus is not on the law; it is on Christ. Yes, in the Sermon on the Mount, Christ is revealing the spiritual intent of the law. Actually He is showing the depth of the law from the very beginning. To have no other gods before God is to be totally free from idolatry, to have nothing else competing in our hearts for first place, seeking God’s kingdom and righteousness above all else. Such a person will not murder, commit adultery, steal, lie, or covet something above God. NO ONE can do this. But Christ did. He lived the law perfectly so that we do not have to. He is the law embodied, completed, fulfilled. Now our focus is on Him. Now our devotion is for Him. Now our obedience is following Him. Thus, in Christ, I don’t have to follow the OT food laws or sacrifice animals to cover my sin. The old covenant has been replaced with the new. Christ has come! That was my point. “In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” (Hebrews 8:13)
“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, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.)” (Mark 7:18-19)
“I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.” (Romans 14:14-15)
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:1-5)