Leviticus 11

Peace to you my brothers and sisters.

Today’s Bible Verse: [Leviticus 11 ESV]

Today’s Bible verse is the entirety of Leviticus 11; the dietary code. I did not list the entire thing.

Many people say that there are New Testament verses that say we no longer have to follow Leviticus 11; one of them is:

[Mark 7:14-23 ESV] 14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him." 16  17 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."

But, is this true?

In Mark 7:1-13 the Pharisees saw that the disciples of Jesus were eating with unwashed hands. It was tradition among the Jews that a person must wash their hands in a specific way and with specific prayers before eating a meal and the disciples of Jesus were not doing this. So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, ‘Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with `unclean' hands?’

Jesus’ next statement was reacting to the Pharisees’ criticism concerning his disciples eating with unwashed hands; He points out that they “have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men”. He was not pleased that a human was putting tradition above His father’s laws. It’s unbelievable, but we humans make so many laws (tradition) and confuse them with God’s will. How indignant Jesus was with that thought.

Look here:

[Mark 7:18-19 ESV] 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.)

The last part is in parenthesis; it does not appear in the original Greek; it was not said. The bottom line is that Jesus did not declare all foods clean.

Foods: βρῶμα brōma, bro'-mah; from the base of G977; food (literally or figuratively), especially (ceremonially) articles allowed or forbidden by the Jewish law:—meat, victuals.

Those things forbidden by Leviticus 11 were never considered food; they were unclean and sinful to eat.

I suggest that all go over Leviticus 11 and look at the animals that are declared unclean and find articles about why we should not eat them. I will list a few:

Pork: https://s-mobarak.medium.com/10-reasons-why-you-should-not-eat-pork-7b43a8a8d65c

Shellfish: https://www.projectlifewellness.com/2016/09/28/heres-why-you-should-never-eat-shellfish-again/#:~:text=You%20see%2C%20shellfish%20was%20regarded,contain%20harmful%20organisms%20including%20pesticides.&text=Unlike%20regular%20fish%2C%20shellfish%20tends%20to%20be%20high%20in%20cholesterol.

Another verse that is used is Acts 10:9-16; however, if you read further you will find that this was not about eating unclean animals but it was about how the Jews considered gentiles to be unclean, even the ones that had converted. This was just not so and the word could be brought to the Gentiles.

We all have a job.

[Matthew 28:18-20 ESV] 18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

All of the disciples of Jesus are to spread His word and the gospel.

This is the gospel:

[1 Corinthians 15:1-6 ESV] 1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.

[Acts 2:22-24 ESV] 22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know-- 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

[1 John 2:2 ESV] 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Propitiation: ἱλασμός hilasmós, hil-as-mos'; atonement, i.e. (concretely) an expiator:—propitiation.

This is penal substitution; that is, our sins were transferred to Jesus and His righteous transferred to us.

Go forth and spread this good news.

I pray that God has revealed Himself to you and that you have salvation.

Remember, God is sovereign. That means that he controls everything.

I hope this has been a blessing to you. May the rest of your day be blessed. Peace.