“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11)
Food and Drink #1
“And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand: 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. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man” (Mark 7:14-23).
The Bible contains a great deal of teaching concerning what we put in our mouths, and when we learn what that teaching actually is, we are frequently surprised at how lax and liberal God is on the subject. And because there is a deep-seated desire that men have to connect their spiritual condition with their eating habits, we often have to deal with attempts to make the Scriptures more restrictive than they are. The Christian faith stands out from other religious faiths at just this point—the Christian faith is omnivorous. There have been many attempts to introduce dietary restrictions into true Christian spirituality, but the teaching of the Lord Jesus (as above) and the teaching of Scripture elsewhere keeps getting in the way.
Frequently, an argument is used that is familiar to those who have dealt with those who want to normalize homosexuality—the argument is that the homosexuality that the Bible condemns is a different kind of homosexuality. Back then it was religious, or cultic, or idolatrous. The same thing is said about foods. According to this argument, Jesus was only talking about the Jewish dietary restrictions. And of course, it is obvious that that was what He was talking about—but equally obvious are the principles He appealed to. The principles remain, and the “general equity” applies. His reasoning applies to far more than the food laws of the Old Testament.
Jesus assembled the people and pressed on them the importance of listening to Him on this point (v. 14). There is nothing outside a man that can defile him by going into him (v. 15). Men are defiled by what comes out, not by what goes in (v. 15). This runs counter to the self-flattering nature of the human heart, which cannot deny that something is wrong, but which is loathe to admit that it originated from within. So it must have been “something I ate.” Not everyone can hear this (v. 16). The disciples stumbled over this parable, and so they asked for an explanation (v. 17). Jesus said in effect, “Are you without understanding also?” (v. 18). He points out that whatever comes from outside cannot defile a man (v. 18). Although the occasion for this teaching was the Jewish dietary law (for which there was biblical foundation), the principle He lays down applies to all foods everywhere. It applies to the food that Moses restricted, and it applies to the food that is not restricted by any biblical writer. It applies to clam chowder, and it applies to corn-fed beef. It applies to bacon, and it applies organic yogurt. It is okay to eat to anything. The reason given is this—no food can be eaten which makes its way to the heart (v. 19). If it doesn’t go to the heart, then it doesn’t go to the heart of the matter.
So Jesus says that food of any kind does not go to the heart. Rather, it goes to the stomach (v. 19), and from there it passes out into the world again—the sewage treatment plant to be precise (v. 19). Given the route it takes, we don’t need to be concerned about its capacity to defile us—for it has no capacity to defile us. The last phrase in v. 19, “purging all meats,” is usually rendered as Christ using this argument to build up to His conclusion that all foods that can be eaten and sent to the stomach are therefore non-defiling. That is the most natural way to take His words, as Christ’s declaration that all foods are clean, but some argue that the phrase refers to the process of eliminating the food, tied in with the phrase before. Either way, it does not matter. Food cannot defile a man. Either Christ declared all foods clean, or the process of eating and waste elimination declares it clean, with Christ’s approval.
So what does defile a man? That which proceeds from his heart, and the Lord then gives a detailed list, including all manner of sexual sins, greed, hatred, and the like (vv. 20-23). These defile a man.