Recently I had a friend ask me a question about whether there were foods that should not be eaten according to Jesus' teaching. To take up that question, I would direct your thoughts to Mark 7:14-23:
"Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”
17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 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.)
He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” (NIV, www.biblegateway.com)
People have a tendency to focus on externals rather than internals, especially when we want to justify ourselves and make ourselves feel good in relation to others. But Jesus moved from the externals that are not as important to the internal which is most important.
Outer actions are what come or should come from what is within. Is there congruence between what one believes and how one lives? Is the talk reflected by the walk? And every person struggles with that living out what we believe.
Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5-7, that He had come to fulfill the Law, not to do away with it (Matthew 5:17-20). He was referring to Old Testament Law and teaching, even things God had instituted for His people. And He was referring not just to believing the right things but to living out the right things. Jesus came to live out the intent of the Law, not just to focus on externals. Jesus summarized the Ten Commands (Exodus 20) into two commands, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and love your neighbor as yourself." And Jesus lived that.
Here in Mark 7, Jesus says not to focus on externals, but what is internal, what is inside a person. What makes a man unclean, in the sight of God, is what comes from what is within the person--there is the sin--there is the wrong--there is the evidence of a lack of love for God and others.
What is in our hearts tends to come out, to the forefront. So actions have to do with what we really believe, what we really cherish, what our life is really focused upon.
So food is merely an external. What we generally see in the New Testament about food and drink is the idea of moderation. We also, in some of Paul's writings, see the idea of refraining from things to witness to others or to help others grow in their spiritual maturity. Thus these things are part of discipleship and discipling others.
There are things that are not healthy for a person to eat. There are things that are not beneficial for a person. If, as Paul said, in 1 Corinthians, the "body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit" (God), then each of us (especially me, right now) should be careful that we eat, drink, and do things that promote the health of this body God provided for us. It is a place of worship for God and a way to worship God.
But what goes into a person, certain foods, are not in themselves wrong, as Jesus said, at least, here. He said what comes out of a person shows what is inside of a person--what the heart truly loves and cherishes.
I abstain from certain things for the good of others. I abstain from certain things because they are not good for the body that God gave me, the temple of God. I abstain from certain things for other reasons, at times, but all should be a way of worshiping God. What should come forth from a life dedicated to God is love for God and love for others. And that is what should be considered as I eat and drink. What really is inside? What is the life really focused upon? That is what is truly important and that is what Jesus spoke about in Mark 7.
No comments:
Post a Comment