Did Jesus Declare All Animals Clean?
Jesus was obedient and sinless (I John 3:3-4). He never contradicted God’s Word. Despite these eternal truths, there are two passages commonly used to say that Jesus declared all animals to be clean: Mark 7:1-23 and Matthew 15:1-20.
Common Argument: These verses are commonly used to say that Christ made all animals clean.
Think it Through: All things were made through Christ (John 1:1-3, Col. 1:13-16). Why would Christ make animals this way and then change it? The context of the chapter is hand washing before eating.
Short Answer: The Jewish people of Jesus’ day had man-made rules regarding hand washing before eating. Jesus did not follow this rule. He taught that eating with unwashed hands did not make someone unclean. The issue was not what the disciples ate, but how they were eating – with dirty hands. What they were eating was never addressed.
Longer Answer: We will start by looking at the verses.
Mark 7:1-8
“1 Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. 2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. 5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?”
“6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.”
In Matthew 15:1-20 and Mark 7:1-23, Jesus and His disciples were confronted by the Pharisees for not participating in a special hand washing ritual before they ate. In verse 2, we learn that the disciples were eating with hands that were “‘…defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands.”
The Greek word translated as ‘defiled’ is koinais and it refers to something that is physical dirty. The root word is koinos; it is translated as common (Acts 2:44, 4:32, Titus 1:4, Jude 1:3) and even as unholy (Hebrews 10:29). It means something common or polluted through external treatment. The text itself informs us that they were eating with unwashed or physically dirty hands.
The issue of eating unclean animals is not addressed at all in the chapter. It is an issue of spiritual uncleanness, not physical uncleanness. Akathartos is the Greek word used in the New Testament to refer to an unclean animal.
To read more about this, read the article “How Does God Define Food?” (CLICK HERE to read) The fact that this language is not used in Mark 7 and Matthew 15 means that the passage has nothing to do with the difference between clean and unclean.
The issue is that the disciples were eating with unwashed or dirty hands. Said another way: the Pharisees were not angry as to what Jesus and the disciples were eating, but how they were eating.
By the time of Jesus, the Jewish leaders, such as the scribes, had developed a large body of oral laws. The scribes copied the scrolls and developed teachings for the people. The amount of control they had over the common people’s thinking was colossal. Unfortunately, this immense power led to abuses.
Their human reasoning was used to make man-made rules which were considered equal to or greater than the Words of God. The Mishnah is a late second century compilation of teachings from the centuries leading up to that time. Consider the following quote:
“3. Greater stringency applies to [the observance of] the words of the Scribes than to [the observance of] the words of the [written] Law. If a man said, ‘There is no obligation to wear phylacteries’ so that he transgresses the words of the Law, he is not culpable; [but if he said], ‘There should be in them five partitions’, so that he adds to the words of the Scribes, he is culpable” (Sanheidren, 11.3, p 400).
These man-made rules governed the everyday activities of the Jewish people and added rules which were supposed to make Torah observance more complete. Among these rules were those pertaining to hand-washing that had to be performed before meals. God did not command this practice; it was a tradition of man.
The Mishnah mentions the hand-washing rules on several occasions. We have some excerpts below:
“For [the eating of food that is] unconsecrated or [Second] Tithe13 or Heave-offering,14 the hands need but to be rinsed, and for Hallowed Things16 they need to be immersed ;17 and in what concerns the Sin-offering water,18 if a man’s hands are unclean his whole body is deemed unclean” (Chagigah 2.5, p 213).
“1. [To render the hands clean] a quarter-log or more [of water] must be poured over the hands [to suffice] for one person or even for two; a half log or more [suffices] for three persons or for four; one log or more [suffices] for five or for ten or for a hundred. R. Jose says: Provided that for the last among them there remains not less than a quarter-log. More [water] may be added to the second [water that is poured over the hands], but more may not be added to the first (Yadayim 1.1, p 778).
“1. If a man poured water over the one hand with a single rinsing, his hand is clean; but if over both hands with a single rinsing, R. Meir declares them unclean unless he pours over them a quarter-fog’ or more. If a loaf of Heave-offering fell [on the water]7 it remains clean.8 But R. Jose declares it unclean” (Yadayim 2.1, p 779).
“The hands are susceptible to uncleanness, and they are rendered clean [by the pouring over them of water] up to the wrist. Thus if a man had poured the first water up to the wrist and the second water beyond the wrist, and the water flowed back to the hand, the hand becomes clean ; but if he poured both the first water and the second beyond the wrist, and the water flowed back to the hand, the hand remains unclean…” (Yadayim 3.1, p 779-780).
There are some fascinating details in these excerpts. First of all, if one did not follow the prescribed form of hand washing, then a person’s whole body was considered unclean. Secondly, a minimum amount of water was required to make one’s hands clean. Third, there was a certain manner that the water had to flow over your hands for them to be deemed clean. As you can tell, these man-made rules made life very complicated for the average person.
Jesus was a reformer. He did not teach His disciples to follow these rules because of the burden they put on the people (Matthew 23:4).
In Mark 7:9, Jesus said that the Pharisees “reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.” When you read this passage in its entirety, you will see that Christ referred to the Pharisees exalting man-made traditions over God’s commandments. The Mishnah makes it clear that these rules were exalted over God’s Words. Jesus explained the meaning of His words over the next few verses.
Mark 7:9-13
“9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. 10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: 11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. 12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; 13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.”
The scribes had also invented another rule called ‘Korban.’ Under it, people were allowed to give their time, money, and resources to the Temple instead of giving these things to their elderly parents. When the time came for them to help their parents, they would simply say that their time and resources were Korban. Korban is a Hebrew/Aramaic word meaning “offering.” Therefore, they did not help their parents.
In verses 10-13, Jesus explained to the Pharisees and scribes that they were hypocrites. They were rigidly enforcing man-made laws such as the hand washing ceremony and Korban while at the same time ignoring the commandments of God—specifically, the commandment to honor one’s mother and father. Jesus upheld the commandments; He did not negate or do away with them. Once again, Jesus challenged the traditions of the Pharisees; they were rooted in men, not God.
In the Matthew 15 version of this same story, Jesus said, “13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. 14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matthew 15:13-14).
Since through Christ all things were made, He was the one that made animals clean and unclean in the beginning (John 1:1-3, Col. 1:15-17). These animals have the same biological characteristics today that they had in Genesis. How could Christ have done away with unclean animals if these animals are exactly the same as He made them in the beginning?
Jesus said, “But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth” (Luke 11:17). If Christ tried to do away with the clean and unclean distinction he made in the beginning, His Kingdom would be divided against itself!
So what is Jesus really trying to tell us when he says that nothing going into a man makes him unclean or koinos? Let’s examine the end of the passage from Mark.
Mark 7:14-23
“14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand: 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. 16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. 17 And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.”
“18 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; 19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? 20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”’
In verse 17, you will notice that not even His disciples understood what He was saying at first. Jesus then had to repeat Himself. In some translations, verse 19 reads “(In saying this, Jesus declared all foods ‘clean.’). The Greek word translated as food is bromata; its root word is broma. In another article “How Does God Define Food?”, we discussed that this Greek word refers to that which God has designated ‘to eat.’ As previously discussed, all food is already clean. Why did Jesus make this comment?
In this verse, Jesus clarified that the man-made rules regarding uncleanness do not affect God’s definition of clean and unclean. In other words, if people transgress the oral law regarding hand washing, it does not affect your body or food.
In Matthew 15:20, Jesus concluded this issue by saying: “These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man” (Matthew 15:20).
The purpose of these two passages, as Jesus points out, was to show that eating with unwashed or dirty hands does not cause physical defilement. Jesus closed the passage by explaining that the ritual of hand washing did not keep your body from physical impurity.
In Mark 7:1-23, the traditions of men are mentioned seven times. Jesus clearly argued against man-made rules and defended the commandments. He warned us in this passage not to make up rules that contradict the commandments (Matthew 5:6-8, Mark 7:9).
It would be contradictory for Christ to spend an entire chapter defending the commandments while at the same time doing away with one of them. Jesus said that He did not come to do away with the commandments, but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17-18). This literally means that He came to fill their meaning to the full or tighten their requirements.
If Jesus were to abolish the distinction between clean and unclean animals, He would literally have to re-arrange creation and change the biology of many creatures. Jesus’ blood was not shed to change the biology of an animal. It was shed so that our sins would be forgiven (I John 1:7). Each animal in creation was uniquely made by Christ himself. The physical composition of these animals is what makes them clean or unclean. The unclean animals were made unclean in the beginning, and they will always be that way.
We will conclude with a simple example: In Leviticus chapter 11, God said that if an animal does not chew the cud and have a split hoof, then it is unclean. To this day a pig has a split hoof, but does not chew the cud. That means a pig is still unclean. God did not lie. As long as a pig does not chew the cud and have a split hoof, it will always be unclean in God’s sight. These animals have other uses in creation, but they are simply not food.
Jesus did not negate the difference between clean and unclean.
Kelly McDonald, Jr.
Pastor, David’s Tent Christian Fellowship