Did Jesus really declare all food clean? Part 2

The missing verse

The scene changes from Jesus’ confrontation with the Judean delegation to his interaction with the nearby bystanders (it will later move to a private setting in the house, where he will address his disciples alone as well). Once the crowd gathers around (we don’t know if the Judean delegation was now a part of it or not) he calls upon the people in the crowd to listen and understand. He then says:

¹⁵ there is nothing outside the person which can defile him (κοινῶσαι αὐτόν) if it goes into him; but the things which come out of the person are what defile the person (τὰ κοινοῦντα τὸν ἄνθρωπον).” (Mark 7:15, NASB)

Given the fact that as before the word for “common” vs. “holy” is used, it would help to adjust the translation to the following:

¹⁵ there is nothing outside the person which can de/un-sanctify (or render him “common”) him (κοινῶσαι αὐτόν) if it goes into him; but the things which come out of the person are what de/un-sanctifies the person (τὰ κοινοῦντα τὸν ἄνθρωπον).” (Mark 7:15, NASB)

Historically this has been understood by the overwhelming majority of Christian teachers as Jesus’ statement about kashrut (the idea that some foods should be thought of as acceptable while others unacceptable to Israel) was stating it not needed or no longer needed. But, upon a closer reading, Jesus did not discuss here the laws of kashrut but in fact, he was referring to the sections of Torah where it was clear that only various bodily discharges which come out from inside of a human being render Israelite unsanctified/desanctified/common/defiled for a period of time (Lev 15).

There are four bodily discharges mentioned in Leviticus 15 that render an Israelite ceremonially unclean and require special cleansing:

1. 1. A running discharge from a man (Leviticus 15:2–15); based on the context, we assume the discharge flows from a man’s sexual organs, although the text speaks only in general terms of “an unusual bodily discharge” (Leviticus 15:2).
   2. An emission of semen, whether involuntary (Leviticus 15:16–17) or occurring during sexual intercourse (Leviticus 15:18).
   3. The monthly period of a woman (Leviticus 15:19–24).
   4. An issue of blood from a woman unrelated to menstruation (Leviticus 15:25–30).

There are other ways in which an Israelite may become impure from external sources (for example, by touching something impure), but never in the Torah is there a law that specifies food as being capable of changing the status of an Israelite from pure to impure. It is evident that Jesus is referring here to the laws of bodily discharges.

It is understandable that when Christians hear Jesus’ words in Mark 7:15 (“the things which come out of the person are what de/unsanctifies/defiles the person”), they seldom connect it with Leviticus 15. The reason is quite simple, while the Book of Leviticus holds significant importance in Judaism, it is one of the least read books in Christianity (with the exception of the Feasts of Israel and Tabernacle sections of Leviticus, but only in certain circles).

Mark 7:16-17 is particularly intriguing. The majority of surviving manuscripts of the Gospel of Mark include verse 16 (“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear”) as part of the gospel narrative. These numerous manuscripts, originating from a wide range of geographical locations, typically support the authenticity of this manuscript variant. However, the most crucial and earliest manuscripts of the Gospel do not contain this verse.

In the early days of Bible printing, a comprehensive body of textual research and analysis was not yet available. This is why the older versions of the Bible (KJV) included verse 16, whereas the majority of modern Bibles exclude it (NIV, NASB, etc).

For example, Daniel Boyarin believes that vs. 16 was once part of the original Gospel of Mark and that it was later removed by a scribe, because he failed to recognize the immense importance of the nature of the disciple’s questions to Jesus:

¹⁷ And when He later entered a house, away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him about the parable. (Mark 7:17)

But the opposite could have been the case. Later scribes may have recognized the importance of the disciple’s questions and connection of what Jesus says to the whole idea of the parable. After all, he already encountered this in Mark 4 in the story of the Sower and the seeds:

⁹ And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” ¹⁰ As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve disciples, began asking Him about the parables.

I conclude that the later scribe could have just as easily added the phrase in Mark 7:16 instead of removing it. We may never know, what took place, but what is significant is that what Jesus says here and what he says in Mark 7:15 is clearly linked to the parable. We will soon see how.

Cleansing or Declaring cleansed?

Once Jesus is alone the disciples ask Jesus to explain the parable to them.  Jesus basically repeats the same reference he made to the crowd but elaborates with slightly more detail. He says to His disciples:

¹⁸ And He said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding as well? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the person from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thereby He declared all foods clean (καθαρίζων πάντα τὰ βρώματα).) (Mark 7:18-19, NASB)

καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς Οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀσύνετοί ἐστε; οὐ νοεῖτε ὅτι πᾶν τὸ ἔξωθεν εἰσπορευόμενον εἰς τὸν ἄνθρωπον οὐ δύναται αὐτὸν κοινῶσαι, ὅτι οὐκ εἰσπορεύεται αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν καρδίαν ἀλλ’ εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν, καὶ εἰς τὸν ἀφεδρῶνα ἐκπορεύεται καθαρίζων πάντα τὰ βρώματα.

So that you can quickly see the translation issue here, I will quote the King James Version, which gets the translation almost right on this crucial issue:

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/foods (καθαρίζων πάντα τὰ βρώματα)? (Mark 7:19, KJV)

The last four words in Mark 7:19 (καθαρίζων πάντα τὰ βρώματα) literally translate as “cleansing all food.” The crucial question here is whether it is Jesus who cleanses all foods (an unlikely but still grammatically possible declarative action), or if the human body, to which Jesus refers to just a few words earlier, performs the action of cleansing itself.

To the non-Greek expert, the addition of a declarative action by most translators may seem like a complete fabrication and a conspiratorial action, with no basis in the Greek text. However, this is not the case. I have confirmed this with non-religious Greek experts who have nothing to gain from traditional Christian interpretations. They have informed me that although it is a less likely interpretation (“Thus/Thereby he declared all food clean”), it is possible to translate it in this way.

To be honest, I was relieved to hear this. Not because I believe it is the correct translation, but because I think it is important for us to acknowledge that the Bible translators are sincere individuals who are genuinely striving to do their best without resorting to fabrication as much as humanly possible.

The following translation (mine) is somewhat awkward but far more literal, and may be beneficial if you can tolerate the awkwardness for just a moment:

And he said to them (καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς): “And you too do not understand? (Οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀσύνετοί ἐστε;). Don’t you know that nothing from outside going into a man cannot desanctify (render him common vs. holy) him? (οὐ νοεῖτε ὅτι πᾶν τὸ ἔξωθεν εἰσπορευόμενον εἰς τὸν ἄνθρωπον οὐ δύναται αὐτὸν κοινῶσαι). Because it doesn’t go into the heart, but into the stomach and then goes out into toilet (καὶ εἰς τὸν ἀφεδρῶνα ἐκπορεύεται), cleansing all food (καθαρίζων πάντα τὰ βρώματα). (Mark 7:18-19)

If Jesus is not making a declaration about all foods now being clean or pure, but rather, as I believe, continues to refer to the functioning of the body (food passing through the digestive tract and being expelled as waste, thus cleansing itself of the food), then what possible logic could Jesus be employing here?

Ironically, it may very well be that the answer lies within the proto-rabbinic, pharisaic ideas about excrement being ritually pure. Unlike the Qumran community, the Pharisees, while considering human excrement as something that should be removed from the camp for various reasons (Deuteronomy 23:11-15), did not regard excrement as ritually impure or capable of rendering an Israelite impure (M Makhshirin 6:7; BT Yoma 30a; JT Pesahim 7:12 (35b)). (See the commentary of Safrai (ad loc.), who notes that this was a difference between the thinking in Israel and that in Babylon. See further discussion in Jody Magness, “What’s the Poop on Ancient Toilets and Toilet Habits?” Near Eastern Archaeology 75.2 (2012): 80–87; Albert Baumgarten, “The Temple Scroll, Toilet Practices, and the Essenes,” Jewish History 10.1 (1996), 9–20 [n. 16].)

To make things clear I will quote one of the most authoritative medieval rabbis. Rambam comments on the reasons Jews must not pray near unburied excrement in his commentary on Deuteronomy:

“The reason for covering excrement is not because excrement is like impurity and makes its surroundings impure…rather, it is forbidden to see it at the time of prayer, when the heart cleaves to the Glorious Name, because disgusting things give rise to revulsion in the soul and disrupt the concentration of the pure heart”. (Rambam, Sifrei Deuteronomy 254)

Rambam explained that a Jew should not pray near excrement because it would disrupt the prayer experience, not due to any ritual impurity associated with it. The fundamental point is that excrement is not considered ritually impure.

Regarding the discussion on “cleansing all foods,” it is plausible that Jesus’ argument to the pharisees and his sympathetic disciples (Matt 15:12) was centered on the idea that as food goes through the digestive process and becomes excrement, it becomes void of impurity, a belief apparently held by the pharisees themselves. Therefore, since excrement is considered pure upon expulsion, it follows that the food entering the body was also pure initially and did not defile him, contrary to the pharisees’ claim.

Why bother?

The importance of Jesus’ actions in confronting the Judean delegation, despite the risk to his leadership and reputation, becomes clear when considering the popularity and respect enjoyed by the pharisees. Jesus was not overly concerned with trivial matters but instead focused on the greater principles at stake.

Jesus’ decision to challenge the Judean delegation, despite the potential repercussions, was rooted in his belief that fundamental principles were at stake. He was not preoccupied with trivial details, but rather focused on the larger issues.

Jesus draws a connection between the Torah laws concerning bodily discharge (Leviticus 15) and the nature of sin (Mark 7:20-23). He argues that the physical discharge from within the human body symbolizes how sin, emanating from the heart, defiles with various forms of evil.

We read:

²⁰ And He was saying, “That which comes out of the person, that is what defiles the person. ²¹ For from within, out of the hearts of people, come the evil thoughts, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, acts of adultery, ²² deeds of greed, wickedness, deceit, indecent behavior, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. ²³ All these evil things come from within and defile the person.” (Mark 7:20-23, NASB)

The display of God’s wisdom through all the Torah commandments is remarkable, and the pharisees (and humanity in general) should refrain from attempting to modernize or enhance it. Jesus clearly believes that many pharisaic alterations, modifications, and innovations undermine the Torah. If the pharisaic reasoning about handwashing (aimed at preventing external defilement) were to hold true, it would contradict the Torah principle that Jesus was upholding. It is crucial not to overlook the connection between Leviticus 15 (the laws of bodily discharge) and sinful actions (Mark 7:20-23), as this is just the beginning. God’s word (Torah) surpasses all human wisdom and should always remain superior.