The story in Mark 7:1-23 is best known for the strange statement in verse 19: “thus purifying all foods.” This is often used to argue that Jesus abandoned not only the food laws of Leviticus 11, but the Mosaic Law itself. But surprisingly in this passage Jesus pronounces the strongest support for the law of Moses in the Gospel of Mark. This complex passage deserves a closer look.
This conflict in this story opens with a group of scribes and Pharisees noticing that the disciples of Jesus are eating bread with “defiled” hands, that is, unwashed hands. Here Mark adds a very long explanation to inform his readers that these religious leaders are not concerned with personal hygiene—the removal of dirt or bacteria—but with washing away “ritual defilement” or “impurity.” Mark even includes some elements of this specific cleansing ritual. The procedure was performed after a visit to the marketplace where a Jew could have come in contact with someone or something that was impure, including pots, vessels, and even couches (v. 4). The handwashing ritual was performed with the use of a “fist” (v. 3, translated as “in a special way”). The whole story is not concerned with hygiene or health—nor even food—but with tradition and ritual. See “Ritual Purity,” in Mark 7:2. When the charge is presented before Jesus the religious leaders will emphasize the tradition of the elders and the “defiled” ritual status (v. 5). See “The Pharisees,” on Matt. 9:11.
The actual charge, unwashed hands, is a minor issue that a simple washing in the evening could have resolved. The larger charge is that Jesus is not instructing His disciples properly in the “tradition of the elders” (v. 3). Jesus responds to both questions in reverse order. First, He forcefully rebukes the leaders for elevating man-made traditions over the law of God (v. 8) and thus abandoning the “word of God” (v. 13). Second, Jesus uses a parable to instruct the listening crowd (vv. 14-15) and His disciples (vv.17-23) on the “defilement” ritual. The disciples at first don’t understand the parable and ask Jesus to explain Himself, which culminates in the statement “purifying all foods” (v. 19). To understand the difficult statement there are two questions that need to be asked: What is considered to be “food”? And from what is the food being cleansed?
The first question is best resolved from the historic setting of the passage. The category of “food” is not all things that can be chewed and swallowed, but those items a society deems nutritious and appropriate for consumption. In most parts of India, a cow is not considered food, but a holy animal. Similarly, in the western world, dogs and snakes are not considered food, though they are delicacies in large parts of Asia. The food in Mark 7:19 must first be understood in the context of the story, in which it refers to the bread the disciples were eating (vv. 2, 5), and then within the Jewish setting of the story. Jesus, the disciples, the crowd and the religious leaders are all Jews. The “food” must be understood from their perspective, not our 21st century cultural setting. Jews throughout the entire Roman Empire were known for their strict adherence to the Sabbath and the clean and unclean categories of Lev. 11, thus only bread and clean animals constitute “all food” in v. 19.
The answer to the second question needs to come from the context. In the whole section Mark has not mentioned the word “unclean” (in Greek, akathartos) once, but instead he only referred to hands that were “defiled” (in Greek, koinos). The cleansing activity Jesus performs is not changing “unclean” foods to now be clean, but rather formerly “defiled” foods to clean foods. This “defiled” category was of particular importance to the Jews of Jesus’ day. In the Second Temple period religious leaders gradually expanded the regulations of the Pentateuch, among them Lev. 11. Not only were “unclean” animals forbidden for food, but Jewish tradition began to include a clean animal that came in contact with an “unclean” animal as unfit, or “defiled” for eating. Thus a lamb entered this intermediate state if it touched a camel or a pig. More worrisome, this concept was even applied to human beings: The tradition of the elders assumed that human beings could equally be subjected to “clean” and “unclean” categories in which Jews were by nature “clean” and Gentiles by default “unclean.” In this thinking a Jew that came in contact with a Gentile became “defiled” and therefore Jews avoided associating with Gentiles (see the marketplace indication in vv. 3-4, and Acts 10–11).
Jesus’ parable and His explanation challenged this view. The difficult phrase “thus purifying all foods” (v. 19) aptly summarizes Jesus’ rejection of the artificial “defilement” category. First, in the context of the charge in v. 5, there is no such thing as “defiled” food (Jesus does not challenge the “unclean” category, though). Furthermore, Jesus categorically rejects this false assumption that humans are closer to God based on their ethnicity or religious affiliation and revokes the expansion of the “defiled” category to humans. Instead Jesus expects His followers to live by the word of God (vv. 8, 13), particularly in the form of the Ten Commandments and other ethical values (vv. 21-23).
In summary, this passage contrasts the religious tradition of the elders to the word of God. The former is not only a burden on people but actively ostracizes individuals and people groups based on a false sense of preserving personal purity. This passage is purposely placed at a turning point in the ministry of Jesus: Up to this point Jesus has ministered to the Jews in Galilee. Now He will bring the same message of God’s kingdom to the Gentile regions across the Sea of Galilee. Jesus defies the “defilement” tradition by setting foot in Tyre and Sidon (v. 24) and repeats the miracles He performed for the Jews now also among the Gentiles. He heals the demon-possessed (vv. 24-30) and the sick (vv. 31-37), and even feeds 4,000 Gentiles who came to hear Him preach (8:1-10). The kingdom of God is not restricted to Jews, but is for all who “hear His words and do them.” See also Acts 10–11 which contains the same elements as Mark 7:1-23—the concepts of clean, defiled, unclean, and the impact for Gentile mission.