Matthew 15:11: As a setting for this text
begin reading from verse 2. The Jews had a tradition requiring that the hands
should be ceremonially washed after each contact with a Gentile. They chided
Jesus and the disciples for not following the custom. Then Christ
spoke the words of verse 11, "Not that which goeth into the mouth
defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth
a man."
Matthew 15:1-11
1 Then came to Jesus
scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
2 Why do thy disciples
transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they
eat bread.
3 But he answered and said
unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
4 For God commanded, saying,
Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die
the death.
5 But ye say, Whosoever
shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest
be profited by me;
6 And honour not his father
or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none
effect by your tradition.
7 Ye hypocrites, well did
Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
8 This people draweth nigh
unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is
far from me.
9 But in vain they do worship
me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
10 And he called the multitude, and
said unto them, Hear, and understand:
11 Not that which goeth into the mouth
defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
In verse 15, Peter said to Jesus, "Declare unto us this parable." Please notice that this is a parable and should not be literally applied. In fact, Jesus explained the parable so that we need not speculate about the meaning. He concluded His explanation with these words, "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man." verses 19, 20.
Get the picture. The Jewish leaders were upset about the custom of ceremonial washing of hands, while at the same time, they had murder in their hearts toward Christ. Jesus was exposing the absurdity of their posture. The ceremonial uncleanness was only an imagined defilement. The evil thoughts were true defilement. The question of diet was not involved at all. There was no eating or drinking at the heart of the issue. It was ceremonial washing of the hands versus murder in the heart. One defiled and the other did not.
Romans 14:2, 14, 21: It is well to consider
this entire chapter in it's context.
1 Him that is weak in the
faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
2 For one believeth that he
may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
3 Let not him that eateth
despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth:
for God hath received him.
4 Who art thou that judgest
another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be
holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
5 One man esteemeth one day
above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded
in his own mind.
6 He that regardeth the day,
regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth
not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he
that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
7 For none of us liveth to
himself, and no man dieth to himself.
8 For whether we live, we live
unto the Lord; and whether we die, wedie unto the Lord: whether we live therefore,
or die, we are the Lord's.
9 For to this end Christ both
died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
10 But why dost thou judge thy brother?
or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the
judgment seat of Christ
11 For it is written, As I live, saith
the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
12 So then every one of us shall give
account of himself to God.
13 Let us not therefore judge one another
any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to
fall in his brother's way.
14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord
Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing
to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
15 But if thy brother be grieved with thy
meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ
died.
16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of:
17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and
drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
18 For he that in these things serveth
Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
19 Let us therefore follow after the
things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
20 For meat destroy not the work of God.
All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.
21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to
drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made
weak.
22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself
before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.
23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat,
because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
Paul was writing about a problem of judging among the apostolic believers. Verses 4, 10 and 13 exhort against the sin of judging one another. And it was true that a serious division existed in that early church. The Gentile Christians were judging the Jewish Christians, and the Jewish Christians were judging the Gentile Christians.
What was the basis of the problem? What were they judging each other over? The Gentiles who had come into the church from paganism were offended because the Jewish Christians ate food that had been offered in sacrifice to idols. And the Jewish Christians judged the Gentile church members because they had no regard for the ceremonial days that they still observed from Judaism. Some of the Gentile converts were so fearful of eating meat offered to idols that they ate only vegetables. Paul spoke of them in verses 1 and 2. Paul elaborated on the "weak brother" further in 1 Corinthians 8:8- 12, and how he esteemed the food unfit to be eaten. He counseled against becoming a stumbling-block to the weak brother. "And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ." 1 Corinthians 8:11-12.
Compare this language with Romans 14:13-15: "Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way. I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died."
The food offered to idols was not unclean food (Acts 14:13) but was only esteemed so by the Gentile converts. It was not a moral issue. Neither was the matter of the ceremonial days which Paul mentioned in Romans 14:5. He told them to stop judging over those issues and get on with the work. These matters had nothing to do with the moral questions of the seventh-day Sabbath and the forbidden unclean food.
The foods referred to in this chapter were not biblically unclean, but were "esteemed" (verse 14) unclean because they had been used in sacrifice to idols. (1 Corinthians 8:1,13). The wine approved by God is described as "wine in the cluster" (Isaiah 65:8), so both meat and wine were clean of themselves. Though Paul concedes that an idol is "nothing in the world," (1 Corinthians 8:4) and therefore food offered to it is not defiled by being offered, many did not view it that way. They felt the food was contaminated and unfit for Christian consumption. For the sake of such objectors who felt that it was unclean Paul said it was better not to offend their weak conscience (verse 1) by eating it before them. [1 Corinthians 8]
1 Timothy 5:23: The Greek word "omos" which is translated "wine" may be either fermented or unfermented, depending on the context. But since alcoholic drink is categorically condemned in Proverbs 23:29-32 and Proverbs 20:1, it is inconceivable that the New Testament church leaders would condone it.
There is noting in Paul's counsel to Timothy which would indicate that this "little wine" was fermented. Since Timothy had an apparent problem of digestion and also other infirmities, the recommended use of grape juice might well have been an effective dietary supplement.
The Bible writers also recommend the unfermented grape juice as a blessing to the body. "Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all." Isaiah 65:8. The kind of wine which is "in the cluster" is nonalcoholic. Some authorities today urge the drinking of grape juice based on its rapid therapeutic ingestion into the system.
1 Timothy 4:1-4: The warning against a latter day apostasy in these texts involves a number of heresies - following devils, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from certain foods.
Perhaps the greatest misunderstanding has arisen over verse 4, where it is stated that "every creature of God is good". This means that every created thing has been made for a need and a purpose. But some suppose that every animal is therefore good to be eaten if it is properly prayed over and blessed by the prayer of thanksgiving. But not so! Praying over a buzzard, or mole, or bat will not make it fit for food. Paul hastens to add verse 5 in case anyone should come to wrong conclusions from verse 4. He says, "For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer." Ah, now we know what sanctifies it as proper for the diet. The Word of God must approve it, and then the prayer of thanksgiving will sanctify it to be eaten.
Please take note also of the fact that this discussion is not involved with biblically unclean animals. Those meats which some had forbidden were "meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth." verse 3. Now it is easy to find in the Bible God's description of the meats which he created to be received with thanksgiving. (Leviticus 11:2-20) Those who "believe and know the truth" will receive those things with thanksgiving because they are "sanctified by the Word of God and prayer". God's word is the truth. Those only who "believe and know" that word will be led to those things that "are sanctified" and "created to be received with thanksgiving". Those who "sanctify themselves" while eating unclean meats will be destroyed at Christ's second coming. See Isaiah 66:15-17.