What New Testament teachings relate to dietary laws in Leviticus 11:5? Leviticus 11:5 in Focus “And the rock badger, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.” (Leviticus 11:5) Why the New Testament Returns to the Subject Leviticus 11:5 stands as one example of the larger food-law framework God gave Israel to mark them off as a holy nation. The New Testament repeatedly revisits that framework to explain how Christ fulfills it and how believers are to live under the new covenant. Jesus’ Teaching on Food and Purity • Mark 7:18-19—“Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him… it goes into the stomach and is eliminated.” (Thus all foods are clean.) • Matthew 15:11—“It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” → Jesus affirms God’s standard of holiness while declaring that ceremonial food restrictions no longer define purity; the heart does. Peter’s Vision and the Gentile Mission • Acts 10:13-15—“Get up, Peter, kill and eat! … Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” • Acts 11:9—“What God has cleansed, you must not call impure.” → The vision prepares Peter to bring the gospel to Gentiles and signals that the ceremonial wall separating Jew and Gentile—including Levitical food laws—has been removed in Christ (cf. Ephesians 2:14-16). The Apostolic Council’s Clarification • Acts 15:28-29—Gentile believers are not placed under Israel’s food laws; they are only asked to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, blood, and meat of strangled animals—restrictions aimed at fellowship and idolatry issues, not ceremonial cleanness. Paul’s Pastoral Guidance • Romans 14:14—“I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself.” • Romans 14:20—“All things are clean, but it is wrong for a man to let his eating be a stumbling block.” • 1 Timothy 4:4-5—“Every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected, because it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” → Freedom in food is affirmed, yet love governs its exercise. Colossians: Shadows and Substance • Colossians 2:16-17—“Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink… These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.” → Levitical dietary laws pointed forward to the holiness and separation ultimately realized in Christ. Hebrews and the Priesthood Change • Hebrews 9:9-10—Food regulations were “external regulations imposed until the time of reformation.” → With Christ as the perfect High Priest, ceremonial provisions reach their goal and are not binding on believers. Bringing It All Together • The moral principle of Leviticus 11—the call to be distinct and holy—remains (1 Peter 1:15-16). • The ceremonial specifics, including the ban on eating the rock badger, have been fulfilled in Christ and are no longer required for righteousness. • Believers celebrate freedom from the old ordinance, yet exercise that freedom with sensitivity, gratitude, and a continual pursuit of holiness. |
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