Sunday, May 14, 2023

Philip Francis Esler on Mark 7:15


 

This is almost certainly an authentic saying of Jesus. Does it, however, constitute a rejection of the food laws in Leviticus? In spite of claims to the contrary, the answer is ‘no’. Long before the time of Jesus, Jews had subscribed to the view that, whatever the rationale behind its various parts, the Torah was to be obeyed simply because God has commanded it. Even today, this view is current among Jews. Moreover, if this saying did constitute an abrogation of the food laws, it is difficult to imagine how Jewish Christians could so ardently have advocated their preservation. But the historical Jesus and the Marcan Jesus are not identical; the setting which Mark provides for this dominical saying specifically interprets it so as to abrogate Lev 11. This effect is achieved not so much by 7.19a, as by 719b: ‘[thus] he purified all foods.’ While it cannot be denied that this clause is awkwardly situated, the chief textual witnesses are virtually unanimous in its support. Accordingly, since it appears to belong to the text in its earliest form, it may reasonably be attributed to the evangelist himself. (Philip Francis Esler, Community and Gospel in Luke-Acts: The Social and Political Motivations of Lucan Theology [Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series 57; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987], 89-90)