Study Starter: Rare Steak or Power in the Blood?
by:
Christopher Wiles
What's the beef with
blood in the Bible? In our Wednesday
evening adult studies Bible class, we've had recent lively discussions on
passages including
Deuteronomy 12:23,
"But be sure you do not eat
the blood, because
the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat." Then compound the implications of that verse
with the commands given in a letter from the Jerusalem Council to the Gentile
churches.
"It seemed good
to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the
following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to
idols, from blood,
from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will
do well to avoid these things." (Acts 15:28-29)
Wow, with such
strong scriptural admonitions against eating blood, what do we do about
traditional foods today such as the German blood pudding, blood soup, and blood
sausages?
Should
we be warning all those carnivorous men and women who enjoy eating their steak
rare? Should we be teaching more
on this topic as part of the plan of salvation since it seemed good to the Holy
Spirit?
Seeing Eye to Eye with God's
Word
We must be cautious
in reading verses separate from the rest of the Bible. It was Jesus who said,
"It is not what goes into the
mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this
defiles a person.”
(Matthew 15:11) Don't forget Paul
who carried that Acts 15 letter from Jerusalem to the Gentile churches. This same Paul, in a letter to the church at
Colossi, said,
"Therefore
do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious
festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day." (Colossians2:16) Consider also that time
Jesus gathered with His closest disciples to share deep truths just before He
was betrayed and crucified.
"Then he took a cup, and
when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from
it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many
for the forgiveness of sins.'" (Matthew 26:27-28)
Agreeing with God's Word
Within a document as
varied as the 66 books of history, wisdom, poetry, letters, and apocalyptic
writings of the Bible, we can unintentionally pull out scriptures that seems
contradictory, as if God's Word doesn't agree with itself. Thankfully we have a good God who gives
understanding through His Holy Spirit as we study, meditate, and ponder God's
good Word. For us, Gentiles, in churches
today striving to follow the wisdom and patterns of the New Testament, it is
essential that we pray for God's guidance and that we study with "best
practices" such as considering the context of our passages.
Enlightenment from Jerusalem
and beyond.
- First, consider the broader
context of the NT. We
don't see the prohibition of blood anywhere else.
- Consider the context of the
covenant moving from the external purity of OT to inward purity of the NT,
as evidenced in Matthew 15:11 (see above) and Matthew 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will
see God."
- Consider the context of Acts
15 where we see discrepancies in the practices of the Jews and Gentiles
within predominately Gentile churches such as Antioch (15:1). The Jews were teaching that one couldn't
be saved without circumcision, including Gentiles. There were problems between the two
culture systems existing within the church. It appears that the Jerusalem Council,
in an effort "to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace," (Eph 4:3) gave the Gentiles four big
ideas to abstain from so as to maintain unity with the Jewish Christians
in their congregations. While it
wouldn't be a personal sin to eat blood, it would be a moral struggle for
Jews growing up under the law of Moses. This is the concept behind the
often quoted 1 Corinthians 8:9, "Be careful,
however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak."
My To-Go Box
After all that meaty
conversation, I'll summarize what I take away from the table after this spiritual
meal.
- There are no purity
prohibitions on food today (drunkenness is a different issue), except that we try not to
consume things that cause groups of believers to question our faith, out
of respect for their faith.
- We are grateful that the Jews
believed there is Life in the blood, because that sets up our belief that
through the Blood of Christ, we find eternal Life today!
- Be grateful for blood and the
power of life it gives for all who would know and obey Jesus!
So that's what I've got cooking on the subject. There's a lot more information and scripture we can go to if you want more discussion, but I think it would have belabored the blog and points would have been lost if I posted it all here. I'm curious your thoughts, especially those of you with Jewish backgrounds. What do you think? I'd love to listen and learn. Oh, and thanks for the invite, but I'm not interested in eating your blood pudding and I like my steak medium well.
"We have confidence to enter
the holy places by the blood of Jesus." - Hebrews 10:19b
Living Lessons & Study Starters are articles written for the weekly Washington Church of Christ bulletin. You can find more by clicking HERE or searching for "Study Starter" in the right sidebar search.
Speaking of Blood, don't forget that we have a blood drive coming up this weekend so that you can donate life to another! Sign up at www.washingtoncoc.org to give blood between 12-4pm on Sunday, Feb 26th.
I recently enjoyed a
visit with our other local chaplains and the hospital patient experience officer
regarding our Spiritual Care program. I
was encouraged by the group's desire to provide care upon request regardless of
any divisive issues that arise in America today. Regardless of your color, your age, your
theology, party affiliation, or even how you do or don't like my haircut, as a
member of this volunteer team, we'll try to provide the best care we can. It all stems from the idea that you were
created by God in His image (Genesis
1:27) and because of that special status, we believe you deserve the
right to spiritual care upon your request.
