In this message, Pastor Matt instructs us why God gave Israel food laws, and why the Christian does not need to follow them now: 1. Because Christ’s touch sanctifies 2. Because Christ unites all people 3. Because Christ defeats death
A Further Defence of Bacon
Yes, I already preached a sermon called “In Defence of Bacon” about ten years ago in my former church. A family actually left the church over it. I’m willing to die on some hills.
We have now arrived at the section of Deuteronomy that contains various laws, including this one:
“And the pig, because it parts the hoof but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. You shall not eat their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses.” (Deuteronomy 14:8)
Well, preacher man, what are you doing serving delicious crispy bacon to all the men who come next Saturday at 7:30 a.m.?
1. The Simple Answer for Believers in Jesus Christ
At a basic level, this is straightforward for anyone who believes in Jesus Christ. Under the Old Covenant, the Israelites were forbidden from eating certain foods. But now that Jesus has come, we can enjoy ham at Easter.
Jesus Himself declared all foods clean:
“There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” And he said, “Thus he declared all foods clean.” (Mark 7:15, 19)
That’s really all you need to know. Men, you can come Saturday morning and enjoy the bacon. Ladies, I’m sure you can find some other delicious way to eat well.
2. Digging Deeper: Three Important Questions
But maybe we should dig a little deeper, because this matters. If people ask you questions about these food laws, you should have good answers.
Here are the key questions:
- Why did God command these food laws in the first place? They seem random and odd.
- Why do these laws no longer apply after the coming of Christ—more precisely, after His death and resurrection?
3. Why Did God Give Israel These Food Laws?
I believe God had three main purposes for these laws:
A. To Test Obedience This is not the first time God commanded His people not to eat something. In the Garden of Eden:
“The Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” (Genesis 2:16-17)
God gave Israel a similar choice: “Eat this. Don’t eat that.” Obedience was the test.
B. To Make Israel Distinct from Other Nations These laws set Israel apart as God’s holy people:
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” (Deuteronomy 14:2)
God gave Israel many laws so they would be visibly distinct from the surrounding nations.
C. To Separate Them from Death so They Could Worship the Living God This, I believe, is the deepest reason. These laws were not primarily about hygiene or food safety (if they were, God would have simply said, “Don’t eat poisonous mushrooms”). Instead, they were about worship.
The clean/unclean distinction was mainly about who could approach God in the tabernacle or temple. Being “clean” had both moral and ceremonial dimensions. Ceremonially, it meant being separated from death.
The high priest, for example, could not even touch a dead body—not even for his own father or mother (Leviticus 21:11). The food laws, rules about leprosy, and regulations about touching the dead all served the same purpose: to keep the “stain of death” out of God’s presence.
“Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.” (Leviticus 15:31)
The animals listed as unclean (pigs, camels, certain birds, etc.) were often associated with scavenging or death. Birds like eagles and vultures eat dead things. Pigs will scavenge. Even the cloven hoof and chewing the cud may symbolize separation from the earth and decay. Clean animals were more fitting for sacrifice because they were further removed from death.
In short: You cannot bring what is associated with death into the presence of the living God.
4. Why Don’t We Still Follow These Food Laws?
The good news is that we are no longer bound by these laws for three powerful reasons, all centered on Christ:
A. Christ’s Touch Sanctifies In the Old Testament, uncleanness was contagious. If an unclean person touched you, you became unclean too. But Jesus reverses this pattern.
A leper came to Jesus and said, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Jesus touched him and said, “I will; be clean.” Immediately, the leprosy left him (Mark 1:40-42).
Christ does not become defiled—He makes the unclean clean. When we are united to Christ (especially through baptism), we carry His sanctifying presence into the world.
B. Christ Unites All People The food laws helped make Israel a distinct nation, creating a dividing wall between Jew and Gentile. But Jesus tore that wall down:
“For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace.” (Ephesians 2:14-15)
At the cross, the ceremonial laws that separated people were abolished so the gospel could go to every tribe, tongue, and nation. We are now one people in Christ.
C. Christ Defeats Death Being unclean in the Old Testament was fundamentally about association with death—the great enemy and penalty for sin. No one could defeat death until Christ.
When Jesus died and rose again, everything changed. Death no longer reigns.
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55)
This is why, in Acts 10, Peter receives the vision:
“Rise, Peter; kill and eat… What God has made clean, do not call common.” (Acts 10:13, 15)
Christ’s resurrection defeated death so thoroughly that we no longer need to fear its shadow in the way Israel once did.
5. The Heart of True Cleanliness
Because of Christ, we can now say with Paul:
“For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:4-5)
Thank God for bacon.
Yet Jesus also reminds us that real defilement still exists:
“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (Mark 7:20-23)
Baptism reminds us that Christ has cleansed us once and for all from sin and death. We rise to walk in newness of life. Therefore, when we come to worship God, we must live cleanly—not by obsessing over what we eat or don’t eat, but by watching what comes out of our hearts and mouths.