Steven Carr

Mark 1
43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 "See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them."

Would Paul have approved of the leper performing the sacrifices that Moses commanded?

Jayrok

I would guess that a typical christian answer here might be that at the time Jesus hadn't died/resurrected yet. Paul said that Jesus abolished the laws with his actions on the cross. Jesus sent the leper away before he saw the cross. So the laws were still in effect at the time.

That's my guess anyway.

Steven Carr

Didn't Jesus declare all foods clean?

An action unthinkable to Jews, many of whom chose death rather than eating unclean food.

Paul changed his beliefs so much that he also thought there was nothing wrong with eating un-kosher foods.

Why couldn't Jesus have also thought the same thoughts?

Jayrok

according to Mark 7, yes. Which is one of the gospel moments that makes the disciples look like complete idiots.

In this chapter, Jesus told these knuckleheads twice that nothing that enters into a man makes him unclean, but what comes out. Did the disciples learn this lesson? not at all.

In acts we see Peter and the gang continuing to follow all the mosaic laws, including refraining from eating unclean foods. Peter has to be told in a vision that foods are now clean.

I guess he forgot what Jesus told him... on more than one occasion.

Chances are, Jesus said no such a thing. Jesus never indicated to the disciples that he was going to "abolish" the mosaic laws with his actions on the cross. This is a Pauline idea.

If Paul is correct and Jesus really did abolish those silly laws, why didn't Jesus tell his apostles this? none of the other apostles knew anything about it. And the Jerusalem Jews continued these practices well after Jesus' death.

Jayrok

Differences in Mark 1 and Mark 7 make these Jesus texts suspicious also. As you posted, in Mark 1, Jesus tells the Leper to go offer sacrifices of Moses for personal "cleansing" purposes.

Then in Mark 7, we see Jesus chastising the Jews who wanted nothing but the disciples of Jesus to wash their hands before they eat as to "cleanse" them in the order of the priests' traditions. The text makes it sound like the disciples are going to eat pork or shrimp.. but they were only eating without washing their hands. So it shouldn't have been about "unclean foods" at all, but ceremonial washing of the hands.

At any rate, these passages make jesus into a hypocrit. In one, he tells a leper to go perform a ceremony to cleanse himself. In the other, he tells the jewish leaders that ceremonially washing their hands is nothing more than a man-made tradition. If he felt that way, why did he tell the leper to go do another man-made ceremony?

Maybe he's like Paul, like you said... changed his beliefs on the fly..