7:19

Thus he declared all foods clean: The Greek text allows for these words to be a continuation of what Jesus said, but they are generally understood to be Mark’s observation on the implications of what Jesus had just explained. It does not mean that Jesus was declaring that Jews could now eat certain foods that had been considered unclean according to the Mosaic Law. That Law remained in force until Jesus’ death. Mark’s comment must be understood in accord with this historical context. (Le, chap. 11; Ac 10:9-16; Col 2:13, 14) The tradition-bound religious leaders felt that even “clean” foods would make a person unclean unless he first followed elaborate cleansing rituals not required by the Law. Therefore, the meaning of Mark’s comment is evidently that Jesus declared that foods counted as “clean” according to the Mosaic Law would not defile the eater just because he had not ritualistically washed his hands according to man-made traditions. Furthermore, some have understood that Mark was also commenting on the future implications Jesus’ words would have for Christians. By the time Mark wrote his Gospel, Peter had seen the vision in which he was told, in language similar to this passage in Mark, that “God has cleansed” foods that were once considered defiled according to the Mosaic Law. (Ac 10:13-15) In either case, the words appear to be Mark’s inspired summary of the implications of Jesus’ words, not the words of Jesus himself.