Jesus ate a diet typical of first-century Jewish people in Galilee, primarily plant-based, including whole grains (bread, barley), fruits (figs, grapes, dates, olives), vegetables (lentils, beans, cucumbers, wild greens), nuts, fish from the Sea of Galilee, and occasionally lamb, seasoned with olive oil, herbs, honey, and wine, all following kosher (Jewish dietary) laws. His meals often featured bread dipped in stews and relied on fresh, seasonal foods.
To be specific, Jesus drank water and wine, ate only whole grain bread, abstained from pork and shellfish, and ate large quantities of healthy foods like olive oil, grapes, figs, pomegranates, various kinds of vegetables, and fish. This is “the Jesus way of eating” [p. xv].
“He really likes fish. In fact, He cooked fish for us disciples at the shore of Galilee soon after His resurrection.” “That's right,” said James and John the Sons of Thunder, “We were there and ate fish with Him for breakfast.” Abraham replied, “Well, maybe fish is okay for breakfast but we are thinking about supper.”
The drink offered to our Lord was vinegar (made of light wine rendered acid, the common drink of Roman soldiers) "mingled with gall," or, according to ( Mark 15:23 ), "mingled with myrrh;" both expressions meaning the same thing, namely, that the vinegar was made bitter by the infusion of wormwood or some other bitter ...
Based on nutritional anthropology from the time, Jesus likely had a diet similar to the Mediterranean Diet today. Heavy in fruits and vegetables, lots of fish, likely poultry, and red meat in the form of lamb, which was likely most reserved for feasts like passover.
Later, in the New Testament, Jesus swept away these rules and “declared all foods clean” (Mark 7:18-19): “There is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.”
In the Torah, pigs are listed among several animals that God forbids for human consumption because they are considered to be ritually unclean.
Christ refused the vinegar mixed with gall, because He had to drink the cup of which Psalm 75:8 speaks. That cup of Jehovah's wrath He had tasted in all the suffering that was part of His life on earth. In being forsaken by His own, rejected of men, and despised he always tasted God's anger with our sins.
Mark 15:23 "And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not." About myrrh is called "gall" (original word: χολή (about taste)), probably same word was used in Aramaic. In Arabic مُرّ (murr) means "bitter" but مُرّ also means "myrrh".
So the first wine (mixed with myrrh) was designed to dull Jesus' pain, to keep him from having to endure the cross with full consciousness. This wine he refused. And the second (sour) wine was given to keep him “conscious for as long as possible,” and thus have the effect of prolonging his pain.
Since it's clear Jesus drank wine and had no problem with it, some Christians argue that the wine wasn't alcoholic. It was just grape juice. Yet, when the master of the wedding party tastes the wine, he is surprised that it's the best wine he's had. Why? People usually bring out bad wine at the wedding's end.
Recent research suggests a bean stew, lamb, olives, bitter herbs, a fish sauce, unleavened bread, dates and aromatized wine likely were on the menu at the Last Supper.
Verse 10 is the support for verse 9: Christ tasted death for everyone "for it was fitting for him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings." In other words, immediately after saying that by the grace of God ...
We know that ancient Israelites ate lamb and goat meat, but meat was probably more of a special treat for Jesus than a daily staple. Instead, he might have relied on legumes, like beans or lentils, and fish for protein.
We have two types of fast. The one that pleases God known as the purifying fast, and the one that displeases God known as the wicked fast. Yes! there is something called wicked fast which powers of darkness embark on every now and then.
In fact, he drank wine—the fermented kind, not grape juice, as some will claim—and apparently he drank a fair amount of it.
Myrrh gum is commonly harvested from the species Commiphora myrrha, which is native to Yemen, Somalia, Eritrea and eastern Ethiopia. Another commonly used name, Commiphora molmol, is now considered a synonym of Commiphora myrrha.
The wise men brought myrrh to baby Jesus primarily for its powerful symbolism, representing his eventual sacrificial death and burial, even though it was a valuable substance used for anointing, perfume, and embalming in the ancient world, foreshadowing his role as a suffering savior and the remedy for humanity's sins. It was a prophetic gift, signaling that this King, born to save, would also die to achieve that salvation, a truth later fulfilled when myrrh was used to prepare His body for burial.
The Christian has the freedom to burn incense or not to burn incense. It is entirely a matter of personal choice within our own spiritual life.
Myrrh seems safe for most people when used in small amounts. It can cause some side effects such as skin rash if applied directly to the skin, and diarrhea if taken by mouth. Large doses may be UNSAFE. Amounts greater than 2-4 grams can cause kidney irritation and heart rate changes.
Alcohol in the Bible
The Bible is ambivalent towards alcohol, considering it both a blessing from God that brings merriment and a potential danger that can be unwisely and sinfully abused. Christian views on alcohol come from what the Bible says about it, along with Jewish and Christian traditions.
Jesus released all of His contempt for Satan and his works when He spit on the blindness. Jesus spit on two others in the New Testament. He healed another blind man by spitting in the clay and rubbing it in the man's eyes (John 9:1-7). He also spit on the tongue of a man with a speech impediment (Mark 7:33).
"`Every animal that has a split hoof not completely divided or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you; whoever touches [the carcass of] any of them will be unclean.
Pork is classified as najas, meaning it is inherently unclean and defiling. Consuming pork would compromise a Muslim's state of purity, making them unfit for certain religious activities. However, in exceptional circumstances such as excessive hunger or starvation, Muslims are permitted to eat pork.
Pigs do not appear to have a very high standing in the Bible. They were regarded as unclean. Leviticus 11:7-8 spells this out: “You will regard the pig as unclean, because though it has a cloven hoof, divided into two parts, it is not a ruminant.