Jesus essentially ate a Mediterranean diet rich in whole grains, fish, fruit and vegetables and with modest amounts of olive oil, meat and wine, Colbert says.
What would Jesus eat? A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, grains, breads, beans, legumes, milk, fish and some meat would have been available 2,000 years ago in the Holy Land — the Fertile Crescent between Egypt and ancient Mesopotamia.
JESUS' FAVORITE FOOD WAS FISH
But there does seem to be a lot of fish in the New Testament accounts about His life. For one, He chose to call “fishermen” as His followers.
Among the early Judeo-Christian Gnostics the Ebionites held that John the Baptist, James the Just and Jesus were vegetarians. Some religious orders of various Christian Churches practice pescatarianism, including the Benedictines, Franciscans, Trappists, Carthusians and Cistercians.
The food was more scarce and less convenient than today. It's availability was seasonable, and all the elements needed to be made from scratch, including hauling in the water from wells etc. Meals were simple but wholesome. Bread, usually barley bread, was a feature of every meal, and women made it as often as needed.
"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb-bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food." In the second chapter of Genesis (2:16-17) vegetarianism is re-affirmed as people's spiritually proper diet.
Vegetables, cereals (barley, wheat, oats and rye), and legumes, as well as meat, fish, honey and milk were always a part of the biblical diet. Many people of that region and era had access to the necessary foods for a healthy and varied diet, pretty close to what is advised by nutritionists today.
Jesus essentially ate a Mediterranean diet rich in whole grains, fish, fruit and vegetables and with modest amounts of olive oil, meat and wine, Colbert says.
Although Christianity is also an Abrahamic religion and prohibits the consumption of pork, most of its adherents do not follow these aspects of Mosaic law and do consume its meat. However, Seventh-day Adventists consider pork taboo, along with other foods forbidden by Jewish law.
“The Christian has freedom to eat meat without it being a question of conscience. In fact, not only can they do it, they are blessed when they do it and the source of the meat is not really an issue in the New Testament,” Jamison says. “We are allowed to eat meat from any type of animals.
Biblical references to eggs are only in reference to gathering them from the wild (for example, Deuteronomy 22:6–7 and Isaiah 10:14). Eggs seem to have increased in use for food only with the introduction of chickens as food and were commonly used as food by Roman times.
Based on tilapia and carp bones found at Sea of Galilee excavation sites, archaeologists believe that tilapia and carp would have populated the Sea of Galilee during Jesus' lifetime. So it is likely that the fish eaten by Jesus was tilapia from the Sea of Galilee. Tilapia (St.
In short, even if someone wanted to follow a “biblical diet,” this does not mean that modern wheat is on the menu. Jesus never ate the mutated variety we eat today.
After the Great Flood, God changes the rule, allowing consumption of meat: “Every creature that lives shall be yours to eat; as with the green grasses, I give you all these” (Gen. 9:3). There are, however, restrictions: “You must not, however, eat flesh with its life-blood in it.
According to Ray Comfort at Living Waters, Jesus ate or recommended nine foods. So we know these foods are healthy. The nine foods in alphabetical order are butter, eggs, figs, fish, honey, lamb, sea salt, veal, and whole grain bread. The food most recommended by the Bible is honey.
As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.
Drinking Alcohol is Not a Sin
Contrary to what many Christians have grown up hearing, it is not a sin to drink alcohol. Scripture nowhere condemns or prohibits consuming moderate levels of alcohol. Case in point—Jesus drank wine.
In Leviticus 11:27, God forbids Moses and his followers to eat swine “because it parts the hoof but does not chew the cud.” Furthermore, the prohibition goes, “Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch; they are unclean to you.” That message is later reinforced in Deuteronomy.
Jesus ate figs, which we know from the fact that on his way to Jerusalem, he reached for a fig tree but it was not the season for figs.
His fast of forty days makes this a holy season of self-denial. By rejecting the devil's temptations he has taught us to rid ourselves of the hidden corruption of evil, and so to share his paschal meal in purity of heart, until we come to its fulfillment in the promised land of heaven.
Aramaic is best known as the language Jesus spoke. It is a Semitic language originating in the middle Euphrates. In 800-600 BC it spread from there to Syria and Mesopotamia. The oldest preserved inscriptions are from this period and written in Old Aramaic.
The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you. And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.
Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
You may eat any animal that has a split hoof divided in two and that chews the cud. However, of those that chew the cud or that have a split hoof completely divided you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the coney. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a split hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you.
The gospels of Mark, Luke, and Matthew place the meal during the Jewish Passover on the day of Unleavened Bread.