Mark 7:18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.”
(In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)
It's not about washing hands. Why would you ignore what Jesus said?
Also Peter was Jewish and had a hard time adjusting to the freedom he has as a Christian.
Acts 10:13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15 The voice spoke to him a second time,
“Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
This shows the dietary laws were only for Jews, NOT Christians.
I understand what you write and for me it was a problem some time ago but the whole discussion in Mark 7 began because the Pharisees accused the disciples of eating bread without washing their hands. Jesus corrected their man-made tradition, not God’s law about clean and unclean animals. Nothing in the passage mentions pigs, shellfish, or Leviticus 11. The argument is about washing hands, and Jesus explains that defilement comes from the heart, not from touching food with unwashed hands. Because the context is only about human tradition, the older translations and the Greek text simply describe the physical process of food passing through the stomach. They never say that Jesus declared all foods clean.
This is why the KJV, ASV, and all Greek manuscripts say nothing about Jesus abolishing the food laws. The modern line “Thus he declared all foods clean” does not exist in the original text. It was added by translators in recent versions who believed Jesus removed the clean–unclean distinction, and they inserted their interpretation into the verse itself.
Here are the examples.
KJV (Mark 7:18 to 19)
“because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats.”
No added sentence. No comment about clean or unclean.
ASV (Mark 7:19)
“because it goeth not into his heart, but into his belly, and goeth out into the draught.”
Again, no added sentence, no change to food laws.
Now look at the modern versions where the added sentences appear. These are the words the translators inserted. They are not in the Greek and not in the historic English translations.
NIV
“
(In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)”
NLT
“
(By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable.)”
ESV
“
Thus he declared all foods clean.”
CSB
“
(Thus he declared all foods clean.)”
NET
“
(This means all foods are clean.)”
These sentences were
not spoken by Jesus, and they do not appear in the earlier translations. They are editorial additions inserted to support a doctrinal interpretation. They change the meaning of the passage and make it appear as if Jesus abolished the food laws, even though the entire conversation in Mark 7 is only about washing hands.
When you compare the older translations with the newer ones, you see exactly where the added sentences appear. The KJV and ASV faithfully translate what Jesus said. The modern versions insert interpretive comments inside the verse itself. This makes it clear that the claim “Jesus declared all foods clean” does not come from Scripture, but from modern editors, and the context of Mark 7 never dealt with abolishing clean and unclean animals but only with the Pharisees’ tradition of handwashing. the fact also that Peter did hold on to the clean and unclean laws is important, the disciples followed Jesus and all his teachings.