If Jesus Walks Among Us Today. By Dr Chapman Chen
- Chapman Chen
- 8 minutes ago
- 2 min read
“I desire compassion, not sacrifice,” (Matt 9:13, 12:7; cf. Hosea 6:6), famously declared Jesus the Vegan Christ. Should He return among us in human form, He would not be distant, ceremonial, or politically neutral. He would be everywhere that suffering cries out for mercy.
He would enter factory farms, gas chambers, transport trucks, laboratories, and slaughterhouses — rescuing chickens, piglets, lambs, calves, and every creature condemned by human convenience. He would stand beside activists at vigils outside abattoirs, comforting both the animals within and the grieving humans without. He would organise large-scale rescues, confront systems built on exploitation, document what industries strive to keep hidden, and even use covert cameras to expose the hidden horrors inside abattoirs — fully prepared to face arrest and legal consequences for the sake of the voiceless or “the least of these”.
He would debate pro-meat journalists, hostile commentators, religious authorities, government officials, laboratory experimenters, physicians, and nutritionists who defend animal consumption. On television and online platforms, he would speak with clarity and moral authority, challenging the narratives that normalise violence while appealing to humanity’s dormant compassion.
He would march with the oppressed, inspire peaceful civil resistance, and help build a culture of mercy rather than domination. He would promote vegan culinary art, sustainable plant agriculture, and compassionate living — demonstrating that joy, health, and abundance do not require killing. He would sing songs of kindness, create films that awaken conscience, and use every medium available to reach hearts rather than merely win arguments.
He would invite the public to free, nourishing vegan meals funded by generous supporters, just as he once fed the multitudes with five loaves and two fish-weed snacks. He would establish schools that teach reverence for life, care for the earth, and service to God through serving His creatures. Children would learn not only mathematics and language, but compassion as a foundational virtue.
Such actions would not go unchallenged. He would almost certainly be arrested, prosecuted, and imprisoned for disrupting powerful economic interests — just as he was condemned for challenging the Temple establishment. Yet his witness would ignite a moral awakening. As more people recognised the truth of his message, public opinion would shift, and pressure would mount for his release. His apparent defeat would become the catalyst for transformation.
In this sense, he would resemble today’s most courageous compassionate animal advocates — those willing to risk reputation, freedom, and safety for the sake of the voiceless. The assault on the Temple itself may be understood as an act of direct action against a sacrificial system that profited from animal suffering, provoking the authorities whose power and revenue he threatened, leading them to plot His death (cf. Akers 2020).
In short, a truly incarnate Christ in the modern world would be recognised not by spectacle or political dominance, but by radical compassion in action — standing wherever the innocent suffer, confronting injustice without hatred, and inviting humanity into a higher way of living. For wherever the innocent suffer, there He would stand — not in power, but in compassion, not to condemn the world, but to heal it.
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