Jesus Did Not Eat the Passover Lamb! By Dr. Chapman Chen

Contrary to many theologians’ belief, e.g., Thomas Aquinas, Pope Benedict XVI, Craig Keener, Scott Hahn, and N. T. Wright, Jesus did not consume the Passover lamb. The Gospel of John explicitly narrates that Jesus hosted the Last Supper on the Preparation of the Passover (John 13:1). (In the Jewish calendar, a new day begins at sunset.) During the Last Supper, bread instead of animal flesh was blessed by Jesus (Luke 2:14-20; Mark 14:22-24; Matt. 26:26-29). Throughout the entire NT, nowhere is it ever mentioned that Jesus ate lamb.

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According to the Gospel of John, besides the Last Supper, Jesus’ subsequent arrest in Gethsemane, trial before Caiaphas, transfer to the Roman governor, crucifixion, death, and burial also occurred on the same day —Preparation Day of the Passover, which was Friday (14 Nisan) — what we now commemorate as Good Friday (John 18:28; 19:14, 31, 42). The chief priests had to rush through all these things within one day because all Jews were supposed to stop working and eat the sacrificial lamb at home on the Passover night (Exodus 12:6–10) (cf. Vujicic 2013). Importantly, the “Preparation Day” (Nisan 14) was the day before the High Sabbath (Nisan 15). And in that particular year, the High Sabbath fell on a Saturday, which is why John 19:31 says: “for that Sabbath was a high day” — meaning it was both the weekly Sabbath, and the annual festival Sabbath (1st day of Unleavened Bread) (Leviticus 23:6–7; John 19:31).

The other three Gospels claim that the Last Supper was the Passover meal (e.g., Matthew 26:17–20; Mark 14:12–17; Luke 22:7–16), but like John, they also concede that Jesus was crucified on the Preparation Day (Matt. 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54). They are thus self-contradictory and unreliable as far as Jesus’ taking of the Passover meal is concerned (cf. Vujicic 2013).

Above all, as a martyr for animal liberation who declared, “I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice!” (Matt. 9: 13, 12:7; cf. Eusebius, Proof of the Gospel, Book III, Ch. 5 https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/eusebius_de_05_book3.htm), Jesus would not have had the heart to eat the innocent sacrificial lamb. For in emptying the Temple of the animals about to be slaughtered (John 2:14–16; Matt. 21:12–13), and in calling the Temple “a den of murderers” (Matt. 21:13; cf. Jer. 7:11), He disrupted the lucrative income stream of the chief priests and scribes, who immediately afterwards plotted to destroy Him (Mark 11:18; Luke 19:47; Keith 2020, 113-134).

Moreover, Jesus’ baptizer, John the Baptist (Luke 1:80; Matt. 3:4; Slavonic Josephus, Jewish War  https://archive.org/details/bwb_KR-555-383/page/30/mode/2up?q=%22animal+food%22), and Jesus' twelve disciples (Eusebius, Demonstratio Evangelica [Proof of the Gospel], Book 3, Ch.5 https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/eusebius_de_05_book3.htm)— including His own biological brother and successor, James the Just (Hegesippus apud Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 2.23 https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/hegesippus.html)— were all vegan.

In conclusion, for those who uphold the New Testament’s authority, John’s testimony is enough to demonstrate that Jesus did not celebrate the Passover that night, nor did he consume lamb. As such, claims that Jesus partook in lamb are incorrect. And if failing to eat lamb makes one a transgressor of the Law, then so too would be John the Baptist, James the Just (cf. Vujicic 2013) and all the other disciples of Jesus. No, Jesus is the good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11), unlike those wicked priests who want the sheep to lay down their lives for them. #VeganChrist #VeganGod #VeganChurch #VeganTheology