Lord Jesus was vegetarian

I am convinced that Lord Jesus Christ was vegetarian and this is an article about ite


JESUS CHRIST AND HIS APOSTLES WERE VEGETARIANS



The following essay proves that Jesus and his apostles had a vegetarian diet, and therefore the Christian world should be vegetarian, but something happened down the road that things were changed.

From the beginning of creation God gave humans a vegetarian diet, which was perfect then and it is still perfect today, and the knowledge related to it is also perfect.

sri-bhagavan uvaca

imam vivasvate yogam

proktavan aham avyayam

vivasvan manave praha

manur iksvakave 'bravit

“The Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, said: I instructed this imperishable

science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu,

the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Iksvaku.”- Bg.4.1. (My underlined).

The following is an excerpt from a room conversation of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada with a Sanskrit Professor, other guests and disciples, February 12, 1975, in Mexico City.

“Guest (4): Lord Krishna says in Gita that, to Arjuna, that when Sürya is uttarayana, people who die, they'll go to Candraloka, and come back.

Prabhupada: Yes. So you quote that. Then it is perfect. You don't require to make research. Your research is no good because your senses are imperfect. I have no proper vision. If the light is stopped, I cannot see. This is the position of my eyes. So what is the use of my seeing? It is conditional. So one who is conditional, how he can give perfect knowledge? One who is not conditional, he can give perfect knowledge. Therefore we have to approach somebody who is not conditioned. Then we get perfect knowledge.

Guest (5): I have great difficulty with the meaning of the term "perfect knowledge." Could you...

Prabhupada: Perfect knowledge means what you say, it is correct. There is no mistake.

Guest (5): Under any and all circumstances.

Prabhupada: Yes. That is perfect knowledge, not like the scientists. They change: "Yes, it was this. Now it is now changed." This is not perfect knowledge. They simply change. Therefore we say, mudhas. Perfect knowledge is that what you say, that is correct forever. That is perfect. Just like man dies. If somebody says, "Man dies," it is perfect knowledge. It is correct forever.”

In Bhagavad-gita the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, tells us what kind of foodstuffs can be offered to Him:

patram puspam phalam to yam

yo me bhaktya prayacchati

tad aham bhakty-upahrtam

asnami prayatatmanah



“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.”-Bg. 9.26.



Similarly, in the Bible, at the beginning of creation, in Genesis, we find that God gives for food a vegetarian diet to humanity:

“And God said: Behold I have given you every herb yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree seed yielding; it should be your meat.”

The question, therefore, is, if it is perfect, why to change it?

In the purport to verse 9.26 of Bhagavad-Gita Srila Prabhupada comments:

“Here Lord Krishna, having established that He is the only enjoyer, the primeval Lord and the real object of all sacrificial offerings, reveals what types of sacrifices He desires to be offered. If one wishes to engage in devotional service to the Supreme in order to be purified and to reach the goal of life--the transcendental loving service of God--then one should find out what the Lord desires of him. One who loves Krishna will give Him whatever He wants, and he avoids offering anything which is undesirable or unasked. Thus meat, fish and eggs should not be offered to Krishna. If He desired such things as offerings, He would have said so. Instead He clearly requests that a leaf, fruit, flowers and water be given to Him, and He says of this offering, “I will accept it.” Therefore, we should understand that He will not accept meat, fish and eggs. Vegetables, grains, fruits, milk and water are the proper foods for human beings and are prescribed by Lord Krishna Himself. Whatever else we eat cannot be offered to Him, since He will not accept it. Thus we cannot be acting on the level of loving devotion if we offer such foods.”

Many of the early Christians were vegetarians, like St. Clement of Alexandria who wrote about the apostle Matthew, “It is far better to be happy than to have your bodies act as graveyards for animals. Accordingly, the apostle Matthew partook of seeds, nuts and vegetables, without flesh.”

The apostle Matthew was a personal associate of Jesus Christ and his disciple, and the author of the first book of the New Testament, on which others are based. That he was a close and personal disciple of Jesus and a vegetarian tells us a lot, as we will see.

Lord Jesus Christ and his apostles were vegetarians

Some Christians quote from the Bible the following passage trying to prove that meat eating was allowed by God and even encouraged, but the fact is that this passage only proves that Jesus Christ and his apostles were vegetarians. This is from Acts of the Apostles (10) and the actor is Peter:

9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew night unto the city. Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:

10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance.

11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners and let down to the earth:

12 Wherein were all manner of four footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.

13 And there came a voice to him. Rise Peter; kill and eat.

14 But Peter said. Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.

15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time. What God hath cleansed, that call thou not common.

16 This was done trice: and the vessel was received again into heaven.

The Scene

You have to consider the roll Peter played as disciple and follower of Jesus, it cannot be underestimated. He was told by Jesus, “And I say also unto thee. That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church…And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven…” (Mathew 16.18-19).

The following is a crucial point to consider, the Acts of the Apostles happened long time after Jesus had passed away, and here we find Peter saying, “…I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” And here it does not refer that he followed a kosher diet for quadrupeds and birds are included as unclean. Peter followed a vegetarian diet. Therefore, it means that Peter being a close disciple of Jesus followed the instructions and the same diet, vegetarian, of his Master, Jesus Christ. No more no less. Otherwise, why should he do any different?

The following were considered common and unclean by Jesus Christ’s chosen apostle: “…all manner of four footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.”

You can find further down in the same chapter Peter speaking:

40 Him God rose up the third day, and showed him openly;

41 Not to all people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. (Underline added).

So, Peter had said that he “has never eaten anything that is common or unclean”. He ate and drank with Jesus after resurrection. Therefore, the conclusion is that they didn’t eat anything common or unclean namely: all manner of four footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.

It is hard to believe that God wouldn’t know what He was doing and that He would change His mind. If you are to follow Lord Jesus Christ, which diet are you supposed to follow “Thou shall not kill” or “Kill and eat”?

In the Bible, when meat eating is mentioned it is considered impure and it is not desirable by the Lord, rather it is rejected by the Lord and there are many examples in the Bible of this fact.

Matthew and John were direct disciples of Jesus. The portions of the New Testament where meat eating is encouraged were written by Luke and Mark who were disciples of Paul; they were not disciples of Jesus. Not even Paul had a personal acquaintance with Jesus.

According to Paul own words as a preaching tactic he became to the Jews as a Jew and to the gentiles (“To them who are without law…”) as a gentile (…as without law), and he also adopted the habit to eat indiscriminately.

While we find evidences that the leading Apostles Matthew, Peter and James, who were with Lord Jesus, were vegetarians, Paul promotes a different diet.

Peter said: I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean (“…all manner of four footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.”).

Paul said: “Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake.” -1 Corinthians 10.25.

Even if God Himself sends to some perfectly pure foodstuffs like the manna, still they won’t be satisfied and will lust after unclean stuffs. Just to satisfy their tongues they are ready to kill innocent animals, which would feel as much pain as any human being.

Lord Jesus Christ didn’t follow the diet enunciated by Paul. Therefore, why to change the vegetarian diet?