Isn’t it true that Jesus did not have to eat the Passover lamb because he had no sin?
Question:
I recently read your article "Was Jesus a Vegetarian?". There is only a few things I would like to comment on.
First thing, I eat fish and am not in any way involved with PETA. But Jesus would not have had to eat the Passover lamb, the lamb was killed as an offering because of sin, the blood represented the cleansing of sins. Jesus never did sin, therefore never would have had to kill a lamb for Passover, and since He did not have to offer the sin offering, He would not have had to eat it. That was only for those who offered the sacrifice to eat the lamb. Now, yes, He did eat the broiled fish to prove He was not a ghost but that is my two cents on Him eating lamb.
Oh and one other thing, the original diet was a fruit, nut and grain diet, not vegetables. Read in Genesis.
That is all thanks.
Answer:
While lambs were used in sin offerings, such as in Leviticus 4:32, the Passover lamb was not a sin offering. A sin-offering was only offered (killed) by a priest. The Passover lamb was prepared by each family.
"Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever" (Exodus 12:21-24).
That is why Jesus could tell his disciples, who were not priests, to prepare the Passover meal.
"Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. And Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it"" (Luke 22:7-8).
That Jesus did eat the Passover is clearly stated. "Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, "Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?"" (Mark 14:12). To not eat it was a sin. ""... observe the Passover to the LORD. 'In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight, they shall observe it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 'They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break a bone of it; according to all the statute of the Passover they shall observe it. 'But the man who is clean and is not on a journey, and yet neglects to observe the Passover, that person shall then be cut off from his people, for he did not present the offering of the LORD at its appointed time. That man will bear his sin" (Numbers 9:10-13). Since Jesus did not sin, it is clear that Jesus ate the Passover.
To claim that sinless people were exempted from eating is a claim without basis in the Scriptures. Upon what verse can you draw that conclusion? But even something that was for sin -- baptism -- was still performed by Jesus, who had no sin, for the purpose of fulfilling God's commands. "Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?" But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him" (Matthew 3:13-15). So even if it were possible to prove that eating the Passover lamb was optional for sinless people, it could not prove that Jesus skipped it because he fulfilled all righteousness.
In regards to the original diet, the Bible states: "And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so" (Genesis 1:29-30). While changing the diet God told Noah, "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs." (Genesis 9:3). So yes, the diet did include vegetables.
