Summary: Peter says that Jesus “Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21-24 KJV), which is an allusion to Isaiah 53 (the Suffering Servant passage). Based on this verse, and because God and Jesus forgive without requiring bloodshed (2 Samuel 12; Matt. 19:16-29; John 8:11; John 8; Luke 15), and because everyone is responsible for their own deeds (Deut. 24:16, 30:19; Joshua 24:15; Prov.16:9; Exod 32:31–33; Num 35:33; 2 Kgs 14:6; Jer 31:29; Ezek 18:4, 20; Ps 49:7–8), Jesus’ crucifixion is not a substitutionary sacrifice but a call for us to follow His example, pick up His vegan cross, and share in His righteous sufferings and resurrection (cf. Rillera 2024:243-4, 251). Thanks to Jesus’ valorous assault on the Temple, which freed the innocent creatures therein, and led to His death by disrupting the lucrative income stream of the Chief Priests and Scribes, animal sacrifice as a religious ceremony came to an end. However, animal sacrifice in the form of animal abuse for food, clothing, labour and entertainment has continued. “I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice,” declares Jesus. We must honour Jesus’ self-costly love for animals by carrying forward His unfinished mission of animal liberation.
1. Jesus’ Death is No Substitutionary Atonement
According to Andrew Remington Rillera’s 2024 book, Lamb of the Free, neither animal sacrifices in the OT nor Jesus’ death in the NT is substitutionary atonement. In the OT, most animal sacrifices are non-atoning, e.g., the regular burnt offerings (to attract God), the well-being sacrifices (shared meals with God), and the Passover (to commemorate Exodus) (Rillera 2024:27). Kipper is atoning but only in the sense of cleansing the sanctuary of ritual impurities. Based on 1 Peter 2:21-24 as an allusion to Isaiah 53 (the Suffering Servant passage), Jesus’ crucifixion is not a substitutionary sacrifice but a call upon us to follow His example, pick up His cross, and share in His righteous sufferings and resurrection (Rillera 2024:243-4, 251). This is a progressive interpretation for instead of giving us a free lunch as claimed by Paul (Romans 7:4; 10:10), Jesus expects us to “join with Him in that sort of self-giving service of others” before we can share in His eternal life (Rillera 2024:251).
Rillera’s (2024) problems are as follows. Concerning the OT, he dismisses the 5 great prophets’ and even Jesus’ opposition to animal sacrifice (Isaiah 1:11; Jeremiah 7:22-23; Hosea 6:6; Amos 5:21-22; Micah 6:6-8; Matt. 9:13, 12:7), and the possibility that those atrocious animal sacrificial rituals are interpolations inserted by “the lying pen of the scribes” (Jer. 8:8 NIV). Concerning Jesus’ crucifixion, Rillera’s stance is self-contradictory. On the one hand, he asserts that Jesus’ death is NOT a sacrifice (Rillera 2024:243). On the other hand, he contends that Jesus is “the ultimate Passover Lamb” (Rillera 2024:196, 285), thereby endorsing Paul, the anti-vegan apostate's, distortion of Jesus' martyrdom for animal liberation (Akers 2020) into a new form of blood voodoo, succeeding the animal sacrificial cult in the OT.
2. God and Christ Forgive without Requiring Bloodshed
The idea of Jesus believing that God demands His blood to pardon humanity is incompatible with Jesus’ teachings about God as a merciful being (Luke 15:11-32). As asserted by Jesus Himself in Matthew 19:16-29 and John 8:11, the key for sinners to receive forgiveness and attain eternal life is to keep the Commandments, to help the poor, to confess, to repent, and to stop sinning. No blood of someone else is required. The sins of King David (2 Samuel 12), the adulterous woman (John 8), and the prodigal son (Luke 15), which are all forgiven without bloodshed, are cases in point.
3. Each Person Carries their own Cross
Further, the Torah clearly states that everyone has free will as gifted by God and is thus supposed to be responsible for their own deeds (Deuteronomy 30:19; Joshua 24:15; Proverbs 16:9), and their own sins (Deut 24:16; cf. Exod 32:31–33; Num 35:33; 2 Kgs 14:6; Jer 31:29; Ezek 18:4, 20; Ps 49:7–8). No one can die in lieu of anybody else (Ezekiel 18:20).
4. Paul: No Bloodshed, No Remission
However, Paul the anti-vegan apostate comes along and stresses “No bloodshed, no remission” (Hebrews 9:13-22 NKJV). He repeatedly teaches that Jesus died for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3, Rom. 5:6-8, 2 Cor. 5:21); and that Jesus’ blood cleanses us from sin and brings forgiveness (Eph. 1:7, Rom. 3:25, 5:9, Col. 1:20). The cannibalistic Eucharist with Jesus’ blood and flesh as wine and bread (Mark 14:22-25; Matthew 26:26- 29; Luke 22:15-20; John 6:52-56) comes straight from Paul almost word-for-word (1 Corinthians 10:16-17, 11:23-26; cf. Tabor 2012:15). The original Eucharist was a vegan thanksgiving Messianic Banquet, subsequently transformed into a bizarre, abstruse, and sacrificial cult by Paul (cf. Tabor 2012:14-15, 44-47, 148-151).
5. The Vegan Christ’s Temple Raid as Direct Action
“I desire COMPASSION, rather than sacrifice,” declares the Vegan Christ (Matthew 9:13 NASB). In emptying the Temple of innocent creatures about to be slaughtered for sacrifice, and in calling the Temple-turned-butcher-shop "a den of murderers" (Mark 11:16, Luke 20:46, Matt. 21:12-13 KJV), Jesus debunked the evil and fraudulent nature of the animal sacrificial cult and disrupted the chief priests' and scribes' lucrative revenue stream, who immediately afterwards conspired to destroy Him (Mark 11:15-18), eventually leading to His arrest, trial, and crucifixion (cf. Keith Akers 2000, pp.117-118).
6. The Revolution Has Not Yet Succeeded
"The revolution has not yet succeeded; comrades must continue to strive." These were the final words of Dr. Sun Yat-sen (1927), and they resonate deeply with Jesus’ own unfinished mission. Thanks to Jesus’ valiant assault on the Temple, animal sacrifice came to an end after the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. However, the fight for animal liberation and global veganism—Jesus’ true revolutionary vision—remains unfulfilled. 3 trillion innocent creatures of God are murdered on an annual basis. And most mainstream Christians are still non-vegan or even anti-vegan. As followers of the Vegan Christ, we must embrace His revolutionary zeal, carry His vegan cross, and work to abolish all violence against animals.
The time has come. Put down our evil knives; Follow the Vegan Christ!
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