Jesus Challenging a System of Bloodshed. By Kameron Waters. Paraphrased by Dr. Chapman Chen
- Chapman Chen
- 6 hours ago
- 2 min read
This Easter, many are discussing The Chosen’s portrayal of the Last Supper — yet few seem to wonder: where’s the lamb? Some insist a Seder without it is unimaginable — and even now, countless lambs are killed annually for both Passover and Easter customs. Yet during Jesus’ last meal — the most significant of all Passovers — there’s no lamb present. Not in Matthew’s account. Nor in Mark’s. Not in Luke. Nor John. Could that absence speak volumes? Was it a simple oversight… or was He making a deliberate shift? This question might just change our understanding entirely.
Can we picture what Jesus witnessed in Jerusalem that week? The temple wasn’t simply a sanctuary — it operated as a massive butchery. Jewish historian Josephus describes Passover not merely as a festival, but as a massive slaughter. He reports figures of up to 256,000 lambs killed within seven days — that’s over 20,000 every hour. And Jesus didn’t just offer teachings that week — He made a dramatic challenge.
According to Mark, Jesus visited the temple the day before, as if surveying the scene. Then He returned, overturned the money tables, and halted the traffic of animals entirely, disrupting temple operations for a full day. “My Father’s house,” He declared, “was intended as a place of prayer — but you’ve made it a den of robbers.” But what did He truly mean? Was He simply criticizing the merchants… or was He denouncing and debunking a whole system of ritual bloody violence disguised as devotion?
(Kameron Waters is the co-director of Christspiracy.) #VeganChrist #VeganGod #VeganTheology #VeganChurch
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