Jesus is Vegan – An Interview Given by Prof. James Tabor. Ed. Dr. Chapman Chen

1. Introduction:

In a 22 Dec. 2022 interview with Derek Lambert, host of the MythVisionPodcast, Prof. James Daniel Tabor discusses the rarely mentioned argument—aside from scholars like Keith Akers and a few others—that Jesus adhered to a vegan diet, avoiding both meat and fish. Although there are a few passages in the New Testament gospels, just three in total, that suggest otherwise, Tabor believes these texts are either misinterpreted or are later additions lacking authenticity. It's widely accepted that Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, and his brother James, who was raised in the same household, never ate meat.

Yet, Jesus is often portrayed as an exception. Tabor suspects this narrative shift can be traced back to Paul, as he has shaped many of the doctrines we now associate with Christianity. Paul’s view on dietary practices, labeling those who abstain as “weak in faith,” has contributed to this misconception. In another video, "How Paul Created Christianity," as well as in his book Paul and Jesus, Tabor explores Paul's stance on God's care for animals, particularly his rhetorical question about whether God cares for oxen, which has significant implications. Tabor argues that Jesus was, in fact, a “back to Eden” figure who consistently emphasized the ideal state from the beginning, as seen in his teachings within the various strands of Judaism of his time. Over the years, Tabor has observed that dietary discussions often provoke intense emotions, much like debates on religion and politics. He encourages people to approach this evidence with an open mind. He also recommends Keith Akers’ work on this subject, both his books and articles, which can be found on his website, particularly his post titled "Was Jesus a Vegetarian?"

James Daniel Tabor is a Biblical scholar and Professor of Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he has taught since 1989 and served as Chair from 2004–14.

Article link: https://www.vegantheology.net/post/jesus-is-vegan-an-interview-given-by-prof-james-tabor-ed-dr-chapman-chen

The video of the interview is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ5hT_Gv5-U&t=126s . Below please find my paraphrase of its content.

2. The Vegan Genesis 1

Is there any evidence that Jesus' followers, and possibly even Jesus himself, were vegetarians, who avoided meat, correct? They didn’t consume living creatures, correct? I would go back to the beginning. The answer is yes, but let me go back. Why not begin in Genesis 1, and then we can move forward?

In Genesis 1, humans are ideally given the diet from Genesis—Genesis 1:29: ‘Every tree’s fruit, every seed, and so on, I give to you for food.’ So, according to Genesis, and keep in mind, whether you interpret it literally or as mythology, it’s the narrative Jesus grew up with. He quotes Genesis when discussing marriage: ‘From the beginning it was not so, the two shall become one,’ and so on. He is quite familiar with this text. This was the ideal.

Then, in Genesis 9, God grants Noah and his children permission to eat meat for the first time. This is given as a concession. You can see from the way it’s stated: ‘As I gave you the green herb, now I give you this.’ We’re not entirely sure why this change occurred. Is it editorial? Is it due to a redactor or something else? But the introduction of meat-eating happens here.

3. Animal-Eating in the Wilderness Upon Exodus

Now, when Israel is in the wilderness, when God brings them back to an isolated setting—these are Bible stories—they return to vegetarianism. They consume a plant that produces something called manna. We think it might be some sticky desert plant, but there are different theories about it. Then they start crying out for meat because, of course, the culture they come from is a meat-eating one. They remember Egypt, saying, 'We recall Egypt and all the wonderful meat. Can we have meat?' The text presents this as a disappointment. Moses tells God, 'They're complaining; they want meat.' And God responds, 'I will give them meat, not for a day, not for a week, but for a month, until it comes out of their noses.' This isn’t exactly gentle. The idea is, 'You want meat? You’ll get it.'

I'll share a related story about David Koresh, the Branch Davidian leader. I was involved in Waco; maybe we can discuss that one day. I have a tape where David is leading a Bible study, and a woman calls in. They’re at home, and Rachel, his wife, answers, 'Hello.' You can hear on the tape, 'David, so-and-so is on the phone.' The woman says she was tempted and opened a can of pork and beans and ate some. They followed kosher laws and didn’t eat pork. David says, 'Tell her to eat the whole can.' The idea was, 'If you wanted it, eat it until you're sick of it.' It just came to mind, and I found it interesting.

Wow. Anyway, they are given pigeons. Pigeons or doves fly over, and there are so many of them that they cover the desert floor. The people are so desperate for meat that they don’t even wait to cook it and begin vomiting and becoming sick.

4. Daniel the Vegan Athlete

Next, fast forward to Daniel. He is in captivity, among the Babylonians, and offered the king's delicacies, what’s known as the potbog of the king. You can imagine the cuisine at Nebuchadnezzar’s table in this story. But Daniel says, ‘No, no, we don’t eat that.’ Likely it was for kosher reasons, but he asks instead for the Genesis seed diet—the word used is 'seeds.' He requests seeds and water. The response is, 'You’ll get frail and hungry.’ But in the story, they actually thrive. So once again, we see Jews in exile trying to follow the Genesis ideal. It’s like a recurring thread.

5. God Says “This House of Prayer” via Jeremiah

Then you turn to Jeremiah, which is really interesting. They discover the Book of the Law, according to the story. You find this in both Kings and Jeremiah. In Jeremiah chapter 7, Jeremiah mocks them about the temple. He says, ‘You all say, “The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord,” yet you engage in all these immoral acts and make sacrifices.’ And he says, ‘On the day I led you out of Egypt,’—this is God speaking, Jeremiah quoting—‘I did not instruct you to offer sacrifices. I simply said, “Obey my voice and follow me,” like a relationship.’

Then Jeremiah says, ‘And this House of Prayer,’—again, Jeremiah quoting God—‘This House of Prayer, called by my name, you have turned into a den of thieves.’ Now, before we go to Jesus, many listeners might think, ‘Wait, Jeremiah said that? I thought it was Jesus.’ But no, Jesus is quoting Jeremiah.

6. A Den of Animal Shredders

If you examine the Hebrew—I brought my Hebrew Bible along, but I won’t open it now. I’ve marked it in case we need to check, and maybe you can post a screenshot later—if you look at the word 'thieves,' it’s essentially a verb, 'peraz,' which refers to a den, like a cave, a wild animal’s lair. It’s not exactly 'thieves.' 'Thieves' is a possible translation since they rip and tear things, but it’s more like 'You’ve become a lair of those who shred, rip apart, tear the necks of animals, and cause a lot of bloodshed.' I believe this is referring to sacrifices.

Why does he call it a 'House of Prayer'? Because in Isaiah 56, Isaiah had previously stated, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.' It’s universal and very interesting. Jesus also quotes this. So, he combines Isaiah 56 and Jeremiah 7, and we’ll return to this in a moment.

"What is Jesus saying now? A house of prayer for all people.

7. Solomon’s Vegan Prayer

Now we turn to Solomon, and this part gets quite interesting. In Kings—Second Kings or First Kings, I believe—yes, because David dies, I think it’s First Kings. Yes, it’s chapter six or seven, around that area. Solomon dedicates the temple. Now, if you read Solomon’s prayer, just the prayer—not the thousands of animals sacrificed, which could be a later addition—he doesn’t mention sacrifices at all. Instead, he says, ‘A foreigner will come from a distant land, stand before God, and his prayer will be heard.’ It’s all about prayer.

Secondly, I believe it’s Solomon’s prayer. Yes, I thought it was First Kings, but it might be First Kingdom. It’s chapter six, as it also provides that timeline.

8. Burnt Offerings Inserted into the Vegan Isaiah

Now, concerning Isaiah 56, this is very interesting. If you read Isaiah 56—and I often do this with my students, and I should probably just open it and show you how it works—because when people forge texts, which I believe this part is, they tend to add things. Ancient interpolators weren’t very clever. Modern interpolators are much smarter; they know how to do it so you can’t easily tell. For instance, if you recall Josephus’ famous statement about Jesus: ‘He was a man, a wise man, if it is lawful to call him a man.’ That’s an interpolation.

I give this example to my students and say, 'Read it. See if you can cross out what sounds like it was added, then read the text without those parts.' We now have an Arabic version without those interpolations, and it reads exactly as you’d expect after crossing out the additions—something like, ‘Jesus, a wise man, a teacher,’ without anything like ‘He was the Son of God,’ or similar claims.

So, in Isaiah 56, it says, ‘The foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, minister to Him, and love Him,’ which is similar to Solomon’s prayer. ‘Everyone who keeps the Sabbath and holds fast to my covenant, I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer.’ Then there’s an interpolation: ‘Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will all be accepted.’ Remove that, and it flows: ‘For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.’ See what happened? Someone read that and thought, ‘Okay, House of Prayer, but let’s add something between the verses about sacrifices,’ even though the two verses flow perfectly in Hebrew and English without it.

9. The False Pen of the Scribes

And that's the only reference to sacrifices in this chapter. Now, Jeremiah is aware of this, and though it’s debated, Jeremiah says, ‘The false pen of the scribes has made the Torah a lie.’ That’s one translation. Naturally, people are uncomfortable with that translation because the Torah isn’t supposed to be a lie. But what if Jeremiah had a version of the Torah more like the Shapira scroll, which I’d like to discuss in the future? People can check this out in the current winter issue of BAR magazine (2021-22), where I have an article on the Shapira scroll.

But what if Jeremiah is correct, that originally the Torah didn’t include sacrifices and was more ideal? Then you look at the Messianic chapter, Isaiah 11. This refers to the Davidic Messiah, whether it's Jesus or not doesn't matter—we’ll get to Jesus later. What’s the final vision? The wolf lies with the lamb—this could be metaphorical—but then it says, 'They will not hurt or destroy.' The Hebrew word 'Shakhat' means 'destroy,' and in this context, it refers to the slaughtering of animals. 'They will not hurt or destroy' on my Holy Mountain, which is the temple, implying no more sacrifices.

This concept also appears in Isaiah 65 and Isaiah 66: ‘To this man will I look.’ What are you going to offer me, all these sacrifices? Now, the counter to this view is that while we see an Eden ideal, a Wilderness ideal, this thread of idealism runs throughout the Hebrew Bible. Daniel is ideal because he’s following God. The Messianic age is ideal. Solomon’s prayer is ideal. But then people come in and add all the rivers of blood—the sacrifices.

10. “I Desire Mercy, NOT Sacrifice,” Says God and Christ

The usual counterargument is that 'God loves sacrifices, but He just didn’t like that they were insincere. When people offer them with wickedness, they are unacceptable. If they cleaned up their lives, God would appreciate the sacrifices.' But if you read Amos, Hosea, and particularly Jesus' favorite scripture, Hosea 6:6, ‘Go and learn what this means,’—it says, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ People often interpret it to mean, 'I desire sacrifices, but with mercy and love.’ That’s not what it says. It clearly says, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'

11. What God Requires of you in the Vegan Amos

So, in Amos, we read, ‘Shall I come with my firstborn son?’ Some forms of Christianity interpreted this as, ‘I will offer my son as atonement for my sin.’ But God says, ‘No, no, no. What does the Lord require of you? To walk humbly, to do justice, and to love mercy.’ You get these strong, powerful statements from the prophets.

12. The Money-Making Priestly Strand vs The Vegan Prophets

 So, Jira, it’s possible that there are two different strands. One is the Priestly strand, often referred to as 'P' in source criticism, and this group is all about sacrifices. And it’s a major money-making operation, believe me. Temples essentially function as banks. People bring offerings, and money flows in. Think of Herod’s temple. Jesus even calls Herod a fox: 'Go tell that fox.' Jesus wasn’t a fan of Herod Antipas, who had killed his cousin John.

13. John the Vegan Baptist

Now, when we turn to the time of Jesus, what do we find? We find that John the Baptist didn’t eat meat, drink wine, or even eat bread. One passage from the Q source mentions he didn’t eat bread. In the Slavonic Josephus—which is found in the back of the Loeb volumes, even though it’s Russian, later, and so on—they discuss John’s diet. This makes sense. Why wouldn’t John eat bread? He wouldn’t even eat the Passover lamb, and he also wouldn’t eat the bread baked in Jewish homes for Shabbat or festivals because it doesn’t grow naturally. He wanted to live like manna, similar to the manna from the wilderness.

People often say, 'But wait, didn’t John the Baptist eat locusts? That’s meat, it’s a creature.' However, the Ebionite texts—such as the Gospel of the Hebrews, preserved by Jerome, Origen, and others—mention a Greek word, 'akrīs,' and a very similar word, 'akris,' differing by only one letter. One means 'locust,' and the other means 'honey cake,' which is much more like manna.

14. The Vegan Gospel of the Hebrews

The Ebionite gospels—the Ebionites were Jewish followers of Jesus—reject Paul, deny the Virgin birth, and say Jesus was a human born to Joseph, but either way, fully human. They were vegetarians and believed sacrifices were never meant to be part of worship. So you actually have a movement from James and his followers that is vegetarian and rejects sacrifices.

And so, you see this idealism coming through. There’s also a statement in the Gospel of the Hebrews, which is sometimes called the Gospel of the Ebionites—it has several names—that includes sayings not found in our New Testament. In the Slavonic Josephus, it’s mentioned that John only ate things that grew naturally. Josephus, in his autobiography Life of Josephus, mentions that when he lived in the desert with Banus, they 'only ate roots and plants.' This first-century witness, Josephus, later became a Pharisee and likely ate meat, but initially followed the desert piety—a spiritual lifestyle in the wilderness. Jesus goes into the desert to fast. John the Baptist lives in the desert. I think the desert is key. You return to the desert—it’s pure, clean, and untouched by the corruption of Babylon, civilization, or the temple in Jerusalem, which has become a den of animal shredders.

15. Jesus the Vegan Christ Condemns Animal Sacrifices

So fast forward to Jesus. What does he do when he 'cleanses the temple'? He actually halts all activity for an entire day. We’ve discussed this in another interview. He then declares, quoting Jeremiah: 'This house, which is supposed to be a house of prayer for all people, has become a den of those who shred animals.' In the Gospel of the Hebrews, there’s a saying that we don’t have in Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, but it would definitely stir things up if it were: 'Unless you stop sacrificing, the wrath of God will not depart from you.'

In the Gospel of the Ebionites, Jesus angrily refuses the Passover meat and condemns animal sacrifices, saying: 'I have come to abolish sacrifices, and unless you stop sacrificing [animals], my wrath will not depart from you.' (Epiphanius, Panarion 30.16.5).}

16. What did Jesus Eat?

We have these texts, and I refer to this as the blue thread running through. I believe John the Baptist and James—according to our sources—did not eat meat or drink wine. So, what does Jesus eat? He says, 'The Son of Man came eating and drinking.' Many interpret this as 'eating meat,' because the King James version uses 'meat.' But keep in mind, in old English, 'meat' often referred to bread or food in general. It was used like, 'Have you had your meat yet?' meaning 'Have you eaten today?' So, it doesn’t specify 'meat,' just that 'He came eating,' meaning regular food, or drinking.

"But in one text, if you look at the parallels, it says John came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, while the Son of Man came eating and drinking—eating bread and drinking wine. So Jesus did drink wine and ate bread, meaning his lifestyle wasn’t as strict as John’s. And perhaps his brother James followed a slightly modified view, since James did not drink wine.

17. Paul Sides with the Meat-Eaters

Paul is aware of this because, in Romans 14, he writes to the Romans, saying, 'I want to address this diet issue, as some of you believe a person should eat only seeds'—translated as 'vegetables,' but it’s essentially saying 'Some of you are following the Genesis diet, and you also believe you shouldn’t drink wine.' Paul has met James, and he’s aware of this. Others, however, eat meat and drink wine. Paul’s advice is that if someone holds the ascetic view, fine, the Lord is their master. If they don’t, that’s fine too.

It’s clear that Paul sides with the meat-eaters, but his position is that God will be the judge. For Paul, matters like eating, drinking, and even marriage are temporary. He’s not concerned with these issues; his primary concern is unity and preventing divisions among people. So we probably have a group of followers influenced by John the Baptist or James who made their way to Rome because Paul didn’t establish that church, and they were vegetarian.

18. Jesus Did NOT Eat Fish Nor Lamb

Now, coming to Jesus, people immediately say, 'But he ate fish!' And 'He ate the Passover lamb.' Are we sure? Bruce Chilton has argued that the original meaning of the Eucharist—different from Paul’s version or Mark’s account (which follows Paul)—was this: The disciples ask, 'Where should we prepare the Passover lamb?' And Jesus responds, 'I will not eat Passover. This is my body, this is my blood,' referring to the bread and the wine.

Do you see the idea? When Jesus held up the bread and said, 'This is the body,' it’s as if he was saying, 'We don’t need to slaughter a lamb,' and when he held up the wine and said, 'This is my blood,' he meant, 'We don’t need to shed blood or put it on the doorpost because we have the wine.' Whether Chilton is correct or not, I’m not sure, but it’s an interesting theory. People can look it up—he published it in Bible Review, and it’s available online. The question remains: when Jesus said, 'I will no longer eat Passover with you,' did he mean he never had, or that he had come to this view later? Perhaps under certain influences—just something interesting to consider.

As for the fish, it appears in the resurrection accounts of Luke and John, and the purpose is to demonstrate that Jesus wasn’t a ghost. I’ve written extensively about the resurrection accounts, showing how they evolve from having no appearances to one appearance with people doubting—that’s in Matthew. Then in Luke, it progresses to many appearances, like the men on the road to Emmaus. Jesus appears like a ghost and asks for something to eat. John also has appearances in Jerusalem and later in Galilee, in the last chapter—an appendix—where Jesus eats fish.

So, are we sure Jesus ate fish? Or was this an effort by Luke and John to counter critics like Celsus—this would have been later—who claimed, 'Maybe they only saw a ghost or an apparition'? Their response would have been, 'No, no, no, we covered that—he asked for food, so he was a physical body.' But remember, we discussed the resurrection body in another talk—Paul said it’s not a physical body. He described the body as 'flesh and blood, the body of dust.' While he acknowledged flesh and blood, he also talked about the life-giving spirit, saying that while we currently have the body of flesh, at the resurrection, we’ll have the life-giving spirit.

I believe the Luke and John accounts were later attempts to argue, 'The corpse physically got up, walked around, and later ascended to heaven to be transformed.' But Paul doesn’t hold that view. He says James and Peter saw Jesus, and I see no reason to believe they saw something different from what Paul saw. If Peter and James had told him, 'Oh yes, Jesus walked around and ate fish,' Paul would have been confused: 'What? You mean he was a decaying corpse, complete with wounds?' That’s not what Paul describes. Instead, Paul says, 'I saw a light, a heavenly being so glorious I can’t even describe it,' calling it 'the glory that I saw.'"

19. God Destroyed the Temple ‘cause He Loathed Sacrifices

Anyway, that’s another topic. But I believe you can make the case. The Ebionites, who were Jewish followers of Jesus, consistently spoke out against sacrifice. They even said that’s why God destroyed the temple—because He never wanted sacrifices in the first place. Returning to Jeremiah: 'On the day I led you out of Egypt, I never commanded sacrifices, but they insisted on doing them.'"

Why? It’s comparable to attending a Greek festival or any sort of lively gathering. Think of it like the Greco-Roman celebrations for Apollo—on Apollo’s birthday, you’d expect barbecues, dancing, and drinking. This kind of festive atmosphere is irresistible to a culture. So, the Baal and Canaanite worshipers were having grand events at their temples. What’s the alternative? Just sit in a small tent and pray to God? That doesn’t sound very appealing. You’d want a large banquet or something along those lines.

20. Jesus Was Against Animal Trading in the Temple 

In any case, you could argue that abstaining from meat was the original ideal. Isaiah strongly emphasizes this: "They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountains." Jesus also criticized the commercialization of the temple, calling it a "den of thieves." This could also be interpreted as a reference to traders. Zechariah 14 says, “In that day, there will be no trader in the house of the Lord." Some interpret this as trading money, but it’s not about money; it’s about trading animals. You’d bring your lamb, and the priest would likely find a flaw, saying, "Look, here’s a blemish, so you’ll need to buy one of our certified lambs. Sure, it’s expensive, but it’s guaranteed." That’s the kind of commerce Jesus was against.

The money-changing was part of it too. People would exchange their coins for Tyrian shekels, which were considered the most reliable because they were 99.99% pure. It wasn’t about using "pure Jewish money," like I was taught in Sunday school. No, the Jewish temple used Tyrian money because it was trusted. People came from all over the diaspora, and the temple couldn’t accept coins from random places. You needed certified currency to buy your animals for sacrifice.

21. Jesus as a ‘Back to Eden” Figure

This ties back to Jesus wanting to get rid of the traders, the thieves, and to return to the original vision. A final example is Jesus' stance on divorce. When the Pharisees questioned him, pointing out that Deuteronomy allows divorce, Jesus replied that it was only permitted because of the hardness of people’s hearts, but that wasn’t the original intention. He referred back to Genesis to make his point. I think he was doing something similar with the diet. Yes, eating meat was permitted because of the violence and corruption in the time of Noah, but that wasn’t the original ideal.

I love the film Noah by Aronofsky, which reflects this perspective. In the movie, Noah is horrified by the bloodshed and teaches his children about the violence associated with killing animals. This kind of violence has long been part of human history, including the violence of Nineveh, which is condemned in the book of Jonah. You could argue that this theme of violence is central to what the nations did to Israel. But looking forward, if there’s a future where no one hurts or destroys on the Holy Mountain, the ideal is to return to a plant-based diet, as in Eden.

22. The Vegan Diet is a Healthy One

And there’s an added benefit—it’s healthier. The plant-based diet is gaining traction even among those who eat meat. People are encouraged to base most of their diet on plants for better health outcomes, and many chronic diseases might be related to poor diet choices. Although health isn’t my main focus today, it’s worth noting how these ideas are intertwined. There’s a consistent thread—every time control is emphasized, the diet moves away from meat. But when people follow their own desires, meat becomes part of the diet.

23. Jesus Bookended by the Vegan John and James

One of my favorite stories is when God tells the Israelites, "I’ll give you meat, not for a day, not for a week, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your noses." Eventually, they grew sick of it. The Ebionites are a great example of those who maintained this original vision. They were Jewish followers of Jesus, closely connected to James. After James, Simon took over, likely following the same traditions. So, if Jesus was sandwiched by John and James, it’s reasonable to believe he upheld these ideals too.

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