Luke 24:36-43

 

  Luke 24:36-43

(36) And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. (37) But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. (38) And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? (39) Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. (40) And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. (41) And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? (42) And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. (43) And he took it, and did eat before them. 
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Some today claim Jesus did not eat meat, including fish. But notice this account. After Christ's resurrection, He appears in human form to the disciples (Luke 24:36). The disciples and others had gathered in a secure room, and He appears right in their midst, an act that shook them. They believe they are seeing a ghost, a spirit, but He assures them that He is indeed Christ. He lets them examine His hands and feet.

Still, they do not seem quite convinced, so He asks, “'Have you any food here?' So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb” (verses 41-42). Fish and sweets made from the labor of bees? Oh, the horror of it all!

Then what happened? “And He took it and ate it in their presence” (verse 43; emphasis added). This concise statement is a tough one to get around. The Greek word translated “broiled” here means simply “cooked.” Most translations use “broiled,” “baked,” or “cooked.” If anything, this verse might be a good argument against sushi! But there is no getting around what verse 43 states: The resurrected Christ ate the fish and the honeycomb right there in front of them. He put it in His mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it.

This would have been a good time for Him to say, “Fellows, we're going to give up eating fish and anything made with honey.” But He did not. Despite Luke writing in verse 45 that “He opened their understanding,” Jesus neglected to cover vegetarianism.

A little later, Christ appeared to the disciples again (John 21:1-14). Peter and six other disciples decide to go fishing. Apparently, they had still not gotten the word that fishing was unethical. They fished all night and caught nothing. The next morning, Jesus, standing on the shore, asks if they have any food, and they reply in the negative. He tells them to cast the net on the right side of the boat, which they do, hauling in a net full of 153 “large” fish—so many that, by all rights, the net should have broken.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), of course, is against commercial fishing and says Christ would be too. Yet, is not what Peter and the other disciples did “commercial fishing”? By all accounts, they were returning to their pre-calling jobs. Instead of working against their catching any fish, Jesus helps them out!

Notice that Christ has a fire going before they have even made it to shore, and fish and bread are cooking (verse 9). He tells the disciples in verse 12, “Come and eat breakfast,” one comprised of fish and toast made by the Creator God Himself! John writes in verse 15, “So when they had eaten breakfast,” verifying that the disciples—and probably Jesus too—ate what He had provided (leaving the 153 they had caught for crass money-making, no doubt). He misses another excellent opportunity to announce that Christians should be vegetarian.

These people pose additional spurious arguments, such as saying Christ was an Essene, who were vegetarians. Neither of these assertions is true. They also claim that Jesus' teachings, especially His love for those whom society has marginalized, would make Him a vegan, a stricter regimen than vegetarianism. Somehow, in their minds, animals are “marginalized” but not unborn humans!

The Bible supplies so much more evidence that Christ was not a vegetarian and certainly not a vegan, but the proof offered here should be enough. We may have gone down the rabbit hole as a society, but that does not mean we have to be taken in by these obvious deceits.

— Mike Ford