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A thorough and proper discussion of the Eucharist must involve much of the New Testament.
The three synoptic gospel writers present nearly identical accounts of the first Eucharist or Last Supper offered by Jesus. In the first section, I list a portion of the scripture passages that are related to the Eucharist.
1) Luke 22: 19-20
Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me."
And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.
2) Matthew: 26: 26-28
"Take and eat; this is my body."
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins
3) Mark 14: 22-25
“While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is my body."
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.
Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."
4) John 6: 48-54
In reality, all of Chapter 6 Pertains to the Eucharist, relative to the New Covenant of the Blood of Jesus Christ.
“I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?"
Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. “
5) Corinthians 11: 23-34
The first written account of the Eucharist in the New Testament is in Corinthians Chapter 11, Which Paul wrote approximately in 64 A.D.
“For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread,
and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord.
A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup.
For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are ill and infirm, and a considerable number are dying. If we discerned ourselves, we would not be under judgment; but since we are judged by (the) Lord, we are being disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
Therefore, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that your meetings may not result in judgment. The other matters I shall set in order when I
come”. 1 Corinthians 11: 23-34
It is clear that Paul describes the Last Supper or Eucharist almost identically to the synoptic gospel writers, but he adds a bit more information. Paul made the same clear association of the Eucharist with the new covenant of the blood of Jesus Christ. Paul made it clear that it should be “often”. Then he goes on to make a point which is relative to “covenant theology”. He states that without proper “discerning of the body”, one “eats and drinks judgment on himself”. This will be discussed further at a later point.
6) Corinthians 10: 3-12
(Paul is recounting the manna in the desert)
All ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was the Christ.
Yet God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert. These things happened as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil things, as they did.
And do not become idolaters, as some of them did, as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel."
Let us not indulge in immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell within a single day.
Let us not test Christ as some of them did, and suffered death by serpents.
Do not grumble as some of them did, and suffered death by the destroyer.
These things happened to them as an example, and they have been written down as a warning to us, upon whom the end of the ages has come.
Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.
7) Luke 24: 35
The first Eucharistic meal after the resurrection of Jesus (as documented by the Bible) occurs on the road to Emmaus. “Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread”.
It should be clear, according to the Bible, it was the "breaking of
the bread", not memorized scriptures, not reviewing the history of
the People of God, not even a good sermon, that gave these two apostles
the grace, the Spirit, and/or spiritual vision to know and appreciate the
presence of the resurrected Christ.
Would the Lamb of God wish any differently for today?
Acts 2: 42
“They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers”.
Acts 2: 46-47
“Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes. They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart,
praising God and enjoying favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved”.
Covenant Theology
My minimally educated understanding is that during times of the Old Testament when two parties entered into a covenant it was much more serious and permanent than a “contract”.
Typically, an animal would be slaughtered, presumably consumed, and ritual actions would be performed with the blood. Additionally, my understanding is that both of the parties would be swearing an oath that if they violated the covenant they would/should receive the same punitive treatment as occurred to the slaughtered animal. A similar concept, is applied in a court room when a party swears an oath and states, “So help me God”. As for the covenants of the Old Testament between God and His people, generally there would be a sign of the covenant, such as circumcision or a rainbow in the sky.
The prophet Jeremiah anticipated a New Covenant.
“The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers the day I took them by the hand to lead them forth from the land of Egypt; for they broke my covenant and I had to show myself their master, says the LORD.
But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people”. Jeremiah 31: 31-33
All Christians concur that Jesus Christ is the New Covenant. In the New Testament, the New Covenant is mentioned in only one context, that of the Last Supper or
Eucharist. Mathew, Mark, Luke, and Paul near identically mention the
"new covenant" in stating; "This cup is the new covenant in my blood”
The Real Presence
For 1500 yrs. Since the ascension of Jesus, virtually all Christians (Orthodox & Catholic) believed, practiced, and taught that the Eucharistic Meal represented the true presence of Jesus Christ, in body, soul, and divinity. The Bible supports this in many aspects. In Mathew, Mark, Luke, & 1 Corinthians, the author repeats the words of Jesus: In regard to the bread, “this is my body” and in regard to the wine, “this is my blood”.
Some would suggest that those words are only symbolic. The words of Paul suggest in several ways something other than a symbolic recalling of a past event.
"Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord.
A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the
cup".
In my point of view, if the Eucharist were merely a visually enhanced method to teach a lesson of a past event, Paul would not have had such stern warnings as follows:
For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are ill and infirm, and a considerable number are dying. If we discerned ourselves, we would not be under judgment;
In 1 Corinthians, Chapter 10 Paul prepared his readers for the stern
message above by recalling the manna and water in the desert.
All ate the same spiritual food,
and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was the Christ.
Yet God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert.
These things happened as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil things, as they did.
And do not become idolaters, as some of them did, as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel."
Let us not indulge in immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell within a single day.
Let us not test Christ as some of them did, and suffered death by serpents.
Do not grumble as some of them did, and suffered death by the destroyer.
These things happened to them as an example, and they have been written down as a warning to us, upon whom the end of the ages has come.
Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.
In the above excerpt, Paul makes it clear that the manna and water in the desert were spiritual food, that the rock was Christ and he was present in the desert. The Israelites paid profound prices for idolatry, grumbling, immoral indulgence and lack of faith. He proceeds to warn the Christians to not provoke the same or similar wrath of God. In Chapter 11, Paul moves directly to the point when discussing those that fail to “discern the body”. Chapter 10 & 11 of 1 Corinthians both help to clarify each other in making the point that the Eucharistic meal is a real union with Christ and union with the His sacrifice as the Passover Lamb.
As a practicing Jew, Jesus knew and practiced the faith which He came to
fulfill.
The Passover was the single most important celebration in the life of the
Jewish people. To fully participate in the Passover meal, the Jews
had to eat the sacrifice. Jesus would do no less in order to become
the new Passover Sacrificial Lamb. "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Many language scholars have suggested that the
"remembrance" associated with the Eucharist is best interpreted
as "to make present".
After the shocking words of Jesus in John 6:54-56
"Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last
day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him."
Many of His disciples turned
away:
"As a result of this, many (of) his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him."
John 6:66 They were unwilling to believe in the Real
Presence.
Post Biblical, Early Christian Church
A thinking person would reasonably ask, "How did the second
century Christians interpret the Apostolic writings in regard to the
Eucharist".
For the sake of this discussion, an excerpt of one Patristic Father is
included, St. Justin Martyr.
St. Justin Martyr - 2nd Century A.D.
First Apology Chapter 66. "Of the Eucharist"
And this food is called among us Εὐχαριστία [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said, This do in remembrance of Me, Luke 22:19 this is My body; and that, after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, This is My blood; and gave it to them alone. Which the wicked devils have imitated in the mysteries of Mithras, commanding the same thing to be done. For, that bread and a cup of water are placed with certain incantations in the mystic rites of one who is being initiated, you either know or can learn.
For 1500 yrs. after the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, all
Christians believed, taught, and worshipped with the knowledge and
understanding of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Catholic & Orthodox Christians maintain the same identical belief to
this day. The notion that the Eucharist is anything other than the
Real Presence of Jesus Christ is novel and not consistent with the
teachings of Jesus & his Apostles. If according to St. Paul, the
manna in the desert was "spiritual food", the Eucharist
must be the only reasonable think that Jesus would desire after his
ascension, truly Him in body, soul, and divinity.
To the doubter who has difficulty believing in the Real
Presence, I suggest, "Then you must not have faith that Jesus could
rise from the dead". If God can create this universe, come in
the form of a man, and rise from the dead, He can will that bread
become His eternal, sacrificial lamb.
The Eucharist Revealed in the Book of Revelation
Read more.
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