Recently in Sacraments Category

There have been times when I’ve heard, “We simply want to get back to what the early Christians believed. The Catholic Church of today doesn’t follow what the early Church taught, so if we could only get back to that…� A variation of that is, “The Catholic Church added many ideas in the Middle Ages. The early Christians didn’t really believe what the Catholic Church teaches today.� In a word: RUBBISH!

Let us have a look at what the Christians of the first few centuries thought of the Eucharist. These are just a few.

“And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed. My father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.� This quote, from Matthew 26:39, puzzled me for many years. I asked about it, of a variety of sources, but never got a satisfying explanation. What cup is He talking about?

“It is finished�, is part of John 19:30. It is here in John that we find the key to the puzzling cup in Matthew. I had always been told that this quote dealt with our redemption. As one Protestant friend once said to me long ago, “It’s the work of Christ that was finished. His work of salvation was finished on the Cross.� Ok - but - well, not really. He hadn’t been resurrected yet, so there was still something to be done (Romans 4:23-25). To my uneducated eyes, this still didn’t look quite right.

Both of these will play into our next discussion of the Eucharist, and the Real Presence of Jesus in the Sacrament. However, to join the cup from Matthew 26:39 to the phrase in John 19:30, we have to start by stepping back in time. Our first stop is in Exodus, and…

“Based on these verses early critics of the church thought Christians condoned a form of cannibalism. This is not the case. The reference here is twofold, both foreshadowing the Lord’s Supper and emphasizing complete submission to Jesus as Lord. These are simply striking metaphors in his atoning death for the sins of humanity.� The Apologists Study Bible.

“Jesus made it abundantly clear in this context that eternal life is gained by believing. 6:50-51 is a synonym for believing.� Parallel Study Bible

“v53 precludes direct reference to the Lord’s Supper. He clearly does not teach that receiving the sacrament is one requirement for salvation.� Zondervan NASB Study Bible

“v52 – Jesus was speaking figuratively, but the Jewish leaders took him literally.� NKJV Study Bible

“v53 – Apart from personal union with the Savior, there is no salvation.� Reformation Study Bible.

“Christ declared the metaphor Himself in verse 63.� – 2006 online conversation

“It is the same mystery and it never ceases to be an occasion of division. ‘Will you also go away?’ The Lord's question echoes through the ages, as a loving invitation to discover that only he has ‘the words of eternal life’ and that to receive in faith the gift of his Eucharist is to receive the Lord himself.� Catechism of the Catholic Church (1336)

Today we look at the Gospel of John, chapter 6. This is so important that we’ll spend most of this post in this one chapter.

One technical note: I’m not going to quote all of John 6 here. Why? Simple, to save space – this is going to be painfully long as it is. I’ll leave each of you to get a Bible and read the text yourself. Though there will be bits and pieces quoted below, I suggest that everyone read the text before getting started. Once you’re done, continue and we’ll start to break open The Word.

In addition, you’ll notice some Greek in the middle of this post. It is a small part of John 6 (verses 47 through 59 to be exact). Don’t panic! It’s there for a reason, and we’ll get into the specifics later.

Sit back and relax, this is going to be a bit long.

Part 1 - Foreshadowing

In this post, we will examine both the establishment of the Eucharist and its earthly form.

“Truly, thou art a God who hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Savior.�
Isaiah 45:15

We Catholics take 2 Timothy 3:16 very much to heart. “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.� The key here is the all Scripture part. To look at what the New Testament says is fine, but we need to look at all the Scriptures to get a good foundation for the Eucharist. Therefore, our first stop will be deeper in the past, in the Old Testament.

Thusly we begin…

I want to begin a detailed discussion of the Sacraments. This post will serve as an introduction, and the whole series will probably take many months; in fact, I can see a situation where it might take more than a year to finish. We’re going to delve back into the original Greek in some cases, and look closely at the biblical origins of the Sacraments in detail.

Thusly we begin...