"...Jesus said again, 'I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you...'"
~John 6:52 New Living Translation (NLT)
It is not uncommon for those who are skeptical of Christianity to read this passage and come away wondering what Jesus meant when he said that his followers must eat his flesh and drink his blood in order to have eternal life. Indeed, many have read this verse and come to the conclusion that Christians practice ritual cannibalism.
Adding to the skeptic's confusion is the Roman Catholic doctrine of Transubstantiation which holds that the bread and wine used during the Eucharist is transformed into the literal blood and body of Jesus Christ. This view however, while wide-spread within Catholicism, is a relatively recent addition to Catholic doctrine.
The earliest possible mention of Transubstantiation is found in 2nd Century Christian writing known as the Didache —though its references to the Eucharist could just as easily be elaborations on the teachings found in the New Testament scriptures, (ie. 1 Corinthians 11:17-34) and does not provide sufficient evidence to support the claim that early Christians revered the bread and wine as the literal body and blood of Christ.
That being said, there are other Christian writings from the 3rd and 4th centuries that depict a trend in Roman Catholic teachings toward the present interpretation that the bread and wine of the Eucharist are supernaturally transformed into the literal body and blood of Christ. However the Doctrine of Transubstantiation was not adopted as the official stance of the Roman Catholic Church until the 11th Century AD.
All that to say, history shows that the Doctrine of Transubstantiation evolved over time, and was not the belief held by early Christians. Nor was it taught by any of the Apostles of Christ to which a careful examination of scriptures will attest.
Jesus and his Twelve Apostles were Jewish. This matter of historical fact is something that the early Christians and medieval church tried very hard to distance themselves from. As a result, much of the cultural significance behind Jesus' ministry was overlooked.
According to the Old Testament, touching a dead human body or consuming blood would make a person ceremonially unclean and could potentially result in that person being cut off from the community of Israel. (Leviticus 17:13-14, Numbers 19:11-16, Deuteronomy 12:23-25) Therefore, if the wine and bread Jesus shared with his disciples during the Last Supper (Matthew 26:17-30, Mark 14:12-26, Luke 22:7-28) was literally human flesh and blood, Peter would not have been able to say what he did in Acts:10:
"The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. Then a voice said to him, 'Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.'
"'No, Lord,' Peter declared. 'I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.'"
~ Acts 10:1-14 New Living Translation (NLT) [Emphasis Added]
Additionally, we must remember that the Last Supper of Christ was the Passover Feast commemorating Israel's deliverance from slavery in Egypt. (Exodus 12) Every part of the Passover Feast was highly symbolic. Bitter herbs to symbolize the bitterness of slavery. A roasted lamb to represent God's judgment. And a cup of wine and bread to symbolize the blood and bodies of the lambs that were slain during the first Passover. ~ Acts 10:1-14 New Living Translation (NLT) [Emphasis Added]
It was this cup and this bread that Jesus used when he said: "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me... This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it."
This is where the skeptic who holds that Christianity copied the Lord's Supper from contemporary pagan rights is in error. The Lord's Supper was not pagan in origin, it was distinctly Jewish.
As the Passover Lamb of God (John 1:29-30) Jesus took a symbolic meal meant to commemorate the Jew's deliverance from bondage in Egypt and gave it a new meaning. The blood of lambs had been painted on the doorposts of Israel in Egypt so that God's judgment would pass over them. Jesus' blood would be shed on the cross in the place of sinners in order that they might be delivered from God's condemnation. (Romans 8:1-4) The Passover Feast commemorated when God delivered Israel from the bondage of slavery. The Lord's Supper commemorates when Jesus fulfilled the Passover and delivered the world from bondage to sin and death. (Romans 5:1-11, Hebrews 10:1-18)
So then, was Jesus teaching his followers to practice ritual cannibalism? Hardly. As the fulfillment of the Law of Moses, Jesus took existing symbolism and gave it an entirely new meaning. The same can be said of the passage I quoted from John 6 at the beginning of this article. When viewed in the proper context, Jesus' meaning becomes clear.
"The next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them. Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten. So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him. They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, 'Rabbi, when did you get here?'
"Jesus replied, 'I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.'
"They replied, 'We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?'
"Jesus told them, 'This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.'
"They answered, 'Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"
"Jesus said, 'I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.'
"'Sir,' they said, 'give us that bread every day.'
"Jesus replied, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.'
"Then the people began to murmur in disagreement because he had said, 'I am the bread that came down from heaven.' They said, 'Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, 'I came down from heaven'?"
"But Jesus replied, 'Stop complaining about what I said. For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. As it is written in the Scriptures, 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. (Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.)
"'I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. Yes, I am the bread of life! Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.'
"Then the people began arguing with each other about what he meant. 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?' they asked.
"So Jesus said again, 'I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.'"
~John 6:22-58 New Living Translation (NLT) [Emphasis Added]
Having read this passage in the proper context, can when honestly claim that Jesus is teaching the Apostles that the wine and bread of the Eucharist are his literal flesh and blood? Do these verses of scripture show that Christians need to literally eat Jesus' body and drink his blood in order to gain eternal life? Not at all! Jesus is using food and drink as a metaphor for spiritual truths in this passage, just as he did with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:1-42. Jesus is not literally a spring of water (John 7:37-39), and he is not literally a loaf of bread from heaven. He is not literally a gate or a shepherd. (John 10:9-16) Nor is he literally a lamb. Likewise a person is not literally born a second time when they become a Christian. (John 3:1-21) ~John 6:22-58 New Living Translation (NLT) [Emphasis Added]
It is clear from the context of the scriptures that Jesus is speaking metaphorically in all of these instances. Why then should we conclude that Jesus taught people that they were to literally eat his flesh and drink his blood when the context indicates otherwise?
In conclusion: does the Christian who celebrates the Lord's Supper really participate in ritual cannibalism stolen from pagan rituals and mysteries? Or is he simply partaking in a symbolic remembrance of his Lord and Savior? In light of the historic, cultural and biblical evidence the answer should be obvious.
Jesus did not command his followers to literally eat his flesh and blood. Nor is the consumption of Jesus' flesh and blood necessary for salvation. The Lord's Supper is meant to be eaten with reverence as a symbolic remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf until the day he returns.
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