9. Why would Jesus want you to eat his body and drink his blood?

Jesus established the Lord’s Supper/Holy Communion/Eucharist in the continuity of a well known tradition that when the messianic age came, the Messiah would feast with those who expected and waited for him (cf. Isa 25.6). Recently it has been suggested that the breaking of bread in early church life was dominated by the belief that Jesus willed the continuation of his fellowship and resurrection meals with his disciples on a similar pattern so that the church could continue after the Ascension to realize his presence and have joyful communion with him. However accurate this may be, the words “this is my body” and “this is my blood” (Mt 26.26-28; Mk 14.22-24; Lk 22.20-21; 1 Cor 11.23-26) indicate the wish of Jesus that these elements should be regarded as such signs of his own real presence among them. Just as the Passover meal was a “memorial” for the Hebrew Exodus, not only in memory but also in actual participation in the past redemptive events of their history, so also the Communion “remembrance” involves becoming vitally affected today through the representation of a unique event in the past. This is contrary to the argument that it was a counterfeit of some other cannibalistic, pagan ritual has no contemporary or geographical relation to the time and place that this tradition was established. If it was the resurgence of an old pagan ritual, I would have to commend Jesus on his historical knowledge of ancient Ausatru Vikings and his implementation of their rites into first century Jewish culture. (This is the only cult that I could find who practiced symbolically eating the flesh and drinking the blood of their enemies before battle). Rather it is more likely that this ritual fulfills the celebration of the Passover. As God redeemed the Hebrew people through the Exodus from their bondage in Egypt, we find Jesus redeeming all people through the second Exodus from their bondage of sin. Jesus undoubtedly had this in mind in identifying himself as the paschal lamb, and his death with the sacrifice of the lamb for deliverance from bondage. Thus the redemptive history of Israel foreshadowed the work of Jesus delivering humanity from sin. He referred to this idea at the Last Supper (Mt 26.28) and thus it makes sense that we should understand it in this light.

The church has always found significance in the fact that Jesus, who identified the elements with himself, actually gave them to be eaten and drunk rather than to be merely looked at and adored. This deliberately planned giving and receiving implies some kind of real participation in Christ himself—that Jesus in the act is seeking to impart to men in some real ways the actual life which dwelt in his own flesh and blood. This imparting of life is in some way connected with the giving and receiving at the Last Supper. Indeed, so realistically did Paul interpret this communion with Christ that he uttered a warning about the judgment one would bring upon his/herself if one were to eat and drink “in an unworthy manner…not recognizing the body of the Lord…” meaning the sacrifice he made on our behalf (1 Cor 11.28-29).

Now, of course, there are various doctrines surrounding this rite. The Roman Catholic belief of transubstantiation, which became an official doctrine in 1215, believes that the elements (bread and wine) actually transform into flesh and blood mystically as it has been blessed by the imparted grace of the church (namely the priest performing the Mass) and consumed by a worthy believer. However, Protestants, mostly influenced by Zwingli and Luther, make a distinction between the sign and the thing signified. Following the teachings of Augustine, the Protestant church insists that faith alone could receive, for salvation, the reality present in the Eucharist. Thus, although the rite was important for devotion and community (and I would argue also that the Reformers saw a mystical attribute as well), the bread remained bread and the wine remained wine. Nevertheless, under either doctrine, the purpose remains the same: remembering the sacrifice made by Jesus, giving thanks for his redemption, and identifying with him and with each other as believers. That is why he asks us to “eat his flesh and drink his blood.”