Topical Guide: Blood

I never quite thought of it that way. Have to admit that Jesus liked to push people out of their comfort zone.

Isn’t the same symbolism behind both the eating prohibition and drinking Jesus’ blood? Jews didn’t eat blood because it is the life-giving force (as Deut. 12:23 says), similarly the blood of Christ (atonement) is gives life to us.

Yeah, I know that the Saviour is referring to the sacramental covenant, but I’m still baffled as to why he would frame it this way. Still leaves me with the Abrahamic challenge theory…

I’m not sure if any of you are open to hearing the Catholic understanding of this, but in order to really understand what Jesus meant & intended, you have to understand the Eucharist, and the Jewish roots of the Eucharist. An excellent book on this subject is “Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist” by Brant Pitre. The author also has an excellent talk on the subject, which can be found at YouTube under the same title.

The Eucharist:

The Jews were not to eat/drink animal blood because it contained the “life of the creature”.

“For the life of every creature is the blood of it; therefore I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.” (Leviticus 17:14)

Jesus now commands us to eat His Flesh and drink His Blood precisely for this reason – it contains His divine eternal life! All the Old Testament sacrifices prefigured and foreshadowed the one definitive sacrifice of Christ on Calvary.

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. 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. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate
and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” (John 6:53-58)

Jesus instituted sacrifice of the Mass at the Last Supper, and the Church has continued the sacrifice just as He commanded, ever since. Notice how Jesus said this is my body, and the cup is the New Covenant in my blood? He did not say this “represents” my body and blood, He said this IS my body and blood.

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which 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 Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

The Sacrifice of the Mass makes present the one definitive sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary, throughout all time and places. The Holy Spirit is invoked and Jesus Christ is made present to us – Body, Blood, Soul, & Divinity – under the appearances of bread and wine.

The Old Covenant Passover sacrifice and meal was a prefigurement of The one definitive sacrifice of Jesus Christ (the Lamb of God) on Calvary, and the Eucharist – the Eucharist is the fulfillment of the Passover, and this is what makes Christ’s death upon the Cross at Calvary a sacrifice. If not for the Sacrifice of the Mass which culminates in partaking of His Body and Blood during Holy Communion, then His death would merely have been a brutal and bloody execution, and not a sacrifice as well.

For the Passover to be valid, the sacrificed passover lamb *had* to be eaten, which is why Jesus taught that we must eat His Body, and drink His Blood to have life in us. This is what Jesus was gearing His followers up to in His “Bread of Life” discourse in John 6. Many of His disciples were disgusted and offended by what Jesus was telling them. They thought He was crazy, and began complaining about this “disgusting” teaching of His. Jesus heard them, and responded by reiterating very clearly what He had just said, this time with more emphasis, replacing the normal word to “dine/eat,” with the stronger Greek word “trogan” which meant to literally munch, chew, tear & gnaw, on His Flesh (like an animal eats), meaning that He meant what He said literally, not symbolically. Most of His followers were disgusted and offended and lost trust in Him then, turned and left (precisely @ Jn. 6:66). Jesus did not call them back to correct their “misunderstanding” because they had not misunderstood Him. Instead, He let them walk away. Jesus then turned to the “twelve” and asked if they wished to leave Him also… Peter responded “But Lord, where shall we go? Only you have the words of everlasting life” It was also here that Jesus first announced that He knew that one of the twelve (Judas) had lost faith in Him, and would later betray Him.
“Eucharist” actually means “thanksgiving” and is both the fulfillment of the Passover and a Todah (Thanksgiving ) sacrifice. According to an ancient Jewish prophecy, during the Messianic age, all sacrifices except for the Todah would cease, but the Todah would last forever. In 70 A.D., the Jewish Temple was destroyed and all animal sacrifices ceased, but the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the Mass continues. It also fulfills the prophecy in Malachi 1:11 that a pure sacrifice would be offered throughout the world:

“For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering; for my name is great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 1:11)

Also by receiving Christ in the Eucharist, we who are many truly become one body in the Mystical Body of Christ – in communion with God/Jesus (abiding in Him) and with one another:
“For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.” (1 Corinthians 10:17)

* The Eucharist is also “the wedding supper of the Lamb.” Jesus Christ is the Bridegroom and the Church is His bride.
“And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God” (Revelation 19:9)

* The Eucharist was foreshadowed in Melchizedek’s offering of bread and wine. Jesus is a High Priest and King just as Melkizedek, and comes to us under the appearances of bread and wine.

* The “Bread of Presence” which was kept in the Tabernacle also prefigured the Eucharist. In the Catholic Church, the Real Presence of Jesus is in the Eucharist, and consecrated hosts are kept in the Tabernacle

* The “Bread from Heaven” (Manna) foreshadowed the “Living Bread of Heaven” (Jesus) in the Eucharist.

*Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which means “House of Bread,” and Mary placed the infant Jesus in a feeding trough for sheep (manger). We are His sheep, whom He feeds with His Body.

After Jesus’ crucifixion & resurrection, two disciples were walking on the road to Emmaus, and the Resurrected Jesus appeared to them (although they didn’t recognize Jesus). Jesus walked with them, talking and teaching from the scriptures. The disciples (still not recognizing Him) invited Jesus to teach them more and have a meal with them. Then, in the “breaking of the bread” the two disciples “eyes were opened” ad they finally recognized Jesus, and then Jesus vanished. They hurried back to tell the apostles about their encounter. (Luke 24:13-35)

Another interesting thing to note is that in the “Our Father” ( the prayer given to us by Jesus), the Eucharist is mentioned. The word which was translated as “daily bread” is the Greek word “epiousios” which literally translates to “super-substantial” or “supernatural”, so the prayer could have been translated as saying “give us this day, our super-substantial bread”

St. Paul believed that the consecrated bread & wine became the Flesh & Blood of Jesus:
“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” (1 Corinthians 10:16-17)

“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body which 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 Lord’s death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-27)

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves. For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged.” (1 Corinthians 11:26-31)

Here are a few quotes from the writings of the Early Church Fathers on the Eucharist:

Ignatius of Antioch

Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God. . . . They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes (Letter to the Smyrnaeans 6:2-7:1 [A.D. 110]).

. . . and are now ready to obey your bishop and clergy with undivided minds and to share in the one common breaking of bread – the medicine of immortality, and the sovereign remedy by which we escape death and live in Jesus Christ for evermore (Letter to the Ephesians 20 [A.D. 110]).

Justin Martyr

We call this food Eucharist, and no one else is permitted to partake of it, except one who believes our teaching to be true and who has been washed in the washing which is for the remission of sins and for regeneration [i.e., has received baptism] and is thereby living as Christ enjoined. For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these, but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nurtured, is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus (First Apology 66 [A.D. 151]).

Irenaeus

He has declared the cup, a part of creation, to be his own blood) from which he causes our blood to flow; and the bread, a part of creation, he has established as his own body, from which he gives increase unto our bodies. When, therefore, the mixed cup [wine and water] and the baked bread receive the Word of God and become the Eucharist, the body of Christ, and from these the substance of our flesh is increased and supported) how can they say that the flesh is not capable of receiving the gift of God, which is eternal life — flesh which is nourished by the body and blood of the Lord and is in fact a member of him? (Against Heresies5:2 [A.D. 189]).