zeland
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- Jan 7, 2024
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Part 2 Continued.
With the above explanations we have now answered questions 3, 4. And 6.
Now for question 5: “When did Christ’s sacrifice begin? It began at the Last Supper when He instituted the Holy Eucharist. When did it end? It didn’t! Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary continues eternally (Hebrews 8: 1-3). This point needs a little explanation.
Christ is now in eternity, and is outside of time. As such, He sees all of human history at once, as if it were a huge mural on a wall, so His Sacrifice on Calvary is always present to Him. In other words, as an eternal Being, Jesus stands outside of time, and therefore all of history is simultaneously present to Him.
Now in regards to our original question - what does the “It” refer to? From John 19:30 we read: “After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the scripture), “I thirst.” A bowl of sour wine stood there; so they put a sponge full of the wine on hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished”; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit”.
The “it” refers to two simultaneous events, it signifies the conclusion of the Last Supper, and the conclusion of the Last Supper signifies the transformation of the Old Testament Passover sacrifice into the New Testament Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
There is one more important point that many non-Catholic Christians miss. Just as the Old Covenant Passover was both a meal and a sacrifice, so too is the New Covenant Passover of the Eucharist at Mass, also a meal and a Sacrifice. This means that we must now eat our New Covenant Passover Lamb just as the Jews were commanded to eat the lamb in the Old Covenant Passover (Exodus 12:8). Christ Himself gives us this command; “Take and eat….” (Matthew 26:26). Exodus 29:33 also prefigures Christ’s words: “And they shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but an outsider shall not eat thereof, because they are holy”.
Now notice also the last part of this verse (29:33), it states an additional requirement concerning who can receive (consume) the Eucharistic Sacrifice: “…but an outsider shall not eat thereof, because they are holy”. This part of the verse prefigures Paul’s warning against receiving the Eucharist unworthy.
In 1 Corinthians 11:23-29 Paul states; “…Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord (guilty of the murder of Christ). But let a man examine himself: and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. For he that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord”.
At this point we need to define those persons that Paul refers to as “unworthy” - that Exodus 29:33 refers to as “outsiders”. Those who are unworthy fall into one of two categories. First, they are either Catholics who are not properly disposed (in a state of serious sin) to receive Communion, such as unrepentant pro-abortion Catholic politicians for example; or secondly, any person who does not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist (non-Catholic Christians and non-Christians).
Now to answer question 7 - What does the word “THIS” refer to.
This statement by Christ, was the apostle’s commission, where He gave them, as priests of the New Covenant, the command, and authority to do everything He had done while He was on earth, including, and most important of all, offering this new sacrifice (The Mass), so as to feed His lambs, to feed his sheep (John 21:15-17) – feed them spiritually with the Holy Eucharist. Remember that on the night of the original Passover the Jews ate the lamb to strengthen them physically for the journey they were about to undertake. In the Mass we eat The Eucharist - the Living, Resurrected, Heavenly, Glorified body of Christ - to strengthen ourselves for the spiritual journey (John 6: 51-58) to Heaven.
Only in the Catholic Church can one fulfill the requirements of John 6:51-58. Many Protestant churches have “communion services” but It should be noted, that in such a service, people receive only bread and wine (a symbol), not the real Body and Blood of Christ. No protestant minister has the ability to change bread and wine into Christ’s Body & Blood. Only a properly ordained priest or bishop who is a direct descendant of the Apostles can do that.
This sacramental lineage is prefigured in the Old Testament - see 2 Chronicles 26:18 - “they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to make an offering to the Lord, but for the priests - the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to make offerings. Go out of the sanctuary; for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the Lord God.”
It should also be noted that, at Mass, the priest does not, by his own, humanly power, change the bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood. He is only acting as an agent for Christ. It is Christ who performs the miracle and makes the change. A good example of this is found in Peter’s actions in Acts 3:6-16.
With the above explanations we have now answered questions 3, 4. And 6.
Now for question 5: “When did Christ’s sacrifice begin? It began at the Last Supper when He instituted the Holy Eucharist. When did it end? It didn’t! Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary continues eternally (Hebrews 8: 1-3). This point needs a little explanation.
Christ is now in eternity, and is outside of time. As such, He sees all of human history at once, as if it were a huge mural on a wall, so His Sacrifice on Calvary is always present to Him. In other words, as an eternal Being, Jesus stands outside of time, and therefore all of history is simultaneously present to Him.
Now in regards to our original question - what does the “It” refer to? From John 19:30 we read: “After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the scripture), “I thirst.” A bowl of sour wine stood there; so they put a sponge full of the wine on hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished”; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit”.
The “it” refers to two simultaneous events, it signifies the conclusion of the Last Supper, and the conclusion of the Last Supper signifies the transformation of the Old Testament Passover sacrifice into the New Testament Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
There is one more important point that many non-Catholic Christians miss. Just as the Old Covenant Passover was both a meal and a sacrifice, so too is the New Covenant Passover of the Eucharist at Mass, also a meal and a Sacrifice. This means that we must now eat our New Covenant Passover Lamb just as the Jews were commanded to eat the lamb in the Old Covenant Passover (Exodus 12:8). Christ Himself gives us this command; “Take and eat….” (Matthew 26:26). Exodus 29:33 also prefigures Christ’s words: “And they shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but an outsider shall not eat thereof, because they are holy”.
Now notice also the last part of this verse (29:33), it states an additional requirement concerning who can receive (consume) the Eucharistic Sacrifice: “…but an outsider shall not eat thereof, because they are holy”. This part of the verse prefigures Paul’s warning against receiving the Eucharist unworthy.
In 1 Corinthians 11:23-29 Paul states; “…Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord (guilty of the murder of Christ). But let a man examine himself: and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. For he that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord”.
At this point we need to define those persons that Paul refers to as “unworthy” - that Exodus 29:33 refers to as “outsiders”. Those who are unworthy fall into one of two categories. First, they are either Catholics who are not properly disposed (in a state of serious sin) to receive Communion, such as unrepentant pro-abortion Catholic politicians for example; or secondly, any person who does not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist (non-Catholic Christians and non-Christians).
Now to answer question 7 - What does the word “THIS” refer to.
This statement by Christ, was the apostle’s commission, where He gave them, as priests of the New Covenant, the command, and authority to do everything He had done while He was on earth, including, and most important of all, offering this new sacrifice (The Mass), so as to feed His lambs, to feed his sheep (John 21:15-17) – feed them spiritually with the Holy Eucharist. Remember that on the night of the original Passover the Jews ate the lamb to strengthen them physically for the journey they were about to undertake. In the Mass we eat The Eucharist - the Living, Resurrected, Heavenly, Glorified body of Christ - to strengthen ourselves for the spiritual journey (John 6: 51-58) to Heaven.
Only in the Catholic Church can one fulfill the requirements of John 6:51-58. Many Protestant churches have “communion services” but It should be noted, that in such a service, people receive only bread and wine (a symbol), not the real Body and Blood of Christ. No protestant minister has the ability to change bread and wine into Christ’s Body & Blood. Only a properly ordained priest or bishop who is a direct descendant of the Apostles can do that.
This sacramental lineage is prefigured in the Old Testament - see 2 Chronicles 26:18 - “they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to make an offering to the Lord, but for the priests - the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to make offerings. Go out of the sanctuary; for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the Lord God.”
It should also be noted that, at Mass, the priest does not, by his own, humanly power, change the bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood. He is only acting as an agent for Christ. It is Christ who performs the miracle and makes the change. A good example of this is found in Peter’s actions in Acts 3:6-16.
Some additional considerations that follow from the above discussions.
One last biblical type to consider is this: the totality of the Old Testament Passover was itself a prefigurement of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in New Testament times, and the two taken together fulfill the requirements of “an ordinance forever”, which is quoted above. In other words, Christ transferred the fulfillment of the requirements of Exodus 12 from the old Jewish Passover, which He would no longer accept (Malachi 1: 10-11), to the New Covenant Sacrifice – the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The New Testament counterpart of Exodus 12: 14, 17 & 24, is: “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke: 22:19). The Catholic Church, through the Mass, continues the perpetual remembrance of Exodus 12:14, 17, 24, but in a more perfect way.
Just as the Jewish Passover was a re-presentation of the original Passover, done in remembrance of the night before the Jews left Egypt, so too the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a re-presentation of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, and is done, as He requested, in remembrance of His redemptive actions on Calvary (Luke 22: 19). But the Mass is also so much more. It is the means by which the merits gained on Calvary are brought to us; it is the method Christ gives us to fulfill the requirements of John 6:53-59.
In general The Mass is offered for four specific ends: (1) as a supreme act of adoration of God; (2) as a most powerful means of appeasing God’s offended justice; (3) as a most acceptable act of thanksgiving; (4) as a most powerful means of obtaining all blessings for body and soul.
It should be noted that Paul links this requirement of John 6: 53-54 to the last supper. Again in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Paul states: “Christ is the Paschal Lamb who has been sacrificed…” But then notice that Paul adds an additional requirement to Christ’s sacrifice – “Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (As a side note – Communion hosts are made from unleavened bread).
So how do we keep the feast? We must eat the Lamb, the Real Lamb – Christ in the Eucharist. Here, Paul is restating the requirements of Exodus 12:8 (the Paschal lamb had to be eaten) and showing its connection to 1 Corinthians 5:7-8. In other words 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, John 6: 53-54, and the three accounts of the institution of the Holy Eucharist (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; and Luke 22:19-20), are the New Testament fulfillment of Exodus 12:8.
As was stated above in 1 Corinthians 11:23-29, Paul, gives a stern warning against receiving the Eucharist unworthily - reception by a non-believer, or by a person who is in a state of serious sin. His warning is very significant here, because it proves that the Eucharist is truly the Body of Christ. If that were not the case and the Eucharist is just a piece of ordinary bread, just a symbol as Protestants claim, how then could someone be “guilty of the body and blood of the Lord” (guilty of the murder of Christ) just for eating a piece of bread, eating a symbol? If the Eucharist is just a symbol, it wouldn’t matter what state a person’s soul was in, or what the person believes. If it is only a symbol, then Paul’s statement here is pointless and has no meaning.
Obviously, scripture is not pointless, so the only way his statement has any meaning is if the Eucharist is truly the Body of Christ. Paul’s warning here also ties in with John 20: 19-23.
Also, as was mentioned above, if the apostles only ate a piece of bread at the last supper, then the last supper was invalid. Exodus 12:8 requires that a lamb be eaten, and bread is not Lamb. It should be noted that nowhere in the scriptural description of the Last Supper is there any reference to an animal type lamb being there! Why? Paul shows that none was needed, and he confirms that the apostles ate the Real Lamb when he says: “Christ our pascal lamb has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7)”, and must be eaten (1 Corinthians 5:8). Additionally Paul states: “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? (1 Corinthians 10:16). Also, see Exodus 29:33: “And they shall eat those things with which the atonement was made…” Christ has atoned for our sins, and must now be eaten (John 6: 53-54).
Conclusion continued in part 3
Just as the Jewish Passover was a re-presentation of the original Passover, done in remembrance of the night before the Jews left Egypt, so too the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a re-presentation of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, and is done, as He requested, in remembrance of His redemptive actions on Calvary (Luke 22: 19). But the Mass is also so much more. It is the means by which the merits gained on Calvary are brought to us; it is the method Christ gives us to fulfill the requirements of John 6:53-59.
In general The Mass is offered for four specific ends: (1) as a supreme act of adoration of God; (2) as a most powerful means of appeasing God’s offended justice; (3) as a most acceptable act of thanksgiving; (4) as a most powerful means of obtaining all blessings for body and soul.
It should be noted that Paul links this requirement of John 6: 53-54 to the last supper. Again in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Paul states: “Christ is the Paschal Lamb who has been sacrificed…” But then notice that Paul adds an additional requirement to Christ’s sacrifice – “Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (As a side note – Communion hosts are made from unleavened bread).
So how do we keep the feast? We must eat the Lamb, the Real Lamb – Christ in the Eucharist. Here, Paul is restating the requirements of Exodus 12:8 (the Paschal lamb had to be eaten) and showing its connection to 1 Corinthians 5:7-8. In other words 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, John 6: 53-54, and the three accounts of the institution of the Holy Eucharist (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; and Luke 22:19-20), are the New Testament fulfillment of Exodus 12:8.
As was stated above in 1 Corinthians 11:23-29, Paul, gives a stern warning against receiving the Eucharist unworthily - reception by a non-believer, or by a person who is in a state of serious sin. His warning is very significant here, because it proves that the Eucharist is truly the Body of Christ. If that were not the case and the Eucharist is just a piece of ordinary bread, just a symbol as Protestants claim, how then could someone be “guilty of the body and blood of the Lord” (guilty of the murder of Christ) just for eating a piece of bread, eating a symbol? If the Eucharist is just a symbol, it wouldn’t matter what state a person’s soul was in, or what the person believes. If it is only a symbol, then Paul’s statement here is pointless and has no meaning.
Obviously, scripture is not pointless, so the only way his statement has any meaning is if the Eucharist is truly the Body of Christ. Paul’s warning here also ties in with John 20: 19-23.
Also, as was mentioned above, if the apostles only ate a piece of bread at the last supper, then the last supper was invalid. Exodus 12:8 requires that a lamb be eaten, and bread is not Lamb. It should be noted that nowhere in the scriptural description of the Last Supper is there any reference to an animal type lamb being there! Why? Paul shows that none was needed, and he confirms that the apostles ate the Real Lamb when he says: “Christ our pascal lamb has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7)”, and must be eaten (1 Corinthians 5:8). Additionally Paul states: “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? (1 Corinthians 10:16). Also, see Exodus 29:33: “And they shall eat those things with which the atonement was made…” Christ has atoned for our sins, and must now be eaten (John 6: 53-54).
Conclusion continued in part 3
