The Eucharist in the Early Church
Part IV: The New Passover
This is the fourth in a seven-part series on the Eucharist in the Early Church.
Dr. Brant Pitre in his book Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist, poses the important question, “How did Jesus’ Jewish disciples, whose law strongly prohibited the drinking of blood, come to believe in the Real Presence of the Eucharist so quickly?” He explains how the disciples’ understanding of the Old Testament image of the Passover (Ex. 12) helped them to grasp the reality of the Eucharist which completes and fulfills this ancient ritual.
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Instead of the Levitical priests who slaughtered the lambs, Christ makes his apostles priests repeat this sacrifice in commemoration of him. “Do this in memory of me.”
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Instead of the Passover lamb, Jesus offers himself as the sacrifice. St. Paul tells the Corinthians: “For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed” (1 Cor. 5:7). The Lord’s crucifixion even mirrors the roasting position of the Paschal Lamb, “dressed up in the form of the cross. For one spit is transfixed right through from the lower parts up to the head, and one across the back, to which are attached the legs of the lamb” (St. Justin Martyr, 2nd c.).
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Instead of spreading lamb’s blood on the wood of the door, the Lamb of God will shed his blood on the wood of the Cross. “For by the blood of the lamb our houses are preserved from the smiting of the Angel, and our enemies perish in the waters of the Red Sea, which are the Sacraments of the Church of Christ” (St. Jerome, 4th c.).
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Instead of merely freeing the people of Israel from physical slavery, Jesus the Lamb of God will take away the sins of the whole world. “That [Passover lamb] was shed for the preservation of the firstborn, this [Eucharist] is for the remission of the sins of the whole world” (St. John Chrysostom, 4th c.).
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Instead of eating the physical flesh and blood of the animal, Christ commands them to partake of communion in his flesh and blood under the sacramental appearances of bread and wine. He foreshadows this fulfillment in the person of Melchizedek, the high priest who offered bread and wine to Abraham (Gen. 14:18) and who the Psalmist proclaims to be an eternal high priest of God: “You are a priest forever in the line of Melchizedek” (Ps. 110:5). Christ fulfills the Passover in his own body (the Lamb) while offering a new sign for the New Covenant (the bread and wine).
Therefore, the Eucharist is the New Passover instituted by the sacrifice of Christ’s Body and Blood upon the Cross. This resonance with their traditions helped the disciples to leap to this profound understanding, a knowledge that would have concrete consequences for the way they treated the Eucharist as members of the Church. We’ll talk about this next week.