The Eucharist: Jesus's Most Controversial Teaching
TLDR;
The Eucharist is not merely a representation of Christ but His actual presence. Jesus established this sacrament as the path to union with God, fulfilling Old Testament prefigurations and reinforcing His divine plan. Through the Eucharist, believers actively participate in their faith, becoming living temples of the Holy Spirit and participating in God’s eternal covenant.
The Eucharist Is the Real Presence of Christ
A central principle of the Catholic Church is the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Catholics receive the Eucharist through Holy Communion, the Eucharist's Sacrament.
When priests consecrate the bread and wine, they transform into the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ through transubstantiation. Thus, the bread and wine bear the actual substance of our Savior. Only a validly ordained priest with apostolic succession can affect the Eucharist.
There is a rather large opinion that Catholics and Orthodox are heretics, committing idolatry for worshipping the bread and wine as if it were God. Unlike the popular belief among other Christian denominations, mainly Evangelicals and Fundamentalists, Jesus is not spiritually or symbolically represented but fully flesh in the Eucharist.
“The power of the words and the action of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit, make sacramentally present under the species of bread and wine Christ’s body and blood, his sacrifice offered on the cross once for all” - Catechism of the Catholic Church 1353
“By this sacrament, we unite ourselves to Christ, who makes us sharers in his body and blood to form a single body” - Catechism of the Catholic Church 1331
This is the belief held by both the Catholic Church and Orthodoxy alike.
However, one must not mistake the belief that the Catholic Church promotes the Eucharist as the only method to achieve Christ’s salvation, as this is simply not true. Catholics believe in the Eucharist as a normal necessity for salvation, whereas baptism is an absolute necessity.
An “absolute necessity” refers to something required under any circumstance with no exceptions. It is clear that baptism, whether received or, at the very least, an implicit desire for baptism with contrition for one’s sins and love of God, is an essential ingredient in the recipe for salvation.
The Eucharist is a way to receive grace and unite with Christ at the deepest level. It memorializes Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, reaffirms our connection to Him, and allows us to receive God’s grace.
Biblical Foundation for the Eucharist
The Bible explains this Catholic dogma in John 6, as Jesus speaks to the large crowd who has just witnessed Him multiply the fish and loaves of bread to feed over 5,000 people.
The day after Jesus performed His miracle, He answered:
“Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw there signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.” - John 6:26-27
Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?”
Jesus lays down the answer:
“This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” - John 6:29
But despite Jesus’ miracle, the Jews challenge Him to do better than His Father:
“So they asked him ‘What sign will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from Heaven to eat’.’” - John 6:30
As if telling Him, “Who are you? What good can you provide us? The Father gave our ancestors manna in the wilderness and gave them physical bread from Heaven to show His reason to believe. So why believe in you?”
Jesus replied to their disbelief by saying that He, the real bread from Heaven, comes from the Father:
“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.” - John 6:35-38
Yet the Jews continue to complain, believing him to be speaking metaphorically:
“Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” - John 6:41-42
Jesus enforced what He meant and continued His words in as literal of a sense as possible:
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” - John 6:50-51
The Jews then, in disgust among themselves, disputed, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus backed His statement even further:
“So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.” - John 6:53-55
Everyone, including his disciples, was in disbelief at what Jesus said, saying, “Who can accept this teaching?”
Jesus meant what He said and did not attempt to lessen or correct the crowd’s “misunderstanding.” That’s because there was no misunderstanding. If metaphorical, why didn’t Jesus elaborate to clarify His disciples' confusion?
Jesus claimed to be the bread that came down from heaven twelve times. Four times, he told them to “eat my flesh and drink my blood.”
The interpretation that this is figurative spiritual food and drink has an inherent problem.
Fr. John A. O’Brien explains it this way:
“The phrase ‘to eat the flesh and drink the blood,’ when used figuratively among the Jews, as among the Arabs of today, meant to inflict upon a person some serious injury, especially by calumny or by false accusation. To interpret the phrase figuratively then would be to make our Lord promise life everlasting to the culprit for slandering and hating him, which would reduce the whole passage to utter nonsense”
If this was symbolic, why would Christ say, in John 6:55, “For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed”?
Or in John 6:57, “As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me”?
The Greek word for “eats” is trogon, which means “to gnaw” or “to chew." Thus, Jesus said to “chew” on His flesh in every literal sense.
Even the argument against this using John 6:63 is rendered useless. John 6:63 states, “It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”
At first glance, some might think Jesus is downplaying the importance of His real presence in the Eucharist. But this verse does not negate the reality of the Eucharist—instead, it deepens our understanding of it.
Did Jesus just order his disciples to eat his flesh and then refute Himself by saying that would be pointless?
Did He change His mind and chase back the disciples who chose not to follow him in verse 66 of that same chapter?
In John 6:63, Jesus does not reject the importance of His flesh in the Eucharist. Instead, He says that human understanding (flesh, without the Holy Spirit) cannot comprehend this mystery.
The Eucharist, through the Holy Spirit, gives us true life—not just a physical meal but divine, eternal life. Jesus’ words about eating His flesh and drinking His blood are spiritual and life-giving. He says that life does not come from the human body but from the Holy Spirit, and what Jesus gave us is the way to the Holy Spirit.
If we rely only on human reasoning, the Eucharist seems impossible—how can bread and wine become Jesus’ body and blood? But faith, illuminated by the Holy Spirit, allows us to believe.
St. Paul echoes this idea in 1 Corinthians 2:14, saying:
“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him.”
And if you continue to 1 Corinthians 10:16, St. Paul wrote:
“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?”
And he continues in 1 Corinthians 11:27-29:
“Therefore whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. . . . For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.”
This statement by St. Paul signifies bearing guilt for a grave crime, such as homicide. How could consuming ordinary bread and wine "unworthily" carry such weight unless the bread and wine truly become the body and blood of Christ? This shows us the importance of only partaking in the Eucharist while in a state of grace. The Eucharist is a supernatural reality that requires spiritual discernment.
St. Paul, who was not even present during the Last Supper, taught the exact teachings of the Last Supper after learning from his fellow disciples:
“For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, 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
John chapter 6 was a foreshadowing promise to the Last Supper, the institution of the Eucharist.
“While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” - Matthew 26:26-29
“While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” - Mark 14:22-25
“Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” - Luke 22:19-20
In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus clarifies that to remember Him, we must eat His flesh and blood, not just regular bread and wine.
Bread has had a significant role in the Bible, symbolizing sustenance, life, and divine provision.
The Hebrew word for bread, "lechem," appears approximately 296 times in the Old Testament, in 30 of its 39 books, and the term bread appears approximately 81 times in the New Testament.
Here are some examples:
- In Exodus 16, God provides manna, described as "bread from heaven," to sustain the Israelites during their desert journey.
- The "Bread of the Presence" (Lehem haPanim) consisted of twelve loaves placed in the Tabernacle as a continual offering, symbolizing God's eternal covenant with Israel.
- In John 6:35, Jesus declares, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." He further emphasizes in John 6:51, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
- During the Last Supper, Jesus takes bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to his disciples, saying, "This is my body." This act establishes the Eucharist, where bread becomes the actual body of Christ.
The Eucharist and Old Testament Prefigurations
The Body
Eating of the flesh was a requirement in the Old Testament by the priests of their time. The priests were to eat the sin offering presented to the Lord because it was most holy.
Let’s take a look at Leviticus, the book that established the commands for and importance of the sacrifices necessary to atone for sins:
“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: This is the ritual of the sin offering. The sin offering shall be slaughtered before the Lord at the spot where the burnt offering is slaughtered; it is most holy. The priest who offers it as a sin offering shall eat of it; it shall be eaten in a holy place, in the court of the tent of meeting. Whatever touches its flesh shall become holy; and when any of its blood is spattered on a garment, you shall wash the bespattered part in a holy place.” - 6:24-27
Eating the sin offering after it was presented was of grave importance. Not doing so was insubordination that disrespected God, His commands, and the opportunity He gave to be holy in His grace. This also shows how knowing of the Eucharist and its importance, and choosing not to partake is a fully insubordinate act in equivalence.
Take a look at how Moses was infuriated with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons of the priestly Levites, for not performing their duties of eating the sin offering:
“Why did you not eat the sin offering in the sacred area? For it is most holy, and God has given it to you that you may remove the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement on their behalf before the Lord.” - Leviticus 10:17
The priests must eat the sacrifices to God, as they are filled with God, to enter a holy state with the Lord.
Most Christian denominations can agree that Jesus was the sin offering for humanity’s sake, the Passover Lamb of God who offered Himself to take away the sins of the world.
Are we to say that Jesus’ sacrifice was not most holy?
Are we not supposed to consume the body of Jesus, our sin offering, for ourselves to become holy, just as the Old Testament instructed?
The Blood
If we look back at Matthew 26:26-29, Jesus says, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
In Mark 14:22-25, Jesus says, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”
Or in Luke 22:19-20, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”
These verses bear a remarkable resemblance to the instructions in Leviticus, where God gave Moses orders for the priests to follow:
“The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar.” - Leviticus 4:34
In the Old Testament, the lifeblood of the sacrifice purified the one who made the offering, atoning them of their sins when the priest poured it on the altar's base.
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” - Leviticus 17:11.
“Thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for the sin that you have committed, and you shall be forgiven.” - Leviticus 4:35
Jesus clearly states that He is the Great High Priest who performs the priest’s duties of pouring out the offering’s (Himself) lifeblood to atone for our souls.
“Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.” - Hebrews 4:14
God’s purpose is to use His pure blood, the blood of God Himself, to transform humanity away from its sinful nature, the very essence that keeps us away from Him. By definition, the sacrifice reconciles us with God.
Jesus was the Great High Priest who atoned for our sins and was the sin offering that we must consume to purify and be in a holy state with God’s grace.
Are we not to be purified by the blood of Jesus’ sacrifice?
Our duty as Christians is the Eucharistic covenant with God: we must eat the bread and wine of Jesus' body and blood to remember Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and obtain God’s grace.
Early Christian Belief in the Eucharist
The Eucharistic covenant is as essential today as it was to the early first-originating Christians.
Saint Ignatius of Antioch, who was a direct friend of the apostle John, martyred only years after John died of natural causes, wrote that those who reject the Eucharist as the flesh of Jesus Christ are heretics in his letter to the Smyrnaeans about 110 AD. He wrote about the Docetists as Christological heretics because:
“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 the Father, in his goodness, raised up again.” (6:2, 7:1)
Justin Martyr wrote, only forty years later from St. Ignatius’ letter, in his First Apology:
“Not as common bread or 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 nourished, . . . is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus” (66:1–20)
St. Irenaeus was a bishop who was a direct disciple of St. Polycarp, who was a direct disciple of St. John. He wrote in his book Against Heresies (189 AD):
“When, therefore, the mingled cup and the manufactured bread receives the Word of God, and the Eucharist of the blood and the body of Christ is made, from which things the substance of our flesh is increased and supported, how can they affirm that the flesh is incapable of receiving the gift of God, which is life eternal, which [flesh] is nourished from the body and blood of the Lord, and is a member of Him?”
Origen, in his Homilies on Exodus, written about 244 AD, wrote:
“You are accustomed to take part in the divine mysteries, so you know how, when you have received the Body of the Lord, you reverently exercise every care lest a particle of it fall and lest anything of the consecrated gift perish” (13:3)
Cyril of Jerusalem lectured in the mid-4th century:
“Do not, therefore, regard the bread and wine as simply that, for they are, according to the Master’s declaration, the body and blood of Christ. Even though the senses suggest to you the other, let faith make you firm” (Catechetical Discourses: Mystagogic 4:22:9).
Theodore of Mopsuestia wrote in the 5th century:
“When [Christ] gave the bread he did not say, ‘This is the symbol of my body,’ but, ‘This is my body.’ In the same way, when he gave the cup of his blood he did not say, ‘This is the symbol of my blood,’ but, ‘This is my blood,’ for he wanted us to look upon the [Eucharistic elements], after their reception of grace and the coming of the Holy Spirit, not according to their nature, but to receive them as they are, the body and blood of our Lord” (Catechetical Homilies 5:1).
The Eucharist Transforms Us
So what did Jesus intend with His Eucharistic covenant?
In the Bible, the places where Heaven and Earth connect are temples where God laid his holiness, such as the Tabernacle in the wilderness and the temple of King Solomon.
These temples represented–not just in design but in function–the Garden of Eden, the place first created to unite God and Earth. Living in Jerusalem allowed you to always be near God’s presence.
Another great temple was God made human in Jesus as He made His dwelling—his Tabernacle—among us.
Jesus is the true temple where Heaven and Earth overlap with the kingdom of Heaven at hand. Jesus spent His days, even His life, to purify those He came in contact with. He healed the sick and lame and even raised the dead through His power.
But we must go to him now that Jesus is no longer in the flesh and cannot come directly to us to purify the impure.
We are the last temples:
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.” - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
It is clear that God’s goal is to reconcile with His people once more and that He will complete this through Jesus.
We partake in the Eucharist not to symbolize Jesus but because of Him. Christ points out to us that the path to Him is the Eucharist, that He is fully alive in the Eucharist and alive in us when we consume His body and blood.
When we partake in the Eucharist, we join as one with the Father again by taking action of our own accord to accomplish God’s plan through the Son and become a temple of the Holy Spirit.
May God bless you.
