Native American Heritage Month

Matthew 2:2-28, The Sacraments as Sacrifice

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

//Yesterday I posed a question: What are we to make of the ritual Jesus implemented, with the bread and wine, if we accept that Jesus himself was opposed to the sacrificial sys...

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Published on April 24, 2015 06:05
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message 1: by Mark (new)
Apr 25, 2015 10:06AM

Mark Johansen Hmm, who says that Jesus was "opposed to the sacrificial system"? I see nothing in the Gospels or anywhere else that says that. Quite the contrary, Jesus repeatedly showed great respect for the Law and the Prophets. "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled." -- Matthew 5:18. When he was tempted by Satan, he replied by quoting scripture. He repeatedly responded to questions and criticisms by saying, "Have you not read ..." and then quoting Old Testament scripture.

The traditional Christian interpretation is that Jesus's death on the cross was the fulfillment of the Old Testament sacrificial system. It was no longer necessary to sacrifice bulls and goats because Christ's sacrifice paid the price once and for all. This interpretation is found throughout the epistles. For example Hebrews 10:11-14, "And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified."

If you don't accept the authority and unity of scripture, you could of course say that the writers of the epistles made all this up and that it is not what Jesus intended. Fair enough grounds for debate. But where do you get the idea that Jesus opposed the sacrificial system and was now offering some alternative to it? You just made that up. Jesus never said that. None of the church fathers ever said that. Do you have any evidence for such an idea, other than that it suits what you would like to believe more than traditional Christian teaching?

(There are lots of things that I would like to believe. I'd like to believe that I'll win the lottery, even though I've never bought a ticket. I'd like to believe that email that says that thousands of beautiful Asian women are just dying to meet me. But "pleasant to believe" and "true" have very little to do with each other.)


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