The topic of
the Eucharist is a highly controversial one between Catholics and most
Protestants. We’ve already posted a
two-part series on the Catholic Eucharist in which we believe the Catholic
arguments are shown to be false. See
here:
The Catholic
Church teaches that Jesus is present in the Eucharist in body, blood, soul, and
divinity. The Eucharist is “the whole
Christ” according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1374, and the
Council of Trent, Session XIII, Canon 1.
The “whole Christ,” body, blood, soul and
divinity are supposedly what the Catholic is eating! They insist that it is literally Jesus,
Himself, but how can someone literally eat Jesus’ soul? Notwithstanding that,
the emphasis is that Jesus’ body is here with us today in the form of the Eucharist.
But
Scripture tells us that Jesus is no
longer here in the flesh:
John 12:7 – Jesus
therefore said, “Let her alone, in order that she may keep it for the day of My
burial.
John 12:8 – “For the
poor you always have with you, but you do not always have Me.”
In what
sense do we not have Jesus today? Did Jesus mean that we wouldn’t have Him spiritually? Of course not, since He said elsewhere that
He would be with us (believers) until the end (Matthew 28:20). It is clear that He was speaking in John
12:8 of His physical
presence. So, in that sense, He is not “available” today.
John 16:10 – And
concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer
behold Me.
But wait a
minute, Catholics insist that we can still behold / see Him in the form of the
Eucharist, yet He, Himself is saying that we can no longer behold / see Him.
So, one of two things is happening here:
either 1) Catholics are wrong about the Eucharist, or 2) Jesus
lied. We believe it’s safe to go with
the first choice.
John 17:11 – “And I
am no more in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I
come to Thee. Holy Father, keep them in
Thy name, the name which Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, even as We
are.”
How much
plainer can it be? Jesus is speaking of
His departure to the Father, and says that He is (or will be) “no more in the world,” physically
speaking. If He is no longer in the
world, then He cannot be in the
Catholic Eucharist, as they claim, can He?
Of course,
Catholics will say that this is all a great mystery
that we can’t fully understand, but this “mystery” of theirs is not
biblical. In fact, it is anti-biblical,
as just demonstrated. Or, Catholics
might say that the Eucharist has some kind of special power as a “sacrament,”
but this is just special pleading. See
here:
According to
Scripture, we are denied access to
the physical presence of His body or His blood.
Therefore, the “Jesus” in the Catholic Eucharist is an idol. It is another
Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:4).
The Jesus of
the Bible does not want us to literally eat Him. That is not what He meant when He said, “Eat
My flesh” and “Drink My blood” (see the first two links above). He simply wants us to believe in Him (John 6:29,35,47-51) and in His work
on the cross where the penalty for sin was fully paid. He wants us to believe and trust in the fact
of His death, burial and resurrection.
That is the essence of the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) and the true
access to the Father. That is the good
news.
