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Re-discover the biblical revelation of the cross through this Bible study that explores
the atonement of Jesus Christ - the Righteous Servant.
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The Biblical
Revelation of the Cross
ISBN: 0-9551029-0-1 
by Norman McIlwain
A Bible Study of the Atonement of Jesus Christ - the Righteous Servant
Now available!
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'The aim behind the writing of this book is not to call people out from their present spiritual home in order to create another denomination, it is simply to enlighten. Christianity needs to return to its biblical roots. Only then can we begin to repair the damage of centuries and heal our divisions.
Anyone reading this and coming to a better understanding will be challenged. Spread the news.' (Chapter 6)
Chapter 4
'Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood ...'
John 6:54, NKJ
(The Passover meal of Christ, otherwise known as Holy Communion, the Eucharist or Lord's Supper)
Beside the Sea of Galilee, not long after the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus said to those who followed Him: "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:53-54, NKJ). - From this time many turned back and no longer desired to follow Him (John 6:66). Suddenly, in spite of the miraculous signs, people were offended by what He had to say. Jesus then asked the twelve if they also wanted to leave. Peter gave the perfect answer: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (John 6:68-69).
These two proclamations of faith expressed the revelation given by the Holy Spirit: that Jesus, "the Christ" - the Anointed One of God, had come from the Father as the Word of God made flesh - as Manna from Heaven, giving words of everlasting life. By receiving the teaching of Jesus, Peter had received the heavenly food of God. These words were meat to our Lord, expressed and personified in His daily life. "My food," Jesus said, "is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work" (John 4:34, NKJ). The words of Jesus flowed with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, bringing life to all whom God had chosen to reveal His truth. What He had said about eating His flesh and drinking His blood was never meant to be taken literally, as though He was advocating some form of cannibalism. He explained: "The flesh profits nothing" (John 6:63). - Dependence upon physical, bodily flesh would not help anyone to live forever - this is what we can reasonably infer from the context. It was not the cannibalistic eating of His literal flesh and blood that was going to provide life, but the imbibing of His words: "The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life," He declared (John 6:63).
'The life of the flesh is in the blood' (Lev. 17:11, 14, NKJ). 'The blood is the life' (Deut. 12:23, NKJ). This is what we can read in the Old Testament. Jesus was as much as saying to those who listened, "Receive My life into yourself!" He was and is the living Word of God, imbued with all the fullness of the Holy Spirit. To enter into life we must accept and act upon the words of Christ with the living faith given to us by God and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus had promised (John 14:15-17; 26).
"If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ," Paul wrote, "he does not belong to Christ" (Rom. 8:9) ... "those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God" (v14).
The idea that the unleavened bread and wine of Holy Communion, sometimes called the Eucharist or the Lord's Supper, instituted by Jesus on the night of His Passover sacrifice, could be considered in any way the real flesh and blood of Christ is an unbiblical and abject nonsense. This was a notion arrived at centuries after the apostles, largely through the works of scholars who relied heavily upon Aristotelian philosophy to explain what they called the miracle of transubstantiation, whereby it was thought the bread and wine was transformed in all but appearance into the flesh and blood of Christ through the prayerful request of the officiating priest during the Communion service.
It is interesting to note that the person largely responsible for articulating this doctrine - the Dominican philosopher theolgian Thomas Acquinas - also provided doctrinal support and justification for the Inquisition and the use of the secular arm for the execution (normally preceded by torture) of those found guilty of schism or heresy (Summa Theologica 2-2: 11, 3 & 4). The Church of Rome needs to return to the teachings of the apostles and to the true spiritual authority to be derived from them.
A variation of this doctrine was developed during the Reformation in which it was said that the real presence of Christ in the bread and wine did not depend upon the prayer of the priest, but upon the faith of the participant at the time that he or she received the elements. However, a physical and worldly interpretation of the Lord's Passover meal "profits nothing". A veil of splendid pomp, masonry, liturgy, litany, chorale and regalia might seem impressive to the participants of the Mass, engendering submissive awe and fearful respect for the services of the priests, but it hides the truth. If a doctrine is wrong, it is wrong - no matter how wonderful might be its setting.
The present Roman Catholic Mass constitutes a reduction of the highest spiritual teaching to a mere superstitious fallacy. It transforms the bread and wine into nothing more than a specious magical potion - which, if accepted, can do no more than lull the mind into trusting in false authority and worship. From early childhood, followers are taught to regard the wafers and wine with fear and awe - to take special care lest a crumb should fall. This is superstition, akin to any irrational fear and devoid of true spiritual substance. Those held by such fears need to pray earnestly for release, that the veil obscuring true understanding might be taken away.
'The Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread ..'
(1 Cor.11:23, NKJ)
'On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread ..' (Mat.26:17-19) preparations were made for Jesus to celebrate the Passover, as we can read. This was a special Passover meal, eaten on the evening of the 14th Nisan — the Passover Day of Preparation, on the afternoon of which the Passover lambs were killed. (According to Josephus, in the first century, the Jews slew their sacrifices, ‘from the ninth hour till the eleventh,’ Wars, vi, 9:3 — i.e. in the twilight zone ‘between the two evenings,’ Lev.23:5, which was interpreted to mean from the time light started to fade from about 3.00 p.m. in the afternoon. It was at the 'ninth hour' that Jesus died, Lk.23:44-46 - at the very time the lambs were being slaughtered.) The eating of the Passover lamb took place on the evening of the Feast of the Passover, celebrated on the 15th Nisan (to correspond to the eating of the original meal, Ex.12:11; Lev.23:6-7) which that year occurred on the weekly Sabbath (John 19:31; Mark 14:2). While they were eating this special meal on the Day of Preparation, therefore, Jesus took of the unleavened bread, thanked God, broke it and gave to His disciples, commanding them to take and eat it, declaring the bread to be His body given for them. This was a special occasion. The disciples wondered as to the significance of the event. Jesus then commanded them to do what He had just done as a remembrance of Him (1 Cor.11:25). In this way, Jesus began to authorized His own memorial service and was as much as telling His disciples that He was about to die for them as the Passover Lamb.
At the time of the eating of the first Passover meal under Moses, prophetic instructions were given for the children of Israel to eat the meal in haste, wearing cloak and sandals, and carrying a staff (Exodus 12:11). It is stated, 'The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves' (Ex.12:39). As soon as the plague of the firstborn struck (Exodus 11 - 12), the Egyptians were so terrified that they 'urged the people to hurry and leave the country' (Exodus 12:33). Nevertheless, the command to eat the bread without leaven was given before the plague occured (Exodus 12:8). The Feast of Unleavened Bread was to be celebrated as a memorial of the day of the Lord's deliverance of the twelve tribes from Egypt (Exodus 12:17).
The release of Israel from Egyptian bondage was not a long drawn out affair, it happened suddenly in one day. Likewise, our own salvation from the bondage of sin is not something that requires a long period of struggle. The release is sudden, effected through the sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb of God (John 1:36), accredited to all who truly believe and repent. This time element is important, for it reveals that salvation is not something that one has to work towards. It is not of the future, but of the present for all who trust in the Son of God and receive His words. These we must 'eat' to live. The celebration of The Passover Feast is no longer limited to one day, but is a celebration that continues forever in Christ. As Paul wrote: 'For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast,' (present continuous tense, meaning: 'keep on keeping the feast') 'not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth' (1 Cor.5:7-8).
Notice: the fact that the bread of the Passover was unleavened is here given spiritual relevance. Paul understood that only unleavened bread could be offered with the sacrifices and that the sacrifices themselves had to be without fault, spot or blemish - as a symbol of purity. Associated with Christ, the unleavened bread represents the pure offering of the body of Christ - who was and is the embodiment of sincerity and truth. As we 'eat' of His body - His flesh - the Bread of Heaven - so His words will be our food for life and He will abide in us and we in Christ. These terms are all metaphors for the Word of God: 'The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us' (John 1:14). 'This is the bread that came down from heaven. .. he who feeds on this bread will live forever' (John 6:58).
As the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, it was incumbent upon all Israelites to remove leaven from their homes so that for seven days from the 14th day to the 21st day of the first month they would not eat or keep any leaven. This was given as a holy ordinance to remind the people of their deliverance from Egyptian captivity (Exodus 12:17-20). As a raising agent in bread, in biblical times, the leaven was produced when bread without salt began to ferment - hence it became a common symbol for corruption in rabbinical writings. Egypt, in the book of Revelation (Rev.11:8), is equated with Sodom - which, like Egypt, was a place of corruption which received God's judgement (Gen.18:20; 19:24-25; Exodus 6:5-6). In Paul's usage, leaven denotes the sinfulness of the old life which has to be left behind and rejected if we are to celebrate new life in Christ. Those who continue in old and corrupting ways should not be accepted into the fellowship of Christ's body and family - that each Church congregation might remain unleavened and free from the corrupting influence permeating from false brethren (1 Cor.5:1-7).
In association with the Passover sacrifice, therefore, leaven denotes sin, and unleavenedness denotes purity. This fact should not be overlooked when we take the bread of communion, during the Lord's Supper (also called the Eucharist). The unleavened bread symbolizes the purity of Christ at the time He died for us. He did not die as the embodiment of every filth and corruption - He was the pure unleavened Bread of Heaven, broken and given for us. Only when we do as He commanded and eat unleavened bread during the communion service do we truly show the death of the Lord. The institution of the Lord's Supper is an emphatic statement that Jesus, the Christ - the Holy One of Israel, died in a state of absolute purity as the perfect, unleavened offering for our salvation.
'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; ..'
(1 Cor.11:25, NIV)
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'Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, ...?'
Micah 6:7
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ISBN: 0-9551029-0-1 by Norman McIlwain
A Bible Study of the Atonement of Jesus Christ - the Righteous Servant
Now available!
@
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'Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen '
(2 Pet.3v18)
© N.McIlwain, 2004