THE SACRAMENT OF THE HOLY COMMUNION

Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat, which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, this is the work of God that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. They said therefore unto him, what sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? What dost thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, that ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one, which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread, which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood; ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live forever.

•  Definition and Names

•  The Holy Communion

•  The Lord's Table

•  The Flesh and Blood of Christ.

•  The Eucharist

II. Types in the Old Testament

•  The offerings, which Melchisedec offered. For the first and last time in the old Testament It was said that there were offerings of bread and wine "And Melchisedec king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the Most High God (Gen.14:18) For this reason, it was said of our Lord "Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec" (Heb.5:6,10;7:17).

•  The Passover which the children of Israel offered on the night of their going out of Egypt, and which they used to offer every Year " Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us"(1 Cor. 5:7) "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world"(John 1:29).

•  The "manna" which Israel ate in the wilderness for forty years. :"Verilv Verily" I say unto you. Moses did not give you the bread form heaven, but My Father giveth you the true bread form heaven"(John 6:32).

III. Institution of the Sacrament

It pleased our Lord to institute the sacrament on the very momentous occasion. The evangelists tell us it was instituted directly before His death and on the night of His passion when He was about to give himself for the life of the world... "The lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread: and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, take, eat; this is my body which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me in the same manner also He took the cup, after supper saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood this do ye,as oft as ye drink it , in remembrance often me" (1 cor 11:23-25)

IV The Visible Sing

There are tow visible signs in the Sacrament: (1) the bread & wine (2) the service of Mass, especially those prayers through which the Holy Ghost descends upon the bread and wine changing it into the body and blood of the Lord.

•  The bread should be made of pure wheat, and should be leavened, because the sacrament was instituted at a time when all the Jews were using leavened bread.

The law ordered that Israel should feast on the evening of the 14 th .day of the month and being to eat unleavened bread at the time of the Passover.

And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD's passover.

But the New Testamental authentic sacrament was instituted on the 13 th day of the month:

•  It is expressly said that it was " before the feast of the Passover"(Jon 13:1)

•  The next morning, after laying hands on Jesus, it was said the Jews were preparing themselves to observe the feast. "Then they led Jesus for Caiaphas unto the hall of Judgment: and it was early, and they themselves went not into the Judgment ball lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. (John 18:28) "

"When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, Gabbatha, and about and it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Bohold your King "Jn.19: 13,14.

•  They were preparing themselves for the feast even after the death of Christ on the Cross,' "The Jews therefore because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the Cross on the Sabbath day (for the Sabbath day was a high day) they besought Pilate that their legs (the legs of the crucified) might be broken and that they might be taken away "Jn.19: 3.

•  It was the custom that the governor should release unto the people at the feast time a prisoner whom they like. And Barabas the Robber was released accordingly the prisoner was generally, released before the feast, in order to celebrate with his household. Jn.19: 3.

•  It was said of Judas Iscariot "after the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, what you do, do quickly. Some of them thought because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, buy those things that we need for the feast.... "Jn. 13:27-29.

This shows that, on Thursday, the feast had not yet begun, because one has to buy things for the feast before and not on the same day or after.

But, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that the bead should be unleavened, because it was said "Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came of Jesus, saying unto Him; where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the Passover" and He said; Go in to the city to such a man and say unto him, the Master saith, thy time it at hand; I will keep the Passover at thy house with My disciples' and the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them and they made ready the Passover"(Matt. 26:17-19)

As it is clear form the previous verses that feast was on Saturday, and it is impossible to find a verse contradicting. This. The reason for this seeming contradiction is that the feast was on Saturday, and the lamb was to be slain on the evening of Friday (The 14 th day) The 14 th day was called the Passover, and the unleavened seven days were to begin at the evening of this 14th. Day The Jews used to consider the day beginning form the evening of the previous day; Thus Friday begins from Thursday evening. When St. Matthew and St. Mark say that the Lord instituted this sacrament on the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, they meant that He instituted it on Friday (which begins on the evening of Thursday). The feast of Passover, was followed by the seven days of unleavened bread and it was often called the first day of the unleavened bread (Luke 22:7)

•  Moreover most commentators affirm that this sacrament was instituted on the 13 th day of the month, i.e. before the Passover, or rather before the first day of the unleavened bread.

•  John Chrysostom says:" The Evangelists in saying then came the day of unleavened bread when the pass over must be killed" it does not mean that it had already come but that is was at hand and refers to the beginning of the day because every day begins at the previous evening"

•  In interpreting Matt. 26:17 which reads, "Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus saying unto him, where wilt Thou that we prepare for thee to eat the Passover? " the Pulpit commentary states (P.519) states: "we have arrived at the Thursday in the holy week Nisan 13 th The festival actually began at sunset of the 14th, which we called the day of preparation, because the lambs of the feast were slain the afternoon of that day, preparatory to their being eaten before the mooring of the 15th. Domestic preparation began on this was considered (the first day of unleavened dread). "

•  And Adam Clarke in his commentary, states; "As the feast of unleavened bead did not begin till the day after the Passover, the 15 th day to the month, this could not have been properly the first day of that feast; but ad (EX.12:18 ) this day was often termed the first day of the unleavened bread. The evangelists use it in this sense and call even the paschal day by this name. See Mark 14:12 Luke 22:7 "

In addition to all this it is worth mentioning that the Bible states in every place that our Lord... "Took bread and blessed it"(Mat. 26:26); (Mark 14:22; Luke 22: 19; 1 cor. 11:23 etc.) Whenever the word "bread" is used, it means leavened bread, i.e. ordinary bread.

2. And the wine should be:

A). Very pure,

B) The fruit of the vine "then 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. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew with you in My Father's Kingdom"(Matt. 27-29)

C) Mixed with water, because the Lord thus used it (Orders of the Apostles 8:22), and because it resembles in this way the blood and water that came out of the Lord's side (John 19.32)

V. The Invisible Grace

1. We partake of the Flesh and Blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus

Christ.

•  We get the spiritual food which helps us to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," And Jesus said unto them' I am the bread of life; he that cometh to Me shall never hunger, and He that believes In Me shall never thirst, For My Flesh is meat indeed and My blood is drink indeed. " (John 6:35,55)...

•  We receive remission of sins," And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all for it, for this is my blood of the New Testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins."(Matt. 26:27,28)

•  We abide in Christ and Christ abides in us." He that eatech My flesh and drinketh My blood, dwelled in Me, and I in him. "

•  We get holy fellowship; with Christ Himself. With our fellow worshippers with all the Church on earth, with the saints around the throne of God, With the Angles and Archangels and all the company of heaven. The Holy Communion tells us that God's salivation comes to us in fellowship with our fellow men. This if truly understood, is not an individual acting of worship, but the common meat of the Family of God, our Father. "For we being many are one bread and one body: for we are partakers of that one bread"(Cor 10:17)

•  We are given true life in this world. Unless the branch abides in the vine, it cannot have life. "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, ye have no life in you... He that eateth Me, shall live be case of.”(John 6:53.57)

•  We are given eternal life. "Whoso ever eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. He that eateth of this bread shall live forever. " (John 6:54,58)

VI. The Change of Bread and Wine

We believe that, after prayer, the bread and wine is spiritually changed into the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. For this reason we do not look at mere bread and mere wine on the altar, but we truly look at the body and blood of the Lord under the forms of bread and wine.

In this respect Church fathers said: "We believe that our Lord Jesus is present in this Sacrament, not in type or by way of granting His grace, as in the case of other Sacraments, but He is truly and actually present. For this reason the bread is changed after prayer into the Lord's very Body, which was born at Bethlehem from the Virgin Mary, baptized at the river Jordan, suffered, buried and rose from the dead. Likewise, the wine is changed in to the blood of the Lord which was shed on the Cross." The way of the Lord's presence is by changing the bread and wine into His blessed Body and precious blood.

But, some Protestants say that we take the bread and wine as a mere memorial service in remembrance of the Lord's sufferings and death. In reply we have this to refer:

•  To the Bible

All that is mentioned in the Bible regarding this Sacrament supports our doctrine.

2. And the disciples also, taking his words literally, and being unable to understand the possibility of eating the Lord's flesh and drinking His blood, began to murmur saying "this is an hard saying; who can hear it?" But the Savior began to convince them of the reality of that teaching and said to them: "Doth this offend you? What if ye shall see the son of man ascend up where He was before?"(VV.61.62)

3. When the Lord gave the Holy Communion to His Disciples, He "took bread, and blessed it and break 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 to them saying, Drink ye all of it for this is My blood of the New Testament " (Matt 26:26-28)

There was no need for the Lord to speak at that time in parables or proverbs, as it was His last day with them, and He had to open to them, all His heart, and speak to them very simple and clear words.

Justin and Irenics attribute to the Logos the operative power by which the elements become the Body and Blood of Christ. Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Athanasius assert that the spiritual content of the Eucharist is identified with the Logos.

This idea finds expression in one of the ancient Egyptian Liturgies, When the Logos is invoked to come upon the bread that it may become" the Body of the Logos"

4. The Writings of Protestants Themselves

1. Calvin one of the their most prominent leaders said "if any one inquires of me respecting the manner, (the sacrament),I shall not be ashamed to acknowledge that it is a mystery too sublime for me to be able to express or even to comprehend; and to be still more explicit, I rather experience it than understand it, Here, therefore, without any controversy, I embrace the truth of God on which I can safely rely. He pronounces His blood, the drink of my soul.

I offer my soul to Him to be nourished with such alignment."

2. Martin Luther said: "Christ said, this is My Flesh, and we can do nothing better than to respect His words"

3. The Scottish Confession of 1560, of the Presbyterian Church, says, "So that we confess and undoubtedly believe that the faithful in the right use of the Lord's Table do so eat the Body and drink the Blood of the Lord Jesus that He remained in them and they in Him yea. They are so made flesh of His Flesh, and Blood of His be Blood". (The "Holy Communion" by David Cairns et.al P.75)

VII. The Holy Communion as a Sacrifice

1. We believe that this Sacrament is an unbloody sacrifice offered for our Salvation. This we can prove from the following:

2.. When instituting the sacrament our Lord said "This is my blood which is give (sacrificed) for you"(Luke 22:19, 20)

3.. St. Paul in his comparison between the sacrifices and altar of the Gentiles and the Christian sacrifices and altar (1Cor.10:18-19, 21) gives the proof that the Holy Communion is offered on the altar as a true sacrifice.

3. And in Heb.13: 10 St. Paul refers also to the Christian altar.

4. This sacrifice of the New Testament was foretold in the Old Testament:

"From the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the name my mane shall be great among the Gentiles saith the Lord of hosts."(Mall.1: 11)

It is clear that the Prophet speaks here about a new sacrifice, which had to be offered in the Gospel time

When interpreting this verse, The Pulpit commentary says:

"The Fathers and mediaeval writers. And many modern commentators, see in this verse a prophecy of the Holy Eucharist, the pure offering commemorative of Christ's sacrifice which is found in every nation under heaven where the name of Christ is adored."

5.The Council of Nice called the Holy Communion unbloody sacrifice "Neither the Lord nor the Apostles nor the fathers called the Holy Communion an unbloody sacrifice but they always called it the very Flesh and the very Blood of the lord."

6. In ch.14 of the Didache of teaching of the Twelve Apostles, it is asserted that the worship should be preceded by a confession of sins, "that your sacrifice may be pure. "This sacrifice is indentified with "the pure offering" of Malachi 1.1.1.(The Early History Of The Liturgy J.H Srawley, P.21)

7. All Church Fathers called it sacrifice. For instance Irenaeus, in this work "Adversus Haereses" written about A.D 180 has made several references to the Eucharist. The various titles under which he alludes to it are "Eucharist" "the oblation of the Church", "the new oblation of the new covenant" "the pure sacrifice "(in reference of Mal. 1:11) Srawley PP.35-36

)

8. When speaking about the Holy communions even in the Anglican Church, one of her men said "the sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross is made present and contemporary by the consecration of the elements (bread and wine), this is wholly and entirely God's gift of grace to man"("Holy communion" Cairns et.al P.64)

9. In "the Manual of worship" of the "united by pres tertian Church of North America" (P.81), it is written as follows

"It is a solemn moment when standing at the altar the minister says, Let us pray".

If there is an altar, then there must be a sacrifice

2. This sacrifice is the same with that which was offered on the Cross. John Chrysostom says; "our Great High Priest offers the sacrifice which purifies us; since, then we also offer this same sacrifice"

The differences between this sacrifice and that which was offered on the Cross are:

•  Our Lord offered a visible Sacrifice on the Cross-while in the Holy Communion; He offers an invisible one under the form of bread and wine.

•  On the Cross-, the Sacrifice was offered for all the race of man once only, and in one place, but the unbloody Sacrifice is offered continuously, in every place on earth, and only for those who receive it in faith.

VIII. Who has the Right to celebrate this Sacrament?

Our Lord gave this right to the Apostles when He told them "This do in My remembrance (Luke 29:19) and the Apostles gave it to their successors, the bishops.

But, because Christianity was spreading fast, the bishops could not go to all towns and villages to celebrate the Sacrament,

for this reason they have given the right to administer it the priests. The deacons can only help the bishops and priests; the laity is strictly forbidden to celebrate.

IX. Who Has the Right to Partake?

•  All baptized persons have the right to partake of the Holy Communion.

•  It was the custom, in the previous centuries, for all believers to take the Holy Communion every week, bearing in mind the words of the Lord: "except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, ye have no life in you. He that eateth My Flesh and drinketh My Blood, dwelleth in Me and I in him"(John 6: 53,56) For this reason it is very essential that every Christian should take the holy communion form time to time,

•  But, before taking the Holy Communion, the believer must prepare him/ her self for it." Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. for he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's Body "(1 Cor.11:28,29)

•  And as the babies are allowed to receive baptism, they should also be allowed to take the Holy Communion in order not to be deprived of this food of the sprit.

•  And we must take both the flesh and the blood. But the Church of Rome gives only the Flesh. In reply, we state the following:

•  When the Lord gave His disciples the Holy Communion, He gave them both the Flesh and the Blood. More over when giving the Cup, He expressly ordered that all of us should drink of it "Drink ye all of it"(Matt 26:27)

•  Whenever The Holy communion is spoken of in the Bible both the Flesh and the blood are mentioned.

•  All the church fathers said that both the Flesh and the blood where given to the believers since the first century.

•  Even the Roman Church fathers say that their believers used to take both the body and the blood until the 12th century.

6. When the flesh is Partaken and given to the believers, we believe that every part of it ever the smallest part is the perfect body of the Lord and so also is the case with the blood.

We also believe that once the bread and wine are changed, they remain to become the flesh and the blood till they are completely consumed. But, Protestants unwittingly teach what is left over after the Holy Communion has been received can be dispensed with as something of no importance.

May the blessing of God be with as all ! Amen!