Chapter V: Front Matter (5)

Mark xiv. 22-25, Matt. xxvi. 26-29, Luke xxii. 14-20, are, in order of time, our next accounts, Mark representing the oldest tradition. They all in substance repeat Paul's account; but identify the night on which Jesus was betrayed with that of the Pascha. In Matthew and Mark, Jesus says of the bread "Take ye it, this is my body," omitting the idea of sacrifice imported by Paul's addition "which is for you"; but in them Jesus enunciates the same idea when he says of the cup: "This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many," Matthew adding "for the remission of sins," a phrase which savours of Heb. ix. 22: "apart from the shedding of blood there is no remission." It is a later addition, and so may be the words "which is poured out for many." But the words which follow have an antique ring: "Amen, I say unto you, I will no more drink of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." For here Jesus affirms his conviction, in view of his impending death, which unlike his disciples he foresaw, that, when the kingdom of God is instituted on earth, he will take his place in it. But this is the last time he will sit down upon earth with his disciples at the table of the millenarist hope. These sources do not hint that the Last Supper is to be repeated by Christ's followers until the advent of the kingdom. Luke's account is too much interpolated from Paul, and the texts of his oldest MSS. too discrepant, for us to rely on it except so far as it supports the other gospels. It emphasizes the fact that the Last Supper was the Pascha. "With desire have I desired to eat this Passover, before I suffer"; and places the bread after the wine, unless indeed the Pauline interpolation comprises the whole of verse 19.

The fourth gospel, written perhaps A.D. 90-100, sublimates the rite, in harmony with its general treatment of the life of Jesus: "I am the living bread which cometh down out of heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die" (John vi. 51). As in 1 Cor. x. the flesh of Christ is contrasted with the manna which saved not the Jews from death, so here the latter ask: "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" and Jesus answers: "Amen, Amen I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, ye have not life in yourselves.... He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me and I in him." In an earlier passage, again in reference to the manna, Jesus is called "the bread of God, which cometh down out of heaven, and giveth life unto the world." They ask: "Lord, ever more give us this bread," and he answers: "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." This writer's thought is coloured by the older speculations of Philo, who in metaphor called the Logos the heavenly bread and food, the cupbearer and cup of God; and he seems even to protest against a literal interpretation of the words of institution, since he not only pointedly omits them in his account of the Last Supper, but in v. 63 of this chapter writes: "It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the _words_ that I have spoken unto you are spirit and are life."

In Acts ii. 46 we read that, "the faithful continued steadfastly with one accord in the temple"; at the same time "breaking bread at home they partook of food with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God." All such repasts must have been sacred, but we do not know if they included the Eucharistic rite. The care taken in the selecting and ordaining of the seven deacons argues a religious character for the common meals, which they were to serve. Their main duty was to look after the duty of the Hellenistic widows, but inasmuch as meats strangled or consecrated to idols were forbidden, it probably devolved on the deacons to take care that such were not introduced at these common meals. The Essenes, similarly, appointed houses all over Palestine where they could safely eat, and priests of their own to prepare their food. Some Christians escaped the difficulties of their position by eating no meat at all. "He that is weak," says Paul (Rom. xiv. 1), "eateth herbs"; that is, becomes a vegetarian. Rather than scandalize weaker brethren, Paul was willing to eat herbs the rest of his life.

The travel-document in Acts often refers to the solemn breaking of bread. Thus Paul in xxvii. 35, having invited the ship's company of 276 persons to partake of food, took bread, gave thanks to God in the presence of all, and brake it and began to eat. The rest on board then began to be of good cheer, and themselves also took food. Here it is not implied that Paul shared his food except with his co-believers, but he ate before them all. Whether he repeated the words of institution we cannot say.

In Acts xx. 7 the faithful of Troas gather together to break bread "on the first day of the week" after sunset. After a discourse Paul, who was leaving them the next morning, broke bread and ate. This was surely such a meeting as we read of in 1 Cor. x., and was held on Sunday by night; but long before dawn, since after it Paul "talked with them a long while, even till break of day." In 1 Cor. xvi. 1 Paul bids the Corinthians, as he had bidden the churches of Galatia, lay up in store on the first of the week, each one of them, money for the poor saints of Jerusalem. This is the first notice of Sunday Eucharistic collections of alms for the poor.

Here seems to belong in the order of development the Cathar Eucharist (see CATHARS). The Cathars used only the Lord's prayer in consecrating the bread and used water for wine.

The next document in chronological order is the so-called Teaching of the Apostles (A.D. 90-110). This assigns prayers and rubrics for the celebration of the Eucharist:--