Rather than me pronouncing what I think the teaching of the Catholic Church is on the matter of the sacrifice of the Eucharist, it is best to start off by giving the official teaching of the Catholic Church on the matter. The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives the official teaching on the matter:

1357. "We carry out this command of the Lord by celebrating the memorial of his sacrifice. In so doing, we offer to the Father what he has himself given us: the gifts of his creation, bread and wine which, by the power of the Holy Spirit and by the words of Christ, have become the body and blood of Christ. Christ is thus really and mysteriously made present.

1358. "We must therefore consider the Eucharist as:
- thanksgiving and praise to the Father;
- the sacrificial memorial of Christ and his Body;
- the presence of Christ by the power of his word and of his Spirit."

1362. "The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ's Passover, the making present and the sacramental offering of his unique sacrifice, in the liturgy of the Church which is his Body. In all the Eucharistic Prayers we find after the words of institution a prayer called the anamnesis or memorial. "

1363. "In the sense of Sacred Scripture the memorial is not merely the recollection of past events but the proclamation of the mighty works wrought by God for men. In the liturgical celebration of these events, they become in a certain way present and real. This is how Israel understands its liberation from Egypt: every time Passover is celebrated, the Exodus events are made present to the memory of believers so that they may conform their lives to them. "

1364. "In the New Testament, the memorial takes on new meaning. When the Church celebrates the Eucharist, she commemorates Christ's Passover, and it is made present the sacrifice Christ offered once for all on the cross remains ever present. 'As often as the sacrifice of the Cross by which 'Christ our Pasch has been sacrificed' is celebrated on the altar, the work of our redemption is carried out.'LG 3; cf."

1365. "Because it is the memorial of Christ's Passover, the Eucharist is also a sacrifice. The sacrificial character of the Eucharist is manifested in the very words of institution: 'This is my body which is given for you' and 'This cup which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my blood.' In the Eucharist Christ gives us the very body which he gave up for us on the cross, the very blood which he 'poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'

1366. "The Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross, because it is its memorial and because it applies its fruit: (Christ), our Lord and God, was once and for all to offer himself to God the Father by his death on the altar of the cross, to accomplish there an everlasting redemption. But because his priesthood was not to end with his death, at the Last Supper 'on the night when he was betrayed,' (he wanted) to leave to his beloved spouse the Church a visible sacrifice (as the nature of man demands) by which the bloody sacrifice which he was to accomplish once for all on the cross would be re-presented, its memory perpetuated until the end of the world, and its salutary power be applied to the forgiveness of the sins we daily commit.[Council of Trent (1562): DS 1740; cf. 1 Cor 11:23; Heb 7:24, 27.]"

1367. "The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice: 'The victim is one and the same: the same now offers through the ministry of priests, who then offered himself on the cross; only the manner of offering is different.' 'In this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner.'[Council of Trent (1562): DS 1743; cf. Heb 9:14, 27.]" [1]

The Catechism refers us to and reaffirms the teaching of the Council of Trent on this issue. The Council of Trent says the following on the matter:

CHAPTER I
THE INSTITUTION OF THE MOST HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

Since under the former Testament, according to the testimony of the Apostle Paul, there was no perfection because of the weakness of the Levitical priesthood, there was need, God the Father of mercies so ordaining, that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchisedech,[1] our Lord Jesus Christ, who might perfect and lead to perfection as many as were to be sanctified. He, therefore, our God and Lord, though He was by His death about to offer Himself once upon the altar of the cross to God the Father that He might there accomplish an eternal redemption, nevertheless, that His priesthood might not come to an end with His death,[2] at the last supper, on the night He was betrayed, that He might leave to His beloved spouse the Church a visible sacrifice, such as the nature of man requires, whereby that bloody sacrifice once to be accomplished on the cross might be represented, the memory thereof remain even to the end of the world, and its salutary effects applied to the remission of those sins which we daily commit, declaring Himself constituted a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech,[3] offered up to God the Father His own body and blood under the form of bread and wine, and under the forms of those same things gave to the Apostles, whom He then made priests of the New Testament, that they might partake, commanding them and their successors in the priesthood by these words to do likewise: Do this in commemoration of me,[4] as the Catholic Church has always understood and taught. For having celebrated the ancient Passover which the multitude of the children of Israel sacrificed in memory of their departure from Egypt,[5] He instituted a new Passover, namely, Himself, to be immolated under visible signs by the Church through the priests in memory of His own passage from this world to the Father, when by the shedding of His blood He redeemed and delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into his kingdom.[6] And this is indeed that clean oblation which cannot be defiled by any unworthiness or malice on the part of those who offer it; which the Lord foretold by Malachias was to be great among the Gentiles,[7] and which the Apostle Paul has clearly indicated when he says, that they who are defiled by partaking of the table of devils cannot be partakers of the table of the Lord,[8] understanding by table in each case the altar. It is, finally, that [sacrifice] which was prefigured by various types of sacrifices during the period of nature and of the law,[9] which, namely, comprises all the good things signified by them, as being the consummation and perfection of them all.

CHAPTER II
THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS IS PROPITIATORY BOTH FOR THE LIVING AND THE DEAD

And inasmuch as in this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the mass is contained and immolated in an unbloody manner the same Christ who once offered Himself in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross, the holy council teaches that this is truly propitiatory and has this effect, that if we, contrite and penitent, with sincere heart and upright faith, with fear and reverence, draw nigh to God, we obtain mercy and find grace in seasonable aid.[10] For, appeased by this sacrifice, the Lord grants the grace and gift of penitence and pardons even the gravest crimes and sins. For the victim is one and the same, the same now offering by the ministry of priests who then offered Himself on the cross, the manner alone of offering being different. The fruits of that bloody sacrifice, it is well understood, are received most abundantly through this unbloody one, so far is the latter from derogating in any way from the former. Wherefore, according to the tradition of the Apostles,[11] it is rightly offered not only for the sins, punishments, satisfactions and other necessities of the faithful who are living, but also for those departed in Christ but not yet fully purified. [2]

We see sacrificial prayers in the Mass itself. There are four Liturgical prayers that come from varying traditions. Three of the four prayers in the Liturgy speak explicitly of sacrifice. As we will see later on, the prayers of Christ himself in the institution of the Eucharist also speak of sacrifice and thus the second Eucharistic prayers are also sacrificial, although not as explicit as the other four prayers. In the Liturgical prayers that follow, I will focus on the prayers that explicitly refer to the fact that what is offered is a true sacrifice.

Prayer # 1:

We come to you, Father, with praise and thanksgiving, through Jesus Christ your Son. Through him we ask you to accept and bless + these gifts we offer you in sacrifice. We offer them for your holy catholic Church, watch over it, Lord, and guide it; grant it peace and unity throughout the world. We offer them for N. our Pope, for N. our bishop, and for all who hold and teach the catholic faith that comes from the apostles.

(For the Living)

Remember, Lord, your people, especially those for whom we now pray, N. and N. Remember all of us gathered here before you. You know how firmly we believe in you and dedicate ourselves to you. We offer you this sacrifice of praise for ourselves and those who are dear to us. We pray to you, our living and true God, for our well-being and redemption....

Prayers at Consecration

(Oblation of the Victim of God)

Father accept this offering from your whole family.Grant us your peace in this life, save us from final damnation, and count us among those you have chosen.(Through Christ our Lord. Amen.) Bless and approve our offering; make it acceptable to you, an offering in spirit and in truth. Let it become for us the body and blood of Jesus Christ, your only Son, our Lord. (Through Christ our Lord. Amen.)

Prayers after Consecration

(To Offer the Victim) Father, we celebrate the memory of Christ, your Son. We, your people and your ministers, recall his passion, his resurrection from the dead, and his ascension into glory; and from the many gifts you have given us we offer you, God of glory and majesty, this holy and perfect sacrifice: the bread of life and the cup of eternal salvation.

(To Ask God to Accept Our Offering) Look with favor on these offerings and accept them as once you accepted the gifts of your servant Abel, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, and the bread and wine offered by your priest Melchisedech.

(For Blessings) Almighty God, we pray that your angel may take this sacrifice to your altar in heaven. Then, as we receive from this altar the sacred body and blood of your Son, + let us be filled with every grace and blessing. (Through Christ our Lord. Amen.)

Eucharistic Prayer #3:

We offer you in thanksgiving THIS HOLY AND LIVING SACRIFICE. Look with favor on your Church's offering, and see the Victim, whose death has reconciled us to your self..... Lord, may this sacrifice, which has made our peace with you, advance the peace and salvation of all the world.

Father , we now celebrate this memorial of our redemption. We recall Christ’s death, his descent among the dead, his resurrection, and his ascension to your right hand; and looking forward to his coming in glory, We offer you his body and blood, THE ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE which brings salvation to the whole world.

Lord, look upon this sacrifice which you have given to your Church; and by your Holy Spirit, gather all who share this one bread and one cup into the one body of Christ, a living sacrifice of praise.

Lord, remember those for whom we offer this sacrifice...

Before I examine the Biblical basis for the Catholic teaching I will give some Protestant objections to the Mass the floor. First, the objection that we really see is based on what Christ’s sacrifice on the cross accomplishes and their view of justification. Although there are many variants of the view of Salvation by Faith alone (Sola Fide) (for example, some Protestants who hold to Sola Fide believe in baptismal regeneration, and others don’t), all deny that the Mass is a true sacrifice. This includes those who believe in some sense the reality of the real presence (even if in fact they do not experience it).

Martin Luther truly believed in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. However, he had an objection to the Eucharist as a sacrifice. He realized that uninterrupted the Church had taught that the Eucharist is a sacrifice. Martin Luther wrote:

What do I care about the multitude and renown of those who have gone astray? Truth is stronger than them all! [the papists appeal] to the sayings of the holy Fathers, so many authorities and so widespread a custom, constantly observed throughout the world. What shall we say to these authorities? I say first of all that, even if we had nothing else to answer, it is safer to reject them all rather than to admit that the Mass is a work and a sacrifice; lest corrupting both faith and Mass together, we deny the word of Christ.[3]

Although Anglicans explicitly deny transubstantiation (and in article 28 of their faith it is termed repugnant), they also hold in some sense to belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Just as Luther did, they have a serious problem with the Catholic belief in the Eucharist as a sacrifice. The following article gives the Anglican view of the matter:

XXXI. Of the one Oblation of Christ finished upon the Cross. The Offering of Christ once made is that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction, for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual; and there is none other satisfaction for sin, but that alone. Wherefore the sacrifices of Masses, in the which it was commonly said, that the Priest did offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission of pain or guilt, were blasphemous fables, and dangerous deceits. [4]

The other so-called “Reformers”, such as Calvin, Melanthion, Zwingli, etc. also attacked the view of the Eucharist as being a sacrifice. The main problem with seeing the Eucharist as a sacrifice is that they see the Catholic view of the Eucharist as being tied in with a supposedly insufficient view of justification.

Here I will look at some modern critiques of the sacrifice of the Mass from the perspective of modern Evangelical critics of Catholicism. In many cases, the book of Hebrews is often utilized to attack the Catholic concept of the sacrifice of the Eucharist. For example, both James White & Ron Rhodes, refer to the book of Hebrews and compare the Catholic view of the Mass with the Old Testament sacrifices as being insufficient. From the so-called “Reformed” Baptist perspective, James White attacks the Catholic view of the Eucharist in the following way: First, he quotes Hebrews 10:10-14:

10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 then to wait until his enemies should be made a stool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

The relevance of this passage to the Roman Catholic doctrine of the Mass as a ‘propitiatory sacrifice” is clear. Rome insists that the Mass is the very same sacrifice as that of Calvary, differing only in manner (bloody versus unbloody). Yet it is admitted that the effect of the Mass is limited, and that a person can draw near to the Mass over and over again and still die “impure.” According to their doctrine, it is quite possible for a person to attend Mass every day of his life, commit a mortal sin the hour before his death, and be lost for eternity , despite having approached the Mass as a sacrifice thousands of times. The Roman Catholic response would be that such a person is unlikely to commit such a serious sin because so much grace had already been given him through attendance at so many Masses. The fact remains that God’s grace is said to be channeled through the Sacraments, especially through the Mass. Yet that grace cannot accomplish its goal outside of the cooperation of the person drawing near to worship, and so the possibility of being lost for eternity remains.

The repetitive nature of the Mass stands in stark contrast to the completeness of the Cross. As the writer to the Hebrews said, if such a sacrifice as what is presented in the Mass were sufficient wouldn’t the persons drawing near be cleanses and have no more need of the offering? But the fact that they must come back over and over again shows that the sacrifice of the Mass has more in common with the old sacrifices of the Old Covenant than it does with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary. [5]

Because the Mass is said to bring about the forgiveness of sins, it is a necessity in the Catholic system of salvation. This very much detracts from the final salvation that Christ accomplished at the cross (see John 19:30).

For Protestants the idea that the Mass is in any sense a repetition of the death of Christ seems reminiscent of the repeated sacrifices of the old covenant, which were a “reminder of sins year by year” (Hebrews 10:3). As opposed to believers having the full assurance of complete forgiveness of sins through the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ (Hebrews 10:12), the Mass gives a constant reminder of sins and remaining guilt to be atoned for week after week.

Did you know that Scripture says one of the great things about the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ is that people have full assurance of the complete forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 10:12)?

Doesn’t the Roman Catholic Mass resemble the Old Testament system in that it constantly serves to remind us of our sin instead of the fact that our sin has once for all been taken care of by Christ?

[6]

The whole concept of re-enacting and re-presenting Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is contrary to the clear teaching of Hebrews that this sacrifice occurred once for all time (Heb. 10:12-14).l Thus, when the Council of Trent speaks of Christ being “immolated” again and again in the mass, it violates the clear teaching of Scripture. [7]

RC Sproul, author of the book, Faith Alone says something that all the authors above who have attacked the Mass and I have quoted would agree with in reference to one’s justification:

By imparting or imputing Christ's righteousness to us sinners, God reckons us as just. It is "as if" we were inherently just. But we are not inherently just.... We are just by imputation even while sin still remains in us, though it does not reign in us... (He quotes Calvin) "To justify is nothing else that to acquit from the charge of guilt, "as if" innocence were proved"...When God justifies us...he does not acquit on us on a proof of our own innocence, but by an imputation of righteousness, so that though not righteous in ourselves", we are deemed righteous in Christ. [8]

Since justification is the opposite of condemnation , it can only be, like the latter, a forensic and judicial term; and the one can not be signified to sanctify or to make one righteousness inherently...A proof of the forensic or judicial sense of the term ‘Justification’ is supplied by those equivalent expressions, which are sometimes substituted for it, and which serve to explain it. If these expressions cannot imply infusion of righteousness, but denote merely either the forgiveness of sin, or the acceptance of the sinner, they show that Justification denotes a change in his judicial relation to God, and not a change in his moral or spiritual character. It is expressly described as the ‘imputation of righteousness’ ‘Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. [9]

This assumption is brought forward to rationalize the attacks that are done on the Mass. Since the once and for all sacrifice of Christ is applied only one time, at the point of one’s justification with a crediting to one’s account of Christ’s perfect righteousness, all other attempts at tying in one's holiness to one's salvation are seen as attacks on Christ’s finished work on the cross. However, when we study this assumption, this assumption is totally lacking Biblical merit. Now I have a detailed study of Paul, and address this assumption of an imputation of Christ’s righteousness being the one and only basis for one’s justification. The detailed study of Paul can be found here: http://matt1618.freeyellow.com/paul.html That shows through a study of Paul’s letters that works and obedience are not only a necessary byproduct of one’s justification, but a cause of justification. This study also shows that the assumption is thus wrong. We do need an ongoing infusion of grace to keep in God’s grace. That is why the application of the fruits of the Mass are indeed important to Christians and those without that grace are depriving themselves of salvific graces.

What is justification, according to Paul? Well, Paul’s declaration of what justification consists of is contrary to Buchanan and all the Protestant’s declarations that I have quoted (which is behind their attack on the mass). Let us look at what Paul writes in his description of what justification consists of in Rom. 5:17-21:

Romans 5:16-21 16 And the free gift is not like the effect of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. 17 If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18 Then as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man's act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men. 19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous. 20 Law came in, to increase the trespass; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Buchanan in his work recognizes that imputation mentioned here in Romans 5 goes against his view. He realizes that in imputation, there is a change of moral character as the invariable consequence of imputation, “as the imputation of Adam’s guilt to his posterity, was connected with their loss of original righteousness, and the corruption of their whole nature;’ The imputation of Christ’s righteousness to His people is connected, in like manner, with their renewal and sanctification;” . He acknowledges that this fits the Catholic position. However, he attempts to get out of it by saying that sins were imputed to Christ., and as there was no change in Christ’s moral character, imputation is thus not necessarily transformative. However, Buchanan fails to give a Scripture which says that Christ was ever imputed with sin. Jesus of course became a propitiatory offering for sin (1 John 2:2, Eph. 5:2) but he was not imputed with sin. With that mistaken premise, Buchanan then writes that “while the righteousness of Christ, considered as the merit of His mediatorial work may become ours by being imputed to us, it is not communicated as an inherent habit or quality might be; and that our Justification, in so far as it depends on that righteousness, neither consists in the infusion of moral qualities, nor rests on these qualities, when they have been infused as its proper ground." [10] . Since Buchanan's whole argument rests on the supposition that Christ is imputed with sin, and that idea is not only not found in Romans 5, but is found nowhere in any biblical text, the opposition to transformative justification falls in light of Romans 5:16-21.

Paul’s words here eviscerates that argument. In Rom. 5:19, Paul explicitly writes that those in Christ are made righteous. Paul does not write that he is only declared righteous, and does not even mention the word imputation of Christ’s righteousness when he speaks of justification. If one is made righteous, it is obvious that there is an infusion of moral quality, and does in fact rest on these qualities, as seen through God’s eyes of grace, contrary to Buchanan’s word. Paul drives this point even further, when in v. 21 he writes that this righteousness that comes to the justified, makes one’s grace rule in righteousness. The grace that causes one to be made righteousness, will make the person rule in righteousness. This is transformative justification. Thus, though Romans 5 has no direct allusion to the Eucharist, the idea that we need an infusion of grace to keep us righteous, is maintained. That is what the Eucharist does. Paul shows here in Romans that Trent is correct, which says in Session 6, Chapter 7:

the efficient cause is the merciful God who washes and sanctifies[31] gratuitously, signing and anointing with the holy Spirit of promise, who is the pledge of our inheritance,[32] the meritorious cause is His most beloved only begotten, our Lord Jesus Christ, who, when we were enemies,[33] for the exceeding charity wherewith he loved us,[34] merited for us justification by His most holy passion on the wood of the cross and made satisfaction for us to God the Father, the instrumental cause is the sacrament of baptism, which is the sacrament of faith,[35] without which no man was ever justified finally, the single formal cause is the justice of God, not that by which He Himself is just, but that by which He makes us just, that, namely, with which we being endowed by Him, are renewed in the spirit of our mind,[36] and not only are we reputed but we are truly called and are just, receiving justice within us, each one according to his own measure, which the Holy Ghost distributes to everyone as He wills,[37] and according to each one’s disposition and cooperation. For though no one can be just except he to whom the merits of the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ are communicated, yet this takes place in that justification of the sinner, when by the merit of the most holy passion, the charity of God is poured forth by the Holy Ghost in the hearts[38] of those who are justified and inheres in them; whence man through Jesus Christ, in whom he is ingrafted, receives in that justification, together with the remission of sins, all these infused at the same time, namely, faith, hope and charity. [11]

Now, before we get to the Biblical basis for our understanding of the Eucharist as sacrifice, we must address their view that the book of Hebrews does away with an ongoing need for holiness in reference to the grounds of our salvation, when Paul speaks of the once and for all sacrifice of Christ. The Protestant apologists I have quoted always refer to Hebrews to do away with the theology behind the Mass. And they all hold that assumption that the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to our account is the reason behind the absence of a need for holiness in reference to the grounds of our justification. They will say that our holiness is a necessary byproduct of our justification, but never any of the grounds for it. Now, they do not say that sanctification is not important, as that gets you more rewards in heaven and because you love God you will want to grow in holiness, but they say that one’s moral transformation is not a cause of one’s salvation.

There is a major problem with this theory of salvation in the Book of Hebrews. Nowhere is there any mention at all that one gets Christ’s righteousness imputed to one’s account and that is how the once and for all sacrifice suffices. No doubt the Book of Hebrews is emphatic that Christ’s sacrifice is once and for all, and Christ can not be killed again. However, the Church nowhere teaches that Christ is resacrificed. As shown earlier, when we saw the official Catholic teaching on the matter, the sacrifice of the Eucharist is not some other sacrifice, but this very once and for all sacrifice being made present to us now. Those who receive the Eucharist get the fruits and benefits of this once and for all sacrifice. Later on, in another section we will see how the verses in Hebrews that are used to attack the Mass actually point to the Eucharist when read in context. We will also see that the very Scriptures in Hebrews that are used to undermine the teaching of the Eucharistic sacrifice, indeed do not only not undermine the teaching of the Eucharistic sacrifice, but helps us to make sense of not only those Scriptures in Hebrews, but other sections of Hebrews that we will examine as well. However, here, the main point to be made is that there is no concept anywhere in the book of Hebrews that shows Paul thinking of any such thing as Christ’s righteousness being imputed to our account, and that works are therefore irrelevant to our salvation (or that it is only a necessary fruit of that salvation). When I used to believe in Sola Fide, I would often quote the book of Hebrews in this very manner, especially, Heb. 7, 9, & 10, saying to myself that works are not necessary to maintain one's salvation, and that there is no further need for sacrifice now. However, upon further study of the issue, when one examines the Book of Hebrews as a whole, this standard Protestant assumption is easily shown to be false. Throughout the book, there is a stress on a continuing need for the Christian to persevere not merely to get more rewards in heaven, but to attain salvation. In fact, as Robert Sungenis has noted:

More than half of the book of Hebrews warns us not to fall away from the grace we have received in the New Covenant, for if we do, God will quickly become our judge and condemn us... The Epistle to the Hebrews warns against falling away from the Faith so much that it comprises full 51% of the total volume of the book...Footnote 53 - 40% deals with the Person and work of Christ, 8% concerning the New Covenant, and 1% miscellaneous. [12]

Hebrews 2:1-3:
1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. 2 For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; 3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard [him];

Hebrews 3:1, 5-6:
3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ was faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if we hold fast our confidence and pride in our hope.

Hebrews 3:12-14:
Take heed, BRETHREN, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in DEPARTING from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;

Hebrews 3:16-19, 11:29:
16 Who were they that heard and yet were rebellious? Was it not all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they should never enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief..... Heb. 11:29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as if on dry land; but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.

Hebrews 4:1-3:
1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest remains, let us fear lest any of you be judged to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them; but the message which they heard did not benefit them, because it did not meet with faith in the hearers. 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, "As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall never enter my rest,'" although his works were finished from the foundation of the world.

Hebrews 4:11-14:
Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things [are] naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. 14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

Hebrews 5:9:
and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.

Hebrews 6:4-6:
4 For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they then commit apostasy, since they crucify the Son of God on their own account and hold him up to contempt.

Hebrews 6: 9-12:
9 Though we speak thus, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not so unjust as to overlook your work and the love which you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness in realizing the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Hebrews 7:24-25:
24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Hebrews 10:22-29:
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. 26 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28 A man who has violated the law of Moses dies without mercy at the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the man who has spurned the Son of God, and profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and outraged the Spirit of grace?

Hebrews 10:35-38:
35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that you may do the will of God and receive what is promised. 37 "For yet a little while, and the coming one shall come and shall not tarry; 38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him." 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and keep their souls.

Hebrews 11:4-8:
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he received approval as righteous, God bearing witness by accepting his gifts; he died, but through his faith he is still speaking. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was attested as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, took heed and constructed an ark for the saving of his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness which comes by faith. 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go.

Hebrews 12:5-11:
5 And have you forgotten the exhortation which addresses you as sons? --"My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when you are punished by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time at their pleasure, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:12-17:
12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 14 Strive for peace with all men, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fail to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" spring up and cause trouble, and by it the many become defiled;; 16 that no one be immoral or irreligious like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

Hebrews 12:25-26:
25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less shall we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 His voice then shook the earth; but now he has promised, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven."

It is very curious that those who use Hebrews to attack the Mass, bring with them a false assumption in the first place (that justification is merely a forensic imputation of an Christ’s righteousness) that is nowhere found in Hebrews (or actually anywhere in the Bible), and ignore passages in this very epistle that directly show that one must persevere in holiness to attain salvation, and an ongoing application of grace is indeed necessary to stay in his grace. When we look at the Hebrew passages that directly deals with how Christ is a superior High Priest, and how his sacrifice is superior to all the animal sacrifices in the Old Testament, and how it does or does not relate to the Eucharist, one must take into consideration the context which shows that salvation is not a one-time event, but a process. In our last section of this study, we will look directly at how certain parts of Hebrews can only be explained by the Eucharist, and how the Eucharist fits nicely into Paul’s analysis, and how the Catholic understanding of Hebrews perfectly fits with the sections that deal with Christ’s once and for all sacrifice. However, before we get to that, first we need to have some background on the purpose and means of sacrifice in the Bible.

Why is sacrifice necessary to approach God? After the time of Adam’s sin, we do get sacrifices offered to God by faithful men. Scott Hahn gives us four Biblical reasons that he gives for Israel giving animal sacrifices to God:

1) It was a recognition of God’s sovereignty over creation: The earth is the Lord’s (Ps. 24:1). Man gives back to God what is his.
2) Sacrifice is an act of thanks. Creation is given to man as a gift, but what return can man make to God (see Ps. 116:12).
3) Sacrifice served as a way of solemnly sealing an agreement or oath, a covenant before God (see Gen. 21:22-32).
4) Sacrifice could also be an act of renunciation and sorrow for sins. The person offering sacrifice recognized that his sins deserved death; he offered the animals’ life in place of his own. [13]

Genesis 4:3-8

3 In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6 The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it." 8 Cain said to Abel his brother, "Let us go out to the field." And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him.

The need for sacrifice is shown in the story of the next major figure in the Bible: Noah. Man’s sin provokes God to anger. We see this in Genesis 6:5-6:

Genesis 6:5-6

5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

Genesis 8:20-21

20Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And when the LORD smelled the pleasing odor, the LORD said in his heart, "I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.

In the figure of Melchizedek we have a person who prefigures Christ. In the book of Genesis, Abraham victory in battle, goes to the mysterious figure of Melchizedek. This figure is the first one to be mentioned as a priest in the Bible.

Genesis. 14:17-20
17 After his return from the defeat of Ched-or-lao'mer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). 18 And Mel-chiz'edek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!" And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

The Roman Catholic interpretation is a huge stretch. A plain reading of the text in Genesis 14 indicates that as Abraham arrived with his troops and came before Melchizedek, Melchizedek brought out some food (bread and wine) to feed all these hungry guys. The verse makes no reference, or even the slightest allusion to God akin to the Mass. (Rhodes then says Protestants should ask Catholics):

Doesn’t a plain reading of the text of Genesis 14:17-20 point to the fact that Melchizedek was simply providing food for a bunch of hungry warriors? [14]

for he was the priest: this is plainly referred to bringing forth, &c. which shows that word to be sacrificial, as in Judges 6:18. The Hebrew may be ambiguous. But all know that vau means for as well and. Thus the English Bible had it, 1552, “For he was the priest.” [15]

Also in the priest Melchizedek we see prefigured the sacrament of the sacrifice of the Lord, according to what divine Scripture testifies, and says, "And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine." Now he was a priest of the most high God, and blessed Abraham. And that Melchizedek bore a type of Christ, the Holy Spirit declares in the Psalms, saying from the person of the Father to the Son: "Before the morning star I begat Thee; Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek;" which order is assuredly this coming from that sacrifice and thence descending; that Melchizedek was a priest of the most high God; that he offered wine and bread; that he blessed Abraham. For who is more a priest of the most high God than our Lord Jesus Christ, who offered a sacrifice to God the Father, and offered that very same thing which Melchizedek had offered, that is, bread and wine, to wit, His body and blood?... ln Genesis, therefore, that the benediction, in respect of Abraham by Melchizedek the priest, might be duly celebrated, the figure of Christ's sacrifice precedes, namely, as ordained in bread and wine; which thing the Lord, completing and fulfilling, offered bread and the cup mixed with wine, and so He who is the fullness of truth fulfilled the truth of the image prefigured. [16]

Melchizedek offers sacrifice to God for the people of the land, propitiating God for their sins and seeking His blessing (cf., Job 1:5; 42:8; Gen. 8:20). Melchizedek performed the function of priest that is still practiced today in the Catholic Church. [17]

As Moses says, Melchizedek king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who gave bread and wine, furnished consecrated food for a type of the Eucharist. [18]

The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, "You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek."

Notice that in Psalm 110 it says that coming will be a priesthood that is after the order of Melchizedek. As of the time of writing of the Psalm, the priesthood was the Levitical priesthood that offered predominantly animal sacrifices (though grain offerings were also done). The Levitical priesthood was based solely on proof of physical descent of the Levites. If proof was not shown, possible priests were excluded (Neh. 7:64). However, Jesus’ priesthood is eternal and not based on bloodlines as we will see in Hebrews 7. Notice however, that as we saw in Genesis 14, the only sacrifice that was offered in the order of Melchizedek was the sacrificial offering of bread and wine. When we look at Hebrews later on, we will see the superiority of the priesthood of Jesus over that of the Levitical priesthood. However, for now, we see that the order of Melchizedek offered bread and wine, which was sacrificial, foreshadow a superior priesthood which comes to offer bread and wine, which we will see in the New Testament is transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ, as Cyprian of Carthage mentioned. The sacrifice of Jesus' Body and Blood as offered in the Eucharist is the only offering that fulfills the sacrifice of the order of Melichizedek found in Psalm 110:4.

St. Augustine gives us further indication that Psalm 110:4 references the priesthood that would offer the sacrifice of the Eucharist when he writes:

Because to Him it was said, “Thou art a Priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek”. For you seek a sacrifice among the Jews; you have none after the order of Aaron. You seek it after the order of Melchizedek; you find it not among them, but through the whole world it is celebrated in the Church [the Eucharist]. From the rising of the sun to the setting thereof the name of the Lord is praised. (Mal. 1:11)

The opposition to the Catholic interpretation of Psalm 110 as shown by Rhodes thus, has no merit whatsoever. As Augustine notes, there was no permanent priesthood of the Jews that would fulfill this order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek in Genesis was not shown as his primary function as being a chef (merely providing food), as Rhodes presumes. He offered a sacrifice of bread and wine. He was a priest. A priest offers sacrifice. Its only fulfillment can be that which is found in the Eucharist instituted by Jesus.

Exodus 24:3-8

3 Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, "All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do." 4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. 6 And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. 7 Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient." 8 And Moses took the blood and threw it upon the people, and said, "Behold the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words."

The covenant between God and his people was sealed by the blood rite: half of the blood of the victims was poured on the altar which represented God and half on the people. An indissoluble bond was established between God and his people. The dedicated blood God accepts and the people now shared in the blessings and power which it represents and conveys. This blood also represents the people’s obedience. [21] Notice the term that is used: The “blood of the covenant.” As we will see when we go to the New Testament, and the institution of the Eucharistic meal, Jesus calls what he will give to the disciples “The blood of the covenant.” The phraseology that Jesus thus uses in the institution of the new covenant borrows phraseology that means sacrifice as shown in Exodus at the institution of the covenant with Moses.

We see here in Exodus that the people cried out that they would obey God (Ex. 24:3-4). Included in this covenant was the promise to not worship other gods (Ex. 23:23-33). Moses later goes up the mountain to converse with God. The people disobey the commandment and immediately break this covenant (Ex. 32:1-8). This is the pattern for God’s people throughout much of the Old Testament. This covenant that God established with Moses was the standard for God’s people until the time of Christ.

How did God work in this disobedience? He first wanted to destroy the people of Israel because of their blatant disobedience (Ex. 32:7-10). There was a mediator between the people of Israel and God. That mediator was Moses. God’s anger against sin was appeased through Moses’ intercession (Ex. 32:11-14). God changed his mind based on this intercession. The model of Moses is fulfilled in Jesus, who likewise intercedes for us for appeasement of punishment due to sin. His intercession accords greater grace for us in the new covenant.

Next, the Levites were ordained to their own priesthood through the killing of idolaters:

Exodus 32:26-29

26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, "Who is on the LORD's side? Come to me." And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. 27 And he said to them, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Put every man his sword on his side, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.'" 28 And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses; and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. 29 And Moses said, "Today you have ordained yourselves for the service of the LORD, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, that he may bestow a blessing upon you this day."

Although there were various faithful leaders and prophets, the blood of the Covenant sacrifices did not prove efficacious to cleanse the people from sin and rebellion. Despite the call of God to holiness what happened most frequently was disobedience and the breaking of the covenant with God.

The sins of the people brought upon the institution of the Levitical priesthood and sacrifice. The people’s idolatry laid the groundwork for all ensuing sacrifices.

Adam’s sin infected all of humanity (Rom. 5:12). As a result, frailties, concupiscence and sin separated man from God. Therefore, with these weaknesses, Vincent Taylor notes:

No Hebrew could think of offering himself as he was to a holy and a righteous God, while the idea of a purely spiritual offering would have seemed to himself abstract and meaningless. The life offered must be that of another, innocent and pure, free from all impurity and sin, and yet withal the symbol of an ideal life to which he aspired and with which he could identify himself. [22]

The rituals that were established through Moses and Aaron was the basis for sacrifice for centuries after the institution of the covenant. Unfortunately, many would go to these rituals thinking that they fulfilled their religious obligation. Different prophets excoriated the people who performed the rituals but did not pursue holiness. Isaiah and Amos are representative of the many prophets who excoriated the people because of obedience to outer rituals without the holiness required by God (Amos 5:21-24; Is. 58:1-5). Fulfilling the external rituals without genuine repentance did not put one in a right relationship with God.

The same holds true now. However, in the New Testament, Christ instituted a better covenant with more grace to truly cleanse us from iniquity. We will see in the New Testament fulfillment of Christ, this grace is given especially through the Sacrament of the Eucharist which cleanses us from sin. Unlike the Old Testament rituals, the one who was offered in sacrifice was a person, who we can have a relationship with. In fact, instead of the nonmoral animals, we have an intimate and adoptive relationship with the Father and his Son, which stands as the basis of our justification.

Malachi 1:11-12

Oh, that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire upon my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations (Gentiles), and in every place incense (Dhouay Rheims - sacrifice) is offered to my name, and a pure offering; for my name is great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts. 12 But you profane it when you say that the LORD's table is polluted, and the food for it may be despised.

First, there would be an offering where the nations (Gentiles) would be a sacrifice. God would not accept the sacrificial offerings of the Jews. This obviously was not fulfilled in the Old Testament. Whatever the sacrifice is, it would not be offered by the Jews. As Father Muller notes:

The Jewish sacrifices have ceased; the Jewish people have no priesthood, no altar, no sacrifice... The second part of the prophecy also is fulfilled. At the Last Supper, our Lord Jesus Christ, the promised Redeemer, instituted a new and pure and perfect sacrifice-that of His Sacred Body and Blood, which He substituted for the typical sacrifices of the Old Law. And now this adorable and perfect sacrifice of Our Lord’s Body and Blood is offered up all over the world, at every hour of the day and every part of the night, “from the rising to the setting of the Sun.” [23]

In His own divine person Our Blessed Saviour united both of these classes of the priesthood. He offered up bread and wine at the Last Supper according to the rite of Melchizedeck, and on the following day He offered up Himself in a bloody manner, as the victim of our sins, according to the rite of Aaron.

Thus did He also unite the two kinds of sacrifice of the Old Law in the one adorable Sacrifice of His Body and Blood, which He offered up under the appearance of bread and wine. [24]

Contextually this verse has nothing to do with the Eucharist. For one thing, most translators today believe the word translated sacrifice in the NAB (New American Bible) carries the meaning “to cause to rise up in smoke,” which is why the NASB (New American Standard Bible) translates it, “in every place incense is going to be offered to My name.” It is noteworthy that the ancient Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament that predates the time of Christ) renders the word as incense. This Hebrew word is certainly not the normal word used for sacrifice in the Old Testament, and its unique use in Malachi 1:11 bears no resemblance to what takes place at the Eucharist.

Further, many scholars believe the “pure offering” of the NAB is probably a grain offering (see Lev. 6:14-23), as the NASB renders it. If this is correct, it would not make sense for Roman Catholics to apply this to the Eucharist, since the Eucharist does not involve grain offerings. [25]

Contextually, the verse has everything to do with the Eucharist. The very first Church Fathers who knew Greek, who had access to the Greek Septuagint, as we will see below, who understood all the nuances of the language, unanimously applied Malachi 1:11 to the Eucharist. The verse says that this is a single sacrifice which is celebrated in many places throughout the world and is superior to the Levitical sacrifices. Nothing else fulfills it except the Eucharist. They knew the translation of the various words that refers us to, and they applied it to the Eucharist.

Now, on to the translation of the various words that Rhodes refers us to in order to supposedly do away with the idea of Malachi referring us to the Eucharist. First, on the idea that the correct translation of the first part of Mal. 1:11 is incense and is not sacrificial. Yes, even some Catholic translations such as the Revised Standard version do translate the word as incense, not sacrifice. However, does it mean that incense is opposed to sacrifice and is not consistent with sacrifice, as Rhodes infers? First, I pull out Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible and look up the word qatar and I find the following definition of the word:

...to smoke, i.e. turn into fragrance by fire (espec. as an act of worship): -burn (incense sacrifice) (upon), (altar for ) incense, kindle, offer (incense, a sacrifice). [26]

Robert Sungenis analyzes the use of the word qatar in the Old Testament and gives further grammatical sources to confirm this sacrificial understanding of the word.

The Hebrew qatar appears over 100 times in the Old Testament. In the Piel stem, it is often translated as “incense” (e.g., 2 Kings 23:8; Isaiah 65:7), but even then it is associated with sacrifice (Amos 4:5). The Hilphil stem is commonly translated as “burn” and is almost always associated with sacrifice (e.g., Ex. 29:13, 18, 25; Lev. 1:9, 13, 15, 17; 6:15, 22, 23; Deut. 33:10, cf., Luke 1:11). Hence, the word does not merely refer to incense, but to the burning of incense for the purpose of sacrifice or burning it with another sacrifice. Lev. 6:15-23, for example refers to the incense as a “pleasing aroma before the Lord,” which is also the phraseology used to describe animal burn offerings - offerings which use the root qatar... The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, eds., Harris, Archer & Waltke, p. 796] states: “One should compare [with it] the many Hebrew words for sacrifice...Our verb is a technical expression denoting not only the burning of incense but all other offerings as well...The Piel stem (occurring only after the Pentateuch) can also represent the total act of ritual in worship (2 Chr. 25:14). (See also Gesenius’ Hebrew Lexicon, p. 882-883) [27]

Protestant early Church historian J. N. D. Kelly writes in reference to the Eucharistic Sacrifice and Malachi 1:

The Eucharist was regarded as the distinctively Christian sacrifice from the closing decade of the first century, if not earlier. Malachi’s prediction that the Lord would reject the Jewish sacrifices and instead would have a ‘pure offering’ made to Him by the Gentiles in every place was early seized upon by Christians as a prophecy of the Eucharist.[28a]

Didache 14:5, 60 AD:

On the Lord's own day, assemble in common to break bread and offer thanks; but first confess your sins, so that your sacrifice may be pure. However, no one quarreling with his brother may join your meeting until they are reconciled; your sacrifice must not be defiled. For here we have the saying of the Lord: 'In every place and time offer me a pure sacrifice; for I am a mighty King, says the Lord; and my name spreads terror among the nations.

St. Justin Martyr -"Dialogue with Trypho", 150 AD [41: 8-10]

Moreover, as I said before, concerning the sacrifices which you at that time offered, God speaks through Malachias, one of the twelve, as follows: 'I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord; and I will not accept your sacrifices from your hands; for from the rising of the sun until its setting, my name has been glorified among the gentiles; and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a clean offering: for great is my name among the gentiles, says the Lord; but you profane it.' It is of the sacrifices offered to Him in every place by us, the gentiles, that is, of the Bread of the Eucharist and likewise of the cup of the Eucharist, that He speaks at that time; and He says that we glorify His name, while you profane it.

He took that created thing, bread, and gave thanks, and said, "This is My body."(6) And the cup likewise, which is part of that creation to which we belong, He confessed to be His blood, and taught the new oblation of the new covenant; which the Church receiving from the apostles, offers to God throughout all the world, to Him who gives us as the means of subsistence the first-fruits of His own gifts in the New Testament, concerning which Malachi, among the twelve prophets, thus spoke beforehand: "I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD Omnipotent, and I will not accept sacrifice at your hands. For from the rising of the sun, unto the going down [of the same], My name is glorified among the Gentiles, and in every place incense is offered to My name, and a pure sacrifice; for great is My name among the Gentiles, saith the LORD Omnipotent;"(7)--indicating in the plainest manner, by these words, that the former people [the Jews] shall indeed cease to make offerings to God, but that in every place sacrifice shall be offered to Him, and that a pure one; and His name is glorified among the Gentiles.[29]

For from the rising of the sun to its setting My name is great among the Gentiles, says the LORD Almighty, and in every place sacrifice is offered to my name, and a pure offering; for my name is great among the Gentiles. What do you answer to that? Open your eyes at last, then, any time, and see, from the rising of the sun to its setting, the Sacrifice of Christians is offered, not in one place only, as was established with you Jews, but everywhere; and not to just any god at all, but to Him who foretold it, the God of Israel. . . . Not in one place, as was prescribed for you in the earthly Jerusalem, but in every place, even in Jerusalem herself. Not according to the order of Aaron, but according to the order of Melchizedeck. [30]

It is indeed that clean oblation which cannot be defiled by any unworthiness or malice on the part of those who offer it; which the Lord foretold by Malachias was to be great among the Gentiles.[31]

Jesus as Lamb

In many analyses of the issue, much of the focus is on the question on whether the Eucharist is in fact the Body and Blood of Christ. That is something that is worth much discussion. However, in this writing, I want to keep my focus on the issue on whether the Eucharist is a sacrifice or not. Before we come to Christ’s institution of the Eucharist I want to focus on one title of Jesus: “The Lamb”. Jesus is the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who is called in the Bible the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Nevertheless, when John the Baptist first ran into his cousin Jesus who he saw as Savior he gave a mention of who Jesus is. He did not call Jesus any of those more awesome titles. When he saw Jesus approach him, he said "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). This is something we say before we receive Jesus in communion. The prophet who identified Jesus in that way tells us something about who the person is. He is a person who fulfilled Isaiah 53: "7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. The lamb did not resist, run away, or even cry out. Isaiah had foretold that the Lamb of God would do the same. He is identified as a Lamb. Notice, however, that the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world. He does not cover our sins: he takes away our sins. In John we see that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin (1 Jn 1:7-9). Was Jesus a lamb who was once a lamb, who merely died in the past for our sins? No, we see in the New Testament much more than this.

What was a lamb in ancient Israel? We see lambs being identified with sacrifice from the very beginning. Abel’s offering that was acceptable to God was a lamb (Gen. 4:2). The most important sacrifice for the beginning of the people of Israel was the lamb that was sacrificed in the place of Isaac (Gen. 22:16). The lamb also happened to be the animal that was sacrificed for the delivery of the people of Israel from the bondage of slavery:

The Lamb was the animal that was killed for the sake of the people of Israel’s freedom.

Ex. 12:5-21. God delivered Israel from slavery. How did he accomplish it? The Fathers of the house sacrificed a lamb. Lamb has to be without a blemish. They were commanded to eat the flesh of the lambs Ex. 12:5 - Lamb without blemish a male a year old; you shall take it from the sheep or from the goats; 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled with water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning, anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste.... 13 -The blood shall be a sign for you, upon the houses where you are, and which I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall fall upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.... 12:23 - For the LORD will pass through to slay the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to slay you.

To the Hebrew mind, the mystical concept of anamnesis is an actual reenacting, a bringing of the saving power of the first Passover back into the lives, and its liberating effect, as they celebrate the Passover again and again. [32]

That is important to know when we now see John identifying Jesus as the Lamb of God. He does not even say Jesus ‘will be the Lamb of God’ as one would expect. Even before Jesus is crucified for our salvation, and dies as a Lamb, he is identified presently as a Lamb. In our Western mindset with our focus on what is at the time, the identification of Jesus as a Lamb even before his death tells us who Jesus is. Even if John did not know the extent of what he was saying by identifying Jesus as a Lamb, we see God’s time entering our time even at that very moment. Of course, we say that those who died before Christ appropriated the Sacrifice of Jesus’ death as a Lamb even before Jesus actually died. The sacrifice of the Lamb was appropriated for their benefit.

In Jesus we have a reigning Lamb. Scott Hahn notes that in the Book of Revelation, Jesus appears as a Lamb 28 times, while as the Lion of Judah he only appears once!!! [33] His identification as a Lamb presently states that in some manner at least, the once and for all sacrifice is still being appropriated for believers. Let us look at one appearance in the Book of Revelation to give us a flavor of how he appears as a Lamb. If his sacrifice was merely in the past, once and for all, and his sacrifice was not present in God’s time, then we would expect to see him in only a glorious manner. A Lamb that is sacrificed is not one that we would expect to see. However, one passage that shows his appearance as a Lamb is given here:

Rev. 5:6-10

6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth; 7 and he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints; 9 and they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 and hast made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth."

Mt. 26:26-28

26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you; 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

1) Jesus uses the language of blood of the covenant. Jesus specifically uses languages that reminds us of the institution of the Old Covenant with Moses and the people of Israel. At the institution of the Old Covenant there was a sacrifice of real blood of real ox, and the blood was the means of the uniting of the people of Israel to the people of God, where there was a real altar of sacrifice (Exodus 24:3-10). Then, the people were holy enough to eat the meal (Ex. 24:11). Here the same thing occurs. Instead of getting blood of animals however, Jesus points us to his real blood in terms of covenant. Instead of giving us real blood of animals, however, he gives us here his own real blood. Now, as Peter says: (1 Peter 2:18) You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. His blood accomplishes much more. However, the point I bring up here is not so much the fact that he is giving to the apostles his own real blood (which he is). It is that in establishing the New Covenant in his blood he is using language that especially in the mind of the Jewish disciples brings to mind an institution of a sacrifice. By using the words of Moses, what he is giving them right now is a sacrifice. To ignore the sacrificial language used by Jesus of the blood that he is giving his disciples because it does not fit the category of thought of people who repeat in mantra slogans that ignore Jesus’ own words, is not an honest study of Jesus’ words about the new covenant. Here is an example of a Protestant apologist, James White, who tries to repudiate the Early Christian belief in both the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist and the sacrifice of the Mass by appealing to these words:

The texts themselves provide further basis for the symbolic interpretation of the words of the Lord. Both Matthew and Paul record the fact that the blood of which the Lord Jesus speaks is the ‘blood of the covenant’ of the ‘new testament (covenant) in My blood.” The Scriptures are unanimous in saying that the blood of the New Covenant is the blood of the Cross. Also the Bible plainly teaches in Hebrews 9 and 10 that the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross was a one-time, never to be repeated, compete and perfect action. [34]

Besides that, White totally misses the point of Jesus’ language. As noted before, when he uses the language blood of the covenant, he refers specifically to the blood of the covenant in Exodus 24:8. Here, in the institution of the Old covenant was a real sacrifice at the time of the institution. As Jesus is saying here is the blood of the covenant that I am giving to you, he is saying that what He is offering here is a real sacrifice. Yes, it points towards the blood of the cross, from which it is made efficacious for the apostles so receiving the Eucharist, but at the same time he points to a real sacrifice presently at the time of institution of the Eucharistic covenant.

2) for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. The King James version as well as the Dhouay Rheims version has the language of the blood being currently shed. It does not mean that he is dying again, but the blood is being given to the apostles in the Eucharistic manner. Robert Sungenis gives a grammatical analysis of the tense of what is being poured out. I will highlight the words that he highlights to drive home the sacrificial point:

“For this is my blood of the Covenant which is being poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” includes the present participle “is being poured out” along with the present indicative “Is” in the phrase “this is my blood.”. The present participle, being poured out, denotes an action in progress or simultaneous with the action of the principal verb, is. When the present participle is used with the present indicative, the time denoted by the participle is not the near or distant future, but strictly the present. This would mean that the blood, at the time Jesus is speaking, is presently being poured out, that is, it is the blood of Jesus under the appearance of wine.. [35]

Now, in reference to the language of Jesus pouring out his blood. That which is being poured out is his blood yes. But is there any further indication that being poured out is sacrificial? Yes. As I have not studied Greek, I defer to someone who does: Rev. Mitch Pacwa, says that the language used in Mt. 26:28, poured out (or shed, in other translations) in and of itself has sacrificial connotations. The Greek word is ekcheo, (Strongs, 1632). Father Pacwa notes that the word poured out in the Septaguint, (The Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament) also has sacrificial connotations where the word is used . The Hebrew word so translated is shaphak (Strongs 8210). As he says in his debate with White:

It appears 12 times in the context of sacrifice. Poured out libation of water or of wine. In other 9 uses, refers to shedding blood, or pouring out blood as part of the sacrificial ceremony, Where they weren’t just getting rid of the blood in some practical way, they were pouring out that blood at the base of the altar as part of the ritual of the sacrifice. [36]

An example of one of the references that he gives is:

Isaiah 57:6

Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion; they, they, are your lot; to them you have poured out a drink offering, you have brought a cereal offering. Shall I be appeased for these things?

Deut 12:27

and offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of the LORD your God; the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the LORD your God, but the flesh you may eat.

3) for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

The Church sees it as Jesus does. Thus, when I quoted Trent earlier, referring to Jesus, said that:

He might leave to His beloved spouse the Church a visible sacrifice, such as the nature of man requires, whereby that bloody sacrifice once to be accomplished on the cross might be represented, the memory thereof remain even to the end of the world, and its salutary effects applied to the remission of those sins which we daily commit, declaring Himself constituted a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech.

As we understand that the blood that forgives us our sins is the Eucharist, as our examination of Matthew has shown, in the Eucharist we thus see the fulfillment of Johns words:

1 John 1:7

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

The Fathers all recognized that Jesus here in Mt. 26 as speaking of the Sacrament of the Eucharist as being the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist but for our purposes, also a sacrifice, that is a means of forgiving sins. For example, St. Cyril of Alexandria obviously understands Matthew’s gospel as pointing to the true body and blood is offered in sacrifice:

He states demonstratively: “This is My Body,” and “This is My Blood,” lest you might suppose the things that are seen are a figure. Rather, by some secret of the all-powerful God the things seen are transformed into the Body and Blood Christ, truly offered in a sacrifice in which we, as participants, receive the life-giving and sanctifying power of Christ. [37]

Christ is present. The One who prepared that [Holy Thursday] table is the very One who now prepares this [altar] table. For it is not a man who makes the sacrificial gifts become the Body and Blood of Christ, but He that was crucified for us, Christ Himself. The priest stands there carrying out the action, but the power and the grace is of God. “This is My Body,” he says. This statement transforms the gifts. [38]

And He Himself drank of it. For lest on hearing this, they should say, What then? do we drink blood, and eat flesh? and then be perplexed (for when He began to discourse concerning these things, even at the very sayings many were offended), (the Saint is referring us to John 6:51-67 where he agrees that Jesus is speaking about the flesh and blood of the Eucharist) therefore lest they should be troubled then likewise, He first did this Himself, leading them to the calm participation of the mysteries. Therefore He Himself drank His own blood. What then must we observe that other ancient rite also? some one may say. By no means. For on this account He said, “Do this,” that He might withdraw them from the other, For if this worketh remission of sins, as it surely doth work it, the other is now superfluous.

As then in the case of the Jews, so here also He hath bound up the memorial of the benefit with the mystery, by this again stopping the mouths of heretics. For when they say, Whence is it manifest that Christ was sacrificed? together with the other arguments we stop their mouths from the mysteries also. For if Jesus did not die, of what are the rites the symbols?....

For thus shall we have both God propitious, and shall find many to receive worthily; and for our own diligence, and for our care for others, receive great reward; unto which God grant we may all attain by the grace and love towards man of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory world without end. [39]

Also, the following Saints are what I could find in William Jurgen’s book, The Faith of the Early Fathers, who when commenting on this passage in Matthew 26:26-28 affirm that what Jesus held was truly His own true flesh and blood, and were not symbols: St. Justin Martyr, St. Irenaeus, Tertullian, Aaphraates the Persian Sage, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Theodore of Mopuesta, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Augustine, and St. John Damascene. [40] Of course the Jurgen’s volume only takes a snippets of the Fathers' writings and is not a compendium of all the Fathers' writings. And here I am focusing only on their analysis of Matthew's account and doesn't take into consideration their analysis of Paul or Mark or Luke's account of the Eucharist, where likewise they would affirm the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist and that it is a true sacrifice. The list would be much larger if I decided to do so.

1 Cor. 11:23-29 and a
Study of Anamnesis

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 25 In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.

If we do as the Lord commanded, calling to mind His broken body and shed blood and thankfully confessing our complete reliance on the atoning work of Jesus Christ, we are showing the greatest demonstration of the fruit of His death until He comes...We look back to the Cross, for it is there that our redemption was accomplished. It is there that we received a full and complete remission for our sins. We do not look at another sacrifice or a “re-presentation” of the sacrifice of Christ. There is no need for this. It is a memorial supper, as the Lord said. We remember what has happened. But by remembering we do not cause the past to happen again. [41]

Stephen Ray in his book Crossing the Tiber notes some Protestant Dictionaries and commentaries on the meaning of the word anamnesis.

Gerhard Kittel, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. and trans. Geoffrey W. Bromily (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1983), speaks of “re-presentation” and “the making present by the later community of the Lord who instituted the Supper” (1:348-49). Protestant writer Max Thurian wrote, “This memorial is not a simple subjective act of recollection, it is a liturgical action. . . which makes the Lord present. . . which recalls as a memorial before the Father the unique sacrifice of the Son, and this makes Him present in His memorial” The Eucharistic Memorial, II, The New Testament, Ecumenical Studies in Worship as quoted in Colin Brown, ed., Dictionary of New Testament Theology [Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 1979], 3:244). [42]