This doctrine has no foundation in the Bible. The bread and the wine of what is actually the annual Christian Passover ceremony are symbols of Christ’s blood and body, not the literal blood or flesh.
Jesus did that as a – He took part in the Passover service. He changed the actual symbols of the rituals that went all the way back to the book of Exodus chapter 12 – the original Exodus, the original Passover service – and He changed them that night into the bread and wine to represent His body and His blood.
In Matthew 26:26-28 we read about Jesus introducing and explaining these symbols the night before his crucifixion: “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins’.” (Parallel scriptures include Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:19-20 and John 13:1-17.
The Apostle Paul wrote about this in 1 Corinthians chapter 11: “The Lord took the bread. When He had given thanks, He broke it and He said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner, He took the cup which He supped, saying, ‘This cup is the new testament in my blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’” Paul then went on to give further instruction in regard this important ceremony, especially talking about letting a person examine themselves prior to taking those symbols of the body and the blood of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 11:23-28 NKJV)
When a Christian takes those symbols of that sacrifice of Jesus Christ on an annual basis, once a year at the Passover service, we are taking the symbols of Christ’s body and of His blood. We are not partaking of the actual blood and body of Jesus Christ. The Scriptures do not say the bread and wine become the literal body and blood of Christ, but that they are symbols of His sacrifice. Just as the Old Testament Passover sacrifice eaten with unleavened bread was a symbol that looked forward to Christ’s sacrifice, the unleavened bread and wine of the New Testament observance look back to Christ’s sacrifice in memorial.
The doctrine of transubstantiation teaches the bread and wine are the “host,” with the body and blood of Christ somehow literally possessing them. The sacrificial body of Jesus is supposedly offered again and again and again—every time the bread and wine are taken. This is directly contrary to Scripture.
Hebrews 10:10-14 explains “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all…this Man [Jesus Christ]….offered one sacrifice for sins forever….For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified”
Eating Christ’s literal flesh and blood would be an abomination according to biblical passages about what can and can’t be eaten. Many of Jesus’ early disciples during His ministry thought He was speaking literally about people consuming His flesh and blood and quit following Him. We find this in John 6, where Jesus referred to Himself as the true bread from heaven that people were to feed on to have eternal life. Jesus was referring to, on one level, accepting His sacrifice by participating in the New Testament Passover. On another level, He was instructing us to take in Christ through ingesting scriptural truth, which He inspired as the living Word of God. He referred to Himself as the Way, the Truth and the Life.
The symbols of bread and wine taken in the annual Passover service are symbols of Christ’s flesh and blood given in sacrifice for us. His sacrifice was a one-time event. We do not reenact it but rather remember it in partaking of the symbols.
To help you understand the broad picture of this observance, we recommend two of our publications, God’s Holy Day Plan: Hope for All Mankind and Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Keep?
