Typology and the Passover

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CCC 1324 The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.”[LG 11] “The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch.”[135]

The Typology of the Passover Meal (Seder) and the Eucharist

The word “typology” comes from the Greek word tupos, which means type.  In the Sacred Scriptures, we can see examples of this language as follows:

Rom. 5:14 “Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type (tupos) of the one who was to come.”

1Cor. 10:6 “Now these things were our examples (tupos), to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.”

OR as “shadows of the reality”

Heb.10:1 “FOR the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things…”

Heb.8:5 “Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished … “See that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount.”

Note: The “type” is always inferior to the “reality”

The celebration of Jesus with his disciples in the Upper Room was the Jewish Passover meal that every Jew was obligated to celebrate once per year at the appropriate time.

Mark 14:12-16 “His disciples said to him, ‘Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?’ And he gave them instructions and the disciples set out and entered the city and found it as he had told them and they prepared the Passover.”

It represented the salvation God brought to his people.  Recalling the context of the Passover:

* The Israelites were enslaved in Egypt for over 400 years.

* Moses was chosen by God to free His people. Moses freed them by bringing 10 plagues to Egypt (and Pharaoh).

* The 10th and final plague was the death of the Firstborn.

* Moses explained to the Israelites that if they were to follow his instructions on celebrating the Passover meal, the Angel of Death would “passover” their home and the firstborn in their household would not die.

The following instructions had to be performed according to God’s command (taken from Exodus 12):

1.  On the tenth of the month they are to take a lamb for the “father’s house.” (vs. 3)

            [Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (Jn 1:29) sent by the Father.]

2.  It must be a one year-old perfect, male lamb (vs. 5).

[Perfect meant no broken bones or blemishes.  This foreshadowed Christ being sinless. Additionally, it also indicates to us the reason for the all-male priesthood.]

3.  It will reside in the house for 14 days and then be killed in the evening (vs. 6).

            [Christ was also killed in the evening – the “day” ended at dusk or about 6 pm)

4.  They must take the blood from the sacrificed lamb and put it on the doorposts (vs. 7)

            [The sacrifice of the blood also saved the Israelites, as does the blood of Christ shed on the “post” or wood of the cross.]

5.  They shall eat the flesh of the lamb, roasted with fire and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs…and you shall not leave any of it until morning.  And you shall burn what is left (vs. 8,10).

            [The flesh of the lamb MUST be eaten or else the firstborn would die.  We, as Christians, are the firstborn of God (the new Israel).  We too must eat the flesh of Lamb of God, Jesus, or we will “die” spiritually.  Correlate with Jn 6:53,54. Also, the meal is symbolic of the familial communion with God.]

6.  Many other requirements were required, but an interesting point was that this Passover was to be celebrated as a law forever.

            [As Christians, this command can only be fulfilled by the continuation of the TRUE Passover through the Eucharist.  See also Malachi 1:11 ” For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering; for my name is great among the nations. . .”]

*  An interesting note:  Moses says (vs. 22) to use hyssop branches to apply the blood on the doorposts.  The Apostle John describes in his Gospel that a hyssop branch was used to give Jesus sour wine on a sponge when Christ was on the Cross (Jn 19:29).

1 Corinthians 5:7-8, states that “Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed and now let us celebrate the feast.” St. Paul is telling us that as Christians, we are to still celebrate “the feast” of Passover.  This is done when the Eucharist is celebrated, because it’s the culmination of the Passover sacrifice.

The Passover and the Missing 4^th Cup

• The Catholic Church teaches that Christ is really present in the Eucharist, that the sacrifice of Calvary is re-presented at every Mass, and that he gives Himself to us in Holy Communion as food unto eternal life.
• In Luke 22:15, our Lord says, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you.” The Passover is the context of the meal.
• In Mark 14:22-26, we hear the words of institution, “And as they were eating He took bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them and said, ‘Take, this is my body.’ And He took a cup and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them and they drank all of it and He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the New Covenant which is poured out for many. Truly I say to you, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.‘”
• In the time of Jesus, the Passover (Seder) meal consisted of drinking 4 cups of wine. We see the 3rd cup in the Passover (the cup of blessing) narrative when the Gospel says that he (Christ) took the cup and when he had given thanks (the word in Greek is eucharistos – where we get the work “Eucharist”).
• Then they sang a hymn (Mk 14:26) and then headed to the Mount of Olives. This hymn is the Great Hallel (Psalms 113-118). Ending the Passover at this point is not the traditional Jewish Passover. It would be like going to mass and skipping communion.

• In Mark 15:23, we see that on his way to Calvary they offer him wine with myrrh, which was an opiate or a painkiller, but Jesus refused to take it.
  • He refused to drink, certainly, because he was there to accept the suffering for the sins of the world.  But he had also said, “I will not taste of the fruit of the vine again until I come into the kingdom.”  So, He didn’t drink the wine.
• In Jn 19:23 Jesus is wearing a seamless linen garment at the cross.
  • This is what the priest wore when he sacrificed the Passover lamb. Jesus is both priest and victim.
  • When he was crucified, his bones were not broken to fulfill the scripture where it says, “None of his bones shall be broken” (Jn 19:36). Only pure and unblemished lambs were allowed for the Passover sacrifice – ones without broken bones. 
  • John the Baptist says in reference to Jesus in John 1:29, “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Jesus is the Passover lamb.
• Jn 19: 28, “After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished said, in order to fulfill the scriptures, ‘I thirst.’”
  • This is not the first time that Jesus would have been thirsty. In verse 29 we see that “a bowl of sour wine stood there” and they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. This is the same kind of branch the Israelites used to sprinkle the lamb’s blood on the doorpost.
• When Jesus had drunk the sour wine, he said the words that are spoken of in the fourth cup of consummation, “It is finished.”  What is finished?
  • The Passover sacrifice is now finished. The last cup of the Passover has been consumed and the Passover meal is now complete at Calvary.
• Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8,  “Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed; let us therefore celebrate the feast.”  What feast? The Passover feast. It’s not complete yet, because after the lamb was sacrificed, you had to eat the lamb! We must also eat the new Passover lamb.
• It is in the sacrifice of the Mass that we eat the lamb and continue the Passover feast. This is a true sacrifice . . . not a re-sacrificing of Jesus, but making present that one, eternal sacrifice made by Christ 2000 years ago.

Notes of Interest:

• Jesus, the bread of life (Jn 6:48) was born in Bethlehem. In Hebrew, the word beth means “house” and lehem means “bread.” Bethlehem literally means “the house of bread.”
• He was placed in a manger, a trough from which the animals eat. Manger is from the Old French word mangeure, based on Latin manducat- ‘chewed’.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46)

• Psa. 22:6-18 But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shake the head, saying, commit yourself unto Yahweh; let him deliver him. Let him rescue him, seeing he delights in him. Many bulls have surrounded me; They gape upon me with their mouth, as a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: My heart is like wax; It is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; And my tongue cleaves to my jaws . . . For dogs have surrounded me: A company of evil-doers have enclosed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. I may count all my bones. They look and stare upon me; They part my garments among them, and upon my vesture do they cast lots

The Eucharist in John Chapter 6

Recall the prophecy from Malachi . . .

Malachi 1:11 For from the rising of the sun until its setting, my name is great among the nations. In every place incense is offered and a pure offering to my name, because my name is great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.”

• This is a prophecy . . .
  • It says incense and a pure offering will be made as part of worship. Jesus Christ is the only pure offering. At every Mass we offer, we represent the offering that Jesus Christ made on the cross to the Father in heaven.
  • And how often is this done at Mass in the church? At every hour of every day.  In other words, from sunrise to sunset in every church throughout the entire world and in all nations.
  • This prophecy of Malachi 1:11 is a prophecy of the Mass. Most Christians have no form of worship to fulfill this prophecy.
• In John 6: 53-55.  Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is true drink.”
  • Jesus says that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood to have life in us. Catholics believe exactly what Jesus said.
  • At the Last Supper, Christ said, “This is my body, this is my blood” found in Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:12-24, and Luke 22 :19-20. In all these accounts, Jesus uses the word “is” not the word “similar” or “symbolizes”. This is my body, this is my blood.
  • In 1 Corinthians 11:23-29, Paul says Jesus told him, “This is my body”, “This is my blood”. He used the word “is”.

• Paul says in 1 Cor. 11:27 “Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.”
  • How can one be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, if the body and blood of the Lord aren’t there? This only makes sense if the body and blood are somehow present.
• In verse 29 Paul continues, “For he who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.”
  • How can we discern the Lord’s body if the body of the Lord is not there if it is only symbolic?
  • Some would say Jesus is speaking symbolically when he says in Jn 6:63, “It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and life.” But . . .
  • Does the word spirit mean the same as the word symbolic? Nowhere in Scripture does the word spirit mean symbolic. The spirit is real.
  • If John 6:63 shows that Jesus was speaking symbolically, why would his disciples abandon him in verse 66, after they heard his supposedly symbolic explanation?
  • Because they understood literally as did the Jews in verse 52 when they say, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

• Peter and the apostlesapostles In Christian theology, the apostles were Jesus’ closest followers and primary disciples, and were responsible for spreading his teachings. understood that Jesus was speaking literally. They did not understand that what he was saying could be true.
  • If Jesus was speaking symbolically, why did he allow many of his disciples to leave without explaining that he was speaking symbolically? In the Gospels we see the disciples did not understand many of Jesus’ parables. Jesus explains it to them or they ask him to explain the parables.
  • But that did not happen in John 6, because the disciples knew that he was speaking literally and could not accept it. So Jesus let them go.
• Assume that what Jesus said in John 6 was symbolic to see if this symbolic meaning of the words of Jesus Christ makes sense.
  • John 6:53-55. Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.”
  • First problem . . . If he is speaking symbolically, then how can we symbolically eat his body and drink his blood? Are we saying that if you symbolically eat his body by eating a piece of bread and drinking grape juice you will have eternal life?
  • Second problem . . . in verse 60, he says, “Hearing this, many of his disciples said – this is hard teaching, who can hear it?” If Jesus was speaking symbolically, then why is it a hard saying?
  • Maybe the disciples misunderstood, but Jesus clarified it in verse 63 when he says, “It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh profits nothing.” Meaning to say that the words “spirit and life” make Jesus’ statements symbolic.
  • If Jesus explained that he was speaking symbolically in verse 63, then why did many of his disciples leave him in verse 66? If this were a symbolic teaching, why would they think that it is a hard teaching and abandon him?
• What had these same disciples seen the day before? In verses 9-14 of chapter 6, we see they witnessed the miracle of the loaves and fishes. In John 6:19 they saw Jesus walking on the water. They had seen Jesus turning water into wine, had seen Jesus heal the sick, heal the lepers, heal the blind and the lame. They had seen Jesus exorcise demons . . . the disciples had exorcised demons and healed the sick themselves by the power that Jesus had given them. Would they abandon him because he said to symbolically eat his body and drink his blood? No, they would not.
• Are people today rejecting the true meaning of the words of Jesus Christ because it is a hard teaching? A teaching that requires a tremendous amount of faith?
• In Jn 6:30-31, the Jews are asking for a sign and refer to the miracle of the manna that fell from heaven. And Jesus’ response in 6:32, explains that he is talking about something bigger than the miracle of the manna.
  • Is eating a piece of bread and drinking grape juice more miraculous than the manna from heaven? No.
  • But, is the bread and wine of the Eucharist changed into the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ a greater miracle than the manna in the desert? Yes!
• An interpretation of these passages that says that Jesus is speaking symbolically simply makes no sense. Everyone took Jesus Christ literally, because he was speaking literally.

Conclusion

The Eucharist is truly the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus.  Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist and in every tabernacle around the world. Do we really believe that we’re receiving the second Person of the blessed Trinity, the Creator, the Redeemer, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?

He enters into our body and soul when we receive him in Holy Communion. Do we believe that?  Do we live accordingly?  He is no less real here and now than he was two thousand years ago on the streets of Judea.

It’s only our five senses that block our view. The eyes of faith can see it, and we are the ones who walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7).