Discovering the Eucharist in the Old Testament

Discovering the Eucharist in the Old Testament

The Eucharist is ‘source and summit' of the Christian life.  For this reason, it plays a major role in salvation history. So where can we look to find the Eucharist in the Old Testament? After all, "Early Christian catechesis made constant use of the Old Testament. As an old saying put it, the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New” (CCC 129).

The Eucharist is indeed hidden in the Old Testament. So let’s go back and examine 10 stories where God made people, food, animals and things that remind us of the Eucharist. 

The Tree in the Middle of the Garden in Genesis 3

Death and separation came to us all through the poisonous fruit that Eve plucked from a tree. Mary also stood under a tree, the cross, and now we receive the fruit of Mary's womb in the Eucharist.  So we have two trees, two women, and two 'fruits' given as food. The church fathers proclaimed, "Death through Eve-Life through Mary". There is a poetic justice in reversing the fall through consuming perfect food, the bread of angels, from Mary, the Bread-Giver. Where it all began is where it all ends.

Abel and his Offering in Genesis 4

Abel was the first good priest. He built an altar and made an offering of thanksgiving to the Father. His sacrifice was acceptable to God because he united the best of himself on the altar of his heart. He offered his sacrifice out of love. All of this is eucharistic. When we look at the offering itself we see that it was a lamb which resembles Jesus. At mass, we call the eucharistic Jesus the Lamb of God. Abel himself is a type of Christ because he ultimately gave his whole life in conjunction with the offering of the lamb. 

Melchizedek and his Offering in Genesis 14

Here we have a mysterious priest-king, called ‘king of peace’ who offered bread and wine. Abraham gave him a tenth of his wealth thus recognizing him as a ‘priest of God most high’. What’s weird is that up until now, in Genesis, we are following Abraham as the one true monotheist. So when he bows to Melchizedek as a priest of God most High we realize that Melchizedek is a Christ-like figure. Later in the book of Hebrews we hear about all these typological connections. His bread and wine offering stands out because every other offering has been an animal sacrifice.  Melchizedek’s priesthood, which is greater than the Levitical priesthood, is where Jesus’ priestly credentials stem. This is why we sometimes hear the name Melchizedek in the eucharistic prayer. 

Isaac offered by Abraham in Genesis 22

A father is willing, out of love, to give up his own son in sacrifice. The son Isaac, an unexpected miracle child announced by an angel, carries wood up a hill for his own sacrifice. As he ascends the same hill as Calvary he asks the father, “Where is the lamb for the sacrifice?’  Abraham responds, “The Lord will provide the lamb…”. When the angel stops Abraham from slaughtering his son he sees a ram caught in the thicket. It is offered as a substitute for Isaac. Its head was surrounded by thorns. As a sacrificial substitute with a crown of thorns, the ram pointed to the future Lamb of God, Jesus. This is why John the Baptist, upon seeeing Jesus proclaims, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”.

The First Plague Water to Blood in Exodus 7

Moses’ first plague miracle is what Catholics would call transubstantiation. Water of the Nile turns to blood. For his first miracle, Jesus, the new Moses, turns water into wine. Later, at the end of his public ministry, he holds up the wine and says, “This is my blood”. Jesus, acting as the New Moses, comes full circle. He begins with water to wine and ends with water to blood. 

The Passover Lamb in Exodus 12

More than any other Old Testament story this one is eucharistic through and through. The blood of the lamb saved the people from death. They had to sacrifice the lamb. It had to have its blood spread on the wood. Then they had to eat the lamb. As the lambs were being slaughtered for the Passover Jesus was being presented to the crowd, “Behold, the man”. The lamb had to be one year old, male and no broken bones or blemishes. Jesus is male, in the prime of his life and he is without sin. John’s Gospel goes out of its way to say that Jesus was spared from having his legs broken on the cross because he was the New Passover Lamb. The Last Supper started out as a Passover Meal which commemorated the Exodus from Egypt and ended as a Eucharist which commemorates and enables our exodus from the enslavement of sin. "For Christ, our Passover lamb, also was sacrificed" (1 Cor 5:7).

The Manna in Exodus 16

Moses gave them manna, bread from heaven to sustain them until they reached the Promised Land. Jesus gives the Church True Bread from heaven, his flesh and blood to sustain us until we reach heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. The Eucharist is the new Manna given after the Exodus from slavery into freedom, after we cross from death to life in Baptism. Jesus said, "i am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:48-51).

The Blood of the Covenant in Exodus 24

Moses stood above the people on the foot of the Mountain and he dipped a branch into the bowl of bull’s blood. As he splashed it on the people below him he said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant’. This came after the people verbally assenting to the terms of the covenant. This was how Moses ratified the covenant. The blood is what binds a family and makes one a member of the family. So the covenant was a family bond as the people of God the Father.  Jesus, as the new Moses, did the same thing at the Last Supper. He held ratified the covenant as he up the cup and said, “This is the blood of the New covenant" (Mt 26:28).

The Todah Offering in Leviticus 11

The word ‘todah’ in Hebrew means thank you or thank offering.  The offering was usually presented as bread and wine along with lamb meat. It was presented by the Levites (priests) at the Temple. It was a way to have fellowship with God. They offered the sacrifice to God and he offered it back to them to eat. It was meant to give thanks to God for all of his generosity. The word Eucharist is a Greek word for ‘thanksgiving’. When we celebrate the Eucharist we, through the priest celebrant, give extensive thanks to God in the eucharistic prayer.

 The Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16

The high priest had a special function that he would carry out once a year. He would pray his sins out loud over the head of an animal (bull) to symbolize the transfer of guilt. Then the animal would be offered as a substitute for the atonement of the sins of the people. The blood of the animal would be taken into the Holy of Holies, beyond the veil to the earthly throne of God on the Ark of the covenant called the propitiatory of the Ark. Here, between the two golden angels the blood would be sprinkled as a way of offering it directly to God. Jesus ascended to the Father, beyond the veil with his offering to make eternal satisfaction for our redemption. At mass we participate in that heavenly liturgy. The priest says, "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."

Though it may seem like it, this is not an exhaustive list of the Old Testament connections to the Eucharist. The entire liturgy of the ancient Jews both at Temple and in the synagogues has something to say about the Eucharist and the pattern we follow at a Catholic mass.