Paul and Jesus

One thing seems clear. The idea of eating the body and blood of one’s god, even in a symbolic manner, fits nothing we know of Jesus or the Jewish culture from which he comes. The technical term theophagy refers to “eating the body of one’s god,” either literally or symbolically, and various researchers have noted examples of the idea in Greek religious traditions in which the deity was symbolically consumed.

²³ Although some scholars have tried to locate Paul’s version of the Eucharist within the wider tradition of “sacred banquets” common in Greco-Roman society, his specific language about participating in the spiritual efficacy of Jesus’ sacrificed body and blood by eating the bread and drinking the wine seems to take us into another arena entirely.²⁴

The closest parallels we have to this kind of idea are found in Greek magical materials from this period. For example, in one of the magical papyri we read of a spell in which one drinks a cup of wine that has been ritually consecrated to represent the blood of the god Osiris, in order to participate in the spiritual power of love he had for his consort, Isis.²⁵

Jesus lived as an observant Jew, keeping the Torah or Law of Moses and teaching others to do the same. Jews were strictly forbidden to consume blood or even to eat meat from which the blood had not been properly drained and removed (Leviticus 7:26–27). The Jewish followers of Jesus, led by Jesus’ brother James, were quite stringent on this point, insisting that it applied equally to non-Jews as well as Jews, based on the prohibition to Noah and all his descendants after the Flood. They forbade non-Jewish followers of Jesus to eat meat that had been killed by strangling, or to consume any blood (Acts 15:19–20). Paul was admittedly lax on these restrictions and tells his followers they can eat any kind of meat sold in the marketplace, presumably even animals killed by strangulation, so long as no one present happens to notice and object on the basis of biblical teachings (1 Corinthians 10:25–29).

Given this background I think we can conclude that it is inconceivable that Jesus would have had his followers drink a cup of wine as a representation of his blood, even symbolically, or break bread to represent his flesh, sacrificed for their sins.²⁶

WHEN YOU ALL COME TOGETHER

Participation in the memorial meal of the Lord’s Supper was a corporate event in Paul’s churches. The followers were all to gather in one place, waiting until everyone is present, and separating any common meals they might eat together from this sacred moment (1 Corinthians 11:33). Ideally, this gathering of the body of Christ was a time when the Christ-Spirit would be manifested in extraordinary ways, with gifts of the Spirit abundantly demonstrated. This could include speaking ecstatically in exotic languages, uttering prophecies, healing the sick, and pronouncing blessings and curses. Paul devotes four chapters in his first letter to the Corinthians in an attempt to bring some order to the chaos that had begun to characterize these meetings (1 Corinthians 11–14). He had received reports that the group was engaging in gluttony and drunkenness and had divided up into various factions. Their gatherings had become loud and disorderly, with the Spirit given free rein to guide each individual as he or she was moved. People were interrupting one another, all speaking at once, with ecstatic outbursts of every description. Some of the women in the group, who were allowed a limited amount of participation if they had the gift of prophecy but otherwise were to be silent in the gatherings, were speaking out, asking questions, and expressing their views.

Paul was fearful, from the reports that he had received, that demonic spirits might have invaded their Christian space and were the source of some of the chaos—impersonating the Spirit of Christ. One of the gifts of the Spirit was the ability to supernaturally “discern” whether a spirit speaking was that of Christ or an imposter (1 Corinthians 12:10). Paul even refers to a case where someone was yelling out “Jesus be cursed!” while claiming to be speaking through the Spirit of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:1–3). Apparently this was a way of cursing the human Jesus, who was seen now as separate from the divine Spirit of Christ. Though Paul strictly forbade such conduct, it is clear that the roots of such practices represent extensions of his own teachings taken to extremes, as he was the one who had emphasized that those “in Christ” were freed from the Torah, that “all things were lawful,” and that Jesus as an observant Jew “according to the flesh” was no longer the focus of the followers of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:16–17). In the place of the historical Jesus, Paul had now put his own example, urging his followers: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).