Book Review: Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist by Brian Pitre

 Subtitle: Unlocking the secrets of the Last Supper

 This deep dive into Jewish history and culture carefully links many different aspects of the Old Testament to the Passover Celebration by Jesus on the night He was betrayed, as well as the things Jesus said about it and Himself. This includes:

•      The first Passover and the ceremony Moses transmitted on God’s behalf to help the Israelites remember His deliverance of them;

•      The manna that God miraculously provided daily in the wilderness for forty years;

•      The table of showbread (bread of the Presence) in the tabernacle and temple, and the practices ordained for it;

•      Levitical laws regarding the eating of the blood of animals human flesh;

•      Jewish culture and writings (outside the Torah) regarding expectations of a coming Messiah to lead them to a new promised land, after the manner of Moses;

 

In the New Testament record of Jesus’ words and actions, this book cites the explanations that Jesus Himself gave for establishing the Christian practice of Holy Communion as a command for all believers.

•      In John 6:51, He discussed the topic of eating His flesh and drinking His blood to have eternal life, and linked bread to flesh.

•      In the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:11), He taught us to pray for daily bread daily, but the choice of Greek words suggests this was not just providential provision, but supernatural manna-like spiritual provision we are to seek each day.

•      At the Last Supper, when he commanded His disciples to “do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:24-25), He explicitly linked Passover to His death on the cross, and to His command to thusly remember Him.

•      As a seldom noted detail, He postponed drinking the fourth cup of the traditional Jewish Seder celebration until His death on the cross, to precisely fulfill the type.

 

The author, Brian Pitre, being Catholic, makes the case that these items, taken together, constitute compelling evidence for the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in the elements of the Eucharist. I feel the discussion is incomplete. The difference between interpreting words as being a type, a metaphor, a symbol vs. the assertion of a genuine spiritual reality is at the heart of interpreting Scripture. So the meticulous tracing of Jewish roots for the Last Supper and the Lord’s Supper ends falling short.