“Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.​

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“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:19-24 NASB’95)​

"It Is Finished"
The Jewish Passover, the Last Supper, and the New Testament Sacrifice,
How are they connected?​

We will start this discussion with a question. Just before Christ died, He said “It is finished” (John 19:28-30). What does the word “It” refer to - what was finished?

The customary answer given by most people is that Christ’s work of salvation was now complete, but this is not correct. The apostle Paul states that for the work of our salvation to be complete, Christ had to first rise from the dead: “…16 for if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain; and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost (1 Corinthians 15:12-18) – also see Romans 4:25. So then, what does the “It” refer to? To answer this question we first need to ask several other questions.

Now to the casual observer, the following questions may seem trivial. However that is not the case. A proper understanding of the relationship of these questions (and their answers) to each other will bring us to a more profound insight into God’s plan of salvation, and in doing so, we will answer our primary question - what does the “It” refer to?.


1 - At the last supper, why did Christ omit the 4th cup of wine - the Cup of Consummation?

2 - On the way to Calvary, Christ was offered a cup of wine (Matthew 27:31-34; Mark 15:22-23), but he refused it! Why?

3 - Did Christ drink the 4th Cup – if so, when and where?

4 - When did the Last supper end? What is the significance of the answer to this question?

5 - When did Christ’s sacrifice begin? When did it end – or did it? See Malachi 1:10-11; Hebrews 8:1-3.

6 - How did the crucifixion become a sacrifice?

7 – In Luke 19:22 we read: “… do this in remembrance of me”. What does the word “this” refer to? What was it that the apostles were supposed to do?

To answer the above questions, we need to go back to the night of the original Passover, and the requirements that God set forth for the exodus from Egypt.

In Exodus 12:1-10 we see where God sets forth the requirements for the exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt. He then commands the Israelite's (three times) to remember this event as a perpetual ordinance (Ex. 12:14, 17, and 24). So the Passover Celebration becomes the most important sacrifice for the Jewish people.

But now there seems to be a problem! In Malachi 1:10-11 (also see Hebrews 8:1-3), God says that He will no longer accept this old sacrifice, but refers to a new, most pure, continual sacrifice – “from the rising of the sun to setting of the sun!” So this brings up a question. Why would God command the perpetual remembrance of a form of sacrifice (The Passover) which, at some point in the future, He would no longer accept?

Answer - It was never God’s intention that the manner of fulfilling of the requirements of Exodus 12:14, 17, & 24, would stay the same i.e. the Passover Seder meal. At the coming of Christ, the manner (or outward form) of this perpetual remembrance would change, but not the basic elements. Note the following comparison!

Elements of the Old Testament Passover Sacrifice:

An unblemished lamb would be slain;

The blood would be shed;

And the lamb must be consumed (Exodus 12:8)



Elements of the New Testament Passover Sacrifice:

Christ, the unblemished Lamb of God (John 1:29) would be slain (John 19:30);

The blood would be shed; (John 19:34);

And the Lamb must be consumed; Exodus 29:33; 1 Corinthians 5:7-8; John 6:53-56; Matthew 26:26.

Note - Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 5:8 is a direct reference back to John 6: 53. 1 Corinthians 5:8 is also the New Testament counterpart of Exodus 12:8 – the Lamb must be consumed. Also, Christ’s words “Do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19), is the New Testament counterpart of Exodus 12: 14, 17, & 24.

Restating this using modern computer terminology. At the coming of Christ, the old Jewish Passover sacrifice was “upgraded” to the New Testament Passover Sacrifice – The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This “upgrade” took place at the Last Supper when Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist. In other words, the Last Supper was the first Catholic Mass.

As stated above, this new sacrifice (The Mass) would still contain the basic elements of the old one: an unblemished lamb would be slain; the blood would be shed; and the lamb would be consumed, and therefore it would continue to fulfill the requirements of exodus 12 as a perpetual ordinance.

At the Last Supper, the priesthood of Christ replaced the Levitical priesthood of the Old Testament. In other words, in Christianity, the Eucharist at Mass has replaced the Jewish Passover meal.

With the above discussion in mind, let us now look at the questions that are listed at the beginning of this article and see how they fit in.

Questions 1 & 2, have the same answer. Most Protestant commentators will say that Jesus refused the wine, on the way to Calvary, because it contained myrrh, a pain killer, and He wanted to suffer the maximum. If this could be a secondary consideration, it would be a very minor one. The main reason Jesus refused to drink the wine on the way to Calvary, is because he wanted to wait till just before he died. It is for this same reason that Christ omitted the 4th Cup at the Last Supper.

So why did Christ not want to drink the wine until He was on the cross? Remember that Jesus had omitted the 4th Cup (the Cup of Consummation) at the Last supper, and therefore the Last Supper was not yet finished. The Last Supper ended, with Jesus on the cross, when He received and drank the wine (John 19:30). This was the 4th Cup. This is very significance. This means that Christ’s entire passion was part of the Last Supper. Why did Jesus wait till just before He died to conclude the Last Supper?

Remember that on the previous Thursday night, at the Last Supper (the first Catholic Mass), Christ had instituted the Holy Eucharist. By making His drinking of the Cup of Consummation His very last action before he died, Christ intimately connected His real bloody sacrifice on the cross with His real un-bloody sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist. This means that Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary on Friday, and his Last Supper Eucharistic Sacrifice on Thursday night, are one and the same.

It is Christ’s institution of the Eucharistic Sacrifice at the Last Supper which transforms His execution on Calvary into a Sacrifice, because, as was just stated above, the two sacrifices are one and the same. We know that the Eucharist at the last supper was a sacrifice because of Paul’s words “Christ our pascal lamb has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7).

Now the above discussion brings out a very important point. If the Sacrifice on Calvary and the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the Last Supper are one and the same, then how could (as many non-Catholics claim) the Eucharist be just a piece of bread, just a symbol? If the Eucharist is just a symbol, then Calvary was just a symbol! - But a symbol of what? Or to put it another way, if Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary on Friday, and his Last Supper Eucharistic Sacrifice on Thursday night, are one and the same, then how could the Calvary sacrifice be “real”, while the Eucharistic sacrifice of Thursday night be only “symbolic”?

Also, consider this idea, if all the apostles ate was a piece of bread (as many non-Catholics claim), then the Last Supper was invalid, and in violation of Exodus 12:8 – bread is not lamb. This point is explained in greater detail below.

With the above explanations we have now answered questions 3, 4. And 6.

Now for question 5: “When did Christ’s sacrifice begin? It began at the Last Supper when He instituted the Holy Eucharist. When did it end? It didn’t! Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary continues eternally (Hebrews 8: 1-3). This point needs a little explanation.

Christ is now in eternity, and is outside of time. As such, He sees all of human history at once, as if it were a huge mural on a wall, so His Sacrifice on Calvary is always present to Him. In other words, as an eternal Being, Jesus stands outside of time, and therefore all of history is simultaneously present to Him.

Now in regards to our original question - what does the “It” refer to? From John 19:30 we read: “After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the scripture), “I thirst.” A bowl of sour wine stood there; so they put a sponge full of the wine on hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished”; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit”.

The “it” refers to two simultaneous events, it signifies the conclusion of the Last Supper, and the conclusion of the Last Supper signifies the transformation of the Old Testament Passover sacrifice into the New Testament Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

There is one more important point that many non-Catholic Christians miss. Just as the Old Covenant Passover was both a meal and a sacrifice, so too is the New Covenant Passover of the Eucharist at Mass, also a meal and a Sacrifice. This means that we must now eat our New Covenant Passover Lamb just as the Jews were commanded to eat the lamb in the Old Covenant Passover (Exodus 12:8). Christ Himself gives us this command; “Take and eat….” (Matthew 26:26). Exodus 29:33 also prefigures Christ’s words: “And they shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but an outsider shall not eat thereof, because they are holy”.

Now notice also the last part of this verse (29:33), it states an additional requirement concerning who can receive (consume) the Eucharistic Sacrifice: “…but an outsider shall not eat thereof, because they are holy”. This part of the verse prefigures Paul’s warning against receiving the Eucharist unworthy.

In 1 Corinthians 11:23-29 Paul states; “…Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord (guilty of the murder of Christ). But let a man examine himself: and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. For he that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord”.

At this point we need to define those persons that Paul refers to as “unworthy” - that Exodus 29:33 refers to as “outsiders”. Those who are unworthy fall into one of two categories. First, they are either Catholics who are not properly disposed (in a state of serious sin) to receive Communion, such as unrepentant pro-abortion Catholic politicians for example; or secondly, any person who does not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist (non-Catholic Christians and non-Christians).
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This statement by Christ, was the apostle’s commission, where He gave them, as priests of the New Covenant, the command, and authority to do everything He had done while He was on earth, including, and most important of all, offering this new sacrifice (The Mass), so as to feed His lambs, to feed his sheep (John 21:15-17) – feed them spiritually with the Holy Eucharist. Remember that on the night of the original Passover the Jews ate the lamb to strengthen them physically for the journey they were about to undertake. In the Mass we eat The Eucharist - the Living, Resurrected, Heavenly, Glorified body of Christ - to strengthen ourselves for the spiritual journey (John 6: 51-58) to Heaven.

Only in the Catholic Church can one fulfill the requirements of John 6:51-58. Many Protestant churches have “communion services” but It should be noted, that in such a service, people receive only bread and wine (a symbol), not the real Body and Blood of Christ. No protestant minister has the ability to change bread and wine into Christ’s Body & Blood. Only a properly ordained priest or bishop who is a direct descendant of the Apostles can do that.

This sacramental lineage is prefigured in the Old Testament - see 2 Chronicles 26:18 - “they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to make an offering to the Lord, but for the priests - the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to make offerings. Go out of the sanctuary; for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the Lord God.”

It should also be noted that, at Mass, the priest does not, by his own, humanly power, change the bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood. He is only acting as an agent for Christ. It is Christ who performs the miracle and makes the change. A good example of this is found in Peter’s actions in Acts 3:6-16.​

Additional considerations.​

One last biblical type to consider is this: the totality of the Old Testament Passover was itself a prefigurement of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in New Testament times, and the two taken together fulfill the requirements of “an ordinance forever”, which is quoted above. In other words, Christ transferred the fulfillment of the requirements of Exodus 12 from the old Jewish Passover, which He would no longer accept (Malachi 1: 10-11), to the New Covenant Sacrifice – the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The New Testament counterpart of Exodus 12: 14, 17 & 24, is: “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke: 22:19). The Catholic Church, through the Mass, continues the perpetual remembrance of Exodus 12:14, 17, 24, but in a more perfect way.

Just as the Jewish Passover was a re-presentation of the original Passover, done in remembrance of the night before the Jews left Egypt, so too the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a re-presentation of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, and is done, as He requested, in remembrance of His redemptive actions on Calvary (Luke 22: 19). But the Mass is also so much more. It is the means by which the merits gained on Calvary are brought to us; it is the method Christ gives us to fulfill the requirements of John 6:53-59.

In general The Mass is offered for four specific ends: (1) as a supreme act of adoration of God; (2) as a most powerful means of appeasing God’s offended justice; (3) as a most acceptable act of thanksgiving; (4) as a most powerful means of obtaining all blessings for body and soul.

It should be noted that Paul links this requirement of John 6: 53-54 to the last supper. Again in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Paul states: “Christ is the Paschal Lamb who has been sacrificed…” But then notice that Paul adds an additional requirement to Christ’s sacrifice – “Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (As a side note – Communion hosts are made from unleavened bread).

So how do we keep the feast? We must eat the Lamb, the Real Lamb – Christ in the Eucharist. Here, Paul is restating the requirements of Exodus 12:8 (the Paschal lamb had to be eaten) and showing its connection to 1 Corinthians 5:7-8. In other words 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, John 6: 53-54, and the three accounts of the institution of the Holy Eucharist (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; and Luke 22:19-20), are the New Testament fulfillment of Exodus 12:8.

As was stated above in 1 Corinthians 11:23-29, Paul, gives a stern warning against receiving the Eucharist unworthily - reception by a non-believer, or by a person who is in a state of serious sin. His warning is very significant here, because it proves that the Eucharist is truly the Body of Christ. If that were not the case and the Eucharist is just a piece of ordinary bread, just a symbol as Protestants claim, how then could someone be “guilty of the body and blood of the Lord” (guilty of the murder of Christ) just for eating a piece of bread, eating a symbol? If the Eucharist is just a symbol, it wouldn’t matter what state a person’s soul was in, or what the person believes. If it is only a symbol, then Paul’s statement here is pointless and has no meaning. Obviously, scripture is not pointless, so the only way his statement has any meaning is if the Eucharist is truly the Body of Christ. Paul’s warning here also ties in with John 20: 19-23.

Also, as was mentioned above, if the apostles only ate a piece of bread at the last supper, then the last supper was invalid. Exodus 12:8 requires that a lamb be eaten, and bread is not Lamb. It should be noted that nowhere in the scriptural description of the Last Supper is there any reference to an animal type lamb being there! Why? Paul shows that none was needed, and he confirms that the apostles ate the Real Lamb when he says: “Christ our pascal lamb has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7)”, and must be eaten (1 Corinthians 5:8). Additionally Paul states: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? (1 Corinthians 10:16). Also, see Exodus 29:33: “And they shall eat those things with which the atonement was made…” Christ has atoned for our sins, and must now be eaten (John 6: 53-54).

Most Protestants believe that Christ was only talking symbolically because that is what they have been told all their life, and they have accepted this error, with little biblical proof or investigation. The problem is that the Bible does not support this erroneous "symbolic" meaning. In fact, a serious study of scripture will show just the opposite to be the case.

Conclusion - to be continued in the next post.

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MSN

(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump’s administration exempted smartphones, computers and other electronics from its so-called reciprocal tariffs, potentially cushioning consumers from sticker shock while benefiting electronics giants including Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. The exclusions, published late Friday by US Customs and Border Protection, narrow the scope of the levies by excluding the products from Trump’s 125% China tariff and his baseline 10% global tariff on nearly all other countries. The exclusions would apply to smartphones, laptop computers, hard drives and computer processors and memory chips. Those popular consumer electronics items generally aren’t made in the US. Setting up domestic manufacturing would take years. --BLOOMBERG​

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5245029-social-security-administration-social-platform-x-releases/

“The agency will be using X to communicate to the press and the public — formerly known as Twitter,” Linda Kerr-Davis, SSA Midwest-West regional commissioner told employees in a call Thursday, according to Federal News Network (FNN).​

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“This will become our communication mechanism,” she told reporters.​

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The shift comes as communications staff at the agency has dwindled due to reassignments in front-facing roles at field offices across the country. Officials announced that regional SSA offices would no longer have fully staffed public affairs offices as a result.​

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“If you’re used to getting press releases and Dear Colleague letters, you might want to subscribe to the official SSA X account, so you can stay up to date with agency news,” Kerr-Davis said, as reported by FNN.​