Judaism Has Strong Prohibition Against Consuming Blood, So How...

Basil the Great

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could Jesus have possibly told his Jewish disciples that the bread and wine were his body and blood, even if just in a metaphorical sense, let alone in a real sense, as is believed by Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and some Lutherans and some Anglicans?

It has been decades since I have read my Old Testament and so I had long ago forgotten about this very strong Jewish prohibition. Somehow, I ran across this issue a few weeks back and it has been troubling me ever since. It simply makes no sense to me that Jesus would have told his Jewish disciples to consume blood, something strictly forbidden by Jewish law, by consuming his body and blood. Who wishes to attempt to explain this very strong contradiction?
 

Theophilus2019

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Jesus makes it very clear in Jn. 6:63 that he doesn’t mean actually drinking his physical blood (otherwise what are his followers going to do when he has ascended to heaven?). But what he means is trust in and the spiritual appropriation of the benefit of his blood shed on the cross for our forgiveness. This is of course emphasised and symbolised in the wine of the communion.
 
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mkgal1

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Different priesthood, melchizadek and all that.
As an animal lover.....I just have to say that it does my heart a lot of good to know that Melchizedek brought bread and wine to worship God with (and that is what Jesus did in bringing in the New Covenant).


Genesis 14.17-20~ After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with them, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh, (that is the King’s Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,

maker of heaven and earth;

and blessed be God Most High,

who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”

https://chnetwork.org/2010/03/16/the-meal-of-melchizedek/
 
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Der Alte

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Leviticus 19:26 is apparently where this prohibition is found.
And here.
Leviticus 3:17 It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.
Leviticus 7:27 Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
Leviticus 17:12 Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.
Deuteronomy 12:16 Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.
Deuteronomy 12:23 Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.
Deuteronomy 15:23 Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water.
 
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Albion

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could Jesus have possibly told his Jewish disciples that the bread and wine were his body and blood, even if just in a metaphorical sense, let alone in a real sense, as is believed by Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and some Lutherans and some Anglicans?
When you say "some" Anglicans you can hardly ever be wrong ;), but its not the Anglican belief.
 
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could Jesus have possibly told his Jewish disciples that the bread and wine were his body and blood, even if just in a metaphorical sense, let alone in a real sense, as is believed by Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and some Lutherans and some Anglicans?

I think it has been misunderstood. Wine is not really blood. The old covenant was confirmed with blood and body of animals. In the new covenant it is confirmed with bread and wine. They are the "blood and wine" of the new covenant. Everybody who takes them, takes also part to the new covenant that was made through Jesus.
 
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Albion

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I think it has been misunderstood. Wine is not really blood. The old covenant was confirmed with blood and body of animals. In the new covenant it is confirmed with bread and wine. They are the "blood and wine" of the new covenant. Everybody who takes them, takes also part to the new covenant that was made through Jesus.
I think the point was, however, that one important denomination insists that it literally is blood regardless of what it looks like or tastes like.
 
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ewq1938

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could Jesus have possibly told his Jewish disciples that the bread and wine were his body and blood, even if just in a metaphorical sense, let alone in a real sense, as is believed by Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and some Lutherans and some Anglicans?

It has been decades since I have read my Old Testament and so I had long ago forgotten about this very strong Jewish prohibition. Somehow, I ran across this issue a few weeks back and it has been troubling me ever since. It simply makes no sense to me that Jesus would have told his Jewish disciples to consume blood, something strictly forbidden by Jewish law, by consuming his body and blood. Who wishes to attempt to explain this very strong contradiction?


There is no contradiction. The wine was wine, not blood. Calling it his blood was symbolism.
 
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rnmomof7

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could Jesus have possibly told his Jewish disciples that the bread and wine were his body and blood, even if just in a metaphorical sense, let alone in a real sense, as is believed by Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and some Lutherans and some Anglicans?

It has been decades since I have read my Old Testament and so I had long ago forgotten about this very strong Jewish prohibition. Somehow, I ran across this issue a few weeks back and it has been troubling me ever since. It simply makes no sense to me that Jesus would have told his Jewish disciples to consume blood, something strictly forbidden by Jewish law, by consuming his body and blood. Who wishes to attempt to explain this very strong contradiction?

The passover was a type of Christ, the passover meal was a remembrance of God saving the Jews from slavery ..Jesus was teaching the apostles that He fulfilled the passover type and now He was to be the remembrance and His sacrifice saving men spiritually ... The cup never contained ACTUAL blood .. and obviously the apostles understood the metaphor because no one asked how this could be or why he was telling them to sin by violating the law
 
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Not David

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The passover was a type of Christ, the passover meal was a remembrance of God saving the Jews from slavery ..Jesus was teaching the apostles that He fulfilled the passover type and now He was to be the remembrance and His sacrifice saving men spiritually ... The cup never contained ACTUAL blood .. and obviously the apostles understood the metaphor because no one asked how this could be or why he was telling them to sin by violating the law
Where in the Bible does it say "And they understood it as a metaphor"?
 
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ewq1938

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Where in the Bible does it say "And they understood it as a metaphor"?

The same place where the Bible says, "And they understood it as literal"
 
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Not David

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The same place where the Bible says, "And they understood it as literal"
"Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you."
 
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ewq1938

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"Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you."

Clear metaphors. No one has literally eaten any part of Jesus' body nor drank his blood.
 
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mmksparbud

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could Jesus have possibly told his Jewish disciples that the bread and wine were his body and blood, even if just in a metaphorical sense, let alone in a real sense, as is believed by Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and some Lutherans and some Anglicans?

It has been decades since I have read my Old Testament and so I had long ago forgotten about this very strong Jewish prohibition. Somehow, I ran across this issue a few weeks back and it has been troubling me ever since. It simply makes no sense to me that Jesus would have told his Jewish disciples to consume blood, something strictly forbidden by Jewish law, by consuming his body and blood. Who wishes to attempt to explain this very strong contradiction?

People figure out ways to twist scriptures so they can do--or eat--what they want.

Act_15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Act_15:29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
Act_21:25 As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.

The prohibition about blood has not changed. What God prohibits, stays that way until He says otherwise. Obviously, He didn't change His mind in the NT.
 
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