my name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice,
and there is offered to my name a clean oblation: for my name is great
among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts” (Mal. 1:10-11).
This Gentile sacrifice of a ‘clean oblation’ was inaugurated at the Last
Supper when Christ consecrated bread and wine into His Body and Blood
and then told His Apostles to “Do this in remembrance of me” (St. Luke
22:19). The language of ‘body’ and ‘blood’ is the language of sacrifice and
presupposes a slaying that has separated them. In other words, Christ
speaks of Himself as a sacrifice. This is reinforced by the separate
displaying of the bread and wine. The ex-Protestant convert James Akin
makes this further point:
“This is true regardless of whether Christ is literally present in the
sacrament or whether he is only symbolically present. Even if he is
only symbolically present, then the Eucharist symbolizes a sacrifice.
It is a symbolic sacrifice. Because elders have the duty of performing
the sacraments, they have the duty of performing this sacrifice, again
indicating the priestly character of their office.”³
Furthermore, by the words “Do this in remembrance of me”, Christ
commanded His Apostles to perform continually a liturgical action that
would recall as a memorial before the Father the unique sacrifice of the
Son, and make Him present in this memorial. In this sense they and their
successors were to act as priestly “stewards of the mysteries of God” (1
Cor. 4:1) and did so as recorded in the following verses:
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42).
“Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke
bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts” (Acts
2:46).
By being present at the Mass and partaking in the Body and Blood of
Christ, the common priesthood of all ages are enabled to offer the same
sacrifice that Christ as High Priest offered to God the Father. But this is
3
The Office of New Testament Priest, website 7/31/99, p. 4.
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