Jesus Changed the Flesh and Blood of Sacrifice into the Bread and Wine of Forgiveness
In the furnace of his own affliction (Isaiah 48:10), Jesus forged the bread and wine of forgiveness from the raw materials of his flesh and blood. The bread and wine of forgiveness are the tangible expressions of the prodigious love of God. By the magical alchemy of forgiveness (Jeremiah 31:31-34) (Luke 23:34 ) (Acts 10:43) (Matthew 6:12) (Matthew 18:21-35 (Luke 7:47) (Matthew 5:45), Jesus transformed his sacrifice into a banquet - his vile and insolent murderers into his beloved dinner companions. Who is not surprised by the limitless generosity of our God? He supplied food and drink to satisfy the hunger and thirst of his enemies! Do we act likewise? Evil had offered Jesus a demotion from the level of our loving God to the level of the loveless beasts who scavenge for scraps among the ruins of Eden in cutthroat competition with one another. Jesus refused evil's offer. In refusal, Jesus won his victory.
Jesus Made an Equation and Tested and Verified Its Validity in the Battle of the Crucifixion
At the Last Supper, Jesus equalized his flesh and blood and our food and drink (Luke 22:19) (Luke 22:20) (John 6:31-59). He put the equal sign between them. Out of love for us, he made the equation. IN MAKING THE EQUATION, JESUS SHIFTED THE PARADIGM (Wikipedia). JESUS TRANSUBSTANTIATED THE TAKING OF HIS FLESH AND BLOOD INTO THE SERVING OF THE BREAD AND WINE OF FORGIVENESS - THAT WHICH WAS BAD INTO THAT WHICH IS GOOD - HIS BLOODY WOUNDS INTO THE FLOODGATES OF FORGIVENESS - A SACRIFICE INTO A BANQUET - MURDERERS INTO DINNER COMPANIONS - AN IGNOBLE DEFEAT INTO A GLORIOUS VICTORY - VERY BAD NEWS INTO THE GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY - A LOW FIDELITY UNDERSTANDING OF GOD INTO AN UPGRADED, HIGH FIDELITY UNDERSTANDING OF GOD. The paradigm shift was unilateral, gratuitous and unconditional. The pyrotechnics of the parameter shift give Jesus his charisma and Christianity its magic. They illuminate the darkness of our understanding of God in a glorious burst of epiphany. The equalization of his flesh and blood and our food and drink unequivocally demonstrated that the our God is head over heels in love with us (1 John 4:8).
Discover the Treasure of Christianity for Yourselves. Make yourself rich!
Make a pilgrimage first to the Last Supper and then to the battlefield of the Crucifixion. The paradigm shift that Jesus announced at the Last Supper was put to the test and verified in a macabre experiment that took place on the battlefield of the Crucifixion in the backside of the desert (Exodus 3:1-3) in the boondocks of space and time. We put Jesus to the test (Malachi 3:10) (Luke 4:12) (Deuteronomy 6:16) (Wisdom 2: 17-20). "Let us test him with insult and torture, that we may find out how gentle he is and make trial of his forbearance" (Wisdom 2: 19). The test was done and its results were propagated by his Church from the point and place of their obscure origin, across space and time, to the children of Adam and Eve here and now. On the battlefield of the Crucifixion, Jesus drew the sharp sword of sweet forgiveness from the scabbard of his prodigious love for us to slay the monster of the Crucifixion. Forgiveness killed the monster dead (Jeremiah 31:31-34) (Luke 23:34) (Acts 10:43) (Matthew 6:12) (Matthew 18:21-35 (Luke 7:47) (Matthew 5:45). We did not deserve forgiveness but he forgave us anyway. He did not wait for our conversion to forgive us. He forgave us to bring about our conversion. Jesus was highly confident in the power of his prodigious love to induce our repentance. Would that the leaders of our Church shared his confidence!