Figurative vs Literal Language and the Lord's Supper
“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it; and he gave to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took a cup, and gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many unto remission of sins.” Matthew 26:26-28
One of the most significant sources of confusion in Bible interpretation is when individuals will interpret figurative language as literal. Webster’s Dictionary defines figurative language like this: “Figurative language refers to words or phrases that are meaningful, but not literally true.” In addition. We might think of this by simple expressions in the Bible. The church is the body of Christ as we spoke of last Sunday (Eph 1:22-23, 4:4. 5:23). Should we interpret the church as the literal, physical body of Christ? Do we transform into Jesus when we follow him? If so, what happens when I sin against God? I want to illustrate this point by speaking about a variety of errors that come from taking language which is clearly figurative literally.
Is it Literally Flesh and Blood?
The Roman Catholic religion teaches the doctrine of Transubstantiation. During the Eucharist (Lord’s Supper/Communion), their belief is that the bread and the wine is transformed into the literal body and blood of Christ. This belief is derived from Matthew 26:26-28. We can answer this by asking some serious questions. When Jesus said this is my body, did He literally hold His flesh in His hands? Did He drain His literal blood from His veins into the cup? If we were to take this literally, then His blood was shed prior to the cross and His body was already given. Furthermore, Jesus said the cup was the blood of the new covenant. Was the cup literally the New Testament? If it was, it was not literal blood.
What Does This Teaching Imply?
Jesus used figurative language often; the Bible contains prophetic language that describes figures. Jesus used the figure of bread to describe Himself in John 6:51, “1 I am the living bread which came down out of heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: yea and the bread which I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world.” Was Jesus literal bread? No, He was not. Yet, Christ said in John 6:56, “He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me, and I in him.” To suggest that Jesus intended for anyone in His time or thereafter to drink blood and eat flesh is to say that Christ called brethren to do things forbidden (drink blood, Acts 15:28-29). It also makes Jesus a teacher of cannibalism. In another instance, the Lord says, “And if thy right hand causeth thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body go into hell” Matt. 5:30). If people took the entire Bible as literal, we would have a lot more amputated religious folk in this world.
The True, Literal Purpose of Communion
The Lord’s Supper is a memorial in which we come together to remember the death of our Lord. We remember that He gave His body and blood for the remission of our sin. “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord’s death till he come” (1 Cor 11:26). We must not miss the literal purpose of this act of worship because of the figurative language used by the Lord to describe it.
Grace and Peace,
R.D. Beavers
