Catechetical Sunday 2011 Eucharist in the New Testament

The Eucharist in the New Testament by Scott Hahn, PhD (in English and Spanish)

Dr. Scott Hahn argues that the Eucharist and the New Testament are inseparable. In fact, in biblical terms, the Eucharist is the “New Testament” because Jesus used that phrase not to describe a book but the new covenant in his blood instituted at the Last Supper.

The Eucharist is the central reality that gives shape to Christian life, worship, and Scripture. The written New Testament presupposes the Eucharistic celebration, which is the living covenant by which God makes us his children and unites us to Christ.

1. The Biblical Meaning of "New Testament"

• The biblical words translated as “testament” mean covenant (Greek diatheke, Hebrew berith).
• For Jesus and the earliest Christians, “New Testament” primarily meant a sacred family relationship sealed by sacrifice and a meal, not a written document.
• Jesus uses the term only at the Last Supper, calling the chalice the “new covenant in my blood” (1 Cor 11:25).
• Therefore, the Eucharist precedes the written New Testament and gives it meaning.

2. The Eucharist as Sacrifice

• Early Christians and the Didache already spoke of the Eucharist as “the sacrifice.”
• Non‑Christians asked: How can the Eucharist be a sacrifice if Christ died “once for all”?
• Hahn explains: The Last Supper is what made Calvary a sacrifice, not merely an execution.
  • At the supper, Jesus offers his Body and Blood sacrificially, echoing Moses (Ex 24:8).
  • This transforms the crucifixion into the fulfillment of the Paschal offering.
• St. Paul connects the Eucharist, the Cross, and the Passover explicitly (1 Cor 5:7; 10:19–21).
• The Mass is therefore the memorial participation in Christ’s once‑for‑all sacrifice.

3. The Eucharist in the Life of the Early Church

• The New Testament’s only narrative overlap between St. Paul and the Gospels is the institution of the Eucharist, confirming its centrality.
• Acts 2:42 summarizes early Christian worship as: teaching, communal life, the breaking of the bread, and prayers—the structure of the Mass.
• Many New Testament scenes are Eucharistic:
  • John 6 (Bread of Life Discourse)
  • Multiplication of loaves (Eucharistic symbolism)
  • Wedding at Cana (early Fathers saw a foreshadowing of transubstantiation)
  • Emmaus: Jesus is recognized “in the breaking of the bread” (Lk 24:30–35). 

4. The New Testament Was Written for the Eucharist

• Biblical scholars note the “Eucharistic provenance” of the New Testament.
• The New Testament documents were written to be proclaimed in the liturgical assembly, which is why they contain:
  • hymns
  • doxologies
  • liturgical formulas
  • sacrificial terminology
• Words like “give thanks” (Greek eucharistein) and “thanksgiving” (eucharistia) are often sacrificial terms in first‑century Judaism and Christianity. 

catsun-2011-doc-hahn.pdf

catsun-2011-doc-sp-hahn.pdf