Discussion Questions

David Bercot claims that “read everything the New Testament has to say…give each verse its literal and natural meaning” will almost always land you exactly where the early Christians landed; where do you feel resistance rising in you to that method, and what preconceptions about communion does he say we have to “lay aside” to even try it? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bercot says to read the New Testament plainly and literally, and you’ll usually end up where the early Christians did. Where do you feel yourself pushing back against that idea, and what assumptions about communion does he say we must set aside to even try?

In Matthew 26 and 1 Corinthians 11, Bercot presses the plain words “This is my body…this is my blood” and “guilty of the body and blood of the Lord”; how does taking those phrases at face value reshape what you think is actually happening in communion, and what do you do with the claim that Scripture “never” calls it symbolic? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If you take “This is my body…this is my blood” and “guilty of the body and blood of the Lord” at face value, what does that mean is happening in communion? How do you respond to Bercot’s claim that the Bible never calls communion “just a symbol”?

Ignatius (c. 105) calls the Eucharist “the flesh of Jesus Christ” and later “the medicine of immortality”; what view of God’s intentions for communion is implied by language like “medicine” and “antidote,” and how does that challenge common evangelical instincts about what “grace” is and how it comes to us? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Ignatius calls the Eucharist “the flesh of Jesus” and “the medicine of immortality.” What does that suggest God wants communion to do for us, and how does it challenge common evangelical ideas about what grace is and how we receive it?

Justin Martyr says the blessed food “is the flesh and blood” and that “our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished”; what do you think he means by nourishment here, and how would that “channel of grace” concept confront a Christianity that treats physical elements as spiritually irrelevant? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Justin Martyr says the blessed food is Christ’s flesh and blood and that our bodies are “nourished” by it. What do you think he means by “nourished,” and how does that challenge the idea that physical things don’t matter spiritually?

Bercot argues the early Christians didn’t necessarily teach transubstantiation, but held a real presence without over-defining it; what do you gain and what do you lose when you refuse to explain “how it works,” and how does that expose modern demands for theological “control” before obedience? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bercot says early Christians believed Jesus is really present in communion, but didn’t over-explain how. What do you gain and lose by not trying to explain it, and what does that show about our need to understand everything before we obey?

Using the sandstone/core sample illustration, Bercot defends Luther’s idea that bread remains bread while Christ is truly present; what part of that analogy helps you, what part feels forced, and what does your reaction reveal about whether you believe God can be “present” in ordinary created matter without it becoming superstition? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bercot uses the sandstone/core sample example to support Luther’s view that the bread stays bread while Christ is truly present. What parts of that example help you or don’t help you, and what does your reaction show about whether God can be present in ordinary matter without it becoming superstition?

Bercot says the only ancient group he knows who denied the Eucharist as Christ’s flesh were the Gnostics, because they believed God couldn’t use the material world for salvation; in what specific ways can anti-Catholic overreaction (his word) start to resemble that Gnostic instinct today, even in churches that claim to be “Bible-believing”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bercot says the only ancient group that denied the Eucharist was Christ’s flesh were the Gnostics, who thought God couldn’t work through material things. How can an anti-Catholic overreaction today start to sound like that, even in churches that call themselves “Bible-believing”?

Cyprian opposed quickly readmitting those who sacrificed to idols, requiring years of repentance before communion, and Bercot highlights “closely guarded communion” for baptized believers “living as Christ commanded”; what does that practice assume about God’s holiness and the danger of “unworthy” participation, and how does that collide with modern habits of open communion and instant restoration? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Cyprian required long repentance before some people could take communion again, and Bercot points to communion being carefully guarded for baptized believers living obediently. What does that say about God’s holiness and the risk of taking communion “unworthily,” and how does it clash with open communion and quick restoration today?

Justin Martyr describes Sunday worship: prayers, a kiss, bread and wine mixed with water, deacons distributing to those present and carrying portions to the absent, plus “letters of communion” for travelers; what kind of unity, oversight, and accountability does that picture assume, and what would have to change in our church life for communion to function that way again? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Justin Martyr describes communion with shared prayers, deacons distributing, serving the absent, and “letters” for travelers. What kind of unity and accountability does that picture assume, and what would need to change in our churches for communion to work like that again?

Bercot insists “remembrance” (anamnesis) means more than mental recall—something like “reparticipating” in Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice—while denying any re-sacrificing of Jesus; how would treating communion as real participation (not mere memorial) alter your preparation, repentance, and expectancy at the table, and what fears surface in you when you hear communion described as “sacrifice of thanksgiving” and “altar”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bercot says “remembrance” means more than thinking back—it means really sharing in Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice, without sacrificing him again. If communion is real participation and not just a memorial, how would that change how you prepare and what you expect, and what fears come up when you hear words like “altar” and “sacrifice of thanksgiving”?