We Know Jesus’ Blood Type?

A Brief Thought on Eucharistic Miracles

That’s right, we might actually know Jesus Christ’s blood type.

Not figuratively, literally. It’s type AB.

Well that is, if the evidence pans out. For context, last week notable internet agnostic Joe Schmid, known for his collaborations with Alex O’Connor (aka Cosmic Skeptic), announced his conversion to Catholicism. Given Schmid’s fame as an outspoken critic of Christianity and Catholicism, this turnaround was shocking, to say the least. It’s been pretty amusing to see the atheist/agnostic kneejerk reaction to the conversion in real time, which attribute Schmid’s conversion to anything from trolling, to mental illness, to attempting to grift off of internet Catholics. But it’s also been hopeful too see glimpses of atheists/agnostics questioning their own views and considering Christianity with an open mind. Most internet apologists are rejoicing (with some notable exceptions like Gavin Ortlund of Truth Unites), and the future prospects look bright for Joe Schmid to be a powerful voice reaching out to atheists and agnostics. In his own words “I was the skeptic! I was the skeptic! So I’ve been in their situation, I know how to appeal to them, and I can empathize with them. I can love them. I was there, with you, struggling.”

According to Schmid, the evidence for miracles (especially in the Catholic tradition) weighed heavily in his decision to convert. I personally am intrigued and open-minded to these claims, but not yet fully convinced. Miraculous claims always sounds convincing when only one side is heard; I would want to hear a full, in-depth debate where both sides are given before making judgement. I spent multiple years studying the Resurrection of Jesus, and I know from that experience that the evidence always seems extremely convincing at first glance, but often weakens under critical analysis. Don’t get me wrong, I still believe there is sufficient evidence to believe in the Resurrection, but I wouldn’t call it a slam dunk. Perhaps the inevitable debate Joe Schmid has with Alex O’Connor will be a good proving ground to see if these Catholic miracle claims hold up or collapse. (Yesterday Schmid posted his 10 hour video detailing the evidence for Catholic miracles, for anyone who wants to dive in).

Eucharistic Miracles

However, amongst these miracle claims, one that caught my attention were eucharistic miracles that had undergone medically rigorous blood testing. For those unfamiliar with eucharistic miracles (I was in this boat having been an evangelical Protestant most of my life), these are cases in which the communion elements appeared to spontaneously produce blood and human tissue. This aligns with the Catholic belief of transubstantiation, that the communion elements become the real body and blood of Christ. There are multiple instances of such apparent miracles that also have supporting medical analysis to confirm the presence of human blood, namely:

• Lanciano (Italy, 8th century)

• Tixtla (Mexico, 2006)

• Buenos Aires (Argentina, 1996, witnessed by Pope Francis himself!)

I personally haven’t made my mind up completely about the validity of these miracles. Again, you can watch Schmid’s miracle video above and the additional resources he links, and likely there will be future debates hashing out these claims. Nonetheless, a few key details stand out to me:

• Of all the eucharistic miracles for which the “blood” material was tested, all turned up the same result: type AB blood (+/- was never established).

• Type AB blood is the rarest blood type, occurring in just 4% of people. The chance that three separate eucharistic miracles spread across continents and times would yield the same blood type at random is pretty low.

• Based on my limited research, this doesn’t seem to be an instance of confirmation bias. In other words, there was never a test for a potential eucharistic miracle that yielded a blood type other than type AB, which was subsequently discarded due to the mismatch. On the contrary, the Vatican reports all blood types of eucharistic miracles/passion relics that return positive for human blood, and they all happen to be type AB.

• Also based on my limited research, this doesn’t seem to be a case of systematic classification bias. It’s not as if type AB is particularly more likely to appear in false positive human blood tests compared to other types. Skeptics of the eucharistic miracles point to possible bacterial or antigen explanations as opposed to human blood. Whether that is the case is debateable; however, this does not explain why all the tests from the substances across times and places end up resolving specifically to type AB.

A Deeper Meaning?

If the eucharistic miracles are indeed real, and our Lord’s blood type is indeed AB, I wanted to write this article to make an observation that I haven’t seen talked about much regarding this issue. Type AB blood has the interesting property of being the universal plasma donor, and the universal red blood cell recipient. (I know Type O is the universal red blood cell donor; the situation is switched for plasma, as opposed to red blood cells.) Let’s break that down.

Plasma is about 90% water and contains essential proteins, antibodies, electrolytes, nutrients, and hormones for life; in short, the building blocks for keeping us alive and healthy. Plasma infusions are needed in cases of severe injuries, or certain diseases where the patient’s body cannot heal itself. Relating this to Jesus, there are countless verses associating him with the waters of baptism, through which we obtain healing from him as the ultimate physician:

“No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.” - John 3:5

“Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind, so that she may be holy and without blemish.” - Ephesians 5:25-26

“And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” - 1 Peter 3:20-21

Of course, there is also the association with the stream of water that flowed from Jesus’ side after he was pierced by the spear following his death. So what does it mean that Jesus’ blood type is AB (universal plasma donor)? It means that the grace of his healing, through baptism, is freely given to all humanity for all those who believe. In the same way a universal plasma donor can provide a healing infusion to any person regardless of their genetics, Jesus can heal any person regardless of their specific diseases or addictions.

On the other hand, red blood cells transport oxygen throughout the body, and give blood its signature red color. In the Bible, the color red is often a symbol for sin and bloodguiltiness:

“If your sins are like scarlet, will they become like snow? If they are red like crimson, will they become like wool?” - Isaiah 1:18

Applying this to Jesus’ AB blood type (universal red blood cell receiver), this means: He freely receives the sins of all humanity into his body for all those who believe. (1 Peter 2:24). In the same way a universal red blood cell receiver can receive blood from any other person regardless of genetics, so too can Jesus receive the sins of any other person onto himself, regardless of the number or severity of sins. Another way of saying this is, His blood is capable of dissolving all of our sins, by the washing those who believe:

“they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” - Revelation 7:14

How Then Shall We Live?

Again, the evidence in favor of the eucharistic miracles may or may not pan out. Maybe future debates with Joe Schmid and Alex O’Connor will be enlightening. Nevertheless, there is something so poetic about Jesus possibly having the AB blood type that stirs my heart: He offers life to all (universal plasma donor), and offers to take on the sins of all (universal red blood cell recipient). In any case, I think this is a good opportunity to reflect on the way we experience Christ’s saving power in the Lord’s Supper, regardless of faith tradition. In Christ’s blood is simultaneously healing and life, as well as cleansing and removal of sins. Since my wife and I have been in newborn care mode, it has been almost two months since we have gotten to participate in the Eucharist at the Anglican church we attend. I’ve never felt so famished for this sacrament before, and I so look forward to partaking in it when we finally return in September after our son receives his immunizations. No matter what type of church you attend, and your exact views on the Lord’s Supper, don’t take this sacrament for granted but let it imbue you with the significance of Christ’s healing and redemptive power.