Who instituted the 7 sacraments?

Answer 1

All seven Sacraments actually have their origins in Scripture. I will go through each one individually:

Baptism: Baptism is easily recognized Scripturally, for Jesus Himself was baptized, providing for us an example to follow! He also says to the Pharisee Nicodemus that one must be born of water and the Spirit to enter heaven (John 3:5). However, there are many other Scriptural references showing that the early Christians also were Baptized. In Acts, the first thing new believers are advised to do is to be baptized (Acts 2:37-38; 8:12-13, 36; 10:47). Baptism is so important, that it is even prophesied about and foreshadowed in the Old Testament (Ez 36:25-27, 2 Kings 5:14, Is 44:3). Other Scriptural references illustrating Baptism are Rom 6:4, Heb 10:22, Gal 3:27, and 1 Peter 3:21.

Confession: In the book of John, after Jesus rose from the dead, He told His disciples, "'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you [...] Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained'" (John 20:22-23). Through these words, Christ was giving His apostles the power to forgive sins. He also gave this power to Peter earlier when Peter confessed that Jesus was the Christ (Matt 16:17-19). In 2 Corinthians 5:18 it states that God had given the apostles the "ministry of reconciliation." Also, in Acts 19:18, Paul tells about the new believers who were coming to Paul to confess their sins, and in James 5:16 he commands believers, "confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects." Other Scripture passages demonstrating Confession are 1 John 1:9, Matthew 3:6, and Mark 1:5.

Eucharist: Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. In the Greek language, there are two different words for body - soma and sarx. If you go back to the Greek text of The Bible, the word used for body in the Last Supper accounts is soma. Soma simply means body or flesh. However, He uses the term phago, meaning to physically eat or consume, when He tells the apostles to take and eat His Body. "'Phago' is never used metaphorically in Greek. There is not one verse in Scripture where 'phago' is used symbolically" (link added).

In John 6, the term used is not soma, but sarx. The most accurate definition of sarx is flesh, or meat. Also, here the word for "eat" in the Greek text is trogon, which means to gnaw or chew. It is also never used metaphorically. So what Jesus is saying is that we need to gnaw or chew on His physical flesh or the meat of his body. Those are strong words.

Confirmation: The Sacrament of Confirmation is partly based off of Pentecost in the Book of Acts. When the Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples, they received gifts from the Holy Spirit including courage and the ability to speak in tongues. Of course, it would be quite unusual to have someone speak in tongues at a Confirmation ceremony, but the Holy Spirit still does come. Acts 8:14-17 tells about the difference between Baptism and Confirmation: "Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit; for it had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit." This happens again many times throughout the book of Acts. This laying on of hands was necessary for the Holy Spirit to come, and it is the origin of Confirmation.

Holy Orders: Christ is known as the great High Priest (Heb 6:20). He chose twelve men to be His closest friends and apostles. They were the only ones there when He washed their feet and instituted the Eucharist saying "do this in memory of me." He also sent them on special missions to preach, "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, [and] cast out demons" (Matt 10:8). They were given the power to do all of these things, and even more once Jesus ascended into heaven. When He rose from the dead only the apostles were with Him when He said, "Go [...] and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matt 28:19-20). Therefore, when He ascended into heaven, these men were left to continue Jesus' work.

Matrimony: The Sacrament of Matrimony, or marriage, is talked about many times in the Bible. Almost all of 1 Corinthians 7 is devoted to the topic of marriage, as well as 1 Peter 3:1-7, Mark 10:1-12, Matthew 19:1-12, and Romans 7:1-6. Jesus even tells parables about weddings (Matt 22:1-14, Matt 25:1-13) and his first miracle takes place at a wedding (John 2:1-12). Therefore, God must have a special love for marriage! Jesus often describes Himself as a Bridegroom, with the Church implied as the Bride. In this way, human marriage should mirror the marriage of Christ and the Church.

Anointing of the Sick: James 14-15 says, "Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven." This is exactly what happens in the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. When a person is near death or in danger of death, a priest comes and lays hands on the person, prays over him, anoints him with oil, and if possible hears his/her confession and gives them the Holy Eucharist, thus forgiving their sins. Therefore, even if the person doesn't physically get well, they will be spiritually healed and be able to go straight to heaven after death.

Answer 2

.

Catholic AnswerOur Blessed Lord directly instituted all seven sacraments:

.

from The Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, English translation 19941114 "Adhering to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, to the apostolic traditions, and to the consensus . . . of the Fathers," we profess that "the sacraments of the new law were . . . all instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord." (Council of Trent {1547} Denzinger-Schönmetzer, Enchiridion Symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum {1965} 1600-1601)

Answer 3

don't know -- that's why I'm asking...