5. After most of the apostles died, what happened to the pattern that Jesus set?

⁵ Soon after most of Jesus’ apostles died, imitation Christians worked their way into the congregation. (Matt. 13:24-27, 37-39) They spoke “twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves.” (Acts 20:29, 30) One of the “twisted things” that imitation Christians eventually began teaching was that Jesus did not offer his body “once for all time to bear the sins of many,” as the Bible says, but that his sacrifice must be repeated over and over again. (Heb. 9:27, 28) Today many sincere people believe this false teaching. They gather together in churches regularly​—sometimes daily—​to observe what has come to be called “the Sacrifice of the Mass.”b