The Last Supper

The final Passover meal Jesus shared with his twelve disciples in an upper room in Jerusalem on Thursday evening before his crucifixion, during which he instituted the Lord’s Supper (Eucharist/Communion) by breaking bread and sharing wine as symbols of his body and blood. After Peter and John prepared the room, Jesus gathered with the Twelve, washed their feet as an act of humble service, and during the meal took bread, gave thanks, broke it and said “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Then he took the cup, saying “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:19-20).

Jesus announced that one of them would betray him, causing the disciples to question who it could be, and predicted that Peter would deny him three times before the rooster crowed. John’s Gospel (chapters 13-17) records Jesus’s extensive farewell discourse during this meal, including his teaching about the vine and branches, the promise of the Holy Spirit (the Advocate/Paraclete), and his high priestly prayer for his disciples and all future believers. This meal transformed the Jewish Passover—celebrating Israel’s deliverance from Egypt—into Christianity’s central sacrament commemorating Christ’s sacrificial death and the New Covenant, practiced continuously since the first century as Communion/Eucharist/Lord’s Supper across all Christian traditions.