covenant second-temple

The Last Supper

c. 30 or 33 CE (Thursday before crucifixion) (scriptural)

The final meal Jesus shared with his disciples on the night before his crucifixion, during which he instituted the Lord’s Supper (Eucharist/Communion) and gave his farewell discourse. This Passover meal became Christianity’s most sacred ritual, commemorating Christ’s sacrifice and anticipating his return.

The Biblical Accounts

The Synoptic Gospels

All three synoptic Gospels present the Last Supper as a Passover meal:

Setting (Matthew 26:17-19, Mark 14:12-16, Luke 22:7-13):

  • Thursday evening of Passover week
  • Upper room in Jerusalem
  • Prepared by Peter and John
  • Jesus with the Twelve

The Meal:

  • Reclining at table (Roman custom)
  • During Passover celebration
  • Evening, after sundown (beginning of Passover day)

The Institution of the Eucharist

The Bread (Matthew 26:26, Mark 14:22, Luke 22:19):

  • Jesus took bread
  • Gave thanks (Greek: eucharistesas - “eucharist”)
  • Broke it
  • Gave to disciples: “Take and eat; this is my body”
  • Luke adds: “Given for you; do this in remembrance of me”

The Cup (Matthew 26:27-29, Mark 14:23-25, Luke 22:20):

  • After supper, took cup
  • Gave thanks
  • “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many”
  • Luke: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood”
  • Matthew: “For the forgiveness of sins”
  • “I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes”

Paul’s Account (1 Corinthians 11:23-26):

  • “On the night he was betrayed”
  • Bread: “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me”
  • Cup: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this…in remembrance of me”
  • “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes”

Prediction of Betrayal

The Announcement (Matthew 26:21-25, Mark 14:18-21, John 13:21-30):

  • Jesus: “One of you will betray me”
  • Disciples distressed, asked “Is it I?”
  • Jesus: “One who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me”
  • Judas: “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”
  • Jesus: “You have said so”
  • John: Jesus gave bread to Judas—signal to leave
  • “What you are about to do, do quickly”
  • Judas left into the night

John’s Extended Account

John’s Gospel doesn’t narrate the bread and cup but provides extensive additional material:

Foot Washing (John 13:1-17):

  • Jesus washed disciples’ feet
  • Peter’s protest: “You shall never wash my feet!”
  • Jesus: “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me”
  • Model of servant leadership
  • “I have set you an example”

New Commandment (John 13:34-35):

  • “Love one another as I have loved you”
  • “By this everyone will know you are my disciples”

Farewell Discourse (John 14-16):

  • “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (14:6)
  • Promise of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter (14:16-17, 16:7-15)
  • “I am the vine, you are the branches” (15:1-8)
  • Warning of persecution (15:18-25)
  • “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (16:33)

High Priestly Prayer (John 17):

  • Jesus prays for himself (17:1-5)
  • Prays for disciples (17:6-19)
  • Prays for all believers (17:20-26)
  • “That they may be one as we are one”

Prediction of Peter’s Denial

Warning to Peter (Luke 22:31-34, Matthew 26:31-35):

  • “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat”
  • “But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail”
  • Peter: “I am ready to go with you to prison and to death”
  • Jesus: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times”

Theological Significance

The New Covenant

Old Covenant Echoes:

  • Exodus 24:8: Moses sprinkled blood, “the blood of the covenant”
  • Passover lamb’s blood protected from death
  • Covenant ratified by sacrifice

New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34):

  • “This cup is the new covenant in my blood”
  • Not external law but internal transformation
  • Forgiveness of sins through Christ’s blood
  • Access to God through the veil of his flesh

The Passover Fulfilled

Jesus as Passover Lamb:

  • Died on Passover (John’s chronology)
  • Or ate Passover, died day after (Synoptics)
  • Either way: Passover symbolism central
  • “Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7)

From Type to Reality:

  • Lamb slain in Egypt → Lamb of God slain on cross
  • Blood on doorposts → Blood for forgiveness
  • Deliverance from slavery → Deliverance from sin
  • Passover meal → Lord’s Supper

Sacrificial Atonement

Body Given, Blood Poured Out:

  • Anticipates crucifixion
  • “For you” - substitutionary
  • “For the forgiveness of sins” - atoning sacrifice
  • Covenant sealed by blood, like all ancient covenants

The Cup of Wrath:

  • Jesus about to drink the cup of God’s wrath (Gethsemane)
  • Disciples drink cup of blessing (communion)
  • Exchange: He drinks judgment, we drink mercy

Remembrance and Proclamation

“Do This in Remembrance”:

  • Not mere mental recall
  • Anamnesis - making present
  • Proclamation: “You proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes”
  • Past (cross), present (communion), future (return)

Covenant Meal

Eating Together:

  • Ancient Near East: Meals sealed covenants
  • Sharing meal = sharing life
  • Communion with Christ and each other
  • Foretaste of messianic banquet

“Until He Comes”:

  • Forward-looking hope
  • Kingdom not yet fully realized
  • Wedding supper of the Lamb awaiting
  • “I will not drink again…until I drink it new in the kingdom of God”

Christian Practice

The Sacrament of Communion/Eucharist

Names:

  • Eucharist (thanksgiving)
  • Lord’s Supper
  • Holy Communion
  • Mass (Catholic)
  • Divine Liturgy (Orthodox)

Frequency:

  • Weekly (most traditions)
  • Daily (some Catholic churches)
  • Monthly or quarterly (some Protestant churches)

Theological Interpretations

Transubstantiation (Catholic):

  • Bread and wine become literally Christ’s body and blood
  • Substance changes, accidents (appearances) remain
  • Sacrifice of Calvary made present (not repeated)

Consubstantiation (Lutheran):

  • Christ truly present “in, with, and under” bread and wine
  • Both bread and body simultaneously present
  • Real presence affirmed

Memorial/Symbolic (Reformed, Baptist):

  • Bread and wine are symbols
  • Christ present spiritually, not physically
  • Reminder and proclamation
  • Emphasis on remembrance

Real Spiritual Presence (Anglican, Methodist):

  • Not mere symbol, but not transubstantiation
  • Christ truly present by faith
  • Mystery affirmed, mechanism not defined

Liturgical Elements

Common Pattern:

  • Words of institution recited
  • Prayer of consecration
  • Breaking of bread
  • Distribution: “The body of Christ” / “The blood of Christ”
  • Reception by faithful

Historical Context

Passover in First Century

The Seder:

  • Four cups of wine
  • Unleavened bread
  • Retelling Exodus story
  • Symbolic foods (bitter herbs, lamb, etc.)
  • Hymns (Hallel psalms)

Jesus’s Reinterpretation:

  • Took Passover symbols
  • Pointed to himself
  • Transformed meaning
  • Old exodus → New exodus

The Upper Room

Location:

  • Jerusalem, likely southwest hill
  • Traditional site: Cenacle (Room of the Last Supper)
  • Large furnished room
  • Same room as post-resurrection appearances? Pentecost?

Chronological Question

Synoptics vs. John:

  • Synoptics: Last Supper was Passover meal (Thursday evening)
  • John: Jesus died on Day of Preparation, when lambs were slain
  • Harmonization attempts various
  • Both emphasize Passover symbolism

Significance

The Last Supper is the hinge between Old Covenant and New, between promise and fulfillment, between type and reality. In an upper room in Jerusalem, Jesus took the ancient symbols of liberation—bread and wine, body and blood—and invested them with new meaning: This is my body, given for you. This is my blood, poured out for the forgiveness of sins.

What began at Sinai culminated in that room. The covenant sworn in blood, celebrated in sacrifices for fifteen hundred years, was about to be ratified by the one perfect sacrifice. The Lamb of God, foreshadowed by every Passover lamb since Egypt, was about to be slain.

“Do this in remembrance of me.” Not just “remember that I existed” but “proclaim my death, anticipate my return, commune with me, receive my life.” Every time Christians break bread and share the cup, they stand in that upper room, at the foot of the cross, and before the throne of heaven simultaneously.

The Last Supper was the first Eucharist, and every Eucharist is the Last Supper made present. Two thousand years later, believers worldwide still take bread and wine, hear the ancient words—“This is my body…this is my blood”—and proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

At that table, Jesus gave himself before he gave himself. The cross was anticipated in broken bread, the resurrection in shared wine. Death and life, sacrifice and celebration, sorrow and hope—all held together in one meal.

“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer,” Jesus said. The longing of God to commune with humanity, to make covenant, to share life—all gathered in that room, around that table, in that meal.

And the longing continues. Every communion table echoes the Last Supper and anticipates the marriage supper of the Lamb. Every broken bread cries out: “Maranatha—Come, Lord Jesus.” Every shared cup whispers: “Until he comes.”

The Last Supper was a beginning, not an ending. The meal continues. The covenant stands. The Lord is present. And one day, we will drink it new in the kingdom of God.