The Last Supper - Jesus's Final Meal with His Friends

Bible Verses

The day of unleavened bread came, on which the Passover lamb must be sacrificed. He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat." They said to him, "Where do you want us to prepare?" He said to them, "Look, when you have entered into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him into the house which he enters. Tell the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"' He will show you a large, furnished upper room. Make preparations there." They went, found things as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

When the hour had come, he reclined at the table, and the apostles joined him. He said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I say to you, I will not eat of it again until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." He received a cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, "Take this, and share it among yourselves, for I tell you, from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom of God comes." He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and gave to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Likewise, he took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. But look, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it has been determined, but woe to that man through whom he is betrayed." They began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

There arose also a contention among them, which of them was considered to be greatest. He said to them, "The kings of the nations lord it over them, and those who have authority over them are called 'benefactors.' But not so with you. But one who is the greater among you, let him become as the younger, and one who is governing, as one who serves. For who is greater, one who sits at the table, or one who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? But I am in the midst of you as one who serves.

But you are those who have continued with me in my trials. I confer on you a kingdom, even as my Father conferred on me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon, look, Satan has demanded to have you all, to sift you like wheat, but I prayed for you, that your faith would not fail. You, when once you have turned again, establish your brothers." He said to him, "Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death." He said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster will by no means crow today until you deny that you know me three times."

Luke 22:7-34

 

Now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his time had come that he would depart from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. And during the meal, the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him. Because he knew that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came forth from God, and was going to God, arose from the meal, and removed his outer garments. He took a towel, and wrapped a towel around his waist.

Then he poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. Then he came to Simon Peter. He said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" Jesus answered him, "You do not know what I am doing now, but you will understand later." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head." Jesus said to him, "Someone who has bathed only needs to have his feet washed, but is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you." For he knew him who would betray him, therefore he said, "You are not all clean."

So when he had washed their feet, put his outer garment back on, and sat down again, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me, 'Teacher' and 'Lord.' You say so correctly, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I tell you, a servant is not greater than his master, neither one who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

John 13:1-17

Explanation

This part of the story took place on Thursday afternoon and evening, although, the Passover celebrations officially started on the Wednesday evening when the first three stars were visible in the sky.

Passover is and was one of the most important times of celebration and remembrance in the Jewish religion. It remembers and celebrates the time when God freed the Jews from slavery in ancient Egypt. God told his prophet Moses to tell all the Jews to prepare a special meal of roast lamb (the best and most healthy lamb) and unleavened bread (bread that is made without yeast). When the lamb was killed, the blood was to be put on the door posts and lintel of the main door of the house. This was to be a sign that the people in the house were Jews. Because on that night, an angel came and killed every first born male in that area of Egypt, including the son of the Pharaoh and even the first born of all the animals that the Egyptians kept. So, the name for the meal came to be 'Passover' as the angel 'passed over' the homes of the Jews.

God had already sent six plagues to the Egyptians (including a rain of frogs!) to tell the Pharaoh to free the Jews, but he hadn't taken any notice. However, this time Pharaoh was so frightened that he set the Jews free. He later tried to recapture them, but God saved them in another way (but that's another story!).

So remembering the Passover meal is very important to Jews as it was a very special sacrifice made of the best lamb. Also the sacrifice eaten in the meal represents the special promise that God made to the Jews. Normally a Jewish sacrifice is a promise from man to God, not the other way around!

So back in Jerusalem, on the Wednesday night, the Passover time had started and the official preparations were underway. On the Wednesday evening every house was searched from top to bottom by Priests and important Jewish officials, to make sure that there was no bread made with yeast left in any house. If any was found, it was taken outside the city walls and stored, so it could be destroyed after the end of the feast on Friday. The law said that no work was to be done on the Thursday after midday, only preparations for the Passover meal that would be eaten on the Thursday evening. Most people didn't eat anything after midday, until the meal, so an early lunch was normally eaten.

After the early lunch, Peter and John were sent out by Jesus to get everything ready for the meal. This should have really been the job of Judas, and involved getting a room suitably furnished, decorated, and the food and drink arranged, including the Passover Lamb. But Jesus gave the job to Peter and John instead, because he knew Judas was going to betray him.

So Peter and John went into the city and found the man as Jesus had told them. They might have known him, as it is thought that the house they used for the meal might have belonged to the father of Mark, one of Jesus' disciples. So the man could have been a servant of Mark's father that they knew.

It was common for large groups to share the Passover meal together, but Jesus wanted a separate room for just him and his closest disciples, because he knew the meal was to be a very special one. The room in the house was the one used by guests and would have been fairly simply decorated and furnished, with a simple table in the middle of the room, some large cushions to sit / lay on arranged in a horseshoe shape and all the food for the meal except the Passover Lamb, which still had to be sacrificed in the Temple.

The food would have consisted of:

• four cups and red wine to go in them (The wine used is the normal everyday wine watered down 2:1 and the cups are special shaped ones about two fingers long by two fingers wide and about two and a half fingers tall.)
• the special unleavened bread
• and a small portion of bitter herbs (There are five kinds of herbs used, that are dipped in a mixture salt vinegar and water and then sometimes dipped in another mixture of chopped apples, nuts, raisins and almonds.)

After the room has been arranged, Peter and John would have gone to the Temple with the Lamb to sacrifice it. It would now have been about 2.00pm. Normally the early afternoon service in the Temple was held at 2.30pm, but on the day of the Passover meal it was at 1.30pm, to allow time for all the lambs to be sacrificed. It was also the only day when all the Priests in the Temple were on duty. There were so many lambs to be sacrificed that two queues were made so the sacrifices could be made in a more orderly way.

First the lamb had to be checked by a Priest to make sure it was fit and healthy and then either Peter or John would have cut the lambs throat whilst the other held it. The Priest caught the blood in a special gold bowl and then threw the blood on to the burning altar as the sacrifice. The Priest then skinned and gutted the lamb, and the internal organs were then also burnt on the altar while a psalm was sung. A big stick, often a stripped rosemary branch, was then used to kebab the lamb from mouth to rear and it was roasted in a special oven in the Temple courtyard. If any part of the lamb touched the side walls of the oven, it was made unclean, a new lamb had to be bought and the whole sacrifice started again! When the lamb was cooked, Peter and John would have carried the lamb, using the spit on their shoulders, back into the city to the house just before sunset. Men from all over the city would have been doing the same thing, so the streets would have been very busy. About the same time, Jesus and the other disciples, including Judas, would have come into the city from Bethany and met with Peter and John in the room, ready to celebrate the Passover meal.

When the first three stars had appeared in the sky, silver trumpets were blown three times from the top of the Temple walls to let the city know that the Passover meal could start.

The room where Jesus and his followers were to have the meal would have been lit with lamps and candles and might have had some floral decorations put around the walls and everyone would have dressed in their best clothes.

People at that time did not sit up to high level tables like most people do now. Instead, people ate meals half sitting/ half lying on mats and large cushions around a low level table (that was sometimes hung from the ceiling on chains!). You rested on your left side with your head towards the table and your feet away from it, so your right hand was to used to eat with. (The famous picture of the Last Supper by Leonardo Di Vinci is a very nice picture, but it is not very accurate!)

This was probably the first time that Jesus would have been 'head' or 'master' or leader of the prayers at the meal. It was normal for people to be seated around the table in order of importance, with the most important people at one end of the horseshoe shape and the least important at the other end of the horse shoe. This was why the disciples started to argue was the best, as it decided who got to sit near to Jesus.

The Bible doesn't say where every disciple sat, but some of the positions have been gathered from the Bible. Below is a diagram of how the table and positions of the people we know were seated / lying.

John sat at the most important end of the table because he had organised the meal and was thought of the most important disciple. In John's gospel, it says that Jesus rested his head on John's chest, so we know Jesus sat next to him. Judas actually sat in one of the most important seats, the one on the left of the 'master'. It is believed that he was the first to be passed the food dishes after Jesus had blessed it. The Bible also says that John and Jesus talked about Judas being the traitor at one point and that no other disciples could hear them. This would be explained in John's and Jesus' heads could get very close (Matt 26:25).

We know that Peter sat at the other end of the table as a sight of humility, as Jesus had told them off for arguing about who the best disciple was. So in doing so, Peter would have tried to make himself look good by going to the worst seat!!! It also explains how Peter and John talked quietly without anyone else hearing them.

The rest of the disciples would have sat in the other places as they were most convenient, or best suited talking to each other.

This meal has become to be known as the 'Last Supper' as it was the last meal that Jesus ate before he died.

The Passover meal starts with the host (or master) of the meal (Jesus at the Last Supper) saying grace and giving thanks to God. There are two parts to the opening prayer, one to give thanks for the first cup of wine and one to ask that the group might meet together again the next year at the Passover meal. When the first cup of wine had been passed around and drunk to start the meal, the master then washes his hands to symbolise cleaning himself ready for the meal (the rest of the group wash their hands later in the meal!).

This is probably when Jesus washed the disciples' feet. The job of washing feet usually went to the lowest servant. Having a towel was also the sign of a servant. In the time of Jesus, people wore open sandals and there were no nice roads or sewers, so your feet would get very dusty and smelly. So the disciples would have been very surprised to see Jesus washing their feet and some didn't want Jesus to do it at first. After Jesus had washed their feet, he explained why he did so. It was a sign that even the most important people must be like a servant, willing to do anything for other people. Also that the lowest people would become the most important people in God's eyes. It has also been seen as a sign that Jesus was preparing the disciples' feet ready to go and tell all the world about him.

After the washing (normally only the hands of the master!) the main food dishes are put on the table. The master dips the herbs in the marinades, says a prayer and hands the herbs round to eat. Next the special unleavened bread is split or broken and one half is put aside for later. The other half is put on a plate and raised into the air and a special prayer is said thanking God for freedom from slavery and living in freedom.

The second cup is then filled and it is traditional for the youngest male taking part in the meal to ask why Passover is celebrated. The story of the Jews escape from Egypt is then told. The cup is then raised twice and prayers are said that end with the saying of Psalms 113 - 118. The cup is raised a third time, the special 'Hallel' prayer is said and then the cup is passed round and drunk. This ends the first part of the meal.

The main part of the meal then starts. Everybody washes their hands and the 'sop' is made and eaten. The sop is a kind of sandwich made of the roast lamb and herbs, rolled in the bread and then dipped into the marinades and passed around and eaten. As Jesus was the master of meal and Judas was seated in the most important guest place, Judas would have received the first sop from Jesus.

The third cup was filled after the sop had been eaten. This is known as the 'blessing' cup. The drinking of the cup was the official end of the meal. This is when Judas left the meal to go and tell the Priest how they could arrest Jesus.

Jewish law says that after the third 'blessing' cup has been drunk, that no food may be eaten. However, it is common that the other half of the bread is eaten as an after dish. This is what happened during the Last Supper and is where the Christian Communion, Eucharist or Mass comes from. (The different names are used by different churches.)

Jesus raised the bread and prayed over it. He then gave the bread a new and special meaning, saying that it would represent his body, that like the bread would be broken when he died. He then took up the fourth and final cup that ended the meal and also gave this part of the meal a new and special meaning. Jesus said that the wine represented his blood that would be split when he died, so that people could be forgiven of their sins against God. He also said that the symbols were not only to remind his followers that he had to die, but that he would also come back to earth one day to judge everyone and make the world perfect.

This meal is still very important to all Christians who use Communion, Eucharist or Mass to remember that Jesus died for our sins and that one day he will come back.

After the meal was over, Jesus and the disciples would have said the final prayers of the meals which are Psalms 115 - 118 & 136 and sung a final hymn.

Jesus spoke to Peter (who was also called Simon!) after the meal and said that he would betray him three times before the following morning, but Peter didn't believe Jesus (more on that later in the story!). Jesus also then predicted his own death and said that the disciples should trust in God that everything would work out for the best.

They would have then started to depart from the meal. This would have finished about 11.00pm. However, most of the disciples would have followed Jesus out to a favourite meeting place of theirs which was a garden in a quiet part of the city (and more on that too later in the story!).