The Last Supper
THE LAST SUPPER
LUKE 22:14-23
Jesus left something precious for his disciples to remember him by.
The order of events is described in Matthew. Mark and the first Corinthian letter show some variation but this has no significance. A Syrian manuscript of Luke is different again, and may represent an ancient tradition: “And he took bread and gave thanks over it, and brake and gave unto them, saying, ‘This is my body which I give for you; this do in remembrance of me.’ And after they had supped he took the cup and gave thanks over it, and said, ‘Take this and share it among yourselves. This is my blood, the New Testament. For I say unto you that henceforth I will not drink of this fruit, until the kingdom of God shall come.’” It is also a fact that several cups of wine were drunk at the Passover feast. If a full and detailed account had survived, the details of all accounts would no doubt be integrated.
It was a time of solemn fulfillment. The symbolism of the Paschal lamb was deeply relevant to the last hours and coming sacrifice of the Lamb of God. The Passover feast was the most colorful of all Jewish ceremonies, a demonstration in dramatic ritual of substitutionary sacrifice, and of God’s own saviorhood. It was about to be replaced by a Christian ceremony which speaks as eloquently of God in flesh appearing, and of life sacrificially outpoured.
The hand of the traitor was on the table with him, and the fact stirred the conscience of the other men who were abashed by the divisions which had appeared among them. John tells how the Lord had washed their feet, and the deep rebuke of that moving action still lay on their hearts and made them sensitive to sin. This, indeed, should be the mood in which we draw near to the table. The bread and the cup are for sinners, and none can approach the feast with perfection of heart. All can come with Christ’s righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30), for his perfection is granted by God’s grace to those who claim it. It was still not too late for Judas to abandon his unholy treachery and rebellion, to cry for his forgiveness and to be forgiven. Let our hand, O Lord, when it rests by thine on the table, be innocent and clean of evil. Forgive and restore, we pray.
Note 22:17: in Talmudic directions, the wine preceded the breaking of the Passover bread, so this would not be the “cup of the New Testament” (1 Corinthians 11:25). Luke knew well the established practice of the early church, and of Paul himself.