The last Supper

1. The Last Supper– 11th
April 2017
“Wheneveningcame, Jesus wasrecliningat the tablewith the Twelve. 21
Andwhile they were eating,
he said,“Truly I tell you,one of you will betray me.” (Matthew 26:20-21)
The Last Supperiswhatwe call the lastmeal Jesusate withHisdisciplesbefore Hisbetrayal andarrest.
The Last Supperisrecordedinthe SynopticGospels (Matthew26:17–30; Mark 14:12–26; Luke 22:7–
30). It wasmore than Jesus’lastmeal;itwasa Passovermeal,aswell.We canlearnthisfrom Matthew
26:17-19, “On the firstday of the Festival of UnleavenedBread, the disciplescame to Jesus andasked,
“Wheredo you want usto make preparationsforyou to eat the Passover?”18
Hereplied, “Gointothe
city to a certain man andtell him,‘The Teacher says: My appointedtime isnear. I amgoingto
celebrate the Passoverwith my disciplesatyour house.’” 19
Sothe disciplesdidasJesus had directed
them and prepared the Passover.” Passoveristhe Jewishreligiousfestival thatcelebratesthe
deliveranceof Israel fromthe bondage of the Egyptians.
An occurrence duringJesus’lastSupperiscarvedin ourmindswhere one of the 12 disciples - Judas
IscariotbetrayedJesus.We canlearnthis from Matthew26:21-25, “ Andwhilethey were eating, he
said,“TrulyI tell you, one of youwill betray me.” 22
They were very sad and beganto say to him one
after the other, “Surelyyoudon’t mean me, Lord?”23
Jesusreplied, “Theone who has dippedhishand
intothe bowl with me will betray me. 24
The Sonof Man will go justas it is written abouthim. But woe
to that man whobetrays the Sonof Man!It wouldbe better for himif he had not been born.”25
Then
Judas,the one who wouldbetray him, said,“Surelyyoudon’t mean me, Rabbi?”Jesusanswered, “You
have saidso.”
Jesusbetrayal byone of His close disciplesbeingasad incident,the LastSupperalsohappenstobe the
mostimportantoccurrence for Christians.ThisisJesus’commandtorememberwhatHe wasabout to
do on behalf of all mankind: ToshedHisbloodonthe cross therebypayingthe debtof our sins aswe
can learnfromLuke 22:19, “Andhe took bread, gave thanksand broke it, andgave it to them, saying,
“Thisis my bodygiven for you;do this inremembrance of me.”InadditiontopredictingHissuffering
and deathforour salvation,Jesusalsousedthe LastSuppertoimbue the Passoverwithnew meaning.
Jesusinstitutedthe NewCovenant,establishedanordinance forthe church,and alsoforetoldPeter’s
denial of Him.
The Last Supperbroughtthe OldTestamentobservance of the Passoverfeasttoitsfulfillment.Passover
was an especiallyholyeventforthe Jewishpeople inthatitcommemoratedthe time whenGodspared
themfromthe plague of physical deathandbroughtthemoutof slaveryinEgypt as we can read from
Exodus 11. Duringthe Last SupperwithHisapostles,JesustooktwosymbolsassociatedwithPassover
and imbuedthemwithfreshmeaningasa wayto rememberHissacrifice,whichsavesusfromspiritual
deathand deliversusfromspiritual bondage: We can learnof thisfrom Luke 22:17–20,“ After taking
the cup, he gave thanks andsaid, “Take this anddivideit amongyou. 18
ForI tell youI will notdrink
againfrom the fruitof the vineuntil the kingdomofGodcomes.”19
Andhe took bread,gave thanks
and broke it, andgave it to them, saying,“Thisismy bodygivenfor you; do thisin remembrance of
me.”20
Inthe same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “Thiscup isthe new covenantin my
blood,whichis pouredout for you.”
The occurrence duringJesus’lastsupperisrememberedduringthe Lord’sSupper,orCommunion aswe
call it. Jesustoldthe disciples: Thiscupisthe new covenantinmyblood;do this,wheneveryoudrinkit,
inremembrance of me. We can learnin 1 Corinthians11:23–26, “For I received from the Lord whatI

2. alsopassed onto you: The Lord Jesus,on the nighthe was betrayed, took bread, 24
andwhen he had
giventhanks, he broke it and said, “Thisis my body,whichis for you;do this inremembrance ofme.”
25
In the same way,after supperhe tookthe cup,saying, “Thiscup is the new covenant inmy blood;do
this,whenever youdrink it, inremembrance ofme.” 26
Forwhenever you eat thisbread and drink this
cup, youproclaimthe Lord’s death until he comes.” Inremembrance of me…whoJesuswas –His
sacrifice tosave humanity,whoHe is – the livingGod and alsowhoHe will be foreachone of us
throughoutourlives. Itcausesus torememberourLord’sdeathand resurrectionandto lookforHis
gloriousreturninthe future.
Whenwe read 1 Corinthians11, we can learnthat Paul includesastatementnotfoundinthe Gospels:
“Sothen, whoever eats the bread or drinksthe cup ofthe Lord in an unworthy mannerwill be guiltyof
sinningagainstthebody andbloodof the Lord. 28
Everyone ought to examinethemselves before they
eat of the bread and drinkfrom the cup. 29
For those whoeat anddrink withoutdiscerningthe body of
Christeat anddrink judgmenton themselves.” (1 Corinthians11:27-29). We may ask whatit meansto
partake of the breadand the cup “in an unworthymanner.” Unworthymannermeantodisregardthe
true meaningof the breadand cup and to forgetthe tremendousprice ourSaviorpaidforour salvation.
In shortwhenwe come to the Lord’s Supperwithunconfessedsin…InkeepingwithPaul’sinstruction,
we shouldexamine ourselvesbeforepartakingthe Lardssupper.
AnotherstatementPaul made thatisnotincludedinthe gospel accountsis foundin 1 Corinthians11:26
“Forwhenever youeat thisbread and drinkthis cup, youproclaimthe Lord’s death until He comes.”
Thisplacesa time limitonthe ceremony—untilourLord’sreturn!RememberHimandwhathe didfor
us eachday and everydayuntil Jesuscomesagain. Fromthese brief accountswe learnhow Jesusused
twoof the frailestof elementsassymbolsof Hisbodyandbloodandinitiatedthemtobe a monument
to His death.Itwas nota monumentof carvedmarble ormolded Gold,butof breadand wine which
JesushadwithHis disciplesonthatlastday.
Jesusdeclaredthatthe breadspoke of Hisbody whichwouldbe broken. One mayinquire thatthere was
“no brokenbones”duringJesus’ trialsbefore Hiscrucifixion.We canlearnfromthe scripturesthat His
bodywas sobadlytorturedthat it washardlyrecognizable:“Buthewas pierced for ourtransgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;thepunishmentthatbrought us peace was onhim, andby his
woundswe are healed.”(Isaiah53:5). The wine spoke of Hisblood,indicatingthe terrible sufferingand
deathHe wouldsoonexperience.He,the perfect andsinless Sonof God,became the fulfillmentof the
countlessOldTestamentprophecies,anddiedtosave mankindfromEternal death.Itindicatedalsothat
the Passover,whichrequiredthe deathof alamband lookedforwardtothe comingof the Lamb of God
whowouldtake awaythe sinof the world,wasfulfilledinthe Lord’sSupper.
The NewCovenantreplacedthe OldCovenantwhenChrist,the PassoverLambwassacrificed because
the sacrificial systemthatJewishpeoplefollowedwasnolongerneededaswe canlearnfromHebrews
9:25-28, “Nordidhe enter heaven to offer himselfagainandagain,the way the highpriest enters the
Most Holy Placeevery year with bloodthat is nothis own. 26
OtherwiseChristwouldhave had to suffer
manytimes since the creation of the world.But he has appearedonce for all at the culminationofthe
ages to do awaywith sin bythe sacrificeof himself. 27
Justaspeople are destined to die once, and
after that to face judgment, 28
so Christwas sacrificedonce to take away the sinsof many; andhe will
appear a secondtime, not to bear sin, butto bringsalvationtothose who are waitingfor him.”
Therefore the Lord’sSupperorChristianCommunionisaremembrance of whatChristdidforall of
humanity andisa celebrationof whatwe receiveasa resultof Hissacrifice.