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The Last Supper
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According to the Gospels, the Last
Supper (also called Lord's Supper) was the last meal Jesus
shared with his apostles before his death. The Last Supper has been the
subject of many paintings, perhaps the most famous by Leonardo da Vinci. In the course of the Last
Supper, and with specific reference to taking the bread and the wine, Jesus
told his disciples, "Do this in remembrance of Me", (1 Cor 11:23-25).
(The vessel which was used to serve the wine, the Holy Chalice, is
considered by some to be the "Holy Grail"). Many Christians describe
this as the institution of the Eucharist.
According to tradition, the Last Supper
took place in what is called today The Room of the Last
Supper on Mount Zion, just outside of the walls of the Old City
of Jerusalem.
Contents
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In the New
Testament
Chronology
The meal is considered to be by most
scholars likely to have been a Passover Seder,
celebrated on the Thursday night (Holy Thursday)
before Jesus was crucified on Friday (Good
Friday). This belief is based on the chronology of the Synoptic
Gospels, but the chronology in the Gospel of John is
regarded by many as placing the Last Supper on the evening before the Passover
(John 13:1, 18:28). References in John's Gospel to the Day of Preparation of
the Passover (John 19:14, 31, and 42), are also taken by many to indicate that
Christ's death occurred at the time of the slaughter of the Passover lambs
(this latter chronology is the one accepted by the Orthodox Church). However, those that place
the Last Supper during a Thursday evening Passover Seder
generally regard Mark 14:12 and Luke 22:7 as the only explicit references in
the Gospels
to the slaying of Passover lambs at the time of Christ's crucifixion,
and take the Day of Preparation in the Gospel of John as
a likely reference to the Passover Friday during which preparations were made
for the weekly Sabbath
rest. Additionally, several scholars have questioned these chronologies, and
have rejected the assumption that the synoptics refer to the Passover Seder and
held that they are harmonious with John.[1]
Some Christians believe that a thorough examination of the Gospels indicates
that the Last Supper was on a Tuesday, and that Jesus was crucified
on a Wednesday.[2]
Statue of The Last Supper,
used during the Good Friday procession in Qormi, Malta
The meal is discussed at length in all four
Gospels
of the canonical Bible. The Synoptic
Gospels state that it was the seder for the Passover, and are
interpreted by some scholars to state that in the morning of the same day the Paschal
lamb, for the meal, had been sacrificed. However,
under the Jewish
method of reckoning time, the day was considered to begin straight after dusk, and
so the Passover feast would be regarded as occurring on the day after
the lamb was sacrificed. This implies that either the synoptics are not written
with an awareness of the Jewish method of time reckoning (Kilgallen 264), or
that they used the literary technique of telescoping events that actually
happened on different days into just happening on single ones (Brown et al.
625). Others interpret the language of the Synoptic Gospels as sufficiently
broad to allow for an evening sacrifice of the Passover lambs.
By contrast, in the chronology
of the Gospel of John, the meal is stated to have
occurred before the Passover, and before the Paschal lamb has
been slaughtered, according to some interpreters, and consequently implying
that Jesus himself died at the time when the Pascal lamb was due to be
slaughtered. Almost all scholars view John's Gospel as later than the others,
and most scholars see it as at least partly dependent on the Synoptics, and
consequently some view John's chronology as highly contrived. Nevertheless, in Eastern Orthodoxy it is the chronology of John
that is used in the traditional celebration of Easter, and similarly some
have argued that a thorough examination of the Gospels indicates that the Last
Supper was on a Tuesday, rather than a Thursday.
Location
According to tradition, the Last Supper
took place in what is called today The Room of the Last
Supper on Mount Zion, just outside of the walls of the Old City
of Jerusalem,
and is traditionally known as The Upper Room. This is based on the
account in the synoptics that states that Jesus had instructed a pair of
unnamed disciples to go to the city to meet a man carrying a jar of
water, who would lead them to a house, where they were to ask for the room
where the teacher has a guest room. This room is specified as being the
upper room, and they prepare the passover there.
It is not actually specified where the
city refers to, and it may refer to one of the suburbs of Jerusalem, such
as Bethany; the traditional location is not based on anything more specific in
the Bible, and may easily be wrong. The traditional location is an area that,
according to archaeology, had a large Essene
community, adding to the points which make several scholars suspect a link
between Jesus and the group (Kilgallen 265).
Bread and Wine
The Last Supper
by Tintoretto,
1592
In the course of the Last Supper, according
to the synoptics (but not John), Jesus divides up some bread, says grace,
and hands the pieces to his disciples, saying this is my body. He then
takes a cup of wine,
says grace, and hands it around, saying this is my blood of the 'covenant',
which is poured for many . Finally he tells the disciples do this in
remembrance of me.
During Jewish Passover meals, the wine was usually consumed during the eating
of the bread, but here it occurs after. This may indicate that the event was
not the official Passover dinner, and hence more in line with John's chronology
(Brown et al. 626), although the meal could easily have been altered during the
Last Supper for symbolic/religious purposes, or simply because the Gospel
writers did not have complete knowledge of Jewish practice, as suggested by
their chronologies.
This institute has been regarded by
Christians of different denominations as the first Eucharist or Holy
Communion.
Jesus' behaviour may be derived from a
passage in the Book of Isaiah, where Isaiah 53:12 refers to a blood sacrifice that Moses is
described in Exodus
as having made in order to seal a covenant with God Exodus 24:8. Scholars often interpret the
description of Jesus' behaviour as him asking his disciples to consider
themselves part of a sacrifice, where Jesus is the one due to physically
undergo it (Brown et al. 626).
Betrayal
According to the Canonical Gospels, during
the meal Jesus revealed that one of his Apostles
would betray him. Despite the assertions of each Apostle that it would not be them,
Jesus is described as reiterating that it would be one of those who were
present, and goes on to say that there shall be woe to the man who betrays
the Son
of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born (Mark 14:20-21).
As cited above, the Gospel
of Mark does not specifically identify the betrayer. The same is
true in the Gospel of Luke which is limited to asserting
that the betrayer was present at the table with Jesus (Luke 22:21). It is only in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 26:23-26:25) and The Gospel of John (John 13:26-13:27) where Judas
Iscariot is specifically singled out. This is the very moment
poignantly portrayed in Leonardo da Vinci's
The Last Supper.
Abandonment
As well as the prediction of betrayal, the
four canonical gospels recount that Jesus knew the Apostles(desciples) would fall
away. [Simon Peter] states that he will not abandon Jesus even if the
others do, but Jesus tells him that Simon would deny Jesus thrice before the cock
had crowed twice. Peter is described as continuing to deny it, stating that he
would remain true even if it meant death, and the other apostles are described
as stating the same about themselves.
The sermon
After the meal, according to John (but not
mentioned at all by the Synoptics), Jesus gave a large sermon to the disciples.
The sermon is sometimes referred to as the farewell discourse of Jesus,
and has historically been considered a source of Christian teaching,
particularly on the subject of Christology. Amongst the Canonical Gospels
John is unusual in the complexity of its Christology (which has led to questions about its authenticity), and this
sermon portrays one of the most complex Christological descriptions in John.
Although ostensibly addressing his
disciples, most scholars conclude the chapter is written with events concerning
the later church in mind, particularly that of the 2nd century. Jesus is
presented as explaining the relationship between himself and his followers, and
seeking to model this relationship on his own relationship with God.
The chapter introduces the extended metaphor
of Jesus
as the true vine. God is described as the vine tender, and his
disciples are said to be branches, which must 'abide' in him if they are to
'bear fruit'. The disciples are warned that barren branches are pruned by the
vinedresser. This image has been influential in Christian art and iconography.
The disciples are reminded of the love of God for Jesus, and of Jesus for the
disciples (especially the beloved disciple),
and are then instructed to love one another in the same manner. It goes
on to speak of the greatest love as being the willingness to lay down
life for one's friends, and this passage has since been widely used to affirm
the sacrifice of martyrs
and soldiers in war,
and is thus often seen on war memorials and graves.
The sermon goes on to talk of Jesus sending
a paraclete
from God, a Spirit of Truth that will testify about Jesus. Though
paraclete means counsellor, when the concept of a Trinity
arose in the 3rd century the paraclete became interpreted as the Holy
Ghost, and the passage became central to the arguments about the
filioque clause which partly caused the Great
Schism. Prior to the development of the idea of a Trinity, the paraclete
was considered a more human figure, and, in the 2nd century, Montanus
claimed to be the paraclete that had been promised.
Last
Supper Remembrances
The Last Supper from the
Heilig-Blut-Altar by Tilman
Riemenschneider in St-Jakobskirche, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
Simon
Ushakov's the Last Supper.
Jacopo
Bassano's the Last Supper
The institution of the Eucharist at the
Last Supper is remembered by Roman Catholics as one of the Luminous Mysteries
of the Rosary,
and by most Christians as the "inauguration of the New Covenant", mentioned by the prophet Jeremiah,
fulfilled by Jesus at the Last Supper, when He said, "Take, eat; this
[bread] is My Body; which is broken for you. Par-take of the cup, drink; this
[wine] is My Blood, which is shed for many; for the remission of sins".
Other Christian groups consider the Bread and Wine remembrance as a change to
the Passover
ceremony, as Jesus Christ has become "our Passover, sacrificed for
us" (I Corinthians 5:7). Partaking of the Passover Communion (or
fellowship) is now the sign of the New Covenant, when properly understood by
the practicing believer.
Each major division of Christianity has
formed a different theology about the exact meaning and purpose of these
remembrance ceremonies, but most of them contain similarities.
Development
in the Early Church
Early Christianity
has created a remembrance service that took place in the form of meals known as
agape
feasts: perhaps Jude, and the apostle Paul have referred to
these as your love-feasts, by way of warning (about who shows up
to these). Agape
is one of the five main Greek words for love,
and refers to the idealised love, rather than lust, friendship,
hospitality, or affection (as in parental affection). Though
Christians interpret Agape as meaning a divine form of love
beyond human forms, in modern Greek the term is used in the sense of I
love you - i.e. romantic love.
These love feasts were apparently a
full meal, with each participant bringing their own food, and with the meal
eaten in a common room. Early Christianity observed a ritual meal known as the
"agape
feast" held on Sundays which became known as the Day of the
Lord, to recall the resurrection, the appearance of Christ to the disciples on
the road to Emmaus, the appearance to Thomas and the Pentecost which all took
place on Sundays after the Passion. Jude, and the apostle Paul referred to
these as "your love-feasts", by way of warning (about "who shows
up" to these). Agape is one of the Greek
words for love, and refers to the "divine" type of love,
rather than mere human forms of love. Following the meal, as at the Last
Supper, the apostle, bishop or priest prayed the words of institution over
bread and wine which was shared by all the faithful present. In the later half
of the first century, especially after the martyrdom of Peter and Paul,
passages from the writings of the apostles were read and preached upon before
the blessing of the bread and wine took place.
These meals evolved into more formal
worship services and became codified as the Mass in Catholic Church, and as the Divine
Liturgy in the Orthodox Churches.
At these liturgies, Catholics and Eastern Orthodox celebrate the Sacrament of
the Eucharist. The name Eucharist is from the Greek word eucharistos
which means thanksgiving.
Name
Within many Christian traditions,
the name Holy Communion is used. This name emphasizes
the nature of the service, as a "joining in common" between God and
humans, which is made possible, or facilitated due to the sacrifice of Jesus.
Catholics typically restrict the term 'communion' to the reception of the Body
and Blood of Christ by the communicants during the celebration of the Mass.
Another variation of the name of the
service is "The Lord's Supper". This name usually is
used by the churches of minimalist traditions; such as those strongly
influenced by Zwingli.
Some echoes of the "agape meal" may remain in fellowship, or potluck
dinners held at some churches.
As well, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints commonly
refers to the service as The Sacrament.
Notes
- ^ See Leon
Morris, The Gospel According to John, Revised, pp.
684-695.
- ^ When Christ Died, and Rose
References
- Brown,
Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament Doubleday 1997 ISBN 0-385-24767-2
- Brown,
Raymond E. et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary Prentice Hall
1990 ISBN 0-13-614934-0
- Bultmann,
Rudolf The Gospel of John Blackwell 1971
- Kilgallen,
John J. A Brief Commentary on the Gospel of Mark Paulist Press 1989
ISBN 0-8091-3059-9
- Linders,
Barnabus The Gospel of John Marshal Morgan and Scott 1972
- Linders,
Barnabus The Gospel of John Marshal Morgan and Scott 1972
External links
- A Different Da Vinci Code The missing
pieces of Leonardo's puzzle point to plain and simple Hermeticism
(altreligion.about.com article).
- Was the "Last Supper" the Passover Meal?
- The Last Supper interpreted by 7 Artists
- Leonardo da Vinci - The Last Supper (Zoomable
Version)
- Passover observance for New Covenant Christians
- The Soteriologic Significance of the Last Supper
- Jewish Encyclopedia: Jesus: The Last Supper
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from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Supper"