Today I want to look at the different viewpoints of the last supper from the 4 gospels. Traditionally only 3 of the gospels are credited with recognizing the last supper, Matthew, Mark and Luke. Let’s look at those:
Matthew 26:20-30
20When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the twelve disciples. 21While they were eating, he said, "The truth is, one of you will betray me." 22Greatly distressed, one by one they began to ask him, "I’m not the one, am I, Lord?" 23He replied, "One of you who is eating with me now will betray me. 24For I, the Son of Man, must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for my betrayer. Far better for him if he had never been born!" 25Judas, the one who would betray him, also asked, "Teacher, I’m not the one, am I?" And Jesus told him, "You have said it yourself." 26As they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and asked God’s blessing on it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, "Take it and eat it, for this is my body." 27And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, "Each of you drink from it, 28for this is my blood, which seals the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out to forgive the sins of many. 29Mark my words--I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom." 30Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.
Mark 14:17-26
17In the evening Jesus arrived with the twelve disciples. 18As they were sitting around the table eating, Jesus said, "The truth is, one of you will betray me, one of you who is here eating with me." 19Greatly distressed, one by one they began to ask him, "I’m not the one, am I?" 20He replied, "It is one of you twelve, one who is eating with me now. 21For I, the Son of Man, must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for my betrayer. Far better for him if he had never been born!" 22As they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and asked God’s blessing on it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, "Take it, for this is my body." 23And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24And he said to them, "This is my blood, poured out for many, sealing the covenant between God and his people. 25I solemnly declare that I will not drink wine again until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God." 26Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.
Luke 13:14-27
14Then at the proper time Jesus and the twelve apostles sat down together at the table. 15Jesus said, "I have looked forward to this hour with deep longing, anxious to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. 16For I tell you now that I won’t eat it again until it comes to fulfillment in the Kingdom of God." 17Then he took a cup of wine, and when he had given thanks for it, he said, "Take this and share it among yourselves. 18For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come." 19Then he took a loaf of bread; and when he had thanked God for it, he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, "This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 20After supper he took another cup of wine and said, "This wine is the token of God’s new covenant to save you--an agreement sealed with the blood I will pour out for you. 21"But here at this table, sitting among us as a friend, is the man who will betray me. 22For I, the Son of Man, must die since it is part of God’s plan. But how terrible it will be for my betrayer!" 23Then the disciples began to ask each other which of them would ever do such a thing. 24And they began to argue among themselves as to who would be the greatest in the coming Kingdom. 25Jesus told them, "In this world the kings and great men order their people around, and yet they are called `friends of the people.’ 26But among you, those who are the greatest should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. 27Normally the master sits at the table and is served by his servants. But not here! For I am your servant.
But the one whom I think gives the most accurate interpretation of what happened at that last supper is the very one that isn’t recognized by the traditional church…
John 13:1-5, 12-17
1Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He now showed the disciples the full extent of his love. 2It was time for supper, and the Devil had already enticed Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to carry out his plan to betray Jesus. 3Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him. [SKIP] 12After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, "Do you understand what I was doing? 13You call me `Teacher’ and `Lord,’ and you are right, because it is true. 14And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16How true it is that a servant is not greater than the master. Nor are messengers more important than the one who sends them. 17You know these things--now do them! That is the path of blessing.
Each of the 4 disciples was there, each had a different interpretation of what happened…3 saw something of great significance to them, but I believe John (the disciple whom Jesus loved and had a closer and more intimate relationship with) saw something of greater significance and importance.
But we can’t see it unless we take all interpretations and bring them together like putting a puzzle together. So, from all 4 gospels this is the sequence of events that we get an idea of…
1) Preparation for the meal
2) Gathering in the upper room
3) Jesus washes the disciple’s feet
4) Eating of the meal
5) The calling out of Judas
6) Blessing and Breaking of the bread
7) Blessing and partaking of wine
8) Teaching from Jesus
9) And a hymn from Psalm 118
In looking at what John saw in the upper room we see that the partaking of the bread and wine wasn’t as meaningful to him as the washing of their feet and the teaching that Jesus gave with an emphasis on loving and serving others. So when Jesus said in Luke 22:19, “Do this in remembrance of me” I wonder if something was lost in the traditional sacrament of what we call communion. You see during the ministry of Jesus, the things he taught us, the example he demonstrated for us...(example)…it was all about laying aside self-centered means and being a servant to all. Even to the point of laying down his own life for us, the ultimate act of servant hood, in which his body was broken and his blood was spilled as he symbolized for us using bread and wine.
And I wonder…how does Jesus want us to remember him. By eating a cracker and drinking a shot of grape juice? Or by being a servant?
That’s the problem they were having in Corinth that Paul had to address
1 Corinthians 11:20-29
20It’s not the Lord’s Supper you are concerned about when you come together. 21For I am told that some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk. 22What? Is this really true? Don’t you have your own homes for eating and drinking? Or do you really want to disgrace the church of God and shame the poor? What am I supposed to say about these things? Do you want me to praise you? Well, I certainly do not! 23For this is what the Lord himself said, and I pass it on to you just as I received it. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took a loaf of bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 25In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant between God and you, sealed by the shedding of my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it." 26For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again. 27So if anyone eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily, that person is guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord. 28That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking from the cup. 29For if you eat the bread or drink the cup unworthily, not honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself.
Now I’ve heard many times in my life that the word unworthily was meant for those that did not have a right relationship with Jesus Christ, but that’s not at all what Paul was talking about. He was writing to the church at Corinth…to Christians. And he was addressing a problem with selfishness. So in essence what he was saying was if you are not living the example of Jesus Christ in putting others before yourself – you need to do some serious self examining because you are unworthy to share in communion with Him.
Jesus said in Matthew 25:41-46
41"Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, `Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his demons! 42For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me anything to drink. 43I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me no clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ 44"Then they will reply, `Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ 45And he will answer, `I assure you, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ 46And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life."
The bread and the cup symbolize self sacrifice. Paul says, “every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.” Every time we exhibit self sacrifice we are showing others what Jesus did for them.
I truly believe that Jesus wants us to serve others in remembrance of him as often as we eat or drink. He wants servant hood to be so much a part of us that it becomes a basic necessity like eating and drinking.
I honestly don’t know if he’s glorified through crackers and grape juice. And I wonder what he must think when we come together, go through our little religious ritual and leave with the same me-first mentality that we came in with.
[Serve Communion with a commitment to serve others]
