The Last Supper (Maestà)
3 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. 4 He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd.
7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” 9 They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?” 10 He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters 11 and 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?’ 12 And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” 13 And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
14 And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. 15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. 21 But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. 22 For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” 23 And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.
Luke 22:3-23
The Last Meal of Jesus
It’s the chief priest’s lucky day. They were finally going to get their chance to arrest Jesus without having the crowd intervene. So far, Jesus has been withdrawing from Jerusalem every night, slipping out of their grasp. Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples was going to tell them exactly where He was. Judas was already considering a way to betray Jesus, especially since he witnessed (in the other Gospel accounts) Mary pouring expensive ointment on Jesus’ head. Judas remarked that it could have been sold and given to the poor! Although that may sound good, it was later revealed he was stealing from the moneybag. What was most offensive is that Mary was preparing Jesus for burial – something the disciples were still in denial about. Jesus wasn’t really going to die… right?
Judas has come to the realisation that Jesus is not going to be the Messiah he wanted (sadly, many ‘Christians’ are similar). Jesus was predicting His death, something that greatly distressed all the Twelve, and now after yesterdays passage, had just finished letting them know of the fate of Jerusalem. As far as Judas was concerned, this guy would lead them to obscurity and an early grave. It was time to jump ship, but of course, make a few extra coins on the way out. Having made up his mind to betray Jesus, he opened an avenue for Satan to finally bring down the Son of God. Luke says that Satan entered into Judas – a concept known as possession. Judas, without knowing it, had sealed his fate and become a pawn in a much bigger spiritual drama.
Did Judas know he was possessed? It’s unlikely. Now fully under Satan’s control, he goes to the chief priest’s and officials and conspired on the best way to betray Jesus. What’s the reward? An opportunity to part ways with Jesus without going down alongside Him, and, of course, make some extra cash. Thirty pieces of silver, perhaps around $3000 in today’s money, was the agreed upon price. They needed to get Jesus somewhere away from the crowd, something Judas could help them with. He was locked in now. He would betray Jesus that very night. All for a handful of coins.
The Passover had taken over the city of Jerusalem. You can read all about the history of the festival in Exodus 12; the story of Israel sacrificing lambs and putting their blood on the doorposts, so that the angel of death would ‘pass over’ their houses and spared their firstborns. The Egyptians were not as fortunate. The Jewish people celebrated this act of salvation annually. It was a massive festival; historians believe that the city would swell to around three million people as Jews from all over the ancient world would make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem to take part in the temple sacrifices.
The time had now arrived when lambs would be sacrificed for the sins of Israel. Traditionally, a meal would be held that very night. Where were the disciples going to share the Passover meal? Jesus sends Peter and John to a secret place – a place that it seems Jesus has made prior arrangements for. A man carrying a jar will meet them and take them to a large upper room which they are to request from the master of the house. A strange interaction from Jesus to be sure. Why the secrecy?
Jesus knew that He was about to be betrayed, and that this was to be His last meal. He had a few things that He wanted to do before the chief priests could seize Him. What were those things? He was going to radically redefine the Passover, and institute a New Covenant. Judas was not to know where that would be or else he might betray Jesus early. Jesus was going to be betrayed when He was ready for it.
It is there in the upper room, that this well-known event takes place. Jesus starts by telling the disciples how much He longed to eat the Passover with them. He then tells them something shocking. He will not taste eat of it again until the Passover is fulfilled. He takes a cup of wine and passes it around. He reminds the disciples that this too, He will not taste until the Kingdom of God comes.
Jesus takes the unleavened bread, the traditional flat bread that was to be eaten at the Passover and breaks it into chunks to be shared. He then declares the bread to be His body – and He tells the disciples to remember this moment and continue to do it as remembrance of Him. This body that was broken, was given up for them. This was a sad meal, a moment when the disciples realised that Jesus was serious about His death. A moment that likely enraged Judas all the more.
Now the cup was passed around, signifying the blood of the New Covenant which is poured out for His disciples. As the blood of lambs were being poured out for Israel, the true Lamb of God would be sacrificed, His body broken, and blood poured out for the sins of the world. When this occurs the New Covenant will be ratified. Once for all, this sacrifice would cleanse His followers from sin and shield them from the wrath of God, just as God’s wrath had ‘passed over’ them in Egypt. Now there was a way for a completely holy and righteous God to forgive and justify sinners.
But this sacrifice was not for everyone at the table. The hand of one man who ate and enjoyed the meal was about to betray Jesus. This is Judas’ last chance to change course. This was His last moment to reconsider what he was about to do. Jesus informs the disciples that one will betray Him, and woe to that man who would betray the Son of Man! Harsh words that should jolt Judas out of his stupor and make him reassess the situation. Judas sadly, would stick firm in his choice to betray Jesus.
The disciples are shocked. This really speaks to Judas’ cleverness because no one suspected him. It wasn’t like everyone turned to Judas – the classic rebel in the group and said, ‘it’s him isn’t it?’. He was sneaky. He seemed righteous. He seemed dedicated to the cause. No one suspected him. But he was a fraud and a trickster and a charlatan, and would hand over their master into the hands of sinful men.
Many so-called ‘Christians’ can fly under the radar, living in secret lives of sin that no one else knows about. Like Judas, no one suspects them of betraying Jesus. Things that if they were brought to light would bring disrepute and disgrace upon Christ and His church. All too often we see people claiming to be followers of Jesus but are actually frauds and fakes.
How are we with this? Do we eat the body and drink the blood at Communion, pretending to follow Jesus when really we are following the rest of the world? Do we betray Jesus with a kiss, while discounting His amazing acts of salvation in our lives? How can we make sure that we don’t fall into this same trap?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, all too often I find myself enticed by the things of this world. Help me orient my life towards your grace and mercy, knowing that though I fail and struggle, you are faithful and secure. Help me be like Jesus, in Jesus Name, Amen