Last Supper

John 13-17; Matt 26

When I read about the Last Supper, I think of it as Jesus' goodbye to his disciples. He knew that his sacrifice was coming near, and he planned in advance to have a final Passover seder with his disciples. His counsels were to say goodbye, and to prepare them for the impossibly hard reality of his death. He washed their feet, and they sat down for a meal. It would have included the traditional seder foods (pita, bitter herbs, roasted lamb, etc), as well as other non-ritual foods that overwinter well (dates, nuts, apples, boiled eggs, olives, bean dips, etc). The "sop" that he dipped for Judas would be a dip like they still serve with pita today--probably hummus or various marinated salads. They reclined at a Roman-style triclineum table (a low, floor-hugging three-sided table that they would have leaned on with their left arms while they ate with their right hands), which explains why John was leaning against Jesus' chest.

During a traditional seder meal, one peice of bread is hidden and then brought out at the end of the meal to be broken into olive-sized pieces and shared with everyone present. The usual prayer on bread is uttered, with the addition of "in remembrance of the sacrificial lamb." The third glass of wine is drunken and the same prayer is said. When Jesus gave the unleaved bread and the glass of wine to his disciples, he changed the prayer to make it clear to his disciples that he was the sacrificial lamb. "This do in remembrance of me," he said.