On Line Bible Study - For the week October 13-19, 2008

For the week October 13-19, 2008

Part 2: The Last Supper (Matthew 26:26-29)

Matthew 26: 26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."

27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom."

Matthew bookends the last supper with the announcement of the betrayal of Jesus (26:20-25) and the prediction of the desertion of the disciples (26:31-35).

Scholar John Nolland makes this observation: It is Jesus , as about to be betrayed, abandoned, and struck down, who gives what is to be achieved by his dying to precisely those whose loyalty is about to fail.

The Passover meal is to the deliverance from slavery in Egypt what the Eucharist is to the Crucifixion. Both look backwards, but do so in such a way as to attempt to make the past present. For Christians, the Lord’s Supper is not only a “remembering”; it is also a “re-membering” – a bringing together Christ with those who are participating in the meal.

Presumably the first Christians continued to celebrate the Passover each year while celebrating the Lord’s Supper more frequently. Over time, however, Passover and the Christian Eucharist became more intimately intertwined. Both are symbolic of salvation, of deliverance. The bread does undergo a transformation, for the bread of Passover is the “bread of affliction” (Deuteronomy 16:3), and while Jesus will suffer “affliction”, the bread of Eucharist also comes to symbolize unity – for in Christ’s brokenness we become one with him and with all who partake of the sacred meal.

The “cup” presents us with a challenge – in the Passover meal everyone had their own cup. In this celebration, Jesus invites the disciples to all drink from his cup. Perhaps this is to symbolize unity once again; or maybe we are invited to drink from “his cup” because it, and it alone is the cup of life. Not our blood shed, but Jesus’ blood shed is the stuff of sacrifice. Or perhaps it is meant to indicate that Jesus, and only Jesus can provide for all – the choice in so far as he is concerned has been made: His sacrifice is for all. It is for us to determine whether we will take the cup or not.

We are given no other details about the meal – nothing about the herbs, or the lamb. Perhaps Matthew assumes we already know about the intricacies of the Passover meal. Or, could it be that the Passover was actually being downplayed in order to elevate the distinctively Christian components in this final supper Jesus shares with his friends?

In our next study we make our way to the garden. Read Matthew 26:36-46.