Carey's Bible Study Notes
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last supper
life of christ: Matthew 26.26-29; John 13.1-15, 21-31
the last supper
introduction
The conflict with the Jewish religious leaders is over. Jesus has offered them every chance to repent and turn to God. They have responded though by deciding once and for all that Jesus has to die. The only question that plagues them is when they will be able to carry out their deed. They decide that they cannot kill Him during the Passover because of the danger that the crowds would turn against them and riot, thereby forcing the Romans to descend upon them with a heavy hand. They decide to wait until after the Passover is finished.
All this changes though when Judas Iscariot approaches them with a plan on how to deliver Jesus to them without the crowds realizing what�s happening. He knows where Jesus spends each night. For 30 pieces of silver, the price of a common slave, Judas will lead them to Him where He will be alone with His disciples away from the protection of the crowds. This is the essence of Judas� treachery. The Jewish religious leaders could have arrested Jesus at any time. It was arresting Him in secret which eluded them. Judas takes care of this problem for them.
Why did Judas do this deed? Forget the explanation that Judas was just trying to force Jesus� hand into defending Himself and thereby asserting His messianic authority. This elevates Judas and his deed to being almost noble. It was not a noble deed. It was an act of treachery. Dante places Judas Iscariot in the uttermost depths of hell where only the most wicked are tortured. John claims that Judas betrayed Jesus for 2 reasons: (1) Satan indwelled him (John 13:27; 6:70-71) and (2) he was greedy (John 12:6). Judas was the treasurer of the apostolic band (John 12:6). He like the other 11 apostles joined up with Jesus because he thought Jesus was going to set up immediately a kingdom on earth in which he would be the Secretary of the Treasury. Of all the disciples apparently he understood that this was not going to be done. He most likely realized it the night Jesus allowed Mary to anoint Him with the precious perfume because after this event he approaches the chief priests and offers to deliver Jesus to them (Matt. 26:14-16). Satan used his greed and revenge to bring about the crucifixion and Judas� own destruction.
Jesus knows what is about to befall Him. Although He is about to experience incredible pain both physically and spiritually, He focuses not on Himself but on His disciples. What He is about to undergo is all for the disciples. "Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come . . . having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end." The phrase "to the end" can mean that He loved them until the end of His life. Most likely though it means that Jesus loved them completely, to the uttermost, and that the main way He demonstrated it was by dying for them on the cross. That very night Jesus informs them, "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). He�s about to demonstrate it for them in the most dramatic way.
the lord�s supper (Matthew 26.26-29)
Jesus sends 2 disciples up ahead to Jerusalem to prepare the Passover for Him and His disciples. According to Jewish law the Passover meal was to be eaten between sundown and midnight on the 15th of Nissan, and also to be eaten within the confines of the city walls of Jerusalem. The meal itself consisted of 5 elements: (1) the roasted lamb representing the slain lamb which was sacrificed instead of the first-born son, (2) wine, (3) unleavened bread, (4) a type of soup/paste reddish in color which represented the clay bricks the Israelites made during their Egyptian captivity and which was also used for dipping, and (5) bitter herbs which symbolized the bitterness of their captivity in Egypt.
Jesus zeroes in on 2 elements used in the Passover, the wine and the unleavened bread. The Israelites used unleavened bread that first Passover night instead of leavened bread because they did not have time to let the dough rise before cooking it. They had to be ready to leave at a moment�s notice. Leaven then came to represent delay in experiencing God�s exodus, that is, salvation. It was just a small step then for it to represent sin.
Jesus takes the loaf of unleavened bread, which is devoid of any taint of sin, raises it, and after giving thanks, breaks it. He then identifies it as His body, free from any sin, which is broken for them. Next He takes the cup of wine, gives thanks for it, and then hands it to the disciples. He identifies the wine as His blood of the new covenant which is being shed for many. He then informs them that He will not drink this wine with them until He drinks it with them in His Father�s kingdom.
Several concepts seem to be operating here. First, Jesus is using the Passover meal to point to His death which was to occur the next day. Hanging on the cross, He will be the Greater Passover Lamb who is dying for the sins of His people so that the angel of death may pass over God�s people for the last time. Second, Jesus is inaugurating the new covenant. This new covenant, which Jeremiah prophesied would come, will not focus on externals like the Mosaic covenant had but rather on the heart (Jer. 31:33). Ezekiel explained further that God would place within the hearts of the people of this new covenant a new spirit, one of flesh and not of stone (Ez. 36:27). The Mosaic covenant had proven to be an unqualified disaster because the people were unable to carry out its demands. Now with the permanent removal of sin by Christ�s death on the cross, God Himself through His Spirit was now going to be able to enter the hearts of God�s people so that they can live the very life the Law was unable to produce. Third and finally, this meal points to Christ�s return. The meal is to be observed only until the time when Christ returns. At that time we will sit with Christ who will then drink the wine with His people at the great messianic banquet which God is preparing for all His people (Matt. 8:11).
jesus washes the disciples' feet (John 13.1-15)
All this talk about the kingdom of God once more taps into the disciples� desires to have positions of great honor in the kingdom Jesus is about to inaugurate (Luke 22:24). Secretary of the Treasury goes to Judas, Secretary of War goes to James and John, while the position of Secretary of the Interior (fishing, etc.) goes to Simon Peter. Jesus has just instituted the Lord�s Supper which represents His death on the cross, and the disciples respond by arguing over who was going to be the greatest in the kingdom. They still did not get. They were cheapening themselves by their shallow response to Jesus and His death.
Unfortunately, many who claim to be Jesus� disciples today still cheapen themselves in the church. The guiding principle of the church should be the fact that Christ humbled Himself to the point of death on the cross. Our response to this event should be sheer gratitude and humility. Instead, we get angry if we do not get our way or if the church does not put us in positions of prominence. Such a response does not cheapen Christianity or Christ�s work on the cross; it cheapens us.
In response to this, Jesus arises from His seat, takes off His outer garment, girds Himself with a towel, and then proceeds to wash each of the disciples� feet. Apparently the disciples are shocked into silence. Peter though breaks the silence. When Jesus approaches Peter, Peter asks Jesus, "Lord, do You wash my feet?" (Literally, "Lord, wash You my feet?") Jesus tells Peter that right now he may not understand what Jesus is doing; however, after His death on the cross and the coming of the Spirit, he will understand because the Spirit will explain to him the significance of this action. By washing their feet on the night before His crucifixion, Jesus is saying that His sacrifice on the cross was nothing less than an act of humility.
Peter then refuses to allow Jesus to wash his feet. He informs Jesus that he will never, no never (the literal translation of the Greek) allow Him to wash His feet. In his opinion Jesus has got it all backwards. If anybody was supposed to have his feet washed, it was supposed to be Jesus. Jesus though informs Peter that if he does not allow Him to wash his feet, then Peter will have no part with Jesus. (The word "part" used here many times refers to a person�s inheritance in the kingdom of God.) The only way for Peter to have a part in God�s kingdom was to receive this act of humility, the cross, from Jesus. Peter is horrified at even the thought and replies then that he wants Jesus to wash also his hands and head. Jesus tells him though that washing the feet is all that is necessary. Once a person has washed his feet, he is completely clean and in no need of further washings. Accepting what Christ does for us on the cross is all that is necessary. Nothing more is needed, not baptism, nor partaking of the Lord�s Supper each Sunday, etc.. Jesus then adds that whereas most of them are clean, one is not, Judas Iscariot.
After washing their feet, Jesus then puts His outer garment back on Him and returns to His seat. He then instructs them concerning what He has just done. He says that they will all readily admit that He is their Teacher and Lord. Whereas the title "Teacher" would apply to any rabbi in Jesus� day, the title "Lord" points to His deity, to His status as God the Son. He then argues from the major to the minor. If He the Lord washes His disciples� feet, then just who are they not to wash one another�s feet? Washing Jesus� feet would offend nobody, whereas washing the feet of another disciple is another matter. We will all wash Jesus� feet; however, in this instance Jesus did not wash His own feet. He washed the feet of the disciples. The fact that He washes our feet means we should also wash the feet of other believers.
prediction of his betrayal (John 13.21-31)
Jesus has just shocked the disciples by washing their feet. Now He takes the pin out of a grenade and launches it right into the middle of the band of disciples. At this point in the meal Jesus becomes troubled in spirit and claims that one of them is about to betray Him. According to Matt. 26:22, the disciples just can�t believe that one of their own would ever engage in such a heinous deed. They apparently think that somebody will unintentionally slip up and betray Jesus; for example, "loose lips sink ships" might just apply here. That one of the 12 would intentionally betray Jesus is impossible. Each one begins to doubt himself and asks Jesus if he is the one who will betray Him. Peter though gestures to John and signals to him to ask Jesus for the identity of the traitor. He plans to kill the traitor.
Now before we look at what happens next, we need to understand the arrangement of the disciples around the table. The table would have been shaped like a giant U. Jesus and the disciples would have reclined on couches which would have been situated around the U. Their feet would have been sticking out away from the table; they would have rested on the left arm while eating with their right hand. As a result, the head of each man would have been close to the chest of the man to his left. Jesus as the head of the meal is reclining at the turn of the U. John is to His right with his head reclining on Jesus� chest. Apparently Peter is at some distance away from Jesus. Most likely he is at the other end of the table. Where is Judas in this arrangement? Because of the actions which follow, Judas most likely is to the left of Jesus, that is, Jesus� head is reclining on Judas� chest. Since Judas had the honor of having Jesus recline His head on his chest, Judas occupied the seat of honor at the meal. This makes sense for 2 reasons. First, Judas was the treasurer for the apostolic band, no mean position. Second, this is Jesus� final time to appeal to Judas to refrain from his act of treachery. Instead of slamming him and exposing him, Jesus is trying to redeem him through great kindness.
Peter then gestures to John the beloved disciple and asks him to find out the traitor�s identity. The beloved disciple leans back on Jesus� chest and asks Him for the traitor�s identity. Jesus informs John that the traitor is the one to whom Jesus will give a morsel which He has dipped in the bowl of paste/soup. This constitutes even a greater act of kindness on the part of Jesus since such an act in Jesus� day would convey great honor to the one who received the morsel. Jesus then takes the morsel, dips it in the bowl, and hands it to Judas Iscariot. Judas knows exactly what Jesus is doing. He knows that Jesus has identified him as the traitor and has reached out to him in kindness by seating him at the place of highest honor at the meal, has washed his feet, and even now has given him a choice morsel. He does not care though. For him Jesus is a dead man. He has reached the point of no return because he has deliberately and willfully rejected Jesus� overtures of love. Since there is nothing more that Jesus can do without obliterating Judas� will, Satan enters Judas.
Jesus, once more in charge of the situation, commands Judas to leave and perform his dastardly deed. Why don�t Peter and John leap to their feet and throttle Judas? As Judas leaves, 2 thoughts are circulating through the disciples� heads. The first thought is that Judas has gone to purchase more food for the Passover. A second thought is that since it was customary to give alms to the poor at Passover, Judas most likely was going to give out some charity. A third reason may be that John and Peter had no idea that Judas was about to perform this act, right in the middle of Passover. They probably thought they still had time to take care of him. The real reason though is that God says it is time for Jesus to die. Nothing on earth and in hell could now prevent this event from occurring. For the past year the Jewish religious leaders had tried to kill Jesus without any success. Now they couldn�t prevent it from happening even if they wanted to. God�s purpose for the ages was coming to pass.
God�s will and purpose are going to be fulfilled in our lives no matter what. My older brother told me the following story about my dad. God exalted my dad to the position of Vice President of Safeway Food Stores for the purpose of exalting Himself through my dad. Several times in his life, my dad had some near-death experiences in which he promised God that if He would save him, then he would really live for Him. After each experience though, my dad would revert to form and fail to give God the glory. So many people in Safeway could have been affected by his life. The last time though my dad got cancer. This time he knew that God was not going to save him. Why should He after he had broken his word each time previously? Before my dad died, he wrote down about what God had done for him. During his funeral, the ministers read what dad had written. Sitting in the church were many of the men who had worked with my dad. They heard in his death what they never heard during his life, what God had done for him. God�s going to achieve His purpose and will in our lives. The question we need to ask ourselves is whether or not we are going to work with God and enjoy what He�s doing, or else resist Him and fail to enjoy what God is going to do through us.
Another observation is that whereas Judas is accountable for his act of betrayal, the ultimate responsibility for the death of Jesus falls upon Satan. The cross is the site of the titanic struggle between Christ and Satan with Christ the ultimate victor. Judas will pay horribly for his deeds, for allowing Satan to use him; however, we should never forget that Christ�s struggle and our struggles are ultimately with Satan and not with people (Eph. 6:12).
John then makes the chilling remark that when Judas left, it was night. To be sure, it was between sundown and midnight, the normal time for the eating of the Passover meal; however, John most likely means more than that. It is night in the sense that the forces of darkness are now converging upon Jesus and His small band of disciples. As dark as it is though, Jesus stands up in their midst and says: "Now is the Son of Man glorified!" The time for His betrayal, arrest, trial, crucifixion, and death have come. It�s as good as done. It�s just now a matter of time before Jesus hangs upon the cross; however, this is not a tragic act. Rather it is an act of glory because 3 days after Jesus dies, He rises from the dead to a new existence which we will enjoy once Christ returns. The resurrection transforms the cross from being a tragic act to one of glory because this act reveals to us God in the clearest way. In the cross we see that God is a righteous God. He is so righteous that He will brook no sin. The soul that sins dies (Ez. 18:4). There is no escaping it. God though is also a God of love. His love is so deep that He humbles Himself by becoming a man so that He the righteous God can take the place of unrighteous man. This is what God wants to be known for. Paul affirms this when he writes, "We preach Christ and Him crucified!" That is the part of Jesus� life and ministry which He wants us to focus on. When we stand up and clap for God, He wants us to clap for Him because He is the kind of God who will die on the cross for us, His people.