What is the meaning and importance of the Last Supper?

Answer

The Last Supper refers to the final meal Jesus shared with His disciples before His betrayal and arrest. This event is documented in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-26; Luke 22:7-30). It was not just a regular meal but a Passover meal. A significant moment during the Last Supper was when Jesus instructed His followers to remember the sacrifice He was about to make for all humanity: shedding His blood on the cross to atone for our sins “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body which is given for you: do this in remembrance of me.'” , (Luke 22:19).

Aside from foretelling His suffering and death for our redemption (Luke 22:15-16), Jesus also used the Last Supper to give new significance to the Passover, establish the New Covenant, introduce an ordinance for the church, and predict Peter’s denial of Him “And he said, ‘I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny me three times.'” , (Luke 22:34), as well as Judas Iscariot’s betrayal (Matthew 26:21-24).

The Last Supper marked the fulfillment of the Old Testament observance of the Passover feast. The Passover held special significance for the Jewish people as it commemorated God’s deliverance from the threat of physical death and liberation from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 11:1—13:16).

During the Last Supper with His apostles, Jesus took two symbols associated with Passover and infused them with fresh meaning as a way to commemorate His sacrifice, which rescues us from spiritual death and liberates us from spiritual bondage: “After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, ‘Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you’” (Luke 22:17-20).

Jesus’ words during the Last Supper regarding the unleavened bread and the cup mirror what He had expressed after He fed the 5,000: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. . . . I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. . . . Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink” (John 6:35,51, 54-55). Salvation comes through Christ and the sacrifice of His physical body on the cross.

Also during the Last Supper, Jesus taught the principles of servanthood and forgiveness as He washed His disciples’ feet: “The greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:26-27;John 13:1-20).

The Last Supper is commemorated today during the Lord’s Supper, or communion (1 Corinthians 11:23-33). The Bible teaches that Jesus’ death was prefigured in the offering of the Passover sacrifice «The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. », (John 1:29). John observes that Jesus’ death mirrors the Passover sacrifice in that His bones were not broken (John 19:36;cf: Exodus 12:46). And Paul declared, “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” «Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: », (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus fulfills the Law, including the feasts of the Lord « Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. », (Matthew 5:17).

Traditionally, the Passover meal was a family gathering. However, at the Last Supper, the apostles were alone with Jesus «And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. », (Luke 22:14), indicating that this particular meal holds specific significance for the church, of which the apostles became the foundation «and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; », (Ephesians 2:20). While the Last Supper had implications for the Jews, iIt was designed for the church as well. Today the Lord’s Table is one of two ordinances observed by the church.

The Last Supper was rooted in the Old Covenant even as it heralded the New. Jeremiah 31:31 promised a New Covenant between God and Israel, in which God said, “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people” «but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. », (Jeremiah 31:33). Jesus made a direct reference to this New Covenant during the Last Supper: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood” «Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. », (Luke 22:20). A new dispensation was on the horizon. In God’s grace, the New Covenant applies to more than Israel; everyone who has faith in Christ will be saved (see Ephesians 2:12-14).

The Last Supper was a significant event and proclaimed a turning point in God’s plan for the world. By comparing the crucifixion of Jesus to the feast of Passover, we can readily see the redemptive nature of Christ’s death. As symbolized by the original Passover sacrifice in the Old Testament, Christ’s death atones for the sins of His people; His blood rescues us from death and saves us from slavery. Today, the Lord’s Supper is when believers reflect upon Christ’s perfect sacrifice and know that, through our faith in receiving Him, we will be with Him forever (Luke 22:18;Revelation 3:20).