The Last Supper

The Last Supper in the upper room (Matthew 26:17–30)

On the night before he was crucified, Jesus gathered with his disciples in an upper room in Jerusalem. There were many important things that he said and did on this occasion. But one event is of particular importance. This was his institution of the manner in which his disciples from that time forward were to remember him and what he had done for them. He knew it would be vital for them to regularly call to remembrance his loving sacrifice by which their sins were forgiven and so he gave them as a memorial the emblems of bread and wine.

The Bread

Jesus “took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). The bread represented his body and was to remind his followers of the total surrender of his body to the will of God in all things (Hebrews 10:5–10; Philippians 2:8). Right to the end of his life, when facing the crucifixion with all its pain and suffering, Jesus prayed to his Father, “Not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). Just as the Passover lamb was “without blemish”, so Jesus offered himself as the “lamb of God” without the blemish of sin (Exodus 12:5; 1 Peter 1:18–19; 1 Corinthians 5:7). As his followers partake of the bread they reflect upon his sacrifice for them and pray for guidance and strength to follow in his steps (1 Peter 2:21–24).

The Wine

As Jesus distributed the wine he said: “This is my blood of the new testament [or covenant], which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:27–28). The wine therefore represented his blood or his life which was a life of perfect obedience to God even to his death upon the cross (Philippians 2:8 ). Obviously that wine he gave the disciples was not literally his blood as he had not yet shed his blood in crucifixion. The wine represented his blood given in sacrifice “for many for the remission of sins”. And so, after the example of the blood of the Passover lamb whereby Israel were delivered from the bondage of Egypt, so those baptised into Jesus Christ remember that they have been delivered from the bondage of sin by the “precious blood of Christ” through his sacrificial death (1Peter 1:18).

The simple act of partaking of these memorials is observed by all those who wish to obey their Lord’s commandments (cp 1 Corinthians 11:23–29). This unites them in fellowship with him, as they reflect upon the wonderful example of his life and the great price that has been paid for their salvation (1 Corinthians 10:16–17).

By regularly partaking of the bread and wine a believer mentally examines his own life in relation to the life of the Lord Jesus Christ who he is striving to follow (1 Corinthians 11:23–28). This simple act of remembering him in the way he has asked demonstrates an understanding and appreciation of all he has done in giving his life.

The Significance of the Death of Jesus Christ

We recall that when John the Baptist saw Jesus near Jordan he declared: “Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away [‘beareth away’] the sin of the world” (John 1:29). John was alluding to the words of the prophet Isaiah, who dramatically foretold the saving work of Jesus Christ in Isaiah 53. In that remarkable prophecy, people are spoken of as sheep who have gone astray, having “turned every one to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). How descriptive this language is—for all have turned from God’s way and sinned (Romans 3:19, 23).

Yet one man stands out in contrast, one who was “despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). This man is described as “a lamb” upon whom is laid “the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6–7). Peter quotes the same passage when he acknowledges the great debt of gratitude that we owe to Jesus Christ, the Son of God (1 Peter 2:22–25).

In the days of the apostles, an Ethiopian traveller was puzzling over these very words and wondering, “Of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself or of some other man?” (Acts 8:34). Philip, sent by God, enlightened him, and “began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus”. Isaiah is plainly referring to the Lord Jesus Christ and his work of redeeming mankind from sin and death.

Isaiah speaks of this one who was to “bare the sin of many” (Isaiah 53:12), making “his soul [life] an offering for sin” (Isaiah 53:10), and again pouring out “his soul [life] unto death” (Isaiah 53:12). So Jesus Christ, through yielding his life in perfect obedience to God, even to his sacrificial death upon the cross, provided the way of forgiveness of sins for all mankind, so reconciling man to God.

How was this so?

How Jesus Bare the Sins of Many

Jesus shared the same mortal and sin-prone nature with all mankind, but overcame the temptation to sin by the positive action of always doing the will of God. The Psalmist foretold this, saying: “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:7–8; Hebrews 10:7). Though he was tempted in all points like us, he never sinned (Hebrews 4:15).

Through his death he publicly condemned and destroyed once and for all that sinful tendency that all of us have inherited from Adam: “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14).

In his death he “crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:24). Though he was crucified, it was he who had the victory! Sin never triumphed over him, for he always did the will of God. “Not my will, but thine, be done” was his wonderful response, even in his greatest hour of trial (Luke 22:42).

Paul describes what was achieved in the death of Christ, when he made “his soul an offering for sin” and “poured out his soul unto death” (Isaiah 53:10–12) in these words: “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3). He alone could save us, because he was like us, yet not a sinner.

Christ shared that same mortality common to all Adam’s descendants. However, though he was put to death by wicked men, it was not right that he should remain dead. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and here was one who had never sinned and so had never earned these “wages”. The resurrection of this man was therefore inevitable. “God hath raised him up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it” (Acts 2:24; Philippians 2:8–9). God, who is just, gladly raised His beloved Son after only three days in the tomb, as He had foretold (Psalm 16:10; quoted in Acts 2:27). He became therefore “the author of eternal salvation unto all that obey him” (Hebrews 5:9).

Baptism

Baptism—identification with Christ’s crucifixion (Romans 6:3–6)

We can now begin to appreciate more fully the significance of baptism, by which we are reconciled to God. In baptism we identify with what the Lord Jesus Christ achieved in his death, his ultimate victory over the power of sin (Hebrews 2:14). Paul draws the parallel between Jesus’ death and our baptism, stating: “our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Romans 6:6). Our “old man” is the person we used to be, before we were reconciled to God. In baptism our “old man” dies. We reject “the body of sin”, that is our former sinful God-dishonouring ways. We acknowledge that God is right in so condemning sin.

But there is, of course, that other dimension to baptism. Just as Christ rose from the dead to die no more, so we rise from the water as a “new man” (or person) in Christ (Ephesians 4:20–24). Our past sins have been forgiven and we commence a new way of life following the pattern of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 6:16–18; 1 Peter 2:21–25).

There are some helpful passages of Scripture which reveal these two dimensions—Romans 6, Colossians 3: 1–15 and Ephesians 4:17–32.

Consider some of the other lessons Paul draws from being identified in baptism with the crucifixion of Christ.

• Paul saw himself as dead, and the life he now lived revealed the life of Christ in him (Galatians 2:20).

• Those who, through baptism, are Christ’s, have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts (Galatians 5:24).

• Through his identification with the death of Christ the world was “crucified” to him and he to the ways of the world—life in Christ was everything (Galatians 6:14).

Crucifixion was an excruciatingly painful ordeal. Cutting off old habits, turning our back on a former way of life, can certainly be painful and difficult. Yet as we commit our ways to serving God and doing His will, the joy of such service gives us strength and encourages us to continue, by God’s grace. It is said of Jesus, that “for the joy set before him he endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). So those who follow his pattern of life can be daily encouraged to view their lives as a preparation for that time when they will be one with him and his Father “in his throne” (Revelation 3:21).

Adapted from “The Exploring the Bible Course” by David Evans