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Mark shows that this last meal is the celebration of the Passover feast, a factor that helps interpret Jesus' words and actions in 14:22-25. First, however, the thrust of the passage centers on the treachery of one of the disciples, now unnamed; this is a betrayal of intimacy. As the disciples respond to Jesus' prediction by asking, one by one, “Surely not I?” we are drawn into the story to repeat this same question. His passion, Jesus maintains, is the work of God and of human agents; here we see the conjunction of divine and human causation.
During the meal, Jesus departs from the normal Passover rite, declaring himself to be the fulfillment of Passover. In Jesus' death, God’s redemptive plan for all humanity is effected, the new covenant enacted, and the kingdom established. In receiving the bread and wine, his disciples participate in the benefits of his death. Looking beyond his death even here, Jesus anticipates life in the kingdom.
The consequence of his death, depicted as fulfillment of Scripture, is the scattering of his disciples, including Peter. Death (and with it, the disciples' failure), however, is not the last word, for Jesus is able to promise the regathering of the disciples after his resurrection.