D. The Last Supper (22:1-38)

The account of the Last Supper reveals the different attitudes of Jesus and his disciples during the final events of his earthly life. Jesus was resolved in his purpose. He had already planned for the supper. He knew that he was going to suffer, and he was determined to follow that destiny. The behavior of his disciples was varied. Judas, acting under the guidance of Satan (v.3), betrayed him. The other disciples remained faithful, but their behavior fell short of the ideal. Some of them were consumed with ambition, disputing who was the greatest (v.24). Peter would deny Jesus (vv.31-34).

The disciples misunderstood the purpose of Jesus' instruction to obtain swords (vv.35-38). He may have wanted them to be equipped for protection against wild animals on their future missionary journeys. Or he may have used “sword” as a metaphor for courage in time of conflict. His disciples thought he was talking about armed resistance.

Central to the story of the Last Supper is the account of the institution of a ritual meal (vv.14-23). Jesus gave thanks at the meal; and the Communion service has been called the “eucharist” (from Gk. eucharistia, “thanksgiving”). On the basis of his command to “do this in remembrance of me” (v.19), the service has also been regarded as a memorial rite. But the words of Jesus show that its significance extends far beyond mere remembrance.

The account of the Last Supper links Jesus' death with the sacrifices for the Passover, the sin offering, and the covenant. The description of the supper as a Passover meal (v.15) suggests that he effected a new Passover deliverance, not from Egypt but from sin. His statement that his body was “given for you” and his blood was “poured out for you” (vv.19-20) implies that he was a sacrificial offering for sin, like the Servant in Isa 53:12. His reference to the new covenant in [his] blood (v.20) indicates that his death ratified the new covenant of Jer 31:31-34, just as a sacrifice had ratified the covenant at Sinai (Ex 24:1-8).

Jesus asserted that the next time he drank wine would be when the kingdom of God comes (v.18). These words may have been fulfilled in a meal he shared with his disciples after his resurrection. Or they may refer to a messianic feast at his second advent. They may also look forward to a communion into which people may enter at death. Charles Wesley (5:24) had this last alternative in mind:

Yet onward I haste

To the heavenly feast;

That, that is the fullness; but this is the taste.

John Wesley rejected the idea that the bread and wine at Communion actually became the body and blood of Christ. In his comment on 22:19 he describes Jesus' words as “figurative language” (Notes, 286). At the same time he regarded participation in the service as a “means of grace” (Works, 1:389-90). The Wesleys believed in the “real presence” of Christ for those who received the bread and wine in faith.

Come, Holy Ghost, Thine

influence shed,

And realize the sign;

Thy life infuse into the bread,

Thy power into the wine.

Effectual let the tokens prove

And made, by heavenly art,

Fit channels to convey thy love

To every faithful heart.

Charles Wesley (3:266).

After the institution of the supper Jesus exhorted his disciples to be servants, even as he was a servant (vv.24-27). His promise to them of authority in his kingdom may refer both to their leadership in the church and to their position at the Last Day (vv.28-30).