Last Supper Outtakes

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Well; to begin with, Jesus was really looking forward to it.

"When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he
said to them: I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I
suffer." (Luke 22:14-15)

The Greek word translated "eagerly desired" basically means longing; which
relates to passions like lust, craving, and yearning.
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Although that night was Jesus' last Passover on earth with his friends, he
assured them there were more suppers yet to come.

● Matt 26:29 . . I tell you: I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now
on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom.

● Luke 22:15-16 . . I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you
before I suffer. For I tell you: I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in
the kingdom of God.

● Luke 22:28-30 . .You are the ones that have stuck with me in my trials;
and I make a covenant with you, just as my Father has made a covenant
with me, for a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my
kingdom

** Those passages strongly suggest that Jesus' glorified body is capable of
dining upon ordinary foods and beverages.
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Jesus and his men ate their Passover dinner the night of his arrest.

Matt 26:17-20
Mark 14:12-17
Luke 22:7-15

The Jews ate their Passover after he was dead and buried.

John 13:1-2
John 18:28-29
John 19:13-14
John 19:31)

The Jews were somehow unaware that their religious calendar was tardy the
year that Christ was crucified. He, being a prophet in direct contact with
God, would of course have known the precise moment that Passover that
year was supposed to begin; which is no doubt at least one of the reasons
why Christ ate his own Passover before the Jews ate theirs.

Ironically, the Jews were careful to avoid going after Jesus during Passover.

"Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace
of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they plotted to arrest
Jesus in some sly way and kill him. But not during the feast-- they said --or
there may be a riot among the people." (Matt 26:3-5)

Due to their religious calendar's error, the Jews inadvertently put Jesus to
death during the very season they wanted to avoid. So as it turns out: while
the Jews were killing their lambs in preparation for dinner that night, the
Romans were working on killing the lamb of God.
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● John 14:13-14 . . I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son
may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name,
and I will do it.

That promise oftentimes ends up abused as a quite useless tag line attached
to the end of prayers because it's qualified by what Jesus said going into it;
which was:

"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been
doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the
Father." (John 14:12)

Jesus' early followers made good use of Jesus' assistance because they were
involved in far more important works than just going around performing
miracles like he did. But most of us modern followers will never do anything
important at all, let alone anything that can be construed as having more
value than his miracles. Many of us have enough difficulty just keeping our
heads above water, so I suggest a different approach.

● 1Pet 5:6-7 . . Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand,
that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He
cares for you.

I like keeping that together with Heb 4:15-16 which says:

"We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as
we are-- yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with
frankness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our
time of need."

The Greek word translated "frankness" basically means all out-spokenness,
i.e. candor, viz: a lack of shyness or secretiveness or of evasiveness from
considerations of tact or expedience; ergo: frankness implies transparency,
i.e. unbridled freedom of speech and the liberty to speak your mind without
fear of ridicule, shame, disgrace, retribution, or retaliation. In other words:
we may share our worries with Heaven just as we'd speak with our spouses
and/or BFF.

** On a personal note: I grew up in a dysfunctional home. My parents had
no interest in any of my anxieties: none. So it was very difficult for me to
get started sharing some with Heaven. I'm much better at it now, but it was
slow going at first.
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There's more than one Greek verb translated "love" in the New Testament.

For example John 3:16 which says:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

That verb doesn't necessarily express affection but is always benevolent. It's
the kind of love expressed in sympathy, courtesy, kindness, generosity,
compassion, empathy, civility, and humane conduct. We don't have to
especially like someone before treating them with this kind of love. For
example Matt 5:44-48.

And then there's a verb spoken of during Jesus' last supper, wherein he
said:

"The Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed
that I came from God." (John 16:27)

The Greek verb in that passage goes beyond benevolence because it speaks
of strong emotions like affection, bonding, and attachment.

All in all then, God pities the world, but He goes beyond and feels at home
with His son's followers.
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[Cameron143]

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There's more than one Greek verb translated "love" in the New Testament.

For example John 3:16 which says:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

That verb doesn't necessarily express affection but is always benevolent. It's
the kind of love expressed in sympathy, courtesy, kindness, generosity,
compassion, empathy, civility, and humane conduct. We don't have to
especially like someone before treating them with this kind of love. For
example Matt 5:44-48.

And then there's a verb spoken of during Jesus' last supper, wherein he
said:

"The Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed
that I came from God." (John 16:27)

The Greek verb in that passage goes beyond benevolence because it speaks
of strong emotions like affection, bonding, and attachment.

All in all then, God pities the world, but He goes beyond and feels at home
with His son's followers.
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Have you ever compared the Last Supper to the Passover?

 

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● John 6:70-71 . . Have I not chosen you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a
devil. (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the
twelve, was later to betray him.)

● John 17:12 . .While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe
by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to
destruction so that scripture would be fulfilled.

Judas is an interesting case of a man not out of the will of God, rather, a
man who, in spite of himself, was in full compliance with it: though of course
inadvertently.

It's common to hear spiritual counselors advise folks to find out the will of
God for their life. Well; some folks are in God's will and don't know it
because it is His will for them to be their normal selves and thus be useful to
God for a destructive purpose rather than benevolent. Now that's scary!
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● Matt 26:14-16 . .Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto
the chief priests, and said unto them: What will ye give me, and I will deliver
him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And
from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

In time, Judas regretted what he did and committed suicide, very likely due
to discovering that Jesus' crucified dead body was restored to life. But you
know, as deplorable as was his selling Jesus out, Judas' worst mistake was
in not owning up to it and seeking reconciliation.

● Isa 1:18 . . Come now, let us reason together-- says The Lord --though
your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are
red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

● Isa 55:6-7 . . Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is
near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him
turn to The Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will
freely pardon.

NOTE: Jesus prayed for Peter, but not for Judas and I rather suspect he
didn't because Jesus already knew it would be throwing good money after
bad. For example:

● Hos 4:17 . . Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone.

In other words: God instructed the prophet Hosea not to bother preaching in
Ephraim's region because He was fed up with the Jews living in that area.
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● Luke 22:31 . . Simon, Simon; Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.

We're not shown behind the scenes when the Devil made his request, but I
rather suspect it went something like this:

"Then the Lord said to Satan: Have you considered my servant Job? There is
no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God
and shuns evil.

. . . Satan replied: Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a hedge
around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the
work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the
land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will
surely curse you to your face.

. . .The Lord said to Satan: Very well, then, everything he has is in your
hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." (Job 1:8-12)

Peter insisted that even if all the other guys were to disown Jesus, he
wouldn't. (Matt 26:33). Well, Peter did; just as the Devil knew he would
under pressure.

The moral of the story is: John Que and Jane Doe Christian should never
assume the dark world can't push their buttons because if Satan can break
down the self confidence of an apostle then he and his minions should find it
very easy to do the same to ordinary rank and file pew warmers; plus: they
just never know when the Father might decide it's time for some attitude
adjustment by utilizing the dark world to show some of us up for the cheap
goods that we really are.

"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." (Prov
16:18)
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● Matt 26:26-28 . . While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks
and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my
body. Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying:
Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured
out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

"the covenant" pertains to something new because the agreement that
Moses' people entered into with God per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy doesn't specify human sacrifices.

● Deut 4:2 . .You shall not add anything to what I command you or take
anything away from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God
that I enjoin upon you.

● Deut 5:29-30 . . Be careful, then, to do as the Lord your God has
commanded you. Do not turn aside to the right or to the left: follow only the
path that the Lord your God has enjoined upon you

● Deut 27:26 . . Cursed is the man who does not uphold the words of this
law by carrying them out.

** Jesus no doubt partook of the bread and the lamb and the spicy dip
because Ex 12:1-20, Lev 23:5-8, and Num 9:1-14, requires it of all Jews; no
exceptions. However, the beverage was a later rabbinical supplement and
therefore not a covenanted requirement so Jesus and his guys could safely
opt out of the part of the seder if they wanted.

The purpose of Jesus' special ceremony is actually very simple. It serves as
a memorial to remind his followers, and to inform observers, that the
covenant he was sealing cost them nothing while costing him his life. In
other words: it's a mini sermon augmented with visual aids, and becomes a
profession of faith by one's personal involvement with the elements, a.k.a.
species.

● 1Cor 11:26 . . For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you
proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

The Christian baptism is an effective profession of faith, but Jesus' followers
go thru it only once and never again; whereas his memorial can be done
over and over again ad infinitum, i.e. "whenever"
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● Matt 26:30 . .When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of
Olives.

Hymns are cultural feature among God's biblical people. For example:
Miriam led the women in song after God drowned the Egyptians in the Red
Sea. (Ex 15:20-21)

Paul and Silas sang hymns while they were locked up in jail. (Acts 16:25)

Whether Jesus accompanied his men is uncertain but Heb 2:12 strongly
suggests he did.

Jesus knew his death was imminent that night, but still found it in himself to
say nice things about God even though it was God who led him into that
calamity.

Here's a few lines from one of my favorite hymns that seems to reflect Jesus
attitude.

When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say:
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
(Horatio P. Spafford, 1828-1888)

Stafford was inspired to write those lyrics not long after losing his four
daughters in a shipwreck.
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