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Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, "Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?" And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"' Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us." So his disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.
In the evening He came with the twelve. Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me." And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, "Is it I?" And another said, "Is it I?" He answered and said to them, "It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish. The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born."
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
- Mark 14:12-26
Yesterday, we read that after two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death. But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people." And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, "Why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor." And they criticized her sharply. But Jesus said, "Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her." Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.
Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb . . . In the Synoptic Gospels, the Last Supper takes place on the day the Passover lambs are killed. In John's Gospel, the killing of the lambs takes place at the same moment Jesus, Lamb of God, dies. My study bible says, "The Mystical Supper is the fulfillment of the Passover meal (the synoptic tradition), and Christ's death is the fulfillment of the Passover lambs being slain (John's tradition)."
His disciples said to Him, "Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?" And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"' Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us." So his disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover. Luke 22:8 says these two disciples are Peter and John.
In the evening He came with the twelve. Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me." And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, "Is it I?" And another said, "Is it I?" He answered and said to them, "It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish." My study bible says that Christ emphasizes both that His betrayer is one of the twelve and that he is one who dips with Me in the dish -- not so much to identify the person but again (as in yesterday's reading) to emphasize the level of betrayal, committed by a person who is one of his closest friends (see Psalm 55:12-14).
"The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born." While divine foreknowledge in prophecy may prepare for something, a note reminds us here that it doesn't take away Judas' moral freedom nor his accountability. It says, "For God, all things are a present reality; He foresees all human actions, but does not cause them."
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. The Greek for "gave thanks" has as its root eucharist (Greek ευχαριστεσας). My study bible tells us that this immediately became the word used to refer both to the Liturgy and the sacrament of Holy Communion. Even the Didache, said to be the teachings of the apostles, and written before the end of the first century, refers to the celebration of the Liturgy as "the Eucharist." In AD 150, St. Justin says of Holy Communion, "This food we call 'Eucharist,' of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing [holy baptism] for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ commanded us." Jesus tells us, "This is my body," and "this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many." There are varied doctrines on the Eucharist, but most agree that by His words and affirmation, we know that He is present in the Communion, distributed to each and shapes the Church. Just as Christ's birth as Incarnate Jesus remains a Mystery via the Spirit, so the Mystery of how the Eucharist works and happens isn't really explainable but rather the work of God via prayer. He is "our Sacrifice" given for us, and remains perpetually so. For this gift and all that it means and brings always, we are ever thankful.
The hymn sung by Christ and the Apostles at the end of the Last Supper is a psalm from a group of psalms traditionally sung after the Passover meal (Psalms 116-118). If we take a good look at those psalms they are all about the great mercy of the Lord, given in many ways and particularly in each psalm, on many levels. As so often works in Scripture, and particularly those words from Scripture which are uttered by Christ, we have in these psalms a great expression of the Eucharist, the mercy and love of the Lord for which we always "give thanks." As individuals, He hears our voice and our supplications, He inclines His ear to each of us. In trouble and sorrow, we call upon the name of the Lord. He saves us and deals bountifully with each. Psalm 116 asks, "What shall I give back to the Lord for all He rendered to me? I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord." This is what we do in the Eucharist, we offer His gifts back to Him. He blesses them and offers them back again to us. Psalm 117 tells us, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; Praise Him, all you peoples, for His mercy rules over us; and the truth of the Lord endures forever." Psalm 118 proclaims, "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endures forever" (my italics). We call it "the Last Supper" but it's only "last" in the sense that it perpetually unites us with the end of the age, that which is beyond what we know, the fullness of His Return and His promise to do so. It is "the eighth day" in His presence with us, the day of the eternal life of His new covenant, for which He's given Himself as our sacrifice. Jesus says, "Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." The eternal promise is that we will be there with Him, that His mystical presence is with us. Let us be truly thankful, and rely on His mercy! Let us note that He sits at table "in the presence of His enemy" who was His friend, but still the "cup runs over." So it is in our lives, even in the midst of trouble.
