Last?

It's weird that we call it the Last Supper. It wasn't...not even for Jesus. He does eat again, once when he first appears to the remnant of his disciples and eats a broiled fish to assure them he is not a ghost (Luke 24:33-43) and later when he makes them breakfast at the Sea of Galilee (John 21:9-14).

Maybe we call it the Last Supper because it was the last normal meal he had with friends. And yet it wasn't that normal either. It was the Passover, a feast with a religious meaning: God's liberation of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. While it may not have had all the features of the modern day Passover, it did have the lamb, the bitter herbs, the unleavened bread, the wine and the questions that were to be asked and answered. (Exodus 12:24-27)

And Jesus added another set of meanings onto the meal. He took the unleavened bread, which symbolized the haste with which the Israelites had to leave Egypt, and said, “This is my body, which is for you.” He takes the cup of wine, which represents the redemption of the Israelite slaves, and says, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” And after each he tells his disciples to do it in remembrance of him, in the same way the Passover commemorates the Exodus. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

But before all this Jesus strips down and washes his disciples feet as the lowest slave would, to teach them humility and that they, like he, are to serve one another. After the meal, Jesus launches into a long teaching session, where he prepares them for his death, assures them that he will not leave them as orphans but send the Spirit to live with and in them, encourages them to stay connected to him as branches do to a vine, promises they will see him again and gives them a new commandment to love one another as he loves them. (John 13-16) So it's not exactly a normal Passover meal either.

What we can say is that it is the last meal before everything changes. For the disciples, in a matter of hours one of their friends will betray Jesus and hand him over to the authorities. They will flee and he will be interrogated, tortured, and handed over by the religious leaders to the Romans. All this will take place while the average Jew is at the temple, oblivious to what is happening next door at the Antonia fortress. Then he will be stripped of his clothes and crucified. He will die and be buried by sunset, just 24 hours after they started the meal. To the disciples it would have felt very much like the last supper they would ever have with Jesus.

For Jesus, everything would change as well. Jesus would be stripped of more than just his clothes. He would be stripped of his position, his friends, his control over his own body. He would lose everything. He would lose his sense of God's presence and his life.

So this Passover meal was the last one he would partake of before all was taken from him.

But in the long view, which was Jesus' way of looking at things, it was not the last supper ever. Jesus says to the disciples, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And of the cup he says, “For I tell you that from now on, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” (Luke 22:15-16, 18) So it is not the last supper for Jesus but it marks a moratorium on his part until he can enjoy it again with his followers in the kingdom of God.

By the way, the kingdom does not mean heaven. Matthew, writing to a Jewish audience, avoids using God's name, instead using the euphemism “kingdom of heaven.” In all the other gospels it is called the kingdom of God. And the word for kingdom isn't restricted to a piece of land but means a king's reign or realm as well. It is whenever and wherever God reigns. Therefore the kingdom came in Jesus (Luke 11:20); it is present now both within and among his followers (Mark 12:34; Luke 17:21); and it ultimately will see its fulfillment when Jesus returns. (Luke 21:25-27, 31) It's kinda like the end of World War 2. The beginning of the end was D-Day, June 6, 1944, when the Allied troops landed on the coast of France. As they pushed across Europe they liberated people from the rule of the Third Reich. But the war in Europe wasn't over till V-E Day, May 8^th, 1945. Similarly God invaded history in Christ. Jesus was the embodiment of God's reign. He spread it to his followers and through them to the rest of the world. But the fulfillment of God's reign over the world he created will only be culminated with Jesus' return.

So right now as we partake of the Lord's Supper, we remember his death, we proclaim his resurrection and we await his coming in glory. And on that day we will eat and drink with him.

One of Jesus' favorite pictures of God's kingdom was that of a wedding banquet. This was a community-wide celebration, a big occasion for little towns like Nazareth. It would last a week or two, which is why they ran out of wine at the wedding at Cana. So the kingdom of God is not one of drudgery or grimness. It is joy and celebration. It is the union of Jesus the bridegroom and his people. So what he is inviting us to is a party celebrating the triumph of God's love for us.

But first we have to share this meal in remembrance of Jesus. We have to endure him being stripped of his dignity and his agency and his life, as we will strip the altar. We will undergo a day of death and a still and silent Saturday. But we cling to his promise that he will come again and he will eat and drink with us again when his kingdom comes in its fullness. And in that hope and anticipation we live for him.