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The Last Supper: Part Two

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Scripture Used to Create “The Last Supper” Splice Series

Matthew 26:17-36 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Matthew 26:17)

Mark 14:12-32 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Mark 14:12)

Luke 22:7-40 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Luke 22:7)

John 13:1-18:1 (Greek Text Analysis starting with John 13:1)

 

Need to catch up first? To read the Splice “The Last Supper: Part One”, click here

 

Psalm 41:9
Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.

 

THE SPLICE

While they were eating, 1 Jesus took some bread and after a blessing and having given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it and eat; 2 this is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way, after they had eaten, He took the cup, and giving thanks, and He gave it to them saying, while they all drank from it, “Drink from it, all of you; this cup which is poured out for you is the 3 new covenant in My blood; My blood of the covenant, which is poured out 4 for many for forgiveness of sins; 5 do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table.” And they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing. And there arose also 6 a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. Jesus had dipped the morsel and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 7 After the morsel, Satan then entered into Judas. Therefore Jesus said to Judas, “What you do, do quickly.” 8 Now no one of those reclining at the table knew for what purpose He had said this to him. For some were supposing, because 9 Judas had the money box, that Jesus was saying to him, “Buy the things we have need of 10 for the feast” or else, that he should give something to the poor. So after receiving the morsel Judas went out immediately; and it was night.

 

 

Want to continue reading? To read the Splice “The Last Supper: Part Three” click here

 

 

NOTES

1  Jesus took some bread: Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25, and Luke 22:17-20 introduce us to the memorial of Holy Communion. John does not mention it at all. Because of Luke’s account (particularly in verse 21 with the usage of the Greek word meta), we could, with relative confidence, list Judas as “in attendance” for this church-wide ordinance, with the understanding that the Bible does not explicitly give the particulars of his whereabouts during that aspect of the night. (Back)

2 this is My body which is given for you: There are certain Christian sects that insist that this is a literal transformation: that the communion wafer turns into the actual body of Jesus, and the wine turns into the actual blood of Jesus, during Holy Communion. This idea is called transubstantiation. Holy Communion is a symbolic, not a literal, transformation. First of all, cannibalism is spoken of as a judgment from God in the Bible, and therefore by extension, forbidden as a practice for God-fearing people (Jeremiah 19:9; Ezekiel 5:10; Micah 3:3-4) and Jesus would never entertain forbidden practices (John 8:29) or introduce them into the church. Drinking animal blood is forbidden, much less from human beings (Leviticus 17:14). Jesus Himself tells us that the eating of His flesh and drinking of His blood is a metaphoric idea: He has come down from heaven and is the Way to eternal life with God, as explained in John 6:41-65. Plus, you can see it in your hand and taste it in your mouth. It’s unleavened bread in the form of oyster crackers (or whatever your church uses) and grape juice (or wine) in a tiny cup. (Back)

3 new covenant in My blood: There was an original or old covenant with the people of Israel, see Exodus 24, in particular verses 6-8. Hebrews 9 and 10:1-18 give a thorough explanation on the old and new covenants. Jesus’s sacrifice is once and for all (Hebrews 10:10) and there is no need to sacrifice any animals, especially since their blood never took away sins (Hebrews 10:4). Why have the old covenant, with the Law of God and animal sacrifices in the first place? The Law shows us that we are sinners and are under judgment by God (Romans 3:19-20). The animal sacrifices show that only blood will atone for sin (Hebrews 9:22). The old covenant was a preview of the perfect covenant in Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:4-10). (Back)

4 for many for forgiveness of sins: This is only applicable to those who will accept the forgiveness, not a blanket statement for everyone in the entire world (Hebrews 10:26-30, 1 John 1:9). Forgiveness is offered to the entire world (John 3:16), and God doesn’t want anyone to perish in hell (1 Timothy 2:4), but many just won’t let go of their own ideals/identities, admit to their sin (1 John 1:8, 10) and repent of their sin (Luke 5:32), and take the only Way to God (Matthew 7:13-14; John 14:6). If we confess our sins (this is a part of repentance), acknowledging that God is right and we are wrong, He is faithful to forgive us (1 John 1:9). (Back)

5  do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me: This instruction of Jesus’s is from 1 Corinthians 11:25. None of the gospel writers include this statement in their accounts, but Paul received this information from Jesus Himself. Luke does include Jesus’s words “in remembrance of Me” concerning the bread, but not the wine, in Luke 22:19. See 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 for Paul’s account. (Back)

6  a dispute among them: From Luke 22:24. It is possible that the disciples were debating for someone other than themselves (John arguing Peter’s merits, for example), but human nature says that they were arguing the case for themselves (John for John’s merits, Peter for Peter’s merits). This seems especially probable, as they have had these arguments before (Luke 9:46-48). And then, there was that audacious request from the Zebedee family: that Jesus would seat John and James at Jesus’s right and left hand (Matthew 20:20-28; Mark 10:35-45) in His kingdom.  The argument of “I am the best” would be what the world calls “tooting your own horn”. In reality, it is a gross and blatant display of pride. Pride is a world view and is not of God (Proverbs 11:2, 25:27; 2 Corinthians 10:18; 1 Peter 5:5.  (Back)

7  After the morsel: This is from John 13:26-27.  It never says if Judas actually eats this bit of food.  (Back)

8  Now no one of those reclining at the table knew for what purpose He had said this to him: Did the others not see the morsel passed or hear the conversation? It would seem that the words of Jesus and the action of giving the morsel would be enough to give a hint as to who the culprit is. Perhaps they were purposely blinded from the meaning of the conversation, as a provision from God, so that they would not try to stop Judas. (see Note 29 in The Last Supper: Part One) (Back)

9 Judas had the money box: The money box was full of donations, and the donations we know about are from women (Luke 8:3). Judas’s grip on the money box began long before this night (John 12:4-6). Also see 1 Timothy 6:9-10. (Back)

10 for the feast: Passover is a feast that lasts for seven days. There is the first night of Passover (on the 14th), where the lamb is eaten, along with the bitter herbs. The next day, on the 15th, The Feast of Unleavened Bread is observed. Since the Passover meal has already been consumed, it is possible that the feast meant is for the next day/rest of the days of Passover. See Exodus 12:1-20; Leviticus 23:5-6; Numbers 28:16-25; Deuteronomy 16:1-8; Ezekiel 45:21. (Back)

The Betrayal and Illegal Arrest of Jesus

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Scripture Used to Create the Splice “The Betrayal and Illegal Arrest of Jesus”

Matthew 26:47-56 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Matthew 26:47)

Mark 14:43-52 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Mark 14:43)

Luke 22:47-53 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Luke 22:47)

John 18:2-11 (Greek Text Analysis starting with John 18:2)

 

Need to catch up first? To read the Splice “Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane”, click here

 

Zechariah 11:13
Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

 

THE SPLICE

Now 1 Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, who was betraying Jesus, knew the place of Gethsemane, for 2 Jesus had often met there with His disciples. Immediately while Jesus was still 3 speaking to the disciples, 4 behold, Judas, who was one of the twelve, came up. Judas was leading the way, followed by a large crowd which was comprised of a Roman 5 cohort (he had received them from the chief priests, scribes, elders of the people and the Pharisees), some chief priests, elders, and officers. This large crowd was carrying weapons, specifically 6 swords and clubs. They also had torches and lanterns. Judas approached Jesus to 7 kiss Him. Now Judas, who was betraying Jesus, had at an unspecified time previous, gave the crowd 8 a sign, a signal saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him and lead Him away under guard.” 9 Immediately Judas went up to Jesus saying, “Hail, 10 Rabbi!”. At the same time Judas was approaching Him, Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to Judas, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss? 11 Friend, do what you have come for.” 12 And Judas kissed Him. Jesus turned His attention back to the crowd and said to the crowd, 13 “Whom do you seek?” They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas was now standing with the crowd. So when He said to them, “I am He,” 14 they drew back and fell to the ground. Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And 15 they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,” to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.” When the disciples who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the 16 sword?” Then the crowd came forward and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him. 17 And Simon Peter, having a sword, reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest, and 18 cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was 19 Malchus. Then Jesus answered, and said to Peter, “Stop! No more of this. Put your sword back into its place, into the sheath; 20 for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Or do you think I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? The cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it? How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?” 21 And He touched Malchus’s ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders who had come against Him, to this crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a robber? Every day I was with you; and while I was with you daily in the temple, I used to sit in the temple teaching, and you did not lay hands on Me and seize Me. But all this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures of the prophets. This hour and the power of darkness are yours.” So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, 22 arrested Jesus and bound Him. 23 Then all the disciples left Him and fled. 24 A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they seized him, too. But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.

 

Want to keep reading? To read the Splice “Jesus Before the High Priest and Peter’s Denial” click here

 

NOTES

 

1  Judas Iscariot: It must be remembered that lots of people were named Judas, not just this infamous one, including a second disciple and Jesus’s half-brother. Judas in the Hebrew is “Yehudah” from a root word meaning “praised”. (Back)

2  Jesus had often met there with His disciples: See Luke 21:37 and 22:39. (Back)

3  speaking to the disciples: In the garden (Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46). To see the Splice about the garden of Gethsemane, click here. (Back)

4  behold: The Greek word used in Matthew 26:47 for behold is horaó and means “to see, perceive, attend to, discern”. This word can be used to mean metaphorically “look” or physically “look”. (Back)

5  cohort: John 18:3 uses the word cohort. The Greek word for cohort is speira and means anything wound up or coiled, or a body of soldiers. It also means “a tenth part of a legion”. A legion is 6,000 men. A tenth of 6,000 is 600. The Bible does not specify the exact number of people that were there in the mob. (Back)

6  swords and clubs: The Greek word for sword used in Matthew 26:47 is machaira which is a short sword or dagger. The Greek word for club used in Matthew 26:47 is xulon meaning “wood”. The word xulon can be applied to anything made of wood or a piece of wood, such as a club, staff, the trunk of a tree, or even the wood used to support the crossbar of a cross in crucifixion. (Back)

7  kiss Him: Matthew 26:49 and Mark 14:45 use the Greek word kataphileó and it means “to kiss affectionately”. Luke 22:47 uses the Greek word phileó and it means “to love”. Kisses were used as signs of respect back in the ancient world. But this kiss was also done with (false) affection and friendship. (Back)

8  a sign, a signal: The signal was worked out presumably when Judas and his thugs were still with the chief priests at their unspecified location, since Mark 14:43 says that Judas immediately went to Jesus as they walked up. The sign was established either when Judas worked out the price of the betrayal with the chief priests (Matthew 26:14-16; Mark 14:10-11; Luke 22:3-6) or that night when he left the disciples and Jesus to go get his mob (John 13:30). Matthew, Mark and Luke don’t mention when Judas leaves supper to betray Jesus. John says that Judas left after receiving the morsel (see John 13:26-30). (Back)

9  text in italics: For the entire section in italics: this section of the event may have happened all at the same time, or in quick succession or in a different order. We can’t be sure because the Bible isn’t clear on the order or timing. (Back)

10  Rabbi: Matthew 26:49 and Mark 14:45 tell us that Judas used the word rabbi. The Greek word for rabbi is rhabbi and means “my master” or “my teacher”. (Back)

11  Friend, do what you have come for: From Matthew 26:50. The Greek word used here for friend is hetairos which means “a companion”. This can also mean “comrade”. (Back)

12  And Judas kissed Him: See Note 7. By using the Greek word kataphileó (meaning “to kiss fervently”), this allows for the possibility of Judas kissing Him repeatedly. (Back)

13  “Whom do you seek?”: Only John 18:4-8 tells us about this exchange. No one dragged Jesus off, Jesus didn’t try to hide, He didn’t even try to defend Himself; He simply stepped forward. He could have walked away, had He wanted to (Matthew 26:53). (Back)

14  they drew back and fell to the ground: People who don’t want to believe God will not believe no matter how much proof you give them, even with falls to the ground (John 18:6) and the healing of cut off ears (Luke 22:50-51). People who hate God and don’t want God in their lives would attribute these things to hallucinations or to a dream—anything but Jesus Himself. It’s good to remember that salvation and faith are gifts from God and we cannot conjure up such faith on our own (Ephesians 2:8-9). (Back)

15  they said, “Jesus the Nazarene”: I think a spokesman from the crowd said this (perhaps a Roman guard or someone with the authority to perform the arrest) or perhaps several people answered at once, some saying “Jesus” some saying “Jesus the Nazarene”, some saying something else, maybe even “The Rabbi”. People didn’t say the exact same thing in unison back then, just like they don’t today. Whenever the writers in the Bible say “they said,” I always assume a spokesperson said what everyone else was in agreement with, or else several people were talking over each other or at each other, speaking about the same idea while using their own words, all meaning the same thing and the writer picked the phrase that best described the idea at hand. (Back)

16  sword: It is nonsense to say that Jesus had the disciples carrying the swords to defend themselves against humans or even animals. Jesus had no use for any weapon and didn’t need one, Matthew 26:53. People carried these short swords (Greek: machaira, see John 18:10, Luke 22:49, Mark 14:47, Matthew 26:51) for usage other than as a weapon, like someone might carry a pocket knife today. The disciples had two of these short swords/daggers (see Luke 22:38) available to them. (Back)

17  And Simon Peter, having a sword, reached and drew out his sword: Matthew 26:51, Mark 14:47, Luke 22:49-50, John:18:10. It doesn’t seem that Peter waited for an answer from Jesus to the question “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” The question and the action could have been taking place at the same time. Also, it says in Luke that Jesus answers (Greek word: apokrinomai meaning “to answer or take up the conversation”) after the use of the sword (Luke 22:49-51). Only Luke mentions that the disciples asked Jesus if they should strike with the sword and it doesn’t say which disciples spoke out loud. They all could have been saying something out loud and meaning the same thing, speaking over each other in the panic of seeing a weaponized crowd grabbing at Jesus.  (Back)

18  cut off his right ear: There are some that say Peter was aiming for Malchus’s head or neck in order to decapitate him, but missed and caught his ear. This could be entirely true, but the Bible doesn’t say that. We do not know if Peter was an experienced swordsman or just a “slash and hack” kind of a guy. We do not know if there were enough lanterns/torches present in Peter’s vicinity to make the area bright enough to see someone’s ear or neck. We don’t even know if Peter was aiming for Malchus and we don’t know how close Peter was to Malchus. In any case, the point is that Peter took a sword and maimed Malchus by cutting off and completely removing his ear, and Jesus either put the ear back or regenerated a new ear or a little of both and healed it.  (Back)

19  Malchus: Later on that night one of Malchus’s relatives will see Peter at Jesus’s trial before the priests and give Peter a little trouble (see John 18:26). (Back)

20  for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword: See Genesis 9:6 and Revelation 13:10 for more on this idea. There is nothing in the Bible justifying any sort of lethal defense, even to save the life of Jesus, much less ourselves. (Back)

21  And He touched Malchus’s ear and healed him: How does this crowd see this action, (as well as being knocked to the ground when Jesus speaks to them) and still go ahead with the arrest? And why wasn’t Peter arrested for cutting someone? Was this not an arrestable offense? Was the fact that the ear was healed a mitigating factor? Or were they all just so caught up in arresting Jesus that an assault didn’t matter enough to report it to the owner of Malchus (who was Caiaphas the high priest: see Luke 22:50 and Matthew 26:57 naming Caiaphas as the high priest)? Peter was the one who committed a crime that night and he went without an arrest—Jesus saved him from jail. I also wonder if Malchus turned to Christ after this happened or sometime later, when he perhaps thought about what happened that night. Most people didn’t seem to give Jesus a second thought after they got what they wanted from Him, but that wasn’t always the case (see Luke 17:17-18). (Back)

22  arrested Jesus and bound Him: This arrest was illegal, as well as the trial by the high priest and the conviction. Not one charge was brought up nor one point proved to make this disaster a legal and proper proceeding. Also, it was conducted in the middle of the night and not during the day when legal proceedings took place. (Back)

23  Then all the disciples left Him and fled: This was prophesied by Jesus in John 16:32. See John 18:10-12, to note that this fact of fleeing is missing. Matthew, the other gospel-writing eyewitness to the arrest (along with the possibility of Mark being an eyewitness, but we can’t be sure) however, does mention it in Matthew 26:56. (Back)

24  A young man: This information is from Mark 14:51-52. Many people think this was Mark himself. We can’t be sure.  If it was Mark, why didn’t he just write that he himself was there as an eyewitness to the travesty of this arrest? If it isn’t Mark, why would he include the information at all? It can be certain that the information wasn’t included for comedy relief, but it was included to show the franticness and seriousness of the situation. One point to remember: it was cold out. It’s April, and there is mention of the cold in Mark 14:54, 67, Luke 22:55, John 18:18, 25. This young man was in such a hurry that he threw a linen sheet around himself (instead of getting fully dressed when it is cold out) to see what this crowd was up to, perhaps as they were marching themselves out of Jerusalem. At the mountain, the situation turned serious, and it was enough to run away from this crowd, abandoning the previously mentioned sheet. I heard a pastor say the young man was already on the mountain, sleeping, when this crowd came along to arrest Jesus but that doesn’t make sense. He wouldn’t have been “naked” with just a sheet on himself out on a cold mountain. He would have been fully dressed, using his cloak as a blanket. (Back)