Jesus' Last Supper and the Feast of the Passover
Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret (1852-1929). The Last Supper, 1896.
“On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar a water will meet you. Follow him. Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”
The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.”
What turned out to be Jesus' last meal was, according to three of the synoptic gospels, the traditional Jewish Seder, a ritual feast that marked the beginning of Passover.
The Feast of the Passover commemorated the liberation of the Hebrews from their enslavement in Egypt, and lasted seven or eight days.
It was traditional to celebrate the Feast in Jerusalem, so people from all over the countryside would travel to the city which was overflowing with pilgrims.
Jesus and his disciples were part of this great holiday migration. By that time, Jesus was already being sought by the Jewish authorities and was living near the desert, in a village called Ephraim. He had brought Lazarus back from the dead and the high priests and Pharisees were feeling their authority challenged and their power over the people threatened.
James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). Reconstruction of Jerusalem and the Temple of Herod, 1886-1894. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper. Brooklyn Museum.
“When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple area they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the Feast at all?” But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest him.”
The stage was now set. Jesus was in the holy city. His enemies were on the alert. His apostles were told of his imminent death.
Jesus was preparing to undertake his greatest tribulation and perform his greatest miracle.
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