Last Supper
From Encyclopædia
The meal shared by
Jesus Christ and his disciples on the night before he was crucified is called the Last Supper (Matt. 26:20-29; Mark 14:17-25; Luke 22:14-38; John 13:1-17:26). It was the occasion of his institution of the EUCHARIST, when he identified the broken bread with his body and the cup of wine with his blood of the new COVENANT. The ritual was that of a Jewish religious meal, which was given new meaning for Jesus' followers when they performed it in remembrance of him. Christians differ as to the meaning of the words of Jesus, the exact relationship of the bread and wine to his body and blood, and the
frequency with which the rite is to be repeated. The Last Supper was also the occasion on which Jesus washed his disciples' feet and commanded them to wash one another's feet. It has been the subject of art from earliest times.L. L. MitchellBibliography: Cullman, Oscar, Early Christian Worship (1953); Dix, Gregory, The Shape of the
liturgy (1945); Jeremias, Joachim, The Eucharistic Words of Jesus (1955); Kodell, J., The Eucharist in the New Testament (1988); Mitchell, L.L., The Meaning of Ritual (1977).
