Shares Supper with His FriendsJesus
Shares Supper with His Friends
Matthew 26: 14 - 27: 66
The story of Jesus' passion and death is complex and extraordinary; we should try to teach the entire story if we can.
But if our class time allows for only one part of the story, the institution of Holy Communion at the Passover meal may be the most useful.
There is some disagreement between the
Gospel writers on when this meal took place. For Luke,
it is a true Passover meal, with the blessing of the wine before the bread.
For Matthew and Mark it
may be a pre-Passover meal with the two Jewish blessings, one for the bread
and one for the wine.
Whichever meal this was, it took place during the time of the Passover,
when Jews remember that God freed them from slavery in Egypt, and it is
the meal where Jesus asked us to remember that he freed us from our slavery
to sin.
Judeans of that time believed that the Passover was best celebrated in Jerusalem, and it had been the custom in Jesus' family to go up to Jerusalem for the Passover every year. That year, Jesus gathered with all his disciples in Jerusalem.
Christians participate in this meal in the Sacrament of Holy Communion.
1. What did Jesus say when he broke and distributed the bread?
[Jesus said, "This is my body."]
2. What did Jesus say when he gave wine to the disciples?
[Jesus said, "This is my blood."]
3. Where did Jesus and the disciples go after the meal?
[Jesus and the disciples went to the Mount of Olives.]
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