Mark Bradford's Bible Blog

²¹But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. ²²The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him.” ²³They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.

Now, for the first time, Jesus reveals his knowledge of Judas’ plot to the disciples, but doesn’t tell them who is the guilty party. In Middle Eastern culture, it was and is still considered the worst form of treachery to betray someone after having broken bread with them. So when Jesus said “the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table,” that would have been deeply offensive to the rest of the disciples. When you ate with someone, you were saying, “these are my people.” That’s why it was considered so scandulous that Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners. The same principle was at work here. The fact that Judas was a disciple of Jesus and had traveled and worked with him for 3 years made it all the worse.

The other disciples had no idea who might be the one to betray Jesus, which means Judas had kept his secret well, and Jesus had also kept it even though he knew. In Matthew, each of the disciples ask Jesus in turn if they are the one. (Matthew 26:22-25) When Judas asks, Jesus confirms that he is the traitor. No one overheard them? In John, Peter asks John, who is in the place of honor next to Jesus, to ask which one is the traitor. Jesus reveals the answer to John, and John must have revealed it to Peter since he asked. (John 13:23-26)  So Peter and John must have known who the traitor was before Judas left, but John seems to indicate that when Jesus sent Judas on his way, the disciples didn’t understand what Jesus had said to Judas. (John 13:28-29) Was this a case of denial, or just being dense? Maybe they just didn’t want to believe it. It’s hard for me to believe that Peter and John would have done nothing to stop Judas if they had really understood that Judas was about to betray Jesus. We know that one of the swords the disciples had belonged to Peter, and he used it in the garden. (John 18:10) Maybe Jesus gave Peter and John a look that said, “Don’t stop him, I know what I’m doing.” Sometimes God gives us hard truths that we don’t want to accept. Sometimes when we want to rush into action, he holds us back and asks us to trust him. That may be what was going on here.

In verse 23, Jesus holds Judas responsible for his actions. Even though Jesus would go as it had been decreed, Judas still ultimately paid the price for his treachery. As I said in my post on 22:1-6, Judas betrayed Jesus of his own free will. Predestination and election do not remove our responsibility for our own sin.

²⁴Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. ²⁵Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. ²⁶But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. ²⁷For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. ²⁸You are those who have stood by me in my trials. ²⁹And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, ³⁰so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

The disciples eventually got around to their favorite subject; which of them was the greatest. One of my problems with rap music is the way rappers constantly brag on themselves. If the disciples were alive today, maybe they’d be rappers! This controversy among the disciples may have started with a dispute over places at the table. As I said earlier, John had the place of honor, next to the host. Places at the dinner table were assigned in that culture according to status. So this argument may well have started with an argument over who would recline where. But Jesus taught them a lesson in humility by washing their feet. He was the host, their rabbi, the one with the highest status, but he took on the duty of a slave. I can’t help but think that what Jesus said in this passage either immediately preceded or followed that action. Maybe he said these things while he washed their feet. The lesson he teaches them applies to all of us. Rather than seeking to promote our own position or agenda, we should focus on serving others.

Then Jesus assures them that because they stood by him in his trials, they would receive positions of authority in his kingdom. And they did, after Pentecost. They became the leaders of the early church. It wasn’t the kind of position of authority they had in mind, but God’s plans for us rarely conform to our preconceived notions. And in the kingdom to come, they will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. We may think we have dreams of glory in this life, but if we’ll submit to God’s plans for us, our petty dreams are nothing compared to what God has in store, in this life and the life to come.

Mark Bible humility, Jesus, Judas, Last Supper, Luke

The Last Supper

⁷Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. ⁸Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”

⁹“Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.

¹⁰He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, ¹¹and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹²He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there.”

¹³They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

The Last Supper appears in all four gospels. I’ve only blogged on Mark’s and John’s accounts so far, and I combined and expanded on those posts in my Holy Week post on the Last Supper a few weeks ago. See that post here. As with all the synopotic gospel accounts of this event, Luke’s begins with Jesus telling Peter and John to “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.” This involved finding the room where the meal would be held, and making the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb and preparing it for the meal. This was an all day job.

Jesus’ instruction about where to find a place for the meal seems to be some sort of prearranged signal. Normally, men did not carry water jars, women did. Men carried leather bottles or skins. So a man carrying a water jar would be unusual, and easy to spot.  This may have been a way for Peter and John to find the place without Judas hearing its location. It also seems to indicate that the Last Supper was held in the home of a supporter. At that time, with Jerusalem crowded with pilgrims looking for a place to celebrate Passover, it was common for hosts to combine several families in one large room for their Passover meals. But Jesus was able to get a room for him and his disciples alone. Some Biblical scholars believe that the Last Supper was held in the home of John Mark’s family. I think it’s possible that the man carrying the water jar was John Mark himself.

¹⁴When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. ¹⁵And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”

This was Jesus’ last meal before his crucifixion. Jesus knew what was to come right after this, but his disciples still had no clue. But was that the reason he “eagerly desired” to eat it with his disciples? Maybe partly, but I think the main reason was that this was the point at which the new covenant would begin. The sacrifice of animals for sin would soon no longer be required. The Passover meal would give way to the Lord’s Supper.

¹⁷After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. ¹⁸For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

¹⁹And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

²⁰In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

Only in Luke does Jesus take the cup twice. This wasn’t unusual. A typical Passover meal had 4 cups of wine, each with its own blessing and words of explanation. Verse 17 says that Jesus gave thanks for the wine. That traditional prayer of thanks was “Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the world, who has created the fruit of the vine.” After he gave the prayer of thanks, Jesus reiterated what he had said about the meal; it was his last until the kingdom of God came. Jesus did eat with his disciples after the resurrection (Luke 24:42-43, John 21:12-13, Acts 1:4), so he must be referring to the age of the church rather than to the future kingdom, when Jesus comes in power to reign. The Lord’s Supper, which he introduced here, has been observed by believers ever since in the present kingdom, the church of Jesus Christ.

Then Jesus broke the bread and gave thanks again, probably the traditional Jewish blessing over the bread: “Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the world, who has caused bread to come forth out of the earth.” But then he added the line that is so familiar to us today: “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Jesus changed the meaning of the breaking of the bread forever with that statement. Before that, the breaking of the unleavened bread was done to remember the Jews’ escape from Egypt, and it’s still practiced by Jews for that purpose today. But for Christians, the breaking of the bread symbolizes the breaking of our Lord’s body for us.

In the same way, Jesus took the cup and changed its meaning as well. Luke says this took place after the meal was finished. With the ritual meal completed, Jesus went straight to the new meaning of the wine; it represented his blood, which was shed for us. Did the disciples have any idea what he was talking about at the time? Probably not. But they would soon find out, and they did eat the Lord’s Supper on a regular basis in the early church. They called it, “the breaking of bread.” (Acts 2:42-46, 1 Corinthians 10:16)

Jesus’ instruction to “do this in remembrance of me” still rings true. It’s not that we could ever forget the most significant figure in history. But when we celebrate the Lord’s supper, or take communion, whatever else you believe about that practice, we do it to remember not just Jesus, but his sacrifice for us. When we symbolically eat and drink the body and blood of Jesus, something happens to us on the inside. It makes his sacrifice for us very personal. I have at times been overcome by emotion in that moment, when all Jesus did for me is brought home in a very real way. It’s important to remember the life of Jesus, his teachings and his miracles, but Jesus instructed us to do this specific thing in order to remind us of his sacrifice, that his body was broken and his blood was shed for us.

Mark Bible Jesus, Last Supper, Luke

The Lord’s Supper

¹²On 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?”

¹³So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. ¹⁴Say 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?’ ¹⁵He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

¹⁶The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover. (Mark 14:12-16, NIV)

I’m skipping ahead in the week to the Last Supper in order to cover the “events” of Holy Week. Most of my life I’ve thought of that week in terms of its events; the Triumphal Entry, the cleansing of the temple, the Last Supper, the arrest and trial, etc. But if you read through the chapters of any of the gospels, what you find is that Jesus did a lot of teaching that week. He taught in the temple courts for 3 days after he cleared out the money changers, and a lot of that teaching is recorded. John has 4 chapters of teaching at the Last Supper! But for my Holy Week blogs this year, I’ll focus on the events. That’s why I’m skipping from the temple cleansing to the Last Supper. This event didn’t take place until Thursday, as we all know, but too many things happened on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday to try to cover all of those events on those two days.

Jesus had obviously prepared for a place to eat the Passover meal with his disciples ahead of time. Jerusalem was packed with pilgrims, and there must have been a booming business in renting out furnished rooms where pilgrims could partake of this feast. It seems that Jesus had booked this room in secret, even keeping it from his disciples. Since he knew Judas would betray him, maybe this was to keep Judas from arranging his arrest too soon. Some scholars believe that the Last Supper was held in an upper room at a house owned by John Mark’s family. I’ll talk about that more tomorrow in my post on Gethsemane. If that’s true, I can’t help but wonder if John Mark was the man carrying the water jar, since he mentions that detail.

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

¹It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

²The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. ³Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.(John 13:1-5, NIV)

Only John mentions this event. John’s gospel was written after the others, and I can’t help but think that John thought the other accounts of the Last Supper were incomplete. So he told us about this act of service on the part of Jesus, and included a lot of teaching that Jesus did that night. Of the gospel writers, only John and Matthew were actually there for this Passover meal. But Matthew didn’t give us this much detail. He pretty much just copied Mark’s version of it. Mark would have gotten his version of it from Peter, a man of relatively few words. We owe John a great debt for giving us so much detail about this last meal Jesus shared with his disciples.

For some reason, I always thought Jesus washed the disciples’ feet as they came into the upper room, as the custom would have been. But verse 2 says the meal was already being served, and still their feet had not been washed. This was normally the duty of a slave, or whoever had the lowest status. I would think one of the disciples would have taken on this responsibility, but they loved to argue about which of them would be the greatest, and even argued about that at this meal! (Luke 22:24) So none of them would volunteer for this task. It would be admitting that they had the lowest status. So Jesus did it for them.

This traditional picture of the Last Supper is nothing like what actually happened. They didn’t sit in chairs like we do. Whenever I see this classic painting by Leonardo Da Vinci, I always think of the old joke that goes, “OK, everybody get on the same side of the table for a picture!” In middle eastern culture to this day, they recline with their heads toward the table, leaning on their left elbows and eating with their right hands. As the disciples reclined at the table with their feet sticking out behind them, Jesus got up from his meal, dressed like a slave, filled the water basin, and went from one disciple to the next, washing their feet as they ate.

⁶He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

⁸“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

⁹“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

¹⁰Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” ¹¹For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. (John 13:6-10)

Of all the disciples, only Peter objects to Jesus washing his feet. Sometimes it’s harder to receive service from someone than to give service to someone. But that’s as much an issue of pride as not wanting to take a menial job. Why would we not want to receive charity from others? Because we are proud. Jesus’ reply to Peter is instructive. If we will not receive the cleansing that Jesus wants to give us, we have no part with him.

¹²When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. (John 13:12-17, NIV)

Jesus was teaching his disciples humility. He showed them what true humility looks like by volunteering for the most menial servant’s task. When we feel entitled to a certain position in the church, or a certain solo in the choir, or recognition for something, we need to heed the example of a servant’s heart that Jesus showed here. And if we will serve others as Jesus did, we will be blessed. This relates to Peter’s objection. If we believe that it’s more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35), then the one who gives gets the greater blessing than the one who receives. So if we refuse someone’s gift to us like Peter tried to, we are robbing them of their blessing. We need to be humble enough to serve, and also humble enough to be served.

¹⁷When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. ¹⁸While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”

¹⁹They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely not I?”

²⁰“It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. ²¹The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” (Mark 14:17-20, NIV)

²¹After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.”

²²His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. ²³One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. ²⁴Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”

²⁵Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”

²⁶Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. ²⁷As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

“What you are about to do, do quickly,” Jesus told him, ²⁸but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. ²⁹Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor. ³⁰As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night. (John 13:17-30, NIV)

Now Jesus reveals his knowledge of Judas’ plot. I can imagine the sinking feeling Judas must have had when he knew he was “busted”. In John’s version, Jesus reveals to John who the traitor is, but apparently he didn’t reveal it to the whole group. In Luke’s account of this event, we learn that the disciples had two swords with them at the time (Luke 22:38). What do you think they would have done with those swords if Jesus had revealed to the whole group that Judas was about to betray him? But Jesus kept Judas’ secret, and sent him out ahead of the group so he could do what he intended to do. It strikes me that Jesus was giving Judas one last chance to change his mind, but Judas was committed. He had already made arrangements with the Chief Priests to betray Jesus, so it’s curious to me that John would say that Satan entered into him when he took the bread from Jesus. It seems to me that Satan had entered into him before that. Perhaps Judas was having second thoughts in that moment. Jesus had just washed his feet, too.

In Middle Eastern culture, it was and is still considered the worst form of treachery to betray someone after having broken bread with them. Each of the disciples asked if he was the traitor, including Judas. Matthew tells us that Jesus did answer in the affirmative when Judas asked (Matthew 26:25). So there was no doubt in Judas’ mind that Jesus knew all about what he was planning, but Jesus did nothing to stop him. In fact he sent him on his way, knowing what was to come.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

³¹When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. ³²If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

³³“My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

³⁴“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:31-34, NIV)

This is something we need to be constantly reminded of. How will people know that we are his disciples? By our doctrine? Our beautiful buildings? The cutting edge multimedia in our worship services? By the lifestyle rules we live by? No, by the way we love one another. People may be enticed to enter our church doors because of a special program, but what will attract them to Christ is if they see love in action. Everyone wants to be loved, and to belong to something greater than themselves. Who wouldn’t want to be part of a group that loves each other, cares for each other, and supports each other?

³⁶Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”
Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

³⁷Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

³⁸Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times! (John 13:36-38, NIV)

Peter did both things, actually. He denied Christ in a moment of weakness, but sometime after Pentecost, he suffered the same death Jesus suffered; crucifixion. But Peter did not consider himself worthy to be crucified the way Jesus was, so he asked to be crucified upside down. The Romans granted his request. To this day, all across the world, believers are martyred for Christ. Where Jesus went, they follow.

²²While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”

²³Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it.

²⁴“This is my blood of the^[b] covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. ²⁵“I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.”

²⁶When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. (Mark 14:22-26)

This was no typical Passover meal. There are strict traditions about what is eaten and what is said, by whom and in what order when eating the Passover. If you’ve ever attended a Seder meal, you know what I mean. Perhaps they had already gone through the established ritual by this point. But now Jesus shared with them a new supper, the Lord’s Supper. The Passover was central to the old covenant, and the Lord’s Supper is central to the new covenant. Jesus is starting the new covenant right here, in that moment.

The Amplified Bible puts verse 24 this way:

²⁵Solemnly and surely I tell you, I shall not again drink of the fruit of the vine till that day when I drink it ^[c]of a new and a higher quality in God’s kingdom.

Jesus’ promise not to drink wine again until he does so in Heaven has always struck me a little odd. After all, he hardly had the chance after that. But according to the Amplified translation, he’s not just saying he’ll wait until then, he’s saying it will be of a new and higher quality. I don’t think he’s just talking about better wine, though I’m sure the wine will be really good in Heaven. I believe he’s talking about the whole meal. The Passover meal, the central feast of the old covenant, was a foreshadow of the Lord’s Supper, which ratified the new covenant (Mark 14:24, Amplified). The Last Supper is a foreshadow of the Marriage Supper Of The Lamb. This is what Jesus is referring to in verse 25. Neither the Passover meal nor the Lord’s Supper could be considered real feasts, at least by any definition I know of. But the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, now that will be a feast! If you think Thanksgiving dinner is good, that will pale in comparison to the spread at that feast. Everything will be “of a new and a higher quality in God’s kingdom”.

It’s interesting to me that Mark and Matthew both mention that they “sang a hymn”. According to the definition of hymns that I learned in my church music courses in college, hymns did not exist then, so I wonder about the translation from Greek. There are other places in the Bible where hymns are mentioned (Psalm 40:3, Acts 16:25, 1 Corinthians 14:26, Ephesians 5:19), and I’m curious what was meant by that term. But the definition of what type of song they sang is not as important as the fact that they sang. How could Jesus sing, knowing what would soon happen? Because his attitude of praise was not based on his circumstances, but on his adoration of the Father, as ours should be.

The traditional psalms that were sung at the end of the Passover meal were Psalms 116, 117, and 118. Maybe those were the songs they sang. Read those Psalms and imagine how they would have ministered to Jesus on the night before his death.

Mark Bible Jesus, John, Last Supper, Mark

The Lord’s Supper

¹²On 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?”

¹³So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. ¹⁴Say 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?’ ¹⁵He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

¹⁶The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

Jesus had obviously prepared for a place to eat the Passover meal with his disciples ahead of time. Jerusalem was packed with pilgrims, and there must have been a booming business in renting out furnished rooms where pilgrims could partake of this feast. It seems that Jesus had booked this room in secret, even keeping it from his disciples. Since he knew Judas would betray him, maybe this was to keep Judas from arranging his arrest too soon.

¹⁷When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. ¹⁸While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”

¹⁹They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely not I?”

²⁰“It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. ²¹The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

Now Jesus reveals his knowledge of Judas’ plot. I can imagine the sinking feeling Judas must have had when he knew he was “busted”. In John’s gospel, Jesus reveals to John who the traitor is, but apparently he didn’t reveal it to the whole group. In Luke’s account of this event, we learn that the disciples had two swords with them at the time (Luke 22:38). What do you think they would have done with those swords if Jesus had revealed to the whole group that Judas was about to betray him? But Jesus kept Judas’ secret, and sent him out ahead of the group so he could do what he intended to do. It strikes me that Jesus was giving Judas one last chance to change his mind, but Judas was committed.

In Middle Eastern culture, it was and is still considered the worst form of treachery to betray someone after having broken bread with them. Each of the disciples asked if he was the traitor, including Judas. Matthew tells us that Jesus did answer in the affirmative when Judas asked (Matthew 26:25). So there was no doubt in Judas’ mind that Jesus knew all about what he was planning, but Jesus did nothing to stop him. In fact he sent him on his way, knowing what was to come.

²²While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”

²³Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it.

²⁴“This is my blood of the^[b] covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. ²⁵“I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.”

²⁶When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

This was no typical Passover meal. There are strict traditions about what is eaten and what is said, by whom and in what order when eating the Passover. If you’ve ever attended a Seder meal, you know what I mean. Perhaps they had already gone through the established ritual by this point. But now Jesus shared with them a new supper, the Lord’s Supper. The Passover was central to the old covenant, and the Lord’s Supper is central to the new covenant. Jesus is starting the new covenant right here, in that moment.

The Amplified Bible puts verse 24 this way:

²⁵Solemnly and surely I tell you, I shall not again drink of the fruit of the vine till that day when I drink it ^[c]of a new and a higher quality in God’s kingdom.

Jesus’ promise not to drink wine again until he does so in Heaven has always struck me a little odd. After all, he hardly had the chance after that. But according to the Amplified translation, he’s not just saying he’ll wait until then, he’s saying it will be of a new and higher quality. I don’t think he’s just talking about better wine, though I’m sure the wine will be really good in Heaven. I believe he’s talking about the whole meal. The Passover meal, the central feast of the old covenant,  was a foreshadow of the Lord’s Supper, which ratified the new covenant (Mark 14:24, Amplified). The Last Supper is a foreshadow of the Marriage Supper Of The Lamb. This is what Jesus is referring to in verse 25. Neither the Passover meal nor the Lord’s Supper could be considered real feasts, at least by any definition I know of. But the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, now that will be a feast! If you think Thanksgiving dinner will be good week after next, that will pale in comparison to the spread at that feast. Everything will be “of a new and a higher quality in God’s kingdom”.

It’s interesting to me that Mark and Matthew both mention that they “sang a hymn”. According to the definition of hymns that I learned in my church music courses in college, hymns did not exist then, so I wonder about the translation from Greek. There are other places in the Bible where hymns are mentioned (Psalm 40:3, Acts 16:25, 1 Corinthians 14:26, Ephesians 5:19), and I’m curious what was meant by that term. But the definition of what type of song they sang is not as important as the fact that they sang. How could Jesus sing, knowing what would soon happen? Because his attitude of praise was not based on his circumstances, but on his adoration of the Father, as ours should be.

The traditional psalms that were sung at the end of the Passover meal were Psalms 116, 117, and 118. Read those Psalms and imagine how they would have ministered to Jesus on the night before his death.

Mark Bible Bible, Jesus, Last Supper, Mark