The Last Supper

Fifth Prediction of Jesus’ Death

(Mt 26:1-5; Mk 14:1-2; Lk 22:1-2)

26:1When Jesus finished, he told his disciples, ²“As you know, the Passover, the Festival of Unleavened Bread, is in two days. The Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

³Meantime the chief priests, scribes, and elders of the people got together in the court of Caiaphas, the high priest, and were trying to find a way ⁴to arrest Jesus by treachery and put him to death. ⁵But they said, “Not during the festival; the people will riot.”

Judas’ Plot to Betray Jesus

(Mt 26:14-16; Mk 14:10-11; Lk 22:3-6)

³Then Satan got into Judas, called Iscariot, one of the twelve. ⁴He went and talked to the chief priests and soldiers about how to deliver Jesus to them. ¹⁵“What would youpl give me to deliver him to you?” ¹¹When they heard his offer, they were elated and promised to give him silver. ⁶He agreed. ¹⁵They counted out thirty silver shekels for him. So, he started looking for a chance to turn him over away from the crowd.

Preparation for the Passover Meal

(Mt 26:17-19; Mk 14:12-16; Lk 22:7-13)

¹⁷On the first day of Unleavened Bread, ⁷when the Passover lamb needed to be sacrificed, the disciples came to Jesus, “Where do you want us to get things ready for eating the Passover?”

⁸He sent Peter and John, 10“On the way in the city, you’ll meet a man carrying a clay pot of water. Follow him in the house he enters, ¹¹and say to the owner, ¹⁸‘The Rabbi says, ‘My time’s getting close. I’m observing the Passover at your place with my disciples. ¹⁴Where’s the guest room so I can eat the Passover with them?’ ¹⁵He’ll show you a big upstairs room furnished and set up. Get things ready there.”

¹⁶The disciples went away into the city and found it the way Jesus had said, and got things ready for the Passover.

The Passover Meal;

Another Argument About Rank

(Mt 26:20; Mk 14:17; Lk 22:14-16, 24-30)

¹⁴When it was time, he arrived that evening with the twelve and reclined at table with them. ¹⁵He said, “I’ve really wanted to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, ¹⁶because I won’t be eating it till it’s fulfilled in God’s kingdom.”

²⁴An argument arose about which of them would have highest rank.

²⁵He said,

“Gentile kings lord it over them, and the ones wielding authority over them are called benefactors. ²⁶Not so with you. The greatest among you needs to be like the youngest, and the leader like a servant. ²⁷Who has higher rank, someone reclining at table or a waiter? Isn’t it the one reclining at table? But I’m among you like a waiter. ²⁸You’ve continued with me in my difficulties. ²⁹I’m passing the kingdom on to you just like the Father passed it on to me, ³⁰so you can eat at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

(Jn 13:1-20)

^13:1Before the Passover festival, Jesus knew the time had come for him to go to the Father. He loved his own who were in the world and loved them to the end. ²By the time of the supper, the devil had put it in the heart of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray him. ³Jesus knew the Father had placed everything in his hands. ⁴He got up from supper, laid his outer clothes aside, and took a towel and hung it over himself. ⁵He put some water in a basin, and started washing his disciples’ feet, and drying them with the towel.

⁶When he came to Simon Peter, Peter said, “Lord, you’re going to wash my feet?”

⁷Jesus answered, “You don’t understand right now what I’m doing, but you will in a little bit.”

⁸Peter said, “Don’t you ever wash my feet.”

“If I don’t wash you, you don’t have anything to do with me.”

⁹Simon Peter said, “Lord, don’t wash just my feet, but my hands and head too.”

¹⁰Jesus said, “A person that has taken a bath doesn’t need anything washed but his feet. He’s clean everywhere else. You’repl clean, but not all of you.” (11He knew who would betray him; that’s why he said, “You’repl not all clean.”)

¹²When he’d washed their feet and put his outer clothes back on, he sat back down,

“Do you understand what I’ve done? ¹³You call me ‘Rabbi’ and ‘Lord,’ and I am. ¹⁴If I—‘Lord’ and ‘Rabbi’—washed your feet, then you should wash each other’s feet. ¹⁵I’ve given you an example to do as I’ve done to you. ¹⁶A servant has it no better than his master; a messenger has it no better than the one that sent him. ¹⁷If you understand this, you’re blessed if you do it. ¹⁸I’m not talking about all of you. I know who I’ve chosen, but I say this in keeping with the scripture:

‘THE ONE THAT EATS MY FOOD

HAS LIFTED UP HIS HEEL AGAINST ME’ [Ps 41:9].

¹⁹From now on, I’ll tell you before things happen so when they happen you’ll believe who I am. ²⁰Whoever receives somebody I send, receives me, and whoever receives me receives the One that sent me.”

Judas Identified as the Traitor

(Mt 26:21-25; Mk 14:18-21; Lk 22:21-23; Jn 13:21-30)

²¹After he said this, Jesus began to feel stressed as they were reclining at table and eating. “One of you is going to betray me.” ²²The disciples became really sad, and looked at one another, at a loss who he meant. They started saying, “It’s not me, is it, Lord?”

²¹“The hand of my betrayer is with me on the table. ²²The Son of Man will go the way it’s been determined ahead of time, but woe to the one that betrays him. ²⁴bIt would’ve been better for him if he’d never been born.”

²³They tried to figure out with each other which one of them might do this. ²³One disciple was reclining at table in front of Jesus—the one Jesus loved. ²⁴Simon Peter motioned to him to find out who Jesus meant. ²⁵So he leaned back on Jesus’ chest and said, “Lord, who is it?”

²⁶Jesus answered, “It’s the one of the twelve that dips his hand with me in the bowl, the one I dip the piece of bread and give it to.” He dipped it and gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot.

Judas, the one that did betray him, said, “It’s not me, is it, Rabbi?”

“Yes.”

²⁷After the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Jesus said, “What you’re doing do now.” ²⁸Nobody at table knew why he spoke to him. ²⁹Since Judas had the money pouch, some supposed Jesus meant, “Buy what we need for the festival,” or “Give something to the poor.” ³⁰He took the piece of bread and went out immediately. It was dark.

The Disciples Warned

(Mt 26:31-34; Mk 14:27-31; Lk 22:31-38; Jn 13:31-38)

³¹When Judas had gone out, Jesus said,

“Now God will glorify the Son of Man, and the Son of Man will glorify him, ³²and God will glorify him soon. ³³Little children, I’ll be with you a little while yet. You’ll look for me and, as I told the Jews, ‘You can’t go where I’m going’; now I’m telling you. ³⁴I’m commanding you something new: love one another as I’ve loved you. ³⁵If you love one another, people can tell you’re my disciples.”

³⁶Simon Peter said, “Lord, where are you going?”

“Where I’m going youpl can’t follow now; you’ll follow later.”

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

31“Simon, Simon, Satan asked to sift you like wheat, ³²but I prayed that your faith wouldn’t fail. When you get stabilized again, it’ll be up to you to stabilize your brothers.”

²⁷Jesus said to them, “You’ll all desert me tonight. The scripture says,

‘I’LL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD,

AND his SHEEP WILL SCATTER’ [Zech 13:7].

²⁸But after I resurrect, I’ll go ahead of you to Galilee.”

²⁹Peter said, “Even if everybody else deserts you, I’ll never desert you. ³³I’m ready to go to prison and to die with you.”

³⁸Jesus answered, “Will you? The truth is, today, tonight, before the rooster double-crows, you’ll deny me three times.”

³¹He kept insisting, “Even if I have to die with you, I won’t deny you.”

They all said the same thing.

³⁵He said, “When I sent you out with no money bag, knapsack, or shoes, you didn’t lack anything, did you?”

“Nothing.”

³⁶“But now, if anybody has a money bag, take it. The same thing goes for a knapsack. If anybody doesn’t have a sword, he needs to sell his cloak and buy one. ³⁷What the scripture says has to be fulfilled in me: ‘THEY CONSIDERED ME A CRIMINAL’ [Is 53:12] What refers to me will happen.”

³⁸“Lord, here are two swords.”

“That’s enough.”

The Lord’s Supper Instituted

(Mt 26:26-29; Mk 14:22-25; Lk 22:17-20; cp 1 Cor 11:23-26)

¹⁴During the meal Jesus took a cup, gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among you. ¹⁸I’m not going to drink the fruit of the vine again till God’s kingdom comes.” ¹⁹He took a loaf, broke it, gave thanks, and handed it to them, “Take it and eat it. This is my body that’s given for you. Do this in my memory.” ²⁰In the same way, he took the cup after they ate, blessed it, and gave it to them, “All of you, drink out of it. This cup is the new covenant in my blood that’s poured out for you; it is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. (As often as you drink it, do it in my memory. 1 Cor. 11:25) ²⁹I won’t be drinking this fruit of the vine again till I drink it with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Jesus’ Farewell Discourse

(Jn 14:1-31)

14:1“Don’t worry. You believe in God; believe in me too. ²There are many rooms in my Father’s house. If that weren’t so, I would’ve told you, because I’m going to get a place ready for you. ³If I go to do that, I’ll come back to get you so you can be where I am. ⁴You know how to get to where I’m going.”

⁵Thomas said, “We don’t know where you’re going. How can we know how to get there?”

6“I am the way, the truth, and the life. Nobody comes to the Father except through me. ⁷If you know me, you know my Father too. From now on you know him and have seen him.”

⁸Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father; that’ll be enough.”

⁹“Have I been with youpl this long, Philip, and yousg haven’t seen me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can yousg say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰Don’t yousg believe I’m in the Father and the Father’s in me? What I say I don’t say on my own, but the Father present in me is doing his work. ¹¹Believepl that I’m in the Father and the Father’s in me. If not, believepl because of the very things I do. ¹²Whoever believes in me will do what I do and more because I’m going to the Father. ¹³I’ll do whatever you ask in my name so I may glorify the Father. ¹⁴I repeat, if you ask anything in my name, I’ll do it.

¹⁵“If you love me, you’ll do what I tell you. ¹⁶I’ll ask the Father to give you another Helper to be with you permanently. ¹⁷He’s the Spirit of truth that the world can’t receive because they don’t see him or know him. But you know him because he stays with you and in you. ¹⁸I won’t leave you orphans; I’ll come to you. ¹⁹In a little while, the world won’t see me, but you’ll see me. You’ll be living because I’ll be living. ²⁰Then you’ll know I’m in the Father and you’re in me and I’m in you. ²¹Whoever has my commands and keeps them, is a person that loves me. Whoever loves me my Father will love, and I’ll love him and show myself to him.”

²²Judas (not Iscariot) said, “Lord, what’s happened that you’re going to show yourself to us, but not to the world?”

²³Jesus answered,

“If a person loves me, he’ll follow what I say, and my Father will love him. We’ll come and make our home in him. ²⁴Whoever doesn’t love me doesn’t follow what I say. The message you’re hearing is not mine, but the Father’s.

25“I’ve said this while I’m with you. ²⁶The Helper—the Holy Spirit the Father will send in my name—will teach you everything and remind you of everything I’ve told you. ²⁷I’m leaving my peace with you, not the kind the world gives. Don’t worry or be afraid. ²⁸You heard me say, ‘I’m going away and I’ll come back to you.’ If you loved me, you’d be happy that I’m going to the Father because the Father is greater than I am.

²⁹“I’ve told you now before it happens so when it does, you’ll believe. ³⁰There are lots of things that I won’t tell you now, because the ruler of this world is coming, and he doesn’t have anything to do with me. ³¹But I’m doing what the Father told me to do so the world will know I love him.

“Let’s go.”

The Parable of the Vine

(Jn 15:1-27)

15:1“I’m the true vine; my Father is the vinedresser. ²He takes out every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit. He prunes every branch that does bear fruit so it’ll bear more fruit. ³Already you are pruned by the message I’ve spoken to you. ⁴Remain in me and I in you. A branch can’t bear fruit by itself; it has to be connected to the vine; neither can you unless you remain in me. ⁵I’m the vine; you’re branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him bears lots of fruit. Without me you can’t do anything. ⁶If somebody doesn’t remain in me, he’s taken out like a branch. It dries up, and people throw it in the fire. ⁷If you remain in me and what I say remains in you, ask whatever you want and you’ll receive it. ⁸This is what honors my Father: you becoming my disciples and bearing lots of fruit. ⁹As the Father has loved me, I’ve loved you. Remain in my love. ¹⁰If you do what I tell you, you’ll be remaining in my love just like I’ve done what my Father told me and remain in his love.

¹¹“I’ve said this so you can have the complete joy I have. ¹²This is my command: love one another as I’ve loved you. ¹³Nobody loves more than a person that lays down his life for his friends. ¹⁴You’re my friends if you do what I tell you. ¹⁵I don’t consider you servants anymore; a servant doesn’t know what his master’s doing. I consider you friends because I tell you everything I’ve heard from my Father. ¹⁶You didn’t choose me; I chose you and appointed you to bear fruit that lasts so my Father will give you whatever you ask for in my name. ¹⁷I’m commanding these things so you’ll love one another.

¹⁸“If the world hates you, understand that it hated me first. ¹⁹If you were like the world, it would love its own kind. But because you’re not like it, it hates you—but I’ve chosen you out of it. ²⁰Remember what I told you, ‘A servant’s not better than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they’ll persecute you. If they kept my word, they’ll keep yours. ²¹They’ll do this to you because of me, because they don’t know the One that sent me.

²²“If I hadn’t come and spoken to them, they wouldn’t have any guilt; but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³Whoever hates me hates my Father too. ²⁴If I hadn’t done among them what no one else has done, they wouldn’t have any guilt; but now they’ve seen and have hated both me and my Father. ²⁵They’ve done this to fulfill what their law says, ‘THEY HATED ME FOR NO REASON’ [Ps 35:19; 69:4].

²⁶“When the Helper comes that I’ll send from the Father—the Spirit of truth—he’ll speak on my behalf. You will too, because you’ve been with me since the beginning.

Further Solemn Instruction

(Jn 16:1-33)

16:1“I’ve told you this so you won’t get caught off guard. ²They’ll excommunicate you from membership in the synagogues, but—more than that—the time’s coming when anybody that kills you will think he’s serving God. ³They’ll do it because they don’t know the Father or me. So when it happens, remember that I told you it would.

⁴“I didn’t tell you these things at first, because I was with you. ⁵But now I’m going to the One that sent me, and none of you needs to ask, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶Because I’ve told you, you feel sad. ⁷But it’s to your benefit that I go away. If I don’t, the Helper won’t be coming to you. If I go, I’ll send him. ⁸When he comes, he’ll convict the world of sin and goodness and judgment—⁹of sin, because they don’t believe in me; ¹⁰of goodness, because I’m going to the Father and you won’t see me anymore; and ¹¹of judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

¹²“I still have so much to tell you, but you can’t deal with it now. ¹³But when the truth-revealing Spirit comes, he’ll lead you into all truth. He won’t speak on his own; he’ll tell you what he’s heard and what’s coming. ¹⁴He’ll honor me because he’ll take from me and tell you. ¹⁵Everything the Father has is mine. That’s why I’ve said the Spirit will take from me and tell you.

¹⁶“In a little while, you won’t see me; and again in a little while, you’ll see me.”

¹⁷Some disciples said to one another, “What’s this, ‘In a little while, you won’t see me; again in a little while, you’ll see me’; and, ‘because I’m going to the Father’? ¹⁸What’s this ‘little while’ refer to? We don’t understand it.

¹⁹Jesus knew they wanted to ask him,

“Are you talking about what I said, ‘In a little while, you won’t see me; again in a little while, you’ll see me’? ²⁰You’ll mourn, but the world will be glad. You’ll grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. ²¹When a woman’s in labor, she has grief; but when she has the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of bringing a person into the world. ²²You’ll grieve, but I’ll see you again, and you’ll be glad. Nobody will take your gladness away. ²³In that day you won’t ask me for anything. Whatever you ask the Father in my name now he’ll give you. ²⁴Up till now you haven’t asked for anything in my name. Ask and you’ll receive so your joy will be complete.

25“I’ve been using illustrations. The time’s coming when I’ll speak plainly about the Father. ²⁶Then you’ll ask in my name; and, rest assured, I’ll ask the Father for you. ²⁷The Father himself loves you because you love me and believe I came from him. ²⁸I did come from him to the world. Again, I’m leaving the world and going back to him.”

²⁹The disciples said, “Now you’re speaking clearly. ³⁰Now we know that you know everything and don’t need anybody to ask you. That’s why we believe you’ve come from God.”

³¹Jesus responded, “Do you believe now? ³²The time’s coming—and is almost here—when each of you will scatter and leave me alone. But I’m not alone, because the Father’s with me. ³³I’ve told you these things so you’ll have peace. In the world you have trouble, but take heart, I’ve overcome the world.”

The High Priestly Prayer

(Mt 26:30; Jn 17:1-26)

^17:1Jesus looked up to heaven,

“Father, it’s time. Honor your Son so he can honor you. ²You gave him authority to give eternal life to everybody you’ve given him. ³Eternal life means knowing you, the only true God, and Jesus the Messiah, the One you sent. ⁴I’ve honored you on earth and completed the work you gave me to do. ⁵Now, honor me and yourself with the honor I had with you before the earth existed.

⁶“I’ve shown you to the ones you gave me out of the world, and they’ve kept your word. ⁷Now they know that the message I’ve given them came from you. ⁸They know that I really did come from you, and believe you sent me. ⁹I’m not asking about the world, but about the ones you gave me. ¹⁰My things are yours and yours are mine, and they’ve honored me. ¹¹I’m not in the world anymore, but they are and I’m coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name so they can be one like we are. ¹²When I was with them, I kept them in your name, and none of them have perished except the one destined to perish—to fulfill scripture. ¹³I’m saying these things so they can fully experience my joy. ¹⁴The world hates them because they’re not like the world. ¹⁵I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶They’re not like the world as I am not. ¹⁷I’ve sanctified them with the truth—with your message. ¹⁸As you sent me to the world, I’ve sent them out into it. ¹⁹I’ve sanctified myself for them so the truth can sanctify them.

²⁰“Father, I’m not asking just that these be one, but that their converts also be one. ²¹That way the world will know you sent me. ²²I’ve given them the honor you gave me so they can be one like us—²³so the world may know you love them like you love me. ²⁴I want them to be with me where I am so they can see the honor you gave me because you loved me before the world existed.

²⁵“Righteous Father, the world didn’t know you, but I knew you, and these know you sent me. ²⁶I’ll continue to make you known to them so the love you loved me with may be in them like I’m in them.”

³⁰They sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.