Jesus' final meal with his disciples
Jesus had one last task to do. He had to establish the Lord's Supper.
The meaning of the Passover feast
Jews ate a special meal at the Passover feast. Every part of the feast had a special meaning for them. At the Passover feast, they remembered that they had been slaves in Egypt. God had freed them. In Egypt, God told them to kill a lamb for food. [A lamb is a young sheep.] They also had to mark their doorways with the blood of the lamb. Later God sent an angel through Egypt. He killed all the children and animals who were the first to be born. He did not kill any who were in houses with blood on the doorways. The angel passed over those houses. After that, the Jews were free to leave Egypt.
What the Passover meant to Jesus
The Passover had a very important meaning for Jesus. The Jews had been slaves to the people in Egypt. But we are all like slaves, because of sin. [We sin when we do not obey God. We do not do what he wants.] The lambs died in Egypt so that the Jews would be free. And Jesus died to free us from the punishment for our sin. That is why one of Jesus' names is the Lamb of God. For us, he is like the Passover lamb. He frees us from sin. He brings us back to God.
Jesus wanted very much to eat this Passover meal with his disciples. He told two disciples to go and prepare this meal. He gave his instructions carefully. Judas would not know where the meal would be until much later in the day.
Judas was present at the meal. At the meal, Jesus announced that one disciple would help his enemies. That disciple would help them to find Jesus. Soon after this, Judas left.
The Lord's Supper
After the meal Jesus took bread and gave it to the disciples. He said, 'Take this bread. Eat it! This bread is like my body'. Also, he took the cup of wine, and gave it to them. He said, 'Drink it, all of you. This wine is like my blood. God is making a promise to you. I shall pour out my blood so that God can forgive the sins of many people.' The disciples would not understand the meaning of this until later.
Jesus washes the disciples' feet
Jesus did another wonderful thing. He took water and a towel. He washed his disciples‘ feet. Peter protested about this. When Jesus had finished, he said this:
12 When he had finished washing the disciples' feet, Jesus put on his coat. He returned to his place at the meal. He asked them, ‘I want you to understand what I have just done for you. 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right. That is what I am. 14 I am your Teacher and your Lord, but I have washed your feet. So you also should wash each other's feet. 15 I have given you an example. You should do the same for others as I have done for you. 16 I tell you this: No servant is more important than his master is. No messenger is more important than the person who sent him with a message. 17 Now you understand these things. So you should do them, and God will bless you.’
John 13:12-17 EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
The kingdom of God is a kingdom of love and service. We love and serve each other. It is not a kingdom where some people give orders to other people.
Peter would deny Jesus three times
At the meal, Jesus said that all the disciples would leave him that very night. Peter protested that he was ready to die with Jesus. In reply, Jesus said this. Before the rooster called out, Peter would deny Jesus three times.
After the meal
After the meal, Jesus went out to the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives is a mountain where Jesus often went. There was a garden there, called the garden of Gethsemane.
Judas knew that Jesus would be there.
