Last Supper
The Last Supper was the final meal Jesus shared with His disciples before His crucifixion. During this meal He identified the bread and cup with His body and blood and instituted the Lord’s Supper.
At a Glance
The Last Supper was the final meal Jesus shared with His disciples before His crucifixion. During this meal He identified the bread and cup with His body and blood and instituted the Lord’s Supper.
Description
The Last Supper refers to the final meal Jesus shared with His disciples before His arrest and crucifixion, recorded in the Gospels and reflected in Paul’s teaching on the Lord’s Supper. Scripture presents this meal as a solemn and covenantal moment in which Jesus spoke of His approaching death, identified the bread with His body and the cup with His blood, and directed His followers to continue this practice in remembrance of Him. The meal is closely associated with Passover in the Gospel accounts, though interpreters discuss details of the chronology; the central biblical meaning is clear regardless. For Christian theology and worship, the Last Supper is the historical setting for the institution of the Lord’s Supper and a key revelation of the saving significance of Christ’s sacrificial death.