THE LAST SUPPER
MEMORY VERSE
1 Corinthians 11:26, ESV
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
DAY 1
Matthew 26:17-19, NIrV
17 It was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The disciples came to Jesus. They asked, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover meal?”
18 He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man. Tell him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover at your house with my disciples.” ’ ” 19 So the disciples did what Jesus had told them to do. They prepared the Passover meal.
BIBLE STUDY
The Passover was a special holiday for Jesus’ people. Every year, the Israelites ate a special meal to remember how God rescued their people from slavery in Egypt. They ate special foods in a special way while saying special things so they would never forget what God had done for them. Since it was time for Passover, Jesus sent his disciples to get the different types of food they needed for their feast. Though he had celebrated Passover every year of his life, this one was extra special for Jesus. His disciples didn't know it, but this meal would be the last one Jesus ate before he died.
+ Each year, the Israelites ate the Passover Meal to remember... what?
+ Why was this Passover special for Jesus?
DAY 2
Matthew 26:26-30, NIrV
26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread. He gave thanks and broke it. He handed it to his disciples and said, “Take this and eat it. This is my body.”
27 Then he took a cup. He gave thanks and handed it to them. He said, “All of you drink from it. 28 This is my blood of the covenant. It is poured out to forgive the sins of many people. 29 Here is what I tell you. From now on, I won’t drink wine with you again until the day I drink it with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
30 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.
BIBLE STUDY
Every bite of food eaten during the Passover feast was a reminder of the day God rescued his people from Egypt. But this time, Jesus did the unthinkable: he made the Passover into a meal about himself! The bread had been a reminder that God’s people had to leave Egypt quickly. But Jesus said the bread was now a reminder of his body, which would be beaten and bruised for our sins. In the same way, the cup of wine was supposed to remind the Israelites of their rescue from slavery. But Jesus said it should now remind them of the blood he would bleed when he was nailed to the cross!
+ What did Jesus say the bread should remind his disciples of? (vs. 26)
+ What did Jesus say the cup of wine should remind his disciples of? (vs. 27-28)
DAY 3
John 13:1-5, NIrV
1 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world. It was time for him to go to the Father. Jesus loved his disciples who were in the world. So he now loved them to the very end.
2 They were having their evening meal. The devil had already tempted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. He had urged Judas to hand Jesus over to his enemies. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put everything under his power. He also knew he had come from God and was returning to God. 4 So he got up from the meal and took off his outer clothes. He wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a large bowl. Then he began to wash his disciples’ feet. He dried them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
BIBLE STUDY
The book of John gives us a few extra details about Jesus' last supper. Back when Jesus lived, roads and floors were dusty. As a result, the feet of the people who walked on those roads were smelly and dirty! Without faucets and fancy bathtubs, dirty feet needed to be washed with water and a towel. Scrubbing stinky feet was normally a job for servants. But John tells us that Jesus, the powerful Son of God, got up from the meal and washed the stinky feet of his disciples! Why did Jesus do such a dirty job? To teach his disciples a lesson. In a few days, we'll let Jesus explain what that lesson was.
+ What does John say that Jesus knew? (vs. 1)
+ Why was it strange for Jesus to wash his disciples’ dirty feet?
DAY 4
John 13:6-11, NIRV
6 He came to Simon Peter. “Lord,” Peter said to him, “are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus replied, “You don’t realize now what I am doing. But later you will understand.”
8 “No,” said Peter. “You will never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you can’t share life with me.”
9 “Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet! Wash my hands and my head too!”
10 Jesus answered, “People who have had a bath need to wash only their feet. The rest of their body is clean. And you are clean. But not all of you are.” 11 Jesus knew who was going to hand him over to his enemies. That was why he said not every one was clean.
BIBLE STUDY
Peter was the leader of the disciples. He couldn't understand why Jesus would want to wash his smelly feet. God’s Son was way too important for such a dirty job! But instead of letting Jesus explain his reasons, Peter tried telling Jesus what to do. He barked out, “There’s no way I’m letting you wash my feet!” Then he ordered Jesus to wash his whole body! Now, trying to boss Jesus around is a terrible idea – he’s the king of the universe! Eventually, Peter kept his big mouth shut long enough to let Jesus wash his feet. Tomorrow, we'll do what Peter didn't: let Jesus explain what he was doing!
+ Why didn’t Peter want Jesus to wash his feet?
+ Why did Jesus say, “Not all of you are clean”? (vs. 10-11)
DAY 5
John 13:12-17, NIRV
12 When Jesus finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes. Then he returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ You are right. That is what I am. 14 I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet. So you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have given you an example. You should do as I have done for you. 16 What I’m about to tell you is true. A slave is not more important than his master. And a messenger is not more important than the one who sends him. 17 Now you know these things. So you will be blessed if you do them.
BIBLE STUDY
Jesus could have taught his disciples, “I want you to serve others, no matter how important you are or unimportant they might be.” But instead of simply speaking that lesson, he decided to show them. I’m sure the disciples never forgot the sight of Jesus, the Son of God, washing their stinky toes! If the greatest person in the history of the world was willing to do the dirtiest of jobs, then certainly his disciples should be willing to do any job, no matter how stinky or smelly it might be. After all, we're nowhere near as important as Jesus! If he was willing to do serve, then so should we.
+ What lesson did Jesus teach by washing his disciples’ feet? (vs. 14-15)
+ What two words did Jesus use to describe his disciples? (vs. 16)
DAY 6
1 Corinthians 11:23-26, NIRV
23 I passed on to you what I received from the Lord. On the night the Lord Jesus was handed over to his enemies, he took bread. 24 When he had given thanks, he broke it. He said, “This is my body. It is given for you. Every time you eat it, do it in memory of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup. He said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Every time you drink it, do it in memory of me.” 26 You eat the bread and drink the cup. When you do this, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.
BIBLE STUDY
After rescuing his people from slavery in the land of Egypt, God gave the Israelites a new command: “Every single year, you must eat the Passover meal to remember how I saved you.” And that’s what the people did. For 1,400 years, they drank wine and ate foods like bread, bitter-tasting plants, and the meat of a lamb. Every bite of food and every sip of wine was a reminder of the special night God saved their ancestors.
When Jesus ate the Passover with his disciples, he broke this 1400-hundred-year-old pattern. Instead of remembering their rescue from Egypt, Jesus told his disciples, "Remember me, instead." That seems like a crazy thing to do, to change what God’s people had done for centuries. But if anyone had the right to change God's Passover meal into something new, it was God’s Son Jesus!
We have a special name for the new meal Jesus created. We call it "The Lord’s Supper" because it's the meal the Lord Jesus gave us to eat. Like the Passover feast, the Lord’s Supper was a meal to help people remember. But instead of Israel’s rescue from Egypt, the Lord’s Supper would be a reminder of what Jesus did to save us from sin.
Jesus gave his disciples bread to eat. Its color would have looked a lot like Jesus’ skin. When they ate it, they were to remember what was going to happen to Jesus' body: it would be beaten and bruised in order to save us from our sins. He also gave them wine, as red as blood. When they drank it, they were to remember the blood Jesus would bleed when his hands and feet were nailed to the cross.
Today’s verses are part of a letter written by a man named Paul. He wrote it to a church in a city called Corinth. In the little bit we read today, Paul gave the people instructions for celebrating the Lord’s Supper. He told the people of Corinth to eat bread and drink wine to remember how Jesus saved us. He told them, "Don't stop doing this until Jesus comes back to earth!"
And that's exactly what they did! Churches all over the world have been eating the Lord’s Supper for 2,000 years, just like Jesus and Paul told them to do. The Passover was a memory meal, reminding the Israelites how God rescued them from slavery in Egypt. But the Lord’s Supper reminds us of something even better: how Jesus gave up his body and shed his blood to rescue the whole world from their sins!
Jesus didn’t come to earth to relax on a throne and live an easy life. He came to serve people. He was willing to do a dirty job like scrubbing stinky feet. And he was willing to do the toughest job of all: suffering on a cross to defeat the curse of sin!
+ When we eat the Lord’s Supper, what are we announcing or proclaiming? (vs. 26)
+ How long should Christians continue to celebrate the Lord’s Supper? (vs. 26)
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