Last Supper - Jesus Institutes the Sacrament of the Eucharist - Spy Wednesday: Wednesday of Holy Week

Wednesday of Holy Week is known as “Spy Wednesday”.  It is because Judas made a deal with the chief priests to serve as their spy to have Jesus to kill, in the first part (Matthew 26:14-16) of the Gospel Reading of this day (Mathew 26:14-25). In the late evening of the next day, he sure brought those who wanted to kill Jesus to his presence to have him arrested (Matthew 26:47-48). As the chief priests’ “spy” Judas served the wicked people, who wanted to kill Jesus, betraying the one whom he should serve.

What follows Spy Wednesday is Holy Thursday, also known as Maundy Thursday because it was when Jesus gave his new commandment (mandatum novum).

According to Matthew, as well as, Mark and Luke, the Last Supper (the Lord’s Supper) was held as Passover Seder, which is held after sundown of the 14^th day of the month of Nisan, to begin the seven-day feast of the Unleavened Bread (Matthew 26:17// Mark 14:12//Luke 22:7; cf. Exodus 12:6-20; Leviticus 23:4-8; Numbers 28:16-25; Deuteronomy 16:1-8). On the other hand, John indicates the Last Supper was held on the night before the night of Passover (John 13:1-2), as he describes the death of Jesus on Good Friday in light of the Paschal lamb sacrifice which needs to be done to prepare for the Passover night (John 19:31-42).

This difference on the date of Passover between the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) and the Johannine Gospel has something to do with what each evangelist wants to emphasize. Matthew, Mark, and Luke emphasize the institution of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist by Jesus at the Last Supper (Matthew 26:17-30//Mark 14:12-26// Luke 22:7-23. In this, the bread that Jesus broke and distributed to his disciples as his body to be eaten is the ultimate Passover matzo, And the cup of wine, which he raised and passed on to them is the cup of the new covenant (Luke 22:20) and the ultimate Passover wine.  On the other hand, John portrays the Last Supper as the table fellowship for teaching. This is why John puts the Jesus’ washing the disciples’ feet to teach the servant leadership (John 13:1-17) in connection to his new commandment to love one another (John 13:34-35), and his extended discourse and prayer over the Supper (John 13:31-17:26). Then John describes the death of Jesus as the slaughtering the Passover lamb during the day of preparation before the sundown to start Passover (John 19:28-42).

With the above background, let us look into the second part of the Gospel Reading on Spy Wednesday (Matthew 26:17-35), the Lord’s Supper (Last Supper) (vv. 17-29) and Jesus foretelling Peter’s denial upon moving to the Mount of Olives (vv. 30-35).

It was the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread when the disciples asked Jesus where to make Passover Seder dinner preparation (Matthew 26:17). It means that they asked Jesus about the Seder preparation during the day time of the day when Passover was celebrated in its evening to begin the seven-day feast of Unleavened Bread to commemorate God’s deliverance of the Israelites from the misery of slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12:6-20; Leviticus 23:4-8; Numbers 28:16-25; Deuteronomy 16:1-8).

Knowing the fast-approaching hour of his passion into death, just as he had prearranged for his ceremonial entry into Jerusalem so that his disciples could bring a donkey and her colt to him (Matthew 21:1-7), Jesus  had prearranged for the last Passover Seder supper so that his disciples could prepare smoothly (Matthew26:18-19).

The day of the preparation ends with the sunset, and Passover sabbath begins in the evening to start the seven-day fast of Unleavened Bread.

The evening before his death came, Jesus reclined at the dinner table with his twelve disciples, and the Seder dinner began (Matthew 26:20). While the disciples were eating, Jesus announced about the betrayer:

Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me (Matthew 26:21).

Then, the disciples reacted rather defensively, saying to Jesus and to one another, “Surely, it is not I, Lord? “(Matthew 26:22).

Imagine how anxious the disciples became with the sudden announcement of the betrayer to be among them.

So, Jesus stated a bit more about the betrayer:

He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me (Matthew 26;23; cf. John 13:26).

Jesus’ words, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me” means fellowship. It was a custom to reflect fellowship to dip fingers together into the dish, like charoset.

Given that all the disciples dipped their fingers into the dish for the table fellowship with Jesus,  it was not certain as to who the traitor would be, at that point. However, Jesus made it clear that the one who would betray him was in this fellowship, as to fulfill these words of David:

Even my trusted friend who ate my bread, has raised his heel against me  (Psalm 41:10).

Dipping finger into the same dish is rather synonymous to sharing the bread, to express mutual trust and fellowship with affection, as reflected in these coating words of Boaz to Ruth:

Come here and have something to eat; dip your bread in the sauce (Ruth 3:14).

So, Jesus was telling that the betrayer was present at the Passover Seder table of fellowship, among the disciples, among those who were so close to him and to each other.

Imagine and feel the tension in the air at that moment.

Jesus continued on:

The Son of Man indeed goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born (Matthew 26:24).

Jesus knew that he was about to fulfill the fourth servant song in the Book of Isaiah 52:13-53:12), referring it to be written about him – his passion, death, and resurrection. And he also knew not only Judas was ready to betray him but also he would condemn himself later for his treacherous act (Matthew 27:3-10; cf. Acts 1;16-20). Jesus knew that Judas could not be saved. For this reason, he lamented that it would have been better if Judas had not been born.

Judas knew that Jesus was speaking of him though the rest of the disciples had no ideal whom Jesus was referring as the betrayer.

So Judas said, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”(Matthew 26:25a).

There is a sense of sarcasm in this statement of Judas. By calling Jesus “Rabbi”, Judas was somewhat emotionally distant from Jesus, while Peter and the rest of the disciples called him “Lord”.

And Jesus replied:

You have said so (Matthew 26:25b).

Judas knew that he was the one to betray. But he tried to make himself look just like any other disciples. It tells what type of person that Judas was.

Then, Jesus proceeded to institute the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, first, taking bread, which is matzah, not puffed leavened bread, blessing it, and breaking it and giving it to the disciples, and saying:

Take and eat; this is my body (Matthew 26:26).

At that time, nobody asked Jesus what he meant by his body to be eaten by giving the bread that he blessed and broke. It was because they already heard him speaking of his flesh as the living bread of life back in Galilee (John 6:35-40, 43-51, 53-58).

Then, taking a cup and giving thanks, Jesus said:

Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, from now on I shall not drink this fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father (Matthew 26:27-29).

There are four cups of wine for Passover Seder, reflecting the four promised that God made to Moses, according to the Tulmud, based on Exodus 6:6-7:

I will remove you from the burdens of Egypt.

I will save you from their bondage.

I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great judgments.

I will take you to be my people and I will be your God.

It is not certain which one of the four cups that Jesus took. Nevertheless, the cup that Jesus took had its roots in the four redemptive promises of God to the Israelites from the slavery in Egypt. The redemption of the Israelites from the slavery in Egypt was an old covenant. Now at the Lord’s Supper, Jesus was making it the new Passover Seder to establish the new covenant with the cup that he gave thanks to. And it is for forgiveness of sin – to redeem us from the slavery of sin (i.e. John 8:34).

No question was raised about how Passover Seder wine is related to the blood of Jesus as the disciples had already heard about the life-giving nature of Jesus’ blood for eternal life of those who drink (John 6:53-56; cf. Diary of St. Faustina, 299). Under the old covenant, it was the blood of the Passover sacrificial lamb that protected those whose houses were marked with it so that they would not perish in Egypt (Exodus 12:13). Under the new covenant, which is the blood of Jesus, who is the Lamb of God (John 1:29), its redemptive power is to deliver us from the slavery of sin (i.e. Revelation 1:5).

In reference to his discourse on the living bread of life (John 6:35-58), thus, Jesus established the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist with the species of Passover unleavened bread, matzah, and Passover wine as his body of flesh and his blood, to sustain life for eternal life, for forgiveness and freedom from sin. Given the thanksgiving nature of Passover Seder, expressing gratitude for redeeming from the slavery in Egypt, this new Passover Seder, which is the Lord’s Supper, was to thank God for redeeming offspring of Adam and Eve from the bonds of sins through the body and the blood of His Son, sent to us, incarnated in the human flesh of Jesus. This is why the body and the blood of Jesus, in the species of the unleavened Passover matzah and Passover kosher wine, is called the Eucharist, which means “thanksgiving” (εὐχαριστία/eucharistia – eu (well), charizesthai (to show favor).

Jesus commanded the disciples to celebrate the Eucharist in memory of him until his return. It means that we celebrate the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist in remembering him, especially in his discourse on the living bread of life (John 6:35-58) and at this supper (e.g. Matthew 26:26-29), until his return as the King of the Universe to have the heavenly feast (Revelation 19:1-17).

After the establishment of the Holy Eucharist at the Lord’s Supper, singing a hymn, perhaps, citing from Psalm 118, Jesus and the disciples moved from the Upper Room (Cenacle) to the Mount of Olives (Matthew 26:30). Then Jesus said, citing Zechariah 13:7:

This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken, for it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed’; but after I have been raised up, I shall go before you to Galilee (Matthew 26:31-32).

In the Book of Zechariah, the shepherd to be stricken by God is a bad shepherd, who was rather detrimental to God’s people. However, in citing from Zechariah, the shepherd to be stricken is Jesus himself, who is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14). And he was about to be stricken by those who were evil. And sheep in this context is his disciples, who would be scattered upon their shepherd’s arrest (Matthew 26:56).

There is an interesting contrast between Zechariah 13:7 and the way Jesus quoted to foretell his death in Matthew 26:31b. Though it was a bad shepherd to be stricken by God (Zechariah 13:7), it is Jesus the Good Shepherd (John 10:10, 14) to be stricken by God as he made himself sin for us in order to save us (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is how the Good Shepherd laid down his life for the salvation of the sheep under his care (John 10:14-18) to fulfill the prophesy in Isaiah 53:3-12.

And the Good Shepherd expressed his desire to meet back in Galilee upon his Resurrection. Perhaps, it was because Galilee was where his public ministry with the disciples started. So, it suggests that Jesus wanted to renew the public ministry from Galilee to Jerusalem with the disciples upon his Resurrection so that they would be ready to receive the Holy Spirit and be sent out to all nations from Jerusalem on their Apostolic missions(Matthew 28:19). And when he was risen from the dead, Jesus told Mary Magdalene to tell the rest of the disciples to go to Galilee to meet him (Matthew 28:1-10).

Sensing his death was rather imminent, Jesus once again, foretold of his death and resurrection to his disciples. But, he was confident that the Father would be with him and ensures his strength to go through his passion and death, as reflected in the First Reading (Isaiah 50:4-9a).

Obviously, Peter is the most sensitive and vocal about Jesus among the disciples. And this time, he sensed that the stricken shepherd would mean Jesus’ death. So, he said:

Though all may have their faith in you shaken, mine will never be (Matthew 26:33).

Peter meant well for Jesus. He wanted to stand out for his loyalty to his master. But, Jesus knew that Peter’s faith was not strong enough - yet.

So, Jesus said to Peter:

Amen, I say to you, this very night before the cock crows, you will deny me three times (Matthew 26:34).

Jesus knew that Peter’s faith was not firm enough to withstand fear and anxiety. He sure remembered how Peter failed to walk on the water because of his weak faith subject to doubt (Matthew 14:25-31).

But, Peter, must have felt underestimated by Jesus. So he protested, saying:

Even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you (Matthew 26:36).

And the other disciples echoed.

Peter and the rest of the disciples, except Judas, meant well in pledging their loyalty to the point of martyrdom. But they just did not have the necessary strengths because their faith was not made firm and steadfast by the Holy Spirit yet. For this, Jesus had to die, to be raised, and ascend – so that the Holy Spirit would be poured upon them to empower and make their faith firm (i.e. John 16:7; Acts 1:8).

If Peter were to be true to his words of loyalty for Jesus, he would be like the servant reflected in the First Reading (Isaiah 50:4-9a). But, Jesus, his Lord delivered him from the timidity by laying his life down and offering his body and blood. And, Jesus, our Lord, does the same for us so that we are free from fear – even we would go through suffering to death.