Scripture Cornerstone:
The Eucharist—also referred to as “Holy Communion” or “The Lord’s Supper”—has its scriptural foundation in the Last Supper.
The four canonical gospels claim that the Last Supper happened in the week of Passover, days following Jesus’s triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, and prior to Jesus was executed on Good Friday. Jesus foretells that one of the apostles present will betray him during the supper, and he also says that before the next morning, Peter will deny knowing him three times.
Anticipation of Judas’ treachery:
Despite each apostle’s declaration that he would not betray Jesus, Jesus is said to have reiterated that the one who betrays him would be among those in participation and that “woe to the man who betrays the Son of man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
John 13:26–27 and Matthew 26:23–25 both explicitly name Judas as the traitor.
The moment queried about the deceiver in the Gospel of John, Jesus responds as follows:
“It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then Jesus gave the slice of bread to Simon Iscariot’s son Judas, soaking it. Satan entered Judas as soon as he accepted the bread.
‘The Last Supper’
Italian High Renaissance painter Leonardo da Vinci created a mural depicting The Last Supper.
The artwork depicts the incident from the Gospel of John’s account of Jesus’ Last Supper with the Twelve Apostles, notably the one where Jesus says one of his apostles would deceive him.
It is among Leonardo’s most iconic paintings in the West and the world due to its intricate portrayal of human emotion, deft use of perspective, control over space, and handling of motion.
With the exception of the Sala delle Asse, The Last Supper is his largest work and is kept in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy.
Painting
From roughly 1495 to 1498, Leonardo worked on The Last Supper, though he did not complete it all at once.
According to one version, Leonardo became enraged when a prior from the monastery noted to him about the delay. He wrote to the abbot of the monastery explaining that he was having trouble finding the ideal evil face for Judas and that if he was unable to locate a face that fit his vision.
According to Gian Paolo Lomazzo’s 1557 account, Leonardo was encouraged to leave Christ’s face unfinished by his friend Bernardo Zenale, who claimed that “it would be impossible to imagine faces lovelier or gentler than those of James the Greater or James the Less.” Apparently Leonardo heeded the suggestion.
Despite multiple attempts at restoration, the last of which was finished in 1999, very little of the original painting survives today due to the techniques employed, a range of environmental variables, and intentional damage.
However, to conclude the gist of the historical ambience of the last supper that happened at the dinner were the disciples getting ready for Jesus to leave, the apostle Peter’s prophecies regarding Jesus’s betrayal, and Jesus’s eventual denial.
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Writer :
Jarin Anan Tanha
Intern, Content Writing Department
YSSE