Xchange - Discussion Notes

The Last Supper
Luke 22:7-31

For many Christians, the text covering the last Supper is heard each time communion is celebrated. The main text comes either from Matthew, or from Paul (whose own report of the ‘tradition’ follows Matthew’s very closely.) In Luke however, the meal serves a specific function in the story.

In the first instance, whilst it is often remembered that this is in fact as Passover meal, it is often forgotten precisely what is being celebrated at Passover, and as a result, the claims that Jesus makes by sharing this meal can also be missed.

The Passover meal draws our attention to the epicentre of God’s saving action in the history of his people. The so called exodus (ex, meaning ‘out of’, and hodos, meaning ‘way’) is quite simply ‘a way out’ of the slavery that disabled an entire nation. In particular, the miraculous nature of this ‘way out’ was made as the Red Sea opened (Read Exodus 14 and 15), allowing the Israelites to flee to safety before engulfing the powers that oppressed them. And the Passover was not simply some academic exercise calling people to remember; it was a meal, a story, an event in which the Exodus was re-lived.

By celebrating this meal, and using it to refer to his body and his blood, Jesus is thereby claiming to be a leader of the same order as Moses. He talks of the suffering that is about to happen and events that are soon to unfold that will constitute a new exodus. Freedom for a people under the power of hostile forces, no longer Egypt but now Rome. All that Jesus has promised to do and to be is soon to be revealed in front of their eyes. And in this intimate setting, after all of his ministry, all of his teaching, after having learned so much of his character, Luke is building to an orchestral climax. At last the disciples understand, and soon they will see the Kingdom of God come.

But just as the music builds to its climax, you can hear the needle scratch across the track, and the disciples blurt out a sentence that shows how they don’t seem to have learned a thing: “here are two swords” – as if the Kingdom of God is going to come by some revolutionary violent action. And here, at the very end of Jesus’ ministry, you can almost hear the frustration in his voice as he groans: “that’s enough”. The meaning here is not, ‘ah yes, two swords is plenty’. It is rather, ‘that’s enough of that’ – or maybe even ‘I’ve had enough of this’.

Discussion Questions:

1 – How might a deep awareness of the Exodus shape the way that we receive communion in church?

2 – Why do you think the disciples still didn’t ‘get it’, and that they were still baffled when Jesus rose from the dead?

3 - In what ways can a tiny piece of diced bread and a thimble full of fake wine draw us into the drama of the Exodus story?

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