The Last Supper – Part II
TRANSLATION
(22) While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and, when he had given thanks, he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it. This is my body.” (23) And he took a cup, and, when he had given thanks, gave it to them, and they all drank from it. (24) And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many. (25) Truly, I tell you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
(26) And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. (27) And Jesus said to them, “All of you will fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ (28) However, after I have risen, I will go before you into Galilee.” (29) Peter said to him, “Even if all fall away, I will not.” (30) Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” (31) But he said emphatically, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same thing.
OBSERVATIONS
At his last meal with the disciples in the Upper Room, Jesus established an ordinance which his followers have observed ever since. It goes by many names such as the Eucharist, the Table of the Lord, the Last Supper. Mark’s account of this pivotal moment was direct and unadorned. Three repetitions mark this segment: “drink/drank” (three times in vss. 23 & 25), “fall away” (vss. 27 & 29), and “deny” (vss. 30 & 31). After establishing the New Covenant in his blood, Jesus warned his disciples that the events about to occur would scatter them and bring them to the point of defection. When Peter rashly declared that he would never fall away, Jesus prophesied his threefold denial.
OUTLINE
I. Jesus ratified the New Covenant with “this is my body…this is my blood.” (22-25)
II. Jesus warned his disciples, “You will all fall away…and deny me.” (26-31)
IDEA STATEMENT
After establishing the New Covenant with his disciples, Jesus did what he could to prepare them for the time of testing which they were about to endure.
APPLICATION
In 1926 Earl Marlatt, a Methodist scholar and theologian, wrote a hymn that opens with the following dialog:
“Are ye able,” said the Master, “to be crucified with me?”
“Yea,” the sturdy dreamers answered, “to the death we follow thee.”
This couplet captures the essence of the disciples’ attitude during the hours leading up to Jesus’ arrest, trial, and execution. These men could not have anticipated what they would face in the striking of the shepherd that would scatter the sheep. Jesus tried to prepare them by warning them of the troubles they would face, but he knew that his words could never convey the agony of the ordeal they would undergo during those terrible events.
We may view Peter’s bravado with a mixture of amusement and pity for his impetuous claim, “Though all fall away, I will not.” We all too quickly forget how frequently we fail to keep our own commitments to obey Jesus as his disciples. Like Peter we are far more liable to deny and disobey the Lord when pressures mount, circumstances intervene, and our sinful passions overwhelm us than we are to persevere. How good it is to remember the truth Paul gave to Timothy for times like this: “If we are faithless, he remains faithful – for he cannot deny himself” (2 Tim. 2:13).