Table of Contents:
This teacher’s copy of the What is Holy Communion – the Last Supper lesson plan is printer-friendly.
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STARTER:
Imagine receiving a letter from someone very close to you, someone whom you love and admire.
In this letter, there is some very bad news.
They say that they are dying and that this letter may be the last time that they will be able to tell you things.
Q. How important will the rest of the letter be to you?
Discuss.
The last words of someone very close to you are very important.
They haven’t got time for silly things, they want to share what’s on their heart.
MAIN TEACHING:
Christians believe that for a long time, Jesus knew that he was going to die because the religious leaders were jealous of Him.
But more than that, on this particular day, Jesus knew that He was going to be betrayed later that evening and that the Romans would kill Him the next day.
He had spent about three years with this group, training and teaching these people about the Kingdom of God, and proving to them that He was the Son of God by healing people and performing other miraculous things.
These were the last few hours together before Jesus would leave this earth.
Q. How important was this time together?
So He arranged to have one last meal together with His closest friends, and what He said to them that night was very important.
This is known as the Last Supper.
(Teacher’s note: A lot of this teaching is recorded in John 13:1-17:26. Smaller accounts of that evening are in Matthew 26:17-35, Mark 14:12-26 and Luke 22:7-38)
Jesus washes the disciples’ feet
It was the Jewish custom to wash feet after a journey, because they wore sandals with no socks on very dusty footpaths.
Generally, there would have been poor servants whose task it was to do this smelly job.
Tonight, presumably, there were no servants to do this, so it should have been the lowest-ranked person in the room to do the foot washing.
But none of the disciples lowered themselves to do it.
Q. If you were a disciple, would you have washed their feet?
Jesus knew:
“that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel round his waist.
After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’” John 13:3-6 New International Version.
Eventually, Jesus persuaded Simon Peter to allow him to wash his feet, and then Jesus said:
“Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’, and rightly so, for that is what I am.
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” John 13:12-15 NIV.
Q. Did Jesus literally mean this, or did he mean more than that?
Answer: Jesus means that we should look to serve each other and to put others’ needs before our own.
Jesus reveals his betrayer
Then Jesus announced that a prophecy would be fulfilled shortly, which said:
“He who shared my bread has turned against me.” John 13:18 NIV
Then Jesus said:
“Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”
The disciples were shocked, then Jesus said:
“It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.”
Then, in the confusion, Jesus dipped the piece of bread, gave it to Judas Iscariot and said to him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”
The disciples did not realise what was happening, and Judas left to speak to the religious leaders.
Jesus announces that he will shortly be glorified
Jesus then said something about himself regarding his death:
“Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him.”
This was telling us that it was all going according to God’s plan and somehow Jesus’ death on the cross was a marvellous thing.
(We will look in more detail at the actual meal they ate together nearer the end of this presentation.)
Then he told them to love one another:
“As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 NIV
Jesus predicts his return to heaven and Peter’s denial
Simon Peter was getting confused by all of this, and so he asked:
“Lord, where are you going?’
Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” John 13:36 NIV
Q. Where was Jesus going?
Answer: Christians believe that Jesus was indicating that after his crucifixion, he was going back to heaven.
Simon Peter would not be able to get to Jesus until he himself died and would go to heaven with Jesus.
Peter then asked:
“Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the cock crows, you will disown me three times!” John 13:37-38 NIV
Simon Peter was often overconfident in himself, and this situation was going to teach him to be more humble and rely more on God.
It was during Jesus’ arrest when Peter secretly followed Jesus to one of the religious leaders’ houses that he was challenged three times, and each time Peter denied knowing Jesus.
After Jesus was raised from the dead, he came to Peter to restore their friendship.
The Father’s house and God the Father
At this Last Supper, Jesus continued to teach his disciples. He told them:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You believe in God; believe also in me.
My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am.” John 14:1-3 NIV
Q. What is the ‘Father’s house, this place Jesus would prepare for them?
Answer: Christians believe that the ‘Father’s house’ is heaven.
Jesus was saying that it has many rooms, in other words, it was big enough for everyone.
Jesus was also saying that all who believed in him would have a place in heaven.
The disciple Thomas said that he did not know where Jesus was going, and so Jesus said:
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.” John 14:6-7 NIV
Q. What did Jesus mean by his last sentence?
Answer: When Jesus said, “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well,” he was saying that he is the image of God.
In other words, his character, his love and compassion, and his power are like God the Father’s.
The Holy Spirit is promised
Jesus then went on to teach about the coming Holy Spirit.
He told them that if they loved him and followed his commands, he would give them a helper – the Spirit of truth.
This Holy Spirit, whom the Father would send, would teach them all things and would remind them of everything Jesus had said to them.
Then Jesus said:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27 NIV
Then they left for the Garden of Gethsemane.
The Jewish Passover Meal
If you remember, Jesus held his Last Supper on the same evening as a Jewish festival, which made this time extremely important.
It was not by chance that he chose this particular evening.
It was just at the time when all the Israelites would be sharing a yearly event known as the ‘Passover Meal’.
This was in preparation to celebrate the ‘Feast of Passover’ on the next day, and the background of the feast is this:
Moses in Egypt
The Bible tells us that the Jews were slaves in Egypt about 1500 B.C.
But God had a plan to free them through Moses.
Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him:
“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’”
Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.’
Then they said, ‘The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.’
But the king of Egypt said, ‘Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labour? Get back to your work!’ (Exodus 5:1-4 NIV)
Unfortunately, the Pharaoh refused to let them go and therefore, God, through Moses, spoke ten plagues upon the Egyptians.
The River Nile was turned into blood, there was a plague of frogs, then swarms of gnats, but each time Pharaoh would not release the Jews from their slavery.
Q. How was this going to end?
It came to the last and tenth plague, where a destroying angel would go throughout Egypt and kill all the firstborn of every family and animal!
But there was a way out to be saved from this:
Anybody who sacrificed a lamb and smeared the blood around the door of their homes would be spared.
All they had to do was believe that this blood would turn the destroying angel away from them.
The Jews believed what Moses had said, and they carried out the sacrifices.
The Egyptians did not believe, and so they did not sacrifice any lambs.
Q. What would you have done?
The next morning, in every Egyptian household, there was weeping, because their firstborns had all died!
But in the Jewish households, there had been no deaths.
Pharaoh commanded that they should leave Egypt, but when they had left, he changed his mind and pursued after them with a big army of chariots.
The Jews had come up to the Red Sea (or Sea of Reeds), which was too deep to cross, and therefore, they looked trapped.
But God, through Moses, parted the sea so they could cross on dry ground, but when the Egyptians followed, the sea crashed back over them!
How the Passover Meal and the Last Supper are connected
This event, the release of the Jews from Egypt, is celebrated with the Passover Meal – when the destroying angel ‘passed over’ the blood on the doorposts.
Jesus chose to celebrate his Last Supper at Passover.
They, as a group of Jesus’ followers, celebrated a Passover meal and then:
“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’
Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” Matthew 26:26-28 NIV
Q. What similarities are there between these two events?
Answer:
THE PASSOVER MEAL:
- Celebrated by a meal (called the Passover Meal)
- A lamb is sacrificed
- Faith that the blood would save them
- Saved from death by the destroying angel
THE LAST SUPPER:
- Celebrated by a meal (called Communion, Eucharist, etc.)
- Jesus was the sacrifice (the Lamb of God)
- Faith that the blood of Jesus would save them
- Saved from death by God forgiving sins and wrongs
The bread and the wine
Jesus had been talking about his body being broken and about his blood being poured out.
He was referring to his death upon a Roman cross.
The bread and wine are symbols of his death.
Jesus, as a substitute, was paying the penalty for sin.
Christians, by celebrating this meal, are declaring that they believe that Jesus has paid their penalty.
This meal is celebrated in different ways in different churches, but it means the same thing.
It is known by various names:
- Communion
- Holy Communion
- Eucharist
- Bread and Wine
- The Mass
- Eucharist
- The Lord’s Supper.
Q. What symbols do you think are used in these church services?
Answer:
It will involve bread (which can be wafers or bread).
Wine will be served either in one large cup or everyone will have their own small glass. (It could be real wine, or grape juice or red squash).
When it is celebrated, the time is quiet and thoughtful.
Q. Why do you think that time is quiet and thoughtful?
Q. Would it be valuable for you to spend some quiet time alone, to be thoughtful and to think about where your life is taking you?
Either take a short time to discuss these things, or leave it with them.
(Teacher’s note: There is the Holy Communion worksheet to accompany this
lesson plan.)
See also: What is the Last Supper? RE resources