As we move closer to Holy Week, I wish to make some observations about the Last Supper. In this, I will repeat some of what I said last Sunday in my communion message. When we read the Gospel accounts, most of us visualize the events. The most enduring image is Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting. While it is rich with character studies, it is a completely inaccurate depiction of the historical moment. In seeing the Supper through this image, we will miss some of the power the Gospel writers intend for us to see.
Let’s start with the table. The table for Passover in the time of Jesus was in a “U” shape and would have looked something like this. The participants were around the outside of the “triclinium.” They reclined with their feet away from the table and leaned on their left elbow while eating with their right hand. John tells us:
John 13: 23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him [Jesus]. (NIV)
Seating charts are not always significant, but here it is. The host was typically the second from the end on the left side, looking into the “U.” On the host’s right, at the end of the table, was a place of honor and that person was seen as the host’s protector (some carried a sword.) On the left of the host was a second place of high honor. Honor decreased as one went from left to right. The end of the right side had the least honor and was considered the servant’s place. Now, let’s look at the seating chart. Our focus for this week’s blog is the place of Judas, and what it means.
Judas, of all people, had an honored place at the table! What does that mean? First, it means that Jesus loved His enemy. However, and second, that does not mean Judas was safe no matter what he did. In fact, Judas was in a perilous place. He was on a bubble. Jesus shared bread, which was an act of love, with Judas in order to save him. Jesus warned Judas with ominous words.
Matthew 26:23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” (NIV)
Judas was sitting next to Jesus, when He said it. The warning was both unmistakable and an act of love. Confronting Judas with the choice before him was truly loving, for love seeks to save someone from evil/the Evil One.
“So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly” (John 13:27b NIV).
Jesus had much to say to His disciples but could not with Judas undecided. Judas had to “fish or cut bait,” and he did not choose wisely. Only when Judas left could Jesus focus on the eleven. John shares His words in the rest of chapter 13 through the end of chapter 17.
Love, then, reaches out to our enemies in the hope they will no longer be our enemies. Love is willing to make changes in ourselves to move to that end. But love is not a synonym for gullible. Evil is evil, and Satan is Satan. When Judas made his terrible choice, Satan entered him, and it was truly night.
Next week I will discuss Peter at the table.
Tim Kelley
(1) A dining table with cushions along three sides, used in ancient Rome, or the room containing a triclinium.
(2) On this point, you can see a very informative video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vSzvs8gEQ4
Also see, McCarl, Jay. Broken Bread: An Ancient Look at the First Last Supper (p. 124). Biblical Dinner Publishing.