Preparing for Easter: Week 3
March 23, 2025
Preparing for Easter: Week 4
Stained Glass Reflections on the Life of Christ
Recommended Reading: John 13, Matthew 26:17-30/Mark 14:12-26, Luke 22:7-38
From here on out in our journey to Easter, the pace increases and the tension is high. We jump from the peaceful scene of Jesus with children that we looked at last week to a moment that looks like a fun meal with friends. But we know from Scripture that this is no peaceful get-together. This moment holds much angst and anguish for our Savior. Around this table is the one who will betray Him with a kiss and the one who will claim to never abandon Him but will immediately do so three times. In fact, all the men around this table will abandon Him! Yet He still dines with them.
Let your eyes behold this well-known scene. What jumps out to you?
Week 4: The Last Supper
- THE CROSS LOOMS LARGE: I love how the artist has hinted at what’s to come. Did you see the references to the crucifixion? The tablecloth has little crosses embroidered into it. Look above Jesus – the beam above His head looks eerily like a cross. His hand is outstretched as if ready to be pierced. He’s even sitting between a “torn” curtain (okay, maybe that’s a stretch). But the fact remains that the artist encapsulated what was no doubt on Jesus’ mind during this supper. There’s a reason we call it the “Last Supper.” Immediately following this, He will be arrested, tried, beaten, and crucified. Yet, with all this no doubt weighing on His mind, notice something more amazing.
- A SERENE SAVIOR: Jesus’ face is amazingly peaceful. He doesn’t seem worried or frazzled or hurriedly trying to cram in some last-minute teaching before His imminent death. Imagine if you knew your death was approaching in a day – would you look as He does? Imagine that you knew all your friends would betray or abandon you. Would you still have dinner with them?
We know that at this supper, Jesus has knelt down to wash these men’s feet. He even did this amazing act of service for Judas, His betrayer! In fact, look closely at the image – what is in Judas’ hand? It’s the money bag! No doubt, Judas the traitor is already thinking about how much heavier the bag feels with those 30 pieces of silver! Yet there sits Jesus, serene and calmly telling Judas, “What you do, do quickly” (John 13:27). He knows what will happen. He knows how they’ll react. He knows how painful it will be. He anticipates the anguish of having our sin poured out on Him. Yet He remains calm, compassionate, and in control. Hallelujah, what a Savior! - THE CUP AND THE BREAD. Finally, look at what is on the table. There beside Jesus’ hand sits a simple broken loaf of bread and a cup. This is when Jesus institutes what we now celebrate monthly as Communion or the Lord’s Supper. The bread symbolizes His broken body, and the cup represents His shed blood. But think about what it would have meant for the disciples in that moment. As He tears the bread apart, imagine their shock when He says that this is how His body will be broken shortly. And imagine the flash forward in Jesus’ mind to the nails piercing His hands and feet. As the disciples sip the red wine, imagine their shock when He says His blood will be poured out like that.
Jesus’ mind no doubt thought of the imagery He would employ later in His prayer – “Let this cup pass from me.” He drinks from a cup of wine now, but ultimately, He will drink down the cup of the wine of God’s wrath poured out on our sin. It is a beautiful but gruesome scene, and it is kind of Him to prepare His disciples for what would happen by clearly telling them of His coming suffering. And yet for all this preparation, they still abandon Him when it happens!
Like the disciples, we often find it easy to miss the significance of this moment. As we commemorate this Last Supper with our Lord’s Supper, it is easy to let it become commonplace. We take a small piece of bread and a sip of juice as if it’s nothing. But next time you partake in Communion (next Sunday, in fact!), think more deeply. Let your mind dwell on this Last Supper and on the next day when Jesus’ blood was shed for you and His body was broken for you. Meditate on it, tremble in awe at all He went through, but remember that all this was done for you! Just as death was not the end for Jesus, it is not the end for us! Rejoice!
