Lesson #21 In the Shadow of the Cross, Part 1: Preparation

(Matthew 26: 26-56)

In Lesson #20 we laid the groundwork for a character study of Judas, examining him as he has been presented in both Scripture and Tradition. A far more complex character than one might think, Judas has been portrayed variously as the archetypical villain, vile and avaricious; a well-meaning disciple who prods Jesus to get on with the business of liberating Israel from Roman rule; a peace maker, striving to mediate between Jesus and the religious leaders; and a loyal disciple, faithfully carrying out Jesus orders. Whatever the case, Judas is the catalyst in Jesus arrest, trial and crucifixion, and whatever his motives, Judas has carried the cross of infamy throughout Christian history. We will continue examining Judas as we progress through all four Gospels, probing both his character and his motives.

From the moment Jesus descended from the Mount of Transfiguration in Lesson #15 he set his face like flint and moved directly toward Jerusalem, into the shadow of the cross. In Lesson #21 we begin with the Passover meal in JerusalemJesus Last Supperand move through his arrest at the Garden of Gethsemane. This is extraordinarily complex and nuanced material, and we shall do our best to grasp the ineffable.

The Gospel according to Matthews overall mirrored chiastic structure

A Narrative: Jesus as Messiah, Son of God (1-4) Minor discourse: John the Baptist identifies the authority of Jesus (3:7-12) B Great Discourse #1: Demands of true discipleship (5-7) C Narrative: The supernatural authority of Jesus (8-9) D Great Discourse #2: Charge and authority of disciples (10) E Narrative: Jews reject Jesus (11-12) F Great Discourse #3: Parables of the Kingdom of Heaven (13) E Narrative: Disciples accept Jesus (14-17) D Great Discourse #4: Charge and authority of church (18) C Narrative: Authority and invitation (19-22) B Great Discourse #5: Judgment on false discipleship (23-25) Narrative: Jesus as Messiah, suffering and vindicated (26-28) Minor discourse: Jesus identifies the authority of the church (28:18-20)

Traditional location of the Upper Room

The Temple in Jesus day.

(1.50 scale model of 1st-century Jerusalem, Israel Museum.)
Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper (tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic), 1494-1498. Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan.

Leonardo da Vince began painting The Last Supper in 1495 as a mural covering the end wall of the refectory at the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy.
Not a fresco, which is painted on wet plaster, da Vinci layered the wall with a double coat of dried plaster and then overlaid it with a coat of white lead and tempura to achieve greater luminosity. But because the painting was on a thin exterior wall humidity quickly deteriorated it. By 1517 the paint had begun to flake, and by 1556 the painting was ruined, with many of the figures unrecognizable. Tragically, in 1796 French anticlerical revolutionaries used the Refectory as an armory and threw rocks at the painting, scratching out the eyes of the Apostles. Restoration attempts were made in 1726, 1770, 1821, 1901, 1924 and 1951; unfortunately, the many restorations did more harm than good. During 1978-1999 (21 years!) a contemporary restoration stabilized the painting and reversed much of the damage.

You can see The Last Supper today under climate-controlled conditions by appointment only on your next visit to Milan: its a must see.

Bartholomew James son of Alphaeus Andrew

Judas Peter John

Jesus

Thomas James Philip

Matthew Jude Simon the Zealot

Giovanni Pietro Rizzoli, The Last Supper, after Leonardo da Vince (oil on canvas), c. 1520. The Royal Academy of Arts, London.

Jesus and his disciples share their last meal together on the evening of the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Passover.

At the meal Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, Take and eat; this is my body. Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26: 26-28).
Nearly all Christian denominations view Jesus words as the institution of the Eucharist, or Holy Communion, one of the Sacraments.

For Roman Catholics, the liturgical life of the Church revolves around the sacraments, with the Eucharist at the very center. At Mass, we are fed by the Word of God and nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ. The Eucharist is at the heart of the life of the Church; it is the source and summit of the Christian life.

Roman Catholic thinking about the Eucharist is rooted primarily in John 6. When the crowds ask Jesus for a sign that they might believe in him, they say: Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat (John 6: 31). Jesus replies: I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died . . . I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world . . .. Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you (John 6: 48-53).

New Testament Greek uses three words in Scripture for life

1. bios (bee-os), which refers to earthly life in its functions and duration; 2. Psiuche (p-soo-khay), which refers to the breath of life, its animating force; and 3. Dzoe (d-zoo-ay), which refers to the force on which life rests, its vitality.

John 6 uses the word dzoe, referring not to biological life or eternal life, but to the vitality of life.
As God provided daily manna in the wilderness to sustain and nurture the Israelites on their journey from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land of Caanan, so does God provide the Eucharist to each of us to nurture and sustain us on our journey to the Kingdom of Heaven, our eternal home.

Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives (Matthew 26: 30)
The Egyptian Hallel Psalms (111-118) were sung during the Passover meal. Psalm 118 ends the meal.

Traditional location of the Upper Room

To the Mount of Olives

 Garden of Gethsemane Temple Palm Sunday road

Garden of Gethsemane on the Mt. of Olives, today.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

Dr. Creasy teaching at the Garden of Gethsemane.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

Church of the Agony at the Garden of Gethsemane.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

Church of the Agony, Interior. The bedrock remembers where Jesus prayed.
Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

 Golden Gates

View of the Temple area from the Garden of Gethsemane, 320 yards away.
Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

Giotto. Scenes from the Life of Christ, Kiss of Judas (fresco), c. 1304. Cappella Scroveign, Padua.

Psalm 2
Why do the nations rage, and the people plot what is vain? They stand together, the kings of the earth; the leaders conspire against the Lord and his Anointed: Let us break their bonds asunder; Let us cast off their cords.
He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord, he laughs them to scorn. Then he will speak in his anger; in his wrath he will strike them with terror: Indeed, it is I who installed my king upon Zion, my holy hill.

I will announce the decree of the Lord, the Lord said to me: You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask and I shall bequeath you the nations, put the ends of the earth in your possession. With an iron rod you will break them, shatter them like a potters jar. Now, O kings, understand; take warning, rulers of the earth: serve the Lord with fear and trembling; kiss the Son lest he be angry and you perish, for suddenly his anger will blaze. Blessed are they who trust in God.

1. 2. 3.

4. 5.

At The Last Supper Jesus identifies the bread and the wine as his body and blood. Why does he do so? When Peter vows that he will never deny Jesus, Jesus insists that he will. How did Jesus know that? In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prays to his Father, let this cup pass from me (Matthew 26: 39). He knew that he would be arrested, tried and crucified, so why did he pray that? What is the significance of Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss? When Peter draws his sword in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus stops him. Why?

Copyright 2014 by William C. Creasy

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