|
"For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" ( 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
In the footsteps of Jesus...
"Today, our walk in Jesus' footsteps, our guide takes us to a number of scattered sites, located both inside and outside the Ottoman-era walls of the Old City. According to Blessed Apostle Saint Luke it was the "day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed," and Jesus sent Peter and John, presumably from Bethany, into Jerusalem with these instructions:
"As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there. They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover" ( Blessed Apostle Saint Luke 22:10-13).
This took place on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan ( March/April ), the day of preparation for Passover (Hebrew Pesah ). The festival meal itself was eaten that evening after sunset—and therefore technically on the 15th, since the Jewish day began with sunset. The Feast of Unleavened Bread lasted seven days, from the 15th to the 21st of Nisan, but at the time of Jesus this was the name of the entire period, from Nisan 14-21. The greatest of the Jewish pilgrim festivals, Passover was the story of freedom, defiance, hope and renewal. It was the annual retelling of how a rabble of slaves was infused with a special purpose and grew to enter into a covenant with God. The story was well-known. Generations earlier, the Israelites—70 men and the uncounted women and children of the family of Jacob—settled in Egypt during a time of great famine, brought there by Joseph with the blessing of the Pharaoh. Time passed and the Pharaoh died, and with him the memory of how Joseph helped the Egyptians survive the famine. The descendants of Jacob ( Israel ) were now seen as dangerous interlopers who had to be subdued. For 430 years, the Torah said, the Israelites lived in Egypt, and for 210, they were enslaved, forced to build the store-cities of Pithom and Rameses. Beaten and abused they never forgot God's promise to resettle them in a land of their own. In the midst of their oppression, they called to God, who brought a deliverer named Moses to challenge Pharaoh. Ten plagues later, the Israelites were set free. And so, once a year, every Jew, including Jesus, traveled to Jerusalem for Passover, not so much to celebrate the Exodus, but to relive it, retell it and experience it. That is where the Passover seder came in, the ritual meal at which the story of freedom was told, guided by a set order. For that is what seder means, "order." Jesus' assignment to Peter and John was simple enough. The two men hiked the two-and-a-half-mile journey from Bethany to Jerusalem. Their route took them over the Mount of Olives, down among a multitude of tents into the Kidron Valley. Heading south through the valley, they entered the city, possibly through a gate (Fountain Gate?) at the southeast corner of the imposing walls. Inside, near the Pool of Siloam, they saw a man with a tall pitcher of water on his head. Men did not usually draw water and carry it into the home. Normally water was drawn and brought to the home in the early morning or late afternoon by, in order of priority, wives, daughters, male sons under the age of twelve, animals and, finally, men ( only if none of the others were available ). Thus, the sight of a man carrying water would have been a sure sign for Peter and John. The man led Peter and John up the stepped street to his home in the precincts of the Upper City, and up a flight of stairs to a second floor room. A roasting oven was there, and so were the unleavened bread, wine, bitter herbs, sauce and lamb necessary for a Passover meal for thirteen men. With the room arrangements made, Peter and John saw to the preparation of the food. The two hurried to build a fire and roast the lamb (zeroa). It was expressly forbidden that it should be boiled, or that any bone be broken because it symbolized Israel, whole and undivided. It also recalled the lamb's blood that the Israelites put on the doors in Egypt as a sign that God should pass over their houses and not kill their firstborn. They fashioned the round, thin, loaves of unleavened bread ( matzah ), called the bread of affliction because the Israelites had left Egypt in such haste that they had no time to use yeast. They also made a salad ( maror ) from the five kinds of bitter-tasting herbs—possibly including horseradish, pepperwort, lettuce, dandelion, and chicory—a reminder of the dinners of the bitter bondage in Egypt. Wine—mixed four parts of wine with one part water—was made ready. Finally, they made the haroset, a dish consisting of almonds, figs, dates, wine and innamon, representing the mortar of bricks the Israelites were forced to make. The modern Passover seder includes the beitzah, a roasted egg symbolizing the sacrifice that was offered at every pilgrimage holiday, and the karpas, greens such as celery or lettuce, a reminder of the freshness of spring ( or baked potato—a reminder of times when greens were hard to find ). As Blessed Apostles, Saints Peter and John completed their preparations, Jesus and the other ten disciples left Bethany to join them. It was around 6:00 p.m. and the sun had set a few minutes earlier, although, from the top of the Mount of Olives, the last reddish glow of the sunset could be seen on horizon beyond the golden spires of the Temple. Jesus paused  and gazed across the valley to the walled city perched high and aloof with pride over the surrounding dark green valleys and hills now dotted with the tents of a quarter-million pilgrims. The men could hear babies crying amidst scattered conversation in Aramaic and smell the roasted meat of Passover lambs. Like Peter and John earlier, they crossed the Kidron Valley and entered the city. There the small group bucked a tide of men heading out to the tent-city outside the walls, carrying dead lambs across the backs of their necks. Near the Pool of Siloam they headed up the steps climbing into the Upper City. In a few minutes they would join with the many thousands of people gathered both inside and outside the walls in giving thanks to God for their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. As the night watch of the Temple came on duty, a priest standing at the southwest corner of the Temple compound sounded blasts from his shofar marking the beginning of a new day and the start of the Passover. Blessed Apostles Saints Peter and John were just finishing their assignment when Jesus and the other disciples walked upstairs and into the room. The men, all in their thirties, seemed composed, but there was an underlying tension as they exchanged quiet greetings. As the homeowner's servants set the table in the middle of the room, the thirteen men washed their hands in the ceremony of purification. They then moved toward the low tables and took their places on the couches surrounding them. The chill of the early evening could be felt in the room. The disciples looked to Jesus, who said: "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God" ( Blessed Apostle Saint Luke 22:15-16 )
|
Location of the " Last Supper"  We do not know where the "Last Supper" took place, but ever since the Middle Ages a room on the second floor of a Crusader-period building (right),located near the Church of the Dormition, just beyond the Zion Gate of today's Old City, has been designated as the site. The Cenacle or Coenaculum ( both words mean "dining room" ) is recognized by all Christians, except the Syrian Orthodox, as the site of the Last Supper. However, the heavy pillars, arches and other Gothic-style architectural elements date the structure to the 14th century AD, but it may have been erected on the site of an earlier primitive Jewish-Christian place of worship ( synagogue ). During the 15th century AD the room was transformed into a mosque to the prophet David by Muslims, as evident by the mihrab ( a niche indicating the direction of Mecca for prayer) against the south wall (extreme left in the above photo ). The ground floor of the same building is a Jewish holy site known as "David's Tomb," honoring Israel's most illustrious king. It lies well outside the boundaries of the Jerusalem of his time, but this fact has not deterred Jewish pilgrims from coming here to pray, principally on Pentecost ( Shavuot ), the traditional date of the beloved king's death. As in any synagogue, men must cover their heads when entering ( cardboard yarmulkes or kippot—skull caps—are available at the entrance for those who don't have head coverings ).
The actual Passover observance The lambs used in the Passover feast were killed on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Nisan ( March-April ), and the meal itself was eaten that evening between sundown and midnight. Since the Jewish day began at sunset, the meal actually took place on the 15th of Nisan. Passover was followed by the week-long Feast of Unleavened Bread, which lasted until the 21st of Nisan. Blessed Apostles and Saints Matthew, Mark and Luke indicate that the "Last Supper" was a traditional Passover seder; Blessed Apostle Saint John places the meal "just before the Passover Feast" ( Blessed Apostle Saint John 13:1 ), which some scholars feel more comfortable with, as they believe the trial that took place later that night and into the early hours of the morning would never have been held on the actual day of Passover. Some of the confusion arises from the fact that several different calendars were used to determine the dates of festivals. Originally, the Passover meal was eaten standing ( see Exodus 12:11 ), but in Jesus' time it was eaten Roman-style, reclining at a three-sided table ("triclinium") (right) about twelve inches above the floor—a style used by the wealthy. Archaeology and historical sources have confirmed this at Zippori ( Sepphoris ), the Herodion and Masada, among other places. During the 1st century AD there was a custom that suggested that all people should eat the Passover as a reclining meal, because God had made all Jews wealthy when they were delivered from slavery to freedom during the Exodus from Egypt. Furthermore, the Gospel of Blessed Apostle Saint John is quite explicit in demonstrating that this was such a meal:
"One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him" ( Blessed Apostle Saint John 13:23 )
At this three-sided table, diners reclined on pillows and cushions. VIP's were positioned on the left-hand side, as an observer would face the table. Moving left to right around the table, diners were placed in descending order of importance. The last place in the right-hand corner, was the place of least importance. At a formal meal, the person sitting there usually had the responsibility of washing the feet of the other guests. The host would always occupy second position at the table; the attendant would recline in position one, while the guest of honor was always placed at position three. Knowing this, we can locate at least three of the disciples at the Last Supper. Jesus, as the host, would have been reclining in position two. The meal's attendant, the one who refilled the wine glasses or pitchers and food plates, would have been placed on the Jesus' right. This person, identified only as the "one whom Jesus loved," was probably Blessed Apostle Saint John. The guest of honor, the person in the third position, would have been to Jesus' left, and this would have been (surprise!) Judas Iscariot, the only non-Galilean of the group. How do we know that Judas was in this position? Blessed Apostle Saint Mark's Gospel ( 14:20 ) states that Judas was the one who dipped the unleavened bread in the bowl with Jesus. The only persons who could share common eating vessels with the host were those to his right and left ( the attendant and the guest of honor ). Since the attendant ( Blessed Apostle Saint John ) asked who would betray Jesus, and since Jesus indicated that it was the one sitting next to him, this could only have been Judas! We do not know which disciples occupied the other places, with the possible exception of the last position. It is probable that Blessed Apostle Saint Peter was there. Two reasons support this theory. First, when Jesus announced that one of the disciples would betray him, Blessed Apostle Saint Peter asked Blessed Apostle Saint John to ask who it was:
"One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, 'Ask him which one he means'" ( Blessed Apostle Saint John 13:24 ).
If Blessed Apostle Saint Peter had been close enough, he could have asked Jesus himself. Second, the person in the last position was responsible for the washing of the feet of the other guests. But Jesus, even though he was the host, assumed this menial task, normally performed by a servant upon the arrival of each guest. It was a dramatic role-reversal, and it was deliberately done during the meal as a lesson in humility and selfless service. Blessed Apostle Saint John's account states the Jesus began washing the other disciple's feet before coming to Blessed Apostle Saint Peter, who seems to have been at or near the end of the table. The portion of the meal that has become so central in Catholic worship is described in Blessed Apostles Saints Matthew, Mark and Luke. At some point, Jesus gave a new meaning to the bread and wine that were part of the Passover meal. First, he took a loaf of the unleavened bread, thanked God, broke it apart and gave it to the disciples, saying: "Take ye and eat ye all of this: for this is my body." Afterward he took the cup, gave thanks and passed it around for them to drink, saying: "This is the Chalice of my blood, of the new and everlasting testament, the mystery of faith, which for you and for many shall be shed unto the remission of sins." ( a reference to the scene at Mount Sinai in Exodus 24 when God's covenant with his people after their deliverance from Egypt was sealed ). However, for the disciples, the Passover celebration of that deliverance would never again be the same. No longer would it be solely a remembrance of the past. From now on it would look toward the future.
|
There are four written accounts of the "Last Supper" in the New Testament. The earliest, written about 54 AD, thus predating the Gospels, is found in one of Blessed Apostle Saint Paul's letters to the church in Corinth. We know it as "First Corinthians," but it is actually his second letter ( the first has not survived ):
"The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "Take ye and eat ye all of this: for this is my body." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, This is the Chalice of my blood, of the new and everlasting testament, the mystery of faith, which for you and for many shall be shed unto the remission of sins." ( 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 ).
|
Around the time the full moon rose high enough to be seen over the Mount of Olives, Jesus made a shocking statement:
"I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me" ( Blessed Apostle Saint John 13:21 ).
All dining stopped immediately. Did the disciples understand correctly? Was Jesus really saying that one their own company was plotting against him? They glanced around the tables at each other as Peter motioned to John, saying, "Ask him which one he means." John leaned back against Jesus, and he asked him, "Lord, who is it?"
"Jesus answered, 'It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.' Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon."
This turn of events must have sent shivers through each of the men. They had known about the plot of high priest Caiaphas against Jesus' life and the arrest warrant issued weeks earlier by the chief priests and Pharisees. But Caiaphas was not the one "to whom I will give this piece of bread." It was one of their own, the group treasurer, Judas, and Jesus said to him: "What you are about to do, quickly." After Judas had eaten the bread, he left the room, walked down the stairway and headed a couple stone throws away for the palatial mansion of the high priest, Joseph Caiaphas. At this point only three people in the room knew what the Judean was up to—John, Peter and Jesus himself. |
After the meal, Jesus and the remaining eleven disciples left the residential districts of the Upper City, possibly eastward on what is now known as the "Hasmonean Staircase."
|
Hasmonean Staircase "This stairway (right)is yet another major archaeological find of recent times. It connected the old Pool of Siloam at the southwest corner of the City of David (Lower City) with the Upper City. The name 'Hasmonean' refers to the era in which this stepped-street was built ( 141-37 BC ), and it was definitely in use at the time of Jesus. Most likely Jesus walked here at least three times on the evening of Maundy Thursday: once on his way to the "upper room" for the Passover remembrance, once to Gethsemane after the Last Supper, and again after his arrest at Gethsemane." In the upper left corner of the photo is the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu ("at the cockcrow"), recalling Peter's denial of Jesus three times before the "cock crowed" twice (more later). |
 |
Jesus and the disciples exited the city, crossed the Kidron Valley and turned north. On the other side, on the Mount of Olives, was a place called Gethsemane and there, on this cold evening, Jesus sought strength in prayer and surrendered himself to the will of God. It is not surprising that Jesus was habitually in this area, for the Kidron Valley and the slopes of the Mount of Olives became a campground for thousands of poorer pilgrims during the great Jewish festivals. Though Christian tradition has always placed Gethsemane on the lower slopes of the Mount of Olives, this assumption, though ancient, does not have the force of proof. In any case, Jesus 'often met' there with his disciples, and therefore it was well known to Judas.
"A place called Gethsemane" A stone-carved sign over the gated entrance reads "Hortus Gethsemani," Latin for "Garden of Gethsamane." Few sites connected with Christ's Passion are more famous. Here, within an iron fence, are eight gnarled and ancient olive trees commemorating Jesus betrayal and arrest. It should be noted, however, that the Gospels never mention a "garden of Gethsemane," but rather "a place called Gethsemane" ( Blessed Apostle Saint Matthew 26:36; Blessed Apostle Saint Mark 14:32 ). In the original Greek, Blessed Apostle Saint John's gospel ( 18:1 ) refers to a kepos which has been translated "garden" (KJV, ASV) and "olive grove" (NIV), but really means a cultivated tract of land. Gethsemane is derived from the Hebrew gat shemanim ( Aramaic, gat shamna ), meaning "oil press," indicating that an olive press for extracting precious lamp and cooking oil was located somewhere in the area, but it has never been found. The trees here are very old, but they did not witness Jesus' night of agonizing prayer. During the Jewish revolt of 70 AD, general Titus' Roman legions cut-down the trees around Jerusalem to build siege towers, as well as crosses to crucify the rebels who attempted to escape the siege—as many as 500 a day. The roots, however, are said to be two-thousand years old and may indeed have seen Jesus' betrayal and arrest.
 |
 |
| Above left, ancient olive trees within a gated enclosure adjacent ( north ) to the Church of All Nations ( above right ), also known as the Basilica of the Agony, at the foot of the Mount of Olives. |
Immediately south of this small stand of trees is the Church of All Nations, built in 1924. The name refers to the countries who contributed to its construction, and it was designed by the Italian architect Antonio Barluzzi, who also designed Dominus Flevit higher up on the west slope of the Mount of Olives. The present building is the latest in a series of three churches, the first was built between 379 and 384 AD, and destroyed by an earthquake 20 years later; the second was built by Crusaders about 1170 AD.
font color=white>Recent study indicates that the Gethsemane events took place, not in garden, but in a cave where an oil press was located. Olive presses were often placed in caves because their warmth hastened the extraction of oil. Olives were pressed in fall and winter, after the September harvest.
|
 A short distance northwest of the Church of All Nations/Basilica of the Agony is a large cave (right), known as the "Grotto of Gethsemane," or "Cave of the Betrayal." Notwithstanding restoration work done in the 1950's, it has maintained its original appearance, as at the time of Jesus.
By spring, just before Passover, this cave, which may have belonged to or been part of an estate owned by a follower of Jesus, would have been available to pilgrims flocking to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration, held during the month of Nisan (March-April). It would have been a good place for Jesus and the disciples to spend the night—warm, dry and roomy—sheltered from the cold and heavy dew prevalent in the spring. Blessed Apostle Saint John's Gospel ( 18:18 ) refers to the cold the night of Jesus' arrest. There is an old tradition that when Jesus came to Gethsemane after the Last Supper with the remaining eleven disciples, he left eight of them in this cave:
"Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, 'Sit here while I go over there and pray.'" ( Blessed Apostle Saint Matthew 26:36 )
Jesus then went on with the other three disciples—Blessed Apostles, Saints Peter, James and John ( the same three who had earlier witnessed his Transfiguration )— to pray:
"He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, 'My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.' Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.'" ( Blessed Apostle Saint Matthew 26:37-39 )
In the Gospel of Blessed Apostle Saint John, this is Jesus' longest recorded prayer. Blessed Apostles, Saints Matthew, Mark and Luke go on to report that Jesus tried to pray, but his distress would not allow him to concentrate. The picture drawn by the Synoptic Gospels is that of a very anxious Jesus waiting for Judas and those sent by the Temple officials to come for him. This is perfectly understandable. Anyone facing imminent arrest, torture, and execution would find it very difficult, if not impossible, to concentrate or focus on prayer. When he returned to the three disciples he found them asleep. In great anguish, he asked them to stay awake and to watch for him, but to no avail. Twice more he moved back and forth from his place of solitude to his three sleeping friends but with no luck. He was not able to pray, and they were not able to stay awake. In Blessed Apostle Saint Luke's version we are told that when Jesus prayed he was in so much agony that his perspiration was like drops of blood falling from his head. Christian tradition also suggests that when Jesus prayed he knelt beside a rock that is today located before the altar in the Basilica of the Agony, located immediately south of the Gethsemane olive grove. After Jesus failed in his efforts to pray, Judas arrived at the olive grove, "guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and  weapons" ( Blessed Apostle Saint John 18:3 ). Then Judas, the guest of honor at the Passover Seder/Last Supper earlier that evening, greeted his friend and master in the time-honored Oriental manner—with a kiss—thereby identifying Jesus as the one to be seized. Blessed Apostle Saint John's Gospel ( 18:10 ) relates that Simon Peter, who carried a short sword ( Greek machaira, either a large knife or short sword ) at his side, struck the high priest's servant, Malchus, cutting off his right ear. The soldiers and officials then bound Jesus and led him away into the wealthy Upper City. Their route probably took them south through the Kidron Valley, past several elaborate Hasmonean-era tombs (right) carved in the bedrock at the base of the Mount of Olives, on the eastern side of the Kidron Valley. At the rear of the line of march, some of the guards noticed Jesus' followers lagging behind. The guards turned as if to pursue them and all ran off, retreating into the shadows. Only Blessed Apostle Saint Peter and "another disciple" ( presumably Blessed Apostle Saint John ) continued following at some distance. Everyone else, according to Blessed Apostle Saint Mark, "deserted him and fled" ( Blessed Apostle Saint Mark 14:50 ).
| The Passion narratives are full of surprising twists and turns. This is hardly a story the gospel writers would have made up about the Apostles. Why would these stalwart leaders of the early church want it known that they had all betrayed or deserted Jesus in his hour of need? |
|
A very special 'Thank you' to welcometohosanna.com for their commentaries and resources sparingly edited by this writer for this presentation.
|
|
|
|
|