The Last Supper must be one of the most famous scenes that has come to us from history. It’s of Jesus sharing the Jewish Passover Meal with his 12 disciples before his lonely and torturous journey to the cross.
The record of the supper and the discussion Jesus had with his disciples is found in John 13-17. However it has become more famous than other meals Jesus had with his disciples due to the 15th-century mural painting by Leonardo da Vinci. 
This is one of the world’s most famous paintings, and one of the most studied, scrutinized, and satirized (including these 12 examples from Pop Culture). However whilst the painting and the scene is very familiar, I feel that the meaning that the Apostle John wanted to convey to us has been lost. My guess is that people have studied the painting more than they have studied John 13-17, which is the basis for the famous painting.
So for five consecutive weeks we’re going to take a look – one chapter at a time – at Jesus’ actions and words to try to piece together together the real meaning behind the meal. It must have been an intimate and moving occasion. Firstly Jesus says he is going to leave them (which they don’t understand), and secondly this is the moment when Judas leaves them to betray Jesus. I am sure Jesus had lots on his mind and there could have been countless others things to do on his last evening before his arrest, but he wanted to prepare his disciples both for his imminent death and his future departure.
So these chapters are all about Jesus preparing his church for when he has gone. Before I break down the series let’s just put the gospel of John in context.
The Purpose & Structure of John
The Gospel of John is very different from the other three synoptic gospels. For example there is no birth narrative, no parables (none at all!), no Sermon on the Mount, no casting out demons, no baptism, temptation nor transfiguration of Jesus. And there are many things that are not in the other three gospels. For example the seven “I am” statements (bread of life, light of the world etc), the wedding at Cana (water into wine), the many controversies at the Jewish festivals in Jerusalem, the teaching on the Holy Spirit and details about the resurrection appearances. Very strikingly John doesn’t talk about ‘The Kingdom of God’ but rather ‘eternal life’. And the Last Supper dialogue told to us in John 13-17 is part of what is unique to John (with the foot-washing, the discussion with Judas, the teaching on the Holy Spirit and the prolonged prayer in John 17).
Why is John so different? Scholars have debated that for centuries and there are some interesting things to be said. However at the end of his book John tells us why he wrote the book, why he selected the material he did (and left out the things he did). He says in John 20:30-31:
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John wants us to (a) understand who Jesus is and (b) discover life as we discover him. And we’ll see these two themes emerge from the last supper – who is Jesus and what does it mean to have fullness of life and eternal life as we follow him?
Not only did John have a specific purpose for writing, he also structures his book in an interesting way. In fact many have described the gospel of John as made up of two books: chapters 1-12 is the book of signs and chapters 13-21 is the book of glory. Gary Burge in his commentary on John has a nice diagram of how he thinks the book is structured.
In John 1-12 Jesus gathers his first followers (chapter 1-2), enters into prolonged dialogue with Nicodemus and the Woman at the Well (chapter 3-4) and then performs four miracles (he heals the invalid, feeds the 5000, heals the blind man and raises Lazarus from the dead). Each of these kick off huge debates with the religious authorities about his identity and end up with them planning to kill him (chapter 5-12). One noticeable feature of these chapters is that the crowds want miraculous signs (John 2:23-25) and they want to make him king by force (John 6:14), but Jesus will have none of it. He will not fit in to their ideas of king; one that rules by force and power. So as the story of John moves forward, and as the intrigue about the identity of Jesus increases, at numerous points he says “my hour has not yet come” (2:4, 7:6, 7:30, 8:20). People want to push him forward, but he knows that they are not ready for him to reveal himself in true glory. But then in 12:23 he says “the hour has come.” However the great surprise is that the hour when his glory will be revealed is not in miraculous signs and wonders, it is on the cross.
So he says in John 12:27-28:
Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”
And then as we enter John 13 and the Last Supper we read in verse 1:
It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
Gary Burge says this about the Book of Glory:
In this major section Jesus turns in private to his disciples during his final passover. Remarkably, that nine chapters centre on just a few days of Jesus’ life. He teaches them privately about servanthood, washes their feet, explains the coming Holy Spirit in terms of personal revelation and persecution, and prays at length for his followers and their disciples… The Book of Glory is dominated by the events of the Upper Room and the Passion Account. From chapter 13-17 Jesus is centre stage, preparing his disciples for his death.
Series Outline and Discussion Points
So how are we going to break down chapters 13-17, and what discussion points are going to be raised as we consider what it is to be church in 21st Century Dublin?
- John 13 – A New Command: Love One Another As I Have Loved You. In week 1 we’ll reflect on the footwashing and the servant-hearted, impartial and unconditional love of Jesus towards his cowardly, betraying and foolish disciples. We’ll also reflect on how our love for one another is the greatest witness to a watching world of who Jesus is.
- John 14: Another Counsellor: The Spirit of Truth (part 1). In week 2 we’ll see Jesus introduce the person of the Holy Spirit as “another counsellor” who will continue his work with the disciples. They will not be left alone but the Holy Spirit is our advocate and one the one who continues to reveal Jesus to us.
- John 15: A New Identity: We belong to Christ. In week 3 we’ll see how our lives are now intertwined with Jesus. He is the Vine and we are the branches. But part of this means we will face persecution. Whilst we’re in the world we do not belong to the world.
- John 16: Another Counsellor: The Spirit of Truth (part 2). In week 4 we’ll continue to reflect on the role of the Holy Spirit as the one who guides us into all truth and reveals Jesus to us.
- John 17: A New Family: Jesus’ Prayer for the church. The last week of the series will be a ‘Vision Sunday’ where we look at Jesus’ prayer, not just for his disciples but also for us (those down the centuries who believed their message). At the heart of this prayer is that Jesus’ followers, his church, might be united. Just as the Father, Son and Spirit are diverse, they are also one. So we, the church, are diverse and yet our unity is be a witness to the world that we belong to Jesus.
So how do Jesus’ words to his 12 disciples apply to us today? How do they prepare us to be his church? Well here are five things we’ll be reflecting on:
Love – whilst we say that love is the foundation of this world, it’s very hard to love people who are unloveable. We’re going to discover how once we know that Jesus loved us when we betrayed him, we have the power to love those who betray and hurt us. As he says in John 15:13 “greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends”. We’ll consider the great love of Christ, in the foot-washing and also what it pointed towards – the cross and the cleansing from sin.- Truth – When you read John’s gospel it’s amazing to see how Jesus will not compromise on the truth. This is seen in two ways. Firstly to the people like Nicodemus, the woman at the well and the woman caught in adultery we see that he accepts them as they are are (in all their mess and confusion) but he will not leave them where they are. He challenges them to come out of the darkness of their sin and walk in the light, to walk in the truth. Secondly with the Religious leaders, he never flinches when they confront and challenge him – in fact he continually tells them they are blind and cannot see the truth. Jesus is not interested in compromising the truth for the sake of fitting in.
- Persecution – It’s common today to soften down the hard bits of Christianity and come up with a gospel message that basically says “if you love Jesus everything will go well for you”. In reality Jesus promises the exact opposite. If you love him, you’ll find that people hate and despise you. “No servant is greater than their master, if they persecuted me, they’ll persecuted you also” (John 15:20). Just as they persecuted and killed Jesus, so Jesus’ followers can expect rejection, ostracism and even death.
- The Holy Spirit – I see two main mistakes that happen in churches today when it comes to the role of the Holy Spirit. Firstly he can be forgotten altogether (often he is called an “it” which reveals people’s ignorance). Secondly we can base our understanding of the Holy Spirit on our experiences (or lack of!), instead of on the scriptures. So we have deliberately put two weeks aside to understanding who he is and what he does. Ultimately we’ll see that he helps us know Jesus more and become more like Jesus.
- The Church – many people have rejected the church because of its many errors and fragmentation. I can understand that. But I also know it pains Jesus, as his final prayer for the disciples is that they may be united and that they might be a witness to others, so others could gain eternal life. Jesus is passionate about the church and its role on earth. Part of belonging to Christ is belonging to his people. We need to put forward a positive vision of how Jesus can not only do us good, but, through his church, do good in society. We need to think about how Jesus wants us to be a provocative witness to the city of Dublin.
The series starts on Sunday 6th September, in our new venue, and finishes with a vision Sunday, on the 4th October. And there will be lots of discussion down the pub (Sweetmans) afterwards and in City Groups during the week. I hope to see you there.