The Last Supper is one of the most important events in the New Testament. It was the final meal Jesus shared with His disciples before His arrest, trial, and crucifixion. The event is described in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, although each account emphasizes different details. Christians remember the Last Supper especially during Holy Week and on Maundy Thursday.
Jesus and His disciples gathered in Jerusalem during the time of Passover, an important Jewish festival remembering the Israelites’ escape from slavery in Egypt. Jesus sent some of His followers ahead to prepare a room where they could share the meal together. This room is traditionally known as the Upper Room.
During the supper, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and shared it with His disciples. He identified the bread with His body. He also passed around a cup of wine and connected it with His blood and the new covenant. These actions became the foundation of the Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper, which Christians continue to celebrate in different ways.
The meal also included several serious and emotional moments. Jesus announced that one of the disciples would betray Him. The disciples were troubled and began asking who it might be. Judas Iscariot later left the gathering and arranged to hand Jesus over to the authorities.
According to the Gospel of John, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet during the meal. Foot washing was normally the work of a servant, so His action demonstrated humility and service. Jesus instructed His followers to care for one another and follow His example. He also gave them a new commandment to love one another as He had loved them.
Jesus warned Peter that he would deny knowing Him three times before the rooster crowed. Peter insisted that he would remain loyal, but the prediction was later fulfilled. After the meal, Jesus and the disciples went to the Mount of Olives, where He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest.
The Last Supper combines themes of friendship, sacrifice, betrayal, service, remembrance, and love. A The Last Supper word search can reinforce important names, objects, places, and events from the account, including Jesus, the disciples, bread, wine, Judas, Peter, the Upper Room, foot washing, Communion, and Gethsemane.
Related Word Searches:
Jesus Christ | Eucharist | Palm Sunday | New Testament
ANDREW, APOSTLES, BETRAYAL, BLOOD, BODY, BREAD, CHALICE, COMMUNION, COVENANT, CUP, DISCIPLES, EUCHARIST, FEET, JAMES, JESUS, JOHN, JUDAS, MATTHEW, PASSOVER, PETER, SUPPER, TABLE, TWELVE, WINE
ANDREW – One of Jesus’s twelve apostles and brother of Simon Peter. He was present at the Last Supper, witnessing Jesus’s final meal and teachings before His crucifixion.
APOSTLES – The twelve chosen disciples of Jesus who were present at the Last Supper. They were commissioned to spread His teachings and witness the establishment of the new covenant.
BETRAYAL – Judas Iscariot’s act of handing Jesus over to authorities for thirty silver coins. Jesus announced this betrayal during the Last Supper, causing great distress among the disciples.
BLOOD – Representing Jesus’s blood shed for humanity’s salvation. During the Last Supper, Jesus blessed the wine and declared it symbolized His blood of the new covenant poured out for many.
BODY – Jesus’s physical body sacrificed on the cross. At the Last Supper, He broke bread and told disciples it represented His body given for them, establishing Christian communion.
BREAD – The unleavened bread Jesus broke and shared with His disciples. It symbolized His body and became central to Christian communion, representing sacrifice and spiritual nourishment for believers.
CHALICE – The cup or goblet used to hold wine during the Last Supper. It became a sacred symbol in Christian tradition, representing the vessel containing Jesus’s blood of salvation.
COMMUNION – The Christian sacrament commemorating the Last Supper where believers share bread and wine. It represents spiritual union with Christ and remembrance of His sacrifice for humanity’s redemption.
COVENANT – The new agreement between God and humanity established through Jesus’s sacrifice. At the Last Supper, Jesus proclaimed this covenant through His blood, superseding the old Mosaic covenant.
CUP – The vessel containing wine that Jesus blessed and shared with disciples. He declared it contained His blood of the covenant, symbolizing sacrifice and establishing the Eucharistic tradition.
DISCIPLES – Jesus’s devoted followers who accompanied Him throughout His ministry. The twelve disciples gathered with Jesus at the Last Supper to celebrate Passover and receive His final instructions.
EUCHARIST – The Christian sacrament of thanksgiving instituted at the Last Supper. Believers consume consecrated bread and wine, symbolically receiving Christ’s body and blood for spiritual nourishment and grace.
FEET – Jesus demonstrated servant leadership by washing His disciples’ feet at the Last Supper. This humble act taught them about service, humility, and love before His impending crucifixion.
JAMES – One of Jesus’s twelve apostles present at the Last Supper. James, son of Zebedee and brother of John, was among the inner circle witnessing Jesus’s final teachings.
JESUS – The Son of God and central figure of Christianity who hosted the Last Supper. He instituted communion, predicted His betrayal, and prepared disciples for His sacrifice.
JOHN – The beloved disciple who reclined next to Jesus at the Last Supper. John’s Gospel provides detailed accounts of Jesus’s teachings and actions during this significant final meal.
JUDAS – The disciple who betrayed Jesus to religious authorities for thirty pieces of silver. During the Last Supper, Jesus revealed that Judas would betray Him, fulfilling prophetic scripture.
MATTHEW – One of the twelve apostles and former tax collector present at the Last Supper. His Gospel provides one of four biblical accounts describing this significant meal and covenant.
PASSOVER – The Jewish festival commemorating Israel’s liberation from Egyptian slavery. Jesus celebrated this feast with disciples at the Last Supper, establishing its fulfillment through His own sacrificial death.
PETER – Simon Peter, the apostle who would become a leader of the early church. At the Last Supper, Jesus predicted Peter would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed.
SUPPER – The final meal Jesus shared with His twelve disciples before His crucifixion. This significant gathering established Christian communion and marked the beginning of Jesus’s passion and ultimate sacrifice.
TABLE – The surface where Jesus and His disciples reclined during the Last Supper. It became the setting for instituting communion, revealing betrayal, and sharing final teachings together.
TWELVE – The number of apostles chosen by Jesus to be His closest followers. All twelve were present at the Last Supper, including Judas who would soon betray Him.
WINE – The fermented grape beverage Jesus blessed and shared at the Last Supper. He declared it symbolized His blood of the new covenant, establishing it as communion’s essential element.
ANDREW, APOSTLES, BETRAYAL, BLOOD, BODY, BREAD, CHALICE, COMMUNION, COVENANT, CUP, DISCIPLES, EUCHARIST, FEET, JAMES, JESUS, JOHN, JUDAS, MATTHEW, PASSOVER, PETER, SUPPER, TABLE, TWELVE, WINE
The Last Supper was Jesus’s final meal with His twelve apostles before His crucifixion. During this Passover celebration, Jesus instituted communion, predicted His betrayal, and established the new covenant through His sacrifice.
The Last Supper occurred in an upper room in Jerusalem. Jesus sent disciples to prepare this space for the Passover meal, where they gathered privately for this significant event.
Jesus washed His disciples’ feet to demonstrate humble servant leadership and love. This act taught them that greatness comes through serving others, setting an example they should follow.
The bread represents Jesus’s body broken for humanity, while wine symbolizes His blood shed for salvation. Together, they established Christian communion, commemorating His sacrifice and the new covenant.
Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, handing Him over to religious authorities for thirty silver coins. Jesus announced this betrayal during the meal, though Judas proceeded with his planned treachery anyway.
Read Matthew 26:17-30.
In first-century Jewish tradition, people reclined on cushions around a low table during formal meals. This explains why John could lean against Jesus’s chest during the supper.
The meal took place on what Christians now call Maundy Thursday. Jesus was arrested that same night, tried overnight, and crucified the following day, Good Friday, before the Sabbath.
According to Matthew and Mark’s Gospels, Jesus and the disciples sang a hymn before departing to the Mount of Olives. This was likely traditional Passover psalms called the Hallel.
Da Vinci’s masterpiece shows disciples sitting on chairs at a long table with leavened bread. However, they would have reclined on cushions eating unleavened bread during this Passover meal.
While all four Gospels describe the Last Supper, only John provides the detailed account of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet, emphasizing His lesson on humble servant leadership.
1. Where did the Last Supper take place?
A. In the Temple
B. In an upper room in Jerusalem
C. In the Garden of Gethsemane
2. What did Jesus say the bread represented?
A. His body
B. His kingdom
C. His teachings
3. For how many silver coins did Judas betray Jesus?
A. Twelve
B. Twenty
C. Thirty
4. What did Jesus and His disciples do before leaving for the Mount of Olives?
A. Sang a hymn
B. Lit ceremonial candles
C. Read from Isaiah
5. Which Gospel alone gives a detailed account of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet?
A. Matthew
B. Luke
C. John
Answers
1. B. In an upper room in Jerusalem. Jesus sent disciples ahead to prepare an upper room in Jerusalem for the Passover meal.
2. A. His body. Jesus broke and shared the bread, identifying it with His body given for His disciples.
3. C. Thirty. Judas Iscariot agreed to hand Jesus over to the authorities in exchange for thirty silver coins.
4. A. Sang a hymn. Matthew and Mark record that they sang a hymn, probably traditional Passover psalms known as the Hallel.
5. C. John. Only John describes the foot washing in detail, emphasizing Jesus’s lesson about humility and servant leadership.
