Last Supper Omission

The power of Christian reenactments and pictorial illustrations of Jesus and His disciples at the Last Supper is undermined by omitting crucial elements found on every Passover Seder table. Though there are others, I want to highlight just one glaring oversight.

The Passover Seder table always holds four cups of red wine, not just one. Each of the four cups represents specific remembrances ordered by God. The four cups symbolize Sanctification, Judgment, Redemption, and Blessing.

The purpose of the Passover Seder is not just to enjoy a celebratory meal but to share the stories of what God has done for the Jewish People. The specific elements on the plate each have a particular significance, as does each of the four cups.

The Scriptural foundation for the four cups of wine came from Exodus 6:6-7. “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.”

First Cup: Sanctification

Sanctification means to set apart or make holy. When the LORD said that He would take the Israelites out from under the bondage in Egypt, He separated them and therefore sanctified them, by definition. The Jewish people have been set apart as God’s Chosen People even unto this very day.

The traditional blessing on the first cup includes the remembrance of being brought out of Egypt, as well as honoring the Creator of the fruit of the vine. Reference is made in the blessing to the sanctifying of the people and the seasons.

Knowing this helps us understand Jesus’ words when he took the Cup of Sanctification, as recorded in Luke: After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” (Lk 22:17-18)

The disciples passed it around and drank from the first cup, the cup of sanctification. This is not the cup of Redemption, which came later.

Second Cup: Judgment

For the traditional Passover, it symbolizes God’s judgment on the Egyptians and the deliverance of the Israelites. For this last Passover Jesus would celebrate with His disciples, however, Jesus set it aside. He would not drink it with His disciples that night.

Though Jesus made a few variations in the traditional celebration, this one omission raises an incredible question for those used to following the strict observance of the Passover Seder. The why will be answered as we revisit the issue at the end of this post.

Third Cup: Redemption

This cup is taken following the meal. As indicated above, God has promised to redeem His people, Israel. At the Last Supper, Judas had already left the room when Jesus lifted the cup of Redemption.

“In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” (Lk 22:20)

The third cup symbolizes the New Covenant; it’s the Cup of Redemption.

Fourth Cup: Elijah’s cup, the Cup of Blessing over Jerusalem

Every Jewish household has an empty chair at the Seder table. This is Elijah’s place; they’re waiting for him in accordance with the Book of Malachi.

“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.” (Mal. 3:1)

We now know that that messenger was John the Baptist, but the following chapter calls him Elijah, so it’s easy to see just why the Israelites waited for Elijah, not John.

“See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.” (Mal 4:5)

The fourth cup also symbolizes God’s blessing to come on the city of Jerusalem, as recorded in Isaiah:

“For this is what the Lord says: “I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees. As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.” (Is. 66:12-13)

The city of Jerusalem remains sacred to the heart of the Jewish people today, as it is to those of us grafted into the Jewish Family by adoption as sons through the shed blood and forgiveness of Jesus, the Messiah.

Why did Jesus skip the second cup on this Last Supper He’d celebrate the Passover Seder with His disciples? In the cup of Judgment, we see the fulfillment of the Messiah’s earthly mission. Jesus didn’t take this cup with his disciples, as He had always done on Passover. This Seder would be like none other. Jesus elected to take the cup alone, in accordance with the eternal plan of God.

Remember Jesus triumphed over Satan in the wilderness and began His earthly ministry. Luke’s account of Jesus’ reading the scroll in his hometown gave us the first hint that salvation for the people was the purpose for His coming.

“He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Lk 4:16-21)

The people may have looked at Him like that because Jesus hadn’t finished the usual reading of that passage. What was it that had been fulfilled in their hearing that day? The year of the Lord’s favor. Jesus had brought that to the people; He had come to bring salvation to the people of God.

Now, the time had come to fulfill His mission. As always, the Passover meal concluded with the traditional singing of hymns of praise found in Psalms 113-118. Jesus left the Upper Room with His remaining eleven disciples.

Fast forward to the Garden of Gethsemane. Recall the familiar verses in Luke: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” (Lk 22:42-44)

The cup mentioned here is the second of the four cups, the cup of Judgment that Jesus skipped when at the table with the disciples. Jesus, alone, could represent the unblemished lamb, the perfect sacrifice. He chose to take the cup of judgment for the sins of the world upon him. When He did this, the great anguish of the darkness of sin weighed him down to the point that He actually sweat drops of blood. The King James Version says, “…his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

The cross represented the second time Jesus blood had been shed for our sins; the garden of Gethsemane caught his drops of blood first, as Jesus took our sins upon Him.

The night of the Last Supper, Jesus offered Himself as the perfect, unblemished Passover Lamb—to take away the sins of the world. Not just for the Jewish people but for all who would believe in Jesus—for all generations in every culture of planet earth.

Jesus chose to lay down His life for us; He didn’t have to do it. The details of the Last Supper shout to us so clearly of God’s love for us in His perfect plan for our Redemption.

If you’d like to hear the full message of “Jesus in the Passover Seder,” as presented by a delightful Israeli Jewish Believer in Jesus, click on the link below. (More information is given in the Announcement section on this web site.)

Jesus in the Passover Seder by Amir Tsarfati

Have you learned anything you’d like to share about Jesus in the Jewish feasts? I’m discovering how rich the teaching is in helping me understand the Word of God and I’d love to hear what you’ve learned.