Section 22:14–23
Jesus gave his disciples bread and wine with a special meaning
In this section Jesus ate his last meal with his twelve disciples before he died. During this Passover meal, Jesus told them about the new covenant that he was making with them. He took bread and gave thanks to God. Then he divided the bread into pieces and gave it to his disciples to share. He said to them, “This is my body, given for you.” After the main meal, he gave his disciples a cup of wine to drink from. He said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” When Jesus said these things, he indicated that he would sacrifice himself by dying as a substitute for his disciples to save them from slavery to sin. By doing this, he would fulfill the real meaning of Passover. As God saved the people of Israel who put the blood of the Passover lamb on their doors, he will save the people who trust in Jesus’ sacrifice for them.
Jesus told his disciples to continue to remember him by taking bread and wine as his body and blood given for them. This thanksgiving service is now called the Eucharist, from the Greek word that means “thanksgiving.” It is also called the Lord’s Supper and Holy Communion.
Some other examples of headings for this section are:
The Lord’s Supper (NET Bible)
-or-
Jesus established the Thanksgiving/Eucharist celebration
-or-
Jesus sacrifices his body and blood to save his disciples
-or-
Jesus makes a new covenant with his disciples
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 26:26–30, Mark 14:22–26, and 1 Corinthians 11:23–25.
Paragraph 22:14–16
22:14a
When the hour had come: The clause When the hour had come refers to the time of day when people ate the Passover meal. It was the custom of the Jews to eat it at night. They usually began the meal immediately after sunset. In Jewish thinking, this was the beginning of a new day. Some other ways to translate the clause are:
Then at the proper time (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
When it was time to eat the Passover meal (God’s Word)
22:14b
Jesus reclined at the table with His apostles: In Greek this clause is more literally “he reclined and the apostles with him.” The Greek clause puts more focus on Jesus. Other ways to translate this focus are:
Jesus took his place at the table and the apostles joined him (NET Bible)
-or-
he sat down to eat, and the apostles ⌊sat down⌋ with him
-or-
he took his seat at table with the apostles (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
reclined at the table: The verb reclined implies that Jesus and the apostles lay on couches or cushions beside a low table. This was common in that culture for formal meals. The Berean Standard Bible has supplied the phrase at the table, which is not in the Greek text, to make the context clear.
If reclining on couches would seem strange in your culture, you may:
• Use the normal position for eating in your culture. For example:
sat at table (Revised Standard Version)
• Use a general expression that does not specify a particular position. For example:
took his place at the table (Good News Translation)
The verb reclined also occurred in 11:37. See how you translated it there.
His apostles: The phrase His apostles is literally “the apostles.” It refers to the twelve disciples whom Jesus chose as his closest followers, as mentioned in 6:13. You should translate the word here as you did there.
For more information and translation suggestions, see the notes at 17:5. See also apostle in the Glossary.
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