From Richard Worth's "Chronological order of the Four Gospels"
The_Supper
It was just before the Passover Feast1
when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb.
[1 Matthew and Mark say it was 'on the first day of the Feast
of Unleavened Bread']
Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the
Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full
extent of his love. Jesus' disciples asked him, "Where do you want us to go and
make preparations for you to eat the Passover?" So Jesus sent Peter and John
saying, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you.
Follow him. Say to the owner of the house he enters, 'The Teacher asks: Where is
my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' He will show you
a large upper room, all furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there."
The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told
them. So they prepared the Passover.
When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. They were reclining at the
table eating, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon,
to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power,
and that he had come from God and was returning to God; So he got up from the
meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After
that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying
them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who
said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus replied, "You do not
realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." "No," said Peter,
"you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no
part with me." "Then Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet, but my hands
and my head as well!" Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to
wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one
of you." For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not
every one was clean.
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to
his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You
call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I,
your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's
feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I
tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger
greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be
blessed if you do them.
I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to
fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against
me.' I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you
will believe that I am He. I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send
accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me. I have eagerly
desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. I tell you the truth, one
of you will betray me - one who is eating with me."
After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit. His disciples were
saddened and stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant.
One by one they said to him, "Surely not I?" "It is one of the Twelve," he
replied. "The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to
that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not
been born."
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." Leaning
back against Jesus, 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.
Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" Jesus
answered, "Yes, it is you." As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into
him. "What you are about to do, do quickly," Jesus told him, but no one at the
meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money,
some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to
give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out.
And it was night.
When he was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is
glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in
himself, and will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a
little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you
now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must
love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you
love one another." Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus
replied, "Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later."
Peter asked, "Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for
you." Then Jesus answered, "Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell
you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!"
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my
Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am
going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You
know the way to the place where I am going."
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know
the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father
as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus
answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a
long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us
the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is
in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father,
living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the
Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the
miracles themselves.
I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.
He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And
I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the
Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he
will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - The Spirit of truth.
The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you
know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as
orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but
you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will
realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has
my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be
loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show
yourself to us and not to the world?" Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he
will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make
our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These
words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. All this I
have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of
everything I have said to you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world
gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. You heard me
say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would
be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have
told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. I
will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He
has no hold on me, but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do
exactly what my Father has commanded me."
Arise,
let us go
hence.
(or in context "Wake up, let's move on from this point". The Lord's
Table in the Communion Covenant was to come.
)
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and
gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body given for you;
do this in remembrance of me." Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it
to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant,
which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you the truth;
I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it
anew in my Father's kingdom".
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in
me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so
that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I
have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear
fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless
you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me
and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If
anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and
withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you
remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be
given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing
yourselves to be my disciples.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you
obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's
commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in
you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I
have loved you. Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for
his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you
servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have
called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made
known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and
bear fruit - fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you
ask in my name. This is my command: love each other.
If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to
the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the
world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If
they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching,
they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for
they do not know the One who sent me.
If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now,
however, they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my Father as
well. If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be
guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated
both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law:
'They hated me without reason.' When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to
you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will
testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the
beginning.
All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. They will put you out
of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think
he is offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not
known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when the time comes you
will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was
with you. Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are
you going?' Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief.
But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go
away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and
righteousness and judgment: In regard to sin, because men do not believe in me;
In regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see
me no longer; And in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now
stands condemned.
I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the
Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on
his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to
come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known
to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit
will take from what is mine and make it known to you. In a little while you will
see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me." Some of his
disciples said to one another, "What does he mean by saying, 'In a little while
you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,' and
'Because I am going to the Father'?" They kept asking, "What does he mean by 'a
little while'? We don't understand what he is saying."
Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, "Are you
asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see me
no more, and then after a little while you will see me'? I tell you the truth,
you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your
grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her
time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her
joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief,
but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your
joy. In that day you will no longer ask me anything.
I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until
now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and
your joy will be complete. Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is
coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly
about my Father. In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I
will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you
have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and
entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father."
Then Jesus' disciples said, "Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of
speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to
have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God."
"You believe at last!" Jesus answered. "But a time is coming, and has come, when
you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I
am not alone, for my Father is with me. I have told you these things, so that in
me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I
have overcome the world."
After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has
come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him
authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have
given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by
completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your
presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. I have revealed
you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them
to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have
given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted
them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you
sent me.
I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given
me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory
has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are
still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the
power of your name - the name you gave me - so that they may be one as we are
one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you
gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that
Scripture would be fulfilled.
I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so
that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them
your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more
than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but
that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am
not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into
the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that
they too may be truly sanctified.
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me
through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in
me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that
you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be
one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete
unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you
have loved me.
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my
glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of
the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and
they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will
continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them
and that I myself may be in them."
A dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.
Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who
exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be
like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the
one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the
table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am
among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials.
And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that
you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the
twelve tribes of Israel.
Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you,
Simon that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen
your brothers."
Then Jesus asked them, "When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you
lack anything?" "Nothing," they answered. He said to them, "But now if you have
a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak
and buy one. It is written: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors'; and I
tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is
reaching its fulfillment." The disciples said, "See, Lord, here are two swords."
"That is enough," he replied.
Then Jesus told them, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me,
for it is written: 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will
be scattered.' But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."
Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will." "I tell
you the truth," Jesus answered, "This very night, before the rooster crows, you
will disown me three times." But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with
you, I will never disown you." And all the other disciples said the same.
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