BIBLE STUDY: June 2nd

The meeting opened with prayer

In the Scriptures, by the Spirit,
   May we see the Saviour's face,
Hear His word and heed His calling -
   Know His will and grow in grace.
Amen
 

 
The Last Supper - Preparation & Warning of Betrayal: Mark 14:12-21

12

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?"

13

He sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him.

14

Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"'

15

Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there."

16

The disciples then went off, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

17

When it was evening, he came with the Twelve.

18

And as they reclined at table and were eating, Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me."

19

They began to be distressed and to say to him, one by one, "Surely it is not I?"

20

He said to them, "One of the Twelve, the one who dips with me into the dish.

21

For the Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born."

It is quite clear here that this is not just a meal that Jesus is sharing with his apostles. It is quite clearly stated that this is the 'Pasover meal', what the Jews call the Seder, that Jesus is going to celebrate with his apostles. It is very important to bear that in mind; by the time of Jesus the Passover meal, which to the Jews is a memorial celebrating God's deliverance of Israel from Egypt, had already developed a set form which is familiar to Jews to the present day. We shall speak more of this below.

It is also clear not only that Jesus has made arrangements for this meal, as it is to be a very special one, but that he also knows he will be betrayed by one of his own apostles. He knows that the climax of his earthly mission is approaching. This is to be no ordinary Seder (still lesss any ordinary meal!).

 
The Last Supper - Institution of the Eucharist: Mark 14:22-26

22

While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is my body."

23

Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

24

He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.

25

Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

26

Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

An important part of the Seder ritual were the 'four cups':

First Cup:

Solemn blessing over the first cup of wine, followed by a dish of bitter herbs (to remind Jews of the bitterness of slavery in Egypt)

Second Cup:

The Passover narrative (Exodus 12) is read, followed by the singing of the "Little Hallel" (Psalm 113 [112]), and the drinking of the second cup.

Third Cup:

The Passover meal - lamb and unleavened bread - is eaten. Followed by the drinking of the third cup, "The Cup of Blessing."

Fourth Cup:

The climax of the celebration is the singing of the "Great Hallel" (Psalms 114-118 [113-11]), followed by the drinking of the fourth cup, "The Cup of Consummation."

It was after the second cup and during the actual Passover meal that Jesus took the unleavened bread and broke it, giving it to his apostles as he told them that it was his body. That in itself must have puzzled the apostles. What did Jesus mean by saying "This is my body"?

Then, at the end of the meal, he took the Cup of Blessing and, after giving thanks to God, he says to the apostles that this is his blood of the new covenant, which is to be shed for many. The Jews are forbidden to consume blood of any animal, so we may well imagine how uncomfortable the apostles felt when they were told that the wine they were to drink was Jesus' own blood. They must have been very troubled by this time: first they're told Jesus will be betrayed, next they are told that the Passover bread they are eating is in fact his broken body, and now they are told the Cup of Blessing holds his blood, which is going to be shed for many. Then, as if that were not enough, Jesus adds: " Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

What about the fourth cup - the Cup of Consummation? Isn't Jesus going to drink it? What's going to happen? The apostles soon find out. After singing the Great Hallel, they all go out to the Mount of Olives. There is no fourth cup; the Seder has apparently been broken off before it should be.

Imagine how a congregation would feel if the priest simply left the altar after the sign of peace and omitted the Communion. We would feel that the Mass had not been completed. We would be confused. So just imagine the confusion, anxiety and apprehension that the apostles felt by that time. This was indeed no ordinary Seder.

 
The Agony in the Garden: Mark 14:27-42-

27

Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will have your faith shaken, for it is written: 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be dispersed.'

28

But after I have been raised up, I shall go before you to Galilee."

29

Peter said to him, "Even though all should have their faith shaken, mine will not be."

30

Then Jesus said to him, "Amen, I say to you, this very night before the cock crows twice you will deny me three times."

31

But he vehemently replied, "Even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you." And they all spoke similarly.

32

Then they came to a place named Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray."

33

He took with him Peter, James, and John, and began to be troubled and distressed.

34

Then he said to them, "My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch."

35

He advanced a little and fell to the ground and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass by him;

36

he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will."

37

When he returned he found them asleep. He said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour?

38

Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."

39

Withdrawing again, he prayed, saying the same thing.

40

Then he returned once more and found them asleep, for they could not keep their eyes open and did not know what to answer him.

41

He returned a third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough. The hour has come. Behold, the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners.

42

Get up, let us go. See, my betrayer is at hand."

The story of Peter's protestation that he will never desert Jesus and his subsequent denials of Jesus is well known; as is that the three chosen apostles, Peter, James and John, were unable to keep awake in the garden and pray. They were all very troubled men. The talk of betrayal, eating and drinking Jesus' body and blood (what did that mean!) and their not completing the Seder properly had clearly thrown them in confusion and filled them with apprehension and fear. They were mentally and physically exhausted.

While we may try to put ourselves in the apostles' place and try to imagine something of what they felt, we cannot do that with Jesus. He who is the Word of God, who was with God in the beginning and, indeed, was God and through whom everything was called into being (cf. John 1:1-2) is now in agony in the garden! He prays: "Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will."

What cup does he ask his Father to take away from him if it is possible? Surely it is the fourth cup, the Cup of Consummation; the Seder is not complete yet. But Jesus knows the terrible price he has to pay before drinking that cup. "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Jesus himself as a human experiences that weakness, but knows the Father's will must be done. As St Paul wrote,

"Christ Jesus,
though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross."
[Philippians 2:6-8]

 
The Passion & the Cup of Cosummation - John 19:12-27

12

Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out, "If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar."

13

When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out and seated him on the judge's bench in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha.

14

It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon. And he said to the Jews, "Behold, your king!"

15

They cried out, "Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your king?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar."

16

Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus,

17

and carrying the cross himself he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha.

18

There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.

19

Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews."

20

Now many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.

21

So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that he said, 'I am the King of the Jews.'"

22

Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."

23

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier. They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down.

24

So they said to one another, "Let's not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be," in order that the passage of scripture might be fulfilled (that says): "They divided my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots." This is what the soldiers did.

25

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala.

26

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son."

27

Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

28

After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I thirst."

29

There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth.

30

When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, "It is finished." And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

We see here how for political expendiency both Pilate and the Jewish leaders have Jesus crucified. John wants to emphasize that Jesus took the cross upon himself, that he willingly embraced the fate that awaited him. By the time this Gospel was written, the episode of Simon of Cyrene being forced to help to Jesus was well known; John sees need to repeat it. He wants to focus on the role of Christ himself.

John does, however, tell of one incident on the cross that the writers of the other three Gospels had omitted, namely how even as he was hanging in agony with death approaching he thought of his holy mother. He entrusted her to the keeping of John, and commissioned John to look after her. It is Catholic belief that John represents all Christ's followers through the ages; we are entrusted to Mary as her children, and Mary is entrusted to us as our Mother.

We recall how at the Last Supper, the unfinished Seder, Jesus had told his apostles that he would not taste the fruit of the vine again until he came into his kingdom. John tells how at the last moment on the cross Jesus drinks common wine and utters the words "It is finished!" What is finished?

For John the moment of Christ's death is the moment he enters his kingdom in glory. Jesus has drunk the fourth cup, the Cup of Consummation. The Seder, the Passover meal, which began on the Thursday evening with his apostles is now finished with the drinking of the Cup of Consummation on the cross on Friday afternoon. The Passover sacrifice is inseparable from Christ's death at Calvary; it was there that he fulfilled it.

In doing so, Jesus gave new and richer meaning to the Pasover by instituting the Eucharist of the new covenant. This is the fulfilment of all the earlier covenants; this is to draw all to himself, to reconcile all creation with God. Calvary began with the Eucharist and the Eucharist ended with Calvary. In the Eucharist we are united with all fellow Christians of all times and ages. with John and Mary on Calvary, with all the angels and saints in heaven in the one eternal sacrifice by which our Lord jesus Christ reconciles the whole of creation to its Creator.

 
Christ our Eternal High Priest - Hebrews 9:11-28

11

But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation,

12

he entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.

13

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer's ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed,

14

how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

15

For this reason he is mediator of a new covenant: since a death has taken place for deliverance from transgressions under the first covenant, those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.

16

Now where there is a will, the death of the testator must be established.

17

For a will takes effect only at death; it has no force while the testator is alive.

18

Thus not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.

19

When every commandment had been proclaimed by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves (and goats), together with water and crimson wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,

20

saying, "This is 'the blood of the covenant which God has enjoined upon you.'"

21

In the same way, he sprinkled also the tabernacle and all the vessels of worship with blood.

22

According to the law almost everything is purified by blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

23

Therefore, it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified by these rites, but the heavenly things themselves by better sacrifices than these.

24

For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the true one, but heaven itself, that he might now appear before God on our behalf.

25

Not that he might offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary with blood that is not his own;

26

if that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly from the foundation of the world. But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sin by his sacrifice.

27

Just as it is appointed that human beings die once, and after this the judgment,

28

so also Christ, offered once to take away the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to take away sin but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.

Here the writer of the letter to the Hebrews has a vision of Jesus as our eternal high priest offering the one, perfect sacrifice of reconcilation. We recall the story of Moses sprinkling the people with blood to confirm God's covenant with the Hebrews from an earlier study session. We are reminded that Christ is the fulfilment of all the earlier covenants betwen God and his people. The covenant in Chist is a universal covenant.

This is a deep and sublime mystery. This is the eternal sacrifice of Christ in which, by instituting the Eucharist, Christ has enabled us to share. It is in the eternal sacrifice, fullfillled on Calvary, and eternally celebrated by all the angels and saints that we share every time we are at Mass.

This scripture passage is one for meditation. It needs to be read sslowly and prayerfully more than once. This is the prayer with which we finish our sessions of study.

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If you have found these study sessions helpful, you may wish to take this topic further by obtaining a copy of Scott Hahn's book: "A Father who Keeps His Promises" (ISBN 0-89283-829-9).

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Most of the scripture texts on this page are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C.