Section 148
Conclusion of the meal and the Lord's Supper instituted
Jerusalem, in the upper room
| Matthew 26:26-29 | Mark 14:22-25 | Luke 22:17-20 | 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves. 18For I tell you, I will certainly not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” | |||
| 26As they were eating, Jesus took the bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take and eat this bread0x3B this is my body.” 27Then he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins. 29But I tell you, from this point forward I will certainly not drink again from this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it with you anew in the kingdom of my Father.” | 22As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had blessed it, he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take and eat this bread0x3B this is my body.” 23Then he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24He said to them, “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many. 25Truly I say to you, I will certainly not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.” | 19Then he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20In the same way, he also took the cup after they had eaten supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. | 23For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “Take and eat this bread0x3B this is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25In the same way, he also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. |
Notes
Upper Room
The Upper room, or Cenacle, commemorates the place where the last Supper was eaten and Holy Communion was instituted. The Gospels tell us nothing of the location of the house, but there is good indication it would have been on the western hill where a wealthy man would have had an upper room on his house. Archaeological excavations in the Jewish quarter show that there were large houses in this area during the time of Christ.
There is a possibility that this is indeed the correct location of the Upper Room. A church was built on this site soon after the death of Jesus. It must have survived the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Bishop Epiphanius wrote of how Emperor Hadrian made an inspection tour of Jerusalem in 130 A.D. and found “everything razed except for a few houses and a certain small church of the Christians which stood on Mount Zion in the place where the disciples returned after the ascension”. This church was destroyed and rebuilt many times over the following centuries before being handed over to the Franciscans who restored the room giving it its present Gothic appearance (14th century).