The Last Supper
by Rosemarie Adcock
We know Jesus ate the Last Supper with his disciples celebrating the Passover, which was the certain type of meal begun at the Great Exodus under Moses, then repeated each year as a remembrance of the people's deliverance from slavery. There were 4 different cups from which they would drink. As Jesus spoke, He first indicated the bread was a symbol of His body; then He would have raised what we call the Cup of Redemption when He proclaimed, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood," and instructed His disciples to drink it in remembrance of Him.
There was another cup, The Cup of the Coming Kingdom, that He said He would not drink from until that future time. This final cup is covered by His hand and painted to display creation with imagery of the universe, different than the other cups which would have been the red pottery common at the time.
The table holds an apple depicting the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, and a rose to depict the desert miraculously blooming, which was prophesied by Isaiah. The Easter lily points to His Resurrection. The peace lily symbolizes how we now have peace with God. The Bible says God knows even when sparrows fall to the ground, and He cares for them, how much more does He care for us than sparrows? He cared for His disciples even by washing their feet, the job of the lowliest servant, indicated with the towels on the table. He even cared for the two disciples whose mother wanted them to sit on Jesus' right and left as they are shown here; but the only men recorded to be at His right and left were two unnamed thieves at His crucifixion.
So He calls us to love Him as John the disciple did, depicted here resting against Him like a best friend, and to sing as we hear the songbirds sing, celebrating what He did for us, even though we won't fully understand it all until we see Him face to face.