
The Last Supper must have been emotionally charged for Jesus. We know He went straight on to Gethsemane, where He was profoundly anguished about what was to come. He must surely have been wrestling with these difficult thoughts and feelings only a few hours earlier.
Even so, there was much Jesus wanted to achieve in that final conversation with His disciples. He wanted to prepare them for the horrors to come; He wanted to teach them what the cross was all about, even if that understanding would only dawn after His resurrection.
There are certain aspects of the conversation that happened during the Last Supper that are more familiar than others, most likely because they are mentioned in all four Gospel accounts. These include the shocking announcement that one of them would betray Jesus and the prediction that Peter would deny Him three times that very day. The sharing of bread and wine and Jesus' references to His body and blood are also very familiar because they are quoted during communion services across the world.
There are other aspects of the conversation, however, that are less often examined in the context of the Last Supper. We might be familiar with them as standalone moments, but if considered as part of this important final meal, on the cusp of Jesus' sacrifice, they take on a deeper significance.
The Servant Leadership of Jesus
In the Gospel of Luke's account of the Last Supper, Jesus taught His disciples about the essential nature of service in the Kingdom of God:
"A dispute also 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.'" (Luke 22:24-27)
Jesus' disciples were caught up in self-aggrandizing notions of greatness—the kind the world might recognize. Knowing He was going to the cross, Jesus took the opportunity to sow a seed about what greatness looks like in the Kingdom of God—a seed that would eventually grow into the wisdom needed to understand the sacrifice of Christ. Jesus explicitly criticized leadership, which lords it over others and imposes authority. He only and always favors servant leadership: "I am among you as one who serves."
The Gospel of John gives us another example of Jesus' servant leadership during the Last Supper when He washed His disciples' feet. This, too, was a symbol of the cross and the service Jesus would perform there—the humbling of God Himself to save all of humanity. This profound object lesson was perhaps even more impactful than the words He spoke, so much so that it drew Peter's objection:
"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.'" (John 13:8)
Jesus made two things clear in that moment. The first is that Peter didn't understand the importance of what Jesus was doing, but that he would later. This, too, was a seed sown to bolster the disciples' faith when it looked like all had been lost.
The second important lesson Jesus wanted Peter to understand is that receiving Jesus' service is the heart and soul of faith. Jesus rules as a servant, and if we don't humble ourselves to be served by God, we cannot know Him at all. Peter's response is one of faith:
"Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" (John 13:9)
Jesus didn't leave the lesson of servanthood there but continued to speak of it after He'd finished washing their feet, asking His disciples if they understood what He'd done for them. He taught them that, based on His example, they should wash each other's feet, too.
As always, John's account is the most personal and intimate of the Gospels. It pays close attention to Jesus' words (recorded in chapters 13-17), but at the heart of it all is Jesus' lesson on service.
Jesus was about to perform the greatest act of servant leadership of all time, giving His life for us on the cross, and He needed to equip His disciples with the ability and wisdom to understand that, even if it would take time for that understanding to dawn. No doubt, during the crucifixion, they were heartbroken. Their dreams had come to nothing, their Messiah was being killed, and their hopes were in the dust.
Their confusion would turn to clarity in a matter of days, and Jesus would reach out to them to restore their faith in the way each of them needed, but it isn't hard to understand why He wanted those seeds to be sown in advance. How many times would the disciples look back on those lessons after Jesus had ascended? They would surely have recalled the washing of their feet and connected it to the cross, and the teaching on service as the heart of Jesus' ministry would become clearer and clearer over time.
Jesus' Enduring Service
Even in those final hours, with the cross looming ahead and His heart greatly burdened, Jesus served His disciples with His company, His friendship, His example, and His teaching. He never stops serving us.
The Creator shows His love to the creation through service and asks that we extend that same love to others because love always serves. It never lords it over us or forces us to comply. It woos us continually, softening our hearts and leading us to love others as Jesus loves them.