Jesus was fully aware of his fate and knew that he would be arrested the following day, that he was to be crucified by the Roman authorities. That evening he had prepared a place in the upper room in Jerusalem and arranged for a man carrying a water pitcher to guide the disciples there, to the guest room, a secret place so that he could have a final meal with the twelve disciples. Jerusalem would have been packed with pilgrims who had flocked there from all the surrounding areas in order to celebrate the Passover and the priests would have spent the day slaughtering Passover lambs ready for the following day. Jesus celebrated the Passover a day early on Thursday because he knew he would not be there the following day.
The authorities were looking to arrest Jesus so a secure location was important. The Passover was a very important meal in Jewish tradition which marked the delivery of the Hebrew slaves from the land of Egypt in the time of Moses but it also looked forward to the day of the coming Messiah who would rescue them from Roman imperial rule. Jesus firstly tells them that his suffering is about to begin and that he will not eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come.
Before the meal there was no servant there to wash the feet of the disciples as was the custom. Because the land was dusty washing the feet of visitors was a common courtesy. Jesus took off his outer garment wrapped a towel around himself and washed the feet of all the disciples who were reclining at the table for their meal. This act of service and humility was predicted in the book of Isaiah in the passage on the suffering servant. At the last supper Jesus gave Passover a whole new meaning by replacing the taking of the bread and wine from the affliction and redemption tradition of the old testament, to placing his blood and body as a symbol of the New Covenant that signaled a new relationship between God and his people. Jesus had also changed the wording "This is my body given for you, do this in remembrance of me. This cup is the new covenant in my blood which is poured out for you’’ but the disciples were yet to fully understand while Jesus was still alive.
It was at this time Jesus predicted that before the cock crowed twice Peter would deny three times that he ever knew Jesus and despite strenuous protests on Peters part Jesus's prediction came true later that evening causing much remorse on Peters part. Jesus also predicted that one of the disciples would betray him and spoke of his own immanent death and raising back to life. It was also during the meal that Judas slipped out to the house of the high priest to arrange the betrayal of Jesus. Jesus used this last meal to give his final teaching, underlining much of what he had said before. He stressed the importance of serving and loving one another, that many things are possible by faith. Telling them about the Holy Spirit which would come soon to strengthen and guide them. Urging them to bear good fruit warning them that they will endure opposition and persecution for his sake and spoke about his own death preparing them for the sadness to come. Jesus prayed for himself and them and then shared the bread and wine which was the climax of the meal before going to the Garden of Gethsemane where he would be arrested after Judas had led the authorities to him for a mere thirty pieces of silver before betraying Jesus with a kiss.
Today Christians continue to break the bread and take the wine as a symbolic act of remembrance of the sacrificial death of Jesus which is known variously as the Eucharist, The Lord’s supper, breaking bread, Holy communion or Mass. In this way we reside in Jesus and him in us through the power of the Holy Spirit, for some Christians this is symbolic and for others it is an actual physical indwelling. In the early Church Christians used to share the Agape meal including the breaking of the bread and the taking of wine during which repentance and thanksgiving became an important feature. The communion is one of the central sacraments in the Church. The scene of the last supper is one of the most painted events in religious history with the painting by Leonardo Da Vinci being the most iconic and best known.