Secrets of the Last Supper | Ancient Mysteries (S3) | Full Episode | History

while they were at the table eating jesus said i  tell you that one of you will betray me one who   is eating with me and they began to be sorrowful  and to say unto him one by one is it i mark 14 19. two thousand years ago in the city of  jerusalem twelve men and their rabbi   gathered together to celebrate the jewish holiday  of passover the rabbi was jesus of nazareth   the meal they shared has come to be known as  the last supper perhaps no other gathering of   13 individuals has had such a powerful  impact on the course of human history do we know the actual site  where the last supper took place   there only men at this dinner or as  some suggest were women present too is it possible that the world's most famous image  of the last supper painted by leonardo da vinci   is grossly inaccurate and why did judas one of  jesus inner circle betray him these are but a few of the mysteries of the bible so oh two thousand years ago in the spring of a  tumultuous year jews from every corner of ancient   israel made the pilgrimage to their holy city of  jerusalem to celebrate the holiday they called passover and so it was that a poor  rabbi from galilee began the arduous   journey to reach jerusalem walking six  days and six nights over rugged terrain the name of the rabbi was jesus of nazareth he came followed by a loyal band of  disciples extolling a radical message   that a new kingdom of god was at hand the momentous events of jesus final  week leading up to the last supper   may never be fully understood  but no eyewitness accounts exist the four gospels of matthew mark luke and john  written several decades later are the only   chronicles which remain of his extraordinary  life they leave many baffling mysteries what took place during the few brief hours of the   last supper which would forever  alter the course of human history why to share a simple meal with his  disciples did jesus risk his life   to enter a city occupied by hostile roman legions jerusalem jerusalem   you killed the prophets and stoned the  messengers god has sent you matthew 23 37 for jesus and every other jew living under the  harsh roman occupation the streets of this holiest   of cities were filled with peril under the rule of  julius caesar the mighty roman empire had expanded   its power all the way across the mediterranean  to dominate the middle east and ancient israel on the streets you would see a roman soldier  and companions and as a jew you would bristle   they represented really an occupying force   they were a constant reminder that the  jews were no longer an independent nation why in a political atmosphere fraught with tension   did the roman occupiers allow the  jewish people to continue to worship   their one all-powerful god and observe a jewish  holiday which celebrated freedom over oppression remember this day on which you went  free from egypt the house of bondage   how the lord freed you from it  with a mighty hand exodus 13 13 with these words the hebrew bible commanded the  jewish people to not only remember but also to   relive the experience of the exodus a dramatic  flight from egyptian bondage 1500 years earlier led by moses across the sinai wilderness  thousands of hebrew slaves had reached israel   the promised land and freedom during the roman occupation an understanding  had been reached with jewish religious leaders   allowing the people to practice their faith  under the watchful eye of roman forces but for roman and jew alike  the week of passover was a   volatile dangerous time threatening  the precarious political balance the atmosphere with a crowded temple courts was  rather like a tinderbox people were celebrating   freedom from imperial bondage while they  were now again under imperial bondage many people were looking for some form of  deliverance from their roman occupation some   were expecting a great messiah figure to appear  others were thinking that god would intervene   supernaturally on their behalf and send a cosmic  judge from heaven to overthrow his enemies shortly after his arrival in  jerusalem jesus visits the holy temple   the center of jewish religious life it is here that he performs his first  revolutionary act historians still ask   the question why would jesus choose this time and  place to take a step which would seal his fate jesus went to the temple and began to drive  out all those who were buying and selling   he overturned the tables of the money  changers and then taught the people it   is written in the scriptures that god said  my temple will be called a house of prayer   for the people of all nations but you have  turned it into a den of thieves mark 11 15 by his disruption of the temple  jesus threatens the existing order   and becomes known as a dangerous political  insurgent what was the motive for his actions   why did jesus deliberately affront the  most powerful authorities in the land what jesus did was symbolically destroy the temple   it's similar to somebody in the 60s going into  a draft office and overturning the draft cards   it doesn't really destroy the pentagon it's a  symbolic act destroying it ritually as it were could jesus foresee that by his act of defiance  he was putting his own life in jeopardy it was two days before the passover and  the festival of unleavened bread the chief   priests and the scribes were looking  for a way to arrest jesus and kill him   for they said not during the festival  or there may be a riot among the people   mark 14 2. as jesus readies for the holiday  of passover others plot a dark conspiracy throughout the streets of jerusalem families  are busily preparing for the passover holidays   following customs celebrants  select lambs for the sacrifice   that will take place on the steps of the temple it is in the midst of this holy occasion that  a small group of conspirators hatch their plot   scholars have been fascinated by the tantalizing  question did jesus foresee his own death it doesn't have to be a an indication of  supernatural foreknowledge to recognize   that he's in trouble he's offended the temple  authorities he no doubt knows what happens to   prophets who do things like this typically  they're arrested and often they're executed it is at this very moment that jesus destiny is  being determined by an act that will go down in   history as the most infamous betrayal of all time  then judas iscariot one of the twelve disciples   went off to the chief priests  in order to betray jesus to them   they were pleased to hear what he had to say  and promised to give him money mark 14 10. why did judas go to the authorities the motives  for judas's betrayal have long baffled historians if there's anything mysterious about that last  supper it may very well be the role of judas   who is he where does he come  from really we know very little while the new testament indicates that  judas betrays jesus for 30 pieces of silver   historians have questioned this motive because  the financial gain he received was so small some scholars believe that judas may  have grown disillusioned with jesus it's possible that judas expected jesus to be the  jewish messiah of traditional expectation that   he would take up the sword rouse the troops drive  the romans out of the land when this didn't happen   that judas became angry and out of frustration and  bitterness turned jesus over to the authorities   although the temple authorities are armed  with incriminating evidence against jesus   surprisingly they do not arrest him instead they  bide their time waiting for the right opportunity on the morning of the passover the disciples  asked where jesus wants to celebrate the feast   he sends peter and john off with  strangely detailed instructions go into town and you will meet a  man carrying a pitcher of water   follow him and say to the owner of the house to  which he goes the master says where is the room   for me to eat the passover with my disciples and  he will show you a large upstairs room mark 14 12. that night at sundown jesus and  his followers gather for what   has come to be known as the last supper the  holiest meal in the history of christianity for nearly two thousand years historians have  attempted to solve the mystery of exactly where   this dinner took place there's a tradition that  one of jesus later followers a man named john mark owned a house in jerusalem we know  in the book of acts that his mother   owns a house and it's possible that they were  eating at the house of john mark's mother archaeologists have excavated the age-old streets  of jerusalem sifting through evidence hoping to   find proof that this house existed although no one  can say with certainty where the meal took place   a building on mount zion is believed  by some to be the hallowed site the gothic building that stands on  this spot dates from the 12th century   but at one time an ancient  dwelling occupied this site   could this be the actual place where jesus  and his followers gathered for his last meal somewhere among the winding streets of ancient  jerusalem jesus and his disciples gather for what   will become the most momentous meal in history  the event is haunted the human imagination for   nearly 2 000 years to this day scholars are still  struggling to reconstruct what actually happened   in that room according to the new testament 12  disciples were present at the table with jesus   we know only a few of their names  peter james john andrew and judas for these individuals the sharing of  food had long played a surprisingly   important role in their sense of common purpose jesus throughout his ministry had meals  with his disciples and with others he   shared table which was a significant event  in the ancient world sharing a meal with a   person indicated a level of equality  that you would have with the person   it wasn't just a matter of eating together it  was more of a social almost a spiritual occasion the sharing of food embodied the idea  central to the teachings of jesus   that all people are created  equal in the eyes of god jesus uses the meal what i call the open   table as a symbol for the new society  which he calls the kingdom of god   it's a table that does not discriminate  between rich and poor between female and male   between the haves and the have-nots between the  pure and the impure between the slave and the free for jews like jesus and his companions this night  held a profound religious significance for this   was the passover meal or cedar commemorating  the jewish liberation from egyptian bondage according to the story is recounted in exodus god   had inflicted ten terrible plagues on  the egyptian pharaoh to break his will during the 10th most destructive plague  the killing of the egyptian firstborn   god instructed the israelites to  mark their doors with lamb's blood i am the lord the blood on the doorposts will  be assigned to mark houses in which you live   when i see the blood i will pass over you and  will not harm you when i punish the egyptians   exodus 12 12. was that night as the whales of  the egyptian mothers mourning their firstborn   echoed in the streets that the pharaoh agreed to  let the israelites go moses was finally able to   lead his people out from centuries of bondage  across the red sea towards their promised land through this act of redemption  the jews believed that god had   re-established a covenant  with the people of israel   while most scholars agree that jesus and his  companions had gathered to commemorate the flight   from egypt the most fundamental questions  about that final meal remain unanswered for hundreds of years our vision of what actually  took place has been shaped to a profound extent by   a single work of art considered by many to be the  world's most famous religious painting this image   painted by leonardo da vinci in the late 15th  century still graces the wall of a monastery in milan but scholars have come to question the  historical accuracy of davinci's masterpiece   who among jesus companions actually  attended the dinner and how were they seated leonardo's painting depicts the disciples  as seated upright behind a long table but   according to the jewish custom guests at a  cedar would have been reclining on couches   around a u-shaped table called a triclinium and as for those present of the meal leonardo  has chosen to portray only male disciples   at a seder women would have participated as well women were among the disciples they were among  the inner circle a family meal a festival meal   which is what the passover is of course always  had women women had a role women had a role in the   prayers so to the extent that it was a traditional  meal we assumed that women were present is it possible that women sat at the  table with jesus at this holiest of meals all our paintings of course show  jesus with 12 male companions it is of great importance historically to ask is  that what jesus did did he choose 12 men and were   those the only ones who were present at the last  supper i see absolutely no reason to presume that   the companions of jesus were women and  men at whatever final gathering there was   even the assumption the 12 individuals  attended the dinner has come under scrutiny   some scholars suggest that the number 12 was  used simply because of its symbolic meaning ancient israel traced its lineage  back to the 12 tribes of israel the   12 sons of jacob being the heads of the 12  tribes it's possible then that this number 12   is symbolic of the new people of god  who will enter into the kingdom when it comes but while many scholars insist  that the last supper was a passover meal   others questioned that assumption i don't really think that the last supper was a  passover first of all you don't have any of the   actual rituals of the passover the paschal  lamb the telling of the story of passover   none of that is in the description of the last  supper jesus actually would have been crucified   and in fact arrested on a jewish holiday  which be virtually impossible to believe the gospels themselves are in disagreement  the accounts given by mark matthew and luke   placed the dinner on passover the gospel  of john however sets it on the night before   if john's account is to be taken literally  jesus is himself sacrificed on the passover basically what that means is that john wants  to say to us that jesus is the paschal lamb   that's the way he understands the  symbolism of jesus and the death of jesus with so many mysteries surrounding these few  brief hours scholars agree on one fact jesus   was betrayed by one who sat at his own table  did jesus know by whose hand he would die for the companions who dined together at the last  supper perhaps the most portentous meal in history   the atmosphere must have been tinged with sadness did they sense the stark reality of  death so close at hand scholars have   long wondered how did jesus and his disciples  choose to spend these last few precious hours the biggest mysteries about the last supper to  me are what really happened at that meal was   this jesus telling his disciples that he actually  thought he was the messiah the son of god what   kind of brainstorming for the next phase of the  jesus movement was going on all the conflicting   motivations dreams and aspirations about what it  meant to be jewish i would have loved to be there if i was a fly on the wall at the last  gathering of jesus i would be very worried   i think what people would be talking about  in such a situation if they were at all wise   might well be how to get out  of town as fast as possible not only does jesus foresee his own violent death   but he is soon to make an  even more shocking disclosure while they were at the table eating jesus said i  tell you that one of you will betray me one who   is eating with me and they began to be sorrowful  and to say unto him one by one is it i mark 14 19 even as his followers search  their souls is it possible that   jesus already knows the identity of his betrayer woe unto that man by whom the son of man is  betrayed it had been good for that man if he had   not been born matthew 25 24 in jesus time judas's  act of betrayal would have been harshly punished judas offense is profound in terms of the social  structure of the first century where loyalty is   the highest value and so judas betrayal breaks the  very social fabric first of all loyalty within a   family was absolute you defended family members to  their death and what the jesus movement was saying   is the bonds that we have that we are creating  among each other are stronger than family bonds then judas who betrayed him said surely not i  rabbi he replied you have said so matthew 26 25 after this fateful confrontation with judas  according to the gospels of matthew mark and luke   jesus takes up the remaining bread  and distributes it among his disciples   this simple gesture will hold a profound  meaning which will echo throughout the centuries this is my body which is given for you  do this in remembrance of me luke 22 17 the disciples partake of the bread jesus  reaches for a cup of red passover wine   according to custom it has  been diluted two parts of water   to one of wine he again offers thanks and  passes the chalice among his disciples take this and divide it among yourselves   this cup that is poured out for you is  the new covenant in my blood luke 22 20. jesus uses the moment in the breaking of the  bread and the sharing of the cup to say this is   what's going to happen to him he's going to give  his life his body and his blood his very life   for the many with these few words in  which bread and wine are symbolically   offered as the body and blood of jesus the  sacrament of holy communion came into being however the story of the last supper in john's  gospel does not include this powerful ritual   instead it records another profound symbolic act  inexplicably omitted from the other three gospels jesus gets down on his knees like a slave   in fact probably even like a woman slave gets down  on his knees and washes the feet of his disciples jesus washing the feet is a kind  of on the one hand submissiveness   but even more so it seems to be symbolic  of the passing on the mantle of leadership   what is the message that jesus with this  simple act of humility is attempting to convey and what jesus says you want to run this church  here's how you do it you are the servants of the   people of god and it's not poetry it means getting  down on your knees and washing people's feet   the events between the night of the last  supper and the day of the crucifixion   would become known as the passion of jesus many have wondered what was in the mind of  jesus as he faced the terror of his own death as jesus steps into the cool of the spring night  he is aware that his death is close at hand followed by his disciples he retreats  into the seclusion of a tranquil garden   on the mount of olives then jesus went with his disciples  to a place called gethsemane   and he said to them sit here while i  go over there and pray matthew 26 36 how is jesus able to cope  with the agony of this moment distancing himself from his disciples he  falls to his knees and confronts his fear my father if it is possible  let this cup pass from me   yet not what i want but what you want mark 14 32 this portrayal of jesus is quite striking in  its shall we call it psychological authenticity   the intent to really honor and be faithful to  the human experience of fear of uncertainty the clank of roman weapons  shatters the stillness of the night   jesus looks up to see judas approaching and  behind him a crowd carrying swords and clubs as soon as judas arrived he went up  to jesus and said rabbi and kissed him   so they arrested jesus and  held him tight mark 14 45 jesus is brought before the high  priest caiaphas who charges him with   advocating the destruction of the temple   caiaphas sends him to pontius pilate the roman  governor it is pontius pilate who will decide his fate are you the king of the jews he asked so  you say answered jesus matthew 27 11. one of   the mysteries that surrounds jesus final days is  that he never publicly proclaims himself to be   king of the jews and yet he's arrested and tried  and executed for calling himself king of the jews jesus is sentenced to death by crucifixion  romans principal means of execution crucifixion was a slow torturous death it was  actually a death by asphyxiation the prisoner   who was being attached to the cross was nailed  through the wrists rather than through the hands   as is commonly depicted people could last as  long as they their strength held out when their   strength failed their body would finally distend  to such an extent they could no longer breathe as the tragic events unfolded  historians have wondered what   happened to the individuals who  shared the last supper with jesus the evidence is that the male  disciples at least of jesus ran i do not mock them for that i think  i probably would have done the same   but it's crucially important to distinguish  between losing your nerve and losing your faith   it's one thing to run and it's  another thing to keep running they didn't keep running and that's  what's important they got out of town   but they didn't lose their faith and one of the 12th disciples who betrayed jesus   according to gospel accounts  judas dies by his own hand in roman society honor was the most important  social value that any male could have and for   those who participated in political power and  political authority the loss of honor was very   catastrophic and the only way that the loss  of honor could be redeemed was through suicide after the death of jesus the ritual from  the last supper of sharing bread and wine   was to be continued by his  followers as a holy sacrament early on in christianity we know that christians  got together weekly in order to celebrate   the death and resurrection of jesus and did this  with a community meal together in which they would   have a kind of a potluck supper now the earliest  meaning of that last supper or the eucharistic   meal was a thanksgiving the very name eucharist  or charistia is the word greek word for thanks   and the bread that was blessed  was called the thanked bread historians now know that the earliest places   of christian worship were in  the homes of converts to the faith for the first three centuries christian  churches met in homes house churches   and that meant they were in the domestic sphere   they were in the sphere that roman society  assigned to women and to women's authorities the age-old power struggle between  men and women seems to have surfaced   over the question of who should preside  over the communal meal of the eucharist we have indication that there were  men who were quite upset with women   ministering in churches at about the time the  gospels were written and there was certainly   a movement afoot in order to keep women silent  in the churches by the end of the first century by the end of the third century worship was  taken out of the home and move to public   reception halls called basilicas under  the leadership of male priests the meal   disappears and the elements of bread and wine  become the central ritual what you have is that   authority is now becoming attached to the person  who presides over that eucharistic meal and then   that gets that becomes a way of separating  the leadership from the rest of the people and so it was from the simple  sharing of a fellowship meal   called the eucharist that over the centuries  the right of holy communion was to evolve but above all the most pervasive impact that  the last supper has had on the lives of millions   upon millions has been the understanding of the  new covenant with god that jesus was proposing the last supper takes the entire life of jesus  with all its emphasis on the open table and the   eating together and encapsulates the life  and the death of jesus together at a meal the eucharist is food in christianity forever  the central right of christianity is food   distributed equally to all from the humble breaking of bread in jesus time  would come food to sustain the soul and the body and if the vision of jesus  was ever to be fulfilled   perhaps a day would someday  come when for all humanity   hunger of the body as well as hunger of the  spirit would finally be only a distant memory you

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Id: 9puLGjRwVKY

Length: 45min 31sec (2731 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 16 2020