BOOK 3, PART I, LESSON 3

THE LAST SUPPER THE BIBLE: Luke 22:7-23, Luke 22:19 THEME: We remember that Jesus taught about love and showed love in everything he did. During Lent and Easter, we remember and celebrate God’s love made known in Jesus.

PREPARING FOR THE LESSON MAIN IDEA: In the last supper with the disciples, Jesus gave his friends a way to remember him. As we participate in Communion, we remember and give thanks for Jesus. MEMORY VERSE: “Then he said, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Eat this as a way of remembering me!’”– Luke 22:19c CEV KEY WORDS AND CONCEPTS TO BE LEARNED: a. The Last Supper - the last meal that Jesus ate with his disciples. During the meal he gave final instruction to his disciples. This event is recorded in all four gospels. b. The Lord’s Supper - a ceremony in which Christians practice meet to remember the Lord’s death and payment for our sins. This is also called Holy Communion. Jesus asks that this be done at the last supper he had with his disciples. c. Sacrament - a ceremony or ritual that has a sacred purpose or meaning. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are sacraments. The word does not appear in the Bible. BIBLE BACKGROUND: According to the custom, Jesus was planning to celebrate a Passover meal with his disciples and followers. But his Passover would be different. It was to be the last Passover meal he would have with his disciples. The upper room where Jesus arranged for his group to celebrate the Passover was a common room found in the homes in Jerusalem. The one room was on top of the other. The house looked like one box put on top of another. The upper room where Jesus arranged for his group to celebrate the Passover was a common room in the homes of Jerusalem. Such a room was reached by outside steps. During the Passover time, this room was often used as a guest room, or by a rabbi to spend time with his favorite disciples. Jesus was an excellent teacher. He used common, everyday items to help people understand his message. By using the bread and wine of the Passover meal,

Jesus was able to give his followers a special way to remember him. Traditionally, the Methodist Church uses grape juice instead of wine. UNDERSTANDING YOUR STUDENTS: Children may wish to take part in Holy Communion even though it has little meaning for them. Some churches allow children to take part while others do not. When children see adults approach this sacrament with seriousness and thanksgiving, they will learn that it is important. In Sunday school, we often lay the foundation for important things to learn in more detail in the coming future. DEVELOPING YOUR FAITH: Read Luke 22:7-13. The disciples followed Jesus’ instruction without question. Do you find excuses not to do something to which God is calling you? Read Luke 22:19-10. Jesus gave thanks during this meal even though he knew what was going to happen. In what situations do you need to look beyond the difficulties and thank God for your blessings? Take time to do so today.

TEACHING THE LESSON 1. INTRODUCTION Prepare a tray of objects from the home, yard or church. (For example, a rock, a pencil, a spoon, or flower, etc.) Cover with a scarf.  Greet the children and welcome newcomers.  SAY: We are going to play a game about remembering. I have a tray here with different things on it. I will remove the scarf and hold up each object. Then I will recover it and see how many can you remember. Remove the cover. Have the children call out the objects once and quickly cover the tray so that they cannot see the things.  ASK the children to name as many of the objects that they can remember.  If they have done well, praise them. If they have not done well, talk about how hard it is to remember things sometimes.  TELL the children: Today’s Bible story is about remembering.  ASK: What special days can you remember from when you were younger? What do you remember about these days? (For example, “My mother prepares special food,” or “We wear special clothes,” etc.)  Help the children identify special days which the families of your country celebrate and the things that are done to remember the reason of the holidays. (Artist: Prepare a picture of wheat, bread, grapes and a communion set. Please check with your pastor as to the kind of communion set that is used by the churches and draw one accordingly.) 

Show the picture of the wheat/bread, grapes/grape juice, and communion set.

 SAY: In today’s Bible story, Jesus gives his followers a special way to remember. Let us listen carefully to the story and see how Jesus uses these things to help us remember something important. 2. EXPLORE THE BIBLE MESSAGE  TELL the following story: Passover was a special time in Jerusalem. Thousands of people came from all over the land to the city to celebrate. The marketplaces were crowded. Every spare room in the city was filled with people preparing for the Passover. Peter and John entered the city through the great stone gates. Their friend Jesus had made arrangements for them to celebrate the Passover meal in Jerusalem. But they had to find the house where they were staying. Preparing the meal took a long time. Peter and John stood there and watched the crowd of people coming in and out. “Who are we supposed to look for?” asked Peter.

“A man carrying a water jar,” answered John.

“I only see women carrying water jars from the well. There are so

many people here,” said Peter. “There is he now,” said John pointing as a man with a water jar begun to walk towards them. Peter and John followed the man through the crowded streets. When he went inside a house, Peter and John followed. They asked the owner of the house. “Do you have a guest room where our teacher and his followers can celebrate the Passover?” The man led them up to an upper room. There was a guest room that was prepared as a dining area, and it was large enough. Peter and John began to get everything ready. First, the room had to be cleaned in a special way. Then the pots and pans had to be cleaned in a special way. Peter and John arranged for the special foods. Soon everything was ready. Jesus and his followers came together at the appointed hour. Everyone sat down on the cushions around the tables. Jesus looked around the room at all of his friends who had gathered there. He said, “Tonight will be the last time we will be together like this.” Everyone was puzzled. What was Jesus talking about? Where was he going? What was going to happen? The Passover meal is a special time of remembering for the Jewish people. Each part of the meal helps them remember how Moses led their people out of Egypt. They also remember how God had cared for their people in the wilderness. They shared special Scriptures and said special prayers to help them remember. But tonight, Jesus did something different. He took a loaf of bread and held it up to give thanks to God. Then he broke it and gave it to his friends. “Eat this as a way of remembering me.” At the end of the meal, Jesus took the cup of wine and gave thanks

to God for it. Then he said, “Drink this and whenever you do, remember me and all I have taught and done for you.” And he passed the cup around the table. Now the disciples were confused. What did Jesus mean, “Remember me”? Where was he going? This was twice that he said something odd. Then Jesus said: “One of you who is eating this meal with me will turn me over to the enemies.” The disciples began to talk among themselves. “Who is it? Is it me? hat can we do?” But Jesus said to them, “We cannot change what is about to happen. We have been through much together. But the worst is still to come. You will need to be strong and faithful.” Just then Peter jumped to his feet, “I will never leave you, Teacher. I will always stand by you, even if I have to go to prison or die.” Jesus looked at this friend and shook his head. “Peter, you say that now, but before the night is over you will tell the people that you do not even know me.” “Never!” said Peter, “I could never do that.” But the disciples didn’t know all the things that were about to happen. They did not know that in the days ahead, they would need the bread and the cup to remind them of their friend Jesus. 3. RESPOND TO THE BIBLE MESSAGE . ACTIVITY 1: Questions  

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What special festival were Jesus and his disciples celebrating? (They were celebrating the Passover.) Where did they go to celebrate? (Yes, the merchants were taking advantage of the worshipers. They had nowhere else to go to exchange their money or to buy animals for sacrifice.) What did he do? (He chased them out of the temple and told them to stop cheating the people.) Who else was angry? (The Pharisees were also angry. They did not like what Jesus was doing.)

ACTIVITY 2: Communion Review by using the picture with wheat/bread, grapes/grape juice, and a Communion set.  ASK: How do these things help us remember Jesus?  SHARE the following information about Communion. (If possible, have a Communion set to show the children.)

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During communion we remember Jesus and all that He taught us. During communion we ask God to help us live more like Jesus lived. During communion we eat bread and drink juice. Sometimes the bread is cut in small bites. Sometimes we break the bread from a large loaf. Sometimes the bread is like a small cracker. In some churches, everyone drinks the juice from the same cup. In some churches, each person has a small cup of juice. In other churches, people dip their bread into a large cup of juice.

ACTIVITY 3: The Last Supper (Artist: Draw a picture of Jesus and his 12 disciples at the Last Supper.)  

ASK: How many disciples were with Jesus? (12) INTRODUCE each of the disciples using the picture of the Last Supper and the following script: (The Last Supper picture is an important picture to Christians today. The children may have seen the picture hanging in the church. It is not important that the children remember the names of Jesus’ disciples. It is important that they hear their name and know that Jesus had chosen helpers and that this last meal together was very important.) 1. “Phillip is a Greek name, but I am Jewish. My parents called me Phillip, probably because of the famous governor whose son was Alexander the Great.” 2. “I am Matthew, also called Levi. I was a tax collector.” 3. “My name is Thomas. I am remembered by my doubting moments rather than by my faith in Jesus. 4. “I am Bartholomew. I have a long name but I am not very well known. 5. “I am Simon. I am not to be confused with Simon Peter. I was a Zealot which was one of the major political parties of the Jews.” 6. “James is my name. I am the “younger” disciple by that name. Matthew is my brother.” 7. “I am Judas. I am among the most famous disciples, but for the saddest reason.” 8. “James is my name. My brother and I are known as ‘sons of thunder’. 9. “Simon Peter is my name. fisherman by trade, I learned also to be a disciple.” 10. “I am Andrew. More people know my brother Peter.” 11. “I am Thaddeus. Not much is written about me. My other name is Jude. Jude is the name of the shortest book in the New Testament which is mine.” 12. “John is a common name. People call me “the beloved disciple.”

ACTIVITY 3: What do we remember about Jesus (Artist: Draw a picture of a large flower that is familiar to the children for the teacher’s book. Leave the petals empty so that the children/teacher can fill them in. Please make it one full page for teachers to copy for the children.)  If possible, make copies of the flower picture for the class.  Choose words from the mushroom that tell something about Jesus. Write one word or phrase on each petal of the flower. Have the children color the picture and take it home. 4. CLOSE IN PRAYER Ask the children if they have anyone for whom they would like to pray. Include those persons in your prayer. PRAY: Dear God, thank you for your gift of your son, Jesus. Thank you for giving us a way to remember him and all he taught us. We love you. AMEN.

Requested pictures:

A picture to teach Holy Communion—Wheat/Bread, Grapes/Grape juice and a

communion set.

The Last Supper with Jesus & his twelve disciples—This is a very important

picture to Christians today.

____________________ This lesson has been quoted or adapted from New Invitation. Grades 1& 2, Spring 95, pages 31-37.