Interpreting the Last Supper, Death and Resurrection

A meal that points towards Jesus’ death

In Mark 14:12–26, Jesus shares a Passover meal with his twelve disciples in Jerusalem. Passover commemorates God’s deliverance of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. This setting connects the meal with ideas of rescue and a relationship with God.

During the meal, Jesus announces that one of those eating with him will betray him. He then blesses bread, breaks it and gives it to the disciples, saying, ‘Take; this is my body’ (Mark 14:22). He gives thanks over a cup, shares it with them and says, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many’ (Mark 14:24).

Christians understand these actions as pointing towards his approaching suffering and death. The broken bread represents his giving of himself; the wine connects with the blood he will shed. ‘For many’ suggests that his death benefits others, rather than being only a personal tragedy.

A covenant is a binding relationship between God and human beings. Christians understand Jesus’ words as announcing a new relationship with God through his sacrifice. Jesus also says he will not drink wine again until he drinks it new in the kingdom of God (Mark 14:25). The meal therefore looks towards both his death and a future beyond it: suffering is not presented as the end of God’s purpose.

Catholic belief: receiving Christ himself

The Eucharist is Christian worship involving bread and wine that recalls the Last Supper. Roman Catholics usually call it Mass. Christians can share a similar outward action while understanding its meaning differently.

Catholics believe that, through the consecration, the bread and wine become Christ’s body and blood. This change is called transubstantiation. On this interpretation, Jesus’ words ‘this is my body’ are not merely a comparison: Christ is truly present.

Receiving the Eucharist therefore means receiving Christ himself, not simply something that reminds worshippers of him. The Catechism calls the Eucharist ‘the source and summit of the Christian life’ (CCC 1324): it nourishes Christian life and is its highest expression.

Catholics also believe it gives them grace, God’s help to live as Christians. Its significance continues after worship, influencing how they treat others and put faith into practice. Catholic parishes commonly celebrate Mass daily because of its importance.

Symbolic interpretations and shared remembrance

Some other Christians understand the bread and wine primarily as symbols of Jesus’ body and blood. On this interpretation, the bread does not become his body. Sharing it helps worshippers remember Jesus and the significance of his sacrifice.

A symbol need not be unimportant. Sharing bread and wine can express a community’s common commitment to Jesus. Acts 2:42 connects early Christian life with teaching, fellowship, ‘the breaking of bread’ and prayer.

The contrast is not that Catholics value the Eucharist while other Christians do not. Catholics emphasise receiving Christ himself; Christians with a symbolic interpretation emphasise remembrance. A symbolic interpretation should not be attributed to every Protestant.

Catholics also connect the ‘sacrifice of the Mass’ with Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. This should not be understood as Jesus being crucified again. Protestants stress that his sacrifice cannot be repeated, and those taking a symbolic approach understand the meal as recalling that sacrifice.

Some Christians, including Quakers and the Salvation Army, do not celebrate the Eucharist. They do not regard an outward ritual as necessary for demonstrating faith in God. Thus, differing interpretations affect both what Christians believe happens during worship and whether they celebrate the ritual at all.

Jesus’ death: suffering, sacrifice and reconciliation

Mark 15:21–47 describes Jesus’ crucifixion and burial. Crucifixion was a Roman method of execution, especially associated with people accused of rebellion. At Golgotha, Jesus is crucified under the charge ‘The King of the Jews’ and is mocked for not saving himself.

Before dying, Jesus cries, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Mark 15:34), quoting Psalm 22. His words convey the reality of his suffering and sense of abandonment. Christians can find comfort in believing that Jesus understands human pain, including the experience of feeling alone.

Mark reports that, at Jesus’ death, the Temple curtain tears from top to bottom. This curtain separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple. Christians interpret its tearing as a sign that the barrier of sin between humanity and God has been removed. Salvation means deliverance from sin and its consequences; reconciliation means restoring the relationship between humanity and God.

Christians therefore understand Jesus’ death as a sacrifice through which sins can be forgiven. The Last Supper’s words about blood ‘poured out for many’ help explain this belief. A Roman centurion’s declaration, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’ (Mark 15:39), also presents Jesus’ death as revealing his identity, rather than disproving it.

His death has an ethical significance too: it offers an example of self-sacrificing love and faithfulness despite suffering. For early Christians facing persecution, this could provide courage. For Christians today, it can encourage service and support for those who suffer.

A non-religious interpretation need not accept that Jesus’ death reconciled humanity with God. An atheist, who does not believe in God, would reject that theological explanation. Nevertheless, a non-religious person may still value the example of commitment and self-sacrifice. Agreement about the ethical value of an action does not require agreement about its divine significance.

The empty tomb and the Christian meaning of resurrection

After Jesus’ death, Joseph of Arimathea obtains his body from Pilate and places it in a rock-cut tomb. Pilate first receives confirmation from the centurion that Jesus is dead. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses see where the body is laid.

In Mark 16:1–8, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome go to the tomb after the Sabbath, bringing spices to anoint Jesus’ body. They find the large stone already rolled away. Inside, a young man dressed in white tells them, ‘He has been raised; he is not here’ (Mark 16:6). He instructs them to tell the disciples and Peter that Jesus will meet them in Galilee. The women flee in terror and amazement.

Christians commonly understand the young man as an angel, a messenger of God, and accept his announcement as news of Jesus’ resurrection: God has raised Jesus from death to life.

For Christians who believe Jesus truly rose from the dead, the resurrection shows God’s power and confirms Jesus’ identity as God’s Son. It means his death was not a final defeat, but part of God’s saving purpose. It also gives hope of life after death: death does not have the last word. Belief that Jesus is alive and present with them can sustain Christians through suffering, as it sustained his early followers. Easter celebrates this victory over death.

Comparing explanations of the empty tomb

The reported absence of a body does not, by itself, establish why the body is absent. Christians and non-religious people may therefore interpret the same account differently.

Resurrection: Christians argue that the empty tomb and the young man’s announcement fit Jesus’ promise that he would rise. They understand resurrection as a miracle, so ordinary expectations about death do not rule out God’s action. A sceptic may reply that accepting the account does not necessarily establish a supernatural cause.

Removal of the body: a natural explanation is that the disciples removed it. This would explain an empty tomb without resurrection. An objection is that Jesus’ followers were frightened after his death, making a deliberate plan to remove his body and proclaim resurrection less convincing. This objection challenges the proposal; it does not independently prove a miracle.

The wrong tomb: another suggestion is that the women made a mistake about the location. Against this, Mark records that women watched where Jesus was buried. The force of this objection depends on whether that reported detail is accepted as reliable.

Jesus survived: some suggest that Jesus was unconscious rather than dead and later recovered. Mark’s account challenges this because Pilate checked Jesus’ death with the centurion before releasing the body. Survival would therefore require that confirmation to have been mistaken.

An imagined messenger: grief and distress might be offered as an explanation of the women’s experience of the young man. An objection is that three women were present, rather than one individual. However, explaining an experience of a messenger would still leave the reported absence of the body to be explained.

A justified conclusion weighs these reasons rather than simply naming a preferred explanation. Someone who accepts that God can perform miracles may find resurrection convincing within the wider Christian understanding of Jesus. Someone seeking a natural explanation may judge that an unusual report is insufficient to establish a miracle. Both should distinguish what Mark narrates, what they infer from it and why they accept that inference.

Last Supper: Mark 14:22–25

• Bread: ‘Take; this is my body’ — Jesus gives himself; points towards suffering and death.
• Wine: ‘My blood of the covenant … poured out for many’ — sacrifice and a new relationship with God.
• Future wine in God’s kingdom — hope beyond his approaching death.

Christian interpretations

• Catholic: transubstantiation and Real Presence; receiving Christ and grace.