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| Q: | Matthew, Mark, Luke, John Re: the Last Supper....Did not all the disciples (including Judas) receive the body/bread and blood /wine? In the NPH Adult Instruction Course, New Life in Christ, the answer key suggests the following answer for question #8 (How many of the disciples received this sacrament?), Working With God's Word, Lesson #11: "all except Judas received it". Is there a definitive answer to the question? | ||||||
| A: | There is no absolutely definitive answer to this question, but the evidence seems to point in the direction of Judas leaving the upper room before the institution of the Lord's Supper. Matthew and Mark both give more details about this matter than Luke does. Both of them place Jesus' words about Judas being the betrayer before the institution. Both of them include Jesus words that the betrayer would be the one who would dip bread with him in the bowl. John adds that Judas left immediately after Jesus dipped the bread and gave it to Judas. Luke provides far less information. He does not mention Jesus words about dipping the bread, but only says that Jesus spoke about his betrayer after he had given the disciples the wine to drink as part of the institution. Thus, with the little information we have, and with John's statement that Judas left right after receiving the bread dipped in the bowl with Jesus, there are two possible sequences. Either Jesus spoke about his betrayer dipping bread with him and then dipped the bread right after saying this, or Jesus spoke about his betrayer dipping the bread in the bowl with him and then did not dip the bread until later after instituting the Lord's Supper. Though the latter is possible and would fit with what Luke says, the former is far more likely if Jesus really intended to reveal Judas as the betrayer. This, together with the fact that Luke's account is far less detailed on this point than the other three, leads us: a) to assume that Judas left before the institution of the Lord's Supper; and b) that Luke's words are not meant to give a sequence of events but only a more general reference to the fact that Jesus knew who his betrayer was. | ||||||
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