After the
second cup of wine was consumed everyone washed his hands a second time. Then
the leader would take the middle of three stacked loaves of unleavened bread
and hold it up. He would then break it into two unequal “halves.” After doing
so, the leader pronounced the following invitation, not in the Hebrew language,
but in Aramaic, a non-Jewish language:
“This is the
bread of affliction that our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Whoever is
hungry, let him come and eat! Whoever is needy, let him come and celebrate
Passover!” [1]
After this
invitation, a full-blown sumptuous meal was brought forth to be eaten.
This was a
time in the Passover celebration for informal conversation and fun. However,
for Jesus and company, it became an occasion for sadness. According to a
careful reading of the Gospels, while they were eating at this point in the
ceremony, the Lord relayed to his disciples some disturbing news:
“Assuredly,
I say to you, one of you will betray me” (Mat 26:21).
Peter then
motioned to John who, the biblical text says, was reclining next to Jesus.[2]
We can tell, therefore, that John was to Jesus' right, in the third place of
honor—apart from the leader’s and someone else’s place, that is.
He wanted
John to ask Jesus “Who?” So Peter must have been within easy view of the
youngest disciple, yet far enough away from Jesus that it would have been
awkward to ask the Lord himself. Therefore, in all likelihood, Peter reclined
at or near what was considered the place of least honor, at the far end of the
triclinium.[3]
Jesus’
answer to John’s and Peter’s question is telling:
“It is he to
whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it” (Joh 13:26a).
The Gospel
of John goes on to say:
"And
having dipped the bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon"
(13:26b).[4]
That Judas
Iscariot was sitting close enough to Jesus to take from him, a piece of the
“bread of affliction,” most likely dipped, by the way, in kharoset (that fruit
puree, already mentioned, which represents the mortar used during the hard
slave labor in Egypt), suggests that he was probably reclining on Jesus’ other
side—the highest place of honor next to the leader's![5]
It is
written that the remaining disciples did not hear Jesus’ answer to John. So
when Judas ate the unleavened bread dipped (probably) in kharoset, and, as the
text says, “Satan entered him” (Joh 13:27b), and then Jesus told Judas, “What
you do, do quickly” (Joh 13:27d), some of the disciples simply assumed that the
Lord had sent Judas on an errand of charity.[6]
It is not
entirely clear from any of the New Testament accounts, but sometime right
before, or soon after Judas Iscariot left to betray the Lord seems to have been
the point when Jesus resumed the formal portion of the Passover liturgy.
And
instituted the Lord’s Supper.
We know that
Jesus took bread first: [7] The “bread of affliction.” Then he blessed.[8] Note
that in Jewish blessings it is not the bread (or any food or beverage) that is
blessed. God Himself is to be blessed for providing the food or beverage.
So Jesus
took some unleavened bread. Matzah. In particular, the “bread of affliction.”
Earlier, he had taken the middle of the three loaves stacked upon each other.
That is what the Passover liturgy dictated. The middle matzah. But is that even
important? Again, we have clues from history.
In the
modern Jewish Passover, the leader[9] takes the middle loaf of unleavened bread
(i.e. of matzah ) before the main meal, just like Jesus did. He then breaks it
and divides it among all who are sitting at the table with him. It is then
eaten. The other half he takes and immediately wraps in white linen and, while
the children are not looking, he hides it somewhere in the room—usually under a
chair or the table. Then, after the full meal is eaten, at the stage in the
liturgy where we find Jesus and his disciples, the modern Jewish leader has the
children search high and low for the hidden half loaf of unleavened bread that
has come to be called the afikoman.
The child
who finds the afikoman is given a prize, often a small amount of money.
Now Bible
scholars tell us that this custom came into the seder around Jesus’ time.[10]
And, interestingly enough, afikoman is a Greek word, not Hebrew or Aramaic. It
means “I am coming.” [11]
Present-day
Jews do not have a ready answer as to why they simultaneously eat and hide the
halves of the middle loaf of unleavened bread or why the hidden half is called
by a Greek name.[12]
End Notes
[1] In the
modern Passover ritual there are additional words which express the sincere
desire to return to the land of Israel and end Israel’s “slavery” (i.e.
dispersion). These words are from a later time than Jesus’. Although Israel was
occupied by Rome at the time of his Last Supper, they at least were in their
own land with a modicum of autonomy.
[2] Joh
13:23. This interpretation assumes, of course, that “the disciple whom Jesus
loved” was John … which accords with the testimony of the Pre-Nicene Church
interpreters (from before the A.D. 325 Church Council held in Nicaea, a city in
modern-day Turkey), particularly the ancient church historian Eusebius in
Against Heresies 3.1.1-4; and Ecclesiastical History 5.8.1-4.
[3] This
knowledge of festival seating arrangements in 1st century Israel helps us
better understand and obey Jesus’ instructions and warnings within our own
cultural settings. E.g. “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not
sit down in the best place …” (Luk 14:7-11 TEV). And: “The teachers of the Law
and the Pharisees … love the best places at feasts …” (Mat 23:2-6 TEV).
[4] Judas
(Gk.), or in Hebrew Yehudah (Judah), was often called in the Gospels “Judas
Iscariot,” and here is identified as the son of Simon (Iscariot -- Joh 6:71).
The uninformed might assume that Judas' family name was therefore Iscariot, but
Jewish men of this time did not have family names as we moderns might have.
They were either identified by the name of their father (E.g. Simon bar John [=
“son of John” Joh. 1:42]), by some distinguishing quality (E.g. Barnabas [=
“son of encouragement” Act. 4:36]), or by some territorial appellation (E.g.
“Jesus of Nazareth” [i.e. from the Galilean town of Nazareth] Act. 2:22). This
last category is the case for Judas whose identifying designation is in Hebrew
Ish Keriot, which means “man of [i.e. from] Keriot.” Keriah (singular) means a
small town. Keriot means more than two small towns. We do not know for certain
which specific area Judas came from that had three or more towns (apparently)
grouped together (there are two places called Keriot mentioned in the OT: one
across the Jordan river [Jer. 48:24; Amo. 2:2]; and one in the tribal territory
of Judah [Jos. 15:25]). It is most likely, I think, that Judas came from the
Keriot in Judah/Judea. One cannot be absolutely sure. But there is little doubt
as to the meaning of his (and his father’s) territorial identifier.
[5]
According to Dr. James Fleming of Biblical Resources (a Christian-origins
research facility and biblical “think-tank”) in Jerusalem, Israel (from an
article on the “Bridges for Peace” website). Also, “… that someone ‘dipping in
the bowl’ (dipping bowls were especially used at Passover as part of the
ritual) with a person would betray that person would have horrified ancient
readers, who saw hospitality and the sharing of table fellowship as an intimate
bond (cf. Ps. 41:9 …).” Keener, New Testament Bible Background Commentary, p.
175.
[6] Joh
13:29, 30. Giving to the less-fortunate was and is a common Passover custom.
[7] This is
interesting because the usual order for Jewish blessings was wine first, then
bread. However, based primarily upon the Old Testament account when the
mysterious king Melchizedek greets Abraham with “bread and wine” (Gen 14:18-20;
note the order), there developed within some circles in Jesus’ day the idea
that when Israel’s true Messiah came, he would institute a feast wherein the
usual order of blessings for wine then bread would be reversed … to bread
first, then wine (E.g. the Melchizedek Scroll [from the Dead Sea Scrolls] which
was found in the 11th cave at the ancient ruins of a desert compound in Qumran,
thus called by scholars 11QMelch.).
[8]
Performed a B’RAKHA (i.e. blessing).
[9] In some
Jewish groups today this might be a woman.
[10] See
assembled material and discussion in Bokser, Baruch M. The Origins of the
Seder: The Passover Rite and Early Rabbinic Judaism. Berkley: University of
California Press, 1984, pp 19-28. Some Christian scholars suggest that the
afikoman and surrounding customs were even introduced by Jesus, or perhaps by
some of his early followers, since he and his Jewish disciples were considered
leaders of a sect within the greater framework of the several 1st century
Judaism(s). It may have all started as a custom of the sect of the notzrim
(i.e. Nazarenes), then gained wider acceptance with other non-Jesus-following
Jews who were nevertheless within Jewish Christian spheres of influence.
Scholars are only guessing; nobody has proffered any indisputable evidence, but
there are a few intriguing hints. See the discussion that follows …
[11] From
the Greek word aphikneomai. See discussion in Santala, Messiah … in the Light
of Rabbinical Writings, pp. 206-7. Any student of New Testament Greek can also
look in a standard lexicon and discover that afikoman is clearly presented
under the declension of verbs meaning, “to come.” [The Analytical Greek Lexicon
Revised, edited by Harold K. Moulton, p. 62, provides a good example]. The
current Jewish explanation is that it means “dessert,” but this is only a
secondary and derived meaning. The word afikoman recognizably comes from a
Greek verb with a specific meaning.
[12] There
have been several midrashic speculations, none completely cogent. The most
popular among Jewish people is that the three loaves stand for the three main
divisions in Israel: the kohanim (or priests), the levi’im (or Levites, the
priests’ assistants), and the average Israelite. However, the question must be
asked: Why are the Levites then broken, with half distributed for consumption,
while the other half is wrapped, hidden, then brought out toward the end of the
meal and consumed? It is an post hoc and ultimately unsatisfying explanation.
-Michael
Millier
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