Cover
story
Bible,
tradition concur: Da Vinci got it wrong
By NCR Staff
None of the five scriptural accounts of the Last Supper the
four gospels and Chapter 11 of Pauls first letter to the Corinthians
relate exactly who was present at the event. The image of Jesus sharing
the meal exclusively with the 12 apostles is the product of artistic
imagination rather than scriptural exegesis.
Both a close reading of the texts and a knowledge of the cultural
context suggest that an assortment of other followers of Jesus were present at
the Last Supper, probably including women.
In Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus instructs his disciples to
prepare a Passover meal. The word disciple is used throughout each of
these gospels in an inclusive fashion to refer to followers of Jesus, both men
and women. The accounts go on to say that Jesus sat with the Twelve during the
meal, but nowhere do they say the Twelve were the only ones present.
Instead, when Jesus breaks bread and shares it, the three gospels
say he does so with his disciples, not simply with the Twelve. John likewise
uses the word disciples to describe those present at the meal.
This more inclusive tradition is preserved in early church fathers
and in ancient liturgical texts. The earliest liturgical text that includes the
words of consecration, dating from 337 A.D., says explicitly that Jesus shared
bread both with his apostles and his disciples.
The cultural context also suggests that a Passover meal in
first-century Palestine would have been a broader affair. Among other things,
it is quite likely that women would have been present as cooks and servers.
Thus while Leonard DaVincis rendering is more familiar,
Bohdan Piaseckis painting of the Last Supper is probably a more accurate
image.
A fuller version of the argument that women were present at the
Last Supper can be found in Marjorie Maguires essay in the June 5, 1998,
issue of NCR.
National Catholic Reporter, April 2,
1999
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