Jesus and the Last Supper
Overview
Who did Jesus of Nazareth claim to be? What was his relationship to early Judaism? When and how did he expect the kingdom to come? What were his intentions? Though these key questions have been addressed in studies of the historical Jesus, Brant Pitre argues that they cannot be fully answered apart from a careful historical analysis of the Last Supper accounts. Yet these accounts, both by the Gospel writers and by Paul, are widely neglected by contemporary Jesus research.
In this book Pitre fills a notable gap in historical Jesus research as he offers a rigorous, up-to-date study of the historical Jesus and the Last Supper. Situating the Last Supper in the triple contexts of ancient Judaism, the life of Jesus, and early Christianity, Pitre brings to light crucial insights into major issues driving the quest for Jesus. His Jesus and the Last Supper is sure to ignite scholarly discussion and debate.
Get a detailed treatment of church history from a Catholic perspective with Roger Haight’s Christian Community in History (3 vols.).
Key Features
- Argues for the key role the Last Supper narratives play in the deep structure of the gospel accounts
- Provides detailed exegesis of key texts in conversation with historical details
- Provides a unique treatment of the historical Jesus
Contents
- The Problem of the Last Supper
- The New Moses
- The New Manna
- The Date of the Last Supper
- The New Passover
- The Eucharistic Kingdom of God
Top Highlights
“Specifically I will contend that Jesus saw himself as the new Moses whose advent and actions would inaugurate the new exodus spoken of by the prophets, and that Jesus saw his actions at the Last Supper as the culmination of the new exodus, through the establishment of a new covenant sacrifice that would be sealed in his own blood.” (Pages 56–57)
“If a saying or deed attributed to Jesus is contextually plausible, coherent with other evidence about Jesus, and continuous with or provides a plausible cause for the practice and belief of the early church, then it is reasonable to conclude that the evidence in question is historical.” (Page 41)
“In short, the messianic Jesus, as head of a community, and the eucharistic Jesus, as the founder of a cultic rite, lead directly to the ecclesial Jesus, the founder of a community unified by his leadership and his covenant.” (Pages 26–27)
“Indeed, as a number of scholars have suggested recently, when Jesus’ demonstration in the Temple and the Last Supper are taken together, they may suggest that he intended to replace the atoning cult of the Jerusalem Temple with the atoning cult of his own sacrifice, embodied in the eucharist.” (Page 26)
“The first thing that should be said here is that Jesus’ act of feeding the multitude, when viewed in light of ancient Jewish Scripture, is best explained as a prophetic sign meant to signal Jesus’ identity as the long-awaited ‘prophet-like-Moses.’” (Page 69)
Praise for the Print Edition
This beautifully written work confirms Brant Pitre's eminence as a scholar of the very first rank. . . . Focusing on the Last Supper, Pitre develops such themes as the new bread of the presence, the new manna, the new Passover, the messianic banquet, and the kingdom of God in often surprising but utterly persuasive ways. Catholic participation in the Jesus quest has hereby finally borne its hoped-for fruit, with enormous implications for all Christians. Pitre should win the Ratzinger Prize for this book alone.
—Matthew Levering, professor of New Testament, Mundelein Seminary
Now more than ever the field of historical Jesus studies is in a state of flux. The discipline is razing old foundations with the hope that more sophisticated methods will emerge. With Jesus and the Last Supper Brant Pitre constructs a bridge from the best scholarship of previous generations to the most promising possibilities of the present. This book is nothing less than a blueprint for resurrecting Jesus studies in the twenty-first century.
—Anthony Le Donne, professor of New Testament, United Theological Seminary, Dayton
Brant Pitre's contribution is provocative in the best sense of the word. At every turn readers will find new observations worth pondering and new arguments worth weighing. In particular, the numerous intertextual claims should generate much productive discussion, as should Pitre's challenging approach to dating the Last Supper. No one will come away from this volume without having learned much.
—Dale C. Allison Jr., professor of New Testament, Princeton Theological Seminary
This dramatic new rereading of the evidence for the Last Supper is a pivotally important work on the Last Supper and also an important contribution to historical Jesus research. Carefully researched and vigorously yet graciously argued, it offers a brilliant new synthesis of the data. Even readers not persuaded by every point will find much or even most of the argument persuasive.
Craig S. Keener, professor of New Testament, Asbury Theological Seminary
This long-awaited book is a brilliant study about the sacred meal that Jesus instituted for his followers, including its background, its origins, and its meaning for us. Pitre artfully shows that the bread and wine of the meal commemorate and embody the hopes of Israel's restoration as achieved through their messianic deliverer. You'll never look at the Lord's Supper, Eucharist, or Mass the same way after reading this book. A sumptuous feast of exegesis and theology!
Michael F. Bird, professor of New Testament, Ridley Melbourne Mission and Ministry College
- Title: Jesus and the Last Supper
- Author: Brant James Pitre
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Print Publication Date: 2015
- Logos Release Date: 2016
- Pages: 604
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Lord’s Supper; Lord’s Supper › Biblical teaching; Jesus Christ › Historicity; Jesus Christ › Jewishness; Church history › Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600; Judaism › History--Post-exilic period, 586 B.C.-210 A.D; Christianity and other religions › Judaism; Judaism › Relations--Christianity; Christianity › Origin
- ISBNs: 9780802848710, 9780802875334, 0802848710, 0802875335
- Resource ID: LLS:JESUSLASTSUPPER
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T20:07:38Z