During the Passover festival, the last meal that Jesus shared with his disciples, he broke a loaf of bread and said: ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ Then he poured wine in a cup and said: ‘Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood.’ Jesus thus instituted the Eucharist, the symbolic ritual commemorating his crucifixion. In Christianity his death on the cross is considered as a sacrifice to redeem mankind from original sin. In the Catholic Church the Last Supper and the Crucifixion are remembered during mass, while the Reformed Church observes the Lord’s Supper. The emphasis lies on the gathering together of the faithful.
At the Last Supper, Christ predicted that one of his disciples would betray him. In many scenes of this subject the traitor, the Apostle Judas, is seated somewhat apart from the others. He can also be identified by the fact that Jesus is shown handing him bread.
