Each year the Jews celebrate the feast of unleavened bread as part of the Passover. Unleaved bread is bread with no yeast in it to make it rise, and it is eaten this way in memory of the time the Jews had to escape from Egypt and were in such a hurry that they didn’t have time to add yeast to their bread.

The Passover is the time where the Jews remember how God saved them while He killed all the first born males of Egypt. On the day that God was going to kill all the first born males in Egypt, the Jews were told by God to put some lamb’s blood on their door, so when the Angel of death flew over Egypt he would not kill the ones who had the blood on their door. The reason God was going to kill the first born males of all the Egyptians was because their king (Pharaoh) would not let the Jews go free.

On the first day of the Unleaved Bread, Jesus’ disciples asked Him where He would like to have them go to get the supper ready, and Jesus told them to go into the city of Jerusalem where they would meet a man carrying a jar of water. They were to follow the man to the house he was going to and then say to the owner that they wanted to know where the guest room was where Jesus would eat his Passover supper. The owner would then show a large furnished room on the second floor. This is where the supper was to be made ready.

When evening arrived, Jesus was reclining when he said, “I have waited with eagerness to share this meal with you before I am made to suffer. I shall not eat it again until the right time in heaven.” As the group was eating, Jesus took some bread, prayed a prayer of thanks to God, broke the bread and then dipped it in the sauce. Jesus then said, “Take this and eat it; this is my body.”

Jesus then took a cup, prayed, and passed it to His disciples while He said, “Drink this drink. This is my blood of the covenant [promise from God] which is to be poured out for the forgiveness of many for sins. I tell you that I will not drink again until I drink it with all of you in heaven.” By this Jesus meant that His blood, spilt on the cross, would erase the burden and memory of all our sins.

Mathew and Luke record the order and the specific words a little different, but the message is the same: When we eat the bread at communion, we are symbolically eating Jesus’ body, and when we drink the drink at communion, we are symbolically drinking Jesus’ blood. Communion is the event at which we eat the bread and drink the drink in church, in memory of Jesus.

At some point in the evening Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me,” which meant that one of the disciples, Judas, would tell the leaders how to get Jesus to kill Him.

Each one of the disciples denied that he was the one who would betray Jesus.

Judas then said to Jesus, “Surely it is not me?”

Jesus replied, “Yes it is you.”

They then sang a hymn and went to the Mount of Olives. A hymn is a song dedicated to God and full of religious meaning. It is usually sung slowly, and always with deep respect for God.