Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

§17.5 Crucifixus sub Pontio Pilato
imminent death. 208 We have already noted the indications of liturgical development
in each version of the tradition (§8.5c), but also of a core memory of what
Jesus said. A simplified reminder of the words actually attributed to Jesus is sufficient
to make the point.
Matt. 26.26-29
26 'Take, eat: this is
mv bodv'.
27 'Drink from
it, all of you; 28 for
this is mv blood
of the covenant.
which is poured out for
many for the
forgiveness of sins'.
Mark 14.22-25
22 'Take; this is
mvbodv'.
24 'This is mv blood
of the covenant.
which is poured out on
behalf of many'.
Luke 22.17-20
19 'This is
mv bodv. which is
given for you. Do this
in remembrance of
me'.
20 'This cup is the new
covenant in mv blood
which is poured out for
you'.
1 Cor. 11.23-26
24 'This is
mv bodv which is
for you. Do this
in remembrance of
me'.
25 'This cup is the new
covenant in mv blood.
Do this, as often as
you drink it, in
remembrance of me'.
Two characteristic acts of prophetic symbolism, one at the beginning and one
'after supper' (according to the Luke/Paul tradition) evidently made a lasting impression
on those who met with him. Jesus invited those round the table to see in
the bread broken and shared among them a symbol of himself; likewise the wine
poured into the common cup. The symbolism of death is clear even without the
varied interpretations of the core which no doubt began from the first recall of Jesus'
words in sacred commemoration of his death after Easter.
There need be little doubt, then, that Jesus did anticipate rejection for his
message in Jerusalem, to share the fate of the prophets, to suffer as a man in the
hands of men, to drink the cup of suffering and be fully caught up in the final
tribulation. Can we say still more? The last line of reflection suggests a deeper
resonance in Jesus' own expectation for himself.
17.5. Did Jesus Give Meaning to His Anticipated Death?
The traditional material already examined offers up several possible positive answers
to this further question.
208. The words at the last supper, together with the so-called 'vow of abstinence' (Mark
14.25), can probably be said to imply 'a consciousness of imminent death' on the part of Jesus
(Theissen and Merz, Historical Jesus 430-31); 'the saying makes it highly probable that Jesus
knew he was a marked man' (Sanders, Historical Figure 264).
805