The Last Supper: John Read online

you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

  “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.

  “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

  “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

  The disciples had lowered their heads, listening to Jesus’ words.

  “Come, it is time,” Jesus spoke, his strong voice causing John to open his eyes.

  They did not speak as they walked the city streets and out across the Kidron valley. Instead John watched Jesus, witnessing the great burden that seemed to weigh down his shoulders. The Lord led them, moonlight blanketing his form, brighter than the light playing on the sand and vegetation around him. Each footstep he made set deep, as if it had always been there.

  It was a long walk, and as they reached the garden of Gethsemane Jesus stopped, holding his arms out, calling forth his disciples. There was great anguish in Jesus’ eyes and heavy sweat dripping down his flesh. The limbs and leaves of olive trees swayed around them.

  “Sit here while I go over there and pray,” Jesus spoke to them with pain in his voice.

  One by one the disciples sat beneath the olive trees, laying back against them and whispering to one another, but as they went to sit, Jesus placed hands on Peter and James’ shoulders. He also looked John deeply in the eyes as he began to sit. “Come with me further,” he spoke.

  The three followed him until they reached a clearing. As Jesus turned to look upon them there was great grievance in his eyes. “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me,” he spoke, kissing each man’s forehead before walking a short distance away from them. He kneeled low on the ground to pray.

  Peter and James sat down beside John, leaning back against the same olive tree.

  John watched Jesus intently, wondering what words he spoke to the Father, wondering what was to come now. I will not betray you, he thought as his eyes became heavy. It was late and had been a long night. Surely I can close my eyes, just for a moment, just a little rest before Jesus returns.

  Darkness moved like a fog over his thoughts. He could hear the breathing of Peter and James somewhere distantly.

  “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me,” Jesus’ words surfaced in his thoughts, “yet not what I want but what you want.”

  Time passed in the darkness and Jesus’ voice returned. “So could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

  John tried to awaken, but was drawn again to darkness.

  “My Father,” Jesus’ voice entered John’s mind a third time, “if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”

  Information

  ‘The Last Supper: John’ was written by the author with the intent of taking what we know of Jesus’ last supper with the disciples and their walk to Gethsemane, and putting it in story form, so that we may further think on Jesus’ preaching at that time. The majority of speech in the work has been taken directly from the Holy Bible, the New Revised Standard Version, with some quotes from disciples and between the disciples and Jesus added for story composite. Great care has been given in these cases.

  Because the author chose John to write through the mind of, the Gospel of John was heavily used and quoted from. John was also chosen by the author because his gospel is perhaps the most in-depth of the gospels in regards to The Last Supper and the happenings leading up to Gethsemane.

  Another important note is that in the Gospel of John there is no specific mention to the breaking of bread and drinking of wine as sacrament. The author has included it in this work because of the sacrament’s mention in the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. There is some discrepancy also between gospels as to when The Last Supper took place and so since the author wrote from the mind of John, who writes that The Last Supper took place before Passover and not on Passover, the author has also not written ‘The Last Supper: John’ as a Passover event.

  Wikipedia writes - The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to as the Synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar wording. They stand in contrast to John, whose content is comparatively distinct. The term synoptic comes from the Greek, meaning "together", and optic, meaning "seen”.

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  The author would like to express his thanks for your purchase of The Last Supper: John. It is his honor to share this book with you and he would love to hear what you think of the read if you would like to email him. His email is [email protected]

  If you enjoyed this work, it would mean a lot to the author if you would post a review and rate it on the site you purchased it on so that other readers may have the opportunity to enjoy the author’s books in the future.

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  Thank you so much for your time with The Last Supper: John!

  Also by Scott J. Toney