What type of meal was the last supper

But white wine could have been available to Jesus, too. Israeli vintner Avi Feldstein believes dabouki white wine , made with one of the oldest grape varieties in the Holy Land, could be close to what Jesus drank. Wine grapes were grown locally in Galilee and modern-day Jordan.

Winemakers poured their grapes into the vats of stone winepresses , where several men tread on the grapes. As the grapes were pressed, juice flowed through a connected channel containing a filter of thorns into a smaller vat below. From the second vat, juice could be poured into containers usually earthenware pots or wineskins made of goat and lamb hides and sealed up to begin fermentation.

The resulting wine probably would have tasted quite different from wine today. Shipped in ceramic or wood casks, the wine would have taken on the flavor of its container. According to Patrick McGovern, an archaeologist at the University of Pennsylvania, wine in antiquity was also flavored with tree resins, capers, and peppers. The gospel accounts tell us that Jesus and his disciples ate bread and drank wine at the Last Supper.

The Last Supper may have been a Passover meal. Passover is when Jews remember their exodus from Egypt. On this day, Jews traditionally traveled to the temple in Jerusalem to sacrifice a Passover lamb. Today, this day of Passover is celebrated in Judaism with the Seder supper. But we do know that the Passover meal would have included unleavened bread and likely a roast lamb. So if the Last Supper was a Passover meal, we can probably place those two foods on the table.

For a fuller menu, we have to do a bit of guesswork. But in , two Italian archaeologists published a study on what was eaten at the Last Supper that included a reconstructed menu. The two archaeologists drew from Bible verses, Jewish texts, ancient Roman literature, and archaeological data to learn about what people ate in Jerusalem during the first century A.

Based on their research, they hypothesized that the menu for the Last Supper would have featured bean stew, lamb, bitter herbs, fish sauce, unleavened bread, dates, and aromatized wine.

This menu reflects both that Jesus and his disciples were practicing Jews who may have been celebrating Passover, and that Roman culture surrounding them had an impact on their diet. Fish sauce, for example, was a popular Roman ingredient. Jesus asks his disciples to follow him, not his diet.

In fact, he actually freed us from the requirements of the Kosher diet through his sacrifice on the cross. Learning about the foods Jesus ate reminds us that he was a real person who ate, drank, laughed, and cried at the same table as people like us. Preparing these foods for our own tables is a way that we can experience Jesus and feel connected to his earthly presence. This is not a replacement for Communion, but it may be a way to enhance our appreciation for it.

Eating is both necessity and joy; in sharing the food from our tables, we spread our joy to our neighbors and show our gratitude to our provider.

Urciuoli and Berogno used Biblical passages, including the Feast of Tabernacles, the wedding of Cana, and Herod's banquet, to draw their conclusions. They also put together historical data and clues from artwork to reconstruct food and eating habits in Palestine 2, years ago, Seeker reported. From the data collected, they concluded that the Last Supper's menu also included beans stew, olives, bitter herbs, and fish sauce.

Reuters Apart from unleavened bread and wine that Christians have long established from Scriptures, what other food was served at Christ's Last Supper? Most Read Why as a pastor I decided to get vaccinated Christians in the Holy Land 'at grave risk' - report Banning conversion therapy: a step too far or not far enough? After the painting's most recent restoration, which took 21 years and ended in the late '90s, additional dishes appeared on the table for the first time, including one that seemed a bit out of place—eels with orange slices.

While this certainly wasn't a common dish in Jesus' time, eels and oranges were a common pairing in 15th-century Italy and were two items that appeared on Da Vinci's own preserved grocery lists. By Max Bonem Updated April 18, Save FB Tweet More. The Last Supper. All rights reserved. Close Sign in.