Interpreting the Last Supper: Sacrifice, Spiritualization, and Anti-Sacrifice

Some scholars view the Last Supper as a symbolic action, one that articulates a rejection of the Jewish temple. This essay presents an alternative approach. The Last Supper traditions are more subtle than is generally recognized. Also, a good deal of evidence demonstrates that the temple remained an...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Klawans, Jonathan (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Cambridge Univ. Press 2002
In: New Testament studies
Year: 2002, Volume: 48, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-17
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Summary:Some scholars view the Last Supper as a symbolic action, one that articulates a rejection of the Jewish temple. This essay presents an alternative approach. The Last Supper traditions are more subtle than is generally recognized. Also, a good deal of evidence demonstrates that the temple remained an important institution in early Christian practice and thought. Therefore it is necessary to drop the problematic practice of describing sacrificial metaphors as ‘spiritualizations’ of the cult. Rather, we should place the sacrificial metaphors of the Last Supper tradition within the broader ancient Jewish effort to channel the temple's sanctity into various non-sacrificial practices, such as eating and praying.
ISSN:1469-8145
Contains:Enthalten in: New Testament studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/S0028688502000012