. . . Jesus’s use of “remembrance” (anamnesis)
is especially fitting given the paschal context of the Last Supper in the
Synoptic narratives. In addition, contrary to what some have claimed, there are
strong indicators that Paul was aware of the paschal nature of the meal, such
as his assertion that it occurred “at night [en tē nukti],” (1 Cor
11:23), a peculiar dimension of its observance (cf. Exod 12:8; Deut 16:4-8;
11Q19 17:6-9) and his earlier affirmation of Christ as a paschal sacrifice (1
Cor 5:7). Passover was also associated with a similar term for “remembrance” (mnēmosynon,
cf. Exod 12;14). In short, that Jesus chooses a Passover meal as the context for
his command to repeat his actions over the bread and wine as a “remembrance”
(cf. Luke 22:15, 19) would unavoidably be seen as drawing on the imagery of the
fast itself. The appearance of “new covenant” terminology from the LXX’s
account of Jeremiah 31 further reinforces the Passover imagery. In the
Septuagint, Jeremiah’s new covenant oracle is explicitly linked to Passover:
Behold, I am bringing them from the
north,
and I will gather them from the farthest part of the earth
at the feast of Passover [phasek].
(Jeremiah 38:8 LXX; NETS adapted)
A paschal backdrop is also fitting given
the appearance of “covenant” language; the festival is repeatedly linked
to covenant renewal in Jewish history (Josh 3:7-5:12; 2 Kgs 23:21; 2 Chr
29-30). A Passover background also makes sense of why both Jesus’s death and
the eucharistic meal are described in cultic terms. In light of the paschal
connection, Jesus’s act of giving the bread (= his body) to the disciples to be
consumed is the natural corollary of his role as a sacrificial victim;
the Passover lamb was not only sacrificed but also eaten. Regev notes: “Mark
does not portray Jesus as being anti-sacrificial. It is even possible that the
description is historical and that Jesus uses a sacrificial metaphor while
eating the Paschal lamb.” (Regev, The Temple in Early Christianity, 52) (Michael
Patrick Barber, The Historical Jesus and the Temple: Memory, Methodology,
and the Gospel of Matthew [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023], 203-4)
. . . scholars have also argued that
Jesus’s words evoke the thanksgiving sacrifice (tôdâ). Like Matthew and
Mark (cf. Matt 26:27//Mark 14:23), Paul and Luke emphasize Jesus’s act of “giving
thanks [eucharistēsas]” (Luke 22:19//1 Cor 11:24). Obviously, by
itself the use of this word cannot establish a tôdâ reference. Other factors,
however, incline the reader to make the connection. For one thing, Jesus
alludes to Jeremah’s new covenant prophecy. This prophecy is followed by a
vision of the age to come in which the returned exiles offer tôdâ
sacrifices (cf. Jer 33:11). Given the cultic setting and the appearance of “new
covenant” imagery from Jeremaih’s vision, an allusion to the tôdâ seems
fitting, if not even expected. Furthermore, as we have seen, a tôdâ connection
is plausible given that Jesus’s meal takes place during Passover week. As we
have seen, Passover and the thanksgiving sacrifice were easily connected. (Michael
Patrick Barber, The Historical Jesus and the Temple: Memory, Methodology,
and the Gospel of Matthew [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023], 204)
