Lord’s Supper (Last Supper)

This Memorial is also known as the Lord’s Supper, the Last Supper or the Lord’s Evening Meal. Jehovah’s Witnesses consider themselves to be Christian and as such recognize that Jesus Christ is the son of God and commemorate the Memorial of Jesus’ death.  The purposes of the Memorial evening meal are to remember Jesus and show gratitude for the sacrifice that he made on behalf of humanity.

Jesus began the Lord’s Evening Meal on the date of the Jewish Passover, and he died later that same day. Scriptures compare Jesus’ sacrifice to that of the Passover lamb in the Jewish observance of Passover. Because Jesus began the Lord’s Evening Meal on Passover and Passover was observed on a yearly basis, Jehovah’s Witnesses have an annual celebration of the Memorial based on the calendar that was used by the Jews at that time. This means that the Memorial is held after sunset, which was the beginning of the Jewish day, on the occurrence of the first full moon after the spring equinox. The Memorial includes a talk on the meaning of the celebration and a sharing of unadulterated red wine and unleavened bread by those who have been chosen to rule with Christ in heaven. It is believed that the bread symbolizes the body that Jesus Christ gave on behalf of humanity, and the wine symbolizes the blood that redeems us from sin.