Image Details

Photo courtesy of the Getty Museum. Collection Young Research Library, UCLA

ON THE COVER: Jesus presides over the Last Supper in this illumination from the Gladzor Gospels, a 14th-century Armenian manuscript now on exhibit at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles (see announcement in Jots & Tittles). The Paschal Lamb, traditionally served at a Seder meal on the first night of Passover, appears on a platter before him. Three Gospels imply that the Last Supper was a Seder, but the fourth provides contrary evidence. In “Was Jesus’ Last Supper a Seder?” Jonathan Klawans questions whether the Seder meal was even celebrated in Jesus’ time. Did the gospel writers simply add this detail to instruct later Christians about how they should celebrate the holiday in future years?