Supper

Supper was the principal meal of the day in the Jewish world, taken in the early evening after the day's work and heat had subsided (Mark 6:21; John 12:2; 1 Cor. 11:21). Unlike the lighter breakfast or midday meal, supper was the social and family meal around which hospitality and celebration revolved. Great banquets and feasts are consistently described as evening events in both Old and New Testaments.

The most theologically significant supper in Scripture is the Last Supper — the Passover meal Jesus shared with his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion, during which he instituted the Lord's Supper (Eucharist) as the covenant meal of the new community (Matt. 26:17–30; Mark 14:12–26; Luke 22:7–23; 1 Cor. 11:23–26). The Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9) is the consummation of all these covenant meals — the great feast of the redeemed with Christ at the end of history.