Some images stop us in our tracks—not because they are beautiful, but because they are heavy with meaning. One such image is Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. While it is only paint on a wall, it invites us to consider something far greater: the final moment before the ultimate sacrifice.
This lesson invites us to view that scene from three perspectives:
- Leonardo da Vinci, the artist
- The twelve apostles, seated at the table
- Our own view today
Each perspective tells part of a story that began long before that meal and ended with the final Lamb.
The Artist’s View: A Moment Frozen in Time
Leonardo da Vinci spent three years painting The Last Supper, capturing the moment when Jesus announced, “One of you will betray Me.” Every face reflects emotion—shock, fear, confusion, anger. The artist imagined what no one alive today could fully know: the expressions of men who were sitting face-to-face with God in the flesh.
Leonardo painted a single moment—but behind that moment lies an entire history. A history soaked in blood.
The Apostles’ View: A Story They Knew Well
The twelve men around that table were not ignorant of Scripture. They were raised knowing the Law, the prophets, and the sacrifices. They understood the trail of blood that ran throughout their history.
They knew:
1. Genesis 3 – Blood Covers Sin
When Adam and Eve sinned, fig leaves were not enough. God clothed them with skins—requiring the death of something innocent. Sin brought separation, and blood was required to cover guilt.
2. Genesis 4 – Obedience Matters
Cain offered produce. Abel offered blood. One was accepted; one was rejected. Sincerity alone was not enough—God required what He commanded. Only blood could cover sin.
3. Genesis 22 – Substitution
Abraham was told to offer his beloved son, Isaac. At the last moment, God provided a substitute—a ram caught in the thicket. One life spared. Another given. A foreshadowing of the Lamb to come.
4. Exodus 12 – Passover
A lamb was slain. Blood was applied to doorposts. Judgment passed over only where blood was seen. The Israelites were still in Egypt—but marked for deliverance. Salvation followed a divine order:
the lamb dies → blood is applied → water is crossed → new life begins.
5. The Levitical System – Never Enough
For generations, blood was shed daily. Burnt offerings. Sin offerings. Guilt offerings. Year after year, sacrifice after sacrifice—because sin was never fully removed. It was only covered.
These twelve men knew all of this. And yet, sitting at that table, they still expected a kingdom—not a cross.
The Lamb’s View: “It Is Finished”
Jesus knew exactly what was coming.
When He later hung on the cross and declared, “It is finished,” He was not saying His life was simply over. The word He used meant completed, fulfilled, brought to its final end.
This was the last blood.
No more animals.
No more repeated sacrifices.
No more temporary covering.
Hebrews explains what the apostles would later understand:
- The blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin.
- Christ entered once for all by His own blood.
- Where there is forgiveness, there is no longer an offering for sin.
The trail of blood ended at the cross.
Our View: What Will We Do With the Blood?
The blood of Christ does more than cover sin—it removes it. But it must be applied.
Scripture teaches that:
- Christ’s blood was shed at the cross
- We are baptized into His death
- Baptism is the point of contact where sins are washed away
- The blood saves; baptism is where salvation is received
Just as the Israelites had to apply the blood and then cross the water, we too must respond in obedience.
Seeing the Picture Clearly
Leonardo imagined the scene.
The apostles lived it.
But we must respond to it.
When you look at that table—when you think about the Lamb who said “It is finished”—the question is not what the painting means.
The question is this:
Have your sins been washed by that blood?
The trail of blood leads to Jesus.
And it leads directly to a decision.