“He will show you a large, furnished room upstairs. Prepare the Passover meal there.” So they went and found everything just as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover. When the hour came, Jesus took his place at the table with the apostles and said: “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat another Passover meal until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 22, 12–16)

The disciples went into the city, found everything just as Jesus had told them, and prepared the Passover meal. At evening, Jesus came with the Twelve. While they were eating, he said: “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me now.” They were very sad to hear this and began to ask him one after another: “Surely not I?” He said to them: “It is one of the Twelve, one who dips his bread into the bowl with me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would have been better for him if he had not been born.” (Mark 14,16–21)

When evening came, Jesus was seated at the table with the Twelve. While they were eating, he said: “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” They were very sad, and each one began to ask him: “Surely not I, Lord?” He replied: “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him, but woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” (Matthew 26, 20–24)

After saying these things, Jesus was deeply troubled in spirit and said clearly: “Truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at each another, not knowing to whom Jesus was talking about. One of his disciples, the one Jesus loved, was sitting next to him at the table, and Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus who he meant. So that disciple leaned closer to Jesus and asked: “Lord, who is it?” (John 13, 21-25)

According to the Gospels and the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians, the Last Supper is the final gathering that Jesus shared with his apostles before being betrayed, arrested, judged, and later crucified. However, only in the Synoptic Gospels and the Letter to the Corinthians the institution of the Eucharist is narrated, in which Jesus took bread and wine, saying that they were his body and blood.

The Gospel of John does not narrate this, but it mentions that Jesus washed the apostles’ feet, proclaiming a new covenant or commandment: to love one another. This account provides the biblical basis for the “Eucharist,” “Holy Communion,” or “Lord’s Supper,” the central rite in Christian liturgy.

Nieva represents this scene with Jesus at the center and his disciples gathered around a table, where the Passover meal is taking place. Some of the disciples are absorbed in prayer, while others are astonished by the revelation of the betrayal. There are interesting details to stand out such as the beardless John shown in complete adoration, and Judas, holding his bag of coins, who appears to feel exposed.