3 Things to Know about ‘The Last Supper’
Movies
Audio By Carbonatix
11:55 AM on Friday, March 14
By Michael Foust, Movies
1. It Spans from Palm Sunday to the Resurrection Breakfast
The Last Supper opens with a moving scene of Jesus feeding the 5,000 and then fast-forwards to Holy Week, with Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey. It faithfully portrays the week's key events: the cleansing of the temple, the Last Supper, Jesus' arrest, and His crucifixion and resurrection. The movie ends with one of the most overlooked yet profound moments in Scripture: Jesus cooking breakfast on the beach for the disciples as He restores and commissions Peter. Seconds before the credits roll, we see Peter preaching to thousands -- a powerful nod to the book of Acts.
The film, as its name implies, gives special emphasis to Jesus' final meal with the disciples, portraying it as a pivotal moment that intertwines themes of fellowship, betrayal, and the establishment of the New Covenant. In a thoughtful setup, the filmmakers earlier weave in a scene of an elderly man explaining the Passover to a group of children -- a teaching moment for them and a subtle yet powerful reminder for the audience.
One of the movie's most powerful moments unfolds as Peter flees from a mob while, simultaneously, Jesus is brutally beaten by Roman soldiers. Suddenly, both fall to the ground, separated by a few dozen feet as they lock eyes, Peter frozen in shame. Within seconds, a rooster crows.
Photo Credit: ©Pinnacle Peak
2. It's a Classic, Throwback Jesus Film
Long before Mel Gibson infused The Passion of the Christ (2004) with raw biblical intensity and Dallas Jenkins reinvented the genre with his multi-season series The Chosen (2017), movies about Jesus followed a classic biblical epic style, with sweeping visuals, reverent storytelling and a restrained approach to creative license. That's The Last Supper.
Many will compare The Last Supper to the projects by Gibson and Jenkins. That, though, ignores a segment of the Christian audience that prefers to avoid the R-rated violence of The Passion or the time commitment of a multi-season series like The Chosen -- not to mention that the crucifixion and resurrection episodes of that popular adaptation have yet to be released. Then there's this: While millions, myself included, are fans of The Chosen, many others -- including friends and family members I deeply respect -- are not.
The Last Supper is for families who want a faithful, PG-13 adaptation of the gospel story in under two hours.
While the film takes creative license with the dialogue between the disciples, most of the words of Jesus are from Scripture.
Photo Credit: ©Pinnacle Peak
3. It Is Backed by Leading Faith Companies … and Singer Chris Tomlin
The Last Supper was produced by two of the leading companies in faith-based entertainment: Pinnacle Peak -- which helped produce movies such as Between Borders, Average Joe, and the God's Not Dead franchise -- and Great American Pure Flix, the faith-based streaming service.
Grammy-winning Christian singer Chris Tomlin served as an executive producer and contributed a song, No Greater Love, which can be heard during the credits. Tomlin is a songwriter and worship leader who is best known for his worship anthems: How Great Is Our God and Made to Worship, for example.
"This isn't Hollywood," Tomlin told Crosswalk. "This is people who really want to share the gospel and share the love of God."
The Last Supper is rated PG-13 for violent content, bloody images, and suicide.
Photo Credit: ©Pinnacle Peak
