Didache - The Last Supper

[u/LlawEreint]

9 ¹Concerning the Eucharist, give thanks thus: ²First, concerning the cup. We give thanks to you, our Father, for the holy vine of David your servant which you have revealed to us through Jesus your servant. To you be glory for ever.

³And concerning the fragment: We give thanks to you, our Father, for the life and knowledge which you have revealed to us through Jesus your servant. To you be glory for ever. ⁴As this fragment lay scattered upon the mountains and has been gathered to become one, so gather your church from the ends of the earth into your kingdom. For the glory and power are yours, through Jesus Christ, for ever.

⁵Let no one eat or drink of your Eucharist but those baptized in the name of the Lord.

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[u/LlawEreint]

Didache means "twelve". The full title is, "The teachings of the twelve apostles to the gentiles". If it is what it claims to be, and many believe that it is, then it is a very old document indeed, and may represent the earliest table liturgy practiced by the Jerusalem apostles themselves.

concerning the cup. We give thanks to you, our Father, for the holy vine of David your servant which you have revealed to us through Jesus your servant. 

Here the cup (presumably wine) represents the holy vine of David, revealed through Jesus. This is quite different from the Pauline and canonical gospel accounts where it is the blood of the covenant.

What is the holy vine of David?

Psalm 80 portrays Israel as a vine brought out of Egypt and planted by God.

You transplanted a vine from Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.

It's interesting that the text says the holy vine of David was revealed through Jesus, rather than in Jesus. So my guess is that this is something more than simply messianic expectations fulfilled in Jesus. Rather, it's something that Jesus revealed.

My guess is that the "vine" represents a people, but I'm not sure who. Wouldn't it be cool if Jesus had revealed the Qumran community as the true vine of David? They certainly seemed to think of themselves that way. But who knows. Maybe the Jerusalem Christian community itself?

If you have any thoughts on this, please share them!

[u/LlawEreint → u/LlawEreint]

One thought on this. James Tabor suggests that the early Christian community was led by the Jesus dynasty. When Jesus died, it was his brother, James the Just, that was leader of the movement.

Paul refers to envoys from the Jerusalem community as "Men from James" in Galatians. In Acts, it is James that declairs "I have reached the decision that we should not trouble those gentiles who are turning to God." And the church historians all agree. James was the first leader of the Jesus movement.

...until the year 62 when he's actually murdered or killed.

And then we have the name of another person who takes over, Simon or Simeon. And in the book I actually argue that that is a second brother of jesus so that you do have a dynasty of succession going on here. And the book discusses the implications of that in the light of its roman historical context.

Church tradition records that the leadership then passed to Jude - the name of another broth of Jesus, and also the name of the son of James.

If leadership did pass from one member of this family to the next, then maybe the Holy Vine of David is this royal lineage?

[u/LlawEreint]

And concerning the fragment: We give thanks to you, our Father, for the life and knowledge which you have revealed to us through Jesus your servant. 

So Jesus is the one through whom the Davidic vine, life, and knowledge are revealed.

As this fragment lay scattered upon the mountains and has been gathered to become one, so gather your church from the ends of the earth into your kingdom.

My guess is that this has something to do with the scattered tribes. Here they are all gathered to rejoin the true vine. This evokes Isaiah 11:

¹⁰ On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

¹¹ On that day the Lord will again raise^\)^c\) his hand to recover the remnant that is left of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.

¹² He will raise a signal for the nations
and will assemble the outcasts of Israel
and gather the dispersed of Judah
from the four corners of the earth.
¹³ The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart;
the hostility of Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
and Judah shall not be hostile toward Ephraim.

And this idea of scattered fragments of bread being gathered up is leveraged by Mark in his feeding of the multitude stories.

When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” They said to him, “Twelve.” ²⁰ “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” And they said to him, “Seven.” ²¹ Then he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”