“Matthew 26; Mark 14; John 13,” New Testament Institute Teacher Manual (2025)
In Remembrance of Me, by Walter Rane
Matthew 26; Mark 14; John 13
At the Last Supper, Jesus Christ instituted the sacrament. He identified Judas as His betrayer, washed the feet of His disciples, and taught them to love one another. Jesus taught that the Father and the Son were glorified through His Atonement. He commanded His disciples to follow His example of love.
Additional Resources
Scripture Helps: New Testament, “Matthew 26; Mark 14; John 13”
Note: The “Introduction to the Course” provides guidance on how to use the four standard lesson elements that follow.
Encouraging Personal Study
Before class, consider sending students one or more of the following messages or some of your own:
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When you hear counsel from Church leaders, do you first think about someone who you think really needs the message? Read Matthew 26:17–25 to learn how Jesus’s disciples responded after hearing that one of them would betray Him.
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What was your experience like the last time you took the sacrament? Read Joseph Smith Translation, Mark 14:20–25 (Gospel Library), and consider what you can do to make the sacrament a more meaningful experience.
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How does the Savior want us to treat others, even people we may not like? Read John 13:34–35, and ponder the Savior’s message for you.
Questions and Sharing
Provide time for students to ask questions and share insights and truths they discovered in their personal study of Matthew 26; Mark 14; John 13.
Skill Training
John 13:34–35 might be a helpful place to use the skill “Tagging Scriptures and Other Gospel Teachings” in Scripture Study Skills. Matthew 26:17–30; Joseph Smith Translation, Mark 14:20–26 could be good places to use the skill “Understanding Symbolism in the Scriptures” in Scripture Study Skills.
Learning Activity Options
Multiple learning options are provided for you and your students. Prayerfully choose which option or options will be most meaningful for your class.
“Lord, is it I?”
Consider sharing the following scenario:
During general conference, Rosa is carefully listening to the prophet’s message about being a peacemaker. As she listens, she begins to think about her brother and the contention he has brought into their family lately. She pulls out her phone and sends him the following message: “Hey Bernardo, I hope you’re listening to the prophet’s talk. You could really learn something from it!”
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What do you think about Rosa’s message?
Invite students to work with a partner and study Matthew 26:14–25, looking for how the Apostles responded when they heard that one of them would betray the Savior.
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What do you find significant about the question “Lord, is it I?”
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What does this experience teach you about looking inward?
Consider sharing the following statement by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then a member of the First Presidency:
In these simple words, “Lord, is it I?” lies the beginning of wisdom and the pathway to personal conversion and lasting change. (“‘Lord, Is It I?,’” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2014, 56)
Invite students to consider recording in their scriptures the following truth President Uchtdorf taught: Asking ourselves, ‘Lord, is it I?’ is the beginning of wisdom and the pathway to personal conversion and lasting change.
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Why might the simple words “Lord, is it I?” lead to wisdom, conversion, and lasting change?
Provide students with the handout “Lord, is it I?,” and invite them to individually read President Uchtdorf’s statement and to ponder how it might apply to their lives.
Consider concluding this activity by watching “Reflections” (4:21). Invite some students to share what they learned or felt during this learning activity. You could end with your testimony that sincerely asking ourselves, “Lord, is it I?” is the beginning of wisdom and the pathway to personal conversion and lasting change.
Matthew 26:17–30; Joseph Smith Translation, Mark 14:20–26
How can I make the sacrament a more meaningful experience?
Display the accompanying image of bread and water used for the sacrament. Invite students to use the following statements to evaluate their experience with the sacrament. They could assess themselves on each statement using a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree.
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I look forward to partaking of the sacrament.
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I am typically focused on the Savior during the sacrament.
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I often think about my covenants during the sacrament.
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The symbols of the sacrament are meaningful to me.
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I do not text, play games on my phone, or use social media during the sacrament.
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I usually feel spiritually strengthened by participating in the sacrament.
Invite students to consider how they could improve their experience with the sacrament as they study how the Savior instituted the sacrament.
You may want to explain that Jesus Christ instituted the sacrament as He ate the Passover meal with His disciples (see Matthew 26:17–20). Students could review together “Matthew 26:17–30. What is the connection between the Passover and the sacrament?” in Scripture Helps: New Testament.
Have some students search Matthew 26:26–30 and Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 26:22, 24–25 (Gospel Library), and have others search Joseph Smith Translation, Mark 14:20–26 (Gospel Library). Invite them to look for the purpose of the sacrament.
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What did the Savior teach His disciples about the purpose of the sacrament? (Students may identify a truth like the following: Disciples of Jesus Christ are to partake of the sacrament in remembrance of Him and His Atonement.)
Invite students to identify a symbol from these scripture passages and to study how it relates to the sacrament. You could display the following bullet points to help students practice the skill “Understanding Symbolism in the Scriptures” in Scripture Study Skills.
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What can this symbol be compared to?
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Search for clues about the meaning of symbols in the text of the scriptures and in footnotes, chapter headings, the Guide to the Scriptures, Scripture Helps: New Testament, or other sources.
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What does this symbol teach us about the sacrament? How does it relate to the Savior?
After allowing time for study, invite students to form small groups and share what they learned about the symbols they studied. Encourage them to discuss how better understanding these symbols can make our experience with the sacrament more meaningful.
As a class, you could watch “Always Remember Him” (5:27) or sing together a sacrament hymn. Encourage students to reflect on how they feel as they watch the video or sing the hymn. Consider having some students share their feelings about the Savior and the sacrament.
Invite students to ponder how their relationship with the Savior has been influenced by partaking of the sacrament in remembrance of Him and His Atonement. They could record one thing they can do to have a more meaningful experience with the sacrament this upcoming Sabbath.
What can I learn from the Savior about service?
Invite students to think of a time when they were humbled by an act of service performed on their behalf.
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How did you feel about the person or persons who served you?
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How did their act of service bless or change you?
You might explain that during New Testament times, people typically had dusty feet from walking with sandals on dirt roads. Washing the feet of a guest was a service typically performed by a servant. Display the accompanying image, and invite a student to read aloud John 13:3–12. Then discuss the following questions:
The Greatest in the Kingdom, by J. Kirk Richards
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How might you have felt or responded if Jesus offered to wash your feet?
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Why was it important for Peter to allow the Savior to wash his feet? (You could share the insights found in “John 13:4–12. What is the significance of the Savior washing His disciples’ feet?” in Scripture Helps: New Testament.)
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What do you learn about Jesus’s character from His act of washing the Apostles’ feet?
Invite students to read John 13:13–17 quietly to themselves and to look for lessons we can learn from the Savior’s words. As students share, they may identify a truth like the following: We will find greater happiness as we follow the Savior’s example of service.
Encourage students to share what they have learned about service from the Savior’s example. They could also share how they have felt when they have served others.
If time permits, students could also watch “Unselfish Service” (2:26). Invite them to think about someone they could serve in the coming week. Consider following up in the next class so students can report on their experience.
How can I love more like the Savior?
Write the following passages on the board, and invite students to look for what these passages have in common and how they are different: Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39; John 13:34–35.
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What can we learn about love from these passages?
Display and read together the following statement by Elder Lynn G. Robbins, emeritus General Authority Seventy:
We know that any commandment by God involves agency. We can obey or disobey, but there is always a choice. … The Savior made it clear that love was a command to be obeyed. … This is a command that requires a decision. …
In Matthew, the Lord said, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” In His mortal life, He demonstrated a perfect kind of love, then said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34; emphasis added). Loving as He loved is a higher form of love than loving “as thyself.” It is a pure love that puts another higher than self. (“Agency and Love in Marriage,” Ensign, Oct. 2000, 20–21)
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Why is it important to understand that love is a choice?
Display the following truth: When we choose to love like Jesus Christ, we express a higher form of love.
To help students deepen their understanding of what it means to love like the Savior, display the following passages on the board: Mark 10:17–23; John 8:1–11; John 13:2–5; 3 Nephi 11:13–15; 3 Nephi 17:16–18, 20; 3 Nephi 19:17–25.
Invite students to use the “tag” feature in Gospel Library and to highlight examples of Christlike love in the displayed scripture passages or in others they can think of. They could use the title “How Jesus Loved,” “Examples of Jesus Loving,” or another of their choice when they tag what they highlight (see “Tagging Scriptures and Other Gospel Teachings” in Scripture Study Skills). Students using printed scriptures could highlight the Savior’s example with a marker.
After allowing time for personal study, you could invite students to write on the board something that impressed them about how the Savior loved others. You could then have students talk about experiences when they or others have loved as the Savior does.
Consider inviting students to write down one way they can love like the Savior does and how they can practice this more throughout the week. You could end class by singing the hymn “Love One Another” (Hymns, no. 308) or watching “Love One Another” (1:51).