From Claude.ai on 3/31/2026. This response also contains info related to the origins of the Last Supper.
Critical scholars do not broadly support the Last Supper as a point of continuity between Jesus and Paul. Here is what the scholarship actually says:
The Core Problem: Paul Is the Only Primary Source
The first written description of the Last Supper is that of the Apostle Paul in Chapter 11 of his first letter to the Corinthians. Paul indicates he learned of the ceremony directly from the Lord through a revelation. The synoptic gospels present more details while repeating many of the words given by Paul. The fact that Paul claims to have learned what happened at the Last Supper through a personal revelation leads modern scholars to speculate that the tradition of the Last Supper may be based on what Paul believed to have happened, rather than on an oral tradition passed on by eyewitnesses. Richard Carrier Blogs
This is exactly the problem you identified. Paul comes first, and the Gospels appear to depend on Paul — meaning you cannot use the Gospels to independently corroborate Paul on this point.
Critical Scholars Say the Gospels Likely Borrowed from Paul, Not Vice Versa
Richard Carrier, a critical historian, goes further. Carrier argues that the Last Supper “began as a vision Paul had of Jesus relating to him what he spoke mystically to all future generations of Christians, as we see in 1 Corinthians 11:23–27,” and that Mark constructed his own Last Supper narrative from a pastiche of scriptures, integrating it into his gospel. Blue Letter Bible
The New World Encyclopedia, summarizing critical scholarship, states: the synoptics appear to presume that Paul’s revelation about the institution of the Eucharist was a real historical event and thus present it as such. The conclusion of most critical scholars is that the description of the Last Supper is largely the product of church tradition centering on the Eucharist, evolving after the fact and later written back into the historical record of the gospels. Richard Carrier Blogs
The Complication in Paul’s Own Sourcing
There is an additional internal tension in Paul’s account. Robert Price notes that the pair of words in 1 Corinthians 15:3a — “received/delivered” (paralambanein/paradidonai) — is technical language for the handing on of rabbinical tradition, which would contradict Paul’s account of his conversion in Galatians 1:13–24, which explicitly says he had been taught the gospel of Christ by Jesus himself, not by any other man. Talk Jesus So even within Paul’s own letters, there is a tension about how he received this material.
The Bottom Line
You are correct to challenge this. My earlier citation of the Last Supper/Eucharist as a point of continuity between Jesus and Paul was poorly framed. What the evidence actually shows is continuity between Paul and the later Gospel writers — and critical scholars largely believe the Gospel writers were depending on Paul, not on independent memory of Jesus. As you rightly put it, that is Paul corroborating Paul, not Jesus corroborating Paul. I should not have included it as a point of demonstrated continuity with the historical Jesus.
Note from me – This response was a follow-up to one that asked for a list of beliefs that Paul taught as well as Jesus. Claude cited 6-8, but at least two did not “fit” with what I heard taught. So this is Claude’s correction that made a good stand-alone post.
