from a lost board in reference to the last supper promo:
Jack is in Thomas' place, which echoes the scene (and painting) in the Lamppost. The canonical Gospels (Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John) place John the Baptist's death before the crucifixion, and he was never officially an apostle, but was rather considered the last prophet. John the Apostle was a much younger man than John the Baptist. To further complicate matters, most contemporary biblical scholars now say that John of Patmos, who wrote the Gospel of Saint John, was a third distinct historical figure.
Anyway, Sawyer is closest to Locke's right hand, and he's leaning on Kate's shoulder, which i think it supposed to be similar to how John in the painting swoons. Sawyer maps well to John the Apostle, as well, because Sawyer's faith in Locke is extraordinarily deep. After three years of waiting, Sawyer still has Miles and Jin searching the island grid-by-grid, watching and waiting for Locke's return. Three days after Jesus' death, John still believed, still waited for the Assumption.
The positions of the players to the central figures' right hands are shifted somewhat. In The Last Supper, Peter leans toward Jesus as Judas leans away, and the difference in their physical dispositions actually places Peter's head closer to Jesus than Judas', though Judas' body is closer than Peter's.
Kate sits in Judas' seat, with Sayid in Peter's. They lean in the same directions as their Leonardan counterparts: Kate leans back a bit, with Sawyer leaning on her shoulder; and Sayid leans toward Locke a bit. They're not actually juxtaposed in the photo nearly as dramatically as Judas and Peter are in the painting. In fact, their heads are in opposite positions. So perhaps they are in opposite roles: Kate as Peter, who after initially trusting in Locke (remember she was the first one down the Hatch), has now denied him three times (on the island, off the island, and back on the island again ("Do you know who you sound like? Because he was crazy too!")). Will she now recognize the resurrection? Are the '77 Losties Jacob's, "They," who, "Are coming?"
That would leave us with Sayid as Judas. There are a couple of ways to make that work, but they're all a bit of a stretch. The best that i've come up with so far is that when Sayid lost his faith, he committed a heinous act, and without that act, Ben wouldn't have grown up to murder Locke.
Claire, like Andrew, leans back slightly, looking surprised. If i remember correctly, the story goes that Andrew didn't immediately believe Jesus' claim that he would be betrayed, and in the painting he's denying the possibility of such an act from a trusted member of the coven (i use this term in its literal sense only). Thomas is remembered as the doubter, though, of course, for his initial refusal to believe in the resurrection.
The two on the end are identified as James The Less (or James Minor) and Bartholomew. James Minor is probably best known for being martyred in Jerusalem for preaching in 62 AD. Bartholomew is listed as a disciple who saw the assumption in each canonical gospel, but that's about it. He doesn't appear in the Acts of the Apostles, nor apparently anywhere else in the canonical gospels nor missives. The two Lost characters in those spots are Richard and Ilana, two characters about whom we know very little. The stances are switched, however. James Minor sits, Richard stands; Bartholomew stands, Ilana sits. So perhaps Ilana will be martyred soon.
At the other far end sits Simon the Zealot, who's counterpart is Frank. Fittingly, we again know little of either. The rest of the freighter science crew, other than Frank (and Naomi i guess... *shrug*), we now know had some background on the island. Miles was born there, Daniel was conceived there, Charlotte was at least partially raised there, and each had reason to believe they would find answers there. We still have to learn if Frank has been there before, but he also was looking for answers. I admit, it's also a bit of a stretch. Unlike Simon, Frank stands.
Moving in one more space, we come to Jude Thaddeus, patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes. In his place sits Miles, who communicates with dead persons.
Next to Jack/Thomas, Jin sits in the seat of James Major, John's older brother. I think this might just be a play on words. James was known as James the Greater to distinguish him from the lesser known James, whose spot at the Lost Supper is held by Alpert. So they are distinguishing Alpert from Djinn. Djinni, of course, are ageless beings of incredible power. I guess we shouldn't confuse the ageless Alpert with them.
That leaves us with Matthew the Evangelist, and two possible suspects: Hurley and Sun. Matthew was a tax collector before becoming an apostle, and he is often credited with writing the first New Testament Gospel. Hurley seems to map closer to that, having collected a large sum of money before going to Australia. He also has displayed a penchant for writing.
Sun is the odd woman out. Having 14 people instead of 13 might be a nod to Dan Brown's DaVinci Code, which goes into the Mary Magdalene depicted in the heretical gospels as a full-fledged apostle in her own right. She was also believed by some to be, as LissaMarie pointed out, the Holy Grail. In that context, she was the Holy Grail because she bore the blood of Christ unto the next generation, by bearing him children. According to those stories, the bloodline of Christ was considered sacred by the few who knew, but was also kept secret from the world in general.
Jin was sterile. We've had mention of immaculate conception on Lost before. And a whole lot of trouble was gone to to get Aaron and/or Ji Yeon safely off that island.
I dunno. Hopefully somebody enjoys reading all of this half as much as i enjoyed writing it.
I'd like to add that i think fun is being poked at the expense of a multitude of fans who are convinced that Locke is the center of the story. The photo is clearly not intended to be considered part of the canon of Lost, it's just a fun idea tptb toyed around with. That's only my opinion, of course.
But i don't think Locke is going to be The Messiah of anything. Poor dead bastard (i also use this term only in its literal sense).
