THE LAST WEEK OF JESUS' PUBLIC MINISTRY AND HIS CRUCIFIXION

-Preparations are Made for the Passover

-Matthew 26:17-19, Mark 14:12-16, Luke 22:7-13

-It was now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread (Matt 26:17), the day upon which the

 Passover lamb was to be killed and prepared.  Later that same evening, (therefore Friday by 

 the Jewish reckoning of time) Jesus would gather with His apostles to observe the Passover.

            -“The day here, alluded to - ‘the first day of unleavened bread’ (Matt 26:17) - was the 14th

             Nisan, when, about mid-day, labour was intermitted, and all leaven removed from the houses

             (Ex 12:15-17). Then…between three and six o'clock-the paschal lamb was killed, and in the

             evening, when the 15th Nisan began, was eaten. And though "the days of unleavened bread"

             properly began with the 15th, the preparations for the festival being made on the 14th, it was

             popularly called, as here, the ‘first’ day of unleavened bread-as we learn from Josephus,

             whose way of speaking agrees with that here employed. The two disciples being sent from

             Bethany to make the necessary preparations on the Thursday, our Lord and the other

             disciples followed them to the city later in the day, and probably as evening drew near”

             (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown).

-Jesus sent Peter and John into Jerusalem to make the preparations for the Passover meal.

            -“It is not improbable that Jesus let Peter and John thus find the place that Judas might not

             know its whereabouts in time to bring the officers of the Sanhedrin so as to interrupt the

             feasts which meant so much to him and to his church” (McGarvey/Pendleton, pg 645).

-Jesus told Peter and John that they would encounter a man carrying a pitcher of water.  They

 were to follow him to his house and deliver a message from Jesus.

            -“The householder was no doubt a disciple of the Master, and the probability is that Jesus

             had let him know that he would eat the Passover at his house, and now the disciples ask to

             be shown the room where he might eat of it with his disciples” (Dorris, pg 325).

-“And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the Passover” (Matt.

 26:19).

-[Side note:  Unfortunately, there has been a great deal of controversy as to whether or not Jesus

 and the apostles observed the Passover and whether or not they did so at the normal time (our

 Thursday evening) or a day early (hence our Wednesday evening).

-Such is unfortunate and unnecessary due to the plain language of Matthew 26:17, 19 and

 Mark 14:12.  The controversy seems to stem from the verbiage found in John’s account.  (For

 example see John 13:1, John 18:28 and John 19:14.  Each of these will be briefly addressed at

 the appropriate time in this study.)  Yet, it is important to note that John utilized the term

 Passover in a generic manner - speaking of the entirety or parts of the Passover meal and the

 feast of unleavened bread.  Understanding this fact and combining this with the clear statements

 within the Gospel accounts makes it evident that Jesus and  the apostles observed the Passover

 at its normal time.

                  -“The testimony of the Synoptics is clear and decisive that Jesus and his disciples observed

                     the Passover” (Jackson, http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/read/did_jesus_eat_the_

                     passover_supper ).