LIFE OF CHRIST
A Harmony of the Gospels

LESSON  TWENTY TWO

THE  PASSION  WEEK
THE  FIFTH  DAY

The first day of  Unleavened Bread

As the actual Feast of  Unleavened Bread did not begin till the day after the Passover  (Lev. 23:5,6; Num. 28:16,17),  this could not have been properly,  the first day of  that feast (technically).
But as the Jews began to eat unleavened bread on the 14th of the month  (Exodus 12:18)  this day was often termed  "the first of unleavened bread."

Leviticus 23:5-7
On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD's Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of  Unleavened Bread to the LORD;  seven days you must eat unleavened bread.    (NKJV)

Numbers 28:16-17
On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover of the LORD. And on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast; unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days.    (NKJV)

Exodus 12:18
In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.    (NKJV)

As the Jewish day began at 6:00 P.M.,  Jesus appears to have observed this meal with His disciples the preceding evening,  which would actually be the beginning of the 6th day of the week.
Thus,  their Passover was eaten the same day with the Jews,  but not at the same hour.

Jesus observed the Passover the beginning of the 14th Nisan - the precise day in which the Jews had eaten their first Passover in Egypt  (Exodus 12:6-12).

Where do you want us to prepare?

The Israelites who came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover were received by the inhabitants as brothers,  and apartments were gratuitously furnished them were they might eat the feast.  In return,  the guests gave their hosts the skins of  the paschal Iambs and the vessels they had used in the ceremonies.  According to this custom the disciples,  wishing to make arrangements for the Passover,  inquired of the Lord if  He had any special house in view where He desired to go.

A man ... carrying a pitcher of water

Women usually carry water.
Therefore the sight of a man carrying water would more readily attract attention.
This man was probably a servant,  employed in carrying home the water that was to be used for baking the unleavened bread on the following day;  for on the day of the feast it was not lawful to carry any thing.

Where is the guest room?

There seems to have been a previous understanding between Jesus and this man who must have been a follower of His.
It was a common practice that more than one company partook of  the paschal supper in the same apartment together;  but Christ will have His chamber for Himself and His disciples alone.

Even as Christ would not share His guest chamber with another,  neither will He share His possession of our life with another.

The Amplified Bible has:
"And whatever [house] he enters,  say to the master of the house,  The Teacher says:  Where is My guest room, where I may eat the Passover [supper] with My disciples?
He speaks as Lord!

A large upper room

Some suppose this to be the  "aliyah,"  or room above the porch or on the roof.
Others,  however,  think the words refer to a large open room fronting the court,  on the side opposite the entrance from the porch,  and elevated above the level of the court.  This was a very important apartment in an Eastern house,  and was often elegantly fitted up.
Here the owner receives his friends,  or those who come to him on business.
It is the first room that meets the eye of a visitor on entering the court,  and frequently presents a splendid appearance.
Sometimes a fountain in the court directly in front of this apartment cools the air,  while adding beauty to the appearance.

Furnished

The perfect participle is used here.  The room had already been furnished with carpets and hall couches around the table properly spread.  It does not appear that the Jews ate the Passover now,  as their fathers did formerly,  standing, with their shoes on, and their staves in their hands.

The room was prepared for the eating of the Passover,  speaking of the removal of all leaven.

They prepared the Passover

The two disciples,  Peter and John,  went,  as was customary,  to the temple with the paschal Lamb.
There,  taking their turn with others who thronged the temple on the same errand:

There was also the provision of  the unleavened cakes,  the bitter herbs,  the wine,  and the preparation of the
lamps.

And in the preparation of the food there were many rituals to be observed.
For instance:  there was the making of a paste to resemble the mortar that was used in the laying of bricks in Egypt. This ritual was later changed to making this paste grinding apples, nuts, raisins, and mixing this with wine.

Excerpts from Farrar

When the hour had come

Matthew and Mark say, "When it was evening."
In other words, 6:00 P.M.
For the Jews,  officially Nisan 14.

He sat down with the twelve

When they arrived,  the meal was ready,  the table spread, the  "triclinia"  laid with cushions for the guests.
Imagination loves to reproduce all the probable details of  that deeply moving and eternally sacred scene;  and if we compare the notices of ancient Jewish custom  we can feel but little doubt as to the general nature of the arrangements. They were totally unlike those with which the genius of Leonardo da Vinci,  and other great painters,  has made us so familiar;

This room was conjectured by some to have been in the home of Joseph of  Arimathaea,  or John Mark.
Also some have suggested that this is the room where three days afterwards the sorrow-stricken Apostles first saw their risen Savior - perhaps the very room where,  amid the sound of a rushing mighty wind,  each meek brow was first anointed with the Pentecostal flame.

With fervent desire I have desired

A Hebraism for, "I have desired most earnestly."
He is telling them that,  having purposed to redeem a lost world by His blood,  He ardently longed for the time in which He was of  offer Himself up.
Such love did Jesus bear to the human race!

To the Jew of that day,  the Passover feast was in commemoration of that deliverance from Egypt and its slavery. But that very deliverance,  and that original meal which preceded it,  was only figurative;  in anticipation of this Bloody Sacrifice which would deliver from Sin and its slavery.

Out of some 260,000 lambs slain on Nisan 14, A.D. 34

His desire showed a total lack of  "Self-interest" - He desired earnestly for two purposes:

He took the cup

This was not the  "sacramental cup,"  for that was taken after supper (vs. 20).
This was the cup which was ordinarily taken before supper.

I will not drink ... until the kingdom of God comes

That is,  before the time of another Passover,  the Holy Ghost shall descent;  the Gospel of the Kingdom will be established.

Passover ceremonies in the time of Christ

The ceremonies of the Passover supper in the time of Christ were as follows:

The 1st Cup

There was...a dispute

Referring probably to some symptoms of  the former strife that had reappeared,  perhaps on seeing the whole Paschal arrangements committed to two of the twelve.  And especially these two,  who had both possibly laid claim to the position of  second in command to the Messiah in the Kingdom.

It may be that the very act of  taking their seats at the table had,  once more,  stirred up in the minds of the
apostles those disputes about precedence which,  on previous occasions,  Jesus had so tenderly and beautifully rebuked.

But at this moment,  when the soul of Jesus was full of such sublime purpose,  strife of this kind must have been more than ever painful.

Are called benefactors

The very word used here was the surname of  some of  the Ptolemy's of  Egypt - Ptolemy Euergetes, i.e. the Benefactor.  It was a custom among the ancient Romans to distribute part of  the lands that they had conquered
on the frontiers of  the empire to their soldiers;  those who enjoyed such lands were "beneficiarii;" and the lands themselves were  "beneficia"  as being held on the beneficence of the sovereign;  and it is no wonder that such sovereigns,  however tyrannical or oppressive they might have been in other respects,  were termed benefactors by those who were thus dependent on their bounty.

BUT,  He says,  NOT  SO  AMONG  YOU ... His kingdom would not be like that of wicked men.

Let him be as the younger ... as he that serves

Dr. Lightfoot conjectures that Peter was the eldest of all the disciples;  and he supposes that the strife was kindled between him and the sons of Zebedee,  James and John.

Jesus was to show them here that He,  Himself,  was the Great Example.
That there was to be no competition between them - only a following in His Steps.

He loved them:
The thought is brought into prominence by the repetition of the word  "world."
In the world the disciples were to find their trial,  and to find it when their Master had passed out of  the world. Hence came the necessity for such encouragements as follow.  In His knowledge of the disciples' suffering the Lord forgot His own suffering!

Supper being ended

The most approved reading is  "ginomenou,"  denoting  "while supper was in progress,"  Hence,  the Revised, Peshitta,  Amplified,  and others,  render this  "during supper."
It means that the preparations had been accomplished;  supper had been served,  and was now in progress.

Jesus...rose from supper

Jesus had painfully heard their murmured jealousies,  while they were arranging their places at the feast.
Not by mere verbal reproof alone but by an act more profoundly significant and touching,  He determined to teach to them,  and to all who love Him,  a nobler lesson.

Every Eastern room,  if  it belonged to any but the very poorest,  had the central part of the floor covered with mats,  and as a person entered,  he laid aside his sandals at the door of the room,  mainly in order not to defile the clean white mats with the dust and dirt of the road.

Before they reclined at the table,  the disciples had doubtless conformed to this cleanly and reasonable custom;  but another customary and pleasant habit,  which we know that Jesus appreciated,  had been neglected.
Their feet must have been covered with dust from their walk along the hot and much frequented road from Bethany to Jerusalem,  and under such circumstances they would have been refreshed for the festival by washing their feet after putting off their sandals.

And not only that,  but this being the Passover Feast,  there was not supposed to be any dust at all allowed in the house.

And Jesus had already told them  "a little leaven leavened the whole."
But to wash the feet was the work of slaves,  and they would not even stoop to wash their own feet,  let alone the feet of any of the others.

Well may the amazement of  the beloved disciple show itself  in his narrative,  as he dwells on every particular of  that solemn scene.

Laid aside His garments

Though  "He knew that the Father had given all things into His hands,"  in total of self-abnegation:

And Peter said to Him

Awe and shame kept them silent until He came to Peter,  whose irrepressible emotions found vent in the surprised,  half-indignant question.

Our language cannot bring out the intensely vivid contrast between the  "You"  and the  "my,"  which,  by
bringing them together,  the original expresses  -

"Lord, YOU  MY feet dost wash?"

Thus far,  and in the question itself,  there was nothing but the most profound astonishment at the condescension,  to him quite incomprehensible.  Accordingly,  though there can be no doubt that already Peter's heart rebelled against it as a thing not to be tolerated,  Jesus ministers no rebuke as yet,  but only bids him wait a little,  and he should understand it all.

As we read the life of Christ in the Gospels,  we cannot help but notice how Peter often spoke impulsively out of  his ignorance and had to be corrected by Jesus.

Peter did not understand what his Lord was doing;  but instead of waiting for an explanation,  he impulsively tried to tell the Lord what to do. There is a strong double negative in John 13:8.  The Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest translated Peter's statement:

If I do not wash you

Jesus meets the confidence of the Apostle with a declaration of  the necessary separation that must ensue from the want of absolute submission.

The first condition of discipleship is  SELF-SURRENDER.

Not my feet only

Peter,  with characteristic impulsiveness,  still answers in the same spirit as before.

Peter  would extend in detail to every part the action that Christ designed to fulfill in one way according to His Own Will.

He who is bathed

This basic truth of  Christian living is beautifully illustrated in the Old Testament priesthood.

It takes humility and grace to serve others, but it also takes humility and grace to allow others to serve us.
The beautiful thing about a submissive spirit is that it can both give and receive to the glory of God.

Peter must have recalled this lesson on humility years later when he wrote 1 Peter 5:5-6.

1 Peter 5:5-7
Likewise you younger people,  submit yourselves to your elders.  Yes,  all of you be submissive to one another,  and be clothed with humility, for  "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,  that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him,  for He cares for you.       (NKJV)

Dips with me

As the Jews ate the Passover a whole family together,  it was not convenient for them all to dip their bread in the same dish;   they therefore had several little dishes or plates,  in which was the juice of the bitter herbs,  on different parts of the table;  and those who were near one of these,  dipped their bread in it.

As Judas is represented as dipping in the same dish with Jesus,  it shows that he was either near or right beside Him in one of the most honored positions.

When men are completely hardened by the deceitfulness of  sin,  they can outwardly perform the most solemn acts of  devotion,  without feeling any sort of inward concern about the matter.

Judas ... said, Rabbi, is it I?

What excessive impudence!  He knew,  in his conscience,  that he had already betrayed his Master,  and was waiting now for the servants of  the chief priests,  that he might deliver Him into their hands;  and yet he says,  "Master, is it I?"

It is worthy of note,  that each of the other disciples said:		Lord,  is it I?"
But Judas dares not,  or  WILL  not,  use this august title, but simply says		Teacher,  is it I?

To whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it

The reply,  given in a tone equally low,  as was the question,  was heard by John alone,  and confirmed the suspicions that it is evident that the repellant nature of  Judas had already inspired him.

It was common for one at times to dip into the dish a piece of  the thin flexible cake of bread,  and to hand it to another guest.  So ordinary an incident of  any daily meal would attract no notice whatever.  Jesus handed to the traitor a  "sop"  of this kind,  and this,  as He told John,  was the sign that should indicate to him,  and possibly to Peter,  which was the guilty member of the little band.

Satan entered into him

We have here the most striking of contrasts between Judas and Jesus:

Jesus took bread

UNLEAVENED bread,  for this was the first day of  unleavened bread (Matthew 26: 17),  when the Jews,  according to the command of  God  (Exodus 12:15-20)  were to purge away all leaven from their houses;  for he who sacrificed the Passover,  having leaven in his dwelling,  was considered to be such a transgressor of  the Divine law as could no longer be tolerated among the people of God;  and therefore was to be cut off from the congregation of Israel.

To this divinely instituted custom of  removing all leaven previously to the paschal solemnity,  Paul evidently alludes. 1 Corinthians 5:6-8
Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?  Therefore purge out the old leaven,  that you may be a new lump,  since you truly are unleavened.  For indeed Christ,  our Passover,  was sacrificed for us.  Therefore let us keep the feast,  not with old leaven,  nor with the leaven of  malice and wickedness,  but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.      (NKJV)

Bread,  simply considered in itself,  may be an emblem apt enough of the body of our Lord Jesus (as He said,  "I am the bread of life"),  which was given for us;  but the design of God was evidently that it should not only point out this,  but also the very

Blessed ... Gave thanks

THE  NEW COVENANT  IN  MY  BLOOD

Many translators have: Testament
The word for Testament is "diatheke,"  and may also be translated  "covenant,"  although the idea of  both

Jeremiah 31:31
"Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and with the house of Judah. ..."    (Amplified Bible)

Luke 22:20
"...This cup is the new testament or covenant (ratified) in My blood, which is shed (Poured out) for you."
(Amplified Bible)

Hebrews 8:10  (quoting from Jeremiah 31:33)
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of  Israel after those days,  says The Lord:  I will imprint My laws upon their minds, even upon their innermost thoughts and understanding,  and engrave them upon their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."   (Amplified Bible)

Hebrews 12:24
And to Jesus, the Mediator (go-between, Agent) of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood which speaks [of mercy], a better and nobler and more gracious message than the blood of Abel [which cried out for vengeance].
(Amplified Bible)

No covenant was made without blood  (Exodus 24:8;  Hebrews 9:20),  and there can be no remission of sins without it  (Hebrews 9:22;  Leviticus 17: 11 ).

This conversation took place between the bread and "the cup"

It falls into three natural divisions,  marked by three questions:

By Thomas - How can we know the way?

Jesus had stated His departure;  this departure is to the Father's abode,  with a view to preparing a place for,  and then coming again,  to those who know the direction of the journey.  He said  " And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know."

But the disciples were not so sure - for Thomas said:  We don't know where You are going, and how can we know the way?

But they DID know the way,  for Jesus said:

And He told them that:

By Philip - Show us the Father!

The disciples still were not so sure that they had all this knowledge - How can they know Him from henceforth,  and when have they seen Him?

Jesus answers this request with a question:

By Judas - Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us?

Jesus had just told them that:

Now in answer to this question, Jesus says:  "The Comforter,  which is the Holy Ghost,  whom the Father will send in my name,  He shall teach you all things,  and bring all things to your remembrance,  whatsoever I have said unto you."

And some of those things the Spirit would bring to their remembrance were included in this discourse that Jesus had just given:

In short,  what Jesus was trying to tell them in answer to each of the three,  was that:

This portion is an extension of His  "Parting Words," and the key verses are verses 12 & 13:

Christ is

The departure of  His physical body was necessary so that His Spirit could lead us to Himself.

This is Jesus fulfilling the office of  High Priest.
The Jewish High Priest,  on the great day of expiation,  before offering up the grand atonement for the sins of the people:

It is interesting that this word of warning followed the dispute over who was the greatest!

Satan has asked for you

The word "you"  in Luke 22:31 is plural - Satan asked to have all the disciples so he might sift them like wheat.
Not only Peter - not only the 12 - but all believers.

Job 1:6-12

But I have prayed for you

These men had been with Jesus in His trials, and He would not forsake them in their trials.
This was both a warning and an encouragement.

Peter's self-confident boasting is a warning to us that none of us really knows his own heart  (Jeremiah 17:9)  and that we can fail in the point of our greatest strength.

The failure comes when we depend on OUR faith, OUR strength, OUR courage,  OUR abilities.

Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things,  and desperately wicked;  who can know it?       (NKJV)

1st Corinthians 10:12-13
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.  No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man;  but God is faithful,  who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able,  but with the temptation will also make the way of escape,  that you may be able to bear it.       (NKJV)

Rev 12:10-12
Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven,  "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.  Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time."       (NKJV)

To a place called Gethsemane

They came to Gethsemane,  which is about half a mile from the city walls.
It was a garden or orchard marked probably by some slight enclosure;  and as it had been a place of  frequent resort for Jesus and His followers,  we may assume that it belonged to some friendly owner.

The name Gethsemane means "the oil-press," and it was so called from a press to crush the olives yielded by the countless trees from which the hill derives its designation.

Although the exact spot cannot be determined with certainty, the general position of Gethsemane is clear,  and then as now the checkering moonlight,  the gray leaves,  the dark brown trunks  (There are 8 aged olive trees here, which some suppose to have been standing on that evening. However, if Josephus is right, when he says that the Romans left no tree standing, then these 8 trees, though very ancient indeed, were not there then); the ravine
with Olivet towering over it to the eastward and Jerusalem to the west,  must have been the main external
features of a place that must be regarded with undying interest as the place where the Savior of mankind entered alone into the Valley of the Shadow.

He took Peter, James, and John

This is the third,  and final,  time these three are spoken of as exclusive of the rest.

Troubled

From "ekthambeo" - to throw into amazement or terror,  to alarm thoroughly,  to terrify,  to be struck with terror.

Deeply distressed

From "perilupos" - encompassed with grief.

Swete says:
"The Lord was overwhelmed with sorrow,  but His first feeling was one of terrified surprise.
Long as He had foreseen the Passion,  when it came clearly into view,  its terrors exceeded His Anticipations.
His human soul received a new experience.  With this there came another,  that of overpowering mental distress -the confused,  restless,  half-distracted state which follows a great shock."

Fell on the ground

The verb is imperfect,  speaking of  the fact that He did it repeatedly.
Showing the desperateness of the struggle in which Jesus was engaged at the time.

Matthew says that He  "fell on His face."
This was the customary position of a supplicant when the favor was great which was asked,  and deep humiliation was required.
The head was put between the knees,  and the forehead brought to touch the earth.

"Prayed" is also in the imperfect tense - "kept on praying."

This cup

The word  "cup"  is frequently used in the Sacred Writings to point out sorrow,  anguish,  terror,  and death.
It seems to be an allusion to a very ancient method of punishing criminals.
A cup of poison was put into their hands, and they were obliged to drink it.

To death,  by the poisoned cup - there seems to be an allusion in Hebrews 2:9
"Jesus Christ,  by the grace of God,  TASTED  death for every man."

Pass from me

Perhaps there is an allusion here to several criminals standing in a row,  who are all to drink of the same cup;  but the judge extending favor to a certain one,  the CUP PASSES BY HIM to the next.

Nevertheless not as I will

In the Greek text it is: ego thelo -"I,  I will" -
The total submerging of that personal desire (ego) to the will of  His Father.

This is Jesus fulfilling the sacrifice of the Burnt Offering

The offering was to be made VOLUNTARILY at the door of the tabernacle.
And here we see that Jesus was not FORCED to submit,  but of His own free will He submitted.

The Burnt offering embodies the idea of  the submission of  the Human will to the will of  God in its most perfect form as the entire animal was placed upon the Altar to be burned.

It is the TOTAL COMMITMENT of the man.

He came the third time

Swete has the following:

It is enough

Again, Swete says:
"The Lord breaks off  the momentary play of irony - it is as if He would say, 'this time for a lengthened exposure of the faults of friends; the enemy is at the gate.'"

All the disciples claimed great things
They did not want to pray
They just wanted to do great things!