1. Background of the a. The feast of the Unleavened Bread and the Passover were the most important celebrations of the Jews each year. b. background i. The feast of the Unleavened Bread was an 8-day celebration that began with the Passover. As we see in Luke 22:1, they were so closely related in the minds of the Jews that both words designated the whole 8-day celebration. ii. The Passover was celebrated only on the first day, which was the 14th day of Nisan, and the feast of the Unleavened Bread lasted from the 15th to the 21st of Nisan. Nisan was the first of the Jewish calendar. (a) Nisan - March/April Beginning of the barley harvest (b) Est 3:7 In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, they cast the pur (that is, the lot) in the presence of to select a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of . iii. During this time, the Jews removed all leaven from their homes) and ate only unleavened bread for the seven days iv. Both feasts were celebrated in remembrance of Israel’s deliverance from from slavery. The Feast of Unleavened bread was called such because the had to leave in such a hurry that they couldn’t wait for the bread to rise. v. In the Scriptures, leaven is often used to represent evil or an evil influence, so leaven was not added to the bread to symbolize leaving behind all of the evil influences of Egypt. vi. According to the Law, Jews were supposed to choose the Passover lamb on the 10th day of Nisan and kept at home until the 14th day. ( Ex. 12:2 - 6 ). c. In ’ Day i. In the year Jesus was crucified (whether it was 30 or 33 A.D., the 10th of Nisan was on Monday. ii. Although the does not tell us this, the disciples must have already bought the Passover lamb on the day Jesus and his disciples entered (Matt 21). Perhaps they left it at the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus in where they had been staying. iii. Josephus (c.37 – 100) In Jesus day around 250,000 lambs were killed during the Passover. Since tradition required that 10 to 20 people be present to eat one lamb, so there were probably 2 million people in Jerusalem at the time. iv. The lambs had to be killed within a two-hour period, which meant that a lot of blood flowed from the altar site. Much of the blood flowed into the Kidron valley east of the Temple, changing the water of the brook there into red. 2. Luke 22:7-9 a. We know from Matthew that the disciples came to Jesus to ask him where they should hold the Passover. It happened on Thursday (the 14th of Nisan), probably early in the morning.

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(1) Mat 26:17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?" b. There were a lot of preparations for Peter and John to do. They would have to go back to get the lamb, bring it to the temple where it could be killed only between 3:00-5:00 in the afternoon. i. The Passover lamb was killed at “twilight” (Ex. 12:6) which literally meant “between the two evenings”. Josephus, the Jewish historian, set the time between the ninth and eleventh hour of the Jewish day, which would be between 3:00 – 5:00 in the afternoon. c. If they had not bought the food for the meal, they would still need to buy unleavened bread, wine, bitter herbs and a dip for the Passover meal. d. Each food had a special meaning; i. During the first Passover, the blood had to be sprinkled on the door posts so that the first born would not be killed.. During this Passover the lamb had to be killed and the blood sprinkled on the altar. ii. The lamb was cooked and completely eaten. iii. Four cups of wine were served to represent God’s four promises to His people before they left Egypt. (Exodus 6:6-7) (1) I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. (2) I will free you from being slaves to them (3) I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. (4) I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God iv. A paste called charoseth was put into a bowl and people dipped the unleavened bread, the bitter herbs, and sometimes their hands into it (Matt 26:23) (1) The charoseth was made of grounded apples, dates, pomegranates and nuts. The thick brown paste may have been a symbol of the mud and clay that the Jews used to make the bricks for the Egyptians. (2) Sometimes sticks of cinnamon were added to the charoseth to symbolize the straw the Jews to make bricks. (3) The bitter herbs they ate was a reminder of the bitter time of slavery in Egypt. 3. Luke 22:10-13 a. Matthew 26:18 says it slightly different i. There it adds that Jesus said “my appointed time is near”. Jesus probably said “my appointed time is near” because of His disciples. b. They would easily recognize the man (probably a servant) because only women carried water jars; men used leather skins for water. The man was certainly a man who feared God. c. The "large upper room" ( v.12 ) was on the second story under a flat roof, accessible by an outside stairway. d. Why did Jesus send Peter and John alone? i. It was important to keep the location of the Passover meal secret because if Judas had known, he would have told the priests about it (see Luke 22:6 ). ii. Then they would have arrested Jesus before the meal and the important instruction that he wanted to give His disciples ( – 17). More importantly, it was important to celebrate the Passover with His disciples to show the transformation of the Old Covenant into the New Covenant by the shedding of His blood. (Luke 22:20)

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iii. Even when Jesus told Peter and John where to go to prepare the Passover, Judas could not have known the location. He and the other 9 disciples would not find out until that evening. e. How did Jesus know about the man? (1) Supernatural: Jesus knew beforehand about the man and his willingness to provide a room for them. Maybe an angel spoke to the man in a dream to have the room ready. (2) Non-supernatural: Jesus had talked to the man beforehand and had arranged everything with him. Jesus told the man to carry a pitcher of water at that time of the day so that his disciples would recognize him (3) I tend to believe the supernatural. In any case, Jesus wanted to be alone with His disciples for the Passover. 4. Luk 22:14 a. During the original Passover, the people were supposed to be standing with sandals on their feet and a staff in their hand when they ate the Passover to signify that they left in haste. Over the years the celebration had become more casual. b. When they were eating the Passover, there was a strict order to the meal: i. First thanks was given to God (Luke 22:17) ii. Second, a cup of wine mixed with water. During the Passover, it was diluted with twice as much water as usual to prevent anyone from becoming drunk and desecrating the meal. iii. Third, they washed their hands as a sign of moral and spiritual cleaning of the heart. iv. Fourth, they ate the bitter herbs with charoseth (the paste) representing their deliverance from bondage. v. Fifth, they would take another cup and the head of the house (Jesus) would explain the meaning of the Passover. vi. Next, they would sing from the Hallel, which means “praise”. The Hallel consisted of Psalms 113 – 118. Normally the first two psalms were sung. vii. After singing, the lamb would be brought in. The head of the house would wash his hands again and then break (pieces of the unleavened bread and hand them out to be eaten with the lamb. 5. Luk 22:15-16 a. "I have eagerly desired" (literally "with desire I have desired") b. The meal is a turning point. Jesus had clearly been looking forward to spending this last time with them before His death and he likewise anticipates the next meal that he will eat sometime in the future (Luke looks often to the future), when the longed-for kingdom finally comes, or, in Luke's characteristic vocabulary, "finds fulfillment". c. Here Jesus gives them reassurance of His return. 6. Luk 22:17-18 a. Unlike in other accounts, Luke mentions a cup before (v. 17) and after the bread (v. 20). b. The cup in verse 17 might have been the first or the third of the 4 cups I mentioned before. 7. Luk 22:19-20 a. The Passover was the oldest of the Jewish festivals), older than even the priesthood), the law and the . It was set up by God while the Jews were still slaves in Egypt.

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b. Here Jesus used His divine authority to change the symbolism of the Passover to represent His own body, sacrificed for the salvation of men. c. Here Luke adds “given for you, do this in remembrance of me” indicating that He is beginning a memorial of His sacrificial death for His followers to observe. d. The final cup, during the Passover, symbolizes the "new covenant" ( v.20 ) in Jesus' blood. The disciples would have thought about the "blood of the covenant" ( Exod 24:8 ), i.e., the blood used to confirm the covenant。 The new covenant (Jer 31:31-34 ) carried with it assurance of forgiveness through Jesus' blood shed on the cross. i. Jer 31:31 "The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Jer 31:32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. 8. Luk 22:21-23 a. The other disciples had no idea that it was Judas. What does this mean? i. His conduct was spotless. ii. No wonder that they had chosen him to take care of the money. b. One can assume from this that Judas was present at the Passover. i. In Matthew 26:21-25 and :18-21 Jesus talks about someone betraying him while they are eating. It is clear that Judas is present. In those passages, it doesn’t not state that Judas left. ii. In John 13:21-27 Jesus talks about Judas being there when Jesus dipped the bread into the sop indicate that Judas was there at least for the Passover, because he dipped the bread in the dish. John 13:30 says that Judas went out immediately after that; so apparently he was not there for the supper itself. However, since John does not actually relate the events of the supper, we don’t know for sure. c. In Jewish culture, eating together was a sign of friendship. You ate with your friends. So, the fact that Jesus ate with Judas was incredible. I think it shows God’s love. It gives us an example of Jesus’ teaching, “love your enemies.” d. Why did Judas betray Jesus?

i. Different opinions of Judas

(1) Some people feel sorry for Judas because he was destined to do this (Luke 22:3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. Luke 22:4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus.

(2) Some say that he was trying to force Jesus to show His power and take control of the situation. Judas wanted to rise together in power together with Jesus .

(3) He did it out of selfishness

(a) :3-6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

(b) The worst is that Judas didn’t do it as an enemy of Jesus but as a friend because at least

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9. Symbol of the Passover

a. What or whom does the Passover Lamb represent?

i. 1 Corinthians 5:7 "... for even Christ are Passover is sacrificed for us. "

ii. List of characteristics

(1) During Passover week (Luke 22:7)

(2) A lamb (Ex 12:5  :29)

(3) Male (Ex 12:5)

(4) First born (Ex 12:5)

(5) Without blemish (Exodus 12:5  1 Peter 2: 21-22)

(6) bones not broken (Exodus 12:46  :36)

(7) The lamb was to be killed (Ex 12:6)

(8) Blood was applied (John 19:34, Mark 14:24, Mt. 27:6)

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