SUBJECT:
Passover/Lord’s Supper --- Apparent contradictions in the
Bible --- Matthew 26:17
QUESTION:
Matthew 26:17 seems to state that on the first day of
Unleavened Bread, the disciples had not yet eaten the
passover. Can you explain this?
ANSWER:
Matthew 26:17
Now the first day of the feast of unleavened
bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where
wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?
In the King James Version,
notice that the words "day" and "feast of" are in italics.
This indicates that these words do not appear in the
original Greek. Italicized words were added by the
translators either for clarity in English or because they
thought the word was necessary. Properly translated,
Matthew 26:17 should read, "Now [on] the first [day] of
unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto
him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the
passover?" The addition of "day" is required by the Greek;
the addition of "feast of" is not required.
The specific day referred to
in this passage is the 14th of the month, Passover day. This
conversation took place as that day began. Remember that God
begins and ends days with sunset [even] (Lev. 23:32). In
other words, they talked at sunset [even] at the beginning
of the 14th day of the month. Later that evening, Jesus
introduced the Christian Passover (Matt. 26:20).
Jesus introduced the
'Christian Passover, which Paul called 'The Lord's Supper'
(1 Corinthians 11:20). This supper was eaten as the 14th
BEGAN, after sunset [even] on the 13th. Remember, "Christ
our Passover is sacrificed for us"(1 Corinthians 5:7). We do
not observe the Old Testament Passover, and there is no
requirement to observe the NEW Testament Lord's Supper on
the same moment as the old Testament Passover. Instead, Paul
said, "For I have received of the Lord that which also I
delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in
which He was betrayed took bread..." (1 Corinthians 11:23.)
The Lord's supper took place on the night of Christ's
betrayal, not on the beginning of the 15th, after the
paschal lambs had been slaughtered. Thus, Christ died in the
late afternoon of the 14th of Abib (Nisan), at the same time
as the High Priest began the sacrificing of the lambs. This
perfect type is obvious, and shows how God allowed the
murderous Jews and Roman soldiers to bring about the death
of Christ on the stake just as the lambs were slaughtered.
Truly, "Christ OUR PASSOVER is sacrificed for us." Today,
we follow HIS EXAMPLE, not the example of pre-exilic Jews in
Egypt! Had Jesus wanted His people to observe the Old
Testament Passover, He would not have said, as He washed the
disciples' feet, broke and distributed bread, and blessed
and distributed the wine, "THIS DO, AS I HAVE DONE UNTO
YOU." This is why Paul said he had received from the Lord
Jesus, and delivered to the gentiles in Corinth how Jesus
"THE SAME NIGHT IN WHICH HE WAS BETRAYED took bread, and
when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, 'Take, eat:
this is my body which is broken for you: this DO in
remembrance of me." (1 Corinthians 11:23,24). We
commemorate important occasions annually, at the exact same
time, as in all such celebrations, whether a birthday, an
anniversary, or Memorial Day. For centuries, the disciples
were called "Quartodecimans," meaning "fourteenthers,"
because they stubbornly clung to the exact example Christ
had set; that of observing the Lord's supper (traditionally
called the Passover) on the BEGINNING of the fourteenth,
instead of on the 15th, which is the First Day of Unleavened
Bread. Today, God's church continues to observe the symbols
of Christ's body and blood at the same time as Christ
Himself instituted those symbols, after sunset [even] on the
beginning of the Fourteenth of Abib.
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