Parallel with the 6-4,la of the first two Evangelists is an interesting expression in Lk •22^^' ore iyivero i) wpa. "While in itself absolutely vague, in connexion Avitli the preceding words, ' they made readj' the Passover,' it would naturally indicate the com- mencement of 15th Nisan, when the lamb was eaten ; but in view of considerations already stated, we must reject such interpretation, and read the term in connexion with what follows, and is peculiar to Lk. , 'with desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you befoi'e I sufiier.' The uipa was the Masters time for one of the great acts of His incarnate life, not a particular division of a par- ticular day in the Je■^^"ish calendar. So it is used in v.^'^ below — avrr) v/jLwv iariv i] wpa, 'your time,' ' opportunity.' *
(5) The appellation^«;'«5^T»c affords yet another mark of time. There were parasLcuai before various days. In connexion with our present in- quiry we note the Preparation of the Sabbath (.Mk"" 15^, Lk 23«), and the Preparation of the Passover (Jn 19^*). On this latter jyara.theuc our Lord stood before Pilate, and was condemned (Jn. I.e.). Therefore the Passover had not yet been eaten ; much less could the day before have been the Day of the PassoA'er. But the day of the condemnation and crucifixion was also the jiro- mhhaton (Lk 233^- ^, cf. Mk 15*=). In that year the two paraskeuai coincided, and the frst d(nj of unleavened bread was also the Sabbath ; hence St. John calls that Sabbath 'an high day' (19^'). The parasheuc Avas our Friday,t ^isan 14, and the day of the crucifixion.
3. (i.) St. John was one of the two disciples who were speciallj' charged with the Paschal pre- parations. It is recogTiized that the evidence alibrded by his narrative is absolutely iilain and consistent. It has been said that he silently cor- rects the others. J From our point of view, as we hold that they preclude the notion that the Last Supper was a Passover, St. John adds the emphatic testimony of an eye witness to oiu* conclusion. The Supper was before the feast of the Passover (13^); it was supposed that it might be necessary to buj' what there was need of ar/ainst the feast (13-^); several hours later some of the rulers had not yet eaten the Passover (18^) ;§ the following
' Cf. the same use of lipx. by Christ at Cana (Jn 2^), and a similar sense in 1 Jn •2'^^.
t Paraikeiie is rendered in the Pesh. by 'arubhta, which is from a root meaning to set (of the sun). It became the name of FrUlaii in the use of the SjTians, ' because on that da.v tlie sun sjt and darkness reigned ' (see Pa\nie-Smith, Thes. Syr. co!. 29S4). Herein is presened a tradition of the day of the Crucifixion, accepted with such confidence that from it the sixth day de- rived its name, as the first day has Ijeen known from earliest times as the Lord's day, because it was the day of the Resurrec- tion. Cf. Mr. Turner's remarks, I.e. p. 411 f.
t So >Ir. Turner in art. quoted above.
j Tlie Passover, wliich was slain ' between the evenings ' of Xisan 14, was usually eaten in the early hours of the night following, for time must be allowed for taking the lamb to the house and roasting it. This would be the commencemer.t of Xisan 15 (?ee Ex 12'*\ But Ex l'2io, Xn 912 and Dt 164 sus^est the }x>ssibility of extending the time of eating, provided a!l was
day, when Jesus was crucified, was tJie preparation of the Passover (19*^). Language could hardly be more distinct ; and some evidence, which seems to support a ditl'erent view, can be explained. Taking St. Johns words in theii' natural sense, and reading them without prejudice, no one would gather from them that the Supper described \>y him was the Passover. It seems reasonable to demand that the less distinct and somewhat in- exact language of the other three should be inter- preted in the light of the last account.
(ii.) It has been claimed by some that the account of the meal in the three Evangelists agrees with the ritual of a Passover ; by others, that no trace of a Passover can be found in it. To us, we confess, it seems that the details of a Paschal celebration have been discovered after the impor- tation of ideas which are not on the surface of the narrative. The initial statement that Jesus sat down with the Twelve {dvcKeiTo. Mt 26-'* ; dve-rrecrev, Lk 22^^) is against the usual interpretation of the directions given in Ex 12'^ : it is supposed that a change of posture had been admitted in later times. The two cups of wine are regarded as two of the four or five Avhich were handed round at the feast : but in view of the serious difference of opinion amongst critics as to the genuineness of the reading in Lk., which gives the notice of a second cup, it seems unfair to press this identification. The dish in which the sop was dipped is identified with the dish of haroscth, a kind of sauce,* which was an adjunct of the Paschal meal ; but this is an assumption, rather than a deduction from e^adence. The hymn sung on leaving the upper chamber is identified with the Hollel (Pss. 115-118) sung at the conclusion of the Passover ritual ; but v/mveiv CMt 2Q^, Mk 14"^) does not necessarily denote the use of a particular composition, and in Eph 5'^, Col 3^^, i'fivoi are distinguished from -^aX/xoi.