Jerusalem, loved his own which were in the world, he loved John xiii. I. them unto the end. for which purpose a piece of the broken cake was reserved under a napkin; probably because there was no temple in which the appointed victim could be sacrificed. It is impossible for us now to ascertain, whether our Saviour made use of this fourth cup or not; we are only informed, by the Evangelists, that our Lord and his disciples sang a hymn (Matt. xxvi. 30. Mark xiv. 26.) before they went to the Mount of Olives. We are now brought to the consideration of that most difficult and perplexing question, “Whether our Lord ate of this passover with his disciples, on the evening preceding his crucifixion." The Evangelists, in relating this part of our Saviour's life, use some expressions which at first sight appear contradictory to each other. St. John, for instance, seems to differ from the other three, as to the time that the Jews partook of the passover, and supposes that they did not eat it on the same evening as our Saviour and his disciples; while they all agree that the night of the day in which Christ ate the passover (or what is called the passover) was Thursday. Our Lord is further said to command his disciples to prepare for eating the passover, and that he had earnestly desired to eat this passover with them. Yet we read, that on the day after that on which our Lord and his disciples had thus celebrated the passover, the Jews refused to go into the judgment-hall, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the passNow it was appointed by the law, that all the people should eat of the passover on the same day. There appears therefore to be some contradiction or difficulty, which requires explanation; and the particular attention of the harmonizers and commentators has been consequently directed to this point. over. The latest theologians who have devoted the greatest attention to this subject, are Dr. Clarke, in his Treatise on the Eucharist, and Mr. Benson, in his work on the Chronology of the Life of our Lord. They have so thoroughly investigated the subject, that little more will be necessary than to take advantage of their labours. Four opinions have been advanced by various theologians, the last of which seems to be most consistent with the accounts of the Evangelists, and to reconcile all the difficulties and apparent contradictions. The first is, that Christ did not eat the passover on the last year of his ministry. The second, that he did eat it that year, and at the same time with the Jews. The third, that he did eat a passover; but one of his own institution, very dif ferent from that eaten by the Jews. The fourth, that he did eat the passover that year, but not at the same time with the Jews. The arguments in support of these four different opinions, are clearly and briefly summed up by Dr. A. Clarke, in his Introduction to his Discourse on the Eucharist. In favour of the first opinion, that Christ did not eat the passover, it is observed, "The Jews ate their passover on the next day." St. John does not call the supper which Christ ate with his disciples a passover supper, but, on the contrary, says it was before the feast of the passover-πрò Tйs toρTйs Tоυ Táoxa, by which Dr. Wall thinks he means the day before the passover, or, as we should say, the passover eve. Mark xiv. 17. And in the evening he cometh with the twelve. Jerusalem. "Now this was the same night and same supper," says Dr. Wall, “which the three do call the passover,' and 'Christ's eating the passover;' I mean, it was the night on which Christ was (a few hours after supper) apprehended, as is plain by the last verse of that thirteenth chapter. But the next day (Friday, on which Christ was crucified,) St. John makes to be the passover-day. He says, (chap. xviii. 28.) the Jews would not go into the judgment-hall on Friday morning, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the passover, viz. that evening. And chap. xix. 14, speaking of Friday noon, he says, it was the preparation of the passover. Upon the whole, John speaks not of eating the passover at all; nor indeed do the three speak of his eating any lamb. Among all the expressions which they use, of making ready the passover; prepare for me to eat the passover; with desire have I desired to eat this passover with you,' &c. there is no mention of any lamb carried to the temple to be slain by the Levites, and then brought to the house and roasted: there is no mention of any food at the supper besides bread and wine; perhaps there might be some bitter herbs. So that this seems to have been a commemorative supper, used by our Saviour instead of the proper paschal supper, the eating of a lamb, which should have been the next night; but that he himself was to be sacrificed before that time would come. And the difference between St. John and the others, is only a difference in words, and in the names of things. They call that the passover which Christ used instead of it. If you say, why then does Mark xiv. 12, call Thursday the first day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed? we must note their day (or vvxonμepov) was from evening to evening. This Thursday evening was the beginning of that natural day of twenty-four hours, towards the end of which the lamb was to be killed; so it is proper, in the Jews' way of calling days, to call it that day.” The second opinion is, that he did eat the passover that year, and at the same time with the Jews. The late Dr. Newcome, Archbishop of Armagh, is of a very different opinion from Dr. Wall; and, from a careful collation of the passages in the Evangelists, concludes, "that our Lord did not anticipate this feast, but partook of it with the Jews, on the usual and national day." "It appears," says he, "from the Gospel history, (see Mark xv. 42. xvi. 9.) that our Lord was crucified on Friday. But the night before his crucifixion, on which he was betrayed, (1 Cor xi. 23.) he kept the Passover, and that he kept it at the legal time is thus determined. In Matt. xxvi. 2, and in Mark xvi. 1, it is said that the Passover, kai rà ăšvμa, were after two days; or on the day following that on which Jesus foretold his sufferings and resurrection to his disciples, Matt. xvi. 21, &c. Mark viii. 31, &c. and Luke ix. 22, &c. "The Evangelists, proceeding regularly in their history, (Matt. xxvi. 17.) and in the parallel places, (Mark xiv. 12, &c. Luke xxii. 7, &c.) mention is made of this day, and it is called the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, i. e. by general custom: and St. Luke says, that the day came, which, ver. 1, was approaching, when the passover must be killed; i. e. by the law of Moses. The 14th of Nisan is therefore meant; which is called πρωτὴ ἀζύμων, the first of unleavened bread. "During the week, therefore, of our Lord's passion, the law of Moses re Jerusalem. And when the hour was come; Luke xxii. 14 quired that the passover should be slain on Thursday afternoon; but our Lord "Mark xiv. 12. Luke xxii. 7. equally prove that the Jews kept the passover "To the objection (John xviii. 22.) that the Jews avoided defilement, that they might eat the passover, the bishop answers, that they meant the paschal sacrifices offered for seven days; and they spoke particularly in reference to the 15th of Nisan, which was a day of holy convocation. "To the objection taken from John xix. 14, that the day on which our Lord was crucified, is called πapaσkεvý то≈ яáσɣа, 'the preparation of the passover,' he replies, that in Mark xv. 42, waρaokεvǹ, preparation, is the same as πроσábbarov, the day before the sabbath; and so in Luke xxiii. 54; therefore by παρασκευὴ τοῦ πάσχα, we may understand the preparation before that sabbath which happened during the paschal festival." This is the substance of Archbishop Newcome's reasoning, in his Harmony and Notes. See the latter, p. 42-45. To this it is answered, that the opinion which states that our Lord ate the "That Christ intended to eat a passover with his disciples on this occasion, Jerusalem. Matt. xxvi.20. when the even was come, reference to the same act of eating the passover, not to the bread and wine of the holy supper, is used, ver. 16. For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, où un páyw iž avrou, I will not eat of him or it,' viz. the paschal lamb, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God; i. e. this shall be the last passover I shall celebrate on earth, as I am now about to suffer, and the kingdom of God, the plenitude of the Gospel dispensation, shall immediately take place.' And then, according to this Evangelist, having finished the eating of the paschal lamb, he instituted the bread of the Holy Supper, ver. 19. and afterwards the cup, ver. 20. though he and they had partaken of the cup of blessing (usual on such occasions,) with the paschal lamb, immediately before. See ver. 17. Whoever carefully considers the whole of this account, must be convinced that, whatever may come of the question concerning the time of eating the passover, that our Lord did actually eat one with his disciples before he suffered." The third opinion which we have to examine is this-Our Lord did eat a passover of his own instituting, but widely differing from that eaten by the Jews. Mr. Toinard, in his Greek harmony of the Gospels, strongly contends that our Lord did not eat what is commonly called the passover this year, but another of a mystical kind. His chief arguments are the following: It is indubitably evident, from the text of St. John, that the night on the beginning of which our Lord supped with his disciples, and instituted the holy sacrament, was not that on which the Jews celebrated the passover; but the. preceding evening, on which the passover could not be legally offered. The conclusion is evident from the following passages. John xiii. 1. "Now before the feast of the passover, Jesus knowing," &c. Ver. 21. "And supper (not the paschal, but an ordinary supper) being ended," &c. Ver. 27. "That thou doest, do quickly." Ver. 28. "Now no one at the table knew for what intent he spake this." Ver. 29. "For some thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy what we have need of against the feast," &c. Chap. xviii. 28. "Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas to the hall of judgment, and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment-hall, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the passover." Chap. xix. 14. "And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour." Now, as it appears, that at this time the disciples thought our Lord had ordered Judas to go and bring what was necessary for the passover, and they were then supping together, it is evident that it was not the paschal lamb on which they were supping; and it is as evident, from the unwillingness of the Jews to go into the hall of judgment, that they had not as yet eaten the passover. These words are plain, and can be taken in no other sense, without offering them the greatest violence. Mr. Toinard having found that our Lord was crucified on the sixth day of the week (Friday,) during the paschal solemnity, in the thirty-third year of the vulgar æra, and that the paschal moon of that year was not in conjunction with the sun till the afternoon of Thursday, the 19th of March, and that the new moon could not be seen in Judæa until the following day (Friday,) concluded that the intelligence of the párty, or appearance of the new moon, could not be made by the witnesses to the Beth Din, or senate, sooner than Saturday morning, the 21st of March. Jerusalem. he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. Luke xxii. 14. Mr. Toinard therefore supposes, that our Lord substituted a passover, for the passover; and instituted the Holy Eucharist, in place of the paschal lamb; and thus it will appear, he ate a passover with his disciples the evening before his death, the mystical passover or sacrament of his body and blood: and that this was the passover mentioned by St. Luke, which he so ardently longed to eat with his disciples before he suffered. On this hypothesis, the preparation of the passover must be considered as implying uo more than, 1st, providing a convenient room; 2ndly, bringing water for the baking on the following day; which would not have been then lawful; 3rdly, making diligent search for the leaven, that none might remain in the house, according to the strict law of God. Exod. xii. 15-20. xxiii. 15. and xxiv. 15. These, it is probable, were the acts of preparation the disciples were commanded to perform, Matt. xxvi. 18. Mark xiv. 13, 14. Luke xxii. 8-11. and which, on their arrival at the city, they punctually executed, Matt. xxvi. 19. Mark xiv. 16. Luke xxii. 13, Thus every thing was prepared, and our Saviour was offered up-the sacrifice of the real paschal lamb was attended in every respect with the very same ceremonies as had been appointed in the old covenant to precede the sacrifice of the typical victim, thereby fulfilling every tittle of the law, and bringing in a new and more perfect dispensation, wherein should be no more shedding of blood. Lightfoot agrees with Toinard in his hypothesis; his words are, speaking of the third cup, or the cup of blessing" And now was the time when Christ, taking bread, instituted the Eucharist; but whether was it after eating those farewell morsels, as I may call them, of the lamb, or instead of them? It seems to be in their stead, because it is said by St. Matthew and St. Mark, iσ0tóvтwv avt@v, &c. As they were eating, Jesus took bread. Now, without doubt, they speak according to the known and common custom of that supper, that they might be understood by their own people. For all Jews know well enough, that after the eating of those morsels of the lamb it cannot be said, as they were eating, for the eating ended with those morsels. It seems therefore more likely, that Christ, when they were now ready to take those morsels, changed the custom, and gave about morsels of bread in their stead, and instituted the Sacrament." The fourth opinion is, that our Lord did eat the passover this year, but not at the same time with the Jews. This opinion appears to be that which is most consistent with Scripture. I can only say, with Mr. Benson, "I have with great care examined the arguments produced on both sides in this controversy, and my ultimate conviction is, that whilst the words of St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. Luke necessarily compel us to believe that the majority of the Jews sacrificed the paschal lamb on the same day with our Saviour, the expressions of St. John lead us irresistibly to the conclusion, that many of the Scribes and Pharisees, and other leading characters amongst them, did not sacrifice it until the evening of the following day—until after our Saviour himself had been crucified. Two passages produced from this Evangelist may, and perhaps ought, to be otherwise interpreted; but a third is, I think, quite conclusive. I allow that the phrase πрò τis ¿oprns re ráoxa, in chap. xiii. 1. means that it was the preparation of the paschal Sabbath, or that Sabbath which occurred in the paschal week. But no critical distortion appears to me capable of giving to chap. xviii. 28. kaì αὐτοὶ οὐκ εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὸ πραιτώριον, ἵνα μὴ μιανθῶσιν, ἀλλ ̓ ἵνα φάγωσι |