Matteo 26:17 Commento

And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings,.... Meaning either all that are recorded by this evangelist, all the sermons and discourses of Christ, delivered both to the people of the Jews, and to his disciples; his conversation with the former, and his divine instructions and prudent advice to the latter, together with all his excellent parables, which are largely related in this book; or else what is said in the two preceding chapters, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, and the end of the world, the state of the church, and conduct of his servants to the end of time, expressed in the parables of the virgins and talents, and concerning the last judgment and final state of all men: he said unto his disciples; who now were alone with him: having finished his prophetic, and being about to enter on his priestly office, he gives his disciples some intimations of its near approach.

And he said, go into the city to such a man,.... That is, to such a man in the city of Jerusalem, for, as yet, they were in Bethany, or at the Mount of Olives however, without the city; he does not mention the man's name, but describes him, as Mark and Luke say, and tells them, "there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house, where he entereth in", Mar 14:13; who seems to be not the master of the house, but a servant, that was sent on such an errand. This is a very considerable instance of our Lord's prescience of future contingencies; he knew beforehand, that exactly at the time that the disciples would enter Jerusalem, such a man, belonging to such a house, would be returning with a pitcher of water in his hand; and they should meet him; and follow him, where he went, which would be a direction to them what house to prepare the passover in; and say unto him; not to the man bearing the pitcher of water; but, as the other Evangelists say, to the good man of the house, the owner of it, who probably might be one of Christ's disciples secretly; for many of the chief rulers in Jerusalem believed on Christ, though they did not openly confess him, for fear of the Pharisees, as Nicodemus, and Joseph of Arimathea; and this man might be one of them, or some other man of note and wealth; since they were to find, as they did, a large upper room furnished and prepared. For, it seems, that without mentioning his name, the man would know him by their language, he dictates to them in the following clause, who they meant; the master saith; the Syriac and Persic versions read, our master; thine and ours, the great master in Israel, the teacher sent from God: my time is at hand; not of eating the passover, as if it was distinct from that of the Jews, and peculiar to himself, for he ate it at the usual time, and when the Jews ate theirs; and which time was fixed and known by everybody, and could be no reason to move the master of the house to receive him: but he means the time of his death, that he had but a little while to live; and that this instance of respect would be the last he would have an opportunity of showing him whilst living, and the last time Christ would have an opportunity of seeing him; and he might say this to prepare him to meet the news of his death with less surprise: I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples; not with him and his family, but with his disciples, who were a family, and a society of themselves, and a sufficient number to eat the passover together; for there might be two companies eating their distinct passovers in one house, and even in one room: concerning which is the following rule, , "two societies that eat in one house"; the one turn their faces this way and eat, and the other turn their faces that way and eat, and an heating vessel (in which they heat the water to mix with the wine) in the middle; and when the servant stands to mix, he shuts his mouth, and turns his face till he comes to his company, and eats; and the bride turns her face and eats (o).'' (o) Misn. Pesachim, c. 7. sect. 13.

For that you would do thus at the beginning of the first month of your new (years) even Moses prophesied, when he was foretelling that all the community of the sons of lsrµl was to immolate at eventide a lamb, and were to eat this solemn sacrifice of this day (that is, of the passover of unleavened bread) with bitterness; "and added that "it was the passover of the Lord," that is, the passion of Christ. Which prediction was thus also fulfilled, that "on the first day of unleavened bread" you slew Christ; and (that the prophecies might be fulfilled) the day hasted to make an "eventide,"-that is, to cause darkness, which was made at mid-day; and thus "your festive days God converted into grief, and your canticles into lamentation.

The opportunity which Judas sought is further explained by Luke, how he might betray him in the absence of the multitude; (Luke 22:6.) when the populace was not with Him, but He was withdrawn with His disciples. And this he did, delivering Him up after supper, when He was withdrawn to the garden of Gethsemane. And from that time forward, such has been the season sought for by those that would betray the word of God in time of persecution when the multitude of believers is not around the word of truth. Some one may argue, (e. g. The Ebionites) that because Jesus kept the Passover with Jewish observances, we ought to do the same as followers of Christ, not remembering that Jesus was made under the Law, though not that He should leave under the Law (Gal. 4:4.) those who were under it, but should lead them out of it; how much less fitting then is it, that those who before were without the Law, should afterwards enter in? We celebrate spiritually the things which were carnally celebrated in the Law, keeping the Passover in the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, (1 Cor. 5:8. John 6:53.) according to the will of the Lamb, who said, Except ye eat my flesh and drink my blood, ye shall not have life in you.

By the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, he means the day before that feast for they are accustomed always to reckon the day from the evening, and he makes mention of this in which in the evening the passover must be killed; for on the fifth day of the week they came unto Him. And this one calls the day before the feast of unleavened bread, speaking of the time when they came to Him, and another saith on this wise, "Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed;" by the word "came," meaning this, it was nigh, it was at the doors, making mention plainly of that evening. For they began with the evening, wherefore also each adds, when the passover was killed. And they say, "Where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the passover?" So even from this it is manifest, that He had no house, no place of sojourning; and I suppose neither had they. For surely they would have entreated him to come there. But neither had they any, having now parted with all things. But wherefore did He keep the passover? To indicate by all things unto the last day, that He is not opposed to the law.

(Verse 17) Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, 'Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?' The first day of Unleavened Bread is the fourteenth day of the first month, when the lamb is sacrificed and the moon is full, and the yeast is thrown out. Among the disciples who came to Jesus, they asked him, 'Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?' And I suspect Judas to have been the traitor.

The first day of unleavened bread is the fourteenth day of the first month, when the lamb is killed, the moon is at full, and leaven is put away.

And observe that with the Jews, the Passover is celebrated on the first day, and the following seven are called the days of unleavened bread; but here the first day of unleavened bread means the day of the Passover. But perhaps some one will say, If that typical lamb bore a type of this the true lamb, how did not Christ suffer on the night on which this was always killed? It is to be noted, that on this night, He committed to His disciples the mysteries of His flesh and blood to be celebrated, and then also being seized and bound by the Jews, He hallowed the commencement of His sacrifice, i. e. His Passion. The disciples came unto him; among these no doubt was the traitor Judas.

He says, "The first day of the feast of the unleavened bread," meaning "the day before the feast of the unleavened bread," as we would say it. They intended to eat the Pascha on Friday evening, which was called "the feast of the unleavened bread." The Lord, therefore, sends the disciples on Thursday, which the evangelist calls "the first day of the feast of the unleavened bread," being the day before the Friday on the evening of which they would eat the unleavened bread. The disciples then approach and ask, "Where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the Pascha?" For neither they, nor He, had their own house.

(non occ.) The Evangelist having gone through the events preliminary to the Passion, namely, the announcement of it, the counsel of the Chief Priests, and the covenant for His betrayal, prosecutes the history in the order of events, saying, On the first day of unleavened bread.

And on the first day: then he treats of the institution of the sacrament, and because new things succeed old, as is said in Leviticus 26:10: when new things come on, you shall cast away the old; first he treats of the old; second, of the new. Concerning the first, two things are treated. First, the preparation of the Pasch is set forth; second, the foretelling of the betrayer, at and whilst they were eating, he said etc. And concerning the first, first the time is designated; second, the preparation of the supper; third, the institution of the sacrament. He says, then, on the first day of the Azymes. And here there can be an objection, because this day was the first day of the Pasch. And this seems to contradict what is said in John 13:1: before the festival day of the pasch etc. The Greeks say that Matthew, Luke, and Mark erred, and that John corrected them, because the supper was made before the day of the Pasch. Hence they say that the Lord suffered on the fourteenth day of the moon, and made the supper on the thirteenth. Hence they say that the Lord consecrated not in unleavened bread, but in leavened bread. And they try to confirm this by several arguments. First, because it is said in John 18:28 that they went not in, that they might not be defiled, but that they might eat the pasch: and so on the day of the passion they were supposed to eat the Pasch. Likewise, another argument of theirs, because the women prepared the spices, therefore etc. But this cannot stand, because the Lord did not break the ceremonies: for it is not found that the Pasch was anticipated, though it is found that it was prolonged. And even granting that it was anticipated, this is not to the advantage of the Greeks, because it is written that the Pasch was to be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. If therefore he had done otherwise, he would have acted against the law. Therefore, according to what the three Evangelists say, this was done on the fourteenth day of the moon, and then it was necessary to eat the Pasch. What then should be replied to what John says: before the festival day of the pasch? It should be said that the custom was to begin the day from evening, and so the paschal day began from evening. And this is found in Exodus 12:18: the fourteenth day of the moon at evening you shall celebrate the Pasch: and from then on no leaven was found in the houses of the Jews until the twenty-first day. Hence if we reckon from the evening of the fourteenth day of the moon, the preparation was made before the day of the Pasch, yet it was still the fourteenth day of the moon. John therefore calls the day of the Azymes and the day of the Pasch the fifteenth day of the moon. As to your second objection, that they went not into the praetorium etc., Chrysostom resolves it thus, and says that the Lord did not omit anything of the legal observances: hence he ate the Pasch on the fourteenth day of the moon. But these chief priests were intent on killing Christ, on account of which they delayed, and then they did not celebrate, and this was against their own law. Or by Pasch can be understood the unleavened bread. As to what they say about the women, Augustine says that they had many solemnities; but the Sabbath was the more solemn feast. Hence it was not permitted on the Sabbath to prepare food, which was however permitted on other feasts, but on the Sabbath day it was not. Therefore it happened at that time that the feast of the Pasch fell on a Friday, and the Sabbath followed; therefore they prepared then, and on the Sabbath day they rested. Therefore we can say that he celebrated the Pasch on the fourteenth day of the moon.

GLORIOUS ANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, THAT CHRIST IS RISEN--HIS APPEARANCE TO THE WOMEN--THE GUARDS BRIBED TO GIVE A FALSE ACCOUNT OF THE RESURRECTION. ( = Mar 16:1-8; Luk 24:1-8; Joh 20:1). (Mat 28:1-15) In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn--after the Sabbath, as it grew toward daylight. toward the first day of the week--Luke (Luk 24:1) has it, "very early in the morning"--properly, "at the first appearance of daybreak"; and corresponding with this, John (Joh 20:1) says, "when it was yet dark." See on Mar 16:2. Not an hour, it would seem, was lost by those dear lovers of the Lord Jesus. came Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary--"the mother of James and Joses" (see on Mat 27:56; Mat 27:61). to see the sepulchre--with a view to the anointing of the body, for which they had made all their preparations. (See on Mar 16:1-2). And, behold, there was--that is, there had been, before the arrival of the women. a great earthquake; for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, &c.--And this was the state of things when the women drew near. Some judicious critics think all this was transacted while the women were approaching; but the view we have given, which is the prevalent one, seems the more natural. All this august preparation--recorded by Matthew alone--bespoke the grandeur of the exit which was to follow. The angel sat upon the huge stone, to overawe, with the lightning--luster that darted from him, the Roman guard, and do honor to his rising Lord.