Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover

 

 And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him. 

 

 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.  Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.  

 

Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you  carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

 

- Luke 21:37-22:13 

 

Yesterday we read that, following His prophesies of destruction to come in Jerusalem, and of the end of the age, Jesus spoke to the disciples a parable:  "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."

 

  And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.   During this Passover season, in the final week of Christ's earthly life, He lives as another pilgrim to Jerusalem, staying on the mountain called Olivet.  The setting is here for what will happen.  We note His popularity as all the people come gladly to the temple to hear Him.   

 

  Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.  My study Bible comments that the Passover (Greek Πασχα/Pascha) is the celebration of the destruction of the firstborn of Egypt and the deliverance of God's people from bondage (Exodus 12 - 14).  In remembrance of this, an unblemished lamb was slaughtered, and the Jews would partake of it with unleavened bread, as was eaten at the first Passover.  My study Bible says this is a prefiguration of Christ's Passion, in which the only-begotten Son of God is slain in order to deliver His people from their bondage to sin and death, and then is raised to lead them into the eternal Kingdom.  So, therefore, Pascha is the primary term by which the Orthodox and many others refer to the death and Resurrection of Christ, known in the West as Easter.  Note also how this passage explains that the religious leaders (the chief priests and scribes) fear the people due to Christ's popularity among them.

 

 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.  My study Bible explains that Satan does not enter person except by that person's consent.  The reason Satan chose Judas, it says, and none of the others, is because Judas had a place for Satan in his heart, and the others did not.  Luke's mention of Judas as numbered among the twelve gives an emphasis to the depth of the betrayal and shows that religious position is worthless if not accompanied by faith and virtue.  Once again, there is an emphasis on the popularity of Jesus.  His betrayal and seizure must happen in the absence of the multitude.  

 

 Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you  carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.  Once again, my study Bible notes the use of the term Pascha, or Passover.  It notes that this word can refer to the original event itself, or the celebration of that event, or the food that is eaten, or even the lamb that is slain.  According to patristic commentary, Peter represents zeal and John represents spiritual understanding, the virtues with which we all are to partake of the Lord's Supper.    We note again, as we did with the disciples preparations for Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, the careful and deliberate preparations for this meal Jesus gives to the disciples.  

 

As today is celebrated the Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist in many Christian denominations across the world, it is perhaps fitting for us to consider the Baptist's testimony to Christ, and the role he played in Christ's ministry, for this reading involving the preparations for the Passover Supper, and the celebration of the Passover in Jerusalem at this last week of Christ's earthly human life.   It was John the Baptist who proclaimed, in introducing his own disciples to Jesus, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"  In other words, John's role as a prophet is fulfilled in this prophesy of Christ as the Passover Lamb, who will be slain on the Cross, and in so doing, take away the sin of the world.  The Passover lamb was an offering in commemoration of God's liberation and freedom from slavery for the people of God; that is, Israel.  As St. Paul writes, "Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7).  In the first Passover, all those with the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorpost of their homes were freed to become Israel, the people of God.  Christ is our Passover Lamb whose blood unites us into one people, and liberates us from slavery to sin.  For as our Passover Lamb, with His voluntary sacrifice, He will be the One who judges, the One who sets free, the One with the power to forgive sins, so that we may dwell in Him and in His name.  Moreover, in the tradition of the Orthodox Church, St. John the Baptist also preceded Christ into hades, and preached His coming to the souls there, where, after He was slain and before His Resurrection, He would trample on the power of the devil and death, another essential aspect of liberation in His role as Passover Lamb.  This is the power of our Passover Lamb who unites us into one people and gives us freedom.  In the Revelation, St. John the Theologian (the same St. John who was Christ's disciple, and gave us one Gospel and three Epistles) writes of a Lamb standing, as if slain, in the midst of the throne of heaven (see Revelation 5:6).  This is a clear reference to Christ our Passover, triumphant and in authority over the cosmos.  Christ is our Passover, not because He had to "pay" a debt, but because He takes His place as the Lamb of God, slain before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8) for our liberation, for His authority to forgive sins and free us from the devil and death.  Ultimately the Cross is the great sign of victory for precisely this reason, for the power of the devil is debt and slavery to sin, and Christ is the One who holds all of it in His hand and has the power to forgive and to set free.