Since in some quarters the Scriptures have been interpreted as teaching that Jesus partook of the Passover a day ahead of the regular time, it is necessary to look at all events and data to determine the facts. A misunderstanding has arisen because of a failure to comprehend the different meanings which the word Passover has in the New Testament. In Matthew 26:1,2, it refers to the Passover as one of Israel's festivals, set feasts. In the parallel account, Mark 14:1,2, the Passover festival and the festival of unleavened bread are blended together and are referred to as the feast. In Mark 14:12, the Passover refers to the paschal lamb: "And on the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover, his disciples say unto him ..." But in Matthew 26:17 the Passover means the paschal supper: "Where dost Thou wish that we prepare for Thee to eat the passover?" In Mark 14:14 it means the Passover supper: "The Teacher saith, Where is my guest-chamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?" In Luke 22:1,2 Passover refers to the eight days of the feast of Passover and unleavened bread: "Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover." But in verse 11 of this chapter, Passover refers to the Passover supper. The same usage occurs in verses 13 and 15. In John 2:13,23 the Passover refers to the Passover season or festival. The same usage occurs in John 6:4. In the passage "Now the passover of the Jews was at hand: and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the passover, to purify themselves" (John 11:55), the Passover undoubtedly refers to the Passover festival. The same meaning is given to this expression in John 12:1 and 13:1.

One should now examine carefully Christ's observance of the Passover as recorded in John, chapter 13. When the time came to observe the Passover supper, Jesus reclined with His disciples. During supper He arose, girded Himself, and began to wash the disciples' feet (verses 4,5). Jesus foretold that one of those reclining with Him would betray Him. Each one asked if it was he. Jesus replied, "He it is, for whom I shall dip the sop and give it him" (v. 26). Then Jesus gave the sop to Judas, saying, "What thou doest, do quickly" (v. 27). No one present knew why Jesus made this statement. Some thought that He indicated that Judas, since he carried the purse of the group, was to give something to the poor or to buy something for the feast. When Judas received the sop, "he went out straightway, and it was night" (v. 30).

Some Bible students think that Jesus partook of the supper described in John, chapter 13, before the Passover had occurred, and that the command to Judas in verse 27 was for him to go out quickly and buy something for the regular Passover feast to be observed. Those taking this position assume that the word feast here refers to the paschal supper—a mere guess. Since the word Passover can refer to the paschal lamb, the paschal supper, or the paschal festival, and since, in all other instances in John's record, it refers to the paschal festival, the logical assumption is that it has the same significance here unless there is evidence to the contrary. Light is thrown upon this passage from II Chronicles, chapter 30, which records the observance of the Passover in the days of Hezekiah. Verse 22 reads: "... So they did eat throughout the feast for the seven days, offering sacrifices of peace-offerings ..." On this occasion the people of Israel observed the feast of Passover, which is also called the feast of unleavened bread, for seven days. For this reason, obviously, John said that some of the disciples thought Judas was to buy something for the feast, which was the feast of Passover and unleavened bread. John, chapter 13, therefore, must be interpreted in the light of the usual meaning that John, as well as the synoptic writers at times, attached to the word Passover.

After observing what John called the supper, Jesus was arrested, was tried three times before the Jews, and the next day was delivered to Pilate by the members of the Jewish supreme court—the Sanhedrin. John 18:28 reads: "They lead Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the Praetorium: and it was early; and they themselves entered not into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover." Here again these same Bible students assume that the word Passover refers to the paschal supper and not to the paschal festival which continued for eight days—the meaning which it always has in John's inspired record. The interpretation of the words feast in John 13:29 and Passover in John 18:28 as meaning the paschal supper is mere guesswork, and the conclusion drawn from this interpretation that it occurred a day before the usual observance is illogical, since the evidence shows clearly that Jesus partook of the supper at the regular time.

The day on which Jesus was crucified is recognized as the Preparation. He died about 3 o'clock in the afternoon: "And when even was now come, because it was the Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath …" (Mark 15:42). The day of Preparation on which Jesus was crucified is called the day before the Sabbath, that is, Friday. Matthew 27:33-56 gives an account of the Crucifixion of Jesus. According to verses 57 and 58, Joseph of Arimathsea obtained the body of Jesus and placed it in the tomb. Matthew states in verse 62 that "on the morrow, which is the day after the Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together unto Pilate ..." Mark also says that the Preparation was the day before the Sabbath. Both assert that Jesus was executed on the day of the Preparation before the Sabbath. Matthew's statement is that on the morrow after the Preparation the Jewish authorities wanted Pilate to have the tomb of Jesus sealed so that no one could take the body away. They, therefore, made this request on the Sabbath. Concerning the Crucifixion, Luke said that "it was the day of the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew on" (Luke 23:54). Jesus, therefore, was crucified on the day of Preparation, which was the day before the Sabbath. But He partook of the supper on the day before the Preparation, namely, on Thursday evening, and was crucified on Friday. The Apostle John declares that Jesus was put on trial before Pilate on "the Preparation of the passover" (John 19:14). He was executed that day. "The Jews therefore, because it was the Preparation, that the bodies should not remain on the cross upon the sabbath (for the day of that sabbath was a high day), asked of Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away" (John 19:31).

In the light of all the facts, one is inevitably driven to the conclusion that Jesus partook of the Passover at the regular time, and that He was executed on the day of the Preparation, which was the day before the Sabbath. His body was laid in the tomb that afternoon, remained in it on the Sabbath, and was raised on the first day of the week.

At the regular time for the observance of the Passover supper, Jesus met with His disciples in the home of a friend, which had been prepared for the ceremony, and observed it with them. All four evangelists give an account of their observance of the Passover supper. After Jesus had told His disciples that He had looked forward to eating the Passover with them on that occasion, He stated that He would never partake of it again until it would be fulfilled in the kingdom of God: that is, He will partake of the Passover when the kingdom of God will have been established upon earth and the will of God is being done on earth as it is done in heaven. According to Zechariah, chapter 14, the feast of tabernacles will also be observed during the great Kingdom Age. Ezekiel likewise foretells the renewal of certain sacrifices and ceremonies in the Millennium. It will be exactly as foretold.

Matthew 26:20-25 is an account of Christ's observing the Passover supper with His disciples. But verses 26-29 give an account of His instituting what is usually called the Lord's Supper. Judas was present as they observed the Passover, but he left before it was finished, as John 13:27-30 shows. After Judas had left, and after the supper had been finished, Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper. Luke in his record, chapter 22:14-23, makes the facts stand out very clearly. In verses 14-18 he gives the account of the observance of the Passover supper. Then in verses 19 and 20 he gives the record of the institution of the Lord's Supper. But he is careful to state that Jesus gave the disciples the loaf and likewise the cup after the supper. Since Judas left during the Passover supper, and since the Lord's Supper was instituted after the Passover had been completed, we may be certain that Judas was not present when the Lord's Supper was instituted.

After Jesus had instituted the Lord's Supper, He had a quiet talk with His apostles while they were still in the upper room (John 13:31-14:31). On the way to the Garden of Gethsemane, He continued talking with them (John, chapters 15 and 16).

Before reaching the Kidron Valley and the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed fervently His great high-priestly, intercessory prayer, recorded in John, chapter 17. When one comes to this matchless prayer, he is on the holiest ground of the Scriptures.

Events began to move very rapidly after Jesus had arrived in the Garden.

In all probability it was after midnight, Thursday night, when Judas with a band of soldiers from the high priest came to arrest Jesus (Matt. 26:47-56). All four evangelists give an account of the arrest. When Jesus was seized, the disciples fled. But Peter followed the Lord afar off.

Jesus was led from the Garden to the palace of Annas, the ex-high priest. One should remember that at this time the Romans controlled Palestine. They appointed whom they wished to the high priesthood and demoted or removed them at will. According to John's record, chapter 18:12,13, Jesus was led directly to the palace of Annas, where He had a preliminary trial. It occurred, therefore, before morning.

From the court of Annas, Jesus was led by the soldiers to the palace of Caiaphas, the high priest (John 18:14-27). Certain of the rulers were with the high priest when Jesus was put through a gruelling ordeal. This session, also, was held at night.

The trial before the Sanhedrin is found in Matthew 26:57-75 and Luke 22:54-65. Either John does not give an account of the first trial before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin or he blends the two into a single picture (John 18:28-19:6).

Since Jewish law forbade trying a man for his life at a night session of the court, a second trial before the Sanhedrin was conducted after the break of day, as all four records of the Gospel show (Matthew 27:1,2; Mark 15:1-5; Luke 22:66-71; John 18:28-32).

All the evangelists state that the Sanhedrin delivered Christ over to Pilate to be tried and condemned. But Luke gives additional information regarding Pilate's actions. Hearing that Jesus had taught in Galilee, Pilate immediately sent Him to Herod, the ruler of that province, who was at that time in Jerusalem. By so doing, Pilate thought that he would get rid of Jesus (Luke 23:5-12). To Herod's questions Jesus replied nothing. Herod, therefore, sent Him back to Pilate. Since the trial before Pilate was interrupted by his sending Jesus to Herod, some speak of Christ's being tried twice before Pilate and once before Herod. It is largely a matter of terminology. All four evangelists speak of Christ's trial before Pilate (Matt. 27:11-31; Mark 15:2-20; Luke 23:3-7,13-25; John 18:28-19:16).

From a purely human standpoint, the Crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth is the tragedy of all tragedies (Matthew 27:32-56, Mark 15:21-41, Luke 23:26-49, John 19:17-37). While one stands gazing appalled at the cross, he beholds behind the scene the real actors in this drama; and, from this correct point of view, he gets an impression of this greatest of all events entirely different from the popular idea.

A vision of the crucified Jesus loomed before King David:

1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?

2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou answerest not;
And in the night season, and am not silent.

3 But thou art holy,
O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

4 Our fathers trusted in thee:
They trusted, and thou didst deliver them.

5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered:
They trusted in thee, and were not put to shame.

6 But I am a worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised of the people.

7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn:
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

8 Commit thyself unto Jehovah; let him deliver him:
Let him rescue him, seeing he delighteth in him.

9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb;
Thou didst make me trust when I was upon my mother's breasts.

10 I was cast upon thee from the womb;
Thou art my God since my mother bare me.

11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near;
For there is none to help.

12 Many bulls have compassed me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.

13 They gape upon me with their mouth,
As a ravening and a roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water,
And all my bones are out of joint:
My heart is like wax;
It is melted within me.

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd;
And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws;
And thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

16 For dogs have compassed me:
A company of evil-doers have inclosed me;
They pierced my hands and my feet.

17 I may count all my bones;
They look and stare upon me.

18 They part my garments among them,
And upon my vesture do they cast lots.

19 But be not thou far off, O Jehovah:
O thou my succor, haste thee to help me.

20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
My darling from the power of the dog.

21 Save me from the lion's mouth;
Yea, from the horns of the wild-oxen thou hast answered me (Ps. 22:1-21).

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is a prediction concerning the Crucifixion of the Messiah. In Isaiah 53:10 a marvelous statement appears: "Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand." In my volume The Eternal God Revealing Himself to Suffering Israel and to Lost Humanity, I have proved beyond a peradventure that the servant who is presented in Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is none other than the Messiah. I have shown, moreover, that the interpretation which claims that the suffering servant in this passage is either the nation of Israel or the remnant of the nation is unfounded and without support in fact. One may be sure, therefore, that Isaiah is speaking of an individual, the Messiah.

A similar prophecy appears in Zechariah 13:7: "Awake, 0 sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith Jehovah of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn my hand upon the little ones." God here is in command of this entire scene. He calls upon the sword to awake against His shepherd and against the man who is His equal. (The word translated fellow in the Hebrew means the one who is equal to others of the same class. God here speaks of this man as His equal.) In this passage, sword is either a personification or a term used to address the one who wields it. In vision then the prophet sees the Lord God Almighty in charge of the entire situation. He issues a command that His shepherd, even the man who is His equal, be smitten by the sword. Whoever wields the sword must carry out this command. In Matthew 26:31 Jesus quotes this passage, not literally, but giving the sense of it: "... All of you will be offended in me on this night: for it is written, I shall smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered." The Lord Jesus Christ knew the import of Zechariah's prophecy and interpreted it in His own words. He realized that it was God who had planned that He should be slain.

When Jesus was observing the Passover supper, He foretold the treachery of Judas. In commenting upon the betrayal, He said, "The Son of man goes, just as it has been written concerning Him, but woe to that man through whom the Son of man is betrayed ..." (Matt. 26:24). Several times, in discussing different points, Jesus told His disciples that certain events would occur because the Scriptures could not be broken, but must be fulfilled. It is clear from His utterances that His suffering and dying for the human family was foreordained by God.

Guided by the Spirit, the Apostle Peter also attributed the Crucifixion of Christ to the planning of God and His executing His purpose of the ages. In Acts, chapter 2, appears an account of the first sermon preached by the Apostle Peter after the Resurrection of Christ. On this occasion he spoke to a vast throng of people in Jerusalem concerning the Lord Jesus and God's plan regarding Him:

22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God unto you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as ye yourselves know; 23 him, being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay: 24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it (Acts 2:22-24).

One should note carefully how the Apostle stated the case of Jesus and His Crucifixion. A man approved of God by miraculous works which He had performed, Jesus had been "delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God ..." The expression "delivered up" is clearly a reference to His being delivered over to the Romans to be crucified. His being delivered up to be crucified was by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Peter thus declares that God had a plan which involved the Crucifixion of Messiah. It was, therefore, decreed that Jesus should be crucified. The Apostle affirmed, moreover, that those among the Jews in the audience who had clamored for the Crucifixion had by the hand of lawless men crucified and slain Him. To accomplish the death of Jesus, they had to turn Him over to the Romans, who at that time had the authority to execute the death sentence upon anyone of the nation. It is clear that Peter did not accuse the Jewish people of being "Christ killers," as they have frequently been called. But he was very particular and expressive. God foreordained that the Messiah should suffer. The Jews who participated in the execution, or in bringing it about, did so on their own initiative and are responsible to God for what they did. The Romans, the men without law, are likewise held responsible for what they did. The individuals who justify and exonerate those who actually demanded the Crucifixion of Jesus are also held by the Lord as being responsible for their actions and attitude with regard to this tragedy of tragedies.

Peter, in his second recorded message, declared:

17 And now, brethren, I know that in ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. 18 But the things which God foreshowed by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled (Acts 3:17,18).

This utterance shows that those who participated in the execution of Jesus did not realize that, in demanding and clamoring for the Crucifixion, they were simply calling for the carrying out of those things which, through various prophets, God had foretold should be done. Thus again Peter traces the execution of Jesus back to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. When Peter preached the sermon recorded in Acts, chapter 3, he and the Apostle John were arrested and kept in prison overnight. The next morning they were brought before the Jewish court and commanded not to preach any more, in the name of Jesus, the resurrection from the dead. Peter told the court that he had to speak forth that which he had seen and that which he knew to be true. After scourging these two apostles, the authorities released them from confinement. They returned to the company of believers and held a prayer meeting. In their prayer they saw a partial fulfillment of Psalm 2:1-3 in the action that had been taken against Jesus by the civil authorities. Quoting part of the Psalm, they continued their prayer by saying:

27 for of a truth in this city against thy holy Servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, were gathered together, 28 to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel foreordained to come to pass (Acts 4:27,28).

According to this statement, what Herod, Pontius Pilate, and the Jewish Sanhedrin did against Jesus was the carrying out of whatsoever God's hand and counsel had foreordained to come to pass. This passage also shows who was responsible for the Crucifixion of Jesus. In writing to the Hebrew Christians in Asia Minor, the Apostle Peter gave the spiritual interpretation of the tragedy of the cross:

17 For it is better, if the will of God should so will, that ye suffer for well doing than for evil-doing. 18 Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, 20 that aforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water: 21 which also after a true likeness doth now save you, even baptism, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the interrogation of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (I Peter 3:17-21).

In foreordaining before the foundation of the world the Crucifixion of Christ and the shedding of His precious blood that cleanses from all sin, God had the eternal good of man at heart and was opening up a new and a living way whereby mankind might approach God and obtain eternal salvation through His sacrifice and offering.

The inspired Apostle Paul put this same interpretation upon the tragedy of the cross. In Acts 17:1-3 is an account of his preaching in the synagogue of Thessalonica, where he reasoned for three Sabbaths with the Jews concerning the Scriptures, "opening and alleging that it behooved the Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom, said he, I proclaim unto you, is the Christ." According to this statement and many others, God had foreordained that Messiah should suffer and die for the redemption of humanity—for all who will believe and accept His free grace.

In a speech before King Herod Agrippa, Paul declared:

22 Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand unto this day testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses did say should come; 23 how that the Christ must suffer, and how that he first by the resurrection of the dead should proclaim light both to the people and to the Gentiles (Acts 26:22, 23).

Paul, this great protagonist of the faith, claimed that he was testifying to both the small and the great, saying nothing but what the Prophets and Moses had said would come to pass; namely, "how that Christ must suffer, and how that he first by the resurrection of the dead should proclaim light both to the people [of Israel] and to the Gentiles."

These various quotations from the Apostles Peter and Paul show clearly how they presented the gospel message. They did not accuse the Jewish nation of being Christ killers, but simply showed that God through His love for lost humanity planned before the foundation of the world this scheme of redemption for mankind. In His love and omniscience, He provided a means of escape from eternal banishment "from the glory of His might."

Someone has truly said that God uses a dirty man to do a dirty job. But God also uses good men and women to perform honorable, good, upright works. The Lord endowed man with a free will, the power of choice. Though He does use influences in trying to get men to accept the right and to choose to do that which is best for them, yet He never forces or coerces the will. He stops short of stepping over the threshold of their personality and of forcing them in any way whatsoever. Whosoever will may come. Any man who wills to do the will of God, shall know of the teaching, declared Jesus, whether He was speaking of Himself or whether He was speaking the message of God (John 7:17).

Judas was a thief from the very beginning. Jesus knew that He would have to be betrayed and chose a man of the character of Judas to do the diabolic work of a traitor. Moreover those leaders of Israel who were not hungering and thirsting after God and doing the will of God, but who had their own set ideas and were determined to hold on to them regardless of all circumstances, God used to help carry out His eternal plan and purpose of redeeming the human family through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God. He also used the Romans to help carry out the eternal plan.

Through the realization that God planned and overruled all things in the life of Jesus for the good of mankind, that He used blinded, wicked men to accomplish His purpose, and that He is working everything for the good of man, one can see the tragedy of the cross in the correct light and praise God for it.