Matius 26:19

26:19 So ¹  the disciples did as Jesus had instructed them, and they prepared the Passover.

Matius 26:2

26:2 “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over ²  to be crucified.” ³ 

Matius 27:15

27:15 During the feast the governor was accustomed to release one prisoner to the crowd, ⁴  whomever they wanted.

Matius 26:17-18

The Passover

26:17 Now on the first day of the feast of ⁵  Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and said, ⁶  “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ⁷  26:18 He ⁸  said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near. I will observe the Passover with my disciples at your house.”’”

Matius 26:5

26:5 But they said, “Not during the feast, so that there won’t be a riot among the people.” ⁹ 

Matius 27:62

The Guard at the Tomb

27:62 The ¹⁰  next day (which is after the day of preparation) the chief priests and the Pharisees ¹¹  assembled before Pilate

[26:19]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[26:2]  ² tn Or “will be delivered up.”

[26:2]  ³ sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.

[27:15]  ⁴ sn The custom of Pilate to release one prisoner is unknown outside the gospels in Jewish writings, but it was a Roman custom at the time and thus probably used in Palestine as well (cf. Matt 27:15; John 18:39).

[26:17]  ⁵ tn The words “the feast of” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity.

[26:17]  ⁶ tn Grk “the disciples came to Jesus, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) has been translated as a finite verb to make the sequence of events clear in English.

[26:17]  ⁷ sn This required getting a suitable lamb and finding lodging in Jerusalem where the meal could be eaten. The population of the city swelled during the feast, so lodging could be difficult to find. The Passover was celebrated each year in commemoration of the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt; thus it was a feast celebrating redemption (see Exod 12). The Passover lamb was roasted and eaten after sunset in a family group of at least ten people (m. Pesahim 7.13). People ate the meal while reclining (see the note on table in 26:20). It included, besides the lamb, unleavened bread and bitter herbs as a reminder of Israel’s bitter affliction at the hands of the Egyptians. Four cups of wine mixed with water were also used for the meal. For a further description of the meal and the significance of the wine cups, see E. Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, 523-24.

[26:18]  ⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[26:5]  ⁹ sn The suggestion here is that Jesus was too popular to openly arrest him.

[27:62]  ¹⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:62]  ¹¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.