Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 26:19
And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.
Verse 19. And the disciples did] The disciples that were sent on this errand were Peter and John. See Lu 22:8.
They made ready the passover] That is, they provided the lamb, c., which were appointed by the law for this solemnity. Mr. Wakefield justly observes, “that the Jews considered the passover as a sacrificial rite Josephus calls it , A SACRIFICE; and Trypho, in Justin Martyr, speaks of , SACRIFICING the paschal lamb. But what comes nearer to the point is this, that Maimonides, one of the most eminent of the Jewish rabbins, has a particular treatise on the paschal sacrifice; and throughout that piece, speaks of the lamb as a victim, and of the solemnity itself as a sacrifice. And R. Bechai, in his commentary on Le 2:11, says that the paschal sacrifice was of a piacular nature, in order to expiate the guilt contracted by the idolatrous practices of the Israelites In Egypt.” It was highly necessary that this should be considered as an expiatory sacrifice, as it typified that Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. For much more on this important subject than can, with propriety, be introduced into these notes, see a Discourse on the Eucharist, lately published by the author of this work.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them,…. They went into the city of Jerusalem; they met the man carrying a pitcher of water home; they followed him into the house he entered; they addressed the master of the house, in the manner Christ directed, who showed them a large upper room, prepared with all proper furniture for such an occasion, as Christ had foretold:
and they made ready the passover; they went and bought a lamb; they carried it to the temple to be slain in the court, where it was presented as a passover lamb for such a number of persons; they had it flayed, cut up, the fat taken out, and burnt on the altar, and its blood sprinkled on the foot of it: they then brought it to the house where they were to eat it; here they roasted it, and provided bread, and wine, and bitter herbs, and a sauce called “Charoseth”, into which the herbs were dipped: and, in short, everything that was necessary.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
19. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them. The readiness with which the disciples comply ought to be observed as a proof of their holy submission; for a doubt might naturally arise, when in search of an unknown man, whether they would obtain from the master of the house what they asked by their Master’s command, while they were aware that everywhere he was not only despised but even hated. Yet they make no anxious inquiry about the result, but peaceably obey the injunction. And if we are desirous to have our faith approved, we ought to abide by this rule, to be satisfied with the command alone and go forward wherever God commands, and, expecting the success which he promises, not to indulge in excessive anxiety.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(19) They made ready the passover.It may be well to bring together the facts which these few words imply. The two disciples, after seeing that the room was furnished, the tables arranged, probably in the form of a Roman triclinium, and the benches covered with cushions, would have to purchase the lamb, the unleavened bread, and the bitter herbs, together with the wine and the conserve of sweet fruits which later practice had added to the older ritual. The Paschal victim would have to be slain in the courts of the Temple by one of the officiating priests. The lamb so slain would then be roasted, the bitter herbs prepared, and the table set out, and then, as sunset drew near, all would be ready for the Master and His disciples, who formed, on this occasion, the household which were to partake of the Paschal Supper.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19. Did as Jesus had appointed them It was a blind sort of an errand upon which they were to go, and it was undertaken in full faith that it should turn out right. So those men were trained to go on a still greater errand, even the proclaiming the everlasting Gospel to the guilty world.
Made ready the passover They were not only to secure the room, but procure the lamb, which had been first inspected by the priests, have it killed and the blood sprinkled at the foot of the altar, and take it to the house. They were to obtain the bread and wine and the bitter herbs. The two disciples were Peter and John; and no doubt it was with wondering sadness that they performed the faithful office.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And the disciples did as Jesus appointed them, and they made ready the Passover.’
Note the emphasis on the obedience of the disciples. The Lord was always to be obeyed. Their obedience was to be an example to all. Matthew never put in redundant words. And the result was that they made all the necessary preparations for the Passover, including the sacrificing of the lamb in the Temple and then the bringing of it to the appointed house ready for the meal. The houseowner may well himself have provided the unleavened bread, the vegetables, the bitter herbs, the sauces and the wine. All was now ready for the final Passover. Once this was over God’s final deliverance would have been accomplished, and Passover would no longer have any significance (even though it would continue to be observed by Christian Jews. They would, however, give it a new meaning).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
19 And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.
Ver. 19. Did as Jesus had appointed them ] With a kind of blind obedience; such as we must yield to God, notwithstanding all unlikelihoods or scruples whatsoever, cast in by carnal reason. This the Scripture calls the “obedience of faith,” and commends it to us, in the examples of Abraham, Moses, others, Heb 11:1-40 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
had appointed. Greek. suntasso. Occurs only here, and Mat 27:10.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the disciples: Mat 21:6, Joh 2:5, Joh 15:14
and they: Exo 12:4-8, 2Ch 35:10, 2Ch 35:11
Reciprocal: Exo 12:11 – loins Mar 11:4 – and found Mar 14:13 – Go Mar 15:23 – but Luk 22:10 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
6:19
Made ready the passover. Jesus and his disciples were under the law of Moses and of course they made this preparation according to the directions recorded. Exo 12:5-9 has its fist application in Egypt which was before the law was given from Sinai, but the same regulations were followed afterward. That means the disciples prepared the animal as directed, and also procured a supply of unleavened bread.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.
[They made ready the Passover.] Peter and John were sent for this purpose, Luk 22:8; and perhaps they moved the question, where wilt thou; etc. They only knew that Judas was about another business, while the rest supposed he was preparing necessaries for the Passover.
This Peter and John were to do, after having spoken with the landlord, whom our Saviour pointed out to them by a sign, to prepare and fit the room.
I. A lamb was to be bought, approved, and fit for the Passover.
II. This lamb was to be brought by them into the court where the altar was.
“The Passover was to be killed only in the court where the other sacrifices were slain: and it was to be killed on the fourteenth day after noon, after the daily sacrifice, after the offering of the incense,” etc. The manner of bringing the Passover into the court, and of killing it, you have in Pesachin; in these words: “The Passover is killed in three companies; according as it is said, [Exo 12:6;] and all the assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it (the Passover); assembly, congregation, and Israel. The first company enters and fills the whole court: they lock the doors of the court: the trumpets sound: the priests stand in order, having golden and silver vials in their hands: one row silver, and the other gold; and they are not intermingled: the vials had no brims, lest the blood should stay upon them, and be congealed or thickened: an Israelite kills it, and a priest receives the blood, and gives it to him that stands next, and he to the next, who, taking the vial that was full, gives him an empty one. The priest who stands next to the altar sprinkles the blood at one sprinkling against the bottom of the altar: that company goes out, and the second comes in,” etc. Let them tell me now, who suppose that Christ ate his Passover one day sooner than the Jews did theirs, how these things could be performed by him or his disciples in the Temple, since it was looked upon as a heinous offence among the people not to kill or eat the Passover in the due time. They commonly carried the lambs into the court upon their shoulders: this is called its carrying; in Pesachin; where the Gloss, “The carrying of it upon a man’s shoulders, to bring it into the court, as into a public place.”
III. It was to be presented in the court under the name of the Paschal lamb; and to be killed for the company mentioned. See what the Gemarists say of this thing in Pesachin; “If they kill it for such as are not to eat, or as are not numbered, for such as are not circumcised or unclean, it is profane: if for those that are to eat, and not to eat, numbered and not numbered, for circumcised and not circumcised, clean and unclean, it is right”: that is, for those that are numbered, that atonement may be made for the not numbered; for the circumcised, that atonement may be made for the uncircumcised, etc. So the Gemarists and the Glosses.
IV. The blood being sprinkled at the foot of the altar, the lamb flayed, his belly cut up, the fat taken out and thrown into the fire upon the altar, the body is carried back to the place where they sup: the flesh is roasted, and the skin given to the landlord.
V. Other things were also provided. Bread according to God’s appointment, wine, some usual meats, and the same called Charoseth; of which commentators speak everywhere.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Mat 26:19. Comp, the fuller accounts of Mark (Mar 14:14-16) and Luke (Luk 22:11-13).