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Chapter Three

What the Gospel Records Reveal About "the Unleaveneds"

          We know from the commands of God in the Old Testament that the Passover day is the 14th day of the first month, called Abib or Nisan.  We also know that the 15th day of the first month is the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  There is no question concerning the proper sequence of these days as recorded in Leviticus 23:5-6. 

          The account of the original Passover in the book of Exodus makes it clear that the Passover was both killed and eaten on the 14th day of the month.  God commanded the children of Israel to kill the Passover lambs on the 14th at ben ha arbayim, or "between the two evenings" (Ex. 12:6).  Other Scriptural passages make it absolutely clear that this Hebrew term means at the beginning of the 14th, after ba erev or sunset of the 13th.  The lambs were roasted and eaten that same night, and any remains were burned before the morning of the 14th day. The Scriptural records leave no doubt about the proper time for killing and eating the Passover lambs according to the original commands of God. (See The Christian Passover by Fred R. Coulter, pp. 31-89.)

          In the Gospel accounts of Jesus Christ's last Passover observance with His apostles, we are given additional information about the Passover day. In these passages, there are some verses pertaining to the observance of the Passover and the sacrifice of the Passover lambs, which are difficult to understand.  These verses have caused much confusion in the minds of Bible students and scholars due to the manner in which they have been translated.  Most translations of the Bible, including the KJV, do not translate these verses correctly. 

          One verse which has caused much confusion is Matthew 26:17.  In the KJV, as in most other translations, Matthew 26:17 is translated as follows: "Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto Him, Where will You that we prepare for You to eat the Passover?" 

          Notice that the words "day" and "feast of" in this verse are italicized.  The use of italic letters in the KJV translation indicates that these words are not found in the original Greek text.  Any italicized words have been inserted by the translators in an effort to clarify the meaning of the text.  In some cases, these additions are helpful.  However, in this verse the inserted words cause confusion because they change the real meaning.

          The words which have been inserted in this verse indicate that it was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread when the disciples asked Jesus where they should prepare the Passover.  If this translation were correct, the disciples would have been

          1) If they had killed the lamb late on the 15th, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Jesus and His disciples would consequently have eaten the Passover lamb on the night of the 16th, the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  That would mean that Jesus did not keep the Passover on the 14th, as commanded by God.  If Jesus had not kept the Passover on the correct day, in the correct manner, He would have sinned. 

          2) If Jesus had eaten the Passover on the night of the 16th, He would have been crucified on the 16th, the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  Jesus could not have been our Passover sacrifice, because He would not have been crucified on the Passover day, the 14th day of the first month!

          3) The priests and religious leaders, who ate their Passover the night after Jesus and the disciples did, would consequently have killed their lambs late on the day portion of the 16th and would have eaten their Passover on the night of the 17th.  This sequence would place their Passover on the third day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

          THIS IMAGINARY SCENARIO COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE TRUE!  THE EVENTS DID NOT TRANSPIRE THAT WAY! We can be absolutely positive that Jesus and His disciples did not keep the Passover in the manner just described!   Nor did the Jews keep their Passover in this manner!  Such a scenario exposes the folly of this mistranslation.  The same holds true for the parallel accounts in Mark and Luke.

          In Mark 14:12, we have a similar problem, but the wording is somewhat different from Matthew 26:17.  Here is Mark's account: "And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover, His disciples said unto Him, Where will You that we go and prepare that You may eat the passover?" (KJV.)  In this case, the translators did not insert the words "the feast of" before "unleavened bread."  Nevertheless, this translation still gives the impression that the day they killed the lamb was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  Again, we have the same problems as outlined above. 

          When we examine Luke's account, we find similar wording.  Luke 22:7 gives the third Gospel account of the killing of the lambs: "Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed" (KJV). 

          If this verse actually means that the lambs were killed on the 15th, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, then no one would have eaten the Passover until the 16th.  Obviously that cannot be the meaning in this account by Luke, or in the parallel accounts by Matthew and Mark.

What is the true meaning of these three Gospel accounts?

          In order to find the answer, we must understand the original Greek words that are used by the Gospel writers.  Let's begin with Matthew 26:17:  "Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread..." (KJV). 

          If these words were literally translated from the Greek text, the Greek would have to be written as follows (spelled in English letters): Tee de protee emera tee eortee toon azumoon, which would be correctly translated, "Now on the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened [Bread]...."  But we do not find all these words in the Greek text of Matthew 26:17.  If all these words were actually found in the Greek text, then the translators would not have had to insert the italicized words "day" and "feast of" in this verse.  The fact that the italicized words were inserted indicates that the translators felt the exact meaning of the Greek text was difficult to understand and needed to be clarified.  But their attempt at clarification actually resulted in additional confusion!

          Here is the actual Greek text of Matthew 26:17 as spelled in our alphabet: "Tee de protee toon azumoon...."  Literally translated, it reads as follows: "Now on the first of the unleaveneds...." 

          What does this phrase "the first of the unleaveneds" mean?  The context of the verse conclusively shows that it cannot mean the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  Furthermore, we have seen that it should not be translated "the first day of the feast of unleavened bread," as found in the KJV and other versions, because the Greek text does not support that translation.

          The term toon azumoon, "the unleaveneds," is the plural of ta azuma, which means "the unleavened."  By implication, ta azuma, "the unleavened," includes the meaning of the word "bread."  After all, it is bread which is leavened or unleavened.  However, the plural form toon azumoon, "the unleaveneds," includes more than the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 

          Let's examine the Scriptural instructions for observing the Feast of Unleavened Bread, from the 15th day of the month through the 21st day.  These commands of God will help us understand why the term "the unleaveneds" includes the Passover day itself, and does not exclusively mean the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread.  Here are the commands that God gave to the children of Israel:

1) Before the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, all leaven and leavened bread was to have been put out of the houses (Ex. 12:15, 19).  Verse 15 should have been translated, "shall have put out leaven."  The JPSA translation is "shall put away," but the Hebrew text uses the past tense.  This tense shows a past action completed before the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  Even as it is practiced today, cleaning the houses and removing leaven may have begun many days before the Passover day and the first  day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  All leaven had to be completely removed before the beginning of the 15th day of the first month--Nisan 15.  Thus the 14th of Nisan--the Passover day--was the first day that the houses became completely unleavened.

2) No leaven was to be found in their houses during the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Ex. 12:19).

3) They were not to have any leaven or leavened bread within any of their borders, which included the entire country (Ex. 13:7). 

4) On the Passover day and during the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, unleavened bread was commanded to be eaten (Ex. 12:8, 15; 13:6, Lev. 23:6).

           The Scriptural commands make it clear that the Passover day, the 14th day of the first month, was the day of entering a completely unleavened state and eating the first unleavened bread.  In the New Testament, the Passover day is specifically designated by Matthew, Mark and Luke as "the first day of the unleaveneds."

          In including the Passover day as a separate day of unleavenedness in addition to the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Gospel writers were following the common practice of that time in history.  The "first of the unleaveneds" did not refer to the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread--Nisan 15.  It is an acknowledged fact that in these Scriptural passages "the corresponding Greek has no word for 'feast,' and speaks only of the 'first of the unleavened bread'--a common expression for the Jewish 14th with practically all first century writers" (Amadon, "The Crucifixion Calendar," Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. LXIII, 1944, p. 189). 

          When we study the procedures that the Jews followed in putting out the leaven, it is easy to understand why the Passover day was designated as "the first day of the unleaveneds."  The common Jewish practice was to burn all leaven by 10 A.M. on the morning of the 14th.  This practice may have been passed down from the time of the original Passover in Egypt, as no leavened bread was baked on the Passover day.  The book of Exodus records that the children of Israel carried only unleavened bread as they left their houses on the day portion of Nisan 14, the Passover day (Ex. 12:39).  They had bound their dough in their kneading troughs, which kept the dough from being exposed to the air so that it could not be leavened by natural fermentation (Ex. 12:34).

          As we examine the Scriptures in Exodus 12, there is no record of eating any leavened bread during any part of the first Passover day.  It is specifically recorded that they ate only unleavened bread for the Passover on the night of the 14th.    Since they left their houses at the crack of dawn and took only unleavened bread with them, they could only have eaten unleavened bread on the day portion of the Passover day.  While God's commands did not expressly forbid the eating of leavened bread on the 14th, the events

          When we examine the Scriptural record of the events of the first Passover, it is abundantly clear that the 14th day of the first month--Nisan 14--was historically an entire day of eating unleavened bread.  There is no indication that leavened bread was eaten at any time during the first Passover day, the 14th day of the first month.  Although by New Testament times some Jews no longer observed the 14th as the Passover, even these Jews understood that Nisan 14 was "the first day of the unleaveneds" because on the morning of that day they entered a state of unleavenedness by removing and destroying all remaining leaven from their houses.

          The procedures which were followed for collecting and removing the leaven are described in the writings of the Jews.  These procedures, which were the common practice in New Testament times, clearly illustrate why Nisan 14 was referred to as "the first of the unleaveneds."

The Practice of Removing Leaven

           In order to unleaven the entire nation, a good deal of preparation was required.  To remove all leavening agents and all leavened bread from every household and every business in the city of Jerusalem and the entire nation of Judea was a large undertaking.  Not only did all leaven have to be removed, but unleavened bread had to be prepared for every household.

          The Mishnah and other rabbinical writings are the only historical records which describe the removal of the leaven and the baking of unleavened bread.  While these descriptions are related to a temple-killed 15th Passover observance, these same procedures undoubtedly were followed by those who ate the 14th Passover, with some variation in timing.  As documented in the book The Christian Passover, the majority of the Jews of New Testament times kept a domestically observed 14th Passover at the beginning of the 14th day of the first month--Nisan 14.  As we have seen, that day was commonly known as "the first day of the unleaveneds."  Although the leaven was not completely removed from every house until Nisan 14, the following records reveal that the leaven was collected on the preceding day:

          "The 13th of Nisan. On the evening of the 13th, which, until that of the 14th, was called the 'preparation of the Passover' [John 19:14], every head of a family searched for and collected by the light of a candle all the leaven.  Before beginning the search he pronounced the following benediction: 'Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who hast sanctified us with Thy commandments, and hast enjoined us to remove the leaven.' After the search he said, 'Whatever leaven remains in my possession which I cannot see, behold, it is null, and accounted as the dust of the earth'" (Unger's Bible Dictionary, "Festivals," p. 354).

The rabbinical writings reveal that the Jews burned all leaven by 10 AM on the 14th

          The fact that "the first of the unleaveneds" refers to the 14th, the Passover day, and not to the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, is unmistakably evident when we read the Gospel accounts of Jesus' last Passover.  Let's take another look at Matthew's account.  "Now on the first of the unleaveneds [the first day requiring unleavened bread so that the Passover could be eaten], the disciples came to Jesus, saying, 'Where will You that we should prepare for You to eat the Passover?' " (Mat. 26:17, AT) 

          A correct understanding of the terminology used in this verse and in the parallel accounts in Mark and Luke ends the confusion caused by the wrong translation.  The problem is solved by studying the original Greek words and by letting the Scriptures interpret the Scriptures.  By applying these rules for Bible study, we know that "the first of the unleaveneds" can only mean the Passover day--Nisan 14.  That is the day in which Jesus and the disciples ate the Passover--at the beginning of the 14th.  The Gospel writers were clearly referring to this day.  As stated before, truth agrees with Truth; error does not agree with Truth.  The true meaning of Matthew 26:17 is revealed in this literal translation:  "Now on the first of the unleaveneds, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, 'Where will You that we should prepare the Passover for You to eat?' "

          When we examine Luke's account, we find that he gives some additional insight: "And came the day of the unleaveneds in which it was obligatory for the Passover to be killed" (Luke 22:7, AT).  Luke emphasizes that this day was a specific day by calling it "the day of the unleaveneds."  Luke then tells us that this day was the specific day for killing the Passover lambs, which were to be eaten for the domestically observed Passover at the beginning of Nisan 14.  When the definite article "the" is used in the Greek text, the meaning is stronger and more emphatic.  The fact that Luke uses the definite article in this verse places stronger emphasis on this particular day as "the day of the unleaveneds" which was expressly designated for killing the lambs for the domestic Passover.

          The KJV translates the latter part of this verse "when the Passover must be killed," but the author has more accurately translated it "...in which it was obligatory for the Passover to be killed" (AT).  The Greek word translated "obligatory" is dei, which means "mandatory, compulsory, obligatory, one must, or has to, is required to, compulsion of duty, and compulsion of law" (Arndt and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament).  Hence, the author has correctly translated it "obligatory for the Passover to be killed."

          In Luke 22:7, the express meaning of dei is "under compulsion of law"!  In other words, Luke is showing us that the killing of the Passover lambs was required by compulsion of law to be completed at a certain time.  We know that the time commanded by God in Exodus 12 for the killing of the lambs was ben ha arbayim, or "between the two evenings"--at the beginning of the 14th.  That was the obligatory time when the lambs were to be killed according to God's law. 

          According to God's commands in Exodus 12, the lambs were to be kept until the 14th day of the first month.  The specific point at which the 14th began was sunset, or ba erev, of the 13th.  We can therefore conclude that it was at the beginning of the 14th day, immediately after the sun had set, when Jesus' disciples asked Him where they should prepare the Passover meal.  The Greek words used in Luke's account show that the expression "the day of the unleaveneds" is specifically referring to the 14th day of the first month, which was the day commanded by God for killing the lambs.  This fact is verified by the account of Jesus' last Passover in the Gospel of Mark, which we will examine in the following chapter.

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