Section 14:12–21

Jesus celebrated the Passover Festival with his disciples

In the previous section, 14:10–11, Judas began to look for a way to betray Jesus. In this section, Jesus and his disciples celebrated the Passover Festival together. People often celebrated the Festival of Passover with their families. Jesus celebrated it with his twelve closest disciples.

Normally, a teacher’s disciples prepared the celebration. But on this occasion Jesus had already arranged for a place to eat and for the food. Then he sent two of his disciples to make the final preparations. That evening as they were eating the Passover meal, Jesus told them that one of them would betray him.

Scholars have different views about when Jesus ate the Passover feast, but these views will probably not affect the way you translate the verses.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Jesus and the disciples celebrated the Passover
-or-
Jesus Eats the Passover Meal with His Disciples (Good News Bible)

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 26:17–25, Luke 22:7–14, and John 13:21–30.

Paragraph 14:12

14:12a

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread: This verse begins a new part of the story about Jesus. Most English versions begin this part of the story with the time phrase On the first day. In this context the first day refers to the day number one of the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

It was now the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (New Century Version)
-or-
When the first day of the Unleavened Bread Feast arrived

the Feast of Unleavened Bread: The phrase The Feast of Unleavened Bread refers to the festival during which the Jews ate only unleavened bread. Unleavened bread is bread made without yeast.

See how you translated this festival in 14:1a.

14:12b

when the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed: The words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as when the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed are literally “when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed.” The tense of the verb indicates that this was the normal custom of the Jews. The first day of Unleavened Bread was the day when each family brought a lamb to the priest at the temple. The priest would kill the lamb and the family would eat it as part of the Passover feast that night.

In some languages a literal translation of Passover lamb may convey the wrong meaning that only one lamb was sacrificed for all the Jews. So it may be necessary to use the plural form. For example:

when they/Jews sacrifice their lambs for the Passover feast
-or-
the day the lambs for the Passover meal were killed (Good News Bible)

Passover: The term Passover refers to one of the Jewish festivals. The Jewish people celebrated Passover to remember how the Lord delivered their ancestors from death. The angel of death “passed over” their homes and did not kill their children. See the note on 14:1a for more details.

sacrificed: In this context the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sacrificed means to offer or dedicate an animal to God by killing it. Here the focus of the word sacrificed is more on slaughtering or killing the lamb than on offering or dedicating it. Some languages require a long expression to translate the word “sacrifice.” If that is true in your language, it may be better to use a general term such as “slaughter” or “kill.” For example:

the day the lambs for the Passover meal were killed (Good News Bible)

General Comment on 14:12a–b

The information in 14:12a–b is background information. It tells about what normally happened at the time of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In some languages it may be necessary to use more than one sentence to express this information. For example:

It was the first day of the feast when the Jews ate unraised bread. On that day families customarily slaughtered a lamb for the feast called Passover. It was on that day of the feast that the disciples of Jesus…

14:12c

Jesus’ disciples asked Him: In some languages it may be necessary to introduce the disciples’ question by indicating that they came to Jesus. For example:

Jesus’ disciples came to him and asked
-or-
Jesus’ disciples gathered and approached Jesus. They asked him…

disciples: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as disciples means “learners” who are in a relationship with a teacher. The learners commit themselves to their teacher in order to learn from him and live according to his teaching and example. In the New Testament disciples often lived with their teacher and followed him wherever he went.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

students/learners
-or-
apprentices
-or-
followers

See how you translated this term at 2:15b. See also disciple in the Glossary for more information.

asked: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as asked is a general verb that can be used to introduce any type of speech. In this context it introduces a question. Use a verb that is natural in your language.

14:12d–e

Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?: The Old Testament required the Jews to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem. Since Jesus and the disciples did not live in Jerusalem, they needed to arrange for a place there to eat the Passover meal. The question in this verse implies “where in Jerusalem do you want us to prepare for the Passover meal?”

14:12d

want us to prepare: The words want us to prepare indicate here that the disciples expected Jesus to give them instructions about arranging for the Passover. Then he would send them to make arrangements with his authority. In some languages there may be a special expression to use in a situation like this. For example:

Where do you want to send us(excl) to prepare…to eat the Passover?
-or-
What instructions do you have for us(excl) about where to arrange for our(incl) Passover celebration?

us: The pronoun us refers to the disciples. It does not include Jesus.

14:12e

for You to eat the Passover: In Greek, the form that the Berean Standard Bible translates as You is singular, but Jesus and the disciples would eat the Passover together. The disciples probably used a singular form because they were focusing on Jesus as their leader. In some languages it may be necessary to indicate in some way that the disciples would also eat the Passover meal. For example:

Where do you(sing) want us(excl) to go to prepare food so that we(incl) can eat the Passover supper?

eat the Passover: The phrase eat the Passover refers to eating the special meal that people ate when they celebrated the Passover festival.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

eat the food of the Festival of Passover
-or-
the Passover meal (God’s Word)

Passover: See how you translated this term in 14:1a.

Paragraph 14:13–15

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