"You know that the Passover Festival will be celebrated in two more days [Note: This was the annual Jewish festival commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage under Moses' leadership], and the Son of man will be turned over to be crucified."

“Not during the festival,” they said, “so there won’t be rioting among the people.”

Now on the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread [i.e., the first day of Passover week], His disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover meal?"

He answered, "Go into the city [i.e., Jerusalem] to a certain man and say to him, 'The Teacher says, My time is near [i.e., to be turned over to the Jewish leaders]; I plan to observe the Passover Festival at your house with my disciples.'"

At the festival the governor’s custom was to release to the crowd a prisoner they wanted.

Now on the following day, which was the day after the Preparation [for the Passover Festival], the leading priests and Pharisees assembled in front of Pilate

After two days it was the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a treacherous way to arrest and kill Him.

but they objected, it could not be during the festival, for fear of a popular insurrection.

Now on the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread [i.e., the beginning of the Passover Festival week], when they sacrificed the Passover [lamb], Jesus' disciples said to Him, "Where do you want us to go to make preparations for you to eat the Passover meal?"

At the festival it was Pilate’s custom to release for the people a prisoner they requested.

The crowd [then] went to Pilate and asked him to do what he was accustomed to doing for them [i.e., release a prisoner of their choosing during the Passover Festival].

When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation [for the Passover Festival], being the day before the [special] Sabbath Day,

Every year His parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival.

when Jesus therefore was twelve years old they went thither, as was customary at the time of that festival.

When the days of the festival were over, they left for home. The young man Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.

But he answered his father, "Listen! All these years I've worked like a slave for you. I've never disobeyed a command of yours. Yet you've never given me so much as a young goat for a festival so I could celebrate with my friends.

The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called Passover, was drawing near.

And the leading priests and experts in the law of Moses were looking for a way to kill Jesus because they were afraid of the people [i.e., that people would riot if it were done during the Festival. See Matt. 26:5].

Then the day came for the Festival of Unleavened Bread [to be held], on which the Passover [lamb] was to be sacrificed.

And he will show you a large, completely furnished upstairs room. Make preparations [for us] there [i.e., to observe the Passover Festival]."

[For according to the festival he had to release someone to them.]

This happened on the Day of Preparation [for the Passover Festival], as the Sabbath day was about to begin [i.e., shortly before

Now the Jewish Passover Festival was soon [to be held], so Jesus went up to Jerusalem [to attend it].

While He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many trusted in His name when they saw the signs He was doing.

When they entered Galilee, the Galileans welcomed Him because they had seen everything He did in Jerusalem during the festival. For they also had gone to the festival.

After this, a Jewish festival took place, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now the Passover, a Jewish festival, was near.

The Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near,

So, Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come [i.e., to be revealed to the world as its Savior], but it is always your time [i.e., they could go to the festival anytime without rousing opposition].

Go up to the festival yourselves. I’m not going up to the festival yet, because My time has not yet fully come.”

After His brothers had gone up to the festival, then He also went up, not openly but secretly.

The Jews were looking for Him at the festival and saying, “Where is He?”

When the festival was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple complex and began to teach.

On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me and drink!

Then the Festival of Dedication took place in Jerusalem, and it was winter.

Now the Jewish Passover Festival was to be held soon and many people went up to Jerusalem from the countryside before the [actual] Festival in order to perform the ceremonial purification rituals.

They were looking for Jesus and asking one another as they stood in the temple complex: “What do you think? He won’t come to the festival, will He?”

So, six days before the Passover Festival [began], Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus lived. He was the man Jesus [had] raised from the dead.

The next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,

Now some Greeks were among those who went up to worship at the festival.

Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart from this world to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

Since Judas kept the money-bag, some thought that Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the festival,” or that he should give something to the poor.

But since you [Jews] have a custom that I should release to you one [prisoner] during the Passover Festival, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"

noon] on the Day of Preparation for the Passover Festival. [Note: This would be the day before the Passover Festival]. And Pilate said to the Jews, "Look, [here is] your king!"

Now it was the Day of Preparation [Note: This was the day before the Passover Festival began, and fell on a Friday that year], and the Jews did not permit bodies to remain on a cross over the Sabbath day. (Besides, that Sabbath day was a special day [i.e., since it was both the Passover and the regular weekly Sabbath, as well]). So, they asked Pilate to have Jesus' and the criminals' legs broken [i.e., to speed up their deaths] and then have their bodies taken away.

So, they placed Jesus' body there, for it was the Day of Preparation and that was the closest grave site. [Note: Since this was the day before the Passover Festival, and the next day was also the regular weekly Sabbath, they had to bury the body before sundown to comply with Jewish restrictions against working on a Sabbath day].

On the day of the Harvest Festival, they were all meeting together,

Now some devoted Jews from every nation of the world were visiting Jerusalem [for the Pentecost festival].

and when he saw that this gratified the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too, at the time of the festival of Unleavened Bread.

So, Peter was arrested and put in jail with four groups of four soldiers each guarding him. Herod planned to have him brought before the people after the Passover Festival was over.

But he took leave of them, saying, I must at any rate do the coming festival in Jerusalem: and I will again return to you, God willing. And he was conveyed from Ephesus.

And we [ourselves] sailed away from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread [Note: This was the Jewish feast commemorating deliverance from Egyptian bondage], and five days later [we] joined them at Troas [i.e., the seven men mentioned in verses

For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to lose any time in Asia, for he was hurrying to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of the Harvest Festival.

So, we should observe the Festival [i.e., live the Christian life], but not with the old yeast [i.e., old sinful ways], such as the leavening [effect] of evil and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

But I shall stay in Ephesus until the Harvest Festival,

Let not any man therefore judge you in eating, or in drinking, or in the matter of a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths,

By [having] faith, he established the Passover Festival [Note: This festival was first celebrated in Egypt by the fleeing Israelites, then observed annually in commemoration of that event], and had [lambs'] blood sprinkled [on the door jambs] to prevent the one who destroyed the firstborn children from touching them. [See Ex. 12:23].

in high festival, - and unto an assembly of firstborn ones, enrolled in the heavens, - and unto God, judge of all, - and unto the spirits of righteous ones made perfect, -