"You know that two days from now is the Feast of the Passover. On that day the Son of Man will be given up to his enemies; and they shall put him to death upon the cross."
But, although he had spoken of this many times, even now they could not believe it. They went together to Bethany, to the home of Martha and Mary and Lazarus.
"You, my Lord, shall never wash my feet!" said Peter. "Unless I wash you," answered Jesus, "you are not one of mine."
Washing the Disciples' Feet
CHAPTER 85
TUESDAY HAD been a busy day for Jesus, as we have already seen; but Wednesday must have been a quiet day, for none of the four gospels tells us of any events taking place on that day. Jesus knew that in two days more his sufferings were to begin, and he needed Wednesday, his last full day, for rest and for talking with his Father in heaven. On Wednesday, therefore, Jesus was alone with God, not talking much with his disciples.
On Thursday evening was to be held by all the Jews the great Feast of the Passover. This kept in mind the day, more than a thousand years before, when the Israelites went out of Egypt and became a free people. At that time each Israelite family in Egypt killed a lamb, roasted it, and ate it, their last meal in Egypt; and with it they ate "unleavened bread," that is, bread made without yeast; somewhat like soda biscuit. In memory of that day, the families of Israel went up to Jerusalem every year in the spring and ate a dinner of roasted lamb with unleavened bread, which they called "The Feast of the Passover," because on that night in Egypt the angel of death "passed over" the homes of the Israelites, while he brought death to the families of Egypt.