Exposition of the Laws of Moses, Exegesis 1 · Part 19
Commandement. IIII. EXERCITAT. XIX. Of the Paſseover.
Levit. 23.5. In the fourteenth day of the firſt monethmonth is the Lords paſſover.
How the Paſſeover pertaineth to the fourth Commandement.THe paſſeover as it was a ſacrifice, and a ſacrament, it is an appendix of the ſecond Commandement; but the time of it ſet downe here is an appendix of the fourth Commandement.
The word [Paſſeover] taken diverſly.This word [Paſſeover] is taken ſundry wayes in the Scripture; Firſt, for paſſing over, becauſe the Angell paſſed over the houſes of the Iſraelites, and deſtroyed them not, Exod. 12.11. It is the Lords paſſeover, Secondly, Paſſeover is taken for thoſe actions which were done about the paſſeover, as killing the lambe, ſprinkling of the blood, eating of it, and ſuch, Matth. 26.17. Thirdly, for the feaſt which was annexed to the Paſſeover, 2 Chro. 35.11. They killed the Paſſeover and the Prieſts ſprinkled the blood, &c. This was for the feaſt of the Paſſeover. Fourthly, for the Lambe killed at the Paſſeover. Matth. 26.19. And they made ready the Paſseover, That is, the Lambe which was killed at the Paſſeover, ſo Marc. 14.12. They killed the Paſſeover. Laſtly, for the time of the Paſſeover, as Luc. 22.1.
They had in this Paſſeover unleavened bread, a Lamb, bitter herbes, and a cup in which they did drinke.
Firſt, they had unleavened bread,The unleavened bread called the poores bread. this unleavened bread was panis pauperum, the poores bread, Deut. 13.6. Yet the Lord taketh this unleavned bread for the Sacrament; it was a great change,Why they had unleavened bread in the Paſſeover. when Moſes rod which was the ſhepheards rod, was made the rod of the Lord; ſo this was a great change, when he tooke the poores bread, and made it this bread of his Sacrament; they were commanded to eate the bread in remembrance of their haſtening out of Egypt, when they had no leiſure to ferment it; but Chriſt changed it to another ſort of remembrance, to be a memorall of his death in the Sacrament. 1 Cor. 11:24. Doe this in remembrance of me.
It muſt be unleavened bread, for leavened bread ſignified either Hypocriſie or malice; David calleth a wicked man, A leavened perſon. Pſal. 71.4. So a leavened heart. Pſal. 73.21. So Matt. 16.6. Beware of the leaven of the Phariſees, and 1 Cor. 5.7. Purge out the old leaven.
Then they eate it with bitter herbes,Why eaten with ſowre herbes. to put them in remembrance of their affliction in Egypt; and Ieremiah ſeemeth to allude to this. Lament. 3.15.Alluſion. He hath filled me with bitterneſſe, he hath made me drunken with worme wood.
Queſt. Whether was the cup in the paſchall ſupper, a Sacramentall Cup or not?
Anſw. Not, Whether the Cup in the Paſſeover was a Sacramentall Cup or not.for there is no mention made of it in the inſtitution, the Lord commandeth to take a Lambe, unleavened bread, and bitter herbes, but not a word of the Cup; wherefore this cup was but their common Cup, in which they uſed to drinke.
It may be ſaid, Obj. that the Maſter of the familie bleſſed this Cup.
Anſw. This was not conſtitutiva ſanctificatio, but invocativa: Sanctificatio. Conſtitutio. Invocatio.it is conſtitutiva invocatio, that maketh it a Sacrament, accedat verbum ad elementum, et fiet Sacramentum (ſaith Auguſtine) and when it wanteth the word of inſtitution then it cannot be a Sacrament; it is true that Chriſt transferred this cup,Many things that are common, changed to a holy uſe. and made it Sacramentall under the Goſpell: but it was not ſacramentall under the Law, it was onelyonly a common cup, the water which they dranke out of the Rocke was a Sacrament to them, 1 Cor. 10.4. and it was alſo common water, for their beaſts drunke of it.
So this was but a common Cup to them, but Chriſt made it Sacramentall, ſomethings againe which were Sacramentall to them, were common at Chriſts Supper, as the eating of bitter herbes. Laſt, it was not a Sacramentall Cup, for the blood of the Paſchall Lamb ſignified the blood of Chriſt; there are not two things appointed in the Sacrament to ſignifie one thing.
What things were proper to the Paſſeover in Egypt, and what proper to it in Canaan.Things proper to the Paſſeover in Egypt, were firſt, they eate the Paſſeover in their ſeverall houſes when they were in Egypt; but afterwards they were bound to eate it in Ieruſalem onelyonly. Deut. 16.5.6. 2 Chro. 35.
Secondly, in Egypt the blood was ſprinkled upon the Lintels of the doores; but afterwards it was ſprinkled upon the Altar. 2 Chro. 35. and then the Maſter of the houſe cauſed to bring backe the Lamb to his houſe, and eate it with his family. Luc. 22.7.8.
Thirdly, in Egypt they ſtood when they eat the Paſchall Lambe, with their loines girt, and their ſtaves in their hands, to ſignifie that they were to make haſte, away, Alluſion. and Eſay alludeth to this, Eſay. 52.12. For yee ſhall not goe out with haste, nor goe by flight; but when they came to Canaan, they ſate when they eate the Paſſeover.
Queſt. Their ſitting at the Paſſeover was not a ſignificative Ceremony.Whether was their ſitting a ſignificative ceremony, or not, when they eate the Paſſeover in Canaan?
Anſw. Seven memorable Paſſeovers.Not, it was onelyonly after the cuſtome of men when they ſit to eate meat.
There were ſundry memorable Paſſeovers. The firſt in Egypt, the ſecond in the Wilderneſſe; the third in the dayes of Ioſhua; Cap. 5.10. the forth in the dayes of Hezekiah; 2 Chro. 30. the fift in the dayes of Ioſiah, where there was not ſuch a Paſſeover holden from the dayes of the Iudges that judged Iſrael, nor in all the dayes of the Kings of Iſrael. 2 King. 23.22. The Sixt, after they returned from the captivity. Ezra 6.9. The laſt Paſſeover was that which Ieſus kept with his Diſciples. Luc. 22. where he put an end to the Paſſeover, and inſtituted his owne Supper in the place of it.
Queſt. Whether was the Lambe which was killed at the Paſſeover, a Sacrament or a ſacrifice?
Anſw. The moſt hold that it was not a ſacrifice, and their reaſons are theſe.
Reaſ. 1 Firſt, it might be killed by others than by the Prieſt, therefore it was not a Sacrament.
Reaſ. 2 Secondly, Exod. 8.26. It was abhomination for the Iſraelites to ſacrifice in Egypt, but the paſchall Lambe was eaten in Egypt; therefore the paſchall Lambe was not a ſacrifice.
Reaſ. 3 Thirdly, a Sacrament differeth from a ſacrifice, for in a ſacrifice we offer to God, and in a Sacrament wee receive from God; the Paſchall Lambe was a Sacrament; therefore it could not be a ſacrifice.
Reaſ. 4 Fourthly, that which was eaten of the ſacrifice, was eaten onelyonly in the Temple; but the Paſchall lambe was eaten out of the Temple, therefore it was not a ſacrifice.
Anſw. Now for anſwer to the firſt, after that they came out of Egypt, and the prieſthood was ſetled, the Prieſts onelyonly killed the ſacrifice, and ſprinkled the blood, and the Lambe was then caried home.
Secondly, It was abhomination to ſacrifice in Egypt, Maimone in Corban Peſhang, cap. 1. ….it was an abhomination to the Egyptians to ſee beaſts killed there, becauſe they worſhiped beaſts as their Gods; but it was not abhomination before the Lord; for feare of the Egyptians they would not ſacrifice there, they might have ſacrificed there as well as they killed the Paſchall Lambe there, it was a thing lawfull in it ſelfe.
We muſt diſtinguiſh two things in the paſchal Lamb, it was both a Sacrament and a ſacrifice; the ſprinkling of the blood in the Temple was a ſacrifice, the eating of the Lambe at home in their ſeverall houſes was a Sacrament; and ſo as it was a ſacrifice, they offered; and as it was a Sacrament, they received.
Reaſons proving that the Paſchall Lambe was a ſacrifice.Reaſons proving that it was a ſacrifice are theſe:
Reaſ. 1 Firſt, 2 Chro. 30.1. Hezekiah gave Commandement that all the people ſhould come to the houſe of the Lord at Ieruſalem to keepe the Paſſeover, Wherefore ſhould he have commanded them to come to the houſe of the Lord to eat it, if it had not been a ſacrifice? if it had been onelyonly a Sacrament it had beene enough to have bidden come to Ieruſalem to eate it.
Reaſ. 2 Secondly, 2 Chro. 35.11. And they killed the Paſſeover, and they ſprinkled the blood, it was the blood of the ſacrifice that the Prieſt ſprinkled.
Reaſ. 3 Ioſephus de bello Iudaico. lib. 6. cap. 45.Ioſephus writeth, that Ceſtus Florus, when he would ſhew to the Emperor the multitude of the Iewes that were in Ieruſalem at the Paſſeover, he deſired the Prieſts that they might get the number of the people; and how did the Prieſts find out the number of the people? he ſaith, by the number of the Lambes which they killed at the Paſſeover, and then they reckoned how many were in every familie at the eating of a Lamb, and ſo they found out the number of the people; it was the Prieſt then that killed thoſe Lambes, and none elſe.
The Paſchall Lambe a figure of Chriſt.The Paſchall Lambe was a figure of Ieſus Chriſt: the Paſchall Lambe was taken the tenth day, and ſeparated untill the fourteenth & at the evening of the fourteenth it was killed: Ieſus Chriſt, the true Paſchall Lambe, Came ſixe dayes before the Paſſeover to Bethania. Ioh. 12.1. and the morrow after he went to Ieruſalem, where they met him with branches of palme trees, and this was five dayes before the Paſſeover, then he ſtayed foure dayes in Ieruſalem, and was killed in the day of the Paſſeover at night, and thus he accompliſhed the ceremonies of the Law.
Queſt. Whether did the Iewes and Chriſt eate the Paſſeover upon the ſame day, or not?
Anſw. Chriſt obſerved the true day,Whether Chriſt kept the Paſſeover that ſame day which the Iewes kept. in the end of the fourteenth day, and the beginning of the fifteenth, he eate it betwixt two evenings; but the Iewes transferred the day, and eate it in the end of the fifteenth day, and beginning of the ſixteenth; and therefore when Chriſt eate the Paſſeover, it was the day of the Preparation to the Iewiſh Paſſeover, although indeed it was the true Paſſeover, Iohn 17.62. When the Paſſeover preceded the Sabbath, they uſed to transferre the holy actions of that day to the Sabbath, that two feaſts may not fall together, and they did their common worke upon that day, which ſhould have been done upon the Paſſeover, and reſerved the holy actions to the Sabbath following; and it was upon this day that they crucified Chriſt.
They kept this tranſlation of feaſts,Why they transferred their feaſts to the Sabbath. leſt the feaſt of Lots ſhould have fallen, 2, 4, 7.
Leſt the feaſt of the Paſſeover ſhould have fallen. 2, 4, 6.
Leſt the feaſt of the Pentecoſt ſhould have fallen. 3, 5, 7.
Leſt the beginning of the new yeare ſhould have fallen. 1, 4, 6.
Leſt the day of expiation ſhould have fallen. 1, 3, 6.
They obſerved this tranſlation of the feaſts, becauſe they had certaine feaſts which fell upon theſe dayes, that two feaſts ſhould not fall together, as the three feaſts of Dedication, the foure faſts mentioned in Zachariah, and the feaſt of Lots.
When the divers keeping of the Paſſeover began.This diverſity was not kept ſo long as the firſt Temple ſtood, whence aroſe it then? it ſeemeth to have taken the beginning from the divers beginning of the monethmonth, for when they reckoned their monethmonth from the apparition which was doubtfull and uncertaine; hence it came to paſſe, that the beginning of the monethmonth was not alwayes at the ſelfe-ſame period; for the laſt day of Adar might fall out ſo, that it ſhould be the beginning of Niſan; and therefore the Sanhedrin, appointed that the full Moone ſhould be the thirteenth day, which according to the verity was the fourteenth; this diverſitie aroſe of this, becauſe of the divers apparitions of the Moone, ſo they kept the preparation to the Paſcha diverſly.
Great diſſention betwixt the Eaſterne and Weſterne Churches for keeping of the Paſſeover.When the Apoſtles have ſo clearely determined that matter, that no man ſhould bee condemned or judged for not keeping theſe dayes, yet Satan came and did ſow his Cockle and his Darnell, and raiſed diſſentions in the Churches, betwixt the Eaſterne and Weſterne Churches, about the keeping of the Paſſeover; the Eaſterne Churches alledged that Iohn and Philip celebrated the Paſſeover in memory of Chriſts Supper, for they kept diem foreign, in the fourteenth day of the MonethMonth, but the Weſterne Churches alledged that Peter and Paul kept the Paſſeover upon the firſt Lords day after the fourteenth day of the monethmonth, upon which day they kept diem foreign.
Pius Biſhop of Rome ordained the Paſſeover to be kept on the Lords day.Pius Biſhop of Rome, in the yeere of God, 147. gave out an Edict, that the Paſcha ſhould be celebrated by all upon the Lords day; yet thoſe in Aſia cared not much for this Edict, and there aroſe hot contentions on both the ſides: Polycarpus Iohns Diſciple came into Rome to ſettle this contention, and he appointed that every one ſhould celebrate the Paſcha as they were wont, yet this contention was not buried, for the Eaſterne and Weſterne Churches left not off one to write againſt another.
Victor the Biſhop of Rome in a Synode holden there,Victor his Statute concerning the Paſſeover. ordayned that the Paſcha ſhould be celebrated there upon the Lords day from the fourteenth day of March, untill the twenty one of that monethmonth. Thoſe of Caeſarea Paleſtina, Pontus, and Achaia, embraced this Edict, yet others ſtood out againſt it, and ſaid they would keepe it according to Iohns tradition, wherefore Victor excommunicated all the Biſhops in Aſia: Yet, Irenaeus Biſhop of Lions, Polycarpus Schollar, ſetled the matter, under this condition that every one ſhould celebrate it after his owne forme.The contention betwixt the Eaſterne and Weſterne Churches wakened againe.
This peace laſted not long, for in the yeare of Chriſt 318, the contention was wakened anew againe, which Conſtantine the Emperour tooke hardly out, exhorting the Aſiatickes not to be partakers with the Iewes who crucified Chriſt; but they would not obey the Emperours letters, for they ſaid, they kept not the Iewes Paſſeover, but the new Paſſeover inſtituted by Chriſt; But a Councell being convened at Nice for the repreſſing of the hereſie of the Arrians, it was appointed, that through every Church of the Empire,The decree of the Councell of Nice. the Paſcha ſhould be celebrated upon the Lords day by all.
The Councell for finding out of the Paſcha, appointed firſt, that it ſhould be celebrated after the twenty one day of March, for at that time the vernall Equinox was upon this day, and the Paſcha ſhould be celebrated after the Equinox, Secondly, that after the twenty one day of March, they ſhould looke ſtill to the fourteenth day of the moone, and after this day ſhould the Paſſeover be kept upon the Lords day, and to find out the time of the Moone, they compoſed the ſicle of the golden number, for whereſoever in the Kalender the golden number is found of that yeere, there is the new Moone; and although theſe rules were ſure at the Councell of Nice, yet they hold not now, for the Equinox is not now fixed upon the twenty one day of March, but ever anticipateth it, for now it is on the tenth of March: but now theſe who reckon to the Paſſeover, looke to the firſt new Moone, after the firſt day of Lent, and the firſt Sunday after, beginneth the Quadrageſima, and the ſeventh Sunday after is the Paſcha.
The Iewiſh feaſts went backeward.Marke that all theſe Iewiſh feaſts being reckoned by the Equinoxe, they goe backward from the day upon which they were firſt inſtituted; when the Paſſeover was inſtituted at the firſt, it fell upon the twenty ſeventh day of March.When the Paſſeover was inſtitute…, the Equinoxe was upon the 27 day of March. At the Councell of Nice, the Equinoxe, turned backe to the twenty one day, on which the Paſſeover was kept; and now, it is turned backe to the tenth day. If the Paſſeover ſhould be kept now according to the Equinoxe, it ſhould be kept the tenth of March. The reaſon why the Equinoxe varieth ſo, is becauſe in the ſpace of every hundreth and ſixe yeares,Why the Equinox varieth. At the Creation the Equinox was upn tho 3 day of April. the whole Spheres come from the South to the North, by motion of the Firmament one degree, the world being created upon the third of Aprill, which was the Equinox then, now it is turned backe to the tenth of March, and if the world were to continue ſo long, it would turne to the tenth of Ianuary: By this the Lord would teach the Iewes, that all their feaſts have taken an end; but the Sabbath continually goeth forward, for it ſhall fall this yeare upon the firſt of Ianuary, it will fall upon the ſecond of Ianuary the next yeare, and ſo forth; but the feaſts goe backeward, that which falleth upon Saturday this yeare, ſhall fall upon Friday the next yeare; and as the Planets have a contrary courſe to the firſt mover, going backeward, whereas the firſt mover goeth forward; ſo theſe feaſts going backeward, turne to nothing, but the Sabbath going ſtill forward, ſhall end in that eternall Sabbath.
Concluſion. The concluſion of this is, theſe feaſts being ſo alterable and moveable, it was a fooliſh contention betwixt the Eaſterne and the Weſterne Churches about the keeping of the Paſſeover.