But this impression is removed by reading any narrative
of the mode in which the ancient or the modern Jews have kept the
Passover. It is then perceived that the leading circumstances in the
Gospels are only a faithful account of that ceremony. Jesus did not
celebrate the Passover, and afterwards the Supper, but the Supper
_was_ the Passover. He did with his disciples exactly what every
master of a family in Jerusalem was doing at the same hour with his
household. It appears that the Jews ate the lamb and the unleavened
bread, and drank wine after a prescribed manner. It was the custom
for the master of the feast to break the bread and to bless it, using
this formula, which the Talmudists have preserved to us, "Blessed be
Thou, O Lord our God, the King of the world, who hast produced this
food from the earth," -- and to give it to every one at the table.
It was the custom of the master of the family to take the cup which
contained the wine, and to bless it, saying, "Blessed be Thou, O
Lord, who givest us the fruit of the vine," -- and then to give the
cup to all. Among the modern Jews who in their dispersion retain the
Passover, a hymn is also sung after this ceremony, specifying the
twelve great works done by God for the deliverance of their fathers
out of Egypt.
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