This is the first day of the Passover. Many Jewish festivals carry several names. Here it is named as the Festival of Unleavened Bread. This name, of course, captures the urgency of the Passover deliverance from Egypt–eat with your clothes on, no yeast for the bread, because God is on the move! I wonder if there is not this same urgency at work here.
The disciples as Jesus where to make preparations for him to eat the Passover and yet it is they who will true eat of the One who is the Bread of Life as he gives them the gift of the Eucharist.
Note also the simple call to discipleship in verse 19: “So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them.”
Passover is deeply important for Christians. The word here is “Pascha,” an early name for Easter. Still to this day, we proclaim, “Christ, our Passover (Pascha) has been sacrificed! Come, let us keep the feast!”