Part III:
32] The Events of the Passover as recorded in the New Testament and the Time of Christ’s Death – What it reveals! 

As the evening sunset of the 13^th day of the first month was giving way to the night of the 14^th day, Jesus Christ, accompanied with His disciples, settled in the Upper Room. With His disciples, they did eat. Did Jesus Christ and His disciples eat the Statutory (Old Testament) Passover meal or a supper; his last supper?

When we read only the Synoptic Gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) relating to the last night of Jesus’ life, we can be led to believe that Jesus Christ and His disciples ate the Passover meal.

Yet when we read the book of John, we are told that Jesus ate a supper one night before the Statutory Passover meal would be eaten. John presents a different light on the events that occurred on the night of the 14^th day of the first month.

When we read together, the three Synoptic accounts and the book of John, regarding the last night of Jesus’ life, we come across “seemingly” conflicting information.

Still Mark and Matthew make no specific mention, no statement verbatim, that Jesus did eat the Passover (lamb implied) on the night, the beginning of the 14^th.

Luke records Jesus speaking to his disciples, saying, with desire I desired to eat this Passover (meal implied) with you before I suffer. Continuing in Luke’s account, his wording reveals that Jesus did not eat the Passover meal that night; rather He ate a supper.

John however, categorically states that the meal was a supper, eaten “before the feast of the Passover.” The Feast of Passover, the same as the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Luke 22:1), commenced with the eating of the Passover meal on the night of the 15^th day of the first month.

This seeming conflict between the Synoptic Gospels and the book of John has been a source of contention among the scholars and Christian theologians and among the churches of God. This seeming conflict has been debated for centuries. This seeming conflict has been presented from every angle by the scholars.

Tragically, many teachers within the various Churches of God have been confused and fooled by the writings of the Christian scholars. Many Church of God teachers have been misled, thereby accepting falsehood and consequently, have taught error regarding the meal that Jesus Christ ate on the night he was betrayed.

Let us read several excerpts of the much available research material which introduces, discusses, debates and informs us about the many "scholarly" interpretations of the New Testament narratives relating to Jesus’ last meal.

Each article or commentary addresses the issues from "the scholars" point of view. When it comes to the four gospel accounts of the Last Supper narratives, confusion does exist, when we “listen to” the scholars.

Confusion exists only if we read the New Testament account without thoroughly understanding the time elements, the sequence of events as laid out in Exodus 12. Unless one understands the Biblical truth that the Passover lamb was eaten on the night of the First Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, confusion exists.

Consider the following:

"The Last Supper. Was it the Passover? The precise nature of the meal which the Lord shared with his disciples on the night in which he was betrayed is one of the most warmly debated topics of NT history and interpretation. Various suggestions have been made.”

NEW BIBLE DICTIONARY

THE LORD'S SUPPER

PAGE 707

"Some doubt exists as to whether the Last Supper was the paschal meal or not. According to the Synoptic Gospels, it was (Lk 22:7; Mt 26:17; Mk 14:12); while according to John, the Passover was to be eaten some time following the Last Supper (Jh 18: 28). Various harmonizations of these passages have been suggested, the most ingenious, probably being the theory that when the Passover fell on Friday night, the Pharisees ate the meal on Thursday and the Sadducees on Friday, and that Jesus followed the custom of the Pharisees (Chwolson, Das letzte Passahmal Jesu, 2nd ed, St Petersburg, 1904)."

THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPEDIA

PASSOVER

PAGE 2258

"It was also to a Roman-occupied Jerusalem that Jesus came to celebrate what was to be his last Passover. In fact, according to the Synoptic Gospels, the Last Supper, during which the salvational significance of Jesus' death became clear and which was interrupted by Roman soldiers coming to take him away, was the Paschal meal. Jesus was thus crucified on the 15th of Nisan, the first day of Passover, in Jerusalem crowded with people celebrating the festival. However, the Gospel of John moves the crucifixion forward to the 14th of Nisan, the eve of Passover, and thereby equates the death of Jesus with the slaughter of the sacrificial Paschal lamb."

PASSOVER

BY: MORDELL KLEIN

PAGE 24

“According to the synoptic gospels Jesus was arrested on the night that the paschal lamb was sacrificed. …The description of the Last Supper given in the gospels is undoubtedly a record of the Seder of the first night of Passover. …Mark and Matthew make no mention that Jesus ate the Paschal lamb. Luke relates that Jesus said to his Apostles, "with desire I desired to eat this paschal lamb with you." The reason that Mark, Matthew and Luke did not mention that Jesus ate the paschal lamb was that they held that Jesus himself was the paschal lamb that was to be sacrificed to redeem men. … According to the Gospel of John the Last Supper was an ordinary meal, since Jesus was crucified on the eve of Passover. Hence, the meal, which Jesus ate with his disciples on the preceding night, could not have been the Passover meal. The Last Supper, according to John, was on Thursday the 13th of the month and Jesus was arrested and crucified the following morning Friday the 14th, a day before Passover.”

THE PASSOVER HAGGADAH

PAGE xi

“A problem still exists as to the date of the Last Supper, the exact date of which affects the nature of the meal. According to Matthew, Mark and Luke, Christ ate the Passover meal with his disciples on the day when “they sacrificed the Passover Lamb” (Mark 14:12; cf. Luke 22:7; Matt 26:17), which is Nisan 14. He was crucified the following day, Nisan 15. This means that the Last Supper was most likely a Passover Supper since it was partaken at the time the Jews ate their Passover meal. However, according to the Gospel of John, Jesus was crucified on the day when the Passover lamb was sacrificed (John 19:14; 18:28), Nisan 14. This means He ate the Last Supper with His disciples the day before the official Passover meal. In this case Jesus’ meal with His disciples may have been either a specially arranged Passover meal or a farewell fellowship meal unrelated to the Passover, because it was partaken of the evening before the official Passover. Countless attempts have been made to reconcile the chronology of the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) with that of John. Some have tried to resolve the difficulty by presupposing the existence of two dates for Passover, one to suit the calendar of the Pharisees and the other that of the Sadducees.”

GOD’S FESTIVALS

In Scripture and History

SAMUELE BACCHIOCCHI

PAGE 55

“Was the Last Supper a Passover Meal?

Although a number of scholars identify the Last Supper as a Passover meal, a description of which is given in the Mishna (Pesah 10; cf. Str-B 4/1: 41-76), the majority are still not convinced of this interpretation. However many would conclude that Jesus ate his final meal in a Passover atmosphere; there was after all, the proximity of the feast. The cause of this scholarly disagreement is that, although the Synoptics clearly identify the Last Supper as a Passover meal (Mark 14:12-16 parr.' Luke 22:15), John (13:1-2; cf. 19:14, 31,36) does not. Jesus' Jewish opponents did not enter the praetorium so that they might not be defiled, but so that they could eat the Passover to be held after Jesus died (John 18:28). Other solutions have been proposed to explain why the Synoptics and John do not agree that the Last Supper was a Passover meal. There is of course the possibility that Jesus anticipated the Passover.”

THE ANCHOR BIBLE DICTIONARY

LAST SUPPER

PAGES 235

"Critical NT readers, however, note that the gospels differ in their basic chronology. While the Synoptic Gospels (Mark 14:6, 12-17; Matthew 26:17, 19-20; Luke 22:7-9, 13-14) indicate that the last meal Jesus ate with his disciples the night before his crucifixion was a sacrificial meal, which his disciples had prepared, John (13:1; 18:28; 19:14, 42) states that it occurred "before the feast of the Passover." Despite numerous studies by Jeremias (1966), Lietzmann (1979), and others advocating one or the other date or harmonizing the sources, we are unable to go beyond the literary sources to determine which account is historically "accurate" (Williams 1975). Rather, as argued by Bokser (1984:25-26 and especially 1987b), we see how Jesus' followers and the early church understood the last supper and interpreted the event to fit the message of Jesus …

As portrayed in the gospels, the meal is not structured to celebrate the Exodus but is reinterpreted in a new way that relates to the future of the Jesus movement, that is, Christianity. The bread becomes the salvational body of Christ and the wine his blood - the sign of future redemption; though, as Saldarini (1984:58) observes, these two symbolization’s, which might be derived from the liturgical formulae used by the Christians in their worship of Jesus' death, could be understood in light of sacrifices in general and not necessarily the Passover offering …

Recognizing that the early Christians did not focus narrowly on the Exodus enables us to appreciate how they made the Last Supper an anticipation of a future salvific experience. The Synoptics concentrate on Jesus in the Kingdom of God, on the future judgment, on the meaning of the passion, that is, on Jesus’ death as a permanent sacrifice.

John on the other hand, uses the Passover analogy in the way that requires him to place the Last Supper before the Passover meal and Jesus' condemnation on the "day of Preparation of the Passover" (John 19:14). John, in thus portraying Jesus crucified at the time of the paschal lambs were being sacrificed at the temple, depicts Jesus as a Passover sacrifice. This synchronization explains how Jesus died for humanity and, it is claimed, gives his death a more enduring redemptive quality than the regular Passover sacrifice.

John, like the letter to the Hebrews and the letters of Paul, thus saw the crucified Jesus as a sacrifice atoning for the sins of the believer, though he identified it as a paschel offering. Such an interpretation, which occurs as early as I Cor 5:7-8 could subtly contrast the literal Passover offering with the ultimate, namely Jesus."

THE ANCHOR BIBLE DICTIONARY

UNLEAVENED BREAD AND

PASSOVER, FEAST OF

PAGE 763

We could read from literally dozens more commentaries and scholastic writings relating to this “warmly debated issue.” Multiple theories, ideas, hypotheses, suppositions exist and are taught, relating to the "Last Supper" of Jesus. In addition to the dilemma regarding whether or not the "Last Supper" was the Passover meal, we are also presented with the dilemma of exactly on what day did Jesus die.

The Passover sacrifice, occurring at the end of the 14^th day of the first month, commenced the activities of the Feast, which “kicked off” with the consumption of the Passover meal on the First Day of Unleavened Bread. Without the Passover sacrifice, there would be no meal.

As scriptures (Exodus 12:8 and Deuteronomy 16:3) reveal, the Passover meal was consumed with unleavened bread, on the night in which The Eternal passed over Egypt to slay the firstborn, which was the night of the 15^th.

Yet, because of the seeming inconsistencies between the gospel accounts, the scholars ask, did Jesus eat the Passover meal or a supper? Did Jesus die on a Friday, a Wednesday, or a Thursday? Did He eat His Last Supper on a Thursday night or Friday night?

(The scholars are lead to their suppositions/conclusions as a result of looking at the life of Jesus Christ through Greco-Roman/Catholic eyes. If they were to approach this 14^th day of the first month through Hebraic eyes, their conclusions would be dramatically different. We know Jesus Christ ate his last meal on a Tuesday night, was put to death on a Wednesday afternoon, and resurrected late Sabbath afternoon.)

Some scholars teach that Jesus died on the 15th of Nisan, the First Day of Unleavened bread. Other scholars say He died on the 14th of Nisan, at the time when the Passover Lamb was slain, which the gospel writers called “the preparation day.” (That teaching would be correct.)

Some “scholars” also believe Good Friday, as commonly considered, was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the 15th of Nisan. Other “scholars” believe that that Friday was the 14th of Nisan, just before the Sabbath, which then would have been the First Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the 15th of Nisan.  

Talk of confusion!

When viewing the events of the last day of Christ’s life in the flesh through paganized/Greco-Roman/ Catholic eyes, confusion does exist. However, when viewing these events through Hebraic/Scriptural eyes, the truth is clear.

We will now explore the New Testament Scriptures and look at the difficulties presented by the narratives in each. We will read the discrepancies presented among the four gospel narratives. We will let the Word of God, and not the scholars, reveal the truth to us and clear up any difficulties. The Scriptures do interpret themselves, defining their own terms and revealing the truth of God.

The night of the 14^th of Nisan (the beginning of the 14^th), the night on which Jesus was betrayed (I Corinthians 11:23), the night on which we annually participate in the foot washing service and partake of the cup and the bread, was the night on which Jesus introduced the symbols of the New Covenant.

The activity that took place on the night of, the beginning of, the 14^th day of the first month (that year) was different from the activity that took place on the night of, the beginning of the 15^th day of the first month.

Simply, we need not go any further than read Exodus 12 to understand that the Passover meal was eaten on the night of, the beginning of the 15^th day of the first month. Once that fact of history is accepted, there is no debate, and we would clearly see that the activities, which occurred the night before the Passover (that year of Christ’s death), were new, having never occurred before in all history.

However, for those who find difficulty with the Exodus 12 narrative and perceive the New Testament teaches that Jesus ate the Passover on the night before he died, let us now get to the heart of the question.