Last Supper and Passover

[ThomasW]

Was the Last Supper held on the day of the Jewish Passover or before?  I've read many arguments pro and con about the issue, but would like to understand this one better.  In other words, was the Last Supper Thursday night, Passover Friday night, or did both fall on Thursday night?

 

Pro:

 

(Statements made immediately before the Last Supper)

 

Matt 26: ¹⁷ Now on the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”
¹⁸ And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.”’”
¹⁹ So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.

 

Mark 14: ¹² Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?”

 

Luke 22: ⁷ Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. ⁸ And He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.”

 

 

Con:

 

 

Exo 12: ⁶ Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. ⁷ And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. ⁸ Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. ⁹ Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. ¹⁰ You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. ¹¹And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover.

²² And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning.

The actual Last Supper account has:

·         no mention of eating the lamb or bitter herbs

·         no mention of slaying the lamb or fire to cook the lamb

·         violations of the requirement to stay indoors and not go out of the house until morning

 

John 13

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

2 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.

 

It is mentioned during the trial of Jesus that Passover would be held the following day:

John 18

Betrayal and Arrest in Gethsemane

In Pilate’s Court

28 Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.

…

39 “But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

40 Then they all cried again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.

 

John 19

13 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”

 

 

[Scuba]

If you really, really want to know the truth watch this and then let's talk.

 

[Ron Amnsn]

Because the Passover fell on the 14th day after the sighting of the new moon, the Last Supper and the death of Jesus could have both happened on the evening of Passover, but on different nights, depending on where a person was when the new moon had been sighted two weeks earlier.

 

The Gospels tell us that Jesus and his disciples were away from Jerusalem (Galilee, I think) before going up to Jerusalem for the Passover.  If sky conditions were better in Galilee, Jesus and his disciples could have seen the new moon one evening earlier than it was seen in the regions around Jerusalem. (Perhaps the sky was overcast in Judea on the first evening when the moon would otherwise have been visible.)  If this were the case, Jesus and the disciples would have been counting the days of the month differently than those in Jerusalem were counting the days of the month.  And when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem they would have learned that those in Jerusalem were going to be celebrating Passover a day later than the people in Galilee would be celebrating it.  Jesus and his disciples could/would have celebrated the Galilean Passover and the Lord's Supper in Jerusalem on the 14th evening after they had personally seen the new moon in Galilee, and Jesus would have been crucified the next day as the people in Jerusalem prepared for the Passover of the Judeans on the 14th evening after the new moon was sighted in Judea.

 

Of course this scenario involves some speculation, but it could help to make sense out of the apparently conflicting statements of the timing of the events recorded in the Gospels.

[ThomasW]

Thanks Ron for your idea.  Another speculation I've heard now is that Jesus was preparing for the Passover on the 10th day, since the exodus instructions say to purchase a lamb on the 10th day, not the 14th.

 

My purpose in asking this question is not the "3 days" controversy but the assertion from different Adventists that Passover is superseded explicitly with new ordinances of the Last Supper, and other Adventists saying that both are separate events.

 

To Scuba:

 

I am a 40-year-old, lifelong Adventist and I know feastkeepers.  I know Leviticus 23, and I know the feasts are embedded through the entire Bible, Old and New Testament.  I don't think the Lord Supper/Passover question is addressed at all by your video, other than the video's assertion that the Lord supper is Tuesday, Passover is Wednesday, and most Adventists I believe asserting that the Lord supper and Passover are the same day?

 

 

I skimmed your video and found no theological problems, only logical problems:

 

I find no reason why Passover couldn't be Friday night, unleavened bread Saturday,  resurrection Sunday.

 

I also find no reason why Passover couldn't be Thursday night, Unleavened Bread Friday, Saturday 7th day Sabbath, Resurrection Sunday.

 

Pushing everything yet one more day back (Passover Wednesday, Unleavened Bread Thursday, nothing Friday, Saturday Seventh-day Sabbath) causes logical problems, and absolutely nothing discounts the two other possibilities above.

 

I'll leave the question of interpreting the Greek to those more experienced than I.  Again the video apparently fully explores the possibility that G4521 could be translated Sabbath and could be translated week, which again raise another possibility but does nothing to discount 'Occam's razor' that the word "week" works just as easily.

____

 

* The day starts and ends at sunset. Mary can buy spices after sunset "Thursday night" and then do nothing on the non-Sabbath day Friday even though under normal conditions (Lazarus for example) it would be incredibly important to treat the body immediately before decomposition?  On the short timeline of Friday/Saturday/Sunday Mary could've just as easily bought spices on Saturday night after sunset and then gone to the tomb early Sunday morning.  

 

* The Bible says very clearly in Mark 15/Matthew 27 that Jesus died on the preparation day.  That day does not count on your timeline, even though they "rushed the burial process" in order to finish the burial process on the preparation day before the Sabbath starts?

 

Your chart then apparently contradicts the assertions made by the video itself.  Skipping the question of translation, either Mary "rests on the 7th-day Sabbath" before going to the tomb Sunday morning, or rests on the high Sabbath without treating the body, spends an entire day buying spices, and then decides to NOT rest on the seventh day Sabbath by going to the tomb to treat the body?

 

[Kevin H]

I hope this helps: Judaism had different sects with differences. When we look at Christianity we have the western churches that celebrates Jesus' birth on December 25 and the Eastern Churches on something like January 6. So we also have in Judaism the different sects celebrating about the same time but with some difference in calculations and thus on different days.

 

Matthew, Mark and Luke has the Last Supper at Passover and the feast at Simon's house the night before Passover. John has the feast at Simon's house a few days before Passover and has the crucifixion on Passover.

 

This is resolved by the fact that the Essenes would have celebrated Passover on Tuesday night that week and the Temple would have celebrated it on Friday night with Jesus dying at the time the Passover lamb was to have died.

 

[Kevin H]

For further study: 

 

http://www.biblicalresources.net/product.cfm?product=54

 

http://www.biblicalresources.net/product.cfm?product=52

[aka]

Tom wrote:

"Was the Last Supper held on the day of the Jewish Passover or before?  I've read many arguments pro and con about the issue, but would like to understand this one better.  In other words, was the Last Supper Thursday night, Passover Friday night, or did both fall on Thursday night?"

 

Has there been a conclusive conclusion reach here yet?  

[Samie]

Going by crescent sightings, is more of speculation. Not so with full moon occurrences, which can be pinpointed forward or backward in time. And Passover is a full moon feast.

 

Jesus said He came to fulfill the Law, and that obviously includes the law on when Passover meal is to be eaten. He through Whom God created the earth, sun and moon can NEVER lose track of when full moon was to occur that Paschal week. Even EGW attests to the full moon occurrence the night Jesus ate Passover with His disciples, the same night He was arrested.

 

Jesus died 31 AD, after 3 Passover feasts recorded by John - an eye witness, starting with the one just AFTER His baptism. He was baptized in the 15th year of Tiberius reign as emperor and whose first year of reign was 14 AD. From 14 AD as the first year, the 15th year would be 28 AD, Jesus' baptismal year. His first Passover would have to be 29 AD, the second 30 AD, the last in 31 AD, His crucifixion year.

 

If He was crucified in April 31 AD, then He did not eat Passover on a full moon night and that would be a violation of the Passover law. Since He fulfilled the law on when Passover is to be eaten, He ate Passover on the night the moon was full. And that was the night after sunset of March 27, 31 AD. His eating of Passover meal was ahead by a day of the Jewish national celebration. Crescent sighting that month could have been late by a day thus delaying both the start of Nisan and Passover celebration by a day. But He through whom the Father created the worlds knew exactly when full moon was to occur. And He ate Passover on the night the moon was full.

 

Either Jesus celebrated that Passover on the correct night, or it was the Jews who celebrated it on the correct night.

 

This is simply a case of astronomical data corroborating Biblical specs.

[Kevin H]

A summery of what I pointed out before and the books I posted will go into more detail and lay out the evidence: The Essenes would have celebrated Passover on Tuesday night that year. It looks like the last supper was on the Essene Passover. Early Wednesday Jesus was arrested and had a hearing before a Sadduceen court of the Sanhedrin, 23 Sadducee priests and the high priest for 24 elders. Jewish law required a day in jail so Jesus taken to the jail at the Sanhedrin. On his way to the jail hears Peter's third denial. Thursday morning taken out and having the day full of inquiries and trials with the Sadducees, Pilate, Herod, back to Pilate where the 23 or 24 Sadducee elders pointing out that they could not crucify anyone (they could stone people but that would make Jesus a Martyr while if he died on the tree it would have ruined his reputation.)  torcher by the Roman soldiers as they played the "King Game" and taken out Friday morning for the crucifixion on the Temple Passover.  

[Samie]

The apostle John, an eyewitness, recorded that Jesus was arrested on the same night He ate Passover with His disciples, brought to Annas, sent to Caiaphas, thrice denied by Peter that same night He was arrested, brought to the judgment hall, examined by Pilate who at about the 6th hour told the Jews "Behold your King" and then delivered Him to be crucified.

 

It is quite clear from John's account that Jesus was crucified the daytime immediately following the nighttime He was arrested which was the same night He ate Passover with His disciples. That crucifixion day according to John was the preparation of Passover of the Jews (John 19:14, 31). This explains why the Jews who brought Him to the judgment hall did not enter it lest they be defiled and could not eat Passover meal (John 18:28).

[Ron Amnsn]

And Passover is a full moon feast.

 

Samie. You keep asserting that Passover occurs at full moon, but you haven't provided any Bible passages that actually say that Passover occurs at full moon.

 

People need to start counting the days of the month on the first day of the month, which occurs almost two weeks before the full moon.  Your method of using the full moon to determine the days of the month works great for people who have astronomical software to look at dates in the past, but it is useless to people who live according to the months determined by the moon, without the aid of a computer or an astronomer.  If you actually lived using your method of counting the days of the month you would be aware of how useless the full moon is for counting the days of the month.

[Samie]

Samie. You keep asserting that Passover occurs at full moon, but you haven't provided any Bible passages that actually say that Passover occurs at full moon. ...

 

If there is but one single Hebrew feast instituted and first celebrated in Egypt, it is the Passover (see Exo 12). This is the feast celebrated on the full moon (Hebrew as,K, kece', translated 'appointed time' in the KJV):

 

NKJ Psalm 81:

3 Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, At the full moon, on our solemn feast day. 

4 For this is a statute for Israel, A law of the God of Jacob. 

5 This He established in Joseph as a testimony, When He went throughout the land of Egypt …

 

God so created the moon that it takes 14 days 18 hours and 22 minutes on the average from new moon to full moon. He then instructed that Passover be eaten the night after sunset of day 14 of the first month in the Hebrew lunisolar calendar. Considering the lunar cycle, nighttime after sunset of day 14 of the Hebrew lunisolar calendar month is obviously a full moon.

 

That Passover is a full moon feast looks more like God’s design than Samie’s mere assertion.