How could Jesus eat the Passover and still die as the Pascal Lamb in accordance with the scriptures at the same time? This had been an on going problem. The Problem we face are: When did the children of Israel keep the Passover? In fact, just what did it mean for the children of Israel to keep the Passover? Did they sacrifice the lamb on one day and eat it the on the next? When did Christ eat the last supper with his disciples? Was the last supper the Passover or merely a type of Passover? When did the Jews of Christ’s time keep the Passover?

A surprising fact is that no dates or the day for any of the annual festivals are mentioned in the New Testament though they were mentioned liberally. Old Testament accounts clearly mentions that Passover was to be on the dusk of the 14^th of Nissan. " Kill the lamb at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month."

Numbers 9:2–3, which explains: "Let the children of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time."

Leviticus 23:4–6, On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord’s Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread." .

God commanded the children of Israel to kill the Passover lamb in the evening, Ex. 12:6. The Hebrew word for evening in Ex. 12:6 is ‘ereb. This is very vague vague word because it can refer to the beginning of the day, as in Genesis descriptions ( 1:5, 8,13, 19, 23, 31) or to the end of the day, as in, Ex. 12:18, Lev. 23:32. But Lev. 23:5, Num. 9:3, 5, 11 uses beyn ha’arbayim which means "between the two evenings" which however did not solve the issue.

It could mean any of three of the following
i) between sunset and dark and this is at the beginning of the day.
ii) between sunset and dark and this is at the end of the day.
iii) between sometime in the afternoon (3:00 p.m.) and sunset

If the children of Israel had killed their lambs between the evening ending the 14th and beginning the 15th, they would have observed the Lord’s Passover on the 15th day of the first month and not the 14th day. Evidently the Passover sacrifice took place during the ending the 13th day of the month and they ate the passover in the night which begins the 14^th of Nissan (Exodus 12:29). On the night of the Passover, a strict curfew was imposed on those who took refuge behind the blood that

"And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning." (Exodus 12:22).

The Angel of death went through Egypt while the children of blood were eating their Passover. They were given the permission to leave Egypt that night itself and they got prepared during the day of 14th (Exodus 12:29–33).

"They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the month; on the day after the Passover…" (Numbers 33:3). (Deut.16:1)

They had a whole day to prepare for departure and to spoil the Egyptians (Exodus 12:33–36).. They left Egypt under the cover of night on the beginning of 15^th.

The Festival of Unleavened Bread began on 15th Nisan and continued over a seven day period (Leviticus 23:6) ending on 21st Nisan (Exodus 12:18).

This will provide a full day for the Israelites to gather together at Goshen and leave. In the night beginning 15^th of Nissan they crossed the Red Sea.

This much is clear enough.

However with the settlement in Canaan and the establishment of the temple several changes in the mode of celebrations came in. This happenned under Josia, King of Judah (c. 640–609 bc)

"Josia had made the shepherd Passover a pilgrimage festival as well, and since it nearly coincided in time with the Feast of Unleavened Bread — and also in its connotations, the latter recalling the hardships of the Israelites’ flight — the two were eventually held to be parts of one festival. (New Catholic Encyclopaedia, vol 10 p 1069)

"As a result the Passover rituals and the feast of the unleavened bread and the waving of sheaf were all combined together into one festival centered in the temple. In later times it [the Festival of Unleavened Bread] included three rites which appear to have been originally distinct: (1) the paschal meal, or Passover proper, (2) the seven-day festival of Unleavened Bread, (3) the wave offering of the first sheaf (’omer)." (Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol. 5, page 864).

The preparation for the Passover consisted of the following things:

A lamb had to be selected for the sacrifice (Ex.12:3-5).

The lamb had to be taken to the temple where it was sacrificed (Lev.1:1-9;17:1-9; Num.18:1-9; Deut.16:1-2).

The priest had to bleed the lamb and sprinkle the lamb's blood on the altar (Lev.17:6-9; 2.Chron.30:15-16; 35:11-19).

The lamb had to be roasted (Ex.12:8-11).

Instead of killing the Passover lambs between the evenings of the 13th and 14th, the time of the sacrifice was moved forward so that the lambs could be ceremonially sacrificed at the Jerusalem Temple.

If Jesus and his disciples prepared the Paschal meal the sacrificing of the lamb and all other arrangements would have had to have been performed in the temple by the levites. This could happen only if it was done according to the time set by the temple.

The synoptics do represent the last supper as a Paschal meal. The disciples "prepare the Passover" (Mark 14:12–16; Matthew 28:17–19; Luke 22:7–13), and in Luke 22:15 the supper is explicitly called a Passover meal. But none of the Evangelists mention the lamb. Why is the main component of the Pascal meal ommitted?

However, John places the supper on the evening before the Preparation Day. It is then a full day before Passover (John 13:1, 29; 18:28; 19:14, 31). John specifically mentions that the Priests did not enter the Praetorium so that they might eat the Passover.
Jn 18: 28 "Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. " Pilate honored their religious custom and himself went outside of the Praetorium to talk to them.

It is clear therefore that the actual Passover meal was during the night after the burial of Jesus. The Supper which Jesus partook with his disciples could not have been the actual Passover Meal.

We can construct the events as follows:

On 13th Nissan Jesus asked Peter and John to prepared the fellowship meal - not the usual paschal supper. We shall see how this was normal later. The disciples prepared the meal on the night that began the 14th day of the preparation in a large upper room of Christ’s choice (verses 11–12). During the meal Jesus make specific mention of his desire to eat the Passover with them. Lk.22: 15 And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God." The implication might be that he cannot eat the Passover with them and be the Passover lamb at the same time.

That night (14^th of Nissan) Christ was arrested (John 18:12), and in the morning (still 14^th), He was scourged by Roman Soldiers (John 19:1). Then, at about 9:00 am on the 14^th He was crucified, and died at 3.00PM at the exact time of the Pascal sacrifice in Scripture. "And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: delivered he him to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led him away" (Jn.19:14-16 ).

The Festival of the Unleavened Bread started that evening when Jesus was in the grave.(John 19:30–31).

He was then buried before the night of the 14th, on the day the Jews call the preparation day.

"Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away… . So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby." (John 19:31, 33, 40–42).This is John's version

Apostle John mentions the Passover as being the Jews' Passover. He mentions this twice prior to the Passover observance of Jesus and the twelve and he mentions it once after (Jn.2:13; 6:4; 11:55). Both Matthew and Mark say that they ate the Passover when it was evening. Luke is even more exact in his narration of the event. He uses the Greek word 'hors', which means 'the instant' or 'the hour', to describe the timing of the Passover ceremonial meal. They all agree that it was eaten when it was the right time to eat it. They also defined this time at sunset in the evening that began the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread.

Though it is clear in John's narrative, it is vague in synoptic gospels. In the synoptic gospels the feast is considered as one continuous occasion as can be seen in the following phrasing.

"Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread (Matt.26:17-18 ). Greek used here azyma, means the first of unleavens, implying season of sacrificing as well as the seven days of the feast following the evening of the Passover

"And the first day of unleavened bread when they killed the Passover (Mk.14:12-15 ).

"Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover lamb must be killed. (Lk.22:7-12 ).

Evidently both Mark and Luke considered the killing of the Passover Lamb day as the first day of the unleavened bread or it was considered so in the then prevailing custom.

Remember that a month does not start until a crescent is witnessed by at least two trustworthy witnesses. If the moon was not cited on the first of Nissan, it was postponed by one day. Calendar Court was responsible for calculating the Sacred Calendar and determining the proper days on which to observe the New Moons and the annual festivals . Thus the Calendar court could declare two consecutive days as valid Passover days. ( Journal of Philology, Vol. XXIX, 1903, p. 104; Journal of Theological Studies, Vol. XII, Oct. 1910, p. 126 )

 

 

Two groups were in existence in the Judaic religious arena at the time of Jesus.

They were:

Tsadokian (Aristocratic - Saduccean - Levitical) School and

the Hasidic (Pharisee - Lay Scholars who later became Talmudists. From these descended also the Essenes and the Zealots)

They differed in the exact time of the Paschal preparation and sacrifice and of the paschal meal. The Pharisees held that the lamb was to be slaughtered in the afternoon of the 14^th of Nissan (between the periods 12 noon and 3 P.M) and eaten after the sun set (after 6 PM our time) (which is the 15^th in the Hebrew Calendar) The Seven days of unleavened bread extended from 15^th to the 21^st. The Tsadoquians on the other hand held that the lamb was to be sacrificed at twilight on the 14^th before dark i.e. on the 13^th late afternoon and eater in the night of 14th. The Sadducees held the Office of High Priest during the periods of Jesus. They were the the Calendar Committee at that time. They were more conservative and believed that the Feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread were separate feast days. The synoptic gospels says that Jesus ate a Passover meal with the twelve on the evening beginning Nisan 14, in accordance with the official calendar

The lay scholars of the law - Pharisees - held Passover on the fifteenth. These came from all over from Grece and Rome.

Catholic encyclopaedia suggests the following solution:

"This problem has received no completely satisfactory solution. Since it is now known that the Qumran community (Assetic sect of Jews who lived in the Judean desert near the Wadi Qumran along the northwest shore of the Dead Sea roughly 150 bc and ad 70) had a different calendar, it is possible that Jesus celebrated the Passover on a different day than the official Jewish usage. He may have performed the paschal rite without using a lamb that had been ritually immolated in the Temple". (New Catholic Encyclopaedia, Vol. 10, page 1071). The Essenes were an off shoot of the Pharisees.

Thousands of jews would come to Jerusalem from all over the known world during the festival. They came from Parthian, Mede and Elamite; Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus Asia, Phrygia Pamphylia, Egypt, Libya, Crete and Arabia. (Acts 2: 9.) If they only had one day in which to prepare for the Passover, it would have been extremely difficult to finish sacrificing all the lambs brought in time. Therefore, they worked on two different time scales. The northern part of the country went with the old way of dating (starting from morning and going to the following morning). The southern part of the country followed the official dating method (from evening to evening). Thus, there were two times when lambs were being killed in the Temple for sacrifice.

The ritual of sacrifice was very elaborate

" I. A lamb was to be bought, approved, and fit for the Passover.

II. This lamb was to be brought by them into the court where the altar was. It was to be sacrificed after the ritual s of incense at the altar. The procedure is described thus:

"III. The Passover is killed in three companies; according as it is said, [Exo 12:6] "and all the assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it (the Passover); assembly, congregation, and Israel." The first company enters and fills the whole court: they lock the doors of the court: the trumpets sound: the priests stand in order, having golden and silver vials in their hands: one row silver, and the other gold; and they are not intermingled: the vials had no brims, lest the blood should stay upon them, and be congealed or thickened: an Israelite kills it, and a priest receives the blood, and gives it to him that stands next, and he to the next, who, taking the vial that was full, gives him an empty one. The priest who stands next to the altar sprinkles the blood at one sprinkling against the bottom of the altar: that company goes out, and the second comes in,' &c...

"IV. The blood being sprinkled at the foot of the altar, the lamb flayed, his belly cut up, the fat taken out and thrown into the fire upon the altar, the body is carried back to the place where they sup: the flesh is roasted, and the skin given to the landlord."

For all theoretical and practical reasons and purposes the Calendar Committee has approved both the days and the sacrifice was performed on both the days officially. This is corroborted by the second Centuary BC Book of Jubiliees (which is found today in Ethiopic) and is substantiated by Philo and Josephus.

Thus we see that Jesus and his Apostles did eat the Passover following the traditions of the Saducees and Jesus became the Passover Lamb in accordance with the traditions of the Pharisees. Both these were legal Passovers.