veteran said:
The eating of the passover took place on the 14th of Nisan (Exo.12:6, 8, 18; Lev.23:5; Num.9:3; 28:16). The 15th was the high sabbath, the first day of the feast (Num.28:17).
Matt 26:17
17 Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto Him, "Where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the passover?"
(KJV)
That part in bold shows that was actually the 14th of Nisan, the time they were to eat the passover.
Matt 26:20-21
20 Now when the even was come, He sat down with the twelve.
(KJV)
Per Exo.12, the passover was to be eaten with the loins girded and staff in hand, in haste, and standing. Here our Lord Jesus sits down at evening, showing He did not eat the lamb of sacrifice. The bread and wine was the substitute, i.e., representing our Lord Himself.
Likewise in Mark 14, it was the 14th of Nisan when they were to eat the passover. It was the preparation day we know because of John 19.
So the Matthew, Mark, and Luke examples have to mean that the day of unleavened bread and time to kill the passover was 'nearing', or soon to come, and the actual time of the last supper and night Christ was delivered up being the 14th of Nisan. The 15th, which would begin when the preparation ended at sunset, with the sacrifice that evening, aligns with the very time our Lord Jesus was crucified and died on the cross at evening, and then rushed to be buried just before the 15th began.
Oy vey! How can you turn things on it's head so? Look closely at the following verses. All three clearly state that the disciples
prepared the passover for Jesus to eat and that evening sat down to eat it.
“Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we
prepare for thee to eat the Passover … and
they made ready the Passover. Now
when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. And as
they ate …” Matthew 26:17-21
“And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and
prepare that thou mayest eat the Passover … and
they made ready the Passover. And
in the evening he cometh with the twelve. And as
they sat and did eat …” Mark 14:12-18
“Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John, saying,
Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat … and
they made ready the Passover. And
when the hour was come, he sat down … Luke 22:7-14
These verses are very simple, clear, and straightforward that the disciples prepared the Passover so that Jesus could eat it and that evening they sat down and ate the Passover. The verses which are giving some students problems do not in fact contradict these verses when they are viewed in their historical context. But it never ceases to amaze me why a student would allow some verses, which are clearly obscure in their meaning, to be used to overthrow what is so clearly stated in these verses. I can only surmise that a lot of bias is at the root of it.
And I'm afraid you have the 2nd Temple observance confused as well. The 14th Nisan was not "the preparation for the Passover," the 14th Nisan
was the Passover: “And in
the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover of the Lord.” (Numbers 28:16) Not the preparation day for the Passover, but the Passover.
Indeed, there was no "preparation day" for Passover, the preparations began several days before with the selection of the Paschal lamb on Nisan 10. Then on Nisan 13 the house had to be searched diligently and every speck of leaven gathered up to be ceremonially disposed of on Nisan 14. And that doesn't count all the work that was necessary to prepare for the influx of pilgrims to the city: roads and bridges had to be repaired after the winter rains; sepulchers and grave stones had to be whitewashed so no pilgrim to the city accidentally contracted defilement (all of which was mandated by law and the practice to which Jesus referred on that last Passover when he condemned the hypocritical Pharisees and scribes calling them "whited sepulchers"), temporary clay ovens had to be constructed throughout the city to roast the thousands of lambs for the Passover pilgrims, shops and the cattle markets were stocked with animals for sacrifice (because in addition to the Passover lambs, there were many other sacrifices and offerings made during the week-long feast), and every available spare room had to be readied and opened up for the use of pilgrims as well as weeds and brush removed in the camping areas outside the city walls for the overflow of pilgrims. It was quite a grand spectacle, preparing the city for the three annual feasts, but especially the first feast of the year after the rainy winter season and the most heavily attended feast of the year, Passover.
But further, John was actually quite specific in his terminology when he said, "And now when the evening was come, because it was the preparation (paraskeue), that is, the day before the Sabbath (prosabbaton) ..."
The days of the week didn't have names, they were numbered after the Sabbath: 1st day, 2nd day, 3rd day, 4th day, and 5th day. But the sixth day was called prosabbaton (Sabbath eve) in Greek and arubta-eve (Sabbath eve) in Aramaic. So John was actually clarifying that the preparation was the 6th day using the common name for what we call Friday.
The day before a feast was always called the eve of whatever feast it was, for example, Passover eve, or Pentecost eve, or Trumpets eve. Just was we call the day before Christmas, Christmas eve.
On your comment that the Lord's last supper couldn't have been a Passover Seder because they "sat down" to eat, again, you have to look at the common practice during 2nd Temple period. The Jews had not eaten the Passover with their loins girded and their staffs in hand since the night they hurriedly left Egypt. In fact, except for the first anniversary, the Jews did not celebrate a Passover feast again until after the 40 years they wandered in the wilderness, when they came into the land, and were circumcised. And from that day forward they ate the Passover reclining, or "in leisure, as became free men." According to the Mishna Tractate “Pesachim 10:1,” even the poorest in Israel could not eat the Passover except
in a reclining position, exactly as described in the Gospels. The post-Egptian Passover (what came to be called the "permanent" Passover) was not a hurried meal eaten standing up, but a leisurely meal that lasted 2 or 3 hours, and still is today.
Now I realize that you may have a different take on what the Scriptures meant about all this, but what you have to understand is that when you are dealing with matters of history, it's not what you or I think the Scriptures mean, it's how did the Jews at the time of Jesus understand the Scriptures about all these things and how did they actually observe the feasts. Because that determines for us how the last week of the Lord's life played out, regardless of our opinions.
And let me mention that all the historical issues I mentioned come from Josephus as well as the vast body of Talmudic Tractates. I have however, relied on two recent works in my years of research, that of Joachim Jeremias: (
Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus: An Investigation into Economic & Social Conditions During the New Testament Period, trans. F. H. Cave and C. H. Cave (1969; German ed.: 1967), a recognized authority on 2nd Temple Judaism, as well as the works of Alfred Edersheim: "The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah," and also "The Temple and It's Ministry and Services at the Time of Christ.," as well as "Sketches of Jewish Social Life in the Days of Christ." Both men are considered foremost authorities in the field of New Testament history.
In Christ,
Pilgrimer