Most people agree that the Last Supper took place on Thursday evening. However, there are differing opinions on whether it was a Passover meal (Exodus 12). The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) describe the meal somewhat differently from John’s Gospel.
In the Synoptic Gospels:
“Now on the first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus, saying to him, ‘Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?’ He said, ‘Go into the city to a certain person, and tell him, “The Teacher says, ‘My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’”’ The disciples did as Jesus commanded them, and they prepared the Passover.” (Matthew 26:17-19, WEB)
“On the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover, his disciples asked him, ‘Where do you want us to go and prepare that you may eat the Passover?’ He sent two of his disciples, and said to them, ‘Go into the city, and there you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him, and wherever he enters in, tell the master of the house, “The Teacher says, ‘Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’” He will himself show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Get ready for us there.’ His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found things as he had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.” (Mark 14:12-16, WEB)
“The day of unleavened bread came, on which the Passover must be sacrificed. He sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.’ They said to him, ‘Where do you want us to prepare?’ He said to them, ‘Behold, when you have entered into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him into the house which he enters. Tell the master of the house, “The Teacher says to you, ‘Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’” He will show you a large, furnished upper room. Make preparations there.’ They went, found things as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover.” (Luke 22:7-13, WEB)
These accounts suggest that Jesus and his disciples had a Passover meal. However, John’s Gospel presents a more complex picture.
In John’s Gospel:
“Now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his time had come that he would depart from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came from God and was going to God, arose from supper, and laid aside his outer garments. He took a towel and wrapped a towel around his waist. Then he poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” (John 13:1-5, WEB)
“They led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the Praetorium. It was early, and they themselves didn’t enter into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.” (John 18:28, WEB)
“Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, at about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, ‘Behold, your King!’” (John 19:14, WEB)
When comparing John’s Gospel with the Synoptics, it becomes confusing not only as to what meal Jesus had, but also whether the day of his crucifixion was the Passover or the day of preparation for Passover. The Synoptics indicate it was Passover, while John seems to suggest it was the day of preparation.
Does this mean there is an error in the biblical text? Some have argued so, but it may not be necessary to see it that way. There are several scholarly explanations for this discrepancy:
1) Jesus was crucified on Nisan 14, the day before Passover, when the Passover lambs were slaughtered.
2) Jesus had the Passover meal on the evening of Nisan 14 and died on Nisan 15.
3) Jesus and his disciples used the Essene calendar (a solar calendar differing from the official Jewish calendar by two days, with Passover beginning on Wednesday) for their Passover meal.
4) The term “day of preparation” generally referred to the day before the Sabbath. Thus, John 19:14 refers to the day of preparation for the Sabbath during Passover week.
5) The differences arise from distinct traditions in the Synoptic Gospels and John.
There are other theories, but none conclusively resolve the issue, and no consensus has been reached. Some explanations are well-grounded, others less so. Explaining all of them would require much more space, so I will focus on the perspective chosen for this novel.
To understand this complex situation, some background knowledge is helpful:
1) A Jewish day begins at sunset (around 6 PM) and ends at the next sunset, while a Roman day starts at midnight, as in the modern calendar. The Synoptics appear to use the Jewish system, while John uses the Roman system (John 19:14).
2) In the New Testament era, Passover was sometimes equated with the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Luke 22:1 and Jewish historical sources).
3) Passover begins with the slaughter of the lamb on the evening of Nisan 14, which, by Jewish reckoning, spans both the 14th and 15th (the Feast of Unleavened Bread). The lamb’s blood is applied to the doorposts and lintel, and the meat is eaten with bitter herbs at the Passover meal, sometimes continuing until midnight or 2 AM. During Passover, the temple gates remained open at night, and after dinner, Jews would go to the temple to pray and sing hymns.
Based on these points, this novel sets the Last Supper on the evening before the day the Passover lamb was slaughtered, according to the Roman calendar. At the same time, this evening marks the beginning of Nisan 14 in the Jewish calendar, so it can also be called the first day of Passover or the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
With this understanding, the Synoptic statement, “On the first day of unleavened bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, the disciples asked Jesus...” can be seen as reasonable, though somewhat forced, since the question was asked after 6 PM, when the Jewish date had changed. This was the day before Passover by the Roman calendar, but the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread by the Jewish calendar, which is also when the lamb was slaughtered. Moreover, this meal was not a traditional Passover meal with lamb, but it could still be considered a Passover meal since the Passover period had begun—just as a New Year’s dinner can be considered a New Year’s meal whether held in the morning or evening.
Even after the night of the Last Supper, it was still Nisan 14 by the Jewish calendar, the day the Passover lamb was slaughtered. This day can also be called the day of preparation for Passover, as Passover technically begins with the slaughter and meal of the lamb that evening. Thus, while it is correct to say they had entered the Passover period, the formal start of Passover had not yet occurred. On the day Jesus was crucified, the slaughter of the Passover lamb began, and the chief priests did not enter the Praetorium to avoid ceremonial uncleanness so they could eat the Passover (John 18:28, WEB). Therefore, it is not incorrect to say the day Jesus was tried was the day of preparation for Passover (John 19:14, WEB). Since Passover spans two days by the Roman calendar, it was still possible to call this the day of preparation for Passover from the next morning’s perspective.
Of course, this view may seem forced. However, there are further insights that can be drawn from the biblical text.
“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is Yahweh’s Passover. On the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to Yahweh. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. In the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work, but you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh for seven days. The seventh day is a holy convocation: you shall do no regular work.” (Leviticus 23:5-8, WEB)
“For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus said to him, ‘Buy what things we need for the feast,’ or that he should give something to the poor. Therefore, having received that morsel, he went out immediately. It was night.” (John 13:29-30, WEB)
“Therefore the Jews, because it was the Preparation Day, so that the bodies wouldn’t remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a special one), asked of Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.” (John 19:31, WEB)
In this way, the first day after Passover began was a holy assembly and a day of rest. On a day of rest, no ordinary work was allowed, including commerce. For this reason, if the Last Supper was a Passover meal, it would not have made sense for the disciples to think Judas was going out to buy something, since the day had already become a day of rest and nothing could be purchased. The phrase “that Sabbath was a high day” at the end of John’s Gospel refers to the coincidence of the regular Sabbath and the first day of Passover, which was also a Sabbath.
Historically, Josephus noted that during Passover (also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread), it was customary for priests to open the temple gates immediately after midnight (Roman time) (Jewish Antiquities 18.2). When the gates opened, pilgrims would enter. If Jesus’ meal was a traditional Passover meal with lamb, many Jewish pilgrims would have entered the temple after dinner. Before Passover, the priests and Pharisees did not arrest Jesus because they feared a riot. If they had sent temple guards to arrest him at that time, the very event they feared could have occurred.
After the meal, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives, just across the Kidron Valley from the temple’s eastern gate. While they could have acted secretly with a small group, if news of Jesus’ arrest reached those at the temple, there was still a risk of escalation. Therefore, it seems unlikely they would have deliberately created such a crisis. There was a reason they handed Jesus over to Pilate early in the morning.
Additionally, it was customary to stay in Jerusalem after the Passover meal. However, Jesus left Jerusalem and went to Gethsemane, which raises further questions.
These explanations might seem like attempts to harmonize the accounts. Even so, the Last Supper could still have been a traditional Passover meal with lamb. I do not deny that possibility. However, since the Synoptic Gospels do not mention lamb at the Last Supper, which would have been essential for a Passover meal, it does not seem appropriate to conclude definitively that it was a Passover meal. Lamb was as crucial to the Passover meal as unleavened bread.
In this novel, the Last Supper is portrayed as a meal on the day that begins Passover, but not as a traditional Passover meal with lamb. Please keep in mind that this is simply a narrative choice for the purposes of this story.
