In this post, I want to examine the instructions about Passover in the Torah, and the fulfillment of Passover by the Messiah, as well as examine the Last Supper that Yeshua ate with his disciples.
"This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: 'On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man's need you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 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. 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. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it." (Exodus 12:2-8)
This is a very important concept to understand before we go any further. The lamb was supposed to be kept alive until the 14th day, then killed at twilight. Some people teach that the lamb is to be killed on the 13th day and eaten at the evening meal that begins the 14th day, but we are clearly told to keep the lamb until the 14th day, then kill it. If the lamb is killed at the end of the 13th day, then it is obviously not kept alive till the 14th day. This theory about the lamb being killed at the end of the 13th day is based on the belief that the Last Supper was a Passover Seder. However, we can clearly see that this does not line up with the Torah.
One thing to notice is the word that is translated "twilight" is the hebrew word "ha-arbayim", which actually means "between the evenings". It comes from the root word "erev" which means evening. So, we are to kill the lamb "between the evenings" on the 14th day. Deuteronomy 16:6 helps to clear up a little confusion on this because it says, "...there you shall sacrifice the Passover at twilight, at the going down of the sun..." This helps to explain that twilight is the "going down of the sun", which means the sun is still up and has not set completely. If we are to kill the lamb on the 14th day at the going down of the sun, that means the end of the 14th day.
"In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread." (Exodus 12:18-20)
We can see from this passage that the Feast of Unleavened bread begins the evening that ends the 14th day, and continues 7 days, ending on the evening that ends the 21st day.
"On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat--that only may be prepared by you." (Exodus 12:16)
When we compare verse 16 with verses 18-20, we can see that the Feast lasts 7 days, and the 1st and 7th days are both "holy convocation" days in which no work is to be done. Now, if we compare that to the command given in Leviticus 23 concerning how to celebrate the Feast, we will see that they are saying the exact same thing.
"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. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it. But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it." (Leviticus 23:5-8)
We see in Exodus 12:18 that the evening of the 14th day we are to begin eating unleavened bread and continue until the evening of the 21st day. Obviously Leviticus is presenting us with the same information. The 1st day of the Feast is the 15th day of the month, but that day begins on the evening of the 14th day after the sun sets. At this point it should be very clear that the Passover is NOT on the evening that begins the 14th day, because that would make the 14th day the 1st day of the Feast (not the 15th as Scripture clearly says). Also, if the Passover was at the beginning of the 14th (end of the 13th), then the Feast would last 8 days (not 7 as the Scripture clearly says).
Now, lets take a look at the Gospels, and try to understand what they are telling us.
"Now before the feast of the Passover, when Yeshua 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. And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him, Yeshua, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself." (John 13:1-4)
We can clearly see here in John's Gospel that the Last Supper took place before Passover, but lets continue to look at some more details.
"Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed. Then they led Yeshua 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." (John 18:27-28)
It is obvious that the Passover Seder had not been eaten yet, because his accusers did not want to become defiled, because they wanted to eat the Passover.
"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?" (John 18:39)
Even Pilate helps to confirm that the Passover had not yet taken place.
"Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, "Behold your King!" But they cried out, "Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar!" Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Yeshua and led Him away." (John 19:14-16)
According to John, they crucified Yeshua on the "Preparation Day of the Passover", which again means that the meal they ate the night before was not a Passover Seder. John's Gospel is very clear that Yeshua died on the day that they were preparing for the Passover. This is the day that the Passover lambs were to be killed, to be eaten that night during the Passover Seder meal.
Now, lets begin to compare the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) with the Gospel of John, and see if they are saying the same thing.
"On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.' Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead.' So the last deception will be worse than the first." (Matthew 27:62-64)
It seems that Matthew agrees with John that Yeshua was crucified on "the Day of Preparation".
"Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Yeshua." (Mark 15:42-43)
Mark is also in agreement that Yeshua died on "the Preparation Day", and clarifies that it is the day before the Sabbath. We know from the Torah that the 1st day of the Feast (the 15th day of the month) is a Sabbath, and that the day before the Sabbath was a day of preparation, in which the lamb was to be killed and leaven removed from the homes.
"This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Yeshua. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near." (Luke 23:52-54)
Luke also agrees with the other Gospels that Yeshua died on the day of Preparation.
So far all four Gospels agree about the day that Yeshua died. It was the 14th day of the month, the Day of Preparation for the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened bread. It seems pretty simple at this point, but it is about to get very confusing as we look at the way in which the Synoptic Gospels speak about the Last Supper, but we must realize that the Gospels are not contradicting each other.
Remember that John made it very clear that the Last Supper took place before the Passover, and all four Gospels tell us that Yeshua was crucified on the Day of Preparation. Now, lets examine the Last Supper, and try to figure out what is happening.
"Now on the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Yeshua, saying to Him, 'Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?'" (Matthew 26:17)
"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?'" (Mark 14:12)
"Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. And He sent Peter and John, saying, 'Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.'" (Luke 22:7-8)
Are you confused yet? I told you that it was about to get more difficult. Now, it sounds like the Synoptic Gospels are all saying that the Last Supper was not only a Passover meal, but also the "first day of Unleavened bread", which does not make sense, because we already determined that Yeshua died on the day of preparation for the Passover, so how can he be eating the Passover on the day before the Preparation Day of the Passover? Something is not quite right here. There must be some aspect that we are missing.
We know from the Torah that the 15th day of the month is the "first day of Unleavened bread" and that it is to be treated as a Sabbath. We also know that Yeshua died on the 14th day at twilight, the same time that the Passover lambs were being sacrificed in the Temple. That would place the Last Supper at the end of the 13th day. There is nothing commanded in the Torah about the 13th day of the month, so what is going on here?
If you do a little research, you will find out that there is a traditional fast day called the "fast of the firstborn" that is celebrated on the 14th day of the month. The fast begins in the morning, and ends with the Passover Seder celebration. One thing that I found out was that the evening meal that ends the 13th day is a special celebration called "Seudah Mafseket", which literally means "Last Supper" or "Last meal". Could this actually be where we get the name "Last Supper"?
This is a celebratory meal that is eaten before a fast. It is commonly eaten before Yom Kippur, the fast of Esther, and the fast of the firstborn. This information seems to help us understand what might have been going on at the "Last Supper".
Yeshua was a firstborn son, and so he would have participated in the fast of the firstborn on the 14th day of the month, so it makes sense that he would have held a "Last Supper" the night ending the 13th day, right before the fast began.
This information helps, but it still does not explain why the Synoptic Gospels refer to it as the first day of Unleavened bread. It is quite obvious that the 13th day of the month is NOT the first day of Unleavened bread, because the Torah is very clear that the 15th day is the first day of Unleavened bread. So, why do the Gospel writers use this phrase here? Consider the way in which Passover, Unleavened bread, and FirstFruits all get lumped together and referred to today simply as "Passover". All 7 days of Unleavened bread are referred to as Passover by many people today. It is possible that something similar might have been happening during the first century. Because the fast of the firstborn is directly connected to Passover and Unleavened bread, it is possible that it might have gotten lumped in as part of the Passover celebration. And because the "Last Supper" was the beginning of the fast, then it might also be included as part of the Feast.
Another important thing to consider is that all three of the Synoptic Gospels were derived from another source. They were not first-hand accounts of what happened. Many scholars actually believe that the original source was actually a Hebrew or Aramaic Gospel, that was then translated into Greek. This opens up the possibility that something might have been lost in translation from Hebrew to Greek. For example, the original text might have said, "one day before the Feast", and the translation might have turned into, "the first day of the Feast". The words and concepts of "one" and "first" are often confused when translating into different languages, and it is easy to see how this simple mistake could have happened.
However, that still does not explain why they referred to the meal as "Passover". It seems unlikely that the word passover was added by a mistake in translation, so there must be another explanation for why the Synoptics refer to this evening meal on the 13th day as "Passover".
I mentioned earlier that there is a theory suggesting that Passover should be eaten on the end of the 13th day, beginning of the 14th day. This theory believes that Yeshua was eating Passover on the 13th day, and suggests that it must be the correct day for us to eat it. However, this theory ignores several important aspects to the Passover that we covered earlier. The most important being that the lamb must be killed at the end of the 14th day. Also, if Yeshua at the Passover, then he would not be the Passover on the next day. There is only one day that is sanctified for offering the Passover, and if he was not offered up at the correct time, then he would not be a perfect fulfillment of the commandment.
In conclusion, Yeshua is our Passover lamb, and was killed at the exact time that God commanded the lamb to be killed. John was at the Last Supper, and he said that it took place before Passover. Obviously, there are still a few questions left to answer, and I am still open to the possibility of changing my perspective as new information is discovered.
One thing is for certain - Yeshua is our Passover lamb, and we should keep the Feast in remembrance of him.
"Purge out the old yeast, that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened. For indeed Messiah, our Passover, has been sacrificed in our place. Therefore let us keep the Feast, not with old yeast, neither with the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the matzah of sincerity and truth." (1Corinthians 5:7-8)
Additional Considerations and after thoughts
- Matthew 26:17 calls it the "Feast of the Unleavened Bread", using the word Greek word "ἀζύμων" (azymōn), which means "unleavened bread", but in verse 26 when Yeshua took the bread, the Greek word used is "ἄρτον" (arton), which means "a loaf of bread", and is used when referring to bread with yeast. Yeshua would not have eaten bread made with yeast at a Passover Seder meal. That would have violated the commandment to eat only unleavened bread.
- We are commanded to remove all leaven from our homes before the Passover Seder, and the seder is to take place at night (at the end of the day), which would make the next day the 1st full day of unleavened bread. If we eat the Seder at the beginning of the 14th day, that would make the 14th day the 1st day of unleavened bread, but the Torah specifically says that the 15th day is the 1st day of unleavened bread. This means that the Seder must be eaten at the end of the 14th day.
- Many of those who eat the Passover Seder on the end of the 13th day (beginning of the 14th) say that the 14th day is Passover, and the 15th day is the first day of unleavened bread. This would make the celebration last 8 days instead of the commanded 7 days."In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land." (Exodus 12:18, 19)15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 = 7 daysBeginning on the 14th at sunset (the beginning of the 15th day), and ending the 21st at sunset.
- Remember that the lamb is to be kept until the 14th day, and killed that evening before the sun sets. If we eat it on the beginning of the 14th day, that means the lamb had to have been killed on the 13th day before the sun sets, which means the lamb was not kept until the 14th day.
- The Israelites left Egypt the same night that they ate the Passover, which is why they were told to eat with haste, wearing their belt and holding their staff in hand. They left in the middle of the night shortly after the firstborns were killed in the plague."So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the Lord as you have said. And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” (Exodus 12:30, 31, 33)