Jesus ate the Paschal lamb before he was crucified

[tonychanyt]

The Roman calendar day went from midnight to midnight, while the Jewish calendar day went from sunset to sunset. Here, I will stick to the Jewish tradition.

The terms Feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover were sometimes used interchangeably. Luke 22:

1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover.

Technically, the Passover came first, followed immediately by the Feast of Unleavned Bread.

On Thursday, Nisan 14, there were Passover preparations (or setup). Good News Translation, Matt 26:

17 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, "Where do you want us to get the Passover meal ready for you?"

The term Festival of the Unleavened Bread is a bit confusing. A parallel account in Mark 14:

12 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed, Jesus' disciples asked Him, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?"

It was Nisan 14, the beginning of an 8-day Feast/Festival.

Matt 26:

18 He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near. I will observe the Passover with my disciples at your house.”’” 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had instructed them, and they prepared the Passover.

Technically speaking, the preparation (the lamb's sacrifice) was done before the sun had completely set, and eating the lamb and unleavened bread happened after the sunset (on Nisan 15).

Parallel account, Luke 22:

7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 So Jesusa sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.”

John 13:

1 Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that his time had come to depart from this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now loved them to the very end.

They sacrificed the Passover lamb before sunset and ate the Passover meal after sunset.

Matt 26:

20 When it was evening, he took his place at the table with the 12.

At this point, they ate the Passover lamb.

John 13:

2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that he should betray Jesus.

They arrested Jesus. The Sanhedrin tried Jesus. Peter denied him. The rooster crowed.

Early on Friday morning, they took Jesus to Pilate. John 18:

28 Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They did not enter the governor’s headquarters so that they would not be defiled but could eat the Passover

i.e., the general 8-day feast, not specifically the Passover lamb which they ate already.

Pilate sent Jesus to Herod. Herod sent him back to Pilate. Pilate delivered Jesus to be crucified.

They crucified Jesus at Golgotha. Luke 23:

44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

English Standard Version John 19:

31 Since it was the day of Preparation,

i.e., the Friday before the Sabbath, not the preparation of the paschal lamb, which occurred on Thursday

and so that the bodies would 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.

They buried Jesus before sunset (before Sabbath, Saturday).

After Jesus was buried, Matthew 27:

62 The next day [Saturday], the one after Preparation Day [Friday], the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate.

Again, "Preparation Day" was a technical term meaning the day before the Sabbath Saturday.

65“Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

The chronological sequence of events:

1. Nisan 14, Thursday: Prepare or set up the meal for the paschal lamb.
2. The sun set.
3. Nisan 15: Jesus ate Paschal lamb in the evening. Confusingly, this was sometimes referred to as Nisan 14 evening.
4. Friday/Preparation Day/the day before a weekly Sabbath
5. They crucified Jesus in the afternoon and buried him before sunset.
6. Full moon
7. Nisan 16: Saturday/Sabbath
8. The chief priests put a seal and posted a guard at the tomb.

 

[timothyu]

So you are saying the Lamb of God was sacrificed a day late.

 

[timothyu]

 

[tonychanyt]

So you are saying the Lamb of God was sacrificed a day late.

Can you quote my words where I have asserted that?

 

[tonychanyt]

View attachment 344805

Can you justify these dates with verses as I have done?

 

[AFrazier]

Can you justify these dates with verses as I have done?

I wouldn't waste too much time arguing with some of these people. I've been arguing a Nisan 15th crucifixion for years. Three gospels are clear as day that Jesus and the disciples ate the passover. Mark and Luke both say that the afternoon preceding the last supper was the day when the passover was slain. But some people have it in their head that because Jesus was a spiritually symbolic passover for us, it was necessary for him to die on the 14th, despite the fact that the gospels explicitly state otherwise on the date. These people date their history by their theology, and they are so blinded by it they can't see past their own noses when it comes to this topic. The Wednesday crucifixion advocates are even worse.

 

[AFrazier]

View attachment 344805

Just so you know, there are ten definable days of Passion week. If you shift these days to align the crucifixion with a Wednesday, you have merchants conducting business in the temple complex on the sabbath. If you shift them to align the crucifixion with a Thursday, you have Jesus riding an ass on the sabbath in violation of the ten commandments themselves.

A Wednesday crucifixion is not correct.

 

[timothyu]

A Wednesday crucifixion is not correct.

It says Thursday, the day before the two sabbaths

 

[AFrazier]

It says Thursday, the day before the two sabbaths

A Thursday crucifixion is also not correct. Jesus wouldn't ride an ass on the Sabbath. It was prohibited by the ten commandments (Deut. 5:14).