It does seem that you and the author of this thread have more faith in a man-made tradition (from noon to 6 pm on Abib 14) that's still perpetuated by Rabbinical Judaism to this day. My Messianic faith is in the account of the Pesach Seder as recorded by Matthew, Mark and Luke at the beginning of Abib 14.
It was not a "Pesach Seder".
"Then led they Yeshua from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover." John 18:28
This verse has led many people to believe that these Jews were about to eat the Passover at the wrong time since Yeshua supposedly ate it the night before. This has led to the belief that the Pharisees kept Passover on Abib 15 and the Sadducees (whom Yeshua supposedly followed) on Abib 14. If you will check verses 3, 12, & 28 of that same chapter, as well as John 19:6, you will note that the Jews of verse 28 included "chief priests" and "captains". The chief priests were, beyond a shadow of a doubt, Sadducees. Luke 22:52 reveals the "captains" to be "captains of the temple", again Sadducees. Therefore, these Sadducees had not eaten the Passover yet either.
John 13:1,2 - "Now before the feast of the passover, when Yeshua knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended . . ."
This verse tells us that the supper of Abib 14 took place before the Passover. It was not the Passover.
John 13:2-30 - It is believed by many that this supper took place on the night of Abib 14 which they consider to be the time when the Passover Lamb was eaten. After the foot washing, they sat back down to the supper table. Yeshua then dipped a sop and gave it to Judas Iscariot at which time Satan entered him. Yeshua then said, "That thou doest, do quickly" (vs.27). The disciples did not know why Judas was leaving, but they suspected he was going to buy things they needed for the feast (vs.29). What?! How could the disciples think so nonchalantly of this sudden departure from the Passover supper unless, of course, it was only a common supper the night before the true Passover supper. Had Judas been sent from the true Passover supper the disciples would have been shocked. And what merchants would have their shops open to allow such a purchase on the night of Passover? Obviously the disciples thought shops would be open because it was the night before the lamb was eaten.
The supper in John 13 is the same supper of Matthew 26:20,21; Mark 14:18; and Luke 22:22,23. John 13:1 says that supper was "before the feast of the Passover." The reaction of the disciples to Judas' departure confirms the fact that this supper was before the Passover supper/seder.
John 19:14 - "And it was the preparation of the passover , and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!"
If Yeshua had just finished eating the Passover the previous night, how can it be the "preparation of the passover" at about noon the next day? The "preparation of the Sabbath" ends as the weekly Sabbath day begins. The "preparation of the Passover" must also end as the Passover begins. Since this verse refers to Abib 14 at noon, then the Passover could not have begun yet. It will have begun at least three hours later at the normal time of sacrificing the lambs. If one believes the lambs were sacrificed at the beginning of Abib 14, then all of Abib 13 would be the "preparation of the passover."
Luke 22:1 - "Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover."
As in Ezekiel 45:21, Passover in this verse would refer to the entire festival and not the victim.
What was Yeshua and his disciples doing the night he was betrayed? Were they partaking of the Passover meal with its lamb and bitter herbs or was this a pre-Passover meal?
Luke 22:7-18 - "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 said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? And he said unto them, Behold, when you are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he enters in. And you shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master says unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? And he shall show you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of Yahweh. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of Yahweh shall come."
Verse 7 means that Abib 14 had begun. Why would they begin preparing for Passover after the sun had set? To prepare the Passover, if that were the Passover meal, would mean to bring the lamb to the priests, have it killed, bleed it, clean it, carry it back to the room that they still needed to get, cook it for hours after they kindled a fire and carve it up. Not to mention the lines of people waiting to have their lambs killed after sunset (thousands of lambs)!
Verse 16 adds the words "any more" which are not found in the oldest Greek manuscripts (Vatican, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus). The added words imply that Yeshua had just finished eating the Passover. Omitting the words implies that Yeshua did not eat the Passover. Although he desired to eat the Passover with his disciples the following night, he knew he couldn't because he would be dead.
In The Mishnah, Pesahim 6:4, it reads,
A. A festal offering derives from the flock of sheep or from the herd of oxen, from lambs or from goats, from males or from females.
B. And it is eaten for two days and the intervening night [to the night of the fifteenth of Nisan].
Since John's gospel suggests the Jews had not yet eaten their Passover lambs, and since the lambs were traditionally killed at 3:00 p.m. on Abib 14, I think it is logical to believe Yeshua and his disciples were partaking of this "festal offering" on that "intervening night". The festal offering could be eaten on the daylight portion of the 13th, the night beginning the 14th, and the daylight portion of the 14th. Then, on the night of the 15th, they would partake of the Passover lamb.
Matthew, Mark and Luke each say "they made ready the Passover" in preparation for the "last supper". Since Josephus says the Jews considered the Passover to be "a feast of eight days", the beginning of Abib 14 would begin Passover in that context. The first meal partaken of would have been the festal offering on the night of the 14th. The disciples made everything ready to begin the Passover by securing a room, making sure it was unleavened, preparing the festal offering, etc.
In the Evangel accounts of the last supper, Yeshua and his disciples were having the festal offering, a pre-Passover meal. They did not eat the Passover since the priests did not begin killing them until the following afternoon. That is why John 18:28 says the Jews hadn't eaten the Passover even after Yeshua's trial began.
The Passover meal was a family gathering in which the women and children also participated. When Yeshua attended the Passover as a boy of twelve he accompanied his family (Luke 2:41,42). Yet, in Yeshua's last supper the women and children are conspicuously absent. All that were present were Yeshua's male disciples who were linked to him socially rather than through kinship. Where were the women who followed Yeshua throughout his ministry? Where is Peter's wife or the wives of the other married disciples? They were not in attendance because that was not the Passover meal.
Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26 - Simon was forced to carry Yeshua's torture stake. It is said that he was coming out of the "country" (Gr. agros meaning - country, farm, farmland, fields, etc.). The argument is put forth that if Passover was a high sabbath (Abib 15), Simon would have been at the Temple or synagogue and not in the fields. That is true. The opposite holds true as well. If the night of Abib 14 began Passover, Simon would have come out of the fields to observe it the night before carrying Yeshua's stake. The most likely scenario is that Simon came out of the fields the morning of Abib 14 for the purpose of observing Passover that afternoon.
