Did Jesus eat the Last Supper on Wednesday or Thursday?
John, on the other hand, seems to indicate that Jesus and the disciples at a meal together on Wednesday evening, then He was arrested the same evening, tried Thursday morning, and crucified on Thursday, the day the Passover lambs were being slaughtered. Of course, Jesus ate the Last Supper either on Wednesday or Thursday.
What was the last meal of Jesus?
Later Christian tradition put Jesus' last meal with his disciples on Thursday evening and his crucifixion on what we call today "Good Friday." We now know that is one day off. Jesus' last meal was Wednesday night, and he was crucified on Thursday, the 14th of the Hebrew month Nisan.
When did the Last Supper take place?
The Last Supper occurred at the beginning of Friday 14 Nisan (ca. 18:00 on Thursday 2 April 33 CE) and Jesus died at the end of Friday 14 Nisan (15:00 on Friday 3 April 33 CE).
Was the last supper before the Passover meal?
Yes, the Last Supper occurred the evening before the Passover meal was eaten. Jesus died at the time when the Passover lambs were being slaughtered. Jesus is precisely our Passover Lamb, both in substance and in timing. This isn’t that complicated. All John was saying was that Yeshua/Jesus was having those feelings right before the Passover meal.

Did the Jews eat Passover?
That is when the Jews would have been eating their Passover meal—on the beginning of the first day of Unleavened Bread. (See also Mark 14:12-16 and Luke 22:1, 7-8 .) However, John clearly states that the Jews had not eaten the Passover meal, even though it was the morning after Jesus’ arrest.
Did Jesus eat the Last Supper?
By John’s reckoning, Jesus ate the Last Supper meal one day earlier than the Jews ate the Passover meal. Because of this seeming contradiction between the first three Gospels and John, scholars continue to wrestle with the issue of when Jesus actually ate his final meal. Of course, the term “Passover” was often applied to the entire Festival ...
Who presided at the Last Supper?
Three ancient sources agree in saying that Jesus presided at the Last Supper on a Tuesday night: the Didascalia Apostolorum (2nd or 3rd century); St. Victorinus (3rd century); and St. Epiphanius (4th century). The first two sources also tell us this is why early Christians fasted and did penance on Wednesdays and Fridays.
How many days did the Jewish calendar last in Jesus' time?
The Sadducees and the priests in charge of the temple followed a lunar calendar of 354 days. That calendar set the date of the Jewish festivals according to lunar cycles.
What was the Jewish calendar that Jesus followed?
However, the Essenes, a Jewish sect of Jesus’ time, followed a 364-day solar calendar, with the festivals always occurring on the same day of the week. The Jews who followed the Essene calendar always observed the Passover on Tuesday night (which for them was the start of Wednesday).
How many days before the Passover did Christ anoint Bethany?
According to Mark 14:1, Christ’s anointing at Bethany occurred “two days” before the Passover. Yet John 12:1 reports that event took place “six days” before the Passover.
Which Gospels tell us Jesus was crucified before the Passover?
The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) tell us Jesus celebrated the Passover before He was arrested and condemned. The Fourth Gospel (John) informs us Jesus was crucified before the Passover began. Several theories explain this seeming discrepancy. Here’s the theory most convincing to me. The Jews of Jesus’ time were divided on many issues, ...
Is there a discrepancy between the Fourth Gospel and the Essene Passover?
There would be no discrepancy if the Synoptics have in mind the Essene Passover on Tuesday, and the Fourth Gospel, the temple Passover on Friday evening. After His arrest, and before His crucifixion, Jesus was subjected to lengthy legal procedures.
Did Jesus die before Passover?
In support of their argument, they note that an Essene community lived in the same part of Jerusalem where, according to tradition, the upper room was located. Jesus would have been aware that if He followed the temple calendar, He would have died before He could celebrate the Passover.
What did Jesus die at the time of the Passover?
This means that Jesus died at the hour when the Passover lambs were being slaughtered in the Temple. That Christians later saw this as no coincidence, that they recognized Jesus as the true Lamb, that in this way they came to see the true meaning of the ritual of the lambs – all this seems to follow naturally.
What happened on Thursday evening?
According to this chronology, Jesus dies at the moment when the Passover lambs are being slaughtered in the Temple. Jesus dies as the real lamb, merely prefigured by those slain in the Temple.
What is the night of unleavened bread?
The evening of the first day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Paschal lambs are slaughtered in the Temple, is the vigil of the Passover feast. According to the chronology of the Synoptics, this was a Thursday. After sunset, the Passover began, and then the Passover meal was taken – by Jesus and his disciples, as indeed by all ...
What did the priests say about the feast of unleavened bread?
He tells us that two days before the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the chief priests and scribes were looking for an opportunity to bring Jesus under their control by stealth and kill him, but in this regard, they declared: "not during the feast, lest there be a tumult of the people" (14:12).
Why did Jesus' burial take place before sunset?
The burial had to take place before sunset, because then the Sabbath would begin. The Sabbath is the day when Jesus rested in the tomb. The Resurrection took place on the morning of the "first day of the week", on Sunday. This chronology suffers from the problem that Jesus' trial and crucifixion would have taken place on the day ...
Did Jesus celebrate Passover?
Jaubert sees here the solution to two problems: first, Jesus celebrated a real Passover meal, as the Synoptic tradition maintains; yet John is also right, in that the Jewish authorities, following their own calendar, did not celebrate the Passover until after Jesus' trial, and Jesus was therefore executed on the vigil of the real Passover, not on the feast itself. Both the Synoptic and the Johannine traditions thus appear to be correct on the basis of the discrepancy between two different calendars.
Was the Last Supper a Passover meal?
John goes to great lengths to indicate that the Last Supper was not a Passover meal. On the contrary: the Jewish authorities who led Jesus before Pilate's court avoided entering the praetorium, "so that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover" (18:28). The Passover, therefore, began only in the evening, ...
What is the meal called after Jesus' death?
One of the most intriguing and difficult topics I've studied in the past year is the timing of the events surrounding Jesus' death and, in particular, the meal which is commonly referred to as the Last Supper.
Why is the bread of the Lord's Supper unleavened?
Many believers teach that the bread of the Lord's Supper must be unleavened because the Passover meal was eaten with unleavened bread. This cannot be proven either way, but my personal belief is that, because Abib 14 was the Preparation Day for the Passover—when leaven was removed from the Jews' homes—it is likely that the bread Jesus used was unleavened. Additionally, Paul taught that sin within the church was equated with leaven (1 Cor. 5:6-8). Put all of this together and, to me, unleavened bread seems to make the most sense.
Why was the Passover lamb killed?
The Passover lamb was killed at twilight on the fourteenth day. In other words, the lamb was killed as the Jewish day was transitioning from the fourteenth to the fifteenth of the month.
What time of day did the Jews use Roman measurements?
By the time of Jesus’ crucifixion the Jews had begun using Roman measurements for hours of the day (Mark 15:1, 25, 33). Additionally, Peter said at Pentecost (just 50 days after Passover): For these men are not drunk, as you imagine, for it is [only] the third hour (about 9:00 a.m.) of the day;
What is the Hebrew day?
In Old Testament times the Hebrew day began at sunset and continued until the following sunset. This is evidenced by the creation account: And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
How many hours did the Romans divide each day into?
The Roman day, however, began at sunrise and continued until the following sunrise. "Like us, the Romans divided each day into 24 hours, and they assigned 12 to the daytime and 12 to the night. These did not run from midnight to midnight as our modern method of timekeeping does, but from sunrise to sunrise .".
Where did Jesus wash the disciples feet?
Once supper is over, Jesus washed the disciples' feet as revealed in John 13:3-10. This included Judas. Judas then left the group to betray Jesus, and Jesus taught them the words of John 13:31-17:26. Then Jesus and the 11 went to the garden of Gethsemane.
What did Jesus do on Sunday?
On Sunday, the day after the weekly Sabbath, Jesus returned to Jerusalem and rode into the city on a donkey ( Matt 21:1-9, Mark 11:1-10, Luke 19:28-40, John 12:12-19 ). And t he people heralded His arrival by waving palm branches and proclaiming Him to be King.
What was the day that Jesus presented himself to His people?
Nisan 10 was also t he day that Jesus presented Himself to His people ( Luke 19:28-37 ), entered the Temple, and was questioned by the authorities for the next few days. This was the day when God revealed to His people where their peace would come from ( Luke 19:42a ). But the Jews failed to recognize their Messiah.
How long was Jesus on the cross?
Six hours of darkness on the cross: 9am-3pm. In the grave before sundown ( Jn 19:31) Three days and three nights in the grave ( Matt 12:40)
What did Jesus curse after entering Jerusalem?
The next day, after Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, He cursed the fruitless fig tree ( Mk 11:13-14) and cleansed the Temple ( Mk 11:15-19, Lk 19:45-46 ).
Where did Jesus go to have dinner?
Jesus returned to Bethany and had dinner at the house of Simon the leper in Bethany ( Mat 26:2 ). While there, an unnamed woman anointed Jesus’ head ( Mat 26:7-13 ). The authorities plotted to kill Jesus ( Mt 26:1-5, Mk 14:1-2 ).
Was Jesus a sinless person?
In life, Jesus was sinless—making Him the pure Passover Lamb and in death, He was the Lamb who died to atone for the sins of mankind. In the resurrection, God glorified Jesus and showed that the payment for sins was accepted and sufficient.
What was the last supper in the Gospel of John?
As is often the case, the gospel of John preserves a more accurate chronology of what went on. John specifies that the Wednesday night "last supper" was "before the festival of Passover." He also notes that when Jesus' accusers delivered him to be crucified on Thursday morning they would not enter Pilate's courtyard because they would be defiled and would not be able to eat the Passover that evening (John 18:28). John knows that the Jews would be eating their traditional Seder meal Thursday evening.
Why is it important to know the chronology of the last supper?
The reason it matters is that getting the chronology straight that weekend enables us to understand the early tradition that Jesus was in the tomb "three days and three nights," as well as the chronology of the "Last Supper" and the Passover and how the Sabbaths and festival days correlate together that year. This alternative chronology makes all our pieces fit from our various sources, including the Synoptic Gospels, John, and the Gospel of Peter.
What was Jesus' last meal?
Jesus’ last meal was Wednesday night, and he was crucified on Thursday, the 14th of the Hebrew month Nisan. The Passover meal itself was eaten Thursday night, at sundown, as the 15th of Nisan began. Jesus never ate that Passover meal. He had died at 3 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. The reason it matters is that getting the chronology straight ...
Why is there confusion in the Gospels?
The confusion arose because all the gospels say that there was a rush to get his body off the cross and buried before sundown because the “Sabbath” was near.
Did Paul mention the last supper?
Also, when Paul refers to the “last supper” significantly he does not say “on the night of Passover,” but rather “on the night Jesus was betrayed,” and he also mentions the “loaf of bread” (1 Corinthians 11:23). If this meal had been the Passover Paul would have surely wanted to say that but he does not. For more background on this discussion see ...
Did Jesus eat Passover?
But the fact is, Jesus ate no Passover meal in 30 CE. When the Passover meal began at sundown on Thursday Jesus was dead. He had been hastily put in a tomb until after the festival when proper and full Jewish burial rites could be carried out. Advertisement.
Is bread a Passover meal?
Another indication that this is not a Passover meal is that all of our records report that Jesus shared “a loaf of bread” with his disciples, using the Greek word (artos) that refers to an ordinary loaf — not to the unleavened flat bread or matzos that Jews eat with their Passover meals. Also, when Paul refers to the “last supper” significantly he ...
