ad finitum
Active Member
The key is that the first day of Unleavened Bread is a high sabbath according to The Law of Moses. Nobody is doing anything on that day. No trials, no executions, nothing.
Also, the Law specifies how Passover is to be observed. You must stay indoors all night. But Jesus and his disciples get up and leave and go to the Mount of Olives. Did Jesus violate the Law of the Passover? I don't think so.
Or was Jesus the true Passover Lamb? If he was, then wouldn't he be crucified on Passover at the same time that Passover lambs were being slaughtered all through Judea and in the Temple? I don't see any way that Christ is not the literal Passover and His death would occur at the same time as the example Passover lambs. The Passover Lamb is not killed late in the day on 15 Nissan, on the High Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It's just impossible.
If scripture "seems" to indicate the Last Supper was a Passover, then one has to acknowledge that a Sabbath has begun at sundown (Unleavened Bread). But then why did they hasten to remove the body of Jesus before Sabbath???? That makes no common sense if they are already taking action on a Sabbath Day (1st day of Unleavened Bread). This doesn't fit.
Our understanding of "the first day of unleavened bread" must be altered. Indeed, Eidersheim (IIRC) says that it was common to refer to the first day of the festival as preparation day, the day before 14 Nissan. On preparation day, it was traditional to eat a formal preparation meal on the eve of Passover. This must be what they were observing at the Last Supper.
So the passage in Mark is saying, "Now, on the first day of Unleavened Bread (which means preparation day, the 13th) when the Passover lamb is sacrificed (IOW, describing what the feast is about, not what the first day of the festival is about)". This interpretation is forced upon us due to our knowledge of The Law.
The Bible is therefore interpreting itself here. It is up to us to look closely at all scripture regarding Passover before arriving at conclusions that ultimately make no sense in terms of the Word of God elsewhere.
Also, the Law specifies how Passover is to be observed. You must stay indoors all night. But Jesus and his disciples get up and leave and go to the Mount of Olives. Did Jesus violate the Law of the Passover? I don't think so.
Or was Jesus the true Passover Lamb? If he was, then wouldn't he be crucified on Passover at the same time that Passover lambs were being slaughtered all through Judea and in the Temple? I don't see any way that Christ is not the literal Passover and His death would occur at the same time as the example Passover lambs. The Passover Lamb is not killed late in the day on 15 Nissan, on the High Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It's just impossible.
If scripture "seems" to indicate the Last Supper was a Passover, then one has to acknowledge that a Sabbath has begun at sundown (Unleavened Bread). But then why did they hasten to remove the body of Jesus before Sabbath???? That makes no common sense if they are already taking action on a Sabbath Day (1st day of Unleavened Bread). This doesn't fit.
Our understanding of "the first day of unleavened bread" must be altered. Indeed, Eidersheim (IIRC) says that it was common to refer to the first day of the festival as preparation day, the day before 14 Nissan. On preparation day, it was traditional to eat a formal preparation meal on the eve of Passover. This must be what they were observing at the Last Supper.
So the passage in Mark is saying, "Now, on the first day of Unleavened Bread (which means preparation day, the 13th) when the Passover lamb is sacrificed (IOW, describing what the feast is about, not what the first day of the festival is about)". This interpretation is forced upon us due to our knowledge of The Law.
The Bible is therefore interpreting itself here. It is up to us to look closely at all scripture regarding Passover before arriving at conclusions that ultimately make no sense in terms of the Word of God elsewhere.