Christ, and the Passover

The Lord's Last Passover (in that current age)

As we look at the Gospel account of this night of the last meal, it is an overwhelming witness to the fact that everyone involved, thought that it was the Passover meal.

Matthew 26:17-19 17 Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?
18 And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.
19 And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.

This passage tells us that the First day of the Unleavened Bread, as it was observed in the First Century AD, was the day on which the Passover was eaten. This, of course, would be the Fourteenth of Nisan. As we have already noted, Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread was viewed as one feast of eight days.

Mark 14:12-16 12 And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?
13 And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water:follow him.
14 And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?
15 And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared:there make ready for us.
16 And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them:and they made ready the passover.

This passage witnesses to the same truth. The first day of Unleavened Bread was the day when the Passover was killed.

Luke 22:7-15 7 Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed.
8 And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat.
9 And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare?
10 And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in.
11 And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?
12 And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished:there make ready.
13 And they went, and found as he had said unto them:and they made ready the passover.
14 And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.
15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:

All three synoptic gospels testify to the same truth, that the first day of Unleavened Bread was the day when the Passover was killed. We have already seen that the Passover sacrifice was offered on the Fourteenth of Nisan, which would be considered the first day of the eight days of Unleavened Bread.

Did Jesus Know A Passover When He Saw One?

There are several verses above that make it very clear that Jesus believed He would be eating Passover with His disciples.

1. Matt. 26:18 - ". . . I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples."
2. Mark 14:14 - ". . . Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?"
3. Luke 22:15 - ". . . With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer."

There is no doubt that the disciples and Jesus Himself believed they were eating a Passover meal on that last night. There could be no Passover meal without the lamb.

"When they were killing the passover"

What is also of particular interest in these verses, is the fact of the present, ongoing action of the slaying of the passover lambs. In Luke 22:7, we see the phrase, "when the passover must be killed.” As it is translated, it sounds like it is pointing to the idea that the passover must be killed at some point in the near future. However, the verb “be killed” is a Present-Indicative Infinitive. For those who are scratching their heads, and saying, “Huh?”, allow me to explain.

This actually tells us that the slaying of the lambs was on-going at that very moment when the disciples asked Jesus where they should prepare the Passover. This phrase should be more correctly translated, when the passover of necessity was being killed.

The phrase in Mark 14:12, "when they killed the passover,” says the very same thing, except here Mark uses the Imperfect Active, instead of the Present Active. “Huh?” The Imperfect specifies continual action in the past. The witness of Mark is that the killing of the passover sacrifice had already started and had been going on for a period of time. This phrase would more correctly be translated, "when they were killing the passover.”

Also notice in these passages, that Jesus was instructing the disciples to make ready the Passover in the home of someone, He had obviously made previous arrangements with. Part of this previous arrangement likely included the killing of the lamb. Both Philo and Josephus mention that the Passover was conducted in the domestic setting, just as it had in the first Passover. There is no mention of the disciples having to go to the temple to kill the passover. All of the preparation and getting ready for the Passover, was completed at the home of this unnamed man, who was likely a well-to-do disciple of Jesus. The Lord Jesus and His twelve disciples were observing the domestic Passover, as most of the celebrants of the city were, in the homes or inns of the city.

According to rabbinic tradition (Talmud), the sectarian groups of the scribes and Pharisees, and likely some of the priests, would hold their Passover on the night of the Fifteenth, killing their passovers at the temple, in the late afternoon of the Fourteenth. Hence we actually would have Passover observed on two nights, the God ordained time of the night of the Fourteenth, and the Pharisaic traditional time, on the night of the Fifteenth, as it is done to this day.

As a witness to this scenario, we read this,

The book of Ezra records the first Passover to be observed after the dedication of the second temple. Although the Passover was centered at the temple, the lambs were slain at the beginning of the 14th and were eaten on the night of the 14th (Ezra 6:19-21).

In later temple-centered observances, the lambs were slain late on the 14th and were not eaten until the night of the 15th. Although the temple sacrifice in the afternoon of the 14th became a widespread tradition, it did not wholly replace the domestic sacrifice of the lambs at the beginning of the 14th. Some Jews continued to observe the domestic Passover as commanded in the Scriptures, and others kept the temple-centered Passover as sanctioned by the religious authorities. The records of Scripture and history show that the two practices existed side by side.

It is important to understand that Ezra’s decree did not change the time for killing the Passover lambs. His Passover law did not in any way alter or contradict the Passover ordinances of God, as recorded in Scripture. The measures that Ezra enforced were aimed at protecting the true worship of God and upholding His laws—not changing or replacing them. His restriction of the Passover to the area of Jerusalem promoted a temple centered observance, but it did not replace or prohibit the domestic killing of the Passover within that area. (Coulter, Fred R. The Christian Passover. 1993, 206)

The witness of the Talmud is that the Passover was killed on the afternoon of the Fourteenth of Nisan. This would be the time of the crucifixion of Christ, and when the Pharisees were killing their Passover lambs. However, we are told by Scriptural witness, that there was also a time between the Thirteenth and the Fourteenth, that the domestic offering or killing of the Passover lamb would also take place.

Philo, the First Century Jewish writer, also lends his voice to this truth concerning Passover.

And after the feast of the new moon comes the fourth festival, that of the passover, which the Hebrews call pascha, on which the whole people offer sacrifice, beginning at noonday and continuing till evening. And each house is at that time invested with the character and dignity of a temple, the victim being sacrificed so as to make a suitable feast for the man who has provided it and of those who are collected to share in the feast, being all duly purified with holy ablutions. And those who are to share in the feast come together not as they do to other entertainments, to gratify their bellies with wine and meat, but to fulfil their hereditary custom with prayer and songs of praise. And this universal sacrifice of the whole people is celebrated on the fourteenth day of the month. (Philo, The Special Laws II, The Fourth Festival)

Here, Philo makes it clear that at this festival of Passover, “each house is invested with the character and dignity of a temple.” There is no mention by Philo of any part of Passover being held over into the Fifteenth of Nisan or performed at the temple. He plainly states that the Passover feast was held, “beginning at noonday and continuing till evening.” Of necessity, based upon what we have seen to this point, this would of necessity mean from noonday on the Thirteenth till into the evening time of the Fourteenth.

We can only conclude, from the Biblical and historical witnesses before us, the Jesus held His Last Supper/Last Passover, with His disciples on the night of the Fourteenth of Nisan.

Christ, The Lamb of God

The original Passover opened the door for God to begin fulfilling His promises to the fathers, in their children. The first Passover accomplished the following for the children of Israel.

• It caused the death angel to Pass over them, when it saw the blood on the doors of their homes.
• It caused them to be delivered from the power of Pharoah and His kingdom of darkness.
• It opened the way for their inheriting the land promised, wherein they would live with God as their King.

With Christ as our Passover, we see many of the same things.

• By the death of Christ, we "have passed from death unto life."
• He delivered us from him who had the power of death, the devil [Heb. 2:14]
• He has delivered us from the kingdom of darkness, into the Kingdom of His Dear Son [Col. 1:13]

Jesus is not only the fulfillment of the shadow of Passover in the Old Covenant, but He is the Passover of the New Covenant.[1 Cor. 5:7]