It is rather amazing that there is as much disagreement and division over this subject as there is; because any second-grader who believes the Bible can plainly see the answer, as you soon will. But the only way to understand this, or anything else for that matter, is to scrape away the encrusted doctrines and opinions that our respective churches have taught and believe the Bible, by itself, for it is quite clear on the subject. The Bible stands alone and doesn’t need anyone, be they man, devil or church to interpret it.

The reason this question is important is that it tells us when to keep the passover; either at the the beginning of the 14^th day of the first Hebrew month, when the last supper took place, or at the end of the 14^th, when Jesus actually died, or even into the next day, at the beginning of the 15^th.

If the last supper was indeed a passover meal, then it will settle this question once and for all, since if that’s when Jesus kept the passover, He being our perfect example, then we should “walk as He walked”. If it WASN’T a passover, then we’re back at square one. So what do the Gospels say?

Luke 22:8 And he[Jesus] sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat.

Verse 13 And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.

The time setting of this scripture is about 24 hours before Jesus died, this being the afternoon of the 13^th, or at the very beginning of the 14^th just after sundown. Now right there, that should settle the question; what did Jesus command them to prepare on that evening, the beginning of the 14^th? He said “prepare us the PASSOVER”, so that “WE MAY EAT”.

Matthew 26:17 …Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?
Verse 19 …and they made ready the passover.

Clearly, they intended for Him to eat the passover, for they were preparing it “for thee to eat the passover”. As we read exactly what happened that night, only one conclusion is possible:

Luke 22:13-15 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:

They asked him where to make the passover so that they could eat it, Jesus sent them to a certain man’s house, they went to that house and made ready the passover, then when the hour (of the passover) arrived, they sat down (to eat the passover), and Jesus said “I have desired to eat THIS passover”!

He didn’t say “that passover, some other time” – he didn’t say “this generic non-passover meal”. He didn’t say “I moved the passover this year so we could eat it”. He said He was keeping THIS passover. He said that BECAUSE “THIS” WAS THE PASSOVER!

This much weight of clear scripture should have convinced most anyone who is studying the passover that this was indeed a passover meal. However, there are a few honest objections which must and shall be explained. And in the process, many more scriptures which can be added to this body of evidence.

1. “WHICH IS CALLED THE PASSOVER/UNLEAVENED BREAD”

Mark 14:12 And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover,...

Luke 22:1 Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, WHICH IS CALLED the Passover.

These verses and a few others like them appear contradictory, for they appear to say that the first day of unleavened bread, which starts at the beginning of the 15^th day of the month, is also the passover. That would mean that Passover is actually at the beginning of the 15^th, and not at the beginning of the 14^th as Jesus so plainly kept it. But look carefully at those verses. Assume nothing. What EXACTLY do they say?

Luke 22:1 Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, WHICH IS CALLED the Passover.

Here we are about to see how the Bible interprets itself, and WHY WE MUST ALLOW IT TO DO SO! This clearly says that the feast of unleavened bread IS CALLED the passover. It doesn’t say it IS the passover! It says IT IS CALLED the passover. There is an incredibly important difference there!

It says that this is an IDIOM, or slang expression, and that the Feast of Unleavened bread is commonly CALLED (but ISN’T!) the passover! Luke says this IS the FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD, but it is CALLED the passover! But why would something be called something that it isn’t?

Passover is a single day, one of the most important of the year. When you speak of the “the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Passover”, you wouldn’t always use the full title, would you? It would be handier to just say “the feast of the passover”, or “the feast of unleavened bread”. After all, everyone would know what you meant, for everyone kept those days.

The Feast of the Last Great Day is almost always lumped into the Feast of Tabernacles for the same reason – even today, we commonly speak of the “8 days of Tabernacles”, when in fact we know there are only 7 days of Tabernacles and 1 for the Last Great Day, which is a separate feast altogether. But if we were preserving a document for future generations, when these common slang names for things might have changed, we could easily say “Then came the Last Great Day, which is called the Feast of Tabernacles”.

As one final example, the world has something similar in the term “Christmas Vacation”. They SHOULD say “The vacation for Christmas and New Year’s and the days in between them”. But they don’t, for everyone knows that Christmas vacation lasts the full week or more.

So we can see what the Bible means when it tells us that the feast of unleavened bread WAS CALLED (but wasn’t!) the passover. And this is why the Bible must be allowed to explain itself! For the same reasoning also went the other way, where Passover was lumped into the days of unleavened bread in common speech;

Luke 22:7 Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed.

Mark 14:12 And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover,...

We know for a fact that this was said on the afternoon of the 13^th, a full 36 hours before the first day of unleavened bread. Everyone agrees on this. Everyone also agrees that the Passover lamb died sometime on the 14^th, and NOT on the day of unleavened bread which doesn’t begin until the 15^th. So why is this day, the 14^th, called “the first day of unleavened bread”?

Because in common usage, just as Unleavened Bread was sometimes called passover, passover was also sometimes lumped into Unleavened Bread. This completely explains both scriptures, and will later explain several others as you will see. All those scriptures are saying is that the passover (the first of the 8 days lumped into unleavened bread) was coming in a few hours, and it was time to get ready to kill the lamb to eat the passover.

2. JESUS USUALLY KEPT THE PASSOVER ON THE 15^TH, BUT HE MOVED IT THIS YEAR SINCE HE WOULD BE DEAD THEN

There are several problems with this idea, beginning with the fact that since He WAS going to be dead, He didn’t have to keep the passover at ALL that year. But besides that, He wasn’t ALLOWED to move the passover. Paul in Galatians 4 clearly established Jesus’ place during His time on Earth:

Galatians 4:1-4 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. … But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

When Jesus came here, though He was lord of all, He was only the heir; he did not receive “all power in heaven and in earth” until the time appointed of the father, which we see in Matthew 28:18; until then He differed nothing from a servant, and was under tutors (Luke 2:46) and governors (Matthew 27:2, 11, John 19:10-11, etc). Furthermore, He was UNDER the law, not above it! He was bound to obey every jot and tittle of the law (Luke 2:39, Matthew 3:15, 5:17, etc). He could not, before He was resurrected and inherited the Kingdom of His Father, change or alter any of the commandments, nor could He supersede them for some “greater purpose”.

Philippians 2:7-9 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

While He walked this Earth, He did so in the form of a servant; without reputation, without power and glory; He humbled himself, and was OBEDIENT. He was made UNDER the law, not OVER the law, (Galatians 4:4), and He obeyed the law perfectly, in every facet and aspect.

Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

So if Christ had CHANGED the passover BEFORE He inherited the kingdom (Matthew 28:18 again), He would have been sinning! Had He kept it early, or on the wrong day, or had He not performed any point of it, no matter how minor, he would have FAILED as a sacrifice, SINNED, and COULD NOT have been your savior!

*******

But that aside, there is another line of reasoning which makes it impossible to believe that Jesus kept the passover a day earlier than He usually had. We know that the disciples still didn’t understand a great deal at the time, including the fact that He had to die the next day. He had mentioned it in parable-like references, but they clearly hadn’t gotten it, as various scriptures attest (Luke 24:6-7, 45-46, Matthew 26:51-54, etc). So there is no reason for them to have suggested keeping the passover “a day early”. And yet…

Mark 14:12 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?

His disciples CAME TO HIM and asked where they were going to keep the passover! HE didn’t go to them and say “Oh, by the way, we’re keeping the passover a day early this year”! Instead, THEY came to HIM, on the day “when they killed the passover” and said “Where do you want us to prepare the passover”! THEY asked Him WHERE they were going to go to prepare the passover ON THAT NIGHT! They could ONLY have done this if that was WHEN they ALWAYS kept the PASSOVER, at the beginning of the 14^th!

But some contentious people (and nothing brings out savage bitterness in people like this subject) will say “Oh, but they were wrong – they thought they were preparing for Jesus to eat passover on the 15^th, but He died first”… but did Jesus confirm that opinion? No! He CONFIRMED their statements by giving them DIRECTIONS on WHERE He was going to keep it WITH THEM! In response to their question, picking up the story in Matthew, Jesus said:

Matthew 26:18 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.

Now in context with the previous verses, and in the CLEAR MEANING of that scripture, the disciples, at the time when they were accustomed to killing the passover, came and asked Christ “Where will we prepare FOR YOU TO EAT THE PASSOVER?” His answer was “I WILL KEEP THE PASSOVER at this man’s HOUSE, WITH MY DISCIPLES!”

Not some other place, not on the stake, not without them, nor they without Him, but WITH them, THAT NIGHT, at that man’s house!

3. BUT HE COULDN’T GIVE US HIS BODY BEFORE HE DIED!

A rational-enough sounding objection on the surface, but it falls apart pretty quickly under scrutiny. See, God can’t lie. And if God tells you something, you can count on it. It doesn’t have to have already happened – if you trust God, you know that it WILL happen, just as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow. Actually, even more sure than that.

Isaiah 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

So if God says He is going to lay down His life tomorrow, that’s all we need. We can take it to God’s blood bank and draw out payment for our sins right then. Now the faithless and unbelieving will need to see some PROOF, to see Him actually DEAD before they can count on Him. But we shouldn’t need that, for “blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:29).

So yes, we can indeed receive and use the body and blood of Jesus, based on his promise alone, before He died. And all reasoning aside, it is quite obvious that Jesus gave us that body before He died!

Matthew 26:26-28 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; THIS IS MY BODY. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; FOR THIS IS MY BLOOD OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, WHICH IS SHED for many for the remission of sins.

He said it “IS SHED”, using the PRESENT tense, yet it wasn’t physically shed until the next day! That was because it was at the PASSOVER service, where the Lamb’s blood was symbolically shed every year as a picture of His death the next day. Like us, those disciples, at the beginning of the 14^th, had only Jesus’ word to accept on faith that He would go through with dying for our sins the next day. But they knew, as do we, that it was as good as shed already, for He had promised to do it before the world was (Revelation 13:8, 1 Peter 1:20, etc).

4. THE MEAL WAS “BEFORE THE PASSOVER” ACCORDING TO JOHN’S GOSPEL

When dealing with the book of John, as opposed to the other three “synoptic” gospels, it is important to realize that it was written about 40 to 60 years after the other gospels. The other gospels were already widespread by the time John wrote his gospel. So imagine if you were in his place; these gospels, which are all quite similar and talk about many of the same events, are widely known. You of course, were there for those events along with others, so many that “the world itself could not contain the books to talk about them” (John 21:25), as John, himself put it.

So what would you write about? You would of course, hit the high points since there wasn’t enough paper to write them all down; but which high points would you hit? The ones that the other gospels discussed in great detail? Or would you talk about the things that Matthew, Mark, and Luke had not felt as important, but which in the light of 60 years of hindsight you see desperately needed to be said?

So because this was John’s attitude as he wrote his gospel, there is very little overlap between his gospel and the others. And without his gospel, we’d have missed the bread of life scriptures in John 6, the love and holy spirit scriptures in John 14-17, the resurrection of Lazarus, and tons of other vital things.

So when John wrote his book, it was to an audience already familiar with the passover stories as told by Mark, Luke, and Matthew, and with a mindset not of correcting them, but of filling in the gaps. So John ignored the parts about finding the guestchamber, preparing it so that Jesus could eat the passover, and things like that, and skipped right to “and supper being ended…”, picked up with the footwashing ceremony which the other gospels had omitted, and carried on from there.

This is why John 13 opens up with one single verse, which covers everything from the disciples asking where they were to keep the passover, right up and through the giving of the bread and the wine. And that verse is:

John 13:1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus 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.

If you read the context, and read that verse for exactly what it says, you’ll see that this verse comes before both the last supper, which I think we know now was a passover service, and also before “the feast of unleavened bread, which is CALLED the passover” (Luke 22:1). So there is no conflict in this verse at all.

5. THE JEWS WERE KEEPING PASSOVER THE NEXT NIGHT

John 18:28 Then led they Jesus 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.

Now bear in mind that we have established, through many clear scriptures, that Jesus ate the passover the night before, at the beginning of the 14^th. And there is a good deal more proof I’ll show shortly. So when you look at this scripture, consider that clear scriptures must interpret vague ones.

The time setting for this verse is about dawn on the 14^th of the month. Again, what EXACLY does it say?It says that THEY were planning to eat the passover. That’s all it says! It doesn’t say that Jesus was, or that God was, or even that ALL the Jews were – it only says that these men who CONSPIRED TO KILL JESUS ATE THE PASSOVER THE NEXT DAY!

Now contrast that with this scripture, with a time setting of approximately 18 hours previous:

Mark 14:12 (YLT) And the first day of the unleavened food, when they were killing the passover, his disciples say to him, ‘Where wilt thou, that, having gone, we may prepare, that thou mayest eat the passover?’

This was speaking of the coming first day of the “lumped” feast of unleavened bread (which included passover), and at this time, which was either late afternoon of the 13^th, or just after sundown on the 14^th, they were preparing to kill and eat the passover. But this appears to directly contradict John 18:28! So let’s look at it in another literal translation:

Mark 14:12 (Rotherham) And, on the first day of the unleavened cakes, when, the passover, they were slaying, his disciples say unto him—Where wilt thou, we depart and make ready, that thou mayest eat the passover?

At this time, very shortly before Jesus kept the passover service, at the very beginning of the 14^th, “they were killing the passover”. The Greek words for “they were killing” imply something that was going on at that very time, as well as something that happened regularly at this time as a common practice every year.

So we’re left with a conflict for which there can be only one resolution; that one group of Jews kept it the next afternoon or evening, and that one kept it this night. It is well known that this subject has been divided throughout history, dating back to the years well before Christ.

So it is not surprising that there were two groups keeping passover each year; one on the 15^th, as many do today, and one on the 14^th, as Jesus did. Only one of those groups is correct, and that is the one which Jesus gave us the example of observing – the evening beginning the 14th:

Luke 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: THIS DO in remembrance of me.

He didn’t tell us “do something like this, but on a different day”. He didn’t say “I’m just doing this once, but do it differently from now on”. He said DO THIS! Do EXACTLY THIS! And this was said at the beginning of the 14^th, at the time when the disciples were accustomed to Him keeping it, as we know from the fact that THEY inquired where they were going to eat the passover that year, were informed as to where, then went and prepared the passover there, then they sat down and ate “this passover” with Jesus! Paul further confirmed this when He said:

1 Corinthians 11:23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:

Because there was this division among the Jews as to when passover was to be observed, the Gentiles in churches such as Corinth were being confused; so Paul, who had spent three years being trained by Christ in Arabia (Galatians 1:17-18), and who had told by Jesus during that time just WHEN the passover was MEANT to be observed, stepped in and cleared up the confusion for them. And here he makes it clear that Jesus took bread (the passover bread, is the context), and with it the passover meal, in the same night He was betrayed, which as we know was the early part of the 14^th.

Verse 24-26 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.

Everyone who wants to keep a 15^th passover no matter what the Bible says, will take this scripture and say “well, yes, that’s just Paul stating a historical fact; that Jesus did actually eat bread then; but we should still keep the passover the NEXT night, on the 15^th!” – but really now, look at that passage – is that what it’s saying? Is that why it was written? Is that what the gospels themselves say? Not even close. He was DELIVERING this to them, this which Christ had told HIM, because THEY BOTH NEEDED TO KNOW WHEN TO KEEP THE PASSOVER! And their answer was plainly that passover was on the 14^th!

6. LET US HEAR THE CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER

So having addressed some of the major stumblingblocks for the honest researcher, it’s time to present my closing arguments, which are absolutely conclusive. As I said up front, any second-grader with a Bible – who actually BELIEVED his Bible and didn’t have his own ax to grind or pet doctrine to defend – would have no trouble finding the truth, for the Bible is quite clear on the subject.

Luke 22:11 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?

This scripture, as it happens, is one of the few in the Bible where there is no disagreement amongst the various translations. The Greek is simple, the layout is not confusing, and it says, in the Greek, exactly what it says in English without a doubt. Plus, there are two parallel scriptures which you’ll see in a minute which say the exact same thing. I harp on this, because this is a pivotal scripture; this scripture, alone, can solve every passover dispute out there if you believe it, for there are four concrete facts in it.

1. That the passover would be kept at that man’s house, in his guestchamber
2. That He, Jesus, would eat the passover
3. That He did so that night, for he was imprisoned about midnight and never had another chance
4. And that He would eat the passover WITH His disciples.

Those facts are beyond dispute. Jesus said that quite clearly. And said the same thing in Mark:

Mark 14:14…The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I SHALL EAT THE PASSOVER with my disciples?

People with a pet doctrine to defend here, will try to attack these scriptures and discredit them; so to prevent that, here is this verse in a few other translations:

(BBE) …Where is my guest-room, where I may take the Passover with my disciples?
(Murdoch) …Where is the place of refreshment, in which I may eat the passover with my disciples?
(NKJV) “…Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”‘
(Phillips) …where is the room for me to eat the Passover with my disciples?”
(Rotherham) …Where is my lodging, where, the passover, with my disciples, I may eat?
(RSV) …Where is my guest room, where I am to eat the passover with my disciples?’
(Weymouth) …Where is my room where I can eat the Passover with my disciples?
(Young’s Literal) …Where is the guest-chamber, where the passover, WITH my disciples, I MAY EAT?

opou {WHERE} to {THE} pasca {PASSOVER} meta twn {WITH} mayhtwn mou {MY DISCIPLES} fagw {I MAY EAT?}

“Where the passover with my disciples I may eat” is the most literal translation possible. No words are added or taken away from the words penned by Mark and inspired by God. Another crucial, equally clear scripture is a few verses earlier, where it says:

Luke 22:8 And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare US the passover, that WE may eat.

What did He say? To prepare the passover so that the disciples could eat it the next night, after He was dead (as some would have you believe)? Did He tell them to “Go and prepare YOU the passover, so that YOU may eat it?” NOPE! He said that “WE” were going to eat that passover!

EVERY TRANSLATION AGREES THAT “WE” is the pronoun, NOT “you”. “Go and prepare the Passover so that WE may eat it!”

(Young’s Literal) and he sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Having gone on, prepare to us the passover, that we may eat;’
(Weymouth) “Go,” He said, “and prepare the Passover for US, that WE may eat it.”
(RSV) “Go and prepare THE PASSOVER for US, that WE may EAT IT.”
(Rotherham) Go, and make ready, for us, the passover, that we may eat.
(Phillips) “Go and make all the preparations for us to eat the Passover.”
(NKJV) “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.”
(Murdoch) Go, prepare for us the passover, that we may eat it.
(BBE) Go and make the Passover ready for us, so that we may take it.

(Interlinear Greek) {PREPARE} hmin {FOR US} to {THE} pasca {PASSOVER,} ina {THAT} fagwmen {WE MAY EAT [IT].}

So again you can see an absolutely clear scripture, not a vague one that can be read many ways, states that Jesus was going to eat the passover WITH His disciples. Not just an ordinary meal, nor even an extraordinary meal where He showed them the symbols as an example of how they should keep the passover the next night, but an ACTUAL, REAL, PASSOVER CEREMONY!

The same thing is recorded in other ways in the other gospels:

Matthew 26:17 …Where wilt thou that we PREPARE FOR YOU TO EAT THE PASSOVER?

Mark 14:12 …Where wilt thou that we go and prepare THAT YOU MAY EAT THE PASSOVER?

Matthew 26:18 …The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover AT THY HOUSE WITH MY DISCIPLES.

If you care at all for what the Bible says then you cannot escape the conclusion that Jesus ate THE PASSOVER WITH his disciples! THAT WAS HIS LAST MEAL! If He didn’t eat it at that meal, HE NEVER ATE IT! And if He didn’t EAT the PASSOVER, at that man’s house, WITH HIS DISCIPLES, He LIED!

He didn’t keep it later! He didn’t keep it someplace else! He didn’t keep it the next afternoon on the stake. He didn’t eat it the next night, on the 15^th, when so many misguided people do. He ate it THAT NIGHT IN THAT MAN’S HOUSE, OR HE BROKE HIS WORD AND YOU HAVE NO SAVIOR!!!

So you can see that we have three choices:

1. Christ ate the passover, THAT NIGHT, at the beginning of the 14^th, at that man’s house, WITH HIS DISCIPLES,
2. That Jesus lied and didn’t keep the passover at all, didn’t keep it with his disciples, and didn’t keep it in that man’s house,
3. That that scripture must be torn from the pages of the Bible

If Christ lied, then we have no savior so this is a moot point and we’re all dead anyway. If that scripture must be torn from the Bible, then so must the exact copies of it in Luke 22:11 and Matthew 26:18, along with a ton of other scriptures. And if we can’t trust the Bible, we can’t trust anything and this whole discussion is again, a moot point.

Otherwise, that meal was a passover meal, kept at the same time as it had always been kept by Jesus and His disciples, at the beginning of the 14^th. And since Christ was our example, that’s good enough for me. Is it good enough for you?

*******

So after reading this body of proof, if your answer is “Wow, that makes sense; thanks!”
 – I’d love to hear about it.

If it is “Yeah, well, I can’t really argue that, but I’ve always done it differently and I am not going to change…”
 – then read “Old Bottles, Inc.”

If it is “Yeah, but the Jews say that passover is on the 15^th…”
 – then read “Do the Jews sit in Moses’ seat Today?”

If it is “The Hebrew phrase “Ben Ha Arbayim” means “between the two evenings” which proves that passover is on the afternoon of the 14^th/15^th.”
 – then read “Evening, Sundown, and Ben Ha Arbayim”

If it is “But Jesus is the passover lamb, why did He die at 3pm!”
 – then read “Why Did Jesus Died At 3pm?”