Post by rt on Sept 12, 2022 9:07:08 GMT -6
I thought I would share a discussion I had with a young friend about what appears to be a contradiction regarding the timeing of the crucifixion and its relationship to the passover. This young man was looking at John 18: 28, and seeing a contradiction, namely that the other gospels show Jesus eating the passover and then being arrested, and John seems to say the passover had not yet happened, what follows was my reply to him.
(Italics are his)
After taking another look at John 18:28, I think there is an easy explanation as to this “seeming contradiction”.
There is some speculation on my part here, but the Pharisees involvement in the “case” against Jesus would have most certainly interrupted their Passover meal, remember that Judas was sent away from the table early in the evening when they were dipping the bread, he left straight away and went to the chief priests and Pharisees with whom he had contracted for 30 pieces of silver to betray Jesus:
Clearly Judas seized the moment and went directly to the chief priests and Pharisees who were likely just beginning their Passover meal as well.
So the priests and Pharisees were being truthful to Pilate when they said they couldn’t enter the Praetorium because they hadn’t yet had the Passover, when the whole thing started with Judas it was still night, and the events that followed led them into the next day, they never got to eat their Passover meal. It’s possible that they may have returned the following morning to complete the meal, even though it wasn’t scriptural for them to do so but there is another alternative for them; there was a provision in the law for a second Passover that took place the following month, see Numbers 9:2-14, for those who because of hardship could not partake of the meal on its prescribed day. These religious leaders would have an easy out, if they couldn’t complete the meal because of this “hardship”, they could just get a do-over in the following month.
Jesus clearly states that He was partaking of the Passover “before” his suffering. The meal they were about to consume, was the Passover meal.
Well, in John 13:1 it says that it was before the feast of the Passover, and later in this passage Jesus sends Judas away and it tells us some thought Jesus was telling him to buy something for the feast, which had not yet happened.
John 18:28 is the passage where “they” (officers of the chief priest and the Pharisees) did not enter so they would not be defiled and could eat the Passover, and then in John 19:14 tells us “It was the day of preparation of the Passover. It was about the 6th hour. He (Pilate) said to the Jews “Behold your king.””
The Passover was the 14th day of the first month, eaten at twilight and started the 7 days of the Feast of Unleavened bread. Jesus apparently celebrated the Passover every year in Jerusalem.
From these 3 verses in John, it is clear the Passover has not yet happened, and would be kept in the evening of the day Jesus was crucified.
If John was the only record we had, we would have to conclude Jesus did not eat the Passover but was crucified and died on the day the Passover lambs themselves were being slaughtered. All the references to the Passover within John around the time of Jesus arrest are consistent: it has not yet happened.
It is also clear that Luke, Mark and Matthew record Jesus as eating the Passover and instituting Communion, a ceremony which John does not reference.
The 2 accounts (John and the Synoptics) cannot be reconciled on a plain reading. Now, maybe it doesn’t matter if Jesus and his followers ate the Passover or not, but the 2 accounts do record different things.
So the “day of preparation” in John 19: 14, is a reference to the day before the high Sabbath, which was the Saturday after Passover, they prepared for the high Sabbath day the day before, which would have been Friday, this is commonly known. You will find another reference to this in Matthew 27:62. Again you have to keep in mind that John was likely referencing the feast of unleavened bread when he spoke of the “Passover” in this verse, the “day of preparation for the Passover; not the meal; but the weeklong feast of unleavened bread which was also called the Passover.
As for John 13:1, I believe John could be speaking of the time leading up to when the Passover meal would have been served. John is making the point that Jesus knew before the meal commenced that He was leaving the disciples, that he would be departing this world. “Before” the meal, doesn’t necessitate a day or several days, it may simply be that before Jesus sat down for it, some time or even moments before. Verse 2 says that “during supper”, the devil …. And verse 4 says (Jesus) got up from supper… to wash the disciples feet. The “supper”, which seems clear to me, especially in light of the other gospel accounts, was in fact the Passover meal itself. That some thought Judas was going out to buy things needed for the feast, again has a simple explanation, because there were two Sabbath days during the weeklong feast, it would have been necessary to procure extra provisions since no labor could occur on those two days.
John in my opinion called it “supper” instead of its formal title “Passover”, because he wrote in hindsight, the meal as Jesus served it was the initiation of the “Lord’s supper” . At the time of John’s writing this would have been his paradigm and was his way of referencing that “ceremony”. Just because John did not describe the “cups” and what Jesus had said, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. He focused instead on the foot washing, which the other gospels do not. John did not include the account of Jesus’ birth in his gospel, but the other writers did, should we conclude that according to John it never happened? Are we to suppose a contradiction?
We do not know exactly when John wrote his gospel account, many scholars say it was much later than the others. If this is true it could explain why John left out many of the accounts that the synoptic gospels include- the birth of Christ, the transfiguration, the Lord’s supper to name a few. Since these events would have been widely understood at the time of John’s written account, he may have simply chose to leave them out. It may also account for John’s accounting of time in this passage (another seeming contradiction):
According to the Hebrew reckoning of time, the sixth hour would be noon, since they recognized a day as beginning at 6AM and ending at 6PM, this is supported in the synoptic gospels who place the crucifixion as occurring in the morning at the “third hour” (See Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23). John may simply have been using the Roman accounting for time which recognized a day beginning at Midnight, so the sixth hour to him would be consistent with the other writers as occurring in the morning around 6AM. He was likely not living in Jerusalem at the time of his writing and was accustomed to reckoning time according to the “clock” where he was living and may have also been considering the gentiles among his audience at the time of the writing.
So I disagree with your assertion that the two accounts cannot be reconciled, and I assert that though the accounts do have differences, they do in fact record the same events, from different perspectives, but you can be the judge.
Please pray for this young man, he is my good friend's son and was part of our youth group when my husband and I led it for five years a while back. He has walked away from his faith in Christ and insists he was never really a christian, that he only pretended to please his parents. But I see him searching for reasons not to believe, please pray that he wil be reconciled to Christ.
(Italics are his)
After taking another look at John 18:28, I think there is an easy explanation as to this “seeming contradiction”.
John 18:28
28 Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.
28 Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.
There is some speculation on my part here, but the Pharisees involvement in the “case” against Jesus would have most certainly interrupted their Passover meal, remember that Judas was sent away from the table early in the evening when they were dipping the bread, he left straight away and went to the chief priests and Pharisees with whom he had contracted for 30 pieces of silver to betray Jesus:
Luke 22:1–7
1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching.
2 The chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put Him to death; for they were afraid of the people.
3 And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve.
4 And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them.
5 They were glad and agreed to give him money.
6 So he consented, and began seeking a good opportunity to betray Him to them apart from the crowd.
7 Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.
1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching.
2 The chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put Him to death; for they were afraid of the people.
3 And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve.
4 And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them.
5 They were glad and agreed to give him money.
6 So he consented, and began seeking a good opportunity to betray Him to them apart from the crowd.
7 Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.
John 18:3
3 Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.
3 Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.
Clearly Judas seized the moment and went directly to the chief priests and Pharisees who were likely just beginning their Passover meal as well.
So the priests and Pharisees were being truthful to Pilate when they said they couldn’t enter the Praetorium because they hadn’t yet had the Passover, when the whole thing started with Judas it was still night, and the events that followed led them into the next day, they never got to eat their Passover meal. It’s possible that they may have returned the following morning to complete the meal, even though it wasn’t scriptural for them to do so but there is another alternative for them; there was a provision in the law for a second Passover that took place the following month, see Numbers 9:2-14, for those who because of hardship could not partake of the meal on its prescribed day. These religious leaders would have an easy out, if they couldn’t complete the meal because of this “hardship”, they could just get a do-over in the following month.
Jesus clearly states that He was partaking of the Passover “before” his suffering. The meal they were about to consume, was the Passover meal.
Luke 22:13–16
13 And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.
14 When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him.
15 And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
16 for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
13 And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.
14 When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him.
15 And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
16 for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
Well, in John 13:1 it says that it was before the feast of the Passover, and later in this passage Jesus sends Judas away and it tells us some thought Jesus was telling him to buy something for the feast, which had not yet happened.
John 18:28 is the passage where “they” (officers of the chief priest and the Pharisees) did not enter so they would not be defiled and could eat the Passover, and then in John 19:14 tells us “It was the day of preparation of the Passover. It was about the 6th hour. He (Pilate) said to the Jews “Behold your king.””
The Passover was the 14th day of the first month, eaten at twilight and started the 7 days of the Feast of Unleavened bread. Jesus apparently celebrated the Passover every year in Jerusalem.
From these 3 verses in John, it is clear the Passover has not yet happened, and would be kept in the evening of the day Jesus was crucified.
If John was the only record we had, we would have to conclude Jesus did not eat the Passover but was crucified and died on the day the Passover lambs themselves were being slaughtered. All the references to the Passover within John around the time of Jesus arrest are consistent: it has not yet happened.
It is also clear that Luke, Mark and Matthew record Jesus as eating the Passover and instituting Communion, a ceremony which John does not reference.
The 2 accounts (John and the Synoptics) cannot be reconciled on a plain reading. Now, maybe it doesn’t matter if Jesus and his followers ate the Passover or not, but the 2 accounts do record different things.
So the “day of preparation” in John 19: 14, is a reference to the day before the high Sabbath, which was the Saturday after Passover, they prepared for the high Sabbath day the day before, which would have been Friday, this is commonly known. You will find another reference to this in Matthew 27:62. Again you have to keep in mind that John was likely referencing the feast of unleavened bread when he spoke of the “Passover” in this verse, the “day of preparation for the Passover; not the meal; but the weeklong feast of unleavened bread which was also called the Passover.
Luke 22:1
1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching.
1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching.
As for John 13:1, I believe John could be speaking of the time leading up to when the Passover meal would have been served. John is making the point that Jesus knew before the meal commenced that He was leaving the disciples, that he would be departing this world. “Before” the meal, doesn’t necessitate a day or several days, it may simply be that before Jesus sat down for it, some time or even moments before. Verse 2 says that “during supper”, the devil …. And verse 4 says (Jesus) got up from supper… to wash the disciples feet. The “supper”, which seems clear to me, especially in light of the other gospel accounts, was in fact the Passover meal itself. That some thought Judas was going out to buy things needed for the feast, again has a simple explanation, because there were two Sabbath days during the weeklong feast, it would have been necessary to procure extra provisions since no labor could occur on those two days.
John in my opinion called it “supper” instead of its formal title “Passover”, because he wrote in hindsight, the meal as Jesus served it was the initiation of the “Lord’s supper” . At the time of John’s writing this would have been his paradigm and was his way of referencing that “ceremony”. Just because John did not describe the “cups” and what Jesus had said, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. He focused instead on the foot washing, which the other gospels do not. John did not include the account of Jesus’ birth in his gospel, but the other writers did, should we conclude that according to John it never happened? Are we to suppose a contradiction?
We do not know exactly when John wrote his gospel account, many scholars say it was much later than the others. If this is true it could explain why John left out many of the accounts that the synoptic gospels include- the birth of Christ, the transfiguration, the Lord’s supper to name a few. Since these events would have been widely understood at the time of John’s written account, he may have simply chose to leave them out. It may also account for John’s accounting of time in this passage (another seeming contradiction):
John 19:14
14 Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!”
14 Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!”
According to the Hebrew reckoning of time, the sixth hour would be noon, since they recognized a day as beginning at 6AM and ending at 6PM, this is supported in the synoptic gospels who place the crucifixion as occurring in the morning at the “third hour” (See Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23). John may simply have been using the Roman accounting for time which recognized a day beginning at Midnight, so the sixth hour to him would be consistent with the other writers as occurring in the morning around 6AM. He was likely not living in Jerusalem at the time of his writing and was accustomed to reckoning time according to the “clock” where he was living and may have also been considering the gentiles among his audience at the time of the writing.
So I disagree with your assertion that the two accounts cannot be reconciled, and I assert that though the accounts do have differences, they do in fact record the same events, from different perspectives, but you can be the judge.
Please pray for this young man, he is my good friend's son and was part of our youth group when my husband and I led it for five years a while back. He has walked away from his faith in Christ and insists he was never really a christian, that he only pretended to please his parents. But I see him searching for reasons not to believe, please pray that he wil be reconciled to Christ.
