http://apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=5059&b=Luke
Does the Bible Contradict Itself Regarding the Day of the Crucifixion?
by
Jeff Miller, Ph.D.
According
to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, before His crucifixion, Jesus sent
disciples to prepare the Passover meal, killing the Passover lamb. They
note that this task was completed on “the first day of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread,” the 14
th of Nisan on the Jewish calendar,
the day before Jesus’ crucifixion (cf. Matthew 26:17; Mark 14:12; Luke
22:7)—identifying for us that the meal was prepared on a Thursday. In
accordance with the Law of Moses, Jesus then ate the Passover meal that
evening—Thursday night to the modern mind, but the beginning of the
Jewish Friday to the Israelite (the Jewish day began at sunset). Jesus’
crucifixion then occurred the next day on Friday (the same day as the
initial Passover meal to Jews), before the Jewish Sabbath Day began
Friday evening (the Jews’ Saturday). [NOTE: While some believe the
crucifixion, and hence the Passover meal, was earlier in the week, Mark
15:42, Luke 23:54, and Matthew 27:62 indicate that the crucifixion took
place on Friday, “the day before the Sabbath,” with Jesus dying as “the
Sabbath drew near.” Backing up through the synoptic narratives reveals
Jesus being arrested the night before (Thursday night), while Jesus was
in the Garden of Gethsemane immediately after His last supper with the
disciples. The resurrection took place on Sunday, “three days” later,
according to the Jewish idiomatic reckoning of the chronology (Mark
16:9; Matthew 28:1; Luke 24:1; cf.
Lyons, 2004;
Lyons,
2006; Bullinger, 1898, pp. 845-847; Robertson, 1922, pp. 289-291).]
John, however, seems to indicate that Jesus’ crucifixion actually took
place
before the Passover even began (John 13:1; 18:28; 19:14). Thomas Nelson’s
The Chronological Study Bible says,
“The Synoptics [i.e., Matthew, Mark, and Luke—JM] present the Last
Supper as being the Passover meal…. In John’s Gospel, the Last Supper
was not the Passover meal” (2008, p. 1217). Jennifer Viegas, writing for
Discovery News, said, “The synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark,
and Luke) indicate that Jesus died before nightfall on the 15th day of
Nisan…. John’s gospel differs from the synoptics; apparently indicating
that Jesus died before nightfall on the 14th day of Nisan” (2012).
Respected biblical scholar J.W. McGarvey highlights the debate over the
matter stating that,
[s]ince the second century a great dispute has been carried on as to
the apparent discrepancy between John and the synoptists in their
statements concerning the passover. The synoptists…clearly represent
Jesus as having eaten the passover at the proper time, and as having
been arrested on the same night, while John here and elsewhere…seems to
represent Jesus as being arrested before the passover (2012, CXVIII, John 13:1-20, italics in orig.).
Is this a legitimate discrepancy that can be levied against the Bible?
First, what did the Law of Moses command concerning the observance of
the Passover? In order for Jesus to be sinless (Hebrews 4:15), our
spotless and unblemished Passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7), He had to
keep the Law of Moses perfectly. If He violated the Law of Moses
regarding the correct observance of the Passover, our hope is vain. The
Passover lamb was to be killed at twilight (i.e., sunset) on the evening
of the 14
th day of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish
calendar (Ezekiel 45:21). The lamb was then to be eaten that same night
with unleavened bread (Exodus 12:6-8; Numbers 28:16-17; Leviticus
23:5-7), leaving none of it until morning—burning any remains (Exodus
12:10). Unleavened bread was then to be eaten every day until the 21
st
day of the month at evening (Exodus 12:18). No leavened bread was even
to be in an Israelite house for that week, or those individuals would be
“cut off from the congregation of Israel” (Exodus 12:19).
The language of Matthew, Mark, and Luke leaves little doubt that the
Passover lamb was killed by the apostles on Thursday afternoon of the
crucifixion week, which was the 14
th of Nisan, and that Jesus then immediately ate the Passover meal that evening on the 15
th
of Nisan in keeping with the Law of Moses (cf. Matthew 26:17-21; Mark
14:12,16-18; Luke 22:7-9). The apparent discrepancy comes when we
compare various verses in the book of John.
John 13:1-2 says, “Now
before the feast of the
Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart
from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the
world, He loved them to the end. And supper
being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son
,
to betray Him.” A straightforward reading of this passage leaves the
impression that the last supper that the disciples ate with Jesus was
not the Passover meal, but actually “before the feast of the Passover,”
as though the Passover began the next day. This would contradict the
synoptic Gospels’ clear claims and imply that either John taught that
the last supper was not actually the Passover meal as the other Gospel
writers claimed, or that Jesus was observing the Passover early—on a
different day than was commanded by God. In truth, the alleged
contradiction in this case is easily dispelled by understanding that the
phrase “supper being ended” (NKJV) is properly translated:
-
“during supper” (ASV; ESV; RSV; McCord, 1989), or
-
while the “meal was being served” (NIV), “being prepared…or going on”
(Jamieson, et al., 2012, John 13:2), or “was preparing” (Clark, 2013,
John 13:2), or
-
“while they were at supper” (Barnes, 2012, John 13:2), or
-
“there being a supper made, or he being at supper” (Henry, 2014, John 13:2).
In context, verse one of John 13 is a transitional verse, serving as a
summary and wrap-up of the preceding section of John’s narrative (i.e.,
those events occurring “before the feast of the Passover”) leading up to
the next critical section of his book, which covers the next seven
chapters (an entire third) of the book, moving the reader through the
final events of Jesus’ life. Verse two begins a new discussion
concerning the Passover events—a narrative that begins “during” the
Passover supper, or while it was “being served” or “prepared.” Greek
scholar A.T. Robertson stated that “it is not certain that verse 1 is to
be connected with verse 2. The best exegetes agree that a complete idea
may be presented therein, either a general statement that Jesus loved
his own before the Passover and until the end, or that he came into
special consciousness of this love just before the Passover” (1922, p.
282). Respected biblical scholar Hugo McCord’s independent translation
captures the portrait being depicted by John. “Before the Passover
feast, Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and
go to the Father. He loved his own in the world, and he loved them to
the end. [Verse 2:] During supper (since the devil had already put it
into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him)” (John
13:1-2). Note the natural contrast that John is making between the words
“before” and “during” with regards to that important feast.
But what about John 18:28? “Then they [i.e., the Jews] led Jesus from
Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early [Friday] morning. But they
themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled,
but that they might eat the Passover.” This verse seems to indicate that
the Jews had not yet eaten the Passover meal, which again leaves the
impression that either the Passover had not yet begun, or that the Jews
had failed to eat the meal at the proper time, which seems very
unlikely. It is argued that “[i]n John’s sequence, the Last Supper was
celebrated on Passover eve, and Jesus was tried the next day while the
Jewish authorities themselves were preparing to eat the Passover meal
(18:28)” (
The Chronological Study Bible, p. 1217). However, a
closer look at how the term “Passover” is used in the Bible, and
especially by John, sheds light on this passage. Robertson notes that
it is by no means certain that the phrase “eat the Passover” means
simply the paschal supper…. [T]he word “Passover” is used in three
senses in the New Testament, the paschal supper, the paschal lamb, or
the paschal festival. The word is used eight times in John besides this
instance, and in every case the Passover festival is meant. So we may
fairly infer that the usage of John must determine his own meaning
rather than that of the Synoptists (pp. 281-282; cf. Jackson, p. 176).
Recall that the Passover festival lasted seven days, not merely the one
night when the lamb was slain and eaten (Exodus 12:6-20). The Passover
week had begun the night before with a feast and would continue over the
following days with more feasting. The Jews, therefore, did not want to
become defiled before the next unleavened meal of the Passover week.
The verse that perhaps causes the most accusations against the biblical
account of the crucifixion day regards John 19:14. Before the
crucifixion, after scourging Jesus and allowing the Roman soldiers to
mock Him, Pilate brought Jesus out to the Jews again. “Now it was the
Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said
to the Jews, ‘Behold your King!’” Because of this text, some argue that
John “suggests that Jesus was crucified on the day
before Passover began—‘the Preparation Day of the Passover’” (
The Chronological Study Bible,
p. 1217, italics in orig.). Again, this would imply that the supper
that Jesus ate the night before with His disciples was not actually the
Passover meal—i.e., the synoptics are wrong.
However, the phrase “Preparation Day of the Passover” is referring to
the Sabbath Preparation Day that occurs during the Passover week—i.e.,
Friday. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, who as stated earlier in unison clearly
portray Jesus as being arrested and crucified
after
the Passover meal, all also state that the “Day of Preparation” was the
day of Jesus’ crucifixion. They simply make it clear in context that
they apply that description to the Sabbath Preparation Day (e.g.,
Matthew 27:62). Immediately after Jesus’ death, Luke couples the
Preparation Day with the Sabbath, noting, “That day was the Preparation,
and the Sabbath drew near” (Luke 23:54). Mark defines his use of the
term even more clearly, stating, “Now when evening had come, because it
was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath” (15:42).
Robertson notes that John also used “Preparation Day” as being coupled
with the Sabbath. “John himself so uses the word in two other passages
(19:31,42), in both of which haste is exercised on the Preparation,
because the Sabbath was at hand” (p. 282).
Biblical scholar Gleason Archer notes that the word translated “Preparation” (
paraskeuē) was the actual word for Friday in the first century. “[T]he word
paraskeuē had
already by the first century A.D. become a technical term for ‘Friday,’
since every Friday was the day of preparation for Saturday, that is,
the Sabbath. In Modern Greek the word for ‘Friday’ is
paraskeuē…. [T]hat
which might be translated literally as ‘the preparation of the
Passover’ must in this context be rendered ‘Friday of Passover Week’”
(1982, p. 375).Robertson agreed, explaining that “the term ‘Preparation’
has long been the regular name for Friday in the Greek language, caused
by the New Testament usage. It is so in the Modern Greek to-day” (p.
282). Indeed, the NIV rendering of John 19:14 helps to clear the
confusion by rendering the sentence, “It was the day of Preparation of
Passover Week, about the sixth hour.” John simply does not contradict
the synoptic Gospels regarding Jesus’ crucifixion day.
But if Jesus was killed on Friday the 15
th of Nisan, and the Passover lambs were killed Thursday the 14
th
of Nisan, how can He be our Passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7)? Gleason
responded to that question, explaining, “It simply needs to be pointed
out that the lambs referred to here [i.e., in 1 Corinthians 5:7—JM] are
not those that were slaughtered and eaten in private homes—a rite Jesus
had already observed with His disciples the night before…—but the lambs
to be offered
on the altar of the Lord on behalf of the whole
nation of Israel” (p. 376, italics in orig.). Gleason proceeds to
illustrate the distinction between the private sacrifices (e.g., Exodus
12:6) and the public sacrifices (Exodus 12:16-17; Leviticus 23:4-8; 2
Chronicles 30:15-19; 35:11-16). He notes, “These were all known as
Passover sacrifices, since they were presented during Passover week” (p.
376). Jesus is the Passover lamb for all, and therefore, it makes sense
that He would be sacrificed as a public sacrifice.
Thus, as is always the case, a text which appears on the surface to
contradict another biblical text, is found to harmonize perfectly with
it. Amazingly, when studied further and treated fairly, alleged
contradictions which are levied against the Bible are consistently found
in the end to actually provide even more evidence that the Bible’s
internal consistency is nothing less than supernatural. If God is indeed
the Author of the Bible, as it claims (e.g., 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter
1:20-21), then that certainly should be the case any time the original
rendering of a Scripture can be determined with confidence and
translated accurately. John’s description of the crucifixion event
provides even more evidence for the amazing accuracy of the Bible.
[NOTE: See
Butt, 2003 for further information.]
REFERENCES
Archer, Gleason, L. (1982),
Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).
Barnes, Albert (2012),
Barnes’ Notes On the New Testament (Electronic Database: WORDsearch).
Bullinger, E.W. (1898),
Figures of Speech Used in the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1968 reprint).
Butt, Kyle (2003), “What Kind of Bread did Jesus Use to Institute the Last Supper?” Apologetics Press,
http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=11&article=1196.
The Chronological Study Bible (2008), (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson).
Clarke, Adam (2013),
Adam Clarke’s Commentary (Electronic Database: WORDsearch).
Henry, Matthew (2014),
Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible (Electronic Database: WORDsearch).
Jackson, Wayne (2011),
A New Testament Commentary (Stockton, CA: Christian Courier).
Jamieson, Robert, A.R. Fausset, and David Brown (2012),
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary: Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) (Electronic Database: WORDsearch).
Lyons, Eric (2004), “Did Jesus Rise ‘On’ or ‘After’ the Third Day?” Apologetics Press,
http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=756.
Lyons, Eric (2006), “Reasoning About the Resurrection of Christ,” Apologetics Press,
http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=228&article=3689.
McCord, Hugo (1989),
McCord’s New Testament Translation of the Everlasting Gospel (Henderson, TN: Freed-Hardeman College).
McGarvey, J.W. (2012),
The Four-Fold Gospel: A Harmony of the Gospels (Electronic Database: WORDsearch).
Robertson, A.T. (1922),
A Harmony of the Gospels (New York: Harper & Row).
Viegas, Jennifer (2012), “Day of Jesus’ Crucifixion Believed Determined,”
Discovery News, May 24,
http://news.discovery.com/history/religion/jesus-crucifixion-120524.htm.
