Abstract

The Gospels do not all line up the same way about when Jesus ate the Last Supper and when the Passover lambs were slaughtered. Matthew–Mark–Luke (the “Synoptics”) speak as if the meal was a Passover meal eaten on Thursday night; John places Jesus’ crucifixion at the time the Passover lambs were being prepared on Friday. This paper explains (1) how Passover worked in the Second Temple period, (2) what the Seder steps were according to early Jewish sources, (3) how the bread and the four cups fit, (4) what scholars mean by a possible Galilean (or Essene-like) calendar that could shift the meal by a day, and (5) how these data can be harmonized without losing any of the biblical testimony. Throughout, I use short, plain quotations from Scripture, Mishnah, Talmud, and modern scholarship.

Passover in Jewish Tradition: Story, Ritual, and Memory

Passover, known in Hebrew as Pesach, is one of the most ancient and enduring festivals in Jewish tradition. It is celebrated each spring in remembrance of the Exodus, the foundational story of Israel’s liberation from slavery in Egypt. More than a festival of the past, Passover is a living reenactment: each year, Jewish families retell the story, taste its symbols, and remember that freedom is never to be taken for granted. This essay will explain the story behind Passover, the rituals as they developed in the Second Temple period, the detailed order of the Seder as preserved in the Mishnah and Haggadah, and the way the tradition still shapes Jewish identity and faith.

The Biblical Story of Passover

The roots of Passover lie in the book of Exodus. The Israelites had been enslaved under Pharaoh, forced to build his cities and endure cruel labor. God sent Moses to demand their release, but Pharaoh refused. A series of plagues struck Egypt, each more devastating than the last. The climax was the death of the firstborn. On that night, God commanded the Israelites to take a lamb “without blemish, a male a year old” (Exod 12:5), slaughter it, place its blood on the doorposts, and eat it roasted with unleavened bread (matzah) and bitter herbs. “The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exod 12:13). This is the origin of the festival’s name: Pesach means “passing over.”

The Israelites departed in haste, carrying dough that had not risen, baking it into flat cakes of unleavened bread. “They baked the dough… unleavened cakes, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves” (Exod 12:39). Every detail—the lamb, the blood, the matzah, the bitter herbs—became central to the Passover ritual. The Torah commands that “you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as an ordinance forever” (Exod 12:14).

Passover in the Time of the Temple

During the centuries when the Temple in Jerusalem stood, Passover took on a national and liturgical dimension. Families from across Israel would make pilgrimage to Jerusalem. On the afternoon of the fourteenth of Nisan, they brought their lambs to the Temple. The Mishnah describes how this was done:

“The daily afternoon offering is slaughtered at eight-and-a-half hours… but on the eve of Passover it is slaughtered at seven-and-a-half hours, and the Passover offering after it” (Pesachim 5:1).

In great groups, people would bring their lambs. Priests caught the blood in basins and dashed it against the altar, while Levites sang the Hallel Psalms (Psalms 113–118). “If they finished [reciting the Hallel], they would repeat it; if they repeated it, they would recite it a third time, though it never happened that they reached ‘I love the Lord’ [Ps 116]” (Pesachim 5:7). After this, families took their lambs home, roasted them whole without breaking a bone (cf. Exod 12:46), and ate them at night with matzah and bitter herbs.

This ritual made Passover not just a household celebration but also a Temple-centered sacrifice. Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, describes immense crowds filling Jerusalem for Passover, with hundreds of thousands of lambs being offered (Jewish War 6.423–27). The city became a place where memory, ritual, and national identity came together.

After the Temple: The Rise of the Seder

When the Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, Jews could no longer offer the lamb. This crisis required a transformation. Instead of ending Passover, the rabbis reshaped it. The lamb was remembered symbolically with a roasted shank bone on the table. The other foods took on heightened meaning, and the meal became a structured liturgy of storytelling.

The Mishnah, compiled around 200 CE, preserves this new order. Pesachim 10 lays out the basic framework that is still used today. “On the eve of Passover, close to minḥa, one must not eat until it gets dark. Even the poorest in Israel must not eat until they recline, and they must not give him less than four cups of wine, even if from the charity plate” (Pesachim 10:1).

This text introduces three central elements of the later Seder: the requirement of four cups of wine, the posture of reclining (as a sign of freedom), and the obligation that even the poorest person celebrate with dignity. The Mishnah continues with instructions for the questions children must ask, the retelling of the Exodus story, the blessing over matzah and bitter herbs, and the eating of the afikoman, the last piece of matzah at the end of the meal.

The Seder: Telling the Story through Symbols

The Seder, the ritual meal of Passover, means “order.” Each part of the night unfolds in a sequence designed to tell the story. Families begin by blessing wine, dipping vegetables in salt water to recall tears, and breaking the middle matzah. Children ask, “Why is this night different from all other nights?”—the famous Mah Nishtanah. This leads to the telling of the Exodus. The father, or leader, is commanded to teach: “In every generation a person must see himself as if he came out of Egypt” (Pesachim 10:5).

The foods on the table all speak. The matzah is called “the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in Egypt.” Bitter herbs recall slavery’s bitterness. The sweet mixture of fruits and nuts, called charoset, looks like mortar, but its sweetness suggests that even in hardship there is hope. The egg and shank bone recall the sacrifices once brought in the Temple.

The four cups of wine are linked to God’s four promises in Exodus 6:6–7: “I will bring you out… I will deliver you… I will redeem you… I will take you to be my people.” Each cup is drunk at a key moment: the beginning of the Seder, after telling the story, after the meal, and after the psalms of praise. A fifth cup, poured but not drunk, is left for the prophet Elijah, who according to tradition will return to announce redemption.

At the end of the meal, the hidden matzah, called the afikoman, is found and eaten. The Mishnah insists: “One does not conclude after the Passover with dessert” (Pesachim 10:8). This means the taste of matzah must linger as the last memory of the night.

Living Memory and the Role of Children

A striking feature of Passover is its focus on children. The Mishnah requires that children ask questions so that the story can be told. The Haggadah elaborates with the “Four Sons”—the wise, the wicked, the simple, and the one who does not know how to ask—each representing a different way of engaging with tradition. The point is that every child, regardless of learning or personality, must hear the story.

This emphasis fulfills the Torah’s command: “And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover…’” (Exod 12:26–27). Passover thus becomes the ultimate act of education. It is history told at the family table, with food and song as teachers.

Psalms and Praise: The Hallel

The night concludes with psalms of praise known as the Hallel (Psalms 113–118). These psalms, already sung in the Temple during the slaughter of the lambs, are now recited in homes at the Seder. They recall God’s greatness, the deliverance from Egypt, and the call to trust in the Lord. The Mishnah notes that “they pour him a third cup; he blesses his food. The fourth cup; he completes the Hallel and says the blessing over the song” (Pesachim 10:7). In this way, the Seder closes not only with eating but also with worship.

Passover Today

Today, Jewish families around the world continue to celebrate Passover. For a week, no leavened bread is eaten. Homes are cleaned thoroughly of every crumb of hametz. The Seder night remains the centerpiece. Families gather, often with extended relatives and guests. Even Jews who do not practice many other rituals often observe the Seder, making it one of the most widely kept traditions.

The Seder has also taken on layers of new meaning. In some communities, extra symbols are added to the Seder plate to highlight themes of justice or freedom. But the core remains unchanged: the matzah, the bitter herbs, the four cups, the questions, the story of liberation.

Explanation in Points

1) What the Torah Says About Passover

The basic commands come from Exodus 12; Leviticus 23; Deuteronomy 16.

• Date and lamb: “On the fourteenth day of the first month, between the evenings, is the LORD’s Passover; and they shall eat the flesh that night… with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.” (Exod 12:6–8; Lev 23:5)
• No bone broken: “You shall not break a bone of it.” (Exod 12:46)

Key timing idea: In Jewish reckoning the day begins at sunset. So sunset at the end of 13 Nisan = the start of 14 Nisan. In Temple practice the lambs were slaughtered afternoon of 14 Nisan, and the meal was eaten that night—which is the start of 15 Nisan.

2) How Passover Worked in the Second Temple Period

Our earliest detailed Jewish manual is Mishnah Pesachim (compiled c. 200 CE but preserving earlier practice).

• When the lambs were slaughtered: “The daily afternoon offering is slaughtered at eight-and-a-half hours… on the eve of Passover it is slaughtered at seven-and-a-half hours … and the Passover offering after it.” (m. Pesaḥim 5:1)
• Singing the Hallel (Pss 113–118) during the waves of slaughter: “They would recite the Hallel… if they finished it they would repeat it.” (m. Pesaḥim 5:7)
• The meal framework (see §3 below) is laid out in m. Pesaḥim 10.

Scholars widely agree that, by the late Second Temple period, Jerusalem’s priestly calendar fixed the communal slaughter on the afternoon of 14 Nisan; families then ate the roast lamb after sunset (the night that opened 15 Nisan).¹

¹ For a concise overview, see Shmuel Safrai, The Jewish People in the First Century, vol. 1 (Leiden: Brill / Van Gorcum, 1974), esp. sections on pilgrimage festivals.

3) The Seder: Steps, Bread, and the Four Cups

Mishnah Pesachim 10 gives the classic order (later called Seder). In simple terms:

1. Kiddush (First cup: sanctification).
2. Urḥatz (wash hands).
3. Karpas (dip greens in salt water).
4. Yaḥatz (break the middle matzah; store the larger piece for later).
5. Maggid (tell the Exodus story; the “Four Questions”; Second cup).
6. Motzi–Matzah (blessing and eating unleavened bread).
7. Maror (bitter herbs).
8. Korech (Hillel “sandwich” of matzah + bitter herbs).
9. Shulḥan ‘Orekh (the festival meal; in Temple times this included the lamb).
10. Tzafun (eat the stored piece—the Afikoman).
11. Barekh / Hallel (grace and Third/Fourth cups; Psalms 113–118).
12. Nirtzah (conclusion).

Two famous lines:

• “Even the poorest of Israel should not have less than four cups of wine, even if from public charity.” (m. Pesaḥim 10:1)
• “After the Passover offering, one does not conclude with dessert (afikoman).” (m. Pesaḥim 10:8) — i.e., the afikoman is the last taste.

Christian relevance. Luke notes “the cup after supper” (Luke 22:20). Many scholars link this to the Third Cup (“Cup of Redemption”) in the Seder flow, right after the meal—exactly where Jesus said: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” (cf. 1 Cor 11:25)

4) What Each Gospel Actually Says

Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke)

• “On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover, his disciples said… ‘Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?’” (Mark 14:12; cf. Matt 26:17)
• Jesus says with desire “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” (Luke 22:15)

The natural reading: Jesus shared a Passover meal with the Twelve on Thursday night.

Gospel of John

• The authorities “did not enter the praetorium, so that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.” (John 18:28)
• “Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about the sixth hour” (≈ midday). (John 19:14)
• John later stresses, regarding Jesus, “Not one of his bones will be broken.” (John 19:36) — echoing Exod 12:46 about the lamb.

The plain sense: Jesus is crucified as the lambs are being prepared (Friday afternoon). John’s timing highlights Jesus as the true Passover Lamb.

5) The Main Ways Scholars Reconcile the Timelines

A) Different Calendars / “Galilean” (or Essene-like) Timing

Joachim Jeremias argues that Jesus and many in Galilee reckoned 14 Nisan from the sunset earlier than the Jerusalem priestly calculation, so their Passover meal fell Thursday night, while the temple slaughter for Judeans took place Friday afternoon.²
Colin J. Humphreys develops a related solution using an Essenic solar calendar for Jesus’ circle, which would also place the meal earlier than the temple’s.³

² Joachim Jeremias, The Eucharistic Words of Jesus (London: SCM, 1966).
³ Colin J. Humphreys, The Mystery of the Last Supper (Cambridge: CUP, 2011).

Simple takeaway: If Jesus followed a Galilean or Essenic reckoning, the Last Supper could truly be a Passover meal on Thursday, and John can still place the temple Passover preparation on Friday.

B) Two Uses of “Passover”

Raymond E. Brown shows that “Passover” can mean (1) the lamb-meal or (2) the whole festival week.⁴ Thus John 18:28 (“to eat the Passover”) may refer to other festival meals still coming (e.g., the hagigah), not necessarily the lamb-seder on Thursday night already eaten by Jesus and the Twelve.

⁴ Raymond E. Brown, The Death of the Messiah, 2 vols. (New York: Doubleday, 1994), esp. the excursuses on chronology.

C) Passover-Form Meal Without Temple Lamb

Some argue Jesus celebrated a Passover-style meal (with matzah, cups, bitter herbs, Hallel) but without a temple-slaughtered lamb—either because of crowding, timing, or a deliberate theological act. (See Craig A. Evans, Jesus and the Final Week.)

All three models preserve the Synoptic data about a Thursday night meal and John’s stress on Jesus dying when the lambs were being prepared.

6) Bread “Broken” and the Afikoman

In the Seder, the middle matzah is broken at Yaḥatz; the larger half (afikoman) is eaten last (m. Pesaḥim 10:8). This background clarifies Paul: “This is my body which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” (1 Cor 11:24)
The unleavened bread (matzah)—“bread of haste”—fits Jesus’ sinlessness and the “no broken bone” prophecy fulfilled in his crucifixion (John 19:36 // Exod 12:46).

7) The Four Cups and Jesus’ Words

Mishnah and Talmud require four cups (m. Pesaḥim 10:1; b. Pesaḥim 99b–109a). Many interpreters connect:

• Cup after the meal (Luke 22:20) = Third Cup (“Redemption”).
• Jesus’ vow “I will not drink… until the kingdom” (Mark 14:25) naturally falls before the Fourth Cup (“Praise/Consummation”), which may explain the hymn and departure (Mark 14:26; Matt 26:30)—the Hallel.

“Even the poorest… must have not less than four cups.” (m. Pesaḥim 10:1)
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:20)

8) A Simple Timeline: “Jerusalem” vs “Galilean” Reckoning

This preserves:

• Synoptics: a Passover meal on Thursday night.
• John: Jesus dies when the lambs are being prepared on Friday.

9) The Sunday Before Passover (Palm Sunday) and “Choosing the Lamb”

Exodus 12:3 commands choosing the lamb on the tenth of Nisan. Many Christian writers, ancient and modern, see Palm Sunday as the symbolic “presentation” of the Lamb in Jerusalem. Depending on the year’s exact calendar (and how one aligns Roman and Jewish days), Palm Sunday lands about four or five days before the Passover sacrifice. The symbolism remains strong even if the tenth falls on Monday that year: Jesus is publicly presented and then examined in the Temple courts during the next days—like a lamb “without blemish” (cf. Luke 20–21).

10) What About the “Cup and Wine” and “Broken Bread” Specifically?

• Wine/Cups: four cups tied to God’s four promises in Exodus 6:6–7 (“I will bring out… deliver… redeem… take you…”).
• Broken bread: the Yaḥatz/Afikoman moment gives powerful context to “This is my body” (Matt 26:26; 1 Cor 11:24).
• After Afikoman, no dessert: “One does not conclude with afikoman” (m. Pesaḥim 10:8) means the afikoman is the last taste—matching the “finality” felt in the words of institution.

11) So, Did Jesus Eat the Passover “Early”? A Fair Summary

• Yes, in the Synoptics, Jesus eats the Passover with his disciples on Thursday night.
• Yes, in John, Jesus dies on Friday when the temple is preparing for the Passover.
• A calendar offset (Galilean/Essenic) or a two-senses-of-“Passover” reading or a Passover-form meal without a temple lamb can reconcile the data without forcing any Gospel to contradict the other.
• Theologically, both lines meet: “Behold, the Lamb of God” (John 1:29). Jesus both celebrates the covenantal meal and fulfills it by his death.

More Details

• A Seder plate holds symbols:
  • Matzah (three pieces in a cover)
  • Maror (bitter herb, often horseradish or romaine)
  • Charoset (sweet fruit-and-nut mix, like mortar)
  • Karpas (a green vegetable, like parsley)
  • Zeroa (a roasted shank bone symbolizing the lamb)
  • Beitzah (a roasted egg, a festival symbol)
• Four cups of wine (grape juice often used for kids) are drunk across the night.
• A special cup for Elijah is poured and left on the table.

1) Kiddush — First Cup (Sanctification)

• Blessing over the festival and the first cup. The Seder begins.

2) Urchatz — Wash Hands (no blessing)

• Quick hand-washing to prepare.

3) Karpas — Dip the Green

• A green vegetable is dipped in salt water (tears) and eaten.

4) Yachatz — Break the Middle Matzah

• Of the three matzot, the middle one is broken.
• The larger half is hidden as the Afikoman (to be eaten at the end).
• Kids often search for it later—it keeps them engaged.

5) Maggid — Tell the Story (Second Cup)

• The youngest asks the Four Questions: “Why is this night different…?”
• Everyone tells the Exodus story from slavery to freedom.
• The Second Cup is drunk at the end of the telling.

6) Rachtzah — Wash Hands (with blessing)

• Wash again, now with the usual blessing for eating bread.

7) Motzi–Matzah — Bless and Eat Matzah

• Blessings are said, then matzah is eaten.

8) Maror — Eat Bitter Herbs

• A taste of bitterness to remember slavery.

9) Korech — The “Hillel Sandwich”

• A small sandwich of matzah + maror (sometimes with charoset).

10) Shulchan Orech — The Meal

• The festive dinner is eaten. (In Temple times it included the roasted lamb; today it’s other festival foods.)

11) Tzafun — Find and Eat the Afikoman

• The hidden matzah (Afikoman) is found and eaten last.
• After this, no other food is eaten, so the taste of matzah remains as the final taste of freedom.

12) Barech, Hallel, Nirtzah — Grace, Songs, Fourth Cup, Closing

• Grace after meals, then Hallel psalms (songs of praise).
• Third and Fourth cups are drunk during these closing parts.
• The door is opened briefly for Elijah (a symbol of hope and future redemption).
• The Seder ends with wishes for next year in Jerusalem and joyful songs.

5) The Four Cups (what they mean)

The Seder includes four cups of wine/grape juice. They match four promises in Exodus 6:6–7:

1. “I will bring you out”
2. “I will deliver you”
3. “I will redeem you”
4. “I will take you to be my people”

Families drink a cup at key moments to mark each phase of freedom.

6) The Foods and Their Meanings (today’s Seder)

• Matzah (unleavened bread): haste and humility—“bread of affliction.”
• Maror (bitter herbs): the bitterness of slavery.
• Charoset (sweet paste): the mortar used in slave labor, sweetened to show hope.
• Karpas (greens): spring/life, dipped in tears (salt water).
• Zeroa (shank bone): memory of the Passover lamb (not eaten).
• Egg: festival offering and also a sign of life and mourning (for the lost Temple).

7) Children, Questions, and Songs

Passover is built for children:

• The Four Questions invite kids to ask “why” and learn the story.
• Searching for the Afikoman keeps them active.
• Families sing “Dayenu” (“It would have been enough!”) and other songs of thanks.
• The night is designed to pass the story on to the next generation.

8) After the Temple’s Destruction (what changed)

• Since 70 CE there is no Passover sacrifice.
• The Seder kept the memory alive with symbols (shank bone, egg) and storytelling.
• The Haggadah (the Seder book) grew to guide families through the same order every year so the story is never forgotten.

9) A Simple Timeline (today’s celebration outside Israel)

Night 1 (Seder): tell the story, four cups, matzah, symbolic foods, festive meal, songs.
Day 1 (Festival): holiday prayers; no leaven eaten all week.
All week (Passover/Unleavened Bread): homes are leaven-free, people eat matzah, visit family, and remember freedom.

Primary Sources

• The Holy Bible (Exodus 12; Leviticus 23; Deuteronomy 16; Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 18–19; 1 Corinthians 10–11).
• Mishnah: Pesaḥim 5 and 10 (Hebrew/English trans. available in standard editions and Sefaria).
• Babylonian Talmud: Pesaḥim 99b–109a (on the four cups, posture, etc.).
• Haggadah (standard Passover liturgy; many traditional versions).

Secondary Sources

Dead Sea Scrolls (Temple Scroll; Jubilees).

Evidence for alternate (solar) calendars in Second Temple Judaism.

Pitre, Brant. Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist. New York: Doubleday, 2011.

Explains Seder symbols (bread, cups) and their Christian fulfillment.

Safrai, Shmuel, et al. The Jewish People in the First Century. Leiden: Brill / Van Gorcum, 1974.

Background on pilgrimage, Temple rites, and festival practice.

Evans, Craig A. Jesus and the Final Week. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2003.

Historical and exegetical survey of the last week, including meal timing.

Brown, Raymond E. The Death of the Messiah. 2 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1994.

Detailed exegesis of passion chronology; discusses multiple reconciliation models.

Humphreys, Colin J. The Mystery of the Last Supper: Reconstructing the Final Days of Jesus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Proposes a calendar solution (including Essene solar calendar) aligning all Gospel data.

Jeremias, Joachim. The Eucharistic Words of Jesus. London: SCM Press, 1966.

Classic study arguing that Jesus’ meal fits Passover practice and may reflect a northern (Galilean) reckoning.