Typically, we think of (or it has been taught) that Jesus ate the passover feast with His disciples on Thursday night before being crucified later that evening.
This new (to me) assertion is that Jesus actually ate this meal on Wednesday night. A few of the reasons are as follows:
- Jesus rising on sunday after being crucified thursday night (friday by the Jewish reckoning) is not three days and nights after His death.
- John 14:29 - The disciples reckoned the Passover to be the next night.
- Jesus - symbolizing the passover lamb - entered the city on the 10th of the month, and was crucifed on the 14th (the day of preparation for the passover) just as the passover lamb was to be prepared.
So, any thoughts out there? Did this guy get it right? Does it matter? Where is he off base if he isn't correct?
I'd love to get some comments on this one!
I've come across this issue in a few places, though I don't remember enough off the top of my head to discuss it thoroughly. It is one of the key places to which critics point in an effort to discredit John's gospel.
ReplyDeleteIf you pick up a good, conservative commentary on John (Morris' NICNT volume is one of the best, FF Bruce's volume is pretty good as well), it should discuss that matter very thoroughly.