Did Jesus Die Before Or After Passover?
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Skeptics and critics of the Bible often claim that the gospel of John contradicts the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, in reporting Jesus died before, rather than after, the Passover. Did Jesus die before, or after, Passover?
Alleged contradiction:
Was Jesus crucified on the daytime before the Passover meal or the daytime after?
(a) After (Mark 14:12-17)
(b) Before. Before the feast of the Passover (John 13:1) Judas went out at night (John 13:30). The other
disciples thought he was going out to buy supplies to prepare for the Passover meal (John 13:29). When
Jesus was arrested, the Jews did not enter Pilate’s judgment hall because they wanted to stay clean to
eat the Passover (John 18:28). When the judgment was pronounced against Jesus, it was about the sixth
hour on the day of Preparation for the Passover (John 19:14)
This alleged contradiction correctly states the fact that the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke report that Jesus ate the Passover the night before he died, but incorrectly assert the gospel of John has Jesus dying before the Passover. The problem with this allegation is that it ignores several significant facts in John’s gospel and the Mosaic Law. The question is, did Jesus die before, or after, Passover?
John 13:1 reports that, “Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come . . . ” (NAB). Jesus was aware that this would be his last day alive prior to his death.
John 13:4 reports that Jesus “rose from supper . . . ” (NAB). Jesus got up from the passover meal to wash his disciples’ feet. This event occurred either during, or just after, the passover supper, according to John’s account, when we review it in light of the other three gospels. This took place that year on what we today call Thursday night. Passover had started that night at sundown, and would last until sundown the next day, Friday.
“Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival” (John 13:29 NIV). Which festival was this? It was not the Passover meal, which had just concluded. The Mosaic Law required a week long festival, beginning the day after the Passover, which on that year, began on Saturday.
“The fourteenth day of the first month, at twilight, is the Passover of Yahweh; and the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of Unleavened Bread for Yahweh. For seven days you will unleavened bread. On the first day you will hold a special assembly; you will do no heavy work. For seven days you will offer food burnt for Yahweh. On the seventh day there will be a sacred assembly; you will do no heavy work” (Leviticus 23:5-8 NJB). The fourteenth day of the first month was the Passover, and the 15th began the “Festival of Unleavened Bread” (Leviticus 23:6 NIV). The 15th day of the first month was always treated like a Sabbath, in which no work was to be done, no matter which day of the week it fell on. It was this Festival of Unleavened Bread, which was soon to begin, that the disciples thought Jesus was telling Judas to buy supplies for, and not the Passover.
“Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat Passover” (John 18:28 NIV). On the surface, this verse appears to indicate the Passover had not yet occurred, since it was in the wee hours before dawn. Since Matthew, Mark and Luke reported the Passover had been observed earlier that night, here is where critics say the gospels contradict. Is there an explanation?
“Pilate . . . brought Jesus out, and he sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew Gabbatha. Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover” (John 19:13,14 NASB). The term “Passover” was also commonly used by Jews at that time to refer to both the Passover meal on the 14th, and the weeklong Festival of Unleavened Bread, from the 15th through the 22nd. “A voluntary peace offering was made on Passover and another, a compulsory one, on the next day, Nisan 15, the first day of the Festival of Unfermented Cakes. It was this second offering that the Jews were afraid they might not be able to eat if they contracted defilement in the judgment hall of Pilate”—The Temple, by Alfred Edersheim, 1874, pp. 186, 187.
“Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken down.” (John 19:31 NAB) By saying “the Sabbath of that week was a solemn one”, it means the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which always a Sabbath. But that particular year it fell on the weekly Saturday Sabbath. So, the “preparation day”, spoken of here, is the preparation for the week long Festival of Unleavened Bread, and not the Passover.
Therefore, Jesus ate the Passover meal on the 14th day of the first month, Thursday night that year, but before he died on Friday afternoon, which was still the 14th day of the first month, since Jewish days ran from sundown to sundown. This occurred prior to the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which began the next day, the 15th day of the first month.
The scriptural facts are that Jesus did die before, not after, Passover.
4 thoughts on “Did Jesus Die Before Or After Passover?”
I’ll just make a few comments about this.
1) For Jews the Sabbath begins at dusk on Friday and concludes at dusk on Saturday.
2) The Sabbath and Passover are two different things. In any given year the Passover meal (occurring after dusk) may or may not occur on the Sabbath. It depends on the calendar and counting days to comply with Jewish ritual laws.
3) If one Gospel X reports a major detail which is not mentioned in, is not corroborated by, or is in contradiction to what is stated in the other three Gospels, do not trust X.
4) The Gospel of John is not trustworthy with respect to facts. It was not written by an eyewitness of any of the events in the life of Jesus. The author does not report his sources. The book was written in the period 90-110 CE, and the last of the four Gospels to be written. The book is more theological and prophetic and less historic in its aims than the other three Gospels. It mentions several major details, e.g. the spear thrust, the beloved disciple, Jesus existing before creation, etc, which are not corroborated by the other Gospels. The bottom line is: Don’t trust the Gospel of John, especially when the other three Gospels or even Mark alone have inconsistencies with John.
5) If my memory is correct, I believe that Ehrman concluded that there is a contradiction in the Gospels regarding the day of the crucifixion, an unresolved contradiction.
THE WRITER OF JOHN WAS A JEW WITH INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF JEWISH LIFE AND OPINIONS
The writer of this book appears to be a Jew with an intimate knowledge of Jewish life, expectations, and opinions in the first third of the first century, such as:
—Popular messianic speculations, such as, the Messiah would be “the prophet,” or “Elijah,” and would come from David’s line of descent, and be from Bethlehem, (John 1:21; 6:14; 7:40-42). “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever” (John 12:34 NKJV).
—Customs, such as the purification rituals of the Jews, (John 2:6), the hostility of Jews toward Samaritans (John 4:9), the duty of circumcision on the 8th day taking precedence over the prohibition of working on the Sabbath (John 7:22).
—The popular low estimate of women (John 4:27).
—The Judean disparagement of “the dispersion”, “the Jews in other lands” (John 7:35 NAB; NLT).
—Festivals, for example, the Festival of Dedication (John 10:22,23) is in the “winter.”.
—The Messiah was expected to live “forever” (John 12:34).
THE WRITER WAS VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE AREA
He also shows a very detailed knowledge of the geography of Palestine and Jerusalem (which suggests he was a native), such as:
—“Bethany across the Jordan” (John 1:28). This Bethany was north of the Dead Sea, just over the Jordan River in Perea.
—His mention of “Cana of Galilee” (John 2:1), which is a village that is not referred to in any previous writing that is known to us.
—Thw trip from Cana to Capernum was going “down” in elevation (John 2:12). Jesus, in Cana, was asked by an official to “come down” to Capernaum to heal his sick son (John 4:46,47), even though he would travel northeast. Cana is 709 feet above sea level, Capernaum is 682 feet below sea level, almost an 1400 foot drop in elevation, as one travels from Cana to Capernaum.
—The well at Sychar that Jacob gave to Joseph was “deep” (John 4:5,11).
—The Sea of Galilee, or Tiberias, was large enough for the apostles to have rowed “about three or four miles” (John 6:19 NIV; NAB) out into it and be in the middle of it, because today we know it is about 13 miles north to south and about 8 miles west to east.
—“Jesus spoke in the treasury as He taught in the temple” (John 8:20 NKJV).
—“Ephraim” was in “the region near the desert” (John 11:54 NAB).
—“The Kidron valley” is just outside Jerusalem (John 18:1 NAB).
—“In the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried” (John 19:41 NAB). The burial place of Jesus was close to his execution site.
THE WRITER OF JOHN WAS AN EYEWITNESS
The book has numerous clues that its writer was an eyewitness. Many of these details are very specific, but for no apparent reason, other than they are the vivid observations of an eyewitness. The writer twice explicitly admits to being an “eyewitness” to, at a minimum, at least some of the events he recorded (John 19:35 GWT; 21:24 GWT), and very likely many of the events he recorded. The writer includes personal touches in his accounts that reveal he was an eyewitness, such as:
— Includes himself as being an eyewitness of Jesus. Notice his use of “we” in the scripture. “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 NASB).
—Naming people who said, did, or experienced, certain things. “Andrew was one of the two” (John 1:40). “Nicodemus” (John 3:1,4,9; 7:50; 19:39). “Jesus . . . said to Philip . . . Philip said to him” (6:5,7). “Simon,” Judas Iscariot’s father (John 6:71). “Lazarus” (John 11:1-44; 12:10). “Malchus” (John 18:10). Caiphus’ relationship to Annas (John 18:13). The slave who identified Peter as being with Jesus, and was a relative of the man whose ear was cut off (John 18:26). (Also see John 12:21; 14:5,8,22; 18:10).
—Giving details about the times of events (John 4:6,52; 6:16; 13:30; 18:28; 19:14; 20:1; 21:4).
—Accurately providing exact numeric descriptions, as well as references to days, or the time of day or night, and time periods, without embellishment (John 1:35,39; 2:6,20; 3:2; 4:6,18,40,43,52; 5:5; 6:9,16,17,19; 11:39; 12:5; 13:30; 18:28; 19:14,33; 21:8,11,26).
—The type of bread used to feed 5,000 was “barley” (John 6:9).
—“There was a great deal of grass in that place” where Jesus fed the “five thousand” (John 6:10 NAB).
—The type of “leafy branches” used for Jesus’ triumphal entry (Matthew 21:8; Mark 11:8) were “palm branches” (John 12:12,13)
— The house at Bethany being filled the fragrance of the broken perfume jar (John 12:3).
—The type of fire for warmth in the high priest’s “courtyard” was “a charcoal fire” (John 18:15-18).
—During Jesus’ last “Passover . . . evening meal” with “his disciples” (John 13:1,2,22), when “Judas . . . went out . . . it was night” (John 13:30).
—John’s form of the inscription on the cross is the fullest of the four Gospels, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” and John’s gospel notes that it was written in, “Hebrew, Latin, and Greek” (John 19:19,20 REB).
—Jesus’ “undergarment” was “seamless” (John 19:23 NIV).
THE WRITER OF JOHN KNEW MUCH ABOUT JESUS’ THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS
The writer of the Gospel of John must have been not only an apostle of Jesus, but one of his inner circle, because he knew so much about Jesus’ mind, feelings, and reasons for certain actions. Some examples of this are:
“Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people” (John 2:24 NIV).
“Jesus . . . asked Philip” a question only “to test him, for He Himself knew what He was going to do” (John 6:5,6 HCSB).
“Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone” (John 6:15 NAB).
“Jesus was aware that his disciples were criticizing his message” (John 6:61 GWT).
“Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death” (John 7:1 NLT).
“He was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved” (John 11:33 NRSV). (Also see John 13:21).
“Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him” (John 18:4 NLT).
THE WRITER WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE APOSTLES’ THOUGHTS AND IDEAS
The writer of John seems to have had firsthand knowledge of the apostles thinking. Even when some of the apostles’ ideas were unclear or wrong, the writer of John was familiar with them.
—“The temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said” (John 2:21,22 NIV).
—“They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died” (John 11:13 NLT).
—“At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus had been glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him” (John 12:16 NIV).
—“But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him” (John 13:28 NIV).
—“They did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead” (John 20:9 NAB).
—“When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize it was Jesus” (John 21:4 NAB).
The writer of John knew:
—What the apostles said to Jesus (John 4:31; 9:2; 11:8,12; 16:29,30).
—What the apostles said among themselves (John 4:33; 16:17,18; 20:25; 21:3,5).
—Where Jesus went to get away from, or avoid, people (John 11:54; 18:1,2).
POWERFUL EVIDENCE THE APOSTLE JOHN WROTE THE GOSPEL PRIOR TO 100 CE
The historian Eusebius ( c 260-340 CE) quotes Irenaeus as saying: “John, the disciple of the Lord, who had rested upon his breast, himself gave fourth the gospel, while he was living at Ephesus in Asia” (The Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius, V, viii 4; Irenaeus, Hair., 3.1.2).
The prediction by Jesus of Peter’s martyrdom (John 21:17-19), led Peter to ask Jesus about the life of “the disciple whom Jesus loved ” (John 21:20,21). Jesus’ reply, “‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?'” and “Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers’ that this disciple would not die” (John 21:22,23 NIV). This seems fit well with the apostle John’s very long life, since he lived into his upper 90’s.
As mentioned earlier, some have strongly asserted that the Gospel of John was written as late the middle of the second century. However, the discovery of the Rylands Papyrus 457 (P52) (a papyrus fragment of John 18:31-33,37,38), paleographically dated to about 125-135 CE, has led most scholars back to the traditional date of the 90’s CE as the time period of the writing of John’s Gospel. Why? Because several decades would have been required between the time of the original writing, likely in Ephesus (Asia Minor, today Turkey), and its being copied and circulated as far south as Egypt. Additionally, discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran, by improving understanding of Palestine in the first century, have confirmed the genuineness of the Jewish background and thought patterns evidenced in the book. These facts fit in well with the evidence presented above that the apostle John wrote the 4th gospel in the 90’s CE.
BA: The writer of this book [The Gospel According to John] appears to be a Jew with an intimate knowledge of Jewish life, expectations, and opinions in the first third of the first century,
GW: No. He appears to be Greek with some knowledge of Jewish life. But the important point is that he was not an eyewitness to any events in the life of Jesus or its aftermath. This is the consensus view of experts, including Bart Ehrman.
GW: I don’t have the time to rebut your other claims in this long essay. I have already said many times why John should not be trusted. As Thomas Jefferson cut many things out of the New Testament, maybe we should just delete the entire Gospel of John.
GW—The Sabbath and Passover are two different things. In any given year the Passover meal (occurring after dusk) may or may not occur on the Sabbath. It depends on the calendar and counting days to comply with Jewish ritual laws.
BA—“The fourteenth day of the first month, at twilight, is the Passover of Yahweh; and the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of Unleavened Bread for Yahweh. For seven days you will unleavened bread. On the first day you will hold a special assembly; you will do no heavy work. For seven days you will offer food burnt for Yahweh. On the seventh day there will be a sacred assembly; you will do no heavy work” (Leviticus 23:5-8 NJB). The fourteenth day of the first month was the Passover, and the 15th began the “Festival of Unleavened Bread” (Leviticus 23:6 NIV). The 15th day of the first month was always treated like a Sabbath, in which no work was to be done, no matter which day of the week it fell on. It was this Festival of Unleavened Bread, which was soon to begin, that the disciples thought Jesus was telling Judas to buy supplies for, and not the Passover.
“Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken down.” (John 19:31 NAB) By saying “the Sabbath of that week was a solemn one”, it means the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which always a Sabbath. But that particular year it fell on the weekly Saturday Sabbath. So, the “preparation day”, spoken of here, is the preparation for the week long Festival of Unleavened Bread, and not the Passover.