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Chapter Four

Jesus' Last Passover Was "On the First Day of the Unleaveneds"

            The account of Jesus' last Passover as recorded in the Gospel of Mark makes it clear that the Passover day--Nisan 14--was recognized as one of "the unleaveneds."  In Mark 14:12 we read, "And on the first day of the unleaveneds....” This is a literal translation of the words in the Greek.  As we have learned, "the first day of the unleaveneds" is not designating the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, but specifically refers to the Passover day--Nisan 14--in which all leaven was removed and the first unleavened bread was eaten.

            As did Luke in his Gospel, Mark also tells us that this was the day that the Passover lambs were killed.  Continuing in Mark 14:12 we read, "...when the Passover they killed....” The English words "they killed" are translated from the Greek verb ethuon.  The specific meaning of this Greek verb is most revealing.  The verb ethuon reflects the following case and action: third person plural--they; imperfect tense--meaning an action not yet completed but taking place at that very moment--were killing; active indicative--being done personally at that moment by the subject--they.  A literal translation of the Greek text would be as follows: "AND ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE UNLEAVENEDS, WHEN THEY WERE KILLING THE PASSOVER...."

           MARK'S INSPIRED WORDS AS PRESERVED IN THE GREEK TEXT SHOW THAT THE LAMBS WERE BEING KILLED AT THAT VERY MOMENT AS JESUS SENT HIS DISCIPLES INTO THE CITY OF JERUSALEM!

            Who were "they"?  The word "they" in this verse can only refer to those who were killing the Passover lambs at that moment on the 14th.  "They" could not possibly be referring to the priests at the temple, because the temple-sacrificed Passover lambs were not slain until the next afternoon.  The only logical conclusion is that "they" refers to those who were killing the Passover lambs at houses or inns where the domestic Passover of the 14th would be kept.  The lambs were being killed at the beginning of the 14th according to the statutes and ordinances of Exodus 12.  This was the exact moment that Jesus sent His disciples into Jerusalem--"when they were killing the Passover...."

            Properly translated, this verse in the Gospel of Mark has profound meaning!  When Mark's account is combined with Luke's account, the impact is even greater!  Here are Mark 14:12 and Luke 22:7 combined in a literal translation: "On the first day of the unleaveneds, in which it was obligatory for the Passover to be killed, when they were killing the Passover, His disciples asked Him, 'Where do You desire that we should go and prepare the Passover that You may eat?'" 

             These verses in the Gospels of Mark and Luke clearly show that the domestic Passover was a common practice!  It is also apparent in these accounts that the disciples were accustomed to keeping the domestic Passover, as indicated by their question, "...Where do You desire that we should go and prepare the Passover that You may eat?"  Apparently, Jesus had not previously instructed His disciples to make arrangements for the Passover.  They knew that it would soon be time to eat the Passover, but they did not know where Jesus wanted them to make the necessary preparations.  Since the killing of the domestic Passover lambs was happening before their very eyes, the disciples asked this urgent question, "Where do You desire that we should go and prepare the Passover that You may eat?"  What was Jesus' answer in these Gospel accounts?

            Jesus did not command Peter and John to go to the temple to sacrifice a Passover lamb.  His command was to follow a CERTAIN MAN TO A CERTAIN HOUSE and PREPARE THE PASSOVER AT THAT HOUSE.  THEY WOULD EAT THE PASSOVER THERE.  NOTHING COULD BE CLEARER!

            When we examine all three Gospel records of Jesus' instructions to His disciples, it is obvious that Jesus kept the domestic Passover on the 14th--"the first day of the unleaveneds."

            Matthew's Account: "Now on the first of the unleaveneds, the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, 'Where do You desire that we should prepare for You to eat the Passover?'  And He said, 'Go into the city unto such a man, and say to him, The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover with My disciples.'  And the disciples did as Jesus directed them, and they prepared the Passover"  (Mat. 26:17-19, AT).

            Mark's Account:  "And on the first day of the unleaveneds, when they were killing the Passover, His disciples said to Him, 'Where do you desire that we go, so we should prepare that You may eat the Passover?'  And He sent forth two of His disciples, saying to them, 'Go into the city, and you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water--follow him!  And wherever he may enter, say to the master of the house, The Teacher says, Where is the guest-chamber where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?  And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready.  There prepare for us.'  And the disciples went away, and came into the city, and found exactly as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover" (Mark 14:12-16, AT).

            Luke's Account: "Then came the day of the unleaveneds in which it was obligatory for the Passover to be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, 'Go and prepare for us the Passover, in order that we may eat it.' But they said to Him, 'Where do You desire that we should prepare?'  And He said to them, 'After entering into the city you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he enters.  And you shall say to the master of the house, The Teacher says, Where is the guest-chamber where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?  And he will show you a large upper room furnished.  There prepare the Passover.'  After departing they found everything exactly as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover"  (Luke 22:7-13, AT).

             Jesus' own words to His disciples are overwhelming evidence that "the first day of the unleaveneds" was the Passover day, not the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  The context of these Scriptures proves it was the domestic 14th Passover!  THE WORD "PASSOVER" IS USED 11 TIMES IN THESE THREE ACCOUNTS. "THE HOUSE" IS MENTIONED 3 TIMES.  Not once is the temple mentioned, nor is a temple-killed Passover lamb remotely indicated in these accounts.  There can be no doubt that Jesus kept the domestic Passover on the 14th day of the first month, as commanded in Exodus 12.

             The Gospel accounts do not specify whether the disciples' preparations included the killing of the Passover lamb.  It is possible that Peter and John killed the lamb themselves.  However, since everything was "furnished and ready," it is more likely that the master of the house had already killed the lamb by the time Peter and John arrived.  In that case, they would have begun roasting the lamb and setting out the other foods for the meal, making sure that the unleavened bread and wine were ready.  They completed whatever was necessary to prepare the Passover meal.  Luke records, "And after departing they found everything exactly as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover" (Luke 22:13, AT).

             The Gospel records leave no doubt that Jesus and the apostles kept the domestic Passover on the 14th of Nisan.  This is the day called "the first day of the unleaveneds" by Matthew, Mark and Luke.  At the time of Jesus' last Passover, the 14th day of the first month was commonly known to all Jews as one of "the unleaveneds."  Even those Jews who kept the 15th Passover recognized Nisan 14 as the beginning of "the unleaveneds" because all leaven was removed by the morning of the 14th, and unleavened bread was prepared and eaten on that day.  The practice of the times forbade any Jew to eat leavened bread after 11 AM on the morning of the 14th.  Therefore, even those Jews who did not eat the Passover meal on the night of the 14th were required to eat only unleavened bread during the day portion of the 14th.

            There is no question that in New Testament times the Jews acknowledged the original Passover day--Nisan 14--as "the first of the unleaveneds."  Yet in the centuries that followed, the original significance of Nisan 14 was altogether lost.  While in New Testament times the domestic 14th Passover was apparently the predominant practice, it was ultimately replaced by the temple-killed 15th Passover.

            Modern Jews observe solely a 15th Passover and view the 14th of Nisan only as a preparation day for their traditional Seder meal on the 15th--the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  By replacing the 14th Passover with a traditional Seder meal at the beginning of the 15th, the Jews have shortened the original eight-day festival to only a seven-day observance.  These seven days of unleavened bread are now known to Jews as "Passover," rather than as the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  Josephus, who wrote his Jewish histories over a period of many years, has recorded this transition from the original eight-day festival of "the unleaveneds" to the shorter Jewish observance of seven days. 

Josephus Documents the Change From the Eight-Day Festival to a Seven-Day Observance

            The transition to a seven-day observance is documented in Josephus' contrasting descriptions of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread as they were observed during his lifetime.  Josephus shows that there was a change from the original designation of two separate feasts, totaling eight days, to only a seven-day festival.  He also shows that the use of unleavened bread was mandatory for the Passover day, as well as for the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  His narration is most revealing.

            "...But when the fourteenth day was come, and all were ready to depart, they offered the sacrifice, and purified their houses with the blood, using a bunch of hyssop for that purpose; and when they had supped, they burnt the remainder of the flesh, as just ready to depart.  Whence it is that we do still offer this sacrifice in like manner to this day, and call this festival Pascha, which signifies the feast of the passover, because on that day God passed us over, and sent the plague upon the Egyptians; for the destruction of the first-born came upon the Egyptians that night..." (Antiquities of the Jews, Bk. 11, Ch. XIV, Sec. 6, emphasis added).

            In this narration of Exodus 12, Josephus clearly depicts the 14th of Nisan as commemorating the event of God's passing over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, and he calls this commemorative observance the festival of "Pascha," or Passover.  He does not call the Feast of Unleavened Bread the "Passover" at this point.  In the next section of his exposition, after his narration of the Exodus itself, we find this statement about the entire eight days: "Whence it is that, in memory of the want we were in, we keep a feast for eight days, which is called the feast of unleavened bread" (Ibid., Ch. XV, Sec. 1).  Here he relates that the Passover day was included with the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread as one of "the unleaveneds."  By relating that there were eight days of unleavened bread, Josephus was not attempting to promote a new practice that was contrary to the Scriptures.  Instead, Josephus was relating that the first Passover, as recorded in Exodus 12, was in fact an additional day of unleavened bread.

            These two accounts by Josephus clearly show that the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were originally understood to be separate feasts with separate meanings.  Unleavened bread was required for both feasts, which together totaled eight days.  However, Josephus' later accounts show that this original distinction was beginning to be blurred, as reflected by a change in terminology and designation.  The following narration depicts the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread as a combined observance: "Now, upon the approach of that feast of unleavened bread, which the law of their fathers had appointed for the Jews at this time, which feast is called Passover, and is a memorial of their deliverance out of Egypt..." (Ibid., Bk. XVII, Ch. IX, Sec. 3).

            Recounting the same event in Wars of The Jews, Josephus again records this change in terminology: "And indeed, at the feast of unleavened bread, which was now at hand, and is called by the Jews the Passover..." (Bk. II, Ch. I, Sec. 3). 

            By this time, the Jews were calling the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread "the Passover."  Josephus' writings clearly demonstrate this change in the name of the festival.  When Josephus wrote this account in 90 AD, the Feast of Unleavened Bread was commonly called Passover by the Jews.  The meaning of the name Passover had shifted from the 14th of Nisan to the following seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread.  As a result, the Jews in succeeding generations lost all knowledge of Nisan 14 as one of "the unleaveneds."

            The Jews' rejection of Nisan 14 as the Passover day not only shortened their observance of the festival of "the unleaveneds" but also profoundly affected the Jewish observance of Pentecost.  In the New Testament, we find that the Jews were gathered at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Pentecost on the same day as were the early Christians--the apostles and disciples of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:1-11).  This observance of Pentecost clearly shows that both Christians and Jews had counted from the same Wave Sheaf Day.  At that time, the majority of the Jews still acknowledged Nisan 14 as "the first of the unleaveneds."  Later, the Jews forsook the true Passover Day, no longer observing Nisan 14 as a commanded feast day, and consequently they ceased to reckon Nisan 14 as one of "the unleaveneds."  This failure to observe the true Passover resulted in eliminating Nisan 14 as a day to be included in determining the Wave Sheaf Day.  The various Jewish sects began to follow different interpretations of God's command for the wave sheaf, which led to the setting of a number of different dates for the Wave Sheaf Day and consequently for the observance of Pentecost. 

            Some of these Jewish sects placed the Wave Sheaf Day on a fixed date, claiming that "the morrow after the Sabbath" meant the day after the first or last annual Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  Those Jews who based their count on Nisan 21--the last annual Sabbath, or holy day--always observed their Wave Sheaf Day after the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  Those Jews who based their count on Nisan 15--the first holy day--always observed their Wave Sheaf Day during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, but they did not observe it on the first day of the week unless Nisan 15 happened  to  fall  on  a  weekly  Sabbath.  Neither  of these Jewish interpretations is in accord with the Scriptures, which reveal that the Wave Sheaf Day--"the morrow after the Sabbath"--is always the first day of the week during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 

             In most years, the weekly Sabbath which precedes the Wave Sheaf Day will also fall during the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread.  However, in years when the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Nisan 21,  falls on a weekly Sabbath, it cannot be used to determine the Wave Sheaf Day.  In such years, it is the preceding weekly Sabbath--Nisan 14, the Passover day, "the first of the unleaveneds"--which must be used to determine the Wave Sheaf Day.  The Scriptural commands in Leviticus 23 and their original fulfillment in Joshua 5 make it clear that in these years the Wave Sheaf Day will be "the morrow after the Passover."  In the following chapter, we will see that in such years the Passover day is for Christians today "the first of the unleaveneds," as it was in every year for both Christians and Jews in early New Testament times.

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