There are just a few problems with the way you are reading the Law. But let's take a look at how Jesus and the disciples actually observed it, okay? Because after all, what I'm primarily concerned with is the events that occurred during Passion Week, so what I'm looking to understand is how the Scripture and historical records tell us the Jews actually observed these things during Jesus' time. We'll save whether it's right or wrong for another time.
"Now the first [day] of the [feast of] unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover. Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve."Matthew 26:17-19
So the first thing to notice is that Jesus sent the disciples into the city to make ready the passover on the first day of unleavened bread. Matthew is using Roman reckoning here for the days, not Jewish, so Thursday afternoon the lambs were slain and that evening (the same day by Roman reckoning) was the Seder.
So the disciples had to go into the city, purchase the lamb, slay it, wait for the priests to dress it, take the portion that belonged to their party, either take it back to the home where they were to eat the Passover or else take it to one of the many commercial ovens that were set up around the city to roast the thousands of passover lambs of the many pilgrims who had come to the city.
Now notice what the Scripture says, "now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve." So they sat down to eat the passover when the evening was come. They didn't make the passover ready (slay and prepare the lamb) when the evening was come, it was already prepared and they sat down to eat it.
This is the same testimony of Mark:
"And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover? And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him. And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? And he will shew you a large upper room furnished [and] prepared: there make ready for us. And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. And in the evening he cometh with the twelve." Mark 14:12-17
So notice in Mark it says specifically that they killed the passover on the first day of unleavened bread, again, reckoning the days by Roman standard as Matthew did. So Thursday afternoon they killed the passover (which was the 14th Nisan) and the evening of that same day by Roman reckoning they ate it (which was actually Nisan 15 by Jewish reckoning).
But for a third witness notice what Luke says:
"Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover."Luke 22:
And another verse:
"Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat. And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in. And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him." Luke 22:7-14.
Do you see that in four different verses in the New Testament it states that the Jews slew the passover on the first day of unleavened bread? Now that doesn't mean they slew the lambs on Nisan 15, it means they slew the passover in the afternoon and ate it that evening of the same day, although not the same Jewish calendar day.
So two problems with your reading of the law is that first of all you have the lambs being slain in the Temple in the dark, and second, you have 8 days of the Jews eating unleavened bread. But even the Old Testament states:
And this is the way the passover was observed in Old Testament times as well:
“In the first [month], in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.” Ezekiel 45:21
So your second problem is that by trying to separate passover from unleavened bread you have an 8 day feast, which is clearly not correct.
Another problem you have is that you are assuming that unleavened bread was not eaten during passover, and again, that's not correct. You quoted the scripture but I don't think you saw it:
"And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; [and] with bitter [herbs] they shall eat it. Exodus 12:8
So again, the Passover was the first of the 7 nights of eating unleavened bread, not a separate feast.
And one more problem you have is that the Scripture says the Jews departed Rameses on the 15th day of the month. Now remember, they had eaten the Passover in the evening with all their belongings packed up, their loins girded, their shoes on their feet, and their staff in their hand, ready to depart. At midnight the death angel passed through the land slaying all the firstborn male children. That night the Egyptians called for Moses and urged the Jews to hurry up and leave. They left that night (Exodus 12:29-31), which was the 15th of Nisan:
"And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians." Numbers 33:3
The way you are reading the Law you have them packed up, their shoes on their feet, eating the passover, the death angel passing through the land, and then the Jews sitting around the rest of the night, the next day, and then the next night leaving. That's not how it happened.
And the final problem is that the scripture says repeatedly that the Jews were to eat unleavened bread 7 days. Nowhere does it say they were to eat unleavened bread 8 days.
“In the first [month], in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.” Ezekiel 45:21
And finally, the historical evidence as to precisely how the Jews were observing the Passover at the time of Jesus I can offer you two sources, the Talmudic tractate "Pesach," but also Josephus in his "Wars of the Jews," both of which state that the passover lambs were slain on the afternoon of the 14th. In fact, the regular evening sacrifice that was normally slain at 2:30 and offered at 3:00 was moved up and slain at 12:30 and offered at 1:00. Then they began the passover sacrifices which Josephus records usually lasted until 5:30, there were literally thousands and thousands of lambs to be slain, dressed, and roasted before the Seder that evening.
So I think you have a number of difficulties with the way you are reading the verses you quoted that do not take into account the verses I have pointed out. I've looked at the verses you quoted, thoroughly, but also the one I have mentioned, and others that also pertain to this issue, there's more.
And it is passing strange to me that you are trying to lay out when Jesus was crucified and yet you did not offer one single verse from the Gospels.
In Christ,
Pilgrimer
