Ye Shall Eat Unleavened Bread

Unleavened Bread
“…on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread…” — Exodus 12:18

The Synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark and Luke—indicate that Jesus reclined at the table to keep the Passover the evening before He died (Matthew 26:20, Mark 14:17-18; Luke 22:14). But John’s Gospel says the Last Supper occured “before the feast of the passover” (John 13:1). Further, at the time of Jesus’ arrest, John says the Passover still had not yet occurred, for the Jews would not enter Pilate’s hall of judgment, lest they be defiled and be unable to “eat the passover” (John 18:28). Indeed, Jesus’ arrest, trial and execution all occurred before the Passover sacrifice, for when Pilate reminds the Jews of his custom of releasing a prisoner “at the Passover” (John 18:39) it is still early in the morning. An enduring perception of inconsistency between the Synoptic Gospels and the Johannine Gospel has therefore persisted for many centuries, but there is a simple and elegant solution to which the Scriptures plainly attest.

Continue reading Ye Shall Eat Unleavened Bread