The Jewish Passover, the Last Supper, and the New Testament Sacrifice How are they connected? Part 1

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The Jewish Passover, the Last Supper, and the New Testament Sacrifice
How are they connected?

To the casual observer, the following questions may seem trivial. However that is not the case. A proper understanding of the relationship of these questions (and their answers) to each other will bring us to a more profound insight into God’s plan of salvation.

1 - Why did Christ omit the 4th cup of wine (the Cup of Consummation) at the last supper?

2 - On the way to Calvary, Christ was offered a cup of wine (Matthew 27:31-34; Mark 15:22-23), but he refused it! Why?

3 - Did Christ drink the 4th Cup – if so, when and where?

4 - When did the Last supper end? What is the significance of the answer to this question?

5 - When did Christ’s sacrifice begin? When did it end – or did it? See Malachi 1:10-11; Hebrews 8:1-3

6 - In John 19:28-30, what does the “It” refer to

7 - How did the crucifixion become a sacrifice?

8 – In Luke 19:22 we read: “… do this in remembrance of me”. What does the word “this” refer to? What was it that the apostles were supposed to do?

To answer the above questions, we need to go back to the night of the original Passover, and the requirements that God set forth.

In Exodus 12:1-10 we see where God sets forth the requirements for the exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt. He then commands the Israelites to remember this event as a perpetual ordinance (Ex. 12:14, 17, and 24). So the Passover Celebration becomes the most important sacrifice for the Jewish people.

But now there seems to be a problem! In Malachi 1:10-11 (also see Hebrews 8:1-3), God says that He will no longer accept this old sacrifice, but refers to a new, most pure, continual sacrifice – from the rising of the sun to setting of the sun! So this brings up a question. Why would God command the perpetual remembrance of a form of sacrifice (The Passover) which, at some point in the future, He would no longer accept?

Answer - It was never God’s intention that the manner of fulfilling of the requirements of Exodus 12:14, 17, & 24, would stay the same i.e. the Passover Seder meal. At the coming of Christ, the manner (or outward form) of this perpetual remembrance would change, but not the basic elements. Note the following comparison!

Elements of the Old Testament Passover:

An unblemished lamb would be slain;
The blood would be shed;
And the lamb must be consumed (Exodus 12:8)

Elements of the New Testament Passover:

Christ, the unblemished Lamb of God (John 1:29) would be slain (John 19:30);
The blood would be shed; (John 19:34);
And the Lamb must be consumed; 1 Corinthians 5:7-8; John 6:53-56; Matthew 26:26, Exodus 29:33.

Continued in part 2
 
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@meltzerboy What do you think about this?

Personally, I have always loved the biblical prefigurations to the Crucufixion and the Mass.
 
Pope Benedict XVI did a good job on this issue in his book, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

There are contradictions between the Synoptic Gospels on when the Passover Meal was taken by Jesus, to that of John’s Gospel. John’s Gospel states that when the Pharisees had taken Jesus to Pilate, Pilate had to go outside on the verander to meet them because they did not want to be defiled the day before the Passover meal. This would mean Jesus could not have observed the official Passover meal, because he was already in the tomb on the next day which would have been Saturday.

The timing for the official Passover according to Nisan, would’ve been Saturday, the 6th day of the week, not Thursday.

Pope Benedict XVI along with many scholars today, place more credibility with John’s Gospel on the timing than the others.

In their assessment, the Passover Meal was not the official Passover observed by the Jews at the time of Jesus’ passion, but a Jesus’ own Passover Meal.

Jesus knowing he would not be around for the official Passover, had a Passover meal before the official meal observed by the Temple Jews, either on Wednesday or Tuesday before His arrest and crucifixion.

The details of the Seder were not given, but it’s likely the cup of wine taken when Christ instituted the Eucharist, was the forth and final cup.

Also, it was the tradition that the lambs for the official Meal, were slaughtered on the eve before the Passover, at 3PM. This would’ve made it on Friday the same time of Jesus’ death.

Anyway, Pope Benedict XVI gets into greater detail and it’s a great book to read for Lent.

Jim
 
Dear Clare,
Why do you wish it to be copyrighted material?
zeland
 
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JimR-OCDS said:
There are contradictions between the Synoptic Gospels on when the Passover Meal was taken by Jesus, to that of John’s Gospel. John’s Gospel states that when the Pharisees had taken Jesus to Pilate, Pilate had to go outside on the verander to meet them because they did not want to be defiled the day before the Passover meal. This would mean Jesus could not have observed the official Passover meal, because he was already in the tomb on the next day which would have been Saturday.
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For a scholarly viewpoint from someone who is very familiar with Jewish laws and customs, see “The Temple, its Ministry and Services” by Alfred Edersheim. He explains how Jesus did eat the Passover Meal at Passover. He actually says,
At the outset we may dismiss as unworthy of serious discussion, the theory, either that our Lord had observed the Passover Supper at another than the regular time for it, or that St. John meant to intimate that He had partaken of it on the 13th instead of the 14th of Nissan
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He goes on to explain it very well.
 
Pope Benedict XVI would disagree.

Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium.* It was morning. And they themselves did not enter the praetorium, in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover. John 28:28

If Jesus was already in their custodardy, Jesus did not observe the official Passover Meal, but observed the Passover before his arrest, knowing would not be able to observe the official Passover which was the day after he was taken to Pilate as in John’s Gospel.

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium.* It was morning. And they themselves did not enter the praetorium, in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover. John 28:28
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Yes, this is the part that the author explains. (He was a Jewish convert to Christianity, educated in the Torah and Talmud, and the author of several books on Jewish law and custom)

He says that Passover started on the 14th of Nissan and the Feast of Unleavened Bread started on the 15th and lasted for 7 days, and he goes on to say,

"from their close connection they are generally treated as one, both in the Old Testament and in the New, and Josephus on one occasion, even describes it as ‘a feast for 8 days.’
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On the 14th of Nissan, the Passover Lamb was slaughtered and eaten that evening (which would be the beginning of the 15th of Nissan. Later on the day of the 15th of Nissan there were other mandatory offerings. There was a Peace Offering which was to be slain and eaten. No one who was unclean could eat of this. This, the author says, is what St. John was referring to. (He explains it better than I have–it’s complicated. I highly recommend the book)
 
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According to Pope Benedict XVI in his book. “Jesus of Nazareth,” and the Pope is a scholar and references scholars, their explanation of why there is a contradiction between John’s Gospel account and the Nissan date which would’ve place Passover on the sixth day, was that there were two groups of Jews who celebrated Passover on different dates. The Temple Jewish authority observed what they called the official Passover on one date, where Greek Speaking Jews on another date. He also mentions it being an eight day observance, but as most scholars agree, the official Passover was observed by the Jewish Temple Jews of Jerusalem, and most likely by Jesus’ family.

Also, Pope Benedict notes that the tradition of slaughtering lambs for th Passover was done on the even before, which in the case from John’s Gospel, would’ve been on Friday, the same day Jesus died. He is referred to as the Pascal Lamb.

I highly recommend Pope Benedict XVI’s three volume set, Jesus of Nazareth."

Jim
 
He drank the 4th cup on the cross just before he died (St. John 19:30)
 
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JimR-OCDS said:
Pope Benedict XVI in his book. “Jesus of Nazareth
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Thanks for the info. I found this site which is a PDF of the book, and also contains this quote about this particular theory.
the discovery of the [Dead Sea] Scrolls at Qumran has led us to a possible and convincing solution which, although it is not yet accepted by everyone, is a highly plausible hypothesis.
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So it seems this is a hypothesis. It’s interesting. Thanks for the source information.

(Here’s the PDF site: 5 April 2007: Mass of the Lord's Supper | BENEDICT XVI )
 
Hi, I had withdrawn my post, but since you quoted from the withdraw notice, I decided to go ahead and reply.

I’m not sure where you’re getting your information from, but the four cups at the Passover Meal represent the “The Four I Wills” of Exodus chapter 6.

“I will free you from the forced labor of the Egyptians”
“I will deliver you from their slavery”
“I will redeem you with my outstretched arm”
“I will take you unto me as my people”

The 3rd cup is the Cup of Redemption which was accomplished at Christ’s death (He redeemed us on the cross with his arms outstretched.)

The fourth cup has yet to be fulfilled. Jesus will take us unto himself to be his people when he comes the second time. (This is the meaning which Messianic Jews and many others assign to the 4th cup)

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ words are from Mark 14: 25: “Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Matthew’s Gospel says, “I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:29).

These two gospels points to Jesus’ eschatological meaning and to the consummation of all things when the day of the Lord arrives, including the Messianic banquet. Notice Jesus’ words: I won’t drink again until I drink it ‘With You.’ and, I wont drink again until I drink it in the kingdom of God. These words point to Jesus’ 2nd coming which he has in mind when he speaks of drinking the wine again, not on the cross, but at the coming of the Kingdom in all completeness.

Here’s a good site which explains it from a Messianic Jewish perspective. (since the Passover is of Jewish origin, the best knowledge would probably be from a Messianic Jewish source)
http://messiahalive.com/passover4cups.htm

Thanks for reading.
 
This lines up with what Pope Benedict XVi wrote in the book, Jesus of Nazareth.

Jim
 
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