Do the Gospels conflict in the Timing of the Last Supper?
- Elaine R Kelly
- Apr 12, 2022
- 6 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
As we prepare for Easter, we notice a difference in the timing of the Last Supper as reported in the various Gospels. The Gospels agree that Jesus's trial and execution were on Preparation Day, and they had to be finished before the Sabbath began, Friday at dusk. Preparation Day was normally Friday, so no work was done on the Sabbath. There is a discrepancy in the timing and type of meal.
Executed on Preparation Day
The four Gospels say that Jesus was executed on Preparation Day and that those on the crosses had to be taken down on Friday before dusk, when the Sabbath began.
Matthew: Jesus was killed on the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Matthew 26:17) and also on Preparation Day (Matthew 27:62).
Mark: Jesus had his last supper on the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Mark 14:12), and it was also called Preparation Day (Mark 15:42).
Luke: They were approaching the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed (Luke 22:7)
John: They met just before the Passover Festival (John 13:1), and Jesus was killed on the day of Preparation, the day before a High Sabbath (John 19:31).
Last Supper: Passover Seder Meal
Matthew, Mark, and Luke
Preparation day began Thursday at dusk and lasted until Friday at dusk. Jesus was executed on Friday just before dusk when the Jewish Sabbath begins. Many scholars believe Jesus's last supper was the seder meal. This places the last supper and the Passover meal on Thursday evening after dusk. It can be understood that the common people were sacrificing lambs throughout the city a day earlier than the priests sacrificed the lambs at the Temple.
John
John states that when the Jewish establishment took Jesus to Pilate's palace, they did not enter the palace because doing so would make them unclean and unable to eat the Passover seder meal that evening - Friday evening (John 18:28). The other Gospels indicate the Passover meal was already eaten before the trial at Pilate's palace. John's account indicates the establishment was planning to eat the Passover seder meal on Friday evening, in contrast to the other Gospels, which indicate the Passover seder was taken on Thursday evening.
Perhaps John requires us to understand the word Passover to indicate not only the Passover seder meal but the entire week-long Feast of Unleavened Bread. John may be referring to the establishment staying ritually clean for the remaining Passover festival meals since the Feast of Unleavened Bread lasts for seven days. Perhaps Preparation Day refers to a general period of time as opposed to a specific day.
Three Days in the Tomb
Two of the Gospels say that the sign of Jonah will indicate the Messiah (Matthew 12:38-42, Luke 11:29-32). This sign relates the three days Jonah was in the whale to the three days Jesus was in the rock tomb. This indicates the possibility that Jesus was executed on a Thursday, allowing for three nights before the resurrection Sunday morning. That would move the last supper to a Wednesday to allow for three full nights and days before the resurrection, consistent with the sign of Jonah.
However, Romans and Jews used inclusive dating, with no zero and including partial days. This means three days could be Friday before dusk, Saturday (the Sabbath), and the next day, which began Saturday at dusk. Scriptures tell us he was raised on 'the third day' (Mark 9:31, Luke 18:33, 1 Corinthians 15:4) and on the 'first day of the week' which was a Sunday (Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1, John 20:1).
High Sabbath
A high Sabbath is when a festival day coincides with a weekly Sabbath day. John refers to a 'High Sabbath', which means that the particular Sabbath (Saturday) after Jesus's death was both the weekly Sabbath and the Sabbath that went with the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In search of a date when these two Sabbaths occur on the same day, one calendar has Passover on Wednesday, 5 April AD 30, AD and another has it on Friday, 7 April AD 30, and another on Friday, 3 April AD 33.
We know he was executed in the reign of Caesar Tiberius when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judaea (AD 26–36); Caiaphas, high priest in Jerusalem (AD 18–36); and Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee (circa 4 BC-AD 39). We also know that Jesus was born during the reign of Herod the Great, who ordered the slaughter of the babies. Herod the Great died in 4 BC, Jesus began his ministry at around age thirty (Luke 3:23), and at least three Passover festivals are described during his ministry, putting his death at somewhere between AD 29-33. Using astronomical data, Humphreys and Waddington have calculated that the celebration of a Friday Passover would have to be either April 7, AD 30 or April 3, AD 33.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke record three hours of darkness during Christ's crucifixion (Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:44-45). Secular sources describe a solar eclipse at that time.
Was it a Passover Meal?
John's account mentions they were at supper but gives no description of the meal, no example of the last supper, eucharist or holy communion. Jesus washes their feet and provides final predictions, teachings, and prayers. There is no description of the meal, and John does not call it a Passover meal. It may have been a formal Jewish meal with elements such as prayers, broken bread and shared wine, ending with a hymn, but not the Passover meal.
It could have been a Seudat Hoda'ah (Ritual Meal of Thanks). This ritual meal was typical to recognize God's kindness after a near miss with misfortune. It involved gathering, recounting the dangers, singing psalms, and sharing a blessing. This ritual meal was more often used by Galileans. At the meal, Martha served, and her sister put oil on Jesus's head. It is possible that Martha was serving as a minister and Mary was serving as a prophet, anointing Jesus. This could have been a ritual meal of thanksgiving for Jesus, bringing their brother Lazarus to life. At a much earlier point in Jesus's ministry, John reports Jesus telling everyone that whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood has eternal life (John 6:54).
Symbolic Sequence
The sequence in John's Gospel makes a symbolic point by portraying Jesus' sacrifice on the cross occurring at the same time (Friday afternoon) as the priests' sacrifice of the Passover lambs (in preparation to eat the Passover seder Friday evening). Perhaps John sacrificed chronological accuracy for the symbolism of having the priests sacrifice the lambs for the atonement of the people, while Jesus was sacrificed as the Lamb of God sacrificed for the atonement of the world (John 1:29).
Reconciling the Gospels
While some things can be known, multiple theories remain regarding the date of Jesus's last supper and whether it was a Passover meal.
How do we reconcile these accounts?
The last supper on Thursday evening was not the Passover meal but a private dinner: a fellowship meal. The Passover seder meal was celebrated on Friday evening, with the week-long Festival of Unleavened Bread after that.
The last supper was not a Passover seder but a Seudah Maphsehket or Fast of the Firstborn. This unique Jewish fast day is a ritual last meal that falls on the day before Passover, so the Fast of the Firstborn on Thursday evening, Preparation Day and the crucifixion on Friday, with the Passover seder on Friday evening.
There were two Passover meals; a private family celebration on Thursday and a communal sacrifice with the establishment at the Temple on Friday.
The Passover seder was celebrated on different days based on tradition: Thursday by Galileans and Friday by Judeans; or, on different dates based on the solar calendar vs the lunar calendar
The last supper took place on a Wednesday evening, the crucifixion on the Preparation day, Thursday; High Sabbath begins Thursday at dusk for the special Sabbath kicking off the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the regular weekly Sabbath the next day.
Taking into account all the information we know, as well as the conflicting information, and what may be most palatable to my readers, my biblical novel Forgotten Followers: from Broken to Bold uses the following assumptions:
The last supper took place on a Thursday evening
The last supper was a Passover seder meal
Galileans celebrated a private Passover seder with their families the day before the communal Passover sacrifice
Trial and crucifixion take place on Preparation Day, Friday 7 April AD 30 at the same time as the priests were preparing to sacrifice lambs in the Temple for the communal Passover sacrifice
High Sabbath began Friday at dusk, marking the weekly Sabbath and the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread
Saturday was the Sabbath
Sunday was the resurrection, and Jesus rose on the third day using inclusive counting.
Elaine Ricker Kelly Author is empowering women with historical fiction about women in the Bible and early church and Christian blogs about women in leadership, church history and doctrine. Her books include:
Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold, Book 1, A Novel (2022)
The Sword: A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible Says About a Woman's Role (2023)
Because She Was Called from Broken to Bold, Book 2, A Novel of the Early Church (2024)
Walk with Mara on Her Healing Journey: 21 Steps to Emotional Resilience (2024)
Finding Her Voice from Broken to Bold, Book 3, Acts of Early Female Apostles: A Novel (2025)
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