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  • Jul 17, 2007, 06:57 AM
    Morganite
    The Last Supper
    Was the Last Supper a Passover meal?
  • Jul 17, 2007, 07:07 AM
    RickJ
    Hi Morganite. It seems that it may have occurred before Passover. Scholars still debate this one don't they?
  • Jul 18, 2007, 08:17 AM
    Morganite
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by RickJ
    Hi Morganite. It seems that it may have occurred before Passover. Scholars still debate this one don't they?

    Hi, Rick,

    Yes, this is still a very hot issue, but the preponderance of evidence suggests that this was not a seder meal. I am collecting and collating opinions and arguments and hope to be able to post them soon. In the meantime I am grateful for opinions from all sides, especially those that are supported (either way) by some evidence.

    I hops that you are well, and that the 'nuisance' has abated.

    Sincere regards,

    M:)RGANITE
  • Jul 20, 2007, 02:52 PM
    arcura
    I believe it was indeed a Passover meal because the bible says so.
    As example……
    Matthew chapter 26:
    2. "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be delivered up for crucifixion."
    3. Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, named Caiaphas;
    4. and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth, and kill Him.
    5. But they were saying, "Not during the festival, lest a riot occur among the people."
    Also….
    17. Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?"
    18. And He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, `The Teacher says, "My time is at hand; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.
    <><><>
    Peace and kindness,
    Fred (arura)
  • Jul 20, 2007, 04:29 PM
    Morganite
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by arcura
    I believe it was indeed a Passover meal because the bible says so.
    As example……
    Matthew chapter 26:
    2. "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be delivered up for crucifixion."
    3. Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, named Caiaphas;
    4. and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth, and kill Him.
    5. But they were saying, "Not during the festival, lest a riot occur among the people."
    Also….
    17. Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?"
    18. And He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, `The Teacher says, "My time is at hand; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.
    <><><>
    Peace and kindness,
    Fred (arura)

    Thank you.

    How do you read John's account of the meal?


    M:)
  • Jul 21, 2007, 06:09 AM
    RickJ
    Can I insert a sidenote? :) I'm aware that many Christians do not know that this subject is still debated. For those interested in reading an overview of the issue, and why it is debated among scholars, even Christian ones, see the article here(scroll down am bit to the section "A Passover Meal?"). The entire article is wonderful, especially it's conclusion:

    "So many things about that Last Supper and about Jesus himself were unclear to his disciples at the time. They only came to understand later, after his death and resurrection. When a loved one dies, what is often most vivid are the words and actions of the last days, and particularly of the last meal together. Perhaps that is what happened with the first disciples as they struggled to understand all that had happened in their journey with Jesus.

    As we continue the process in our day, whose version of the painting [of the last supper] will we hang on our dining room walls? Or better yet, how will we replicate the meaning of that Supper in our meals, in our Eucharistic gatherings, and in our ministries as his disciples?"
  • Jul 21, 2007, 08:03 AM
    shygrneyzs
    In my upbringing, which was pre-Vatican II, our religious instructions were that the Last Supper was not Passover but it was the introduction of Holy Communion. Sacred and meant to be followed by the believers in Christ.

    Now in John's account of the Last Supper, he stated this occurred before the Passover:

    JOHN 13:1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God, and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself about. 5 Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. (NASU)

    John goes to describe Christ's instructions to his disciples in preparation for the Day of Passover. Here is an article that supports this: The Last Supper
  • Jul 21, 2007, 06:48 PM
    shygrneyzs
    That is fine, Otto. But it does state in the book of John, that this did not occur. That there was the Last Supper and then there was the preparations for Passover. The author, Bryan T. Huie, writes:

    "We can see that the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) do not conflict with John's account of the "last supper" when understood correctly. A careful study of all four Gospels shows that Yeshua and the disciples did not eat the Passover meal. There was no way they could have, since the time had not yet come to sacrifice the Passover lambs. They simply prepared for the Passover by deleavening the location they planned to use for the Feast. Afterward they ate some type of celebratory or prepatory meal on the evening of Nisan 14. At this supper, Yeshua instituted the New Covenant symbols of the bread and wine. After the meal, Judas Iscariot rose and left to betray Christ. When approached with an open mind and the belief that the Scriptures cannot be broken (John 10:35), we can reconcile all these accounts."

    Bryan T. Huie
    August 22, 1997
    Revised: March 21, 2002

    To me, Christ was and is the Passover Lamb. He became the ultimate sacrifice so that we all could find redemption and new life in Him. Now you can disagree about that. It is just how I personally view the tremendous and wonderful gift of life that Christ has given to everyone who calls upon Him.

    There are further readings about the Last Supper and Passover in the following:
    http://www.geocities.com/paulntobin/lastsupper.html
    PARALLELISMS OF THE PASSOVER IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
    AmericanCatholic.org|Scripture From Scratch ©2002-The Last Supper: A Picture Worth a Thousand Words by Barbara Reid, O.P.

    People will choose to debate this and not ever come to an agreement. This is where nitpickers and naysayers point and say, "look at the discrepancies", while missing "the point."
  • Jul 21, 2007, 08:39 PM
    otto186
    When reading the Bible one thing I have learned through my years of study in many different religions: the Bible and other religious books are open for interpretation. What I mean by that is I myself can interpret a passage one way, and you can interpret a passage a different way. It doesn't mean that either one of us are more right or more wrong.

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