When did the disciples prepare the last Passover?
The synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), in most translations, give the impression that the disciples asked Jesus where they were to prepare the Passover on the first day of Unleavened Bread. Yet, Passover precedes the feast of Unleavened Bread, so it looks like the disciples came to Jesus a day late. What is going on here? Let’s take a closer look.
Leviticus 23:4-8 summarise the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They are clearly separate.
Lev 23:4 ‘These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.
Lev 23:5 On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD’s Passover.
Lev 23:6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; seven days you must eat unleavened bread.
Lev 23:7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.
Lev 23:8 But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.’ “
And here are the parallel verses in the synoptic gospels where the disciples asked Jesus where they were to prepare the Passover.
Mat 26:17 Now on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread [azumos] the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”
Mar 14:12 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread [azumos], when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?”
Luk 22:1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread [azumos] drew near, which is called Passover.
Luk 22:7 Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread [azumos], when the Passover must be killed.
Luk 22:8 And He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.”
It looks like the Passover is on the first day of Unleavened Bread!
In Mat 26:17, the words “day of the Feast” have been added and do not appear in the original Greek text. In all the above verses, the phrase “Unleavened Bread” is translated from the one Greek word azumos which means unleavened. It is in the plural form, so “Unleaveneds” is the correct literal translation. The plural form of azumos is the first of two keys to understanding the issue.
The second key is understanding that the Passover day was also considered one of the days of Unleavened Bread because unleavened bread was eaten at Passover. Concerning the instructions for eating the Passover given by God to the Israelites in Egypt:
Exo 12:8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
Putting these two keys together, it is clear that “Unleaveneds” (azumos) in Mat 26:17, Mark 14:12, and Luke 22:1,7 refer to both the Feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread. The historian Josephus confirms this terminology in Wars of the Jews, “And indeed, at the feast of unleavened bread, which was now at hand, and is called by the Jews the Passover …” (Bk. II, Ch. I, Sec. 3).
Thus, the first day of “Unleaveneds” (azumos) is the Feast of Passover. This resolves the difficulty in understanding these verses.
A little more can be said about Mark 14:12. The phrase “they killed” is translated from the Greek ethuon, which is in the imperfect tense (action not completed) and third person plural (they). So the phrase “they killed” is better translated as “they were killing”. Now we can understand Mark 14:12 more clearly. On the Passover day, the disciples, seeing that people were starting to kill the Passover lambs, asked Jesus where He wanted them to prepare the Passover meal.