Mark 14:12

And on the first day of the unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the passover, his disciples say unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and make ready that thou mayest eat the passover?

On the first day of unleavened bread ... The Jewish Passover always began at sundown on the 14th of Nisan, the following day, the 15th of Nisan, actually being the Passover day. The first day of unleavened bread was the preceding day, the 13th of Nisan (beginning at sundown on the 12th of Nisan). Since Christ died at the same hour the paschal lambs were being slain, that is, at 3:00 p.m. on the 14th, the event Mark mentioned here took place on the afternoon of daytime Nisan 13. Of course the meal that followed those preparations took place after sunset (the beginning of a new day by Jewish reckoning) and therefore on Nisan 14.

For a detailed chronological list of events comprising this exceedingly important week, see my Commentary on Luke under Luke 22:2. In the Hebrew method of counting time, the Last Supper, all events of the long night following and the crucifixion itself all occurred on the same day!

Where wilt thou that we eat the passover ...? From this, it has long been alleged that the meal of the Last Supper was actually eaten on the Passover, Nisan 15th; but there is no way this can be correct. The soldiers were ordered to break Jesus' legs to prevent his being on the cross upon that holy day; and, if the Lord had eaten the passover meal the night before, no such precaution would have occurred. Therefore, the Last Supper was called by Mark "the passover," because it took the place of the passover and so nearly resembled it. See article below.

WAS THE LAST SUPPER ON THE PASSOVER?

The answer to this question must be in the negative for the following reasons:

(1) Christ was taken down from the cross and buried before sundown on the day the Passover officially began, that being the purpose of the breaking of the legs of the thieves and of the order that Jesus should have received the same treatment.

(2) Note that it was not Christ, but the disciples, who mentioned eating the passover, and that Christ referred rather to "keeping" it, a far different thing (Matthew 26:18). Christ kept it by the solemn observance of the Last Supper, a full 24 hours before the actual passover.

(3) All of the gospels represent Jesus and his disciples as "reclining" for the meal; and, if it was indeed the passover supper, their actions would have been contrary to the commandment of God that it should be eaten "standing up" (Exodus 12:11). It is true, of course, that the chief priests of Israel had changed God's ordinance and that in the times of Christ it was customary to eat the passover lying down, or reclining; but how can a child of God believe that the Son of God consented to such a categorical contradiction of sacred law? Would Jesus have been any more inclined to accept their traditions in this matter than he was to allow their traditions in regard to the sabbath? This student cannot believe that the Christ accepted any such change by the Pharisees in God's law. The unanimous record of the gospels to the effect that the Last Supper was eaten in a reclining position was their way of saying that it was not the passover at all.

(4) There was no lamb eaten at the Last Supper, at least none being mentioned; and, if there had been, it is inconceivable that the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world would not have mentioned it.

(5) Mark's statement here that the meal was "on the first day of unleavened bread" is not the same as saying it was on the Passover. As Dummelow said:

In strict usage "the first day of unleavened bread" meant the first day of the Passover festival, which began with the paschal supper. But it is

possible that the day before this, when the paschal lambs were sacrificed, and all leaven was expelled from the houses, was popularly spoken of as "the first day of the unleavened bread."[2]

It is the conviction here that this popular usage of the expression was made in Mark's record here. Only by contradicting the Gospel of John can anything else be maintained.

(6) Christ's death at 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon before the Passover began with the paschal supper after sundown that same day corresponded with the time of sacrificing the paschal lambs, as required of the anti-type fulfilling the type.

(7) The fact of the temple guard, accompanied by the priests and soldiers supplied by Pilate, bearing arms on the night Jesus was betrayed (after the Last Supper), proves that it was not Passover. They would never have engaged in such a mission, bearing arms, on such a holy day as the Passover.

(8) Joseph of Arimathea and others would not have prepared spices and have taken the body of Jesus to the tomb on Passover.

(9) There is no way that an apostle could have referred to the day Jesus was crucified as "The Preparation" (John 19:31), if it had been actually the Passover.

From these and many other considerations, it is evident that the day spoken of by Mark in verse 12 was after sundown of Nisan 13, counted the 14th.