How are the chronological differences to be reconciled?

Let’s get right to the problem and solution, without a long introduction.

The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see other ones, please go to biblegateway.com.

I borrow heavily from respectful scholars because I learn many things from them and because they are charitable towards the Bible. I place friendly scholars on the same or higher level than hostile critics. Hostile critics cannot claim objectivity compared to friendly scholars.

Let’s begin with the statement of the problem.

The Problem

The Synoptics (Matthew, Mark and Luke) indicate that Jesus and the disciples ate the Passover meal the evening before the crucifixion (e.g. Mark 14:12-16; 15:1-25), on 15 Nisan. Yet John suggests the Passover lambs were slaughtered at the moment of Jesus death. This means Jesus did not eat the Passover at the Last Supper, but the Thursday before, on 14 Nisan.

Solutions

Let’s follow the advice of three prominent commentators.

D. A. Carson

D. A. Carson helps us through the tricky business of the differences between the Passover accounts in the Synoptic Gospels and John’s Gospel. He summarizes his solution in his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. His solution in the Gospel of John is spread around at various verses, so the one in Matthew, located in those pages, is more convenient.

Let’s see what Carson has to say on the matter (and I insert some of my own chronology).

The answer boils down to how one defines the terms of the feasts (plural).

First, after reviewing various solutions (e.g. lunar or solar calendars), Carson says it is best to harmonize the differences as the four Gospels stand. John’s Gospel will be subjected to redefining the terms.

Here are the verses in John’s Gospel.

John 13:1 (“Before the Passover Feast….”)

This sets the stage, not for the supper, but for the foot-washing, exemplary lesson (John 13:1-20). The meal was going on (NIV and my translation), not ended (KJV). It is not the Passover meal.

John 13:27 (Jesus tells Judas that what he is about to do, do quickly)

The disciples who overheard the remark did not understand what this meant but thought Jesus was telling him to buy things for the feast to come. No, this does not mean that Judas was actually going to buy food for the feast to come, but for the continuation of the long feast. By Jewish reckoning, the high feast day (15 Nisan) had begun on Thursday evening. In unusual circumstances it was permitted to buy food on the Sabbath in preparation of the Passover, if the Passover was the day after the Sabbath. Bottom line: if the feast were twenty-four hours away, as the Synoptics would have it, there would be no rush to buy things at that moment in 13:27. Judas, instead, was buying items for the continuation of the feast. Alternatively, the poor congregated near the temple at this time, and people gave money to them. So the disciples thought Jesus was telling Judas, who kept the moneybag, to go out and give to the poor (v. 37).

John 18:28 (Jesus stands before Pilate in the early morning, and the Jews did not enter the palace for fear of uncleanness)

Their refusal and the nature of the uncleanness is highly disputed. Yet if uncleanness had occurred, it could be dealt with at the end of one day with one wash (Lev. 15:5-11, 16-18; 22:5-7), and then the Passover could be eaten. So, this fact makes it difficult to believe Jesus ate a meal before Passover night. Thus 18:28 can best be interpreted as not the Passover meal but to the continuing of the Passover meal, or the ḥagigah, the feast offering on the morning of the full paschal day (Num. 28:18-19). Deut. 16:3 says to eat the Passover food of unleavened bread for seven days. The main point is that everything refers to the entire Passover festival, which includes the Feast of unleavened bread, which lasted seven days. Let’s not get tied down to one dinner.

John 19:14 (This verse refers to Jesus’s crucifixion and the “preparation of the Passover”)

Strong evidence says that the preparation refers to Friday, since Friday before sunset was the day people prepared for the Sabbath. There is no evidence that at the time of the Fourth Gospel, it does not refer to any other day than the evening before the Sabbath, so the preparation of the Passover means “Passover Week” or the “Passover festival.” Carson then cites ancient sources to show that “Passover” refers to the entire Feast of Unleavened Bread. So 19:14 most likely means “Friday in Passover Week.” Therefore, Jesus’s crucifixion accords with the Synoptics, which have him crucified on Friday morning (9:00), (or it could be 12:00 noon?), and he dies in the afternoon (3:00 p.m. or 15:00h). That is, Passover lasted from Thursday evening to Friday evening. Jesus was therefore crucified on Passover,

John 19:31

My translation: “Then the Jews, since it was the preparation day, and in order that bodies not remain on the cross, for it was the great day of the Sabbath.”

NIV: “Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath.”

In v. 30, Jesus committed his spirit to God and died. Here in v. 31 John identifies the day, which was the Preparation Day, that is, Friday, so Jesus died on Friday in the Fourth Gospel and in the Synoptics. “The next day” refers not to the Passover meal but to Saturday, which would be a “high” or “special” or “great” because it fell during the Passover Feast and because it fell on the second paschal day, that is, on the Sabbath (Saturday). The sheaf offering was on the day (Lev. 23:19).

John 19:36 (Jesus has just died on the cross, and this verse refers to Exod. 12:46, to explain that the Passover lamb did not have his bones broken, and neither did Jesus on the cross)

Does this mean that Jesus died while the lambs were being slaughtered (14 Nisan)? Not necessarily, for John does not make a temporal or sequential connection, but a theological one (John 1:29, 36) and from Jesus’s words at the Last Supper, reported by the Synoptics and Paul (1 Cor. 11:23-26).

To review, the meal kept going from Thursday evening to early Friday morning (1:00? 2:00?). And then they headed towards the Garden of Gethsemane. And a short time later he got arrested and was tried in the early hours in a hurry-up, improvised meeting before the Sanhedrin (along with other examinations with Pilate and Herod in the Synoptics) and was nailed to the cross on Friday about 9:00 to 12:00 noon, and died about 3:00 in the afternoon or 15:00h.

To conclude Carson’s analysis (if I understood it), this interpretation seems plausible to me. It stretches out the Passover meal on our Thursday evening (which changed over to Friday by Jewish calculations at nightfall). So Jesus was crucified at the same time the Synoptics say—Friday.

So the Synoptics and the Fourth Gospel agree.

Matthew: The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Rev. Ed. by Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, vol. 9, (Zondervan, 2010, pp. 593-96)

R. T. France

R.T. France’s conclusion is from his commentary on Matthew’s Gospel. This excerpt, quoted in full, is still much shorter than Carson’s analysis of the verses in John:

[…] I believe that it [the debate] is based on a Western cultural misunderstanding: in the Jewish day, which begins at sunset, the evening is the beginning of the day, not its ending, as it is for us. So the Synoptic statement that the meal (which was eaten at night […].) was prepared on Nisan 14 and may be understood to mean that it was prepared and eaten during the evening and night which began Nisan 14, rather than that it was prepared late on Nisan 14 (before sunset) and eaten the next (Jewish) day, at the official time for the Passover meal on Nisan 15. This would be an equally natural way a Jewish reader to understand their words; it is our unfamiliarity with the Jewish method or reckoning days which prevents Western readers from recognizing that the evening preceding the killing of the lambs is already the same day, Nisan 14. In that case they are describing the same day as the Fourth Gospel. The last supper and subsequent trial and death of Jesus all took place on the same (Jewish) day as the killing of the lambs in the afternoon which concludes Nisan 14 and thus on the (Jewish) day before the date for the official Passover meal. The last supper is, then, an anticipated Passover meal, in the Synoptics no less than in John. …

In a nutshell, it seems to me that all the relevant external evidence speaks consistently in favor of the “Johannine” dating, and that if due allowance is made for the fact that Nisan 14 began with the sunset which preceded the killing of the lambs, the Synoptic writers do not disagree with it. (The Gospel of Matthew: New International Commentary on the New Testament. [Eerdmans 2007], pp. 982-83, emphasis original)

France also stretches out the main meal from (our) Thursday to early, early Friday morning.

France produces a table (which I slightly modify):

After sunset: disciples ask about and make preparations

During the night: Passover meal held; walk out to Gethsemane; arrest and preliminary hearing of Jesus

At daybreak: transfer to Pilate; formal trial and conviction

Morning/noon: crucifixion

Afternoon: official date for sacrifice of lambs

R. T. France, The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text (Eerdmans, 2002).

Mark L. Strauss

In his commentary on Mark, Mark Strauss lays out three options if one intends to harmonize the four Gospel accounts.

(1).. The Last Supper was not on the Passover, but was a “New Passover” which Jesus inaugurated and celebrated early with the disciples. The Jewish Passover (Nisan 15) began on Friday evening as John’s Gospel indicates and continued through Saturday afternoon. Jesus inaugurated the New Passover on Nisan 14, which began on Thursday evening, running through Friday.

(2).. The Last Supper was the Jewish Passover. Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples on Thursday evening (Nisan 15) as the Synoptics suggest and was crucified the next morning (still Nisan 15, which ran Thursday evening through Friday afternoon). John’s reference to “the Preparation of the Passover (John 19:14; cf. 19:31, 42) does not means preparation for the day of Passover week, the day the lambs were slaughtered but preparation for the Sabbath of Passover week (i.e. Friday before sundown). This meaning of “preparation” is common and appears in Mark 15:42. To eat the Passover (John 18:28) means the general sense to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

(3).. The Jewish Passover was celebrated at two different times. Nisan falls on two days for two groups or the Passover was spread out over two days, perhaps because of the large number of lambs to be slaughtered. Celebrated on two days for the (a) Sadducees and Pharisees; (b) Galileans and Judeans; (c) visiting pilgrims and local residents. Or Jesus was following the solar calendar used at Qumran and in the Book of Jubilees, where Nisan 15 began on Tuesday. The religious leaders were following the traditional lunar calendar, where Nisan 15 fell on Friday evening.

It seems the second option works best.

Mark L. Strauss, Mark: Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Zondervan, 2014), pp. 617-18.

Further, see this table about the entire Passion Week.

Passion Week
Friday	Arrival in Bethany (Jn 12:1)
Saturday	Mary’s anointing of Jesus (Jn 12:2-8; Mt 26:6-13 // Mk 14:3-9)
Sunday	Triumphal Entry (Mt 21:1-11 // Mk 11:1-10 // Lk 19:28-38); surveying temple (Mk 11:11), return to Bethany (Mt 21:17 // Mk 11:11)
Monday	Clearing temple (Mt 21:12-17 // Mk 11:15-19 // Lk 19:45-48); cursing fig tree (Mt 21:18-22; // Mk 11:12-14); miracles and challenge temple (Mt 21:14-16); return to Bethany (Mk 11:19)
Tuesday	Disciples’ question about fig tree (Mk 11:20-21); debates with leaders of temple (Mt 21:23-22:46 // Mk 11:27-12:40 // Lk 20:1-44); Olivet Discourse (Mt 24-25; Mk 13; Lk 21:1-36); return to Bethany, but Lk 21:37 says he lodged on Mount of Olives
Wednesday	Little recorded in Gospel—Jesus and disciples apparently remain in Bethany; Judas arranges for Jesus’ betrayal (Mt. 26:14-16 // Mk 14:10-11 // Lk 22:3-6); I say he could be teaching in the temple or praying privately.
Thursday	Preparation for Passover (Mt 26:17-19 // Mk 14:12-16 // Lk 22:7-13); after sundown, Passover meal and Last Supper (Mt 26:20-35 // Mk 14:17-25 // Lk 22:14, 21-23, 15-20); Farewell Discourse (Jn 13-17); Gethsemane (Mt 26:30-46 // Mk 13:32-42 // Lk 22:40-46)
Friday	After midnight, betrayal and arrest (Mt 26:47-56 // Mk 14:43-52 // Lk 22:47-53); Jewish trials—Annas (Jn 18:13-14); Caiaphas and partial Sanhedrin (Mt 26:52-75 // Mk 14:53-72 // Lk 22:54-71); full Sanhedrin (Mt 27:1-2); Roman trials—Pilate (Mt 27:2-14 // Mk 15:2-5 // Lk 23:2-5); Herod Antipas (Lk 23:6-12); Pilate (Mt 27:15-26 // Mk 15:6-15 // Lk 23:17-27); Mocked by soldiers (Mt 27:27-31 // Mk 15:16-20); Road to Golgotha (Mt 27:32 // Mk 15:21 // Lk 23:26-32); Crucifixion 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. / 15:00h (Mt 27:27-56 // Mk 15:22-41 // Lk 23:33-49); Burial (Mt 27:57-61 // Mk 15:42-47 // Lk 23:5-56)
Grant R. Osborne, Matthew: Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Zondervan, 2010), who got it from Michael J. Wilkens, Matthew: NIV Application Commentary (Zondervan, 2004). I modified it.

Answering an Objection

I bring this discussion from the comments to here.

But Jesus said three days and three nights. Prove the days were partial and he died on Friday.

Reply: Let’s not create a modern mathematical monstrosity (I like the alliteration).

(1) Let’s not over-interpret Jesus’s quotation of Jonah 1:17. In his context Jonah and his time in the fish was a type and a sign of the burial and resurrection. Too precise for a sign and type.

(2) How do I prove that “three days and three nights” can be partial? First, in 1 Sam. 30:12 (literally “today three days”), the day before yesterday. Second, in Esther, a period described as “three days and three nights” (4:16) is concluded on the third day (5:1). (Thanks, R. T. France, p. 491, fn. 12!). Third, Jesus says he will rise on the third day (Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 27:64, and in Mark and Luke). Those verses in the Gospels where he quotes Jonah 1:17 and here where he says “on the third day” prove that he did not over-interpret Jonah, for the prophet was merely a sign and type. Jesus believed that three days and three nights could be partial. Fourth, even Paul said, “on the third day, according to the Scriptures”, that is, the OT (1 Cor. 15:4). So Paul must be using a semitic inclusive day out of three days of 72 hours. The days are partial. Go to Bible Gateway and type in third day and look at all the wonderful thematic hits.

(3) As for Preparation Day, the one before the Sabbath, here are the verses: Matthew 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; and John 19:31, 42. All four Gospels agree that he died on Friday, the Preparation Day, the day before the Sabbath. Once again, please see France’s comment, for semitic days, and when they end and begin. Three days can be partial in semitic reckoning.

(4) So, the bulk of the evidence shows me that we should not over-interpret the type and sign of Jonah, and demanding …. what?… 24×3 = 72 hours? The Messiah was not incorrect. Rather, the over-interpretation of the type and sign is.

I hope this helps.

Recommendations

In all of those solutions, you can accept them (I do) or work out your own chronology.

Also see this offsite commentary: Barry D. Smith, “The Chronology of the Last Supper,” Westminster Theological Journal 53:1 (1991): 29-45. He too stretches out the meal and says that the labels “Passover” and “Unleavened Bread” were used interchangeably, in the NT and various Jewish sources.

Here is a shorter version of Smith’s study:

Thomas Brewer. “Does John’s last supper chronology differ from the other Gospels?” Christian Post. 13 May 2022.

If either of those offsite links go dead, just copy and paste the title in a search engine.

My Concluding Opinion

I’m happy the Gutenberg Printing Press wasn’t invented until the mid-1400s. Now we can breathe the air of these stories being transmitted orally and eventually written down. To me, these differences seem authentic and follow biblical precedence in the OT.

Differences in Gospel Parallels = Differences in OT Parallels

On the other side, fiery fundamentalists or more restrictive Christian philosophers and theologians put too many unrealistic demands on Scripture. They seem to believe that “if the sequence is off, then the whole Bible is flawed and unreliable!” That’s an overreaction.

The Bible is not brittle, and nor should our faith be. We can still learn wonderful truths from the Bible about God and his redemptive plan of salvation in Christ, from Genesis to Revelation,  and how we can live our lives in him. We can learn great things about the life and ministry and resurrection and exaltation of Christ. The American church of the more restrictive variety needs to relax a lot more.

For the Christian reader, go for the gist of the story when differences emerge, beyond our ability to figure them out.It is the art of the inerrant and inspired theological story teller, whom God permitted to arrange the author’s storyline for his own purposes.

My view of Scripture: It’s very high, but I don’t believe in “total inerrancy” or “hyper-inerrancy” (my term):

‘Total’ Inerrancy and Infallibility or Just Infallibility?

Begin a series on the reliability of the Gospels. Start with the Conclusion which has quick summaries and links back to the other parts:

15. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Conclusion

See this part in the series that puts differences in perspective:

13. Are There Contradictions in the Gospels?

The Gospels have a massive number of agreements in their storylines:

14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels

Celebrate them and don’t get bogged down in the differences.