It’s All About a Meal
Tradition says Jesus was crucified on Good Friday of Easter weekend. Not everyone agrees – some say that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified earlier in the week or even before the Feast of Unleavened Bread.[1] A meal plays a big role in determining when Jesus was crucified…and it may not be the one that first comes to mind.
JN 18:28 Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate’s headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover.(NRSV)
John says the priests were worried about becoming defiled which would then disqualify them from eating the Passover meal.[2] It is easy to draw the conclusion that “to eat the Passover” refers to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, but it had already been eaten.
Playing this out farther, if the verse is referring to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, it would mean Jesus was crucified on Nisan 14th before the Feast. In this scenario John 18:28 would then indeed be a contradiction with the other Gospel accounts saying Jesus was crucified and died on the first day of Passover.[3]
Many people may not be aware there were two other meal possibilities at the beginning of Passover called a chagigah defined in the Talmud.[4] It is helpful to know the Jewish day begins at sunset and the following sunrise begins the daylight portion of that same day ending at dusk.
First of the two Passover meals was an optional supplement to the Feast of Unleavened Bread. If it was necessary to feed a larger party, an optional first chagigah sacrifice was to be offered in addition to the Pascal lamb sacrifice and treated the same way.
Another, separate chagigah was also offered on Nisan 14 and eaten the first day of Passover.[5] This second chagigah sacrifice meal was to be consumed over the course of two days and one night.[6]
Jewish Law stipulated that a portion of the sacrifice was to be given to God, a portion to the Priest as a tithe for his own meal, and the remaining portion of meat to be taken home by the offerer for his own Chagigah meal.[7] As such, the priests were beneficiaries to this sacrifice.
Priests were held to a higher Rabbinical standard with special rules that did not apply to the general populace. Entering Pilate‘s headquarters, the Praetorium in John 18:28, was one of those things that would place the priests in a state of ritual defilement. Rabbinic ritual defilement could be absolved by means of a ritualistic purification bath.[8]
Since the Feast of Unleavened Bread occurred after sunset, a priest ritually defiled the day of Nisan 14th could still partake of the Feast of Unleavened Bread if he performed a ritual purification bath before sunset. On the other hand, the second chagigah meal was to be consumed during the first day of Passover meaning a ritual purification bath for defilement on Nisan 14th was not applicable for Nisan 15th.
Defilement worries in John 18:28 “to be able to eat the Passover” centered on the consequences involving the second chagigah meal by the Priests. Disqualification from performing their chagigah sacrificial duty on the first day of Passover meant the priests would not have received their lawful gratuity portion of the sacrificial meat – no meat for their own chagigah meal on the first day of Passover.[9]
Logically, perhaps even much bigger, is why the defilement concern of John 18:28 over a meal is just one factor. Offerings of the Pascal sacrifices on Nisan 14th was an all-hands-on-deck scenario, according to Josephus, where upwards of a quarter million paschal sacrifices were performed at the Temple!
All the Priests served a vitally important role at the Temple requiring massive preparations with a packed and rigid schedule. Activities for the most popular annual Festival in all the land drew crowds of about 3 million people.[10]
Consider a Thursday crucifixion scenario where high level priests pursued their vendetta against Jesus beginning after the evening dinner of Nisan 13th with an arrest, an inquisition and an aberrant overnight trial; Roman hearings the next morning; and ended with the crucifixion of Jesus at 9am, Nisan 14th while at the very same time tens of thousands of pascal lamb sacrifices were being sacrificed at the Temple. This scenario would be like NFL Super Bowl event managers taking the day off on Super Bowl Sunday to attend to personal business.
Another factor to consider is the Romans who were worried by the Passover observance more than any other Jewish holiday because it drew to Jerusalem the potentially troublesome Jewish crowds of millions of pilgrims.[11] The risk of a riot on the Nisan 15th was much less than for a crucifixion on the first day of Passover.
Jews would be in their local housing accommodations having just celebrated the Passover on Nisan 15th with very minimal activity in compliance with religious law. As opposed to Nisan 14th, Jews were out and about without the same restrictions.
Did John’s reference to the priest’s defilement concern of missing the Passover meal actually pose a credibility issue with the other Gospels that said Jesus was crucified on the first day of Passover?
Updated June 30, 2025.
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REFERENCES:
NRSV = New Revised Standard Version translation
[1] Doig, Kenneth F. New Testament Chronology. Chapter 18. <http://nowoezone.com/NTC18.htm> Edersheim, Alfred. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. 1883. Book V. <http://philologos.org/__eb-lat/default.htm> “Sharing a Meal.” Pinterest.com. image. n.d. <https://www.pinterest.com/pin/785737466232633826/>
[2] Wells, Steve. The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible. 2017. “423. When was Jesus crucified?” http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/contra/passover_meal.html> “101 Bible Contradictions.” Islamic Awareness. n.d. Contradiction #69. https://www.islamawareness.net/Christianity/bible_contra_101.html>
[3] Edersheim, Alfred. The Temple – Its Ministry and Services. Chapter 10. 1826 -1889. The NTSLibrary. 2016. <http://www.ntslibrary.com/PDF%20BooksJewish Encyclopedia. 2011. <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com>
[4] Leviticus 23:7-8; Numbers 28:18. Net.Bible.org. Hebrew text, footnote #20. CR Exodus 23:14. Netbible.org. n.d. Hebrew text. “G5656.” Lexicon-Concordance. n.d. <http://lexiconcordance.com/search6.asp?sw=5656&sm=0&x=0&y=0 Babylonian Talmud. Rodkinson trans. Book 3, Tracts Pesachim, Chapter IV and Book 4, Tract Betzah (Yom Tob); Book 4, Tract Moed, Chapter II.. <https://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/talmud.htm#t03>
[5] Leviticus 3.
[6] The Babylonian Talmud. Trans. Michael L. Rodkinson. 1918. Book 3, Tract Pesachim. <http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/talmud.htm> Streane, A. W, ed. A Translation of the Treatise Chagigah from the Babylonian Talmud. 1891. Chagigah 7b. <http://www.archive.org/stream/translationoftre00streuoft/translationoftre00streuoft_djvu.txt>
[7] Leviticus 7:29-32. Edersheim. The Temple – Its Ministry and Services. Chapters 5 & 11. Streane. A Translation of the Treatise Chagigah from the Babylonian Talmud. Glossary: “Chagigah.”
[8] Leviticus 22. “Exploring Qumran: The Dead Sea Scrolls Community.” MSN.com. video. 2025. <https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/peopleandplaces/exploring-qumran-the-dead-sea-scrolls-community/vi-AA1xfbCq?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=4e309000c75e45b69d296288be2ab1f9&ei=287#details>
[9] Leviticus 22; Numbers 9. Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities of the Jews. Book III, Chapter X. Google Books. n.d <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false>
[10] Josephus, Flavius. Wars of the Jews. Book VI.. < http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false>
[11] Antiquities. Book XI, Chapter IV; Book XX, Chapter V. Josephus. Wars. Book V, Chapter V.