This can be nothing else than Nisan 14th that starts in the evening by removing all leavened in the house and cleaning the place.
No, this can be nothing else than the Nisan 14th that had started on the previous sunset, for it refers to the preparation of the Passover sacrifice.
John said that supper was “before the feast of the Passover”.
John doesn't say that at all. You are reading into the text what is not there.
AV Jn 13:1 .
Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. 2. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's [son], to betray him; …4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself…..”
Then again in v.29, John mentions that before Judas left the supper, some disciples thought Jesus instructed Judas to go buy things for the (Passover) feast.
Why would Jesus instruct Judas to buy things for the Passover feast at that time of the night if Nisan 14 was just beginning and he had the whole morning next day to buy things? Rather, the disciples thought Judas was going to buy the necessary things for the chagigah, which was offered on Nisan 15, just after the morning sacrifice.
AV Jn 13:29
For some [of them] thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy [those things] that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor. ”
Not unusual at all. I’m sure there was lots of "shopping" happening the evening of Nisan 14th to prepare for the next evening(Nisan 15th) meal just like it is here in America, the night of Dec 23th-24th the stores are open very late so people can buy all their last minutes preparation to be ready the night of Dec 24th-25th.
Most people had come from far away, and had to find a place and buy the stuff necessary to prepare for the Passover meal that was taken on the next evening. Basically, for most of them coming from another town, they had 24hrs to do the real preparation. Many people got there a couple days earlier to do the cleansing ritual, but the preparation for the Passover mostly started in the evening of Nisan 14th. Jesus and the disciples also came from out of town, so they did what others did starting the evening of Nisan 14th by finding a place and getting everything ready for it.
It is with your application of verse 29 that makes no sense at all. Your view is saying they were eating the Nisan 15th meal (Thursday evening) which was considered as a ceremonial Sabbath and all day Friday also, and then the next day(Nisan 16th) was Saturday which was another Sabbath day. Two days being Sabbaths in a row and there’s no way Jesus would of instructed Judas to go buy things for the feast if they were already eating it and having two Sabbath days coming ahead.
Another point that I haven’t mentioned before, is that the 4 gospels(Mt 26:26; Mk 14:22; Lk 22:19; Jn 13:18) and Paul (1Co 10:16,17; 1Co 11:23,26-28) all refers to the bread of that meal as (leavened) bread.
?????
Mark 14:12 And
on the first day of Unleavened Bread,
when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, "Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?"
Luc 22:7 Then
came the day of Unleavened Bread,
on which the Passover lamb
had to be sacrificed.
The reference to the Passover sacrifice was to qualify to answer the question "what day was "
the first day of unleavenened bread""?. Was it evening of Nisan 14th or evening of Nisan 15th? Could be both. So the added "
on which the passover was to be sacrificed" was to give a clear understanding which day they were referencing. Nisan 14th is the only answer on which they sacrifice the lamb on the end of the day of Nisan 14th.
So they ate leavened bread after the first day of Unleavened Bread had arrived? Your argument is a very strange one.
On the evening of Nisan 14th and on the following day of Nisan 14th, it was allowed to eat leavened bread. It was on the evening of Nisan 15th that it was not allowed and for 7 days after that.
Not to mention that you hold that in the sentence "then came the day of Unleavened Bread" the verb "came" doesn't mean "came" at all, for it refers to a day that would come several hours later, at sunset.
Yeah the evening of Nisan 14th
came which was “the first day of unleavened bread”(generic term that also meant Passover Season) -- the day they needed to prepared for the Passover and kill the lamb which can be no other day than Nisan 14th where those activities happened.
“Pay attention to this: "On the first day of Unleavened Bread ... his disciples said to him, 'Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?'". ON the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples asked Jesus where they should prepare the Passover meal. It isn't referring to the following day, but to the day in course, which would end at sunset.
The day to prepare for the Passover meal is Nisan 14th starting in the evening. See comment above.
By default the Greek word artos means leavened bread.
No, it doesn't. It means "bread" in a generic sense. In 1 Samuel 21:6, for instance: "So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the LORD, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away." Here, referring to the bread of the Presence (which is unleavened bread) the LXX uses arton thermon, "hot bread;" there is no need to use azumon.
Strong defines
Artos as "
bread (as raised) or a loaf." It comes from the root word
airo that means "
to lift up". By the basic definition of the the word, it means a leavened (lifted, full of air, raised) bread.
Whereas the Hebrew word for bread is
lechem that means "
food" and can be anything -- not only for bread. It’s root word is
lacham that means "
to feed on".
So we see there’s a difference between the basic definition of bread in Greek
Artos(lifted, raised bread) from the Hebrew word
lechem for bread that means "food" in a very general sense that can be just anything that you "feed on" like a lamb, or grapes, etc...
I did a mistake in the other post, I thought they used
artos with
azumos to say unleavened bread. They don't they only use
azumos in the NT for unleavenened [bread]. Never once, the word
azumos is used to described the bread in the last supper in all 4 gospels accounts and by Paul. Not once. If that meal was the Passover meal like you believe, then we would of had at least ONE account saying the bread was unleavened. There was none in all 6 accounts (Mt 26:26; Mk 14:22; Lk 22:19; Jn 13:18; 1Co 10:16,17; 1Co 11:23,26-28).
To consider the bread at the last supper to be leavened was new to me also. So I had to look up the Hebrew word shewbread. Interesting findings :
a) Shewbread in Hebrew is the same word used for ordinary bread or "food" -- is
lechem. Nothing special there.
b) However the description of shewbread in Lev 24 uses the word
challah for "cakes".
AV Lv 24:5
And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes(
challah)
thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.(
challah)
The Hebrew word
challah means "
a cake (as usually punctured)". It's root word is
chalal meaning "
properly, to bore, i.e. (by implication) to wound, to dissolve; figuratively, to profane (a person, place or thing), to break (one's word), to begin (as if by an "opening wedge");" c)I did not see any texts in scriptures that the shewbread was unleavened.
d)All the meat offering bread was to be burned along the sacrifices. The Lord said very specifically "
No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire.(Lev 2:11, see also Ex 23:18; Lev 6:17; 10:12). The meat offering was usually flour, bread, or cakes and it was forbiden to be offered with leavened.
e)Their was an exception to this rule of sacrifice burned on the altar without leaven and it was with the two loaves of leavened bread at Pentecost.
AV Lv 23:17
Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; [they are] the firstfruits unto the LORD. ;
This bread represented US and that’s why it is with leaven but needs to be cooked in the fire before it can be an acceptable sacrifice to the Lord.
f) Here’s another exception with the peace offering (Chagigah) AV Lv 7:13
Besides the cakes, he shall offer [for] his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings. I’m unsure if this is a burned offering, but as with the Pentecost bread, this peace offering (Chagigah) bread represents us.
g)However the shewbread was not burned, or a meal offering to be burned with a sacrifice. It was to be set on the table for a week and then after eaten by the priests. The meal offering bread offered with the sin offering needed to be eaten also by the priests, however the Bible says whatever they didn’t eat needed was to be burned up with the sin offering. For the shewbread, I could not see any instruction that the 12 loaves of cakes that was set on the table was to be burned if not all eaten. So to my understanding the whole 12 loaves needed to be all eaten up.
h) I didn’t see anywhere in the Bible that said the shewbread was to be unleavened, whereas, very careful instruction is given for the meal offering bread that needed to be unleavened.
Concerning the symbolic representation of the bread of the last supper, that bread represented His body that was broken for us. We all know that Jesus came in a sinful corrupt body like postfall Adam, despite He did not sin. To represent His body as an unleavened bread could imply that He came with a perfect uncorrupt body which would contradict the heart of the gospel message. So I don’t see any problem with the symbolism of the last supper meal with some leavened bread representing the body of Jesus coming as a corrupt man that was “punctured” like the 12 cakes(challah) of shewbread yet he sacrificed Himself for us. All other Chagigah meals taken (evening of Nisan 14th, Pentecost, Feast of Tabernacles) ….all were partaken with leavened bread (Lev 7:13). It was only the Chagigah of Nisan 15th that unleavened bread was mandatory.
Another symbolism related to the body of Christ is
we are His body. The shewbread was 12 “punctured” cakes that represent the 12 tribes of Israel and also the 12 disciples. We all partake of His suffering (we too get punctured) and we together make one bread. To me it is consistent symbolism between Jesus body coming as a corrupt sinful man as Adam that came to show US the way. And US who are HIS BODY, we too came from Adam with a corrupt body that got “punctured” too while following His way.
AV 1C 10:17
For we [being] many are one bread, [and] one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.