Jesus Christ celebrated the Passover Seder on Thursday Evening / Night and Died on Passover (Good Friday).

"Is there really an issue as to when the Passover Seder was observed during Holy Week and what day Jesus died," you may ask?  Well, if you look into the subject you will notice a huge debate raging on about which year and day Jesus celebrated the Last Supper - as well as the day He died.  For example, some people believe Jesus died on Wednesday or Thursday in-order to fulfill Mathew 12:40 where certain Theologians take literal how long Jesus says He will be in the Tomb (72 "Literal" Earth Hours or 60 hours in the Tomb to complete 3 days and 3 nights).  Most of the Christian Community agrees that this was a metaphor or hyperbole of 72 hours.  Other parts of Scripture have it "He rose on the 3rd day" or "I will rise on the 3rd day" - 3 days and 2 nights in the Tomb (Matt. 17:23, Luke 9:22, Mark 9:31, 1 Cor. 15:4).  Also, some scholars believe Jesus died in 30 A.D., as opposed to 33 A.D..  Others try to claim that Jesus died on some year other than 30 or 33 to fit their Wednesday or Thursday death dates to satisfy the "literal" 72 or 60 hours (3 days / 3 Nights) in the Tomb.  And to make things even more complicated, many scholars believe it was impossible for all the Good Friday events to have happened in a 24 hour period (Jesus celebrates the Last Supper.... goes to the Garden of Gethsemane.... and is arrested by the the Sanhedrin and then tried; Jesus to Pilate - then - Jesus to Herod Antipas - then - Jesus back to Pilate.  Jesus is scourged, tried by the people, and then Jesus takes up his Cross.... all in a 12 to 18 hour period.  So, these scholars believe Jesus died on Friday, but His Last Supper was on Tuesday or Wednesday night). Ah.... the debate rages on.
    
When did Jesus celebrate the Jewish Passover Seder Meal and what day / date did He die?  I'm going to throw my hat into the ring here and give this a shot....... I've got some pretty compelling evidence that shows us that Jesus celebrated the Jewish Seder (The Last Supper) with the majority of the Jewish people, as well as the Sanhedrin, the night of 2 April, 33 A.D. in Jerusalem and then died at 3 P.M. on Friday, the 3rd of April 33 A.D..  

For Centuries, the Christian faith has wrestled with the "Fact" that St. John's Gospel supposedly contradicts the Synoptic Gospels as it pertains to when Jesus celebrated the Jewish Passover Seder Meal, but I'm here to say that this isn't so.  Also, I believe that Passover Night was on Thursday Evening of the 2nd of April 33 A.D. - Julian Calendar (31 March 33 A.D. - Gregorian Calendar) 15th day of the Jewish month of Nissan - and - that Jesus died and was put in the Tomb on the Passover.  NASA computers tell us that the 15th of Nissan (Passover / Full Moon) fell on Friday evening after sundown - 3 April 33 A.D. (1 April 33 A.D. - Gregorian Calendar) and this adds to the confusion.  Most Jewish Calendars I see online have the Passover on the 3rd / 4th of April.  For example, the following calendar has the Passover (Nissan 15) taking place on the 4th of April.

I believe they are following the NASA projections or the Hillel II calendar instead of the ancient pure Lunar Mosaic Calendar of eye-witnessing the Waxing Crescent New Moon used in the 1st Century - the Solar calendar was not used by the Jews of the 1st Century, but only  the Lunar calender.  I'll explain how the 1st Century Jewish Authorities used the calendar a little later.  (Side note: Hillel II was a Rabbi who made a new Jewish mathematical calendar in the 4th Century A.D. that combined the Solar Calendar with the Lunar Calender.  The Jews have used the Hillel II calender ever since the 4th Century to calculate their Calendar.)  I also believe that many Christian's are using the NASA projections to put the Passover on Friday evening / Saturday .   The data below shows us that the Moon was at its fullest at 8:05 P.M. on the 3rd of April..... about 3 hours after Jesus was put in the Tomb (Moon Data:  see the lower left data in the picture below..... the Full Moon officially started at 7:20 A.M. on April 3rd and the Full Moon ended at 9:34 A.M. on April 4th - but it was at its fullest at 8:05 P.M. on the 3rd of April 33 A.D. in Jerusalem, Palestine - Roman Empire.  That's why in the picture below, you see a Lunar Eclipse at its fullest because this is when the Moon was at its peak for being a Full Moon).

NASA got it right as to when the Full Moon appeared that month, but did Passover (Nissan 15) really start at sunset on the 3rd of April for the Jews that year of 33 A.D.?  If so, then it "seems" like St. John got it right and the synoptic Gospel's got it wrong or the Synoptic's were following another Calendar other than what the Jewish Religious Authorities (Sanhedrin / High Priest) followed.  But I'm here to say that NASA got the Full Moon date right, but the Jews still celebrated the beginning of Passover on Thursday Evening, 12 hours before the "Computerized" / Factual Full Moon started at 7:20 A.M. that Friday Morning and then they observed by the eye the Lunar Eclipse come up that Friday evening 2 hours after Jesus' was put in the Tomb.  NASA computers are precise down the minute, but the Jewish Calendar went off of eyesight as they observed the Moon cycle... that means there is some wiggle room for error with the time as it pertained to the Full / New Moon dates in their calendar.  In-other-words, the NASA and Hillel II mathematical / computerized dates do not necessarily line up with the ancient Jewish eyewitness calender of the 1st Century.  

Again, I believe Jesus celebrated the 15th of Nissan (Passover) after sunset on Thursday along with the Jewish Religious Authorities (Sanhedrin and Judges) of His day - He died at 3 pm on Friday the 3rd of April, 33 A.D..  Then the sun set after He was laid in the Tomb and the 16th day of Nissan began, along with a Lunar Eclipse in the Eastern Jerusalem sky.  Those are my claims.... now let me try to prove it to you.

Before we go any further in this discussion, we must understand the Jewish Calendar and the clock /watch they used - The Sun, Moon, and Stars were their calendar and clock.  The Jews used a Lunar Calendar in the 1st Century as prescribed by God to Moses back in the Book of Exodus and then better explained in Leviticus / Numbers.  Over the Centuries after Moses died, the Jewish Calendar was revised and slightly adjusted.  The Calendar ran on a 29 / 30 day cycle with the Moon.  The Moon's cycle runs anywhere from 27.5 Days to 30 Days depending on how you observed it and the time it took the rotation of the Earth (Jerusalem) to come around to see the moon (on average, the Moon runs around the Earth on a 29.5 day cycle), so the Jews had to adjust their Calendar all the time to keep it accurate with the Fall and Spring Equinox.  Also, they needed to be accurate to know when to plant their seeds and perform Religious rituals.  The Jews knew that the Moon averaged around 29.5 days per cycle from New Moon to New Moon, so their calendar alternated from 29 to 30 days each month to average the 29.5 days.  Now, the Jewish day began at sundown (that was their 12 A.M.) and the day ended at sundown.  At times, this can be confusing when trying to compare the Gregorian / Julian Calenders to the Jewish Calendar, but it can be done.  

Ok, now that we've got that out of the way, I can start explaining to you what the Lunar Calendar looked like back in March of 33 A.D.  BTW, before I go on, you may be asking, "How do we know Jesus died in 33 A.D., many believe He died around April of 30 A.D.?  I've got a great article for you to read by a scholar by the name of Jimmy Akin.  He wrote an article called, "7 clues tell us *precisely* when Jesus died (the year, month, day, and hour revealed)." See link below:

James Akin Article

How did the Jewish Calendar work in Jesus' day?  The Jewish Sanhedrin use to have a meeting of Religious leaders every 30th of the Month to determine Rosh Chodesh (the 1st day of the month) and ask when the Moon was first observed to have a Waxing Crescent or a "sliver" of light to it after a New Moon .... that is the official 1st day of the Month after the New Moon.  If the Month was only 29 days long, they would meet on the day after the 29th to determine when Rosh Chodesh would take place.  Here is how it worked:  Usually, a shepherd or a farmer would testify (needed two witnesses) claiming to see the first sliver of light from the moon ... they would report this to the Religious leaders on the 30th day of the month (usually the next day after they saw the "sliver" of the Moon) and then this would set up the 1st day for the upcoming month.  As said previously, each month alternated from 29 days one month and then 30 days the next month (like our 30 and 31 alternating months).  Since the 30th day of the month was always potentially Rosh Chodesh, whenever a month had 30 days, the 30th day was observed as Rosh Chodesh together with the next day, the first of the following month.  But if a month only had 29 days, then Rosh Chodesh of the following month will only be one day - the 1st of the month.  Side note: If it had been cloudy for a day or two during the New Moon and they couldn't see the sliver of the Moon, then they would go ahead and mark the day of the 30th day of that month they were in as the 1st day of the Month -  Rosh Chodesh.  In all actuality, the Religious leaders knew approximately when each "sliver" of the Moon would appear because the Moon repeated itself fairly accurately every 29.5 days, but the Mosaic Law insisted that they have witnesses to the New Moon.   Here are some great links to the Jewish Calendar and how it worked:

Jewish Calendar 101

Jewish Calendar 

If you noticed in that second article, their Jewish tradition tells them that a day didn't officially start until the sun set and 3 stars could be seen.  That would put the day starting about 20 or 30 minutes after sundown depending on the time of year (Twilight is brighter and lasts longer in Summer as opposed to Winter).  But most of the Jewish traditions I've read up on don't mention the 3 stars... this is just another thing to consider later on in the article. 

Now, we know that Jesus died in the year 33 A.D. as noted by the Jimmy Akin article above.  The Julian Calendar date for Good Friday was 3 April 33 (1 April 33 - Gregorian Calendar).  

So now we must find out what day the Passover Seder fell on during April of 33 A.D.  Did it fall on Thursday evening at sunset to Friday evening at sundown or did it fall on Friday evening at sunset to Saturday at sundown?  This is very important because if Passover fell on a Friday / Saturday date, then we've got some major hurdles to jump in-order to figure out why Jesus celebrated the Passover Seder 24 hours earlier than prescribed by Mosaic Law and the calender dates.  As I said above, I believe the Passover fell on Thursday at sunset to Friday at sundown.   Moving on......

Lets take a look at when the New Moon took place in March of 33 A.D.  At the bottom of the calendar are the phases of the moon.

As we can see, the New Moon took place on the 19th of March.  Let us now pull out our Astronomy Software and take a look at what the sky was doing in Israel that month.  Here is a snap shot from my Astronomy Software of when the New Moon occurred over Jerusalem, Palestine (Roman Empire) according to NASA software:

That is the New Moon in the picture above and it is hard to see.  The New Moon occurred on the 19th of March - the Moon is in direct conjunction with the Earth and Sun. The image of the Moon is right before sunset.  It should be noted that the Sun was in a Solar Eclipse that day in the Southern Hemisphere in Africa and the Indian Ocean - they could not see it in Israel.  Here is what it looked like on the tip of South Africa that day.

The Sun was in eclipse about 95% on the Southern tip of Africa.

 In the image below, the double blue line is where total eclipse occurred, while the space between the green lines could see a partial eclipse.  As you can see, Israel (Palestine) missed it by about 1000 miles or so.  

"Eclipse Prediction by Fred Espenak.  NASA's GSFC

Here is how close the Sun came to the Moon over Jerusalem.

So the question remains:  Did the Jewish religious authorities adjust their calendar to the Solar Eclipse knowing that is when the New Moon started in Israel or did they use the "Sliver of the Moon" seen on March 19th to fix the Nissan date for Rosh Chodesh? My guess is that they still used the "Sliver of the Moon," but they might have used the observed closeness of the Moon to the Sun (assuming they knew there was a close encounter with the Moon and Sun).  It's worth it to check out both method's.  We know that if the Jewish Authorities observed the near Solar Eclipse and then proclaimed the 1st day of Nissan at sunset on 19 March 33 A.D., then the 14th day of Nissan falls on Wednesday evening, 1 April 33 A.D.  But most likely they used the "sliver of the Moon" as their starting point for Rosh Chodesh in the month of Nissan?   We'll have to calculate where the 14th of Nissan lands when they use the "Sliver of the Moon" observation for Rosh Chodesh.  Either way, both method's are an eyewitness account, not a mathematical formula to determine the first day of each month (Rosh Chodesh) and this, as said before, allows wiggle room for error because of the rotation of the Earth and the Moon's Cycle.  It takes anywhere from 1 second to 12 hours to observe the Moon in Israel because the Moon is sometimes on the other side of the Earth.  I think you can see what I'm getting at here, the delay in the Earth's rotation can cause the Jewish Calendar to vary a bit from Month to Month because of the "eyewitness" calculations.  Two examples of the "wiggle room" for error when calculating the Jewish Calendar with the eye: 

1) When a "sliver" of the Moon is first observed by eyewitnesses, the "sliver" could have been visible for 12 hours earlier while Israel was turned away from the Moon because of the rotation of the Earth.  This can throw the calendar off 1 day if they miss the "sliver" the first night because the Moon set too early before they could see it because the Sun was too bright during the day.  They finally see the "sliver" the second day and call it Rosh Chodesh.  Now they are short one day for the upcoming Month.   

2) The Moon went Full according to NASA at 7:20 A.M. on the morning of the 3rd of April (Good Friday), but the people in Jerusalem could not see it because the Moon had already set and was hidden by the backside of the Earth.  They had to wait until 7:00 P.M. in the evening on the 3rd of April (16th day of Nissan) to observe the Full Moon for the first time... and of course, since the Moon was in Eclipse that meant it was as Full as it could get (8:05 P.M. Jerusalem time).

Now, getting back to the March New Moon - our next picture is when the shepherd's, farmers, and the Religious leaders would have observed the first "sliver" of the Moon on 20 March 33 A.D..  The Jewish Religious authorities would have known that the 1st day of Nissan (New Years Day) would have been when the sun set on the 19th of March.  So at around 6:30 P.M., the 1st Day of Nissan would have began.  Since the Moon ran on a 29.5 day cycle, the Sanhedrin would have known that the New Moon just started on the evening of the 19th, but they had to wait for two eyewitness accounts to officially declare the 1st day of Nissan.  24 hours later, the Moon would have moved far enough away from the Sun that a sliver would have appeared late in the afternoon of March 20th when the Sun was going to set - the witnesses would have seen a "Sliver of the Moon" (weather permitting) and the Sandhedrin would have known that March 19th / 20th was the 1st day of Nissan.  See images below - this would have been the "Sliver of the Moon" that the people of Israel would have seen right after sunset and the beginning of the 2nd day of Nissan.

The black blocks at the bottom of the screen is the horizon to the West of Jerusalem.

The "Sliver of the Moon" below is what the 2 witnesses would have seen right before the Moon set (45 minutes after the sun set).

Here are two videos of a Waxing Crescent Moon setting with the Sun just setting.  A Crescent Moon can be seen just before sunset.  In the second video, the Crescent Moon just comes into the picture at the exact moment the sun sets..... so the Crescent Moon was visible while the sun was above the horizon.

These videos were taken in town with air and light pollution.  Can you image how clear and dark the sky would have been in Jerusalem back in the 1st Century?  They could have seen the sliver of the Moon easily before the sun set.  Also, what if the Jewish Authorities of the 1st Century used the Sundown plus 3 Stars to end and start their day?  Then the Crescent Moon would have easily been seen before the next day started.    


So, at sunset, the 2nd day of the month of Nissan would have began (sunset of 20 March).   Side note:  Some will argue that once the sun set on the 20th, then that was the 1st day of Nissan and this would put 15 Nissan after the sun set 3, April.  This is possible, but the Gospel's disagree with this calculation because the Passover Seder meal was celebrated after sunset on 2, April.  What most likely could have happened on the 20th of March would have been the following - The Sanhedrin / Judges knew that the New Moon occurred around sunset of 19 March 33 A.D. because of their Mathematical Calculations of 29.5 days.  But they were not allowed to use mathematical calculations or the lunisolar calender to proclaim Rosh Chodesh back then.  So, when the witnesses attested to the "sliver" of the moon (either right before or right after sunset), the Sanhedrin most likely proclaimed the 1st of Nissan before the sunset to keep the calendar accurate.  Others will argue that the Shofar was blown that evening of the 20th and Rosh Chodesh was proclaimed after sunset on the 20th of March.  By I contend that this doesn't fit the narrative of Holy Thursday night and the Passover Seder being celebrated by most of Jerusalem.

Okay, in case you're still confused, let's take a look at this calender below.  If we count up the 14 days from sunset of March 19th, then the date is Wednesday (sunset), 14th day of Nissan - 1 April 33 A.D. 

In-Other-Words, when the sun set on Wednesday (1 April), the 14th day of Nissan began - 1st day of Unleavened Bread.  Then when the Sun rose on 2 April 33 A.D., this is when the Jewish people in Jerusalem began to prepare for the Passover Seder near noon. 

Before we move on, we need to understand the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover.  Here are some great links that explain the Passover Seder and the 8 days of Unleavened Bread:

Passover Seder explained for Christians 

Jewish Encyclopedia - Passover 

In Luke 22:7-8, we read:

When the day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread arrived, the day for sacrificing the Passover lamb, he sent out Peter and John, instructing them, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”

Then around 6 P.M., they began 1 hour before sundown to partake of the Seder meal .... the sun set while they were doing the Seder ritual and the 15th day of Nissan (Passover) started. 

The Passover Lamb was sacrificed on the first day of Unleavened Bread some time after 3 P.M., the Temple area must have been a veritable hemorrhage of blood - 1000's of Lamb's slaughtered in just a few hours.  Okay, then the Lamb was taken home, roasted over a fire, and prepared for the Seder (they started 1 hour before sundown assuming they cooked the roasted lamb all the way through, I would imagine).   Again, once the sun set, then Passover day (15 Nissan) officially begins.

So, let's review before we go on: 

1) If we follow the NASA calculations and the possible idea that the Jewish Religious Authorities knew the solar eclipse occurred on the 19th of March in the South, then the Jews knew that the New Moon was in the sky that day - they knew that at sundown on the 19th of March would be the first day of Nissan.  Then 24 hours later, they would have seen the 'Sliver of the Moon' right at sunset to confirm the 1st day of Nissan.  Side note:  This is assuming they knew about the near Solar Eclipse and then they adjusted their Calendar Date.... it's plausible that they could have done this adjustment, but not probable..... but it must be considered.  Again, they most likely used the "Sliver of the Moon" to determine the 1st day of Nissan.

2)  If you count 14 days from sundown on the 19th of March, the 14th day of Nissan begins at sunset of April the 1st.

3) April 2nd (14th day of Nissan) is a Thursday - until sunset, then it is 15 Nissan (Passover).

4) Passover is on Thursday Evening to Friday Evening, 3 April 33 A.D..  Good Friday is on 3 April 33 A.D..  

**Important:  It has to be noted that NO ONE actually knows how the 1st day of the Month was calculated back them.  Only certain interpretations of the Old Testament clue us into what they might have done.  We know for sure that Rosh Chodesh started during the period of the New Moon.  There are hints and clues in the Old Testament that tell us that the New Moon had to be "observed" - but - since the New Moon was hidden by the Sun because it was right next to the Sun during the New Moon, the Moon couldn't be "Observed" until it was seen as a Waxing Crescent (about 24 hours after the calculated New Moon).  So, there is a consensuses among scholars that once the "sliver" was observed, then the 1st day of the Month was declared.  But if we read my Jewish Calender links above, then we realize that it's not quite that simple because inclement weather would force the Sanhedrin to use calculations already set from the previous months.  For example:  What if they saw the "Sliver of the Moon" in January, but did not see it in February or March because of clouds?   At this point, they would have to default back to the 29 and 30 day set calendar, then set the 1st day of Adar or Nissan on the 30th.  This could have thrown the whole calendar off and put the 1st day of Nissan on the 19th or 20th without an observance of the moon.  There is much play in the Jewish Calendar.  I realize that most Jewish monthly calculators have the Passover beginning on sun set of the 3rd of April, but they are assuming that the 30th of Sh'vat and the 29th of Adar were clear nights.  The odds are that one of those dates had clouds - clouds especially play havoc on the calendar if it is cloudy on the 29th of Adar (especially if the 30th of Sh'vat was cloudy as well).  I advise that if you didn't read the linked "Jewish Calendar" articles above, go back and read them.   

Now, what about the Gospel of St. John and verse 18:28:

28 "Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium.  It was morning.  And they themselves did not enter the praetorium, in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover."

Didn't they eat the Passover just 12 hours earlier?  Yes.  But there were two Passover meals eaten during the 15th of Nissan.  Here, follow this link to another Jimmy Akin article, he explains how St. John's Gospel does not contradict the other 3 Gospels.  Please read this short article, then we'll move on.

Jimmy Akin Article - St. John and the Passover

One more thing needs to be said about the "so-called" contradiction between St. John's Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels:  

In Luke 22 we read:  
7 When the day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread arrived, the day for sacrificing the Passover lamb, 
8 he sent out Peter and John, instructing them, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”

St. John went out to prepare the Passover Meal on the 1st day of Unleavened Bread.  If St. John is the Gospel writer of "John," then it doesn't make sense that John would say that the Passover began right after Jesus died.... while Luke says John prepared for the Passover Seder.  Jimmy Akin's article nailed it.

Okay, now that we've established that the Passover started during the evening of April 2nd and that Good Friday was the Passover (April 3rd), we need to see what the Moon did right after Jesus died. 


Blood Moon: 

In the pictures above, this is what the Eastern Sky in Jerusalem looked like 2 - 3 hours after Jesus was buried in the tomb, 3 April 33 A.D..  Yep, that is a Blood Moon during this Lunar Eclipse coming up in the East on the 3rd day of Unleavened Bread.  Eerie, isn't it?  Thanks to Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler, we can calculate that a Blood Moon rose over Jerusalem that evening while Christ laid in the Tomb.  Some Astronomy programs have the eclipse being almost over before it could be seen in Jerusalem (weather permitting, of course).... they have the Lunar eclipse near its end right as soon as it came above the horizon.  

In this picture above, you can see the Moon passes through the Earth's Umbra (shadow caused by the Earth).  Now, if you look at the map below, we can see that Israel falls under U4.  Okay, look back up again and see how U4 comes right after the greatest part of the eclipse.  So, once the Moon was coming up over the horizon to the East of Jerusalem, they could see it being eclipsed.  If there was a lot of debris in the air because of smoke from the roasting of the lambs, dust, and sand, then the Moon probably still took on a "blood moon" effect.  

All Astronomy software shows this happening in Jerusalem.  My Starry Night software shows the eclipse happening about an hour later than NASA's projections.  Also, I have other software that is 1 hour later than NASA.... while I have other software that is right on the money with NASA.  I'm not sure what's going on there.  Either way, the people of Jerusalem knew the Moon was in eclipse when Jesus was being put in the tomb and they saw the Moon in the U4 shadow being eclipsed by the Earth.  

The Virgin with the Moon under Her Feet:

Side note:  See the picture above?  Again, this is another Astronomy software I have and this is 2 - 3 hours after Jesus was put in the Tomb (picture above is at 7:34 P.M.) - Jerusalem.  Who has the moon under her feet in Revelations 12?  Yes sir..... the Virgin (Mary).  Interesting, huh?

My next article is going to take on the possible Year dates of Jesus' death (29 A.D. to 36 A.D.)  and see if they fit with Astronomy Software.  Do any other years have the Passover on Thursday or Friday?  What about the "Day of Preparation"?  Does this refer to the day before the 7th Day of Rest (Saturday) or does it refer to a special day during the Week of Unleavened Bread?