Gospel

The Spring Festivals and The Last Supper

by Eyvonne Black
04/14/25
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So it shall be written, so it shall be done,’ Yul Brynner ~ The Ten Commandments'

The topic of the spring festivals and the last supper was never a debate for me until the worldwide establishment of the Messianic Torah Ministries, which came with the provision of Hebrew brothers, who helped the masses grasp the Hebrew and Greek scriptures with more clarity and appreciation. This new knowledge has taught me the ultimate truth and connection between the two Covenants. The Hebrew scriptures [The Torah] and the Greek scriptures [The New Testament/Law].

It has also allowed me to understand some of the inconsistencies cited in the B’rit Haddashah (Hebrew word for New Covenant), which is a revelation. Otherwise, it is known as the New Testament. I acknowledge that some Hebrew and Greek words do not have an English translation, so the translators have given a word to fit their interpretation of the context. However, the understanding and true meaning of the context may become misconstrued.

In this article, I will focus on the Spring Feasts related to Ye’shua (Jesus’s) death, burial and resurrection and the ‘One Israelite Nation' in Christ, now grafted in. Romans 11:17-24. The reading in verses 11-31 gives a detailed account of the Gentile Nation now grafted into the One Spiritual Nation of God.

The History of the Passover

The Passover is the first of the Spring Festivals and a High Holy Day. The entire Nation of Israel celebrates this day in appreciation for Almighty God sparing their lives when the Angel of Death was unleashed over Egypt. God, (Adonai, Elohim), instructed Moses (Moshe) to tell the Israelite Nation to kill an unblemished lamb or goat and sprinkle the blood on their doorpost so that when the Angel of death sets out to kill all the firstborn of the Egyptian household and livestock, when he sees the blood, he would pass over their homes. A meal is involved, which I will develop in this article.

 The complete account of the Passover can be found in Exodus 12, Leviticus 23, and Deuteronomy 16. It is the Lord’s Passover, Exodus 12:11. The Sacrificial Death of Ye’shua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ)

When we celebrate the Passover feast, we remember the death of our Saviour Ye’shua the Messiah. He shed his blood as the sacrificial Lamb, pure and unblemished for our deliverance and forgiveness of sins (1 Peter 1:19). It is a new beginning for us as we can rejoice that we have the privilege of gaining Everlasting Life from His sacrifice (John 3:16). The Gospel of John show that Ye’shua died on Nisan 14 at 3:00 p.m., the same time as the Israelites were slaughtering the lambs to celebrate their freedom from Egyptian slavery (Exodus 12:6).

The Three Festivals: Three festivals in the Spring period are celebrated in a specific sequence. These Holy Days are not manufactured but a command given to Moshe by Almighty God. The first is the Passover, followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of First Fruits.

The Feast of the Passover has two parts. The first part is the slaughtering of the Lamb at Twilight, as described in Exodus 12:6. The second part is the meal that is eaten later than evening on Shabbat or the next day. This would be after Ye’shua was taken off the stake (the Cross) and buried before sunset. The Passover is celebrated in the first month of the Hebrew calendar, the spiritual New Year, generally in April of the Gregorian calendar. Exodus 12:1-2 shows that Nisan is the name of the first month.

What are the features of the Passover Meal?

Exodus 12:18 shares the meal's contents: roasted lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs. These were the specific items that God gave Moshe for the children of Israel.

 The second feast following the Passover is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is a part of the Passover celebration, on the next day, Nisan 15. The meal could be eaten on this day too. Nisan 15 is the first of seven (7) days of celebration, where the Israelites are instructed not to eat any food with leaven (yeast/raising agents) properties. They are to remove these items from their homes (Exodus 12:15-20). Leaven symbolises sin, corruption and defilement, so the Feast of Unleavened Bread reminds us of Ye’shua’s sinless life and sacrificial death to release us from our sinful state (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).

The third and final Spring Feast is First Fruits. The connection between First Fruits and Ye’shua is primarily focused on His resurrection, showing that He is the first to be resurrected from the dead, being the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:20). We can be confident that the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) that raised Ye’shua lives within us, so we can be assured that our mortal bodies will be raised on that Resurrection Day (Romans 8:11).

The Last Supper

The Gospels—Matthew 26:17-35, Mark 14:12-26, and Luke 22:7-13—tell us that the day of the Unleavened Bread was the day the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed. These Gospels contradict the sequence of the festivals as recorded in the Hebrew scriptures, the original writings. We could relate the sequence of the festivals to our Saviour Ye ’shua’s Death, Burial and Resurrection.

When reading and listening to public discourses by Rabbi’s well-versed in both the Torah and the New Testament, they too have questioned these scriptures' inconsistencies. The Apostle John, who had been an eyewitness to these events, does not connect or record the Unleavened Bread and the Passover as the other Gospels have recorded it. In John 13, when John gives his account of the Last Supper, he opens the first verse as “Now before the Feast of the Passover…” You cannot find anywhere in his accounts where he calls the event a Passover; he only relates it as a Supper. The Apostle John’s accounts: John 2:13, John 6:4, John 11:55, John 12:1, 1 John 18:28, 39, John 19:14.

Can the Last Supper Be Called a Passover Meal?

Ye’shua mentions bread as a symbol of His body, and the wine as a symbol of His blood that would be shed on behalf of our sins (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Nothing about the Lamb or the bitter herbs was mentioned, a crucial part of the Passover meal. The Greek word for the bread mentioned in this chapter and verse proves it was not a Passover meal. The Greek word used in the Last Supper is artos, which indicates that the bread was leavened. The Greek word for unleavened bread is azumos.

Listening to a public discourse by Rabbi Steve Berkson, he suggested that Ye’shua knew that this would be the last time He would spend with His disciples, so the Last Supper may have been more of a graduation meal, where His disciples were now graduates ready to be sent out to preach the gospel.

In conclusion, I would second that thought, knowing that Ye’shua respected and celebrated His Heavenly Father’s festivals as they were given to Moshe. He would not have changed the Covenant instructions and sequence of the festival's events set by Almighty God.

References Biblical Archaeology for April-June 2004, Vol 7 Number 2, ‘On the Last Supper Menu: Was It Leavened or Unleavened Bread?

Cerullo, David 2015 Season of Blessing ~ The Promises and Provision of God’s Appointed Times Rabbi Steve Berkson Passover Q&A Part 2: ~ Public Discourse Video

The Bible: Hebrew and Greek scriptures (ESV)

So it shall be written, so it shall be done,’ Yul Brynner ~ The Ten Commandments'

The topic of the spring festivals and the last supper was never a debate for me until the worldwide establishment of the Messianic Torah Ministries, which came with the provision of Hebrew brothers, who helped the masses grasp the Hebrew and Greek scriptures with more clarity and appreciation. This new knowledge has taught me the ultimate truth and connection between the two Covenants. The Hebrew scriptures [The Torah] and the Greek scriptures [The New Testament/Law].

It has also allowed me to understand some of the inconsistencies cited in the B’rit Haddashah (Hebrew word for New Covenant), which is a revelation. Otherwise, it is known as the New Testament. I acknowledge that some Hebrew and Greek words do not have an English translation, so the translators have given a word to fit their interpretation of the context. However, the understanding and true meaning of the context may become misconstrued.

In this article, I will focus on the Spring Feasts related to Ye’shua (Jesus’s) death, burial and resurrection and the ‘One Israelite Nation' in Christ, now grafted in. Romans 11:17-24. The reading in verses 11-31 gives a detailed account of the Gentile Nation now grafted into the One Spiritual Nation of God.

The History of the Passover

The Passover is the first of the Spring Festivals and a High Holy Day. The entire Nation of Israel celebrates this day in appreciation for Almighty God sparing their lives when the Angel of Death was unleashed over Egypt. God, (Adonai, Elohim), instructed Moses (Moshe) to tell the Israelite Nation to kill an unblemished lamb or goat and sprinkle the blood on their doorpost so that when the Angel of death sets out to kill all the firstborn of the Egyptian household and livestock, when he sees the blood, he would pass over their homes. A meal is involved, which I will develop in this article.

 The complete account of the Passover can be found in Exodus 12, Leviticus 23, and Deuteronomy 16. It is the Lord’s Passover, Exodus 12:11. The Sacrificial Death of Ye’shua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ)

When we celebrate the Passover feast, we remember the death of our Saviour Ye’shua the Messiah. He shed his blood as the sacrificial Lamb, pure and unblemished for our deliverance and forgiveness of sins (1 Peter 1:19). It is a new beginning for us as we can rejoice that we have the privilege of gaining Everlasting Life from His sacrifice (John 3:16). The Gospel of John show that Ye’shua died on Nisan 14 at 3:00 p.m., the same time as the Israelites were slaughtering the lambs to celebrate their freedom from Egyptian slavery (Exodus 12:6).

The Three Festivals: Three festivals in the Spring period are celebrated in a specific sequence. These Holy Days are not manufactured but a command given to Moshe by Almighty God. The first is the Passover, followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of First Fruits.

The Feast of the Passover has two parts. The first part is the slaughtering of the Lamb at Twilight, as described in Exodus 12:6. The second part is the meal that is eaten later than evening on Shabbat or the next day. This would be after Ye’shua was taken off the stake (the Cross) and buried before sunset. The Passover is celebrated in the first month of the Hebrew calendar, the spiritual New Year, generally in April of the Gregorian calendar. Exodus 12:1-2 shows that Nisan is the name of the first month.

What are the features of the Passover Meal?

Exodus 12:18 shares the meal's contents: roasted lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs. These were the specific items that God gave Moshe for the children of Israel.

 The second feast following the Passover is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is a part of the Passover celebration, on the next day, Nisan 15. The meal could be eaten on this day too. Nisan 15 is the first of seven (7) days of celebration, where the Israelites are instructed not to eat any food with leaven (yeast/raising agents) properties. They are to remove these items from their homes (Exodus 12:15-20). Leaven symbolises sin, corruption and defilement, so the Feast of Unleavened Bread reminds us of Ye’shua’s sinless life and sacrificial death to release us from our sinful state (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).

The third and final Spring Feast is First Fruits. The connection between First Fruits and Ye’shua is primarily focused on His resurrection, showing that He is the first to be resurrected from the dead, being the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:20). We can be confident that the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) that raised Ye’shua lives within us, so we can be assured that our mortal bodies will be raised on that Resurrection Day (Romans 8:11).

The Last Supper

The Gospels—Matthew 26:17-35, Mark 14:12-26, and Luke 22:7-13—tell us that the day of the Unleavened Bread was the day the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed. These Gospels contradict the sequence of the festivals as recorded in the Hebrew scriptures, the original writings. We could relate the sequence of the festivals to our Saviour Ye ’shua’s Death, Burial and Resurrection.

When reading and listening to public discourses by Rabbi’s well-versed in both the Torah and the New Testament, they too have questioned these scriptures' inconsistencies. The Apostle John, who had been an eyewitness to these events, does not connect or record the Unleavened Bread and the Passover as the other Gospels have recorded it. In John 13, when John gives his account of the Last Supper, he opens the first verse as “Now before the Feast of the Passover…” You cannot find anywhere in his accounts where he calls the event a Passover; he only relates it as a Supper. The Apostle John’s accounts: John 2:13, John 6:4, John 11:55, John 12:1, 1 John 18:28, 39, John 19:14.

Can the Last Supper Be Called a Passover Meal?

Ye’shua mentions bread as a symbol of His body, and the wine as a symbol of His blood that would be shed on behalf of our sins (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Nothing about the Lamb or the bitter herbs was mentioned, a crucial part of the Passover meal. The Greek word for the bread mentioned in this chapter and verse proves it was not a Passover meal. The Greek word used in the Last Supper is artos, which indicates that the bread was leavened. The Greek word for unleavened bread is azumos.

Listening to a public discourse by Rabbi Steve Berkson, he suggested that Ye’shua knew that this would be the last time He would spend with His disciples, so the Last Supper may have been more of a graduation meal, where His disciples were now graduates ready to be sent out to preach the gospel.

In conclusion, I would second that thought, knowing that Ye’shua respected and celebrated His Heavenly Father’s festivals as they were given to Moshe. He would not have changed the Covenant instructions and sequence of the festival's events set by Almighty God.

References Biblical Archaeology for April-June 2004, Vol 7 Number 2, ‘On the Last Supper Menu: Was It Leavened or Unleavened Bread?

Cerullo, David 2015 Season of Blessing ~ The Promises and Provision of God’s Appointed Times Rabbi Steve Berkson Passover Q&A Part 2: ~ Public Discourse Video

The Bible: Hebrew and Greek scriptures (ESV)