The Mystery of the Last Supper: Reconstructing the Final Days of Jesus

Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Illustrations......Page 8
Foreword......Page 11
Acknowledgements......Page 14
1 Four mysteries of the last week of Jesus......Page 17
2 The problem of the last supper......Page 20
3 No time for the trials of Jesus......Page 22
4 The legality of the trials......Page 26
My approach to interpreting the gospels......Page 27
A road map of this book......Page 28
2 Dating the crucifixion – the first clues......Page 30
The clue of Tiberius......Page 31
Understanding ancient calendars......Page 32
The clue of Pilate......Page 35
The clue of the day Jesus died......Page 36
The time between the crucifixion and the resurrection......Page 38
Summary......Page 41
The last supper in John......Page 42
The last supper in the synoptic gospels......Page 44
1 The synoptics are right and John is wrong......Page 45
2 John can be interpreted to fit the synoptics......Page 46
3 The last supper was a Passover-like meal......Page 47
4 The different calendar theory......Page 48
A preliminary assessment......Page 50
The last supper and the date of the crucifixion......Page 52
Summary......Page 53
4 Can we reconstruct the Jewish calendar at the time of Christ?......Page 55
Astronomy and the Jewish calendar......Page 56
Reconstructing the first-century ad Jewish calendar......Page 61
Fotheringham’s calculations......Page 64
Waddington’s computations......Page 65
Transferring dates from the Jewish to the Julian calendar......Page 67
The scepticism of biblical scholars......Page 68
The problem of a cloudy sky......Page 69
The problem of leap years......Page 72
Summary......Page 75
Determining the date of the crucifixion......Page 77
The clue of John the Baptist......Page 79
John’s crucifixion chronology is correct......Page 82
The symbolic significance of Jesus dying on Nisan 14 and rising on Nisan 16......Page 84
Can we pinpoint the date of the crucifixion?......Page 87
How old was Jesus when he started his ministry?......Page 88
‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple’......Page 89
The cleansing of the temple......Page 92
The curious behaviour of Pilate at the crucifixion......Page 94
Summary......Page 95
6 The moon will be turned to blood......Page 96
How should we interpret Peter’s Pentecost speech?......Page 97
The sun will be turned to darkness......Page 99
The moon will be turned to blood......Page 101
The meaning of the moon was turned to blood......Page 102
‘The moon turned to blood’ in ancient texts......Page 103
Lunar eclipses visible from Jerusalem in ad 26–36......Page 105
The lunar eclipse on April 3, ad 33......Page 106
Summary......Page 109
7 Did Jesus use the solar calendar of.Qumran for his last supper Passover?......Page 111
The Qumran solar calendar......Page 113
Did Jesus use the Qumran solar calendar for his last Passover?......Page 116
The Qumran solar calendar revisited......Page 117
The gates of heaven......Page 119
Summary......Page 124
8 Does ancient Egypt hold a key to unlocking the problem of the last supper?......Page 126
The origin of the official Jewish calendar at the time of Christ......Page 127
The pre-exilic Jewish calendar......Page 129
The Egyptian lunar calendar......Page 131
The Egyptian solar calendar......Page 135
Summary......Page 136
9 Discovering the lost calendar of ancient Israel......Page 137
The Hebrew words for month and moon......Page 139
Old Testament evidence for the prexilic day starting at sunrise......Page 140
Transferring the Passover meal between calendars......Page 143
The transition from the pre-exilic to the post-exilic Jewish calendar......Page 144
The different dates for the Passover meal and the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the Old Testament......Page 146
The reason for the different Passover calendars of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Ezekiel......Page 148
Summary......Page 149
The Samaritans......Page 151
The Samaritan calendar......Page 154
The Samaritan calendar and the lunar calendar of ancient Egypt......Page 155
The Samaritan calendar and the pre-exilic Jewish calendar......Page 156
The Samaritan Passover......Page 159
The lunar calendar of the Qumran community......Page 160
What calendar did Galilean Jews use to celebrate Passover?......Page 162
The Galilean Passover at the time of Christ......Page 163
Summary......Page 164
11 The date of the last supper:the hidden clues in the gospels......Page 167
The date of the last supper in the synoptic gospels......Page 168
The natural interpretation of Mark 14:12......Page 170
2 The solar calendar of ancient Egypt......Page 171
4 The pre-exilic calendar of ancient Israel......Page 172
The clue of the man carrying a jar of water......Page 173
Jesus the new Moses......Page 176
The Passover calendar in John’s gospel......Page 178
The date of the last supper......Page 179
Was there a Passover lamb at the last supper?......Page 181
Summary......Page 182
The condensed nature of the gospels......Page 185
Background to the trials of Jesus......Page 186
The last supper Passover meal......Page 189
Prayers in Gethsemane......Page 191
Interrogation by Annas......Page 192
The three denials by Peter and the two cock crows......Page 194
Main trial by the Sanhedrin......Page 197
Was the Sanhedrin trial by night?......Page 198
The second Sanhedrin trial......Page 201
The curious dream of the wife of Pilate......Page 203
The crucifixion......Page 204
Summary......Page 206
13 A new reconstruction of the final days of Jesus......Page 207
2 Dating the crucifixion – the first clues......Page 213
3 The problem of the last supper......Page 214
4 Can we reconstruct the Jewish calendar at the time of Christ?......Page 215
5 The date of the crucifixion......Page 218
6 The moon will be turned to blood......Page 221
7 Did Jesus use the solar calendar of.Qumran for his last supper Passover?......Page 224
8 Does ancient Egypt hold a key to unlocking the problem of the last supper?......Page 227
9 Discovering the lost calendar of ancient Israel......Page 228
10 Was the lost ancient Jewish calendar used in Israel at the time of Jesus?......Page 232
11 The date of the last supper:the hidden clues in the gospels......Page 235
12 From the last supper to the crucifixion:a new analysis of the gospel accounts......Page 237
13 A new reconstruction of the final days of Jesus......Page 242
Bibliography......Page 243
Index of biblical and other ancient sources......Page 250
General index......Page 255