Was The Last Supper A Seder? Exploring The Theories

May 2024 ยท 1 minute read

The seder is central to the Jewish celebration of Passover, which commemorates the Jews' exodus from Egypt and includes eating lamb paired with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, among other aspects of the celebration. The Biblical scholar Joachim Jeremias in his book "The Eucharistic Words of Jesus" points to the Synoptic Gospels' description of the Last Supper to come up with 14 similarities between that meal and the seder, including the traditional practice of reclining while eating, having the meal at night, and the breaking of bread during the supper, among other similarities.

"While such behavior may have been characteristic of the Passover meal, it is equally characteristic of practically any Jewish meal," Jonathan Klawans, a professor of religion at Boston University, points out in "Was Jesus' Last Supper a Seder?" Furthermore, in the Gospel of John, which differs in many aspects from the Synoptic Gospels, the narrative shows that the Last Supper occurred before the start of Passover.

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