John 19:14a
Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon.
We have noticed time and again that John is a master artist, carefully crafting scenes to witness to the truth of Jesus. For this reason, we’ve grown accustomed to hugging the details of John’s narrative, trusting that they are clues to understanding his confession. And this is one of those details worth our complete attention.
At first blush, it’s an odd one. For John reports that this day on which Jesus is judged by Pilate and condemned to death is “the day of Preparation for the Passover.” That is, it is the day before Passover, the day when everyone is getting read for the Passover celebration. But in the rest of the Gospels the day on which Jesus is crucified is Passover itself. Indeed, the last meal Jesus shares with his disciples is the Passover meal. (Keep in mind that the Jewish day starts at sundown, and so the Passover meal is celebrated at the beginning of Passover with the evening meal; in this case, on a Thursday evening.) So what is going on?
All accounts record that Jesus died on a Friday, the day before the Sabbath. But they differ on whether that Friday was Passover (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) or the day before Passover, the Day of Preparation (John). This confusion is entirely understandable because Passover is not fixed to a particular day of the week. In this sense, it is like Christmas, which can fall any day of the week, rather than Easter, which is always a Sunday.
But I don’t think John is confused. Keep in mind the words with which John the Baptist greeted Jesus (only in John’s Gospel, by the way) in the beginning of this story: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29). And then recall that Jesus drives the money changes from the Temple, in John’s account, not because of fraud, as in the others, but because they no longer need to make sacrifice since Jesus has come on the scene (Jn. 2:13-22). Why? Because Jesus is the Lamb of God, the one chosen to take away sin, just as John the Baptist said, and so sacrifice is suddenly unnecessary.
All of which brings us back to the Day of Preparation, the day on which the Passover lamb is prepared. In fact, Jesus’ death on the cross occurs at exactly the time the Passover lambs are slaughtered for the celebration. And this is no accident.
John, you see, isn’t particularly interested in chronology, in factual accuracy, or in getting everything “right.” Rather, he’s interested in testifying to the truth. And in this case, the truth is that Jesus is the Lamb of God, the one who removes our sin and makes God available and accessible to us at anytime and any place.
Pretty cool.
Prayer: Dear God, let us see in Jesus your promise to bless and forgive always. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
I think this matters for another reason. The blood of the slain Passover lamb was used to mark the doorways of the houses of the Israelites so that the angel of death would “pass-over” them and they would live. It was not a whole burned offering or any of the other offerings made in the temple. Jesus’ blood i.e. death on the cross, marks us in our baptism so that death’s claim on us is overturned, not in its fullness now but at Jesus’ second coming. Eternal life starts now! What do you think?