Over the fifteen centuries between the original exodus from Egypt and the time of Jesus, the Jewish celebration of Passover underwent significant development. As with most liturgical traditions, it expanded, contracted, and adapted—some rituals were added, others faded away. One notable example is the spreading of the lamb’s blood on the doorposts, a central act in the first Passover that was no longer practiced by Jesus’ day. Other elements, such as the eating of the lamb, remained, with their meanings deepened and explained by generations of Jewish teachers. New customs also emerged, like the ritual drinking of wine, which became a key feature of the Passover meal.
Because the Passover evolved over time, understanding what it looked like in the time of Jesus requires not only a reading of the Old Testament, but also a study of ancient Jewish writings outside the Bible. These texts reveal at least four major differences between the original Passover of Egypt and the Passover as it was celebrated in the first century—differences that are crucial for understanding the Last Supper and the Eucharist.
1. Location: From Homes to the Temple
In the first Passover, the lambs were sacrificed and eaten in the homes of the Israelites in Egypt. But by the time of Jesus, the lambs had to be sacrificed in the Temple and eaten within the city of Jerusalem. This change highlights the sacrificial nature of the Passover: it was not just a meal, but a “sacrifice to the LORD’s Passover” (Exodus 12:27; Deuteronomy 16:5). As with all blood sacrifices in Jesus’ time, the Passover lamb could only be offered at the Temple—the one place God had chosen for His name to dwell.
2. Offeror: From Fathers to Priests
In the original Passover, each Israelite father acted as priest, offering the lamb on behalf of his household. But in Jesus’ time, the Levitical priesthood had assumed full responsibility for Temple sacrifices. To keep Passover, a pilgrim had to bring a lamb to the Temple and have it sacrificed by a priest, who alone was authorized to pour out its blood on the altar. The Passover thus remained both a sacrifice and a meal—and a profoundly bloody one. Historical records suggest that during Passover in Jesus’ day, as many as 200,000 lambs could be sacrificed in Jerusalem.
Early Christians made striking connections between the slaughtered Passover lambs and the crucifixion of Jesus. St. Justin Martyr, writing in the second century, noted: “For the lamb, which is roasted, is roasted and dressed up in the form of a cross. For one spit is transfixed right through from the lower parts up to the head, and one across the back, to which are attached the legs of the lamb” (Dialogue with Trypho, 40). Jesus’ identification with the Passover lamb thus referred not only to His blood being poured out, but also to His crucified body, fixed upon the wood of the Cross.
3. Looking Back: A Living Memorial of the Exodus
By Jesus’ time, the Passover was not just a reenactment of a past event—it was a memorial (zikaron) in the biblical sense, a liturgical act that made present the original deliverance from Egypt. As Exodus 12:14 puts it, the feast was to be celebrated as a “day of remembrance.” To participate in the Passover was to enter into the very night of redemption, to be joined spiritually to the moment when God delivered Israel through the blood of the lamb. It wasn’t mere recollection—it was participation in the saving work of God.
4. Looking Forward: A Night of Messianic Expectation
The Passover was not only a remembrance of the past; it also pointed forward to the future. Many Jews in the first century believed that the final redemption—the coming of the Messiah—would take place on Passover night, just like the first exodus. As St. Jerome noted, “It is a tradition of the Jews that the Messiah will come at midnight according to the manner of the time in Egypt when the Passover was (first) celebrated” (Commentary on Matthew 25:6). Passover had become a feast of expectation, a sacred vigil in which the people of God awaited the dawning of the age of salvation.
Understanding these developments in the Jewish Passover is essential for interpreting the Last Supper. Jesus wasn’t celebrating a generic meal—He was celebrating a renewed and transformed Passover, the moment in which He would fulfill and transcend the old covenant by offering Himself as the true Lamb of God. His Passion, death, and the institution of the Eucharist must be seen in light of this ancient feast—a feast that both remembered God’s mighty deliverance and longed for its ultimate fulfillment in the Messiah.
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