Reflections on the Trials of Jesus val cast its shadow even further back, for all of th Nisan counted as a day
of preparation;^11 as we will see, John twice described this day asparaskeuē
(preparation, : and ). He may also single out the first day of the festival,
when thepaschawas eaten, from the (originally separate) days of unleavened
bread which followed. That depends on how we read a crucial phrase in :
(see below). But in any case the later phase of Passover need not concern us.
What is, however, crucial is the question of purification, stressed (see below)
both by Ezra and by Philo, and apparently affecting all participants, and not
just priests. In the same passage in which Josephus gives the total of partici-
pants at Passover of (probably).., he too stresses the exclusion of anyone
suffering from any form of impurity.^12
These broad principles, which clearly ignore many finer points, may pro-
vide a sufficient framework for understanding the highly significant differ-
ences between the various Gospel narratives.
MarkMark’s account begins with a Last Supper which takes place on the first night
of Passover and has as its purpose the eating of thepascha(:–), and con-
tinues with the arrival of Judas at Gethsemane, accompanied by an armed
mob ‘‘from the high priests [archiereis] and the scribes [grammateis] and the
elders [presbyteroi]’’ (:). Jesus is then led to the high priest (archiereus), and
all the high priests, elders, and scribes assemble. The scene is the house of
the high priest, where Peter is warming himself. Inside, the high priest and
‘‘all the council [synhedrion]’’ hear testimonies against Jesus in order to kill
him (:). Two questions are specifically addressed to Jesus, about his proc-
lamation that he would destroy the Temple, and about his claim to be the
Christos, which Jesus admits, emphasising his claim with a quotation from
Daniel (:).
vast numbers of individuals in all, see Josephus,BJ, –. On Josephus’ account, at Pass-
over of (apparently).., , victims were sacrificed on behalf of groups of ten to
twenty each, these sacrifices being carried out between the ninth and the eleventh hour,
hence towards evening, but before sunset.
. For this point, cf. Segal (n. ), , which does not however cite any very clear evi-
dence. The termparaskeuēis attested as meaning ‘‘the day before Shabbat,’’ e.g., Josephus,
Ant. , , but so far as I know not elsewhere unambiguously in relation to a festival. But
(see below) Jn. : uses ‘‘paraskeuēof the Pascha.’’
.BJ, –: ‘‘all pure and holy. For those afflicted with leprosy or gonorrhoea, or
menstruating women, or persons otherwise defiled were not permitted to partake of this
sacrifice.’’ See S. Safrai, ‘‘The Temple,’’ inJewishPeopleintheFirstCenturyII, ff., on –.