Pope Notes Hypothesis on Date of Passover - Says Christ Likely Followed Essene Calendar

Zenit News Agency ^ | April 6, 2007

[NYer]

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 6, 2007 (Zenit.org).- It is likely that Jesus followed the calendar of the Essenes of Qumran, possibly explaining some contradictions within the Gospel accounts of the Passover, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope made this observation Holy Thursday in his homily during the Mass of the Lord's Supper at the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

In his address, the theologian commented on the historical investigations on the manuscripts of Qumran, found in the Dead Sea in 1947.

"In the narrations of the Evangelists, there is an apparent contradiction between the Gospel of John, on one hand, and what, on the other hand, Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us," said Benedict XVI.

The Pope continued: "According to John, Jesus died on the cross precisely at the moment in which, in the temple, the Passover lambs were being sacrificed. His death and the sacrifice of the lambs coincided.

"This means that he died on the eve of Passover, and that, therefore, he could not have personally celebrated the paschal supper, at least this is what it would seem."

The Holy Father said that according to an interpretation of the texts, "still not accepted by all," Jesus "celebrated Passover with his disciples probably according to the calendar of Qumran, that is to say, at least one day earlier -- he celebrated without a lamb, like the Qumran community who did not recognize the Temple of Herod and was waiting for a new temple."

Cardinal Albert Vanhoye, former rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute of Rome, explained that in Jesus' time the calendar of the Essenes was more traditional that the one more recently adopted by the priests of Jerusalem. He said that this doesn't signify that Jesus formed part of the Essenes.

The new lamb

Benedict XVI, however, said that it does imply that Jesus "celebrated Passover without a lamb, no, not without a lamb: Instead of the lamb he gave himself, his body and his blood."

The Pope continued: "And he himself was the true temple, the living temple, the one in which God lives, in which we can find ourselves with God and adore him.

"His blood, the love of he who is at the same time Son of God and true man, one of us, this blood has the power to save. His love, this love in which he gives himself freely for us, is what saves us."

Benedict XVI urged those present to "ask the Lord to help us to understand ever more deeply this marvelous mystery, and to love it more and more."

The Pope added: "And within it, to love him more and more. Let us ask him to attract us more and more to him with holy Communion.

"Let us ask him to help us not to keep our lives for ourselves, but to surrender them to him, and in this way, to work with him so that all people find life, the authentic life that can only come from he who is the way, the truth and the life."

[NYer]

Fascinating!

[Knitting A Conundrum]

People been bouncing this around since at least the 70s, when I first saw it...It’s speculation, but possible.

[Miss Marple]

One of the things I most love about the Holy Father is how he teaches us in every homily. SOmetimes it is a new way of looking at a spiritual issue, sometimes it is a way to increase our attention to the liturgy, and sometimes (as in this case) it is historical background information that is both interesting and apparently solves a supposed contradiction in the Gospels.

Fascinating, indeed!

[NYer]

Fascinating, indeed!

Fascinating indeed! I couldn't agree with you more on all your observations. He is truly the right man for this time and yet one more acknowledgement of how the Holy Spirit continues to guide the Church of Jesus Christ. I just wish I could give him a big hug :-)

[goldstategop]

Passover is celebrated on the 14th of the month of Nisan. In Israel it lasts a week.

[RobbyS]

Went over your head? There were several sects among the Jews, including the Essenes, who were hostile to the Temple and the priests. That temple, by the way, was actually the third. It was built by Herod the Great, who had usurped the royal authority from the Hasmonens, who in their turned had assumed power after the rebellion of their ancestors, Judas Macabeus and his brothers. The Essene communities rejected the authority of these rulers and had their own forms of Judaism. Modern Judaism is the offspring of another sect, the Pharisees, which had its own tradition. Jesus, of course, was executed by a conspiracy of the Temple authorites and certain Pharisees, and of course he had challenged the authority of each. We don’t know what connection Jesus had to the Essenes, if any, and nothing in the Gospels show that he acted in accordance with their specific views about ritual etc. But certainly their influence on events ought not to be ignored. The Dead Sea Scroills show, among other things, that the language of John’s Gospel, which was thought to come from the Greeks, was not unlike that of he Essenes.

[NYer]

The Dead Sea Scroills show, among other things, that the language of John’s Gospel, which was thought to come from the Greeks, was not unlike that of he Essenes.

Were they written in Aramaic or Hebrew?

[NYer]

In his address, the theologian commented on the historical investigations on the manuscripts of Qumran, found in the Dead Sea in 1947.

Not sure if this fits the subject of your ping lists ... but, just in case.

[RobbyS]

Both. Some are copies of Scripture, and they are so close to the standard Jewish text that they verify how carefully the ancient texts have been preserved. The commentaries,manuals etc. I think, are in Aramaic. Since I know neither language I am just take the English as I find it.

[Andrew Byler]

Were they written in Aramaic or Hebrew?

That would seem pretty obvious given that the native language of the author (or perhaps the dictator) was Aramaic. How many rough, uneducated people, like the Apostles Matthew and John, do you know of who write important works in a non-native tongue? From the Aramaic manuscript evidence, it is only readily apparent that the Gospel of Mark (written for the Romans in Greek), and probably most of the letters of St. Paul (outside Hebrews) were not originally set down in Aramaic or dictated in Aramaic to a Greek translator/scribe. There is too much Aramaic wordplay in other texts to merely be coincidental or accidental.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks, I think I’ll pass. We do have some topics probably of interest which are related, I’ll try to find ‘em.

[SunkenCiv]

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