The Passover in Luke 22:7–16 Had No Physical Lamb Present

Luke 22:7–16 and its parallel passages (Matt 26:17–26; Mark 14:12–22) describe Jesus celebrating the Passover prior to his death (Matt 27:50; Mark 15:37–39; Luke 23:46). Conversely, John states that Christ perished before the Passover celebration (13:1, 19:30–34). Pope Benedict XVI (AD 1927–2022) famously settled this seeming contradiction, stating, “In all likelihood, however, [Jesus] celebrated the Passover with his disciples in accordance with the Qumran calendar, hence, at least one day earlier; he celebrated it without a lamb, like the Qumran community which did not recognize Herod's temple and was waiting for the new temple.” The Essenes inhabited Qumran. They were a virtually all-male community that celebrated the Passover without a lamb.

There is further evidence that Luke 22:7–16 and its parallel passages (Matt 26:17–26; Mark 14:12–22) depict Jesus celebrating the Passover as the Essenes did. For example, in Luke 22:8–13, Christ instructs his disciples to arrange the Passover by meeting a man carrying a jug of water. Customarily, women in Israelite culture carried jugs of water. This location was likely an Essene-inhabited area of Jerusalem, as substantiated by a man carrying a pitcher of water, implying that women were not present. In conclusion, Jesus likely celebrated the Passover in Luke 22:7–16 and its parallel passages (Matt 26:17–26; Mark 14:12–22) without a physical lamb, as the Essenes did. Instead, Jesus symbolically represented the Lamb (John 1:29, 1:36; 1 Cor 5:7–8; 1 Pet 1:19).