In Google News, a professor at the University of Cambridge claims his research places the specific date of Christ’s Last Supper on the Wednesday before the crucifixion, not on Maundy Thursday as it is customarily observed. Colin Humphreys, author of the new book The Mystery of the Last Supper, says he can explain why the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke show that the event took place on Thursday while the gospel of John says the Last Supper happened on Wednesday—they were using different calendars. Humphreys asserts that an old Jewish calendar was used by Jesus instead of the lunar calendar, which would have put the Passover meal and the Last Supper on Wednesday. He says it explains how so many events—the arrest, interrogation, trials, crucifixion—could have occurred in so short a time, and it rebukes those who use this difference as an excuse to claim the Bible is inconsistent and therefore fallible. Says Humphreys: “Many biblical scholars say that, for this reason, you can’t trust the Gospels at all. But if we use science and the Gospels hand in hand, we can actually prove that there was no contradiction.” He also says it’s now possible to ascribe a specific date to Easter Sunday on the calendar we use today.
