Baptist Flagship Baylor University's Roman Catholic Associate Professor of Patristics Michael P. Foley reviews Pope Benedict XVI's newest book:

Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection.

"[T]he one thing that remains consistent is the Pope's theological teaching that the true lamb present at the Last Supper,

whether there was a cooked junior member of the sheep family there or not, was Jesus Himself ..."

Yea! Baptists! Go Baylor U.! :)


Snippet from Foley's original in the Latin Mass magazine Summer 2011 issue.

"Dating the Last Supper

"One of the interesting features about Pope Benedict's own combination of theology and historical criticism is its ability to remain stable in the former even when the latter shifts beneath his feet.

"For example, the apparent contradiction on the dating of the Last Supper has puzzled exegetes for centuries.

"The synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) claim that in the year that Jesus was crucified the Passover fell on a Thursday and that the Last Supper took place during the Passover meal.

"Saint John's Gospel, on the other hand, states that the Passover began Friday evening, and hence the Last Supper could not have taken place during the Passover meal.

"Indeed, with John's dating, the lambs for the Passover meal were being slaughtered in the Temple at the very moment Jesus died on the Cross.

"In both explanations, the one thing that that remains consistent is the Pope's theological teaching that the true lamb present at the Last Supper, whether there was a cooked junior member of the sheep there or not, was Jesus Himself.

"As the Lamb of God whole body was the true Temple (Jn 2:19), Jesus did not need to rely on any calendar; and because He knew He was going to die, the Last Supper was truly the beginning of His Passover into death and new life and thus was a true Passover meal, the truest of them all ..."

Way to go, Professor! :)