The Mystery of the Last Supper: Reconstructing the Final Days of Jesus

by Colin J. Humphreys

For centuries, we thought we knew what happened during Jesus’ last days. Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday are not only observed by Christians around the world, but are also recognized in calendars and by non-practitioners as commemorating events in the final week of Jesus’ life. But apparent inconsistencies in the Gospel accounts of this period have continued to puzzle Bible scholars ―and fuel skeptics. In The Mystery of the Last Supper, Colin Humphreys uses science to reveal the truth about Jesus’ final days. Reconciling conflicting biblical accounts with scientific evidence, Humphreys proves that the Gospels, correctly interpreted, are in remarkable agreement. He reveals the exact date of the Last Supper in a groundbreaking new timeline of Holy Week.
Colin Humphreys is director of research at the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of The Miracles of Exodus (2003). He was awarded a knighthood in 2010 for services to Science.

Genres: Religion, History, Christian, Nonfiction

260 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to enjoy this book, I really did. I am usually more of a fiction kind of gal, but I decided to make an exception for this one. It was a gift from my beloved grandmother, who told me that she had enjoyed it and thought that it might be a good book to give to any friend who was on the fence about Christianity. I respectfully disagree with that sentiment, as even I struggled with this book.
Theoretically, I am the kind of person who would enjoy this. I am a Christian, grew up going to church and recently baptized upon my own confession of faith. Not only that, but I am also a huge history nerd. I watch history documentaries for fun and relaxation, and really like ones like the channel Parable that gives context to theological and religious events. And the points made in this book are really interesting. Of course, I am not the perfect reader for this. I am neither a pastor, nor an avid reader of nonfiction. I was unaware of many of the issues that were resolved in this book, and I prefer books that tell a story, rather than patch up one I already know.
Bearing all of this in mind, I will begin my review. If you are very invested in issues such as why a man in Jerusalem would carry a jar of water, a task usually reserved for women, or different Jewish calendars, then you might sincerely enjoy this. And I will be the first to admit that I learnt a lot from this book. Puzzle pieces I never knew existed clicked. With a different author I would probably recommend this book. Which brings me to the main criticism of this book. The writing. It was so, so boring. Reading this book was like forcing yourself to eat when the thought of food makes you sick. A ride on a carousel goes in circles less than this author. I might just not be the audience for this, which is probably evident by the fact that my main concern thus far has been about the writing style and not the arguments, but this book was a chore to get through.
I suppose that this book the opposite of sugar coated. Beneath so so many layers of boring writing and round-about arguments, there are actually really good arguments. Without any other knowledge about this author or the specifics of the topic, I am completely sold. I am completely convinced by his arguments, and find every line of thought that was expressed logical and comprehensive. I just wish that the writing was more enjoyable. But as an argument and a piece of deep study and thought, I am impressed. I am impressed by the way that he has decided to investigate things from multiple angles, by the conclusions he has drawn, by his attention to detail. With a better editor, this would surely be a great book.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was interesting and very well researched (in some cases too much so that it was a bit tedious to read) but the overall conclusion is well argued.

[Ryan Jankowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humphreys makes a rather persuasive argument for the Last Supper occurring on Wednesday, reconciling all sort of chronological challenges the traditional view raises.

[Brendan Low · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humphreys presents a solid argument on the date of the last supper and the date of the crucifixion as a whole, astutely identifying among many great things:
- The use of pre-exilic and the post exilic Babylonian-influenced Jewish official calendars, the former used by Jesus as recorded in the Synoptic gospels and the latter used by John, and the former using a sunrise to sunrise day while the latter using a sunset to sunset day, showing there to be no apparent discrepancy in the timeline of events.
- Solves the problem of the "lost Wednesday" by showing that the last supper was on a Wednesday (contrary to modern day celebrations) filling up the "lost Wednesday" gap and giving sufficient time for all the events prior to Jesus' crucifixion taking place
- Showing how different methods of calculation by biblical scholars produce the result that Easter is on Nisan 14, AD33 or April 3rd, AD33 (In the pre-exilic calendar)
- And finally, contrary to Richard Dawkins assertion, showing that with a bit of thinking and work, the biblical records are reliable

[Peyton Dukes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant, and an entertaining read. It’s quite common to believe that Jesus observed the “Essene” Passover. A lot of Christians believe the Essene calendar is the true one, even though it is an inaccurate calendar.

Colin Humphreys decided to go the extra mile and research all of the Second Temple calendars that were in use.

Jesus hung out with the Samaritans a good bit. Why should he not take some influence from them?

Indeed, the Samaritan calendar is more ancient than the Essene and Pharisee calendars. Because the Samaritan calendar is exactly like the Ancient Egyptian calendar! Moses grew up in Egypt after all.

Exodus 13:4 makes reference to the month of “Abib”. This is in fact connected to the Egyptian Coptic month of “Epip”. The ancient Israelite calendar was Egyptian in origin and Jesus is restoring it back in the Gospel of John.

Beautiful work.

[Analuabc · Rating 3 out of 5]

O livro apresenta de forma "algorítmica" uma teoria de quando é que a Última Ceia terá ocorrido e a respectiva crucificação de Jesus.
São apresentados cálculos para calendários da época e a sua "tradução" para os nossos actuais calendário. Também usa cálculos astronómicos para saber como se comporta, nomeadamente, a Lua na altura muito usada para assinalar início de calendários da época.
Isto tudo seguindo os 4 Evangelhos e as suas descrições dos acontecimentos. Não esquecendo de validar o que aparentam ser discrepâncias entre eles, mas que segundo a teoria apresentada tudo se resume à utilização de calendários diferentes e também o facto de alguns Evangelhos resumirem mais os acontecimentos que outros.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este livro apresenta uma audaciosa nova perspetiva sobre a data da Última Ceia e crucificação de Jesus.É uma investigação teológica, astronómica e histórica interessante mas por vezes exaustiva e repetitiva (talvez porque o autor escreve para um público não académico e anseia fervorosamente passar a mensagem...). De qualquer das formas, recomendo-o aos apreciadores dos mistérios bíblicos e deixo aqui um breve resumo da obra efetuado pelo próprio autor no capítulo final do livro:

"Investiguei de novo neste livro, cuidadosamente, os últimos dias de Jesus. Examinei de forma forense os evangelhos, comparando-os uns com os outros e com fontes históricas. Descobri que as maiores discrepâncias aparentes nas descrições evangélicas dos últimos dias de Jesus, incluindo a Última Ceia, não existem. Sobressaem porque interpretámos erradamente os textos evangélicos. Quando entendidos corretamente, os quatro evangelhos concordam entre si de uma forma extraordinária. E também coincidem com as passagens relevantes nos Manuscritos do Mar Morto e com os historiadores judeus e romanos."

[Frank Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fascinating, useful and very enjoyable to read. Prof. Humphreys systematically approaches the two thousand year dilemmas surrounding the last supper of Jesus. After initially highlighting the problems that cause believing scholars difficulty and make sceptics scoff, he then proceeds to piece by piece fill in the gaps to provide the answers to the apparent conflicts. The end result is a simple, satisfying solution. As a scientist and Jesus follower, I enjoyed the book as much as a good detective story, while feeling that the investigation was also profoundly worthwhile.