15 Nisan

[37818]

The issue is "your truth" may not be true.

Please specify. What is actually true, is not merely my truth.

 

[JonC]

Please specify. What is actually true, is not merely my truth.

The truth is that we cannot know the date (due to the historic nature of Jewish timekeeping). And the truth (per Scripture) is that the crucifixion could not have occurred on Nisan 15 or 21.

You cannot reconcile Scripture (that the crucifixion could not have occurred on 15 Nisan) with Scripture (the passage in Mark).

But that is a problem with you - not Scripture.

There is a reason scholars choose the afternoon of the Seder meal for the sacrifice, tgat evening for the Supper, and the 14th of Nisan for the crucifixion (either Wed or Fri, depending on how days are counted).

You may pretend one must choose to deny some passages in order to support Mark's timeline, but that does not make it so

That is what I mean by the truth (Scripture) verses your "truth" (denying passages that don't fit into your ideas).

Like you said - if I show you passages proving the crucifixion could not have occurred on 15 Nisan you would not consider then because that would challenge your actual faith in the crucifixion. You have made up your mind and will cling to your understanding on the issue.

 

[Alan Gross]

Please specify. What is actually true, is not merely my truth.

"First-Century Jewish Traditions: The observance of the Passover recalls Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and the beginning of her national life. But in a much deeper sense, the Passover foreshadowed the sacrifice of that true, spotless Lamb of God, slain on Calvary’s tree...

"The Law of the Passover God’s Law of the Passover is considered in three books of the Pentateuch: Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers.

"Three specific days are mentioned in conjunction with the observance of the Passover Feast.

"The first date of importance is the tenth of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish year, which in Moses’ day was known as Abib. This is the date on which the Israelites were to select their Paschal lamb. “In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb” (Exo 12:3).

"The next important date is the fourteenth of Nisan. Exodus 12:6 has these instructions: “And ye shall keep it (that is, the Paschal Lamb) up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.” The Passover lamb was to be slain on the fourteenth.

"However, God’s instructions permitted some tolerance as to the exact time of the slaying of the sacrifice, and this is extremely significant. The literal translation of the last clause of verse 6 is “between the evenings,” not “in the evening.” According to Hebrew reckoning, a day begins at sunset.

"So the fourteenth of Nisan begins at 6 PM on the day we would call the thirteenth. And the fourteenth ends and the fifteenth begins at 6 PM on the following day, the day we would consider as the fourteenth. "

Therefore, the Passover extends from sunset on the thirteenth to sunset on the fourteenth. In the observance of the first Passover, God specifically instructed Moses that the lamb was to be slain in the evening of the fourteenth, which was the evening that ushered in the day of the fourteenth.

"The Jewish custom down through the centuries, therefore, was to slay the lamb early in the evening of the fourteenth of Nisan (which actually was done late in the afternoon of the thirteenth) and partake of it at the Paschal supper, which was on the evening preceding the day of Nisan fourteenth.

"The highly significant point, however, is that the Law permitted the sacrifice to be slain any time “between the evenings.” Thus God made provision for His Son, the true Paschal Lamb, to partake of the symbolic Paschal lamb on the evening of the fourteenth and still offer Himself as an acceptable sacrifice before the setting of the sun on the day of Nisan fourteenth. "

"God’s way is perfect just as His Word is perfect. Immediately upon the setting of the sun upon the day of the fourteenth of Nisan, the fifteenth of Nisan began. And according to Leviticus 23:6-7 and Numbers 28:18, this was the day that initiated the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In it, the assembly of Israel was to “have an holy convocation” and to “do no servile work therein.” "

"Don’t miss this point, the day of Nisan fifteenth was always a Sabbath day!

"It made absolutely no difference on which day of the week it fell. The nation of Israel was given a number of Sabbath days, among which the seventhday Sabbath was only one type. The other Sabbaths, such as the fifteenth of Nisan, were considered to be “high” days; that is, they had even more significance than the regular seventh-day Sabbath.

"One of the main reasons the Christian church holds to a Friday crucifixion is because the crucifixion day was followed by a Sabbath. Early church leaders jumped to the conclusion that this was a seventh-day Sabbath without carefully consulting the Scriptures.

"The Old Testament clearly teaches that every Nisan fifteenth was a Sabbath—and a high Sabbath at that. But John 19:31 tells us “that sabbath day was an high day.” Therefore, the day of our Lord’s crucifixion did not necessarily occur on Friday. It could have occurred on any day of the week.

"Modifications to the Passover When Israel was finally settled in Palestine, there was a modification in the manner the Passover Feast was observed. For instance, in our Lord’s day the Passover was no longer eaten in a standing position. Instead, it was eaten in a reclining position just as the regular meals. In the days of our Lord, it had become customary to kill the Passover lambs on the afternoon of the thirteenth of Nisan rather than on the evening of the fourteenth.

"Josephus, the Jewish historian, tells us that there were sometimes as many as 250,000 lambs slain on the occasion of the Passover. It was necessary that the lambs be slain by the priests in the temple. We can imagine the momentous traffic jam that resulted from this and we can well appreciate that several hours of time would be required to sacrifice all these lambs.

"So the killing of the Passover lambs began about two or three o’clock in the afternoon of Nisan thirteenth. Then by five to five-thirty in the afternoon, all the lambs were slain. Josephus confirms that in the years just before the time of Titus’s destruction of Jerusalem, in A.D. 70, it was customary to slay the lambs between the ninth and eleventh hour (that is, between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM).

"At sundown on the thirteenth of Nisan, the fourteenth began. The lamb had been prepared, and when the roasting was complete, the participants gathered around the table and ate the Passover supper. God’s Law of the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread calls the fourteenth of the month Nisan “the Passover.”

"However, by the time of our Lord, the Jews had come to call this day the “Preparation day.” To them the major feast day, the “high” day, was the fifteenth of Nisan, the day the Scriptures designate as the first day of Unleavened Bread. So at the time of our Lord’s crucifixion, the fourteenth of Nisan, the day on which the Passover lamb was eaten, was called the day of “Preparation.” The following day (the high Sabbath day, the fifteenth of Nisan) was called the “Passover day,” although this was actually the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

"This modification is confirmed by Matthew 26:17-19. Notice particularly verse 17: Bible = “Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto Him, Where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the passover?”

"If this passage were to be interpreted in strict accordance with the Law of Moses, it would not make any sense.

“The Passover” was the fourteenth of Nisan and the Paschal lamb was to be eaten on that day.

“The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread” was Nisan the fifteenth.

"So we can conclude that the terms associated with the observance of the Passover Feast which appear in the New Testament are used in accordance with popular usage in that day and not strictly according to the definition of the Law of Moses."

from: https://www.chapellibrary.org/pdf/books/cotc.pdf pg.8 ff.

 

[JonC]

"

"So we can conclude that the terms associated with the observance of the Passover Feast which appear in the New Testament are used in accordance with popular usage in that day . . .

Yep.

Mark was describing what happened. . . Not how he thought it should have been done.

 

[Alan Gross]

Nowhere does God's word teach the 15th of Nisan
is the first day of unleavened bread.
Not Exodus 12:18.

Exodus 12:14; "And this day will be a memorial for you,
and you are to celebrate it as a feast to the LORD,
as a permanent statute for the generations to come.

15; "For seven days you must eat unleavened bread.
On the first day you are to remove the leaven from your houses.

"Whoever eats anything leavened from the first day
through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.

16; "On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly,
and another on the seventh day.
You must not do any work on those days,
except to prepare the meals—that is all you may do.

17; "So you are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
for on this very day I brought your divisions out of the land of Egypt.
You must keep this day as a permanent statute
for the generations to come.

Nowhere does God's word teach the 15th of Nisan
is the first day of unleavened bread.
Not Leviticus 23:6.

23:6; "And on the fifteenth day of the same month
is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD:
seven days ye must eat unleavened bread."

4; "These are the LORD’s appointed feasts,
the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times.

5; "The Passover to the LORD begins at twilight
on the fourteenth day of the first month.

6; "On the fifteenth day of the same month
begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD.
For seven days you must eat unleavened bread.

7; "On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly;
you are not to do any regular work.

8; "For seven days you are to present an offering
made by fire to the LORD.

"On the seventh day there shall be a sacred assembly;
you must not do any regular work.’ ”

Nowhere does God's word teach the 15th of Nisan
is the first day of unleavened bread.
Not Numbers 28:17.

Two of the Seven Biblical ANNUAL SABBATH HIGH DAY Rest Days,
or shabbath (Holy Assemblies) occur in Spring
on the First and Last Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Matzot).

"The 15th of Nisan
was from Wedensday at sunset to the end of the day of Thursday,"
and Nison 15, is The First Day of The Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Numbers 28:17; "and on the 15th day of this month is a feast.
Seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten".

this Nison 15, is The First Day of The Feast of Unleavened Bread
and One of the Seven
Biblical ANNUAL SABBATH HIGH DAY Rest Days.
They are observed by Jews and a minority of Christians.

...

Nowhere does God's word teach the 15th of Nisan
is the first day of unleavened bread.
Not Deuteronomy 16:8.

The Unleavened Bread Feast Requirements are Modified.
(circa 1407 B.C.) (6)

"Initially, Passover was a local observance
centered on the nuclear family and their home.

"However, since Passover became a pilgrimage festival
centered on the Tabernacle (or later the Temple),
it was merged with the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
which was already a pilgrimage festival.

"That is, two separate yet contiguous feasts
are now clarified to be a combined pilgrimage Feast. (12)

"Consequently, the two were treated together
as a single commemoration,
with the result that either festival name
could designate the entire eight days.

"The provision for preparing meals on the last day was rescinded.
Consequently, the last day is treated as a weekly Sabbath with no work,
including no preparing meals, which was formerly permitted.
Deuteronomy 16:1-8;

1; "Observe the month of Abib
and celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God,
because in the month of Abib the LORD your God
brought you out of Egypt by night.

2; "You are to offer to the LORD your God
the Passover sacrifice from the herd or flock
in the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for His Name.

3; "You must not eat leavened bread with it;
for seven days you are to eat with it unleavened bread,
the bread of affliction, because you left the land of Egypt in haste
—so that you may remember for the rest of your life
the day you left the land of Egypt.

4; "No leaven is to be found in all your land for seven days,
and none of the meat you sacrifice in the evening of the first day
shall remain until morning.

5; "You are not to sacrifice the Passover animal
in any of the towns that the LORD your God is giving you.

6; "You must only offer the Passover sacrifice
at the place the LORD your God will choose
as a dwelling for His Name.
Do this in the evening as the sun sets,
at the same time you departed from Egypt.

7; "And you shall roast it and eat it
in the place the LORD your God will choose,
and in the morning you shall return to your tents.

8; "For six days you must eat unleavened bread,
and on the seventh day you shall hold
a solemn assembly to the LORD your God,
and you must not do any work."

(6) Rusten, S. with E. Michael. (2005). The complete book of when & where in the Bible and throughout history (p. 10). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

(12) Rogers, A. (2017). The Feasts of the Lord. In Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (Le 23:4).
Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust.

 

[37818]

Therefore, the Passover extends from sunset on the thirteenth to sunset on the fourteenth.

Not taught anywhere in the written word of God.

 

[Alan Gross]

The Passover lamb was to be slain on the fourteenth.

"The...important date is the fourteenth of Nisan.
Exodus 12:6 has these instructions: “And ye shall keep it"
(that is, the Paschal Lamb) "up until the fourteenth day
of the same month: and the whole assembly
of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.”
The Passover lamb was to be slain on the fourteenth.

According to Hebrew reckoning,
a day begins at sunset, therefore,
the fourteenth of Nisan began at sunset/ Tuesday, after 6:00 pm,
when the killing of the Passover Lamb
was to take place in the evening.

"However, God’s instructions permitted some tolerance
as to the exact time of the slaying of the sacrifice,
and this is extremely significant.

The literal translation of the last clause of verse 6 is
“between the evenings,” not “in the evening.”
According to Hebrew reckoning, a day begins at sunset.

Wednesday, the fourteenth of Nisan begins after 6 PM
on the afternoon of the day, we would call Tuesday, the thirteenth.

And then Wednesday the fourteenth ends on the following day,
when Thursday the fifteenth begins at 6 PM.

So the fourteenth of Nisan begins at 6 PM
on the day we would call the thirteenth.

And the fourteenth ends
and the fifteenth begins at 6 PM on the following day."

Therefore, the Passover, of Wednesday the 14th of Nisan,
extends from sunset on Tuesday the 13th of Nisan,
which is Wednesday, to sunset then on Wednesday, the fourteenth,
the following day, at 6:00 pm (when it becomes Thursday the 15th).

Therefore, the Passover extends from sunset on the thirteenth
to sunset on the fourteenth.

Not taught anywhere in the written word of God.

I really don't know why not.

The evening that ushered in Wednesday the 14th of Nisan,
was the time God instructed Moses regarding The Passover.

In the observance of the first Passover, God specifically instructed Moses
that the lamb was to be slain in the evening of the fourteenth,
which was the evening that ushered in the day of the fourteenth.

The Jewish custom down through the centuries, therefore,
was to slay the lamb early in the evening of the fourteenth of Nisan

and partake of it at the Paschal supper, THAT SAME EVENING
of WEDNESDAY the 14th of NISAN,
which was on the evening preceding
the NEXT day WHICH WAS STILL WEDNESDAY, of Nisan fourteenth.

"The Jewish custom down through the centuries, therefore,
was to slay the lamb early in the evening of the fourteenth of Nisan
(which actually was done late in the afternoon of the thirteenth)
and partake of it at the Paschal supper,
which was on the evening preceding the day of Nisan fourteenth.

God made provision for His Son, the true Paschal Lamb,
to partake of the symbolic Paschal lamb, ON WEDNESDAY,
on the evening of the fourteenth NISAN
and still offer Himself as an acceptable sacrifice
IN THE FOLLOWING DAY, WHICH WAS STILL ON WEDNESDAY,
before the setting of the sun on THE DAYTIME of Nisan fourteenth.

"The highly significant point, however,
is that the Law permitted the sacrifice to be slain
any time “between the evenings.”

"Thus God made provision for His Son, the true Paschal Lamb,
to partake of the symbolic Paschal lamb
on the evening of the fourteenth
and still offer Himself as an acceptable sacrifice
before the setting of the sun on the day of Nisan fourteenth."

Immediately upon the setting of the sun,
WEDNESDAY, AFTER 6:00 PM,
upon the day of the fourteenth of Nisan,
the fifteenth of Nisan began.

Thursday, the 15th of Nisan was the day
that initiated the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Thursday, the 15th of Nisan was "an holy convocation", or Sabbath.

"God’s way is perfect just as His Word is perfect.
Immediately upon the setting of the sun
upon the day of the fourteenth of Nisan, the fifteenth of Nisan began.

"And according to Leviticus 23:6-7 and Numbers 28:18,
this was the day that initiated the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

"In it, the assembly of Israel was to “have an holy convocation”
and to “do no servile work therein.” "

"Josephus, the Jewish historian, tells us that there were sometimes
as many as 250,000 lambs slain on the occasion of the Passover.

"It was necessary that the lambs be slain
by the priests in the temple.

The killing of the Passover lambs actually did, or could, begin
about two or three o’clock in the afternoon of Tuesday, Nisan 13th

& it had become customary to slay the lambs
between the ninth and eleventh hour
(that is, between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM)

"So the killing of the Passover lambs began
about two or three o’clock in the afternoon of Nisan thirteenth.

"Then by five to five-thirty in the afternoon, all the lambs were slain.

"Josephus confirms that in the years just before the time
of Titus’s destruction of Jerusalem, in A.D. 70,
it was customary to slay the lambs
between the ninth and eleventh hour
(that is, between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM).

At sundown on Tuesday, the thirteenth of Nisan,
Wednesday, the fourteenth began.

The lamb had been prepared, and when the roasting was complete,
the participants (Jesus and His Disciples)
gathered around the table and ate the Passover supper.

"God’s Law of the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread
calls Wednesday, the fourteenth of the month Nisan, “the Passover.”

 

[Alan Gross]

"At sundown on the thirteenth of Nisan, the fourteenth began.

"The lamb had been prepared, and when the roasting was complete,
the participants gathered around the table and ate the Passover supper.

"God’s Law of the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread
calls the fourteenth of the month Nisan “the Passover.”

Wednesday, the 14th of Nisan, was referred to as
the first day of the festival season of unleavened bread
when Jesus' Disciples prepared for Jesus to eat the Passover,
when the beginning of the Jewish day, Nisan the 14th,
Wednesday, approached evening.

Matthew 26:17-19.
"Notice particularly verse 17:
Bible = “Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread
the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto Him,
Where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the Passover?”

Jesus kept the Passover with His Disciples.

Matthew 26:18; "And he said, Go into the city to such a man,
and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand;
I will keep the Passover at thy house with my disciples.

19; "And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them;
and they made ready the Passover."

“The Passover” was the fourteenth of Nisan
and the Paschal lamb was to be eaten on that day,
Wednesday evening, before nighttime, or then the following day,
still on Wednesday, before 6:00 pm.

“The Passover” was the fourteenth of Nisan
and the Paschal lamb was to be eaten on that day.

Then, on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread”
was Nisan the fifteenth.

“The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread”
was Nisan the fifteenth.

Leviticus 23:5; "The Passover to the LORD begins at twilight
on the fourteenth day of the first month."

Leviticus 23:5; "The Passover to the LORD begins at twilight
on the fourteenth day of the first month."

Observe and celebrate the Passover in the month of Abib
when the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night.

You are to offer to the LORD your God
the Passover sacrifice from the herd or flock.

Deuteronomy 16:1; "Observe the month of Abib
and celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God,
because in the month of Abib the LORD your God
brought you out of Egypt by night.

2; "You are to offer to the LORD your God
the Passover sacrifice from the herd or flock
in the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for His Name."

You are...to sacrifice the Passover
& offer the Passover sacrifice
at the place the LORD your God will choose
in the evening as the sun sets,
at the same time you departed from Egypt.

Deuteronomy 16:5; "You are not to sacrifice the Passover animal
in any of the towns that the LORD your God is giving you.

6; "You must only offer the Passover sacrifice
at the place the LORD your God will choose
as a dwelling for His Name.
Do this in the evening as the sun sets,
at the same time you departed from Egypt.

 

[Alan Gross]

"Therefore, the Passover extends from sunset
on" (Tuesday) "the thirteenth", at 6:00 pm,
(which is the beginning of Wednesday, the 14th of Nisan)

"to sunset on the fourteenth", 24 hours later, at 6:00 pm,
(which is the end of Wednesday, the 14th of Nisan,
(and is the beginning of Thursday, the 15th of Nisan).

Wednesday, the 14th of Nisan began at 6:00 pm
and in the observance of the first Passover,
God specifically instructed Moses that the lamb
was to be slain in the evening of the fourteenth,
(which would be "our Tuesday night", around 8:00 or 9:00 pm),

which was in the evening," followed by the night of the fourteenth,
until 12:00 midnight, then on through the night until 6:00 am,
"that ushered in" what was also the next "day of the fourteenth",
in the morning, until 12:00 noon,
and then Wednesday the 14th of Nisan ended at 6:00 pm.

Not taught anywhere in the written word of God.

See the entire chapter of Exodus 12:1-51.

The First Passover.

(ref: Numbers 9:1-14)

1; "And the LORD spake unto Moses
and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,

2; "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months:
it shall be the first month of the year to you..."

5; "Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year:" ...

6; "And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month:
and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel
shall kill it in the evening.

7; "And they shall take of the blood,
and strike it on the two side posts
and on the upper door post of the houses,
wherein they shall eat it." ...

11; "And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded,
your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand;
and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S Passover."

(ref: Leviticus 23:4-8; Numbers 28:16-25; Deuteronomy 16:1-8)

18; "In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even,
ye shall eat unleavened bread,
until the one and twentieth day of the month at even."

21; "...Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families,
and kill the Passover..."

23; "For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians;
and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel,
and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door,
and will not suffer the destroyer
to come in unto your houses to smite you." ...

26; "And it shall come to pass,
when your children shall say unto you,
What mean ye by this service?

27; "That ye shall say,
It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S Passover,
who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt,
when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses.
And the people bowed the head and worshipped."

40; "Now the sojourning of the children of Israel,
who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.

41; "And it came to pass
at the end of the four hundred and thirty years,
even the selfsame day it came to pass,
that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt."

43; "And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron,
This is the ordinance of the Passover:..."

48; "And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee,
and will keep the Passover to the LORD,
let all his males be circumcised,
and then let him come near and keep it;
and he shall be as one that is born in the land:
for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof."

50; "Thus did all the children of Israel;
as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.

51; "And it came to pass the selfsame day,
that the LORD did bring the children of Israel
out of the land of Egypt by their armies."

 

[Alan Gross]

Therefore, the Passover extends from sunset on the thirteenth
to sunset on the fourteenth.

Not taught anywhere in the written word of God.

"To commemorate that Israel departed from Egypt
in the month of the Abib (1),
Israel was instructed to bring the Passover (1)
sacrifice and celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Chag HaMatzot)
at this time of year. (5)

“Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me.
“You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread;
for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread,
as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month Abib,
for in it you came out of Egypt.
And none shall appear before Me empty-handed.

“Also you shall keep the Feast of the Harvest
of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field;
also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year
when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field.
“Three times a year all your males
shall appear before the Lord Yahweh."
(Exodus 23:14–17 NET)

"You are to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread;
seven days you must eat bread made without yeast,
as I commanded you, at the appointed time of the month of Abib,
for at that time you came out of Egypt.
No one may appear before me empty-handed."
(Exodus 23:15 NET)

“You must keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast,
as I commanded you;
do this at the appointed time of the month Abib,
for in the month Abib you came out of Egypt."
(Exodus 34:18 NET)

"The Feast of Unleavened Bread was celebrated
the day after Passover, which was on the 14th of Nisan,
and lasted from the 15th to the 21st in the Hebrew month of Nisan" (1).

"This is in the spring months of March-April on the Gentile calendar." (2)

(1) Select the link to open another article with additional information in a new tab.

(2) Fruchtenbaum, A. G. (1983). The Messianic Bible Study Collection (Vol. 62, p. 10).
Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries.

(5) Aviv Barley in the Biblical Calendar - Nehemia's Wall.

 

[Alan Gross]

Therefore, the Passover extends from sunset on the thirteenth
to sunset on the fourteenth.

Not taught anywhere in the written word of God.

"Then on the fifteenth day of the same month
will be the festival of unleavened bread to the Lord;
seven days you must eat unleavened bread.

"On the first day there will be a holy assembly for you;
you must not do any regular work.
You must present a gift to the Lord for seven days,
and the seventh day is a holy assembly;
you must not do any regular work.’ ” (Leviticus 23:6–8 NET)

"Note from this Scripture that the first
and last days of this feast (the 15th and 21st Nisan) are High Sabbath days.

"These days, the people were to cease their labors
and spend time meditating on God and His greatness and goodness.

"Passover, the 14th of Nisan, was the Preparation Day
for the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread on the 15th of Nisan. (2)"
...

The Feast of Unleavened Bread
Observed for the First Time in the Old Covenant (circa 1446 B.C.) (19)

"In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites left Egypt,
in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel,
during the month Ziv (the second month),
he began building the LORD’s temple." (1 Kings 6:1 NET)

"King Solomon ruled over Israel from 971 to 931 B.C.

"The fourth year of his reign would have been 966 B.C.

"Since the Exodus took place 480 years earlier:

"(480+966) = 1446 B.C.

"When God delivered the Hebrews from Egypt,
He brought them out with such haste
that they did not have time to bake their bread,
which would have normally included leaven.

"Over time, leaven became symbolic
of the Hebrew’s old life of bondage in Egypt under Pharaoh
and the Egyptian’s world system, which was contrary to God.

"Unleavened bread symbolized their putting off this old life
as they came out of Egypt. (2)

"Moses said to the people, “Remember this day
on which you came out from Egypt,
from the place where you were enslaved,
for the Lord brought you out of there with a mighty hand
—and no bread made with yeast may be eaten.

"On this day, in the month of Abib, you are going out."
(Exodus 13:3,4 NET)

"It is not clear that the Feast of Unleavened Bread
was celebrated for Seven Days.

"However, the Israelites did make bread without yeast
on the way out of Egypt."

"The Egyptians were urging the people on,
in order to send them out of the land quickly, for they were saying,
“We are all dead!” So the people took their dough
before the yeast was added, with their kneading troughs
bound up in their clothing on their shoulders...

"They baked cakes of bread without yeast
using the dough they had brought from Egypt,
for it was made without yeast—
because they were thrust out of Egypt and were not able to delay,
they could not prepare food for themselves either."
(Exodus 12:33,34,39 NET)

"Again, God instructed the Hebrews
to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread
as a memorial to their separation from Egypt.

"Leavened bread was not eaten at Passover on the 14th of Nisan
or the following seven days, as is stated in the book of Exodus:

"Moses said to the people, “Remember this day
on which you came out from Egypt,
from the place where you were enslaved,
for the Lord brought you out of there with a mighty hand
—and no bread made with yeast may be eaten.

"On this day, in the month of Abib, you are going out.

"When the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanites,
Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites,
which he swore to your fathers to give you,
a land flowing with milk and honey,
then you will keep this ceremony in this month.

"For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast,
and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to the Lord.

"Bread made without yeast must be eaten for seven days;
no bread made with yeast shall be seen among you,
and you must have no yeast among you within any of your borders."
(Exodus 13:3–7 NET)

"On the first day (Nisan 15), all yeast or leaven
must be put away from their dwellings (Exodus 12:15).
Since the Feast of Unleavened Bread followed Passover on Nisan 14,
bread without yeast was put away from their dwelling
for a total of eight days.

"For Seven Days, bread without yeast will be made
and eaten from Nisan 15 until Nisan 21.
(Exodus 12:15,18. Numbers 28:17).

"Since the Feast of Unleavened Bread
followed Passover on Nisan 14,
bread without yeast was eaten for eight days
from Nisan 14, until Nisan 21."

(2) Fruchtenbaum, A. G. (1983).
The Messianic Bible Study Collection (Vol. 62, p. 10).
Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries.

(19) http://www.cgsf.org/dbeattie/calendar/?roman=1446+bc
with Pentecost on Sivan 8 (Exodus 19:1-16)
and Feast of First Fruits (if it had existed then)
would have been on Nisan 18, 1446 B.C.

 

[Alan Gross]

Therefore, the Passover extends from sunset on the thirteenth
to sunset on the fourteenth.

Not taught anywhere in the written word of God.

The Second Recorded Passover Observation
in the Old Covenant (circa 1445 B.C.) (19)

"The Israelites observed Passover
one year after leaving Egypt while under the leadership of Moses.

"However, there is no indication
that the Feast of Unleavened Bread was celebrated.
(Numbers 9:1–5 NET)

"The Unleavened Bread Feast Requirements are Modified."
(circa 1407 B.C.) (6)

"Initially, Passover was a local observance
centered on the nuclear family and their home.

"However, since Passover became a pilgrimage festival
centered on the Tabernacle (or later the Temple),
it was merged with the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
which was already a pilgrimage festival.

"That is, two separate yet contiguous feasts
are now clarified to be a combined pilgrimage Feast. (12)

"Consequently, the two were treated together
as a single commemoration,
with the result that either festival name
could designate the entire eight days.

"The provision for preparing meals on the last day was rescinded.

"Consequently, the last day is treated as a weekly Sabbath
with no work, including no preparing meals, which was formerly permitted.
(Deuteronomy 16:1-8)

"The Third Recorded Passover Observation in the Old Covenant."
(circa 1406 B.C.) (6)

"Israel observed the Passover on Nisan 14
after entering the Promised land under the leadership of Joshua.

"However, it is not clear that the Feast of Unleavened Bread
was celebrated for seven days at this time. (Joshua 5:10–12)

"Now the Israelites ate manna forty years,
until they came to a land that was inhabited;
they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.
(Now an omer is one tenth of an ephah.)
(Exodus 16:35–36 NET) (cf. Psalms 95:10)

"Israel observed the Passover on Nisan 14
after entering the Promised land Nisan 10
under Joshua’s leadership
after wandering forty years in the wilderness.

1446 B.C. – 40 years = 1406 B.C.

"So the Israelites camped in Gilgal
and celebrated the Passover
in the evening of the fourteenth day of the month
on the plains of Jericho.

"They ate some of the produce of the land
the day after the Passover,
including unleavened bread and roasted grain.

"The manna stopped appearing
the day they ate some of the produce of the land;
the Israelites never ate manna again. (Joshua 5:10–12 NET)

"It was after this Passover,
when they ate of the produce of the Promised Land on Nisan 15,
the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
that the manna stopped appearing.

"The Fourth Recorded
Passover-Unleavened Bread Festival Observation
in the Old Covenant" (circa 1045 – 1035 B.C) (6)

"There is indirect evidence that Passovers
were observed under the leadership of the Prophet,
Priest, and Judge Samuel
(1 Samuel 7:6; 7:15-17. Acts 13:20).

"Samuel is believed to have lived from 1075 – 1035 B.C. (6).

"There is no clear indication
that the Feast of Unleavened Bread was celebrated.

"However, it may have been held since the Passover
and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were combined.
(2 Chronicles 35:17–18. 2 Kings 23:21–22)

Furthermore, there is evidence that the Feast of Unleavened Bread
was generally held under King Solomon. (2 Chronicles 8:12-14)

The Fifth Recorded
Passover-Unleavened Bread Festival Observation
in the Old Covenant (circa 715 B.C.) (6)

"The Passover was celebrated in the second month
instead of the first month, which apparently
was based on the allowance for having Passover
in the second month was considered precedence.

"However, that exception was only made
for observing Passover in the second month
and not the Feast of Unleavened Bread
and was specifically for those that were ceremonially unclean
having touched the dead body of a man.
(Numbers 9:6-12).

"Nevertheless, the people, the temple, and the priests
were either not sanctified in time to observe it in the first month
and they were not yet assembled (2 Chronicles 30:3).

"This is because Hezekiah’s reforms had begun in the first month,
and the Israelites did not finish cleaning the temple
until the 16th day of the first month (2 Chronicles 29:17,18). (3)

"Noteworthy is that this festival
combines the Feast of Unleavened Bread
and Passover since the account begins stating
they held “the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month”
(2 Chronicles 30:13).

"The narrative does little to describe how the Passover was observed
since the only detail it reports
is the slaughter of the Passover lamb on the 14th.

"However, the narrative does make it clear
that there was confusion over how to celebrate the Passover.

"That is, some of the Israelites had not properly consecrated themselves
and so were still unclean when they ate the sacrifice.

"These people did not eat “as it was written” (ככתוב, kktwb),
suggesting there were written instructions that were not widely known.

"Hezekiah prayed for God to accept those
whose hearts were in the right place in seeking God,
even if they had outwardly failed to complete the proper purification,
perhaps in ignorance. (12)

"Furthermore, the Unleavened Bread Feast
was such a wonderful festival of praise,
that they continued it for seven more days. (4)
(2 Chronicles 30:1–31:1 NET)

(1) Select the link to open another article
with additional information in a new tab.

(3) Booker, R. (2016). Celebrating Jesus
in the biblical feasts expanded edition:
discovering their significance to you as a Christian.
Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image.

(4) http://www.hebrew4christians.com

(6) Rusten, S. with E. Michael. (2005).
The complete book of when & where in the Bible and throughout history (p. 10).
Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

(12) Rogers, A. (2017). The Feasts of the Lord.
In Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (Le 23:4).
Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust.

(19) http://www.cgsf.org/dbeattie/calendar/?roman=1446+bc
with Pentecost on Sivan 8 (Exodus 19:1-16)
and Feast of First Fruits (if it had existed then)
would have been on Nisan 18, 1446 B.C.

 

[Alan Gross]

Therefore, the Passover extends from sunset on the thirteenth
to sunset on the fourteenth.

Not taught anywhere in the written word of God.

The Sixth Recorded
Passover-Unleavened Bread Festival Observation
in the Old Covenant (circa 640 B.C.) (6)

"Israel observed the Passover on the 14th of the month of Nisan (1),
immediately followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread
from the 15th until the 21st, under the leadership of King Josiah.

"King Josiah and his officials donated many animals
to provide Passover sacrifices for all the people.

"The mix of animals for sacrifice included sheep, lambs,
young goats, and bulls. (2 Chronicles 35:1–19 NET)

"The people kept the Passover
and then observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

"The narrator ends by praising Josiah’s Passover,
noting, “there was no Passover like it kept in Israel
since the days of Samuel the prophet.”
(2 Kings 23:21–23 NET)

"Note the apparent contradiction in the preceding verses.

"King Hezekiah of Judah had observed a Passover
in approximately 715 B.C. (discussed previously in this article);
however, this passage states that the one under Josiah
was the first Passover during the kings of Israel.

"The solution to this apparent contradiction
is found in the words “a Passover like this”
meaning in strict compliance with the scriptural protocol.

"Again, Josiah’s Passover was observed strictly
by the scriptural guidance juxtaposed to Hezekiah’s Passover."

See: * Judah was in Babylonian exile for 70 years
(circa 586 B.C. – 516 B.C.)

& * The Seventh and Last Recorded
Passover-Unleavened Bread Festival Observation
in the Old Covenant (circa 516 B.C.) (6)

& * The First Recorded
Passover Observation in the New Covenant (circa 7 A.D.) (6)

& * The Second Recorded
Passover Observation in the New Covenant
and First Temple Cleansing (circa 28 A.D.) (6)

& * The Third Recorded
Passover Observation in the New Covenant (circa 29 A.D.) (6)

& * The Fourth Recorded
Passover Observation in the New Covenant (circa 30 A.D.) (6)

& * The Fifth Recorded
Passover Observation in the New Covenant (circa 31 A.D.) (6)

& * The Sixth Passover-Feast of Unleavened Bread
Observed in the New Covenant (circa 44 A.D.) (6)

"Although Jesus fulfilled the Passover through His death,
burial, and resurrection, the Jews will continue to observe it
until Jerusalem and its Temple are destroyed in 70 A.D."

& * The Seventh Passover-Feast of Unleavened Bread
Observed in the New Covenant (circa 54 A.D.) (6)

& * The Typological Meaning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

"The Feast of Unleavened Bread
teaches the concept of being in fellowship with the Lord.

"The Lord has always sought to fellowship with us
rather than vice versa.

"It all became quite evident from the very beginning
with Adam in the Garden of Eden
from the events that took place right after the first couple sinned." (13)

& * God the Father sent Jesus to Supply Spiritual Bread
to Save His children from Spiritual Death,

& * The Application of the Feast of Unleavened Bread

"The Feast of Unleavened Bread
teaches about our burial with Jesus.

"This indicates we should live a life of separation
from the attitudes and ways of the world.

"This involves our putting off the old man of sin,
characterized by the works of the flesh. (3)

"Believers are to live a sin-free life
to maintain fellowship with God.

"This is done through the continual cleansing
available to us by Christ’s blood,"

*at: The Feasts of Israel – Unleavened Bread.
by CHAG HAMOTZI.

(1) Select the link to open another article with additional information in a new tab.

(3) Booker, R. (2016). Celebrating Jesus
in the biblical feasts expanded edition:
discovering their significance to you as a Christian.
Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image.

(6) Rusten, S. with E. Michael. (2005).
The complete book of when & where in the Bible and throughout history (p. 10).
Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

(13) Norten, M. (2015). Unlocking the secrets of the feasts.
Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

 

[JonC]

Not taught anywhere in the written word of God.

The issue is not how we we think the Law prescribed the festival or pasdover but how it was practiced in the 1st century.

@Alan Gross is right about Passover beginning the afternoon prior.

Part of the issue the Jews had to solve was how to accomplish the event in a different circumstance, with the people disbursed in Jerusalem and the Temple situation.

It could work with the Pharisees, who believed that the Law belonged to the people, but not with the Sanhedrin (the Law belonging to the Temple).

You have the Seder beginning on 14 Nisan and being completed on 15 Nisan (by necessity). That isn't Biblical.

@Alan Gross has the Passover meal beginning and concluding on 14 Nisan. And @Alan Gross has the account following how it was done in the 1st century.

 

[37818]

The issue is not how we we think the Law prescribed the festival or pasdover but how it was practiced in the 1st century.

No, rather what tne word of God explicitly stated, Mark 14:12.

 

[Alan Gross]

Mark 14:12

God explicitly stated

It's got to where I kind of wonder what you think Mark 14:12 says(?)

Or, what you want it to say(?)

What is it that you think Mark 14:12 says that is so important, anyway?
...

( Are you talking about how this
"first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover",
actually, at this time, in The New Testament Era, and since around 1407 B.C.,
being designated this way and called, "the first day of unleavened bread"(?),

even though, it is talking about this conversation
being on The Passover, Nison 14,
The Day of Preparation for the Sabbath High Day, the next day,

with that next day Sabbath High Day, of course,
being the day of convocation,
Nison 15, the "first day of The 7-Day Feast of Unleavened Bread",
which ends on the 21st.

The entire 8-Day festival had been changed,
in the way that they referred to it.

From the Passover, Nison 14, to the third* Sabbath on the 21st,
those 8 Days had come to be combined and were called
"The Passover", or "The Feast of Unleavened Bread",
to refer to all 8 Days.

It's been put like this:

"The Unleavened Bread Feast Requirements are Modified
(circa 1407 B.C.)"
(from: Rusten, S. with E. Michael. (2005).
The Complete Book of When & Where in the Bible
and throughout History (p. 10).
Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.)

"Initially, Passover was a local observance centered
on the nuclear family
and their home. However, since Passover
became a pilgrimage festival
centered on the Tabernacle (or later the Temple),
it was merged with the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
which was already a pilgrimage festival.

"That is, two separate yet contiguous feasts
are now clarified to be a combined pilgrimage Feast.
(From: Rogers, A. (2017). The Feasts of the Lord.
In Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (Le 23:4).
Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust.)

"Consequently, the two were treated together
as a single commemoration,
with the result that either festival name
could designate the entire eight days."

"The provision for preparing meals on the last day was rescinded.
Consequently, the last day is treated as
a weekly Sabbath with no work,
including no preparing meals, which was formerly permitted."
(Deuteronomy 16:1-8)"


*The first Sabbath was on Nison 15, The Sabbath High Day,
The First Day of The 7-Day Feast of Unleavened Bread,
a holy convocation.

The second Sabbath was on Nison 17,
the regular Weekly Sabbath was on Saturday.

And the third Sabbath was the holy convocation on the 7th Day
of the 7-Day Feast of Unleavened Bread, on the 21st, on Wednesday.

 

[Alan Gross]

No, rather what tne word of God explicitly stated, Mark 14:12.

See if this means anything to you(?)

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947, revealed that Essene Jews, who observed the so-called Qumran calendar (or Essene calendar), celebrated Passover on a Wednesday.87 The Essene adhered to an intercalated solar-lunar calendar, rather than the intercalated lunar-solar calendar of normative Judaism. The Qumran calendar was based on a 364-day solar year.88

It is unclear how the Essene dealt with the extra 1¼ days of the solar year, but they appear to have had a method. In the Qumran/Essene calendar, Passover (the 14th of Nisan) always fell on a Wednesday, with the Passover Seder meal, on the Sabbath High Day, The First Day of The 7-Day Feast of Unleavened Bread, always taking place Thursday evening, the 15th of Nisan, after sundown. The 14th of Nisan in the Qumran/Essene calendar was therefore always on Wednesday.

Beginning with Annie Jaubert in 1957, a number of influential scholars, willing to break from tradition and consider options for Jesus’s last Passover supper, have suggested that Jesus’s early Passover meal took place on (our Tuesday evening) Wednesday evening the 14th of Nison (prior to the night arrests, etc., and crucifixion in the daytime of the 14th of Nisan).89 Brown notes five such scholars, including the highly influential Eugen Ruckstuhl, in his description of the (our Tuesday evening) Wednesday evening the 14th of Nison (prior to the night arrests, etc., and crucifixion in the daytime of the 14th of Nisan) Essene model for the last supper, although Brown himself ultimately rejects it.90

However, another influential Catholic scholar, Father Bargil Pixner of the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem, whose background included decades of living in Israel and Jerusalem and studying the Jewish context of the New Testament, also broke with tradition and endorsed the (our Tuesday evening) Wednesday evening the 14th of Nison (prior to the night arrests, etc., and crucifixion in the daytime of the 14th of Nisan) model in his 1996 book With Jesus in Jerusalem.91

Those who suggest that Jesus celebrated His last Passover supper on (our Tuesday evening) Wednesday evening the 14th of Nison (prior to the night arrests, etc., and crucifixion in the daytime of the 14th of Nisan) are divided as to whether he observed the Essene calendar as a rule or only as an exception on that one occasion.92

It seems to me that the doctrines and practices of the Essene were so dissimilar to those of Jesus and His followers that He would not have normally observed their alternative calendar.93 However, that Jesus would, for His own convenience and security, hold His own early Passover meal on (our Tuesday evening) Wednesday evening the 14th of Nison (prior to the night arrests, etc., and crucifixion in the daytime of the 14th of Nisan) when Essene Jews in Jerusalem would also be doing so, thus not attracting undue suspicion or attention to His own gathering, seems both logical and likely.

And that the synoptic Gospel writers would refer to that Tuesday, AFTER 6:00, WHICH IS WEDNESDAY THE 14TH OF NISAN, as the “first day of unleavened bread” seems appropriate—it portrayed Jesus’s regard for His last supper as a genuine Passover experience, even though it did not occur on the official date, of the 15th of Nisan.

The (our Tuesday evening) Wednesday evening around 8:00 or 9:00 pm, the 14th of Nison (prior to the night arrests, etc., and crucifixion in the daytime of the 14th of Nisan) would now be the beginning of the night of Wednesday the 14th of Nisan, and that Wednesday night Last Supper model (prior to the night's arrests, etc., and crucifixion in the daytime of the 14th of Nisan) solves virtually every problem connected with the issue of the Gospels mention regarding Jesus’s final days.

Additionally, (our Tuesday night) a Wednesday night the 14th of Nison (prior to the night arrests, etc., and crucifixion in the daytime of the 14th of Nisan) at Gethsemane allows for adequate time between the events of Jesus’s arrest and trials through the night, of His Sanhedrin trial, His transfer to Pilate, His interview with Pilate, His transfer to Herod, His interview with Herod, His transfer back to Pilate, His ultimate sentencing and display by Pilate, in the morning and His beatings, and crucifixion in the Daytime of the 14th of Nison.

The (our Tuesday evening) Wednesday evening the 14th of Nison (prior to the night arrests, etc., and crucifixion in the daytime of the 14th of Nisan) model for the Last Supper, leaves John’s report of Jesus’s execution on the 14th of Nisan as the correct dating of the crucifixion, which took place in the daylight in the daytime, following that nights events of the arrest and trials, etc.

1. The trial and sentencing of Jesus by the Sanhedrin (see Matt. 27:1, Mark 15:1, Luke 22:66) would surely not have occurred on the 15th of Nisan, on the Yom Tov festival day, THE FIRST DAY OF THE 7-DAY FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD, A SABBATH HIGH DAY —such activities would violate the Law of Moses and the sanctity of the festival, which was considered a Sabbath, and would have been invalid under any existing interpretation of Judean law.

Geza Vermes, a respected scholar of the New Testament in its Judean context, succinctly states that “Jewish courts did not sit, investigate or pronounce sentence on the first and last day of The Feast of Unleavened Bread, WHICH WERE TO BE HOLY CONVOCATIONS, AS SABBATH HIGH DAYS, or any other Sabbath, or a Sabbath High Day.”94

2. On the day of the execution, Pilate sought to release Jesus as a goodwill gesture for the Passover festival, but instead released Barabbas (see Matt. 27:15–24, Mark 15:6–15, Luke 23:16–24). The release would surely not have been proposed or carried out on the 15th of Nisan, nor would the chief priest and the crowd of supporters have gathered on a Yom Tov festival day to demand the release. Rather, these events suggest a context on the 14th of Nisan, just in advance of the festival and in time for the Seder supper that evening.

3. Simon the Cyrenian is said to have been “coming out of the country” when he was pressed to carry Jesus’s cross (Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26). This would surely not have happened on the 15th of Nisan, because Simon, and any other Jew coming to Jerusalem, would have been traveling to arrive prior to the beginning of the festival. And, if he were late, he would surely not have been traveling on the festival day itself. Rather, this event is also best placed in the context of the 14th of Nisan.

4. Crowds are depicted as passing by the execution site and insulting Jesus while He was on the cross (Matt. 27:39–40, Mark 15:29–30) and also as having accompanied Him in sorrow on the way to the site (Luke 23:27–28). Such activity would have violated the sanctity of the Yom Tov festival, which was considered a High Day Sabbath and, especially in the case of the Matthew and Mark accounts, would have been unlikely to occur on the 15th of Nisan.

5. The burial of Jesus’s deceased body, depicted as occurring prior to sundown (see Matt. 27:59–60, Mark 15:46, Luke 23:53), would surely not have been carried out on the 15th of Nisan. Any event or action considered tragic or unhappy was forbidden on a Yom Tov festival day, which was considered a High Day Sabbath and was a day on which only rejoicing was permitted. In any case, a burial was not to be carried out on such a festival High Day Sabbath, or on the Saturday Sabbath.

6. Although it may seem superfluous to mention, an execution would surely not have been carried out on the 15th of Nisan! It is inconceivable that crucifixion would be carried out by Pilate on a Yom Tov festival High Day Sabbath, or for that matter even on a Saturday Sabbath. Pilate, who was clearly desirous of keeping peace among the Jews (not only the Sadducean chief priests and their elders, but also the tens of thousands gathered to Jerusalem for the festival), would simply not have risked violating the sanctity of the festival, the 15th of Nisan, by carrying out a public execution on that day. The riots that surely would have ensued would also have been impossible to control. The crucifixion clearly has to have occurred prior to the onset of the Yom Tov day, Nison 15th, which means that it has to have taken place on the 14th of Nisan.

con't

 

[Alan Gross]

That Matthew, Mark, and Luke, in fact, do not really depict a crucifixion on the 15th of Nisan then raises the question of why the three Gospel writers did not declare that the day of the execution was the 14th of Nisan. They could have easily done this, for example, by specifying (as in John 19:14) that it was the “preparation of the Passover.”

While my suggestion for an answer to this is not to be demanded, I think it is possible that Matthew, Mark, and Luke (whose Gospels are often interdependent in terms of factual information) avoided specifying that it was the official Passover preparation because they had designated the day of Jesus’s last supper as a Passover preparation and it was (too).

Whether through a desire not to be repetitious or confusing, or merely wanting to focus attention on Jesus’s last supper as a legitimate Passover experience, I believe they simply decided to feature only one Passover preparation in their narratives.

On the other hand, John did focus attention on the fact that Jesus’s death, which John understood to be symbolized by the killing of Passover lambs, had indeed occurred on the official preparation day of Passover, when the lambs of the feast were sacrificed.

Caution must be taken in imputing complicated motives to the four Gospel writers, so I offer these possibilities only as suggestions. What remains clear, however, is that both John and the synoptic Gospels present numerous factual elements that can only be construed as pointing to the official Judean 14th of Nisan as the day of Jesus’s execution.

The reluctance of New Testament scholarly consensus to recognize this notwithstanding, there is no real discrepancy between the synoptic Gospels and John with regard to the day of the crucifixion.

As a final note in this section, it is also apparent that the Gospel of John, which portrays Jesus’s crucifixion on the 14th of Nisan, also portrays Jesus’s last supper as occurring the 14th of Nisan the evening before, on Wednesday night before that daytime on the 14th of Nison.

When, in the middle of the meal, Judas leaves the group, some of the Apostles thought he was going out to purchase things needed for the festival (see John 13:29). This would be inconceivable on the official night of the Passover Seder, the 15th of Nisan,—no markets would have been open, the whole city and thousands of surrounding family camps outside the walls would have been in the middle of their own Seder meals, and in any case the evening of the 15th of Nisan would have been considered a festival Sabbath High Day, when buying or selling was forbidden. Clearly, even John depicts Jesus’s last Passover supper as having occurred on the 14th of Nisan night prior to the official DAYTIME of the 14th of Nisan, in the daylight in the daytime the following 'day' (although, it was still the Jewish day of the week, Wednesday.)

And what was that night, again? When all the scriptural, historical, and even archaeological evidence is considered (archaeology is included, since that field of study is an aspect of the Qumran discoveries)—that Jesus celebrated His last Passover supper on (our Tuesday evening) Wednesday evening the 14th of Nison (prior to the night arrests, etc., and crucifixion in the daytime of the 14th of Nisan) is the only realistic solution to the New Testament’s seeming conundrum.

(Our Tuesday evening) Wednesday evening the 14th of Nison (prior to the night arrests, etc., and crucifixion in the daytime of the 14th of Nisan) is the only option that has both historical and contextual evidence of first-century Judean society to support it.

And because it is sound and logical, a (our Tuesday evening) Wednesday evening the 14th of Nison Last Supper (prior to the night arrests, etc., and crucifixion in the daytime of the 14th of Nisan) is the model I suggest as reality and also present as a valid consideration to my students.


Why do we keep insisting on this Wednesday, the 14th of Nisan Passover,
being the Day of Preparation for the Sabbath High Day, on Thursday?

Look at Mark 16:1; "And when the sabbath was past,
Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome,
had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Him."

"when the sabbath was past" HAS TO BE referring
to the day AFTER THE SABBATH HIGH DAY, ON THURSDAY,
(FRIDAY).

"when the sabbath was past" CAN NOT BE referring
to the day AFTER THE WEEKLY SABBATH, ON SATURDAY,
(SUNDAY).

THE WOMEN WOULD HAVE BEEN BUYING SPICES ON SUNDAY!
LONG AFTER THEY HAD ALREADY BEEN TO THE TOMB
AND SEEN THAT JESUS HAD RESURRECTED!

THEN? On that FRIDAY, "when the sabbath was past"
AFTER THE SABBATH HIGH DAY, ON THURSDAY,

"Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome,
had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Him."

THEN? ON THAT SAME DAY, FRIDAY, WHAT DID THEY DO?



Luke 23:56;
"Then they returned to prepare spices and perfumes.
And they rested on the Sabbath, according to the commandment."

The women prepared the spices and perfumes ON FRIDAY,

AND?... "they rested on the Sabbath,
according to the commandment."

THE WOMEN RESTED THE NEXT DAY AFTER FRIDAY,
WHICH WAS SATURDAY, THE WEEKLY SABBATH.

Wednesday, the 14th of Nisan Passover,
was the Day of Preparation for that Sabbath High Day, on Thursday.


87. For a comprehensive treatment of the Essene and the Dead Sea Scrolls, see Lawrence H. Schiffman, Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls (New York: Doubleday, 1995).

88. On the solar nature of the Qumran calendar, see Schiffman, Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, 304–5, and Yigael Yadin, The Temple Scroll: The Hidden Law of the Dead Sea Sect (London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1985), 84–87.

89. See Annie Jaubert, La Date de la Cène (Paris: Gabalda, 1957), and its English translation, The Date of the Last Supper (New York: Alba House, 1965).

90. See Eugen Ruckstuhl, Die Chronologie des letzten Mahles und des Leidens Jesu (The Chronology of the Last Supper and the Suffering of Jesus) (Einsiedeln: Benziger, 1963). See also Brown, Death of the Messiah, 2:1366 for other names, and 2:1368 for his rejection.

91. Bargil Pixner, With Jesus in Jerusalem: His First and Last Days in Judea (Rosh Pina, Israel: Corazin Publishing, 1996), 83–100.

92. For examples of other Essene involvement in the narratives of the New Testament Gospels, see the discussion by Chadwick in “The Jerusalem Temple, the Sadducees, and the Opposition to Jesus,” 65–69.

93. On dissimilarities between Jesus’s teachings and those of the Essene, see D. Kelly Ogden and Jeffrey R. Chadwick, The Holy Land: A Geographical, Historical, and Archaeological Guide to the Land of the Bible (Jerusalem: HaMakor, 1990), 315.

94. See the discussion in Geza Vermes, Who’s Who in the Age of Jesus (New York: Penguin, 2006), 135–36, cited in Charlesworth, “Historical Jesus in the Fourth Gospel,” 10. I note here that Charlesworth maintains that Jesus was interrogated after his arrest, but that no trial was actually held. However, the references in the synoptic Gospels to the Sadducean chief priests (plural), the council (Sanhedrin), witnesses, and pronunciation of guilt (see Matt. 26:59–60, 65–66; Mark 14:55–56, 63–64; Luke 22:66, 71) all convince me that a bona fide trial of Jesus was indeed conducted before a minimum quorum “small Sanhedrin” of twenty-three members (all Sadducees except for Joseph of Arimathea) after daybreak on the morning following Jesus’s arrest (see Luke 22:66).

 

[JonC]

The issue here is we know very little about the Essenes.

We know that they withdrew into the dessert to await the Mesdiah. We know that the primary reason was that they thought the Jewish leadership was corrupt.

Most scholars conclude that John the Baptist belonged to this sect (he most likely did belong to one of their sects).

But most information concerning the Essenes is from the sect that lived in the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.


Anyway....a Friday crucifixion works only if we use a Jewish timekeeping. A Wednesday crucifixion works only if we use a Westerm timekeeping. One may be able to force a Thursday crucifixion, but the problem is it would be later in the day than Scripture seems to allow.

 

[timtofly]

@37818 ,

Let's look at your timeline with Wed being Nisan 14, but per 1st century Jewish laws.

Mark 14:12 would be Tuesday afternoon around 3pm.

Mark 14:22 (the meal) would be Tuesday at sundown.

Mark 14:32 (the Garden) woukd be Tuesday night

Mark 15:1 (Jesus before the government) would be early Wednesday morning.

Mark 15:13 would be Wendsday around 9am

Mark 15:37 woukd be around 3pm on Wednesday

Mark 15:42 (burial) would be just before sunset Wednesday



How do we know this? Because we know the Jewish laws.


Now, I favor Friday instead of Wendsday. This moves up Mark 14:12 about an hour (around 2 pm on Thursday) because under Jewish law if the morning of 14 Nisan falls on Friday then the killing and sacrifice of the Passover is moved up about an hour (probably 1.5 hours our time).

If a Friday, Jesus would have been in the tomb, less than 24 hours.

For the Hebrews 3 days and 3 nights would 3×12 and 3×12. That is 72 hours. Jesus was not in the tomb, after 6 pm, the evening of the 4th day. Friday means Jesus was only 1 evening, and 1 morning. When the tomb was opened between 5am and 6am, the tomb was empty. Now you can argue "partial days", but that would be 4 partial days, still not 3. Friday is either too many, or too short, either interpretation.

I would argue that the Passover was always on the 15th, and God knew the moon would always be in the right place at the right time. Did the Hebrews even have to add the second month of Adar? They seemed to feel more comfortable doing that than just always having the 15th fall correctly after a new moon. God knew about that as well.