The Chronology of Jesus Christ’s Death, Burial and Resurrection

Jesus Death Burial ResurrectionJesus Death Burial Resurrection

Hebrew Day

A Biblical Day starts at Sunset and concludes at sunset.  The Evening, which is described as the time of ‘long shadows’ begins therefore prior to sunset.

Psalms 102:11 NIV
My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass.

The sun casts a shadow which gets longer as the sun is setting. The shadow withers away, if you will, and disappears at sunset. This period prior to sunset is ‘Evening’.

‘Evening’ transitions at sunset into ‘Evening Twilight’. The ‘Evening Twilight’ ends at the twinkling of an eye and ‘Night’ begins.

Then we read that on the evening of Tuesday, Jesus ate the Last Supper meal. It is the evening just prior to the Day of Preparation (Wednesday) which commences at sunset.

Further, we also know the lambs were always slaughtered for Passover at ~3pm Wednesday, Nisan 14th, on the Preparation Day.

And Wednesday, Nisan 14th, at ~3pm, was when Jesus died.

Let us examine ‘Palm Sunday’ and 6 Days Before Passover

We already have an abundance of scriptural support for the Wednesday Crucifixion, but let us examine the scriptures that some are putting out and see if they have any merit or not.

“They say” that Yeshua rode into Jerusalem on a colt on Palm Sunday. This is the 10th of Nisan. So, Monday is then the 11th and Tuesday is then the 12th and Wednesday is then the 13th and not the 14th as I am stating here. In order for Sunday to be the 14th “they say”, this then would mean that Yeshua would ride into Jerusalem on the colt on the Sabbath and thereby be breaking the Sabbath. So, it is impossible for Wednesday to be the 14th. It has to be the Thursday so as to fit into the Easter story.

Many times, those with such errant claims get traction when you leave out other scriptures. Never forget Satan knows the scriptures quite well. He even used them when he tempted Yeshua. But Yeshua did not argue with him nor debate him, Yeshua just quoted scriptures back to him.

Let us do the same.

Passover, beginning on the 14th of Nisan, and the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread which follows are filled with meaning for Christians and Messianic Jews.

The preparations for this Feast of the LORD actually begins several days before. In ancient times and in Yeshua’s day, when the Temple stood, the lambs chosen for sacrifice had to be inspected for four (4) days. This began on the 10th of Nisan. The lambs were brought into Jewish homes and were carefully watched to be certain there were no blemishes or illness, which would disqualify them for the Passover sacrifice. Just as the lambs were inspected, so was Yeshua, who is our Passover and the Lamb of God.

We read in Exodus 12 the start of the Passover event. What we are going to focus on in this study is when that lamb was taken and then killed. Many are muddying the waters on this, and this is why we are looking at it.

Exodus 12:1-7 MKJV
And Jehovah spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, (2) This month shall be to you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you.  (3)  Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth of this month they shall take to them each man a lamb for a father’s house, a lamb for a house.  (4)  And if the household is too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next to his house take according to the number of the souls, each one, according to the eating of his mouth, you shall count concerning the lamb.  (5)  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You shall take from the sheep or from the goats.  (6)  And you 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 some of the blood and strike on the two side posts and upon the upper door post of the houses in which they shall eat it.

Note the 10th and the 14th and the ‘evening’.

Now see from Scripture that Yeshua is known to be the Lamb of God.

John 1:29 MKJV
The next day John sees Jesus coming to him and says, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

John 1:36 MKJV
And looking upon Jesus as He walked, he says, Behold the Lamb of God!

Revelation 5:4-7 MKJV
And I wept very much, because no one was found worthy to open and to read the book, nor to look at it.  (5)  And one of the elders said to me, Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals of it.  (6)  And I looked, and lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, amidst the elders, a Lamb stood, as if it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.  (7)  And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him sitting on the throne.

Every detail of the Passover Exodus event is replayed now in the Crucifixion of Yeshua.

He was the Lamb of Yehovah and He was the lamb that had to be examined and then killed.

And just as that lamb was taken into the houses of those who were about to kill it, so Yeshua was taken to the Temple and examined for those days leading up to His death and he was found not guilty.

Mark 12:13 MKJV
And they sent certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians to Him, to catch Him in His words.

Matthew 26:59-60 MKJV
And the chief priests and the elders and all the Sanhedrin sought false witness against Jesus, in order to put Him to death.  (60)  But they found none; yea, though many false witnesses came, they found none.

Luke 23:1-4 MKJV
And rising up, all the multitude of them led Him before Pilate.  (2)  And they began to accuse Him, saying, We have found this one perverting the nation and forbidding them to give tribute to Caesar, saying himself to be a king, Christ.  (3)  And Pilate asked Him, saying, Are you the king of the Jews? And He answered him and said, You say it.  (4)  And Pilate said to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man.

Luke 23:13-17 MKJV
And when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people,  (14)  Pilate said to them, You have brought this Man to me as perverting the people. And behold, having examined Him before you, I have found no fault in this Man regarding those things of which you accuse Him;  (15)  no, nor even Herod, for I sent you to him, and lo, nothing worthy of death has been done by Him.  (16)  Therefore I will chastise Him and release Him.  (17)  (For it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast.)

Luke 23:22 MKJV
And he said to them the third time, Why? What evil has He done? I have found no cause of death in Him, therefore I will chastise Him and let Him go.

These are the events that show us the examination and then slaughter of Yeshua. He was, and is, that Lamb of Yehovah.

Now let us look at the chronology of these events which again will prove that He was killed on the Wednesday and rose again three days after at the end of the Sabbath.

John 11:55-57 MKJV
And the Jews’ Passover was near. And many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover in order to purify themselves.  (56)  Then they sought Jesus, and spoke with one another as they stood in the temple, What does it seem to you, that He will not at all come to the feast?  (57)  And all the chief priests and the Pharisees had given commands, that if anyone knew where He was, he should make it known so that they might seize Him.

It is close to Passover and then we read

John 12:1 MKJV
Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was (who had died, whom He raised from the dead).

Six days before Passover. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Passover was on the Thursday. It was the High day John mentions.

Passover is eaten after the sunset at the end of the 14th day when the lambs are killed. Yeshua was killed and was our Passover lamb killed at 3 PM on Wednesday afternoon or the ‘evening’ of the 14th of Nisan.

The following shows you the days of the week according to the crescent moon to begin the month of Nisan. There are no other months that match this in any year except 31 AD when Yeshua began his ministry.

Month-1-Passover

The Passover meal would then be eaten that night after the sun had set (14th of Nisan concludes) and the 15th of Nisan was just beginning.

Now let us count back six days and double-check on the calendar above.

Wednesday, 14th of Nisan, is one.

Tuesday, 13th of Nisan is two.

Monday, 12th of Nisan is three.

Sunday, 11th of Nisan is four.

Saturday, 10th of Nisan is five.

Friday, 9th of Nisan, is the sixth day and the day Yeshua arrives at the house of Simon the leper, in Bethany. Lazarus, Mary and Martha are present. And Yeshua is anointed here.

Matthew 26:6-13 MKJV
And when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper

Notice that Mary made Him supper. So now the 6th day has passed, and Sunset has occurred, and they are now into the Sabbath, Friday twilight evening/night, the 10th of Nisan, 31A.D. They are having a Sabbath meal.

Then, in verse 3, we read about the oil being poured on the Feet of Yeshua by Mary (same story in Matthew 26:6-13) and how Judas rebuked her and then was himself rebuked.

John 12:3-8 MKJV
Then Mary took a pound of ointment of pure spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.  (4)  Then said one of His disciples (Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who was to betray Him)  (5)  Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?  (6)  He said this, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and held the moneybag and carried the things put in.  (7)  Then Jesus said, Let her alone. She has kept this for the day of My burial.  (8)  For you have the poor with you always; but you do not always have Me.

John then goes on to tell us of the crowd that came to see both Yeshua and Lazarus. This was not at supper time but had to have been on the Sabbath during the daytime period.

John 12:9-11 MKJV
Then a great crowd of the Jews learned that He was there. And they did not come for Jesus’ sake only, but also that they might see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  (10)  But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus to death also,  (11)  because many of the Jews went away and believed on Jesus because of him.

There is something here to point out as almost everyone misses. This Sabbath day when Yeshua was in the home of Simon the leper and all these people came on the Sabbath to see both Him and Lazarus was, in fact, the 10th day of the month when you are to select the lamb and bring it into your home. This is what Simon, Mary, Martha and Lazarus did. And so did the crowd that came the daytime period. They all selected Yeshua as their lamb.

Mark and Luke have nothing about this meeting taking place at the home of Simon the leper.

All three of them then begin with Yeshua coming from Bethpage to the Mount of Olives just before Jerusalem.

This is now Sunday, 11th of Nisan, 31A.D. during the daytime. It is what has been called Palm Sunday.

Continuing in John from where we just left off, he says the next day after these men came to see them at Lazarus’s house.

John 12:12-19 MKJV
On the next day, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, a great crowd who had come to the Feast  (13)  took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him. And they cried, Hosanna! “Blessed is the King of Israel who comes in the name of the Lord!”  (14)  And finding an ass colt, Jesus sat on it; as it is written,  (15)  “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King comes sitting on the foal of an ass.”  (16)  But His disciples did not know these things at the first. But when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him.  (17)  Then the crowd witnessed, those who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead.  (18)  Because of this the crowd also met Him, because they heard that He had done this miracle.  (19)  Then the Pharisees said among themselves, Do you see how you gain nothing? Behold, the world has gone after Him.

Mark then is going to describe the same thing and then give us another bit of information.

Mark 11:1-11 MKJV  And when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent out two of His disciples.  (2)  And He said to them, Go into the village over across from you. And as soon as you have entered into it, you will find a colt tied, on which no one of men has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.  (3)  And if anyone says to you, Why do you do this? Say that the Lord has need of him, and immediately he will send him here.  (4)  And they went, and they found the colt tied by the door outside, in a place where two ways met. And they untied him.  (5)  And certain of those who stood there said to them, What are you doing, untying the colt?  (6)  And they said to them even as Jesus had commanded. And they let them go.  (7)  And they brought the colt to Jesus, and they threw their garments on it. And He sat on it.  (8)  And many spread their garments in the way, and others cut down branches off the trees and scattered them in the way.  (9)  And those going before, and those following, cried out, saying, Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!  (10)  Blessed is the kingdom of our father David, who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!  (11)  And Jesus entered into Jerusalem and into the temple. And when He had looked around on all things, the hour already being late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

This is Sunday, and Yeshua rides in on a colt on this Palm Sunday and then goes up to the Temple and looks around, and then leaves, going back to Bethany because it is already late. Mark then continues and tells us the event of the next day which is now Monday, 12th of Nisan, 31 AD.

Mark 11:12-19 MKJV
And on the next day, they going out of Bethany, He was hungry.  (13)  And seeing a fig-tree with leaves afar off, He went to it, if perhaps He might find anything on it. And when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season of figs.  (14)  And Jesus answered and said to it, No one shall eat fruit of you forever. And His disciples heard.  (15)  And they came to Jerusalem. And entering into the temple, Jesus began to cast out those who bought and sold in the temple. And He overthrew the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  (16)  And He would not allow any to carry a vessel through the temple.  (17)  And He taught, saying to them, Is it not written, “My house shall be called the house of prayer for all nations?” But you have made it a den of thieves.  (18)  And the scribes and the chief priests heard. And they sought how they might destroy Him. For they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His doctrine.  (19)  And when evening came, He went out of the city.

We have now come to the evening, the time of long shadows, the end of the Monday, 12th of Nisan, 31 AD.

Mark then goes on to tell us about the events that took place on Tuesday, 13th of Nisan, 31 AD.

Mark 11:20-24 MKJV
And passing on early, they saw the fig-tree dried up from the roots.  (21)  And Peter, remembering, said to Him, Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which You cursed has withered away.  (22)  And answering Jesus said to them, Have faith of God.  (23)  For truly I say to you that whoever shall say to this mountain, Be moved and be cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he said shall occur, he shall have whatever he said.  (24)  Therefore I say to you, All things, whatever you ask, praying, believe that you shall receive them, and it will be to you.

You can read all the events that happened on that Tuesday in Mark up until Chapter 13. Then we read about Yeshua leaving the Temple and heading back over to the Mount of Olives when He then explains about the end times.

Mark 13:1-7 MKJV
And as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, Master, see! What stones and what buildings!  (2)  And answering Jesus said to him, Do you see these great buildings? There shall not be one stone left on another that shall not be thrown down.  (3)  And as He sat on the Mount of Olives, across from the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked Him privately,  (4)  Tell us, When shall all these things be? And what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?  (5)  And Jesus answering them began to say, Beware that no one deceive you.  (6)  For many shall come in My name, saying, I AM, and shall deceive many.  (7)  And when you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled. For it must happen, but the end shall not be yet.

Mark then goes on to say in Mark 14 that after two days, it will be Passover. This was on that Tuesday.

So we can count 2 days to end of Wednesday, and after sunset, which is then Thursday, 15th of Nisan, 31 AD. This is when Passover was, and it is two days away.

       SUN                MON            TUE               WED             THU              FRI            SABBATH

11-17DaysNisan31AD

Mark 14:1 MKJV
And after two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by craft and kill Him.

In Mathew 26:1, we read the same statement, only this time by Yeshua Himself

Matthew 26:1-2 MKJV
And it happened when Jesus finished all these sayings, He said to His disciples,  (2)  You know that after two days the Passover comes, and the Son of Man is betrayed to be crucified.

Then, further on in Mathew 26, we read about them getting ready to keep the Passover, and this is still that same Tuesday, 13th of Nisan, 31 AD.

Matthew 26:17-22 MKJV  And on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, Where do You desire that we prepare for You to eat the Passover?  (18)  And He said, Go into the city to such a man, and say to him, The Master said, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.  (19)  And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them. And they made the Passover ready.  (20)  And when evening had come, He sat down with the Twelve.  (21)  And as they ate, He said, Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.  (22)  And grieving sorrowfully, they began to say, each one of them, Lord, not I am the one?

I have to take this moment and deviate for one second. Many use this verse to justify keeping Passover on the wrong day. Below is a commentary on this one verse. It is now Tuesday, and at Sunset will be the beginning of Wednesday, 14th of Nisan, 31 AD and the Preparation Day. Passover is still two days away. Passover will be on the Thursday. The entire 7 Days of Unleavened Bread plus the Preparation Day beforehand are spoken of as the eight days of Unleavened Bread, or they are spoken of as the eight days of Passover.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
17. the first day of the feast of unleavened bread] This was the 14th of Nisan, which commenced after sunset on the 13th; it was also called the preparation (paraskeué) of the Passover. The feast of unleavened bread followed the Passover, and lasted seven days, from the 15th to the 21st of Nisan. Hence the two feasts are sometimes included in the term “Passover,” sometimes in that of “unleavened bread.” On the evening of 13th of Nisan every head of the family carefully searched for and collected by the light of a candle all the leaven, which was kept and destroyed before midday on the 14th. The offering of the lamb took place on the 14th at the evening sacrifice, which on this day commenced at 1.30; or if the preparation fell on a Friday, at 12.30. The paschal meal was celebrated after sunset on the 14th, i. e. strictly on the 15th of Nisan.

The events of the Passover are full of difficulty for the harmonist. It is however almost certain that the “Last Supper” was not the paschal meal, but was partaken of on the 13th, that is prior to sunset on the 13th of Nisan. It is quite certain, from John 18:28, that Jesus was crucified on the Preparation Day, and although the synoptic narratives seem at first sight to disagree with this, it is probably only the want of a complete knowledge of the facts that creates the apparent discrepancy.

The key verse here is, And when evening came, they sat down to eat this supper meal. But it was not the Passover meal, as it was still one day away. Remember, before the sunset, Yeshua said it was still two days away. This is now Tuesday evening, which is prior to sunset and the start of the 14th of Nisan. The 14th of Nisan is the very day Yeshua is to be killed at the same time that the lambs are killed, which is at 3 PM in the afternoon. It is on this fateful Tuesday night, being after sunset is now the 14th day of the 1st month when that the chain of events takes place with His arrest and where in the daytime the lambs are slaughtered at 3 PM in the afternoon.

Friday, Sabbath Preparation Day, was the 9th day of Nisan.

Saturday, Sabbath, was the 10th day of Nisan.

Sunday was the 11th day of Nisan.

Monday was the 12th Day of Nisan.

Tuesday was the 13th day of Nisan.

Wednesday was the 14th day of Nisan and the Preparation Day of the Passover.

Wednesday, after sunset, becomes the 15th day of Nisan and the Passover

The Lamb was anointed and examined during the preceding Sabbath on the 10th of Nisan. On this final day when the lamb is to be slaughtered, 14th of Nisan, Pilot will find no fault in him three times.

Sunday was not the 10th day of the month of Nisan that year. Sabbath was. And the Lamb of God was selected and taken in the home of Lazarus, Martha and Mary on the 10th day as were the lambs for Passover that year. Yeshua was taken into the home of people that He loved.

When people assume or presume that Sunday is the 10th day because of Yeshua riding on the colt, they then create the confusion that we presently have. Those people think this Sunday was the 10th, they then assume that Yeshua must have been killed on the Thursday.

So, we go back to the beginning presumption statement highlighted above. It is this opening statement that causes the deception in the exact same way that Satan deceived Eve in the Garden Of Eden. Satan does not deny the facts; he just twists them a little to cause doubt and confusion.

That opening presumptive statement states that Palm Sunday is the 10th day when the Lamb is selected and therefore, the 14th is Thursday. The deception was in causing you to assume Palm Sunday was the 10th of Nisan. The deception then goes on, having already told you that the 10th day was Palm Sunday, to solidify that deception by saying if it was not on Sunday, then would Yeshua ride the colt into Jerusalem on the Sabbath? Obviously not. But they have now presumed and also, now have you thinking that the ride into Jerusalem had to take place on the 10th of Nisan.

And by now, you have bought into the lie and fallen for the deception and subsequently causes you to have doubts about many things.

Yeshua was selected by Lazarus, Martha and Mary with the apostles that Sabbath evening when He was invited into their homes. This was the start of the 10th of Nisan when the lambs were selected. The next morning, that very same Sabbath, many Jews came to examine Him and to meet Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. Then, on Sunday, the 11th of Nisan, Yeshua rode into Jerusalem.

The chronology is there for you to understand. This same chronology also shows you that Yeshua knew when the Passover meal was to be eaten. He did not eat the Passover meal with the apostles. That was something different. For now, understand the chronology of events and study the calendar.

When you read the events of Passover in 1379 BC when the exodus took place, read it and look at the days of the week so you can understand.

Month-1-Passover-1379BC

The Passover

Exodus 12:1-19 MKJV
And Jehovah spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,  (2)  This month shall be to you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you.  (3)  Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth of this month they shall take to them each man a lamb for a father’s house, a lamb for a house.  (4)  And if the household is too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take according to the number of the souls, each one, according to the eating of his mouth, you shall count concerning the lamb.  (5)  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You shall take from the sheep or from the goats.  (6)  And you 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 some of the blood and strike on the two side posts and upon the upper door post of the houses in which they shall eat it.  (8)  And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roasted with fire, and unleavened bread. They shall eat it with bitter herbs.  (9)  Do not eat of it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted with fire, its head with its legs, and with its inward parts.  (10)  And you shall not let any of it remain until the morning. And that which remains of it until the morning you shall burn with fire.  (11)  And you shall eat of it this way, with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in a hurry. It is Jehovah’s passover.  (12)  For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. I am Jehovah.  (13)  And the blood shall be a sign to you upon the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And the plague shall not be upon you for a destruction when I smite in the land of Egypt.  (14)  And this day shall be a memorial to you. And you shall keep it as a feast to Jehovah throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by a law forever.  (15)  You shall eat unleavened bread seven days; even the first day you shall put away leaven out of your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.  (16)  And on the first day shall be a holy gathering, and in the seventh day there shall be a holy gathering for you. No manner of work shall be done in them, except that which every man must eat, that only may be done by you.  (17)  And you shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For in this same day I have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall keep this day in your generations by a law forever.  (18)  In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.  (19)  Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses. For whoever eats that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, among the aliens and among the natives of the land.

Which day is the Passover meal to be eaten? This is the Test. Did Yehovah, who is the same yesterday, today and forever, change the Passover meal dates from the 15th to the 14th? This is a test! Did Yeshua, who said, I change not, change the date to from the 15th to the 14th? It is a test. Run to the banner, the flag of Yehovah.

It is just a test, as you practice this year after year. But all tests are created so that when the day comes and you need to put into practice what you have learned, you will be able to do so correctly. Although Passover took place 3403 years ago, the day of our knowledge of this event will be tested in in 2030A.D.

The Torah Calendar below are the calendar dates expected for 2030AD.

TorahCalendarPassover2030AD

Do you know when to eat the meal and when to flee? This is when the test becomes real with deadly consequences for those who fail to get it right.

Yehovah tests those who love Him. It is just a test.

Passover according to the Hillel calendar, for the year 2030AD, starts on the evening of Thursday, April 18th and ends with the 7-day festival at sunset on Wednesday, April 24th. Do you know for sure1HINT: No, it is NOT CORRECT… you will KNOW that if you have read, and understood, all of the teaching in the section, END-TIMES.? It is just a test.

Understanding Traditions in Jesus’ Time

The Se’udat-Siyum

We now need to take another look at what took place on the night Yehshua was betrayed and relook at the events of this night. 13th of Nisan was Tuesday. Do not forget the day begins with sunset. Tuesday is the day before the preparation day for Passover. At the end of this the 13th of Nisan, and the start of the 14th, which is the start of the Preparation Day, the disciples had the special meal that we call, The Last Supper.

There was a tradition which in Hebrew is called, seudah maphsehket; this translates essentially to “last supper”. This last supper is about remembering that it was not ALL Hebrews who were in danger from death at God’s hand in Egypt, but ONLY the firstborn sons. So, a special evening meal was adopted whereby this meal would be eaten and then there would then be a 24 hour fast that followed……thus the name “last supper”. The next meal to be eaten was the Passover meal after the 14th had passed and the start of the 15th of Nisan was just beginning.

It is at the start of the 14th day of Nisan at this seudah maphsehket that Yeshua says to commemorate this day by drinking wine that symbolizes His blood that establishes the New Covenant, and by eating leavened bread that symbolizes His body.

After having the last supper, Judas leaves. It was now night (end of the evening – John 13:30). The next event is that Judas betrays Him and shortly after midnight Yehshua is arrested. It is still The Preparation Day. In the wee hours a little before sunrise, He is tried and convicted of blasphemy by the Sanhedrin. It is still Preparation Day. After the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, confirms his death sentence Yehshua is scourged and then nailed to the tree by Roman soldiers. It is still The Preparation Day, Wednesday, 14th of Nisan, 31 C.E.

When Yehshua dies at 3 pm in the afternoon on this Preparation Day, it is the exact same time the slaughter of the Passover Lambs begins in the Temple grounds. Somewhere around ¼ million sheep will be killed and their blood collected between the hours of 3 pm and 6 pm. It is still Preparation Day because the sun has not yet set and after sunset then the Passover meals are eaten with these lambs which have just been killed and roasted in the Temple area.

The Fast of the First Born

Let’s understand one thing very clearly: The final meal Yeshua had with his disciples was NOT THE PASSOVER! The Passover was very plainly not yet come. John, in describing this final meal Yeshua had with his disciples, said, “Now BEFORE the feast of the Passover” (John 13:1). He plainly shows this meal or banquet was BEFORE the true Passover, which was scheduled to be eaten and observed the next night, 15th of Nisan (John 18:18). The next day the Jews would still be “preparing” for the Passover (John 19:14, 31). Therefore, what exactly WAS this “last meal”?

What few have realized, not being familiar with Jewish customs of the time of Yeshua, is that this meal could not have been the Passover, since Passover lambs would not be slain until the following afternoon, and then eaten in the homes of the Jews on the night of the actual “Passover” — when YEHOVAH slew the firstborn in the land of Egypt and “passed over” the Israelites — 15th of Nisan. Yet obviously, this final meal was very important — a meal of close fellowship and spiritual significance.

A Jewish Look at the Last Supper

Says David H. Stern, in the Jewish New Testament Commentary:

“The Last Supper is considered by most scholars to have been a Passover meal or Seder. Many Pesach themes are deepened, reinforced and given new levels of meaning by events in the life of Yeshua the Messiah and by his words on this night. However, Joseph Shulam has suggested that it may not have been the Seder but a se’udat-mitzvah, the CELEBRATORY ‘BANQUET accompanying performance of a commandment’ such as a wedding or b’ rit-milah.

“Here is the background for his argument. When a rabbi and his students finish studying a tractate of the Talmud, they celebrate with a se’udat-mitzvah (also called a se’udat-siyum, ‘banquet of completion,’ i.e., graduation). The Fast of the Firstborn, expressing gratitude for the saving of Israel’s firstborn sons from the tenth plague, has been prescribed for the day before Pesach, Nisan 14, at least since Mishnaic times. When it is necessary to eat a se’udat-mitzvah, this takes precedence over a fast. With a modicum of foresight a rabbi can plan to complete a tractate on Nisan 14 and thus avoid having to fast; doing so is not construed as cheating, and in fact it has become the custom. “The tradition of the Fast of the Firstborn dates at least from Mishanic times. But, Shulam reasons, if it goes back a couple of centuries more to the time of Yeshua, and if the si’udat siyum custom applied in the first century to the completing of any course of study, then Yeshua might have arranged to have himself and his talmidim [students, disciples] finish reading a book of the Tanakh on Nisan 14. Or, since Yeshua knew he was going to die, he may have regarded it as appropriate to complete his disciples’ earthly ‘course of study’ with a BANQUET. This solution would also resolve the perceived conflict between Yochanan [John] and the Synoptic Gospels over the timing of the Last Supper” JNT, p. 77).

In other words, there is much more to this passage in 1 Corinthians 11, and its meaning, than we have supposed. Although there is no doubt that Yeshua the Messiah presented the new meanings of the leavened bread and the wine as representing his broken body and shed blood, given on our behalf, at the last supper, and that these symbols are directly involved in the Passover Seder, held on the 15th of Nisan, it is also a fact that this final meal was ONE DAY before the Passover.

It is also a fact that Yeshua did not tell his disciples that they should institute a NEW COMMANDMENT, or a new “holy day,” and begin observing the 14th of Nisan, at the eve, as a memorial of this “last supper.”

However, he was having a “final banquet” with them — a special and unique “fellowship meal” with them, where all were relaxed, reclining, at ease, and experiencing a very close oneness with each other. This was similar to a Passover Seder in some respects — yet, different.

The Greek Word “Artos”

Interestingly, when Yeshua held this final dinner with his disciples, the word John used to describe “supper” is:

G1173 δεῖπνον  Deipnon (dipe’-non) supper, the principal meal, dinner, especially a formal meal usually held at the evening.

Deipnon is the word used for the last supper that Yeshua held with his disciples. Other main meals of the day (see Mark 6:21; Luke 14:12, 16, 17, 24; 22:20; John 12:2; 13:21, 4; I Cor. 11:20-21; Rev. 19:9, 17) also use the word, Deipnon. This word is NEVER used of an annual Festival, or of the Passover. However, it simply refers to the MAIN MEAL of the day, usually at evening.

Furthermore, at this final dinner or banquet, there is no mention of a lamb being eaten — which would have been necessary if this were the Passover. The gospel accounts would hardly have neglected to mention such an important feature.

But even more interesting is the fact that Jewish custom of that time, and always, has dictated that UNLEAVENED BREAD was not to be eaten during the days before the FEAST of Unleavened Bread, so that the Feast would be set apart as distinct and real. For unleavened bread to have been eaten BEFORE the Festival would have diminished its importance during the Feast itself! Therefore, if Yeshua and his disciples had eaten “unleavened bread” on the night of the 14th of Nisan, they would have violated Jewish custom and practice. It is very interesting, therefore, to notice that when Yeshua sat down at dinner, at that final meal with his disciples, “as they were eating, Yeshua took bread, and blessed it [many Greek copies have, “gave thanks”], and broke it, and gave to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body” (Matt. 26:26). The word for “bread” is:

G740  ἄρτος Artos (ar’-tos) 1. food composed of flour mixed with water and baked, 1a. the Israelites made it in the form of an oblong or round cake, as thick as one’s thumb, and as large as a plate or platter hence it was not to be cut but broken. 1b. loaves were consecrated to the Lord. 1c. of the bread used at the love-feasts and at the Lord’s Table. 2. food of any kind.
Strong’s: From G142; bread (as raised) or a loaf: – (shew-) bread loaf.

Artos is the same word used in Matthew 4:3-4, “man does not live by bread alone,” in Matthew 6:11, “our daily bread,” and Matthew 16:12,”the leaven of bread,” etc. This word is often used of LEAVENED BREAD!

Generally, whenever UNLEAVENED bread is meant, this word is preceded by the Greek word for “unleavened,”

G106  ἄζυμος  Azumos (ad’-zoo-mos) 1. unfermented, free from leaven or yeast 1a. of the unleavened loaves used in the paschal feast of the Jews 1b. metaph. free from faults or the leaven of iniquit.
Strong’s: From G1 (as a negative particle) and G2219; unleavened that is (figuratively) uncorrupted; (in the neuter plural) specifically (by implication) the Passover week: – unleavened (bread).

But in the three synoptic gospel accounts of the last supper of Yeshua and his disciples, Matthew 26:26, Mark 14:22, Luke 22:19, the writers always use ONLY THE WORD ARTOS, meaning BREAD — without the modifying word azumos to designate “unleavened.” Therefore, the clear indication is that AT THE LAST SUPPER YESHUA USED NORMAL LEAVENED BREAD, when he blessed and broke it, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body”!

This, therefore, is further proof that this dinner was not and could not have been the PASSOVER!

The Real Bread at the “Last Supper”

Further proof that Yeshua and his disciples did NOT and could not have eaten the “Passover,” with its unleavened bread, at the “last supper” on the eve or beginning of the 14th of Nisan, is plain and simple Jewish law (halakha) of the time. It is a historical fact that when the Scriptures use the expression “kept the Passover” (Ezra 6:19) it refers strictly to the slaying of the Passover lamb, on the 14th of Nisan, whereas the expression “eat the Passover” was fulfilled the coming evening of the 15th of Nisan which was the beginning of the eating of unleavened bread on “the night to be much observed.” The reason why this evening was called “the night to be much observed” was because the Passover meal was always eaten as the first meal in the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Also, according to Jewish law of the times (halakha), it was absolutely forbidden to eat unleavened bread during the 24-hour period prior to the first night of Unleavened Bread! This was a distinction made by law to sanctify (set apart) the sacred meaning of the Feast from whatever they may have eaten for bread on the previous days. This means that Yeshua and the disciples could not have eaten unleavened bread the evening prior to the “night to be much observed”!

Also, the gospels indicate that Yeshua was keeping the Fast of the Firstborn during the daylight hours of the crucifixion day — this was a daytime fast observed by all firstborn Jews on the Preparation Day in remembrance of YEHOVAH God protecting the firstborn of Israel while killing the firstborn of Egypt; this also explains Yeshua’s remark in:

Matthew 26:29 MKJV
But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.

Obviously, Yeshua did not drink any wine the following day. Furthermore, this explains why he refused to accept the vinegar mixed with gall mentioned in Matthew 27:34. The Hebrew text of Matthew’s gospel written by the Spanish Jewish scholar Shem-Tov ben-Shaprut (c. 1380 A.D.) reads: “and gave him wine mixed with gall. But when he began to drink it he perceived and would not drink it.” Yeshua must have remembered he was observing the Fast of the Firstborn. The Greek word for “taste” used in this verse produced a false impression. Yeshua remembered before he drank and swallowed.

Clearly, then, the “bread” which Yeshua broke and gave to his disciples during the beginning portion of the 14th of Nisan, in the evening, at his final “supper” with them, must have been and indeed was LEAVENED BREAD!

But can this be? Can leavened bread, as well as unleavened bread, represent the body of Yeshua the Messiah?

The answer is a resounding YES!

In Leviticus 23:17, regarding the feast of Pentecost, we read:

Leviticus 23:17 MKJV
You shall bring out of your homes two wave loaves of two-tenth parts. They shall be of fine flour. They shall be baked with leaven, firstfruits to Jehovah.

Leaven, in this case, certainly does not represent SIN, as nothing “contaminated” or “sinful” could ever be offered to YEHOVAH God. To offer “sins” to YEHOVAH would be sacrilegious — blasphemy — like offering swine’s flesh (Isa. 66:3, 17).

Notice, therefore, what the Jamieson, Faussett and Brown Commentary has to say on this passage in Leviticus 23:

“These loaves were made of “fine” or wheaten flour, the quantity contained in them being somewhat more than ten pounds weight. As the wave-sheaf gave the signal for the commencement, the two loaves solemnized the termination of the harvest season. They were the first-fruits of that season, being offered unto the Lord by the priest in name of the whole nation (see on Exo. 34:22). The loaves used at the Passover were UNLEAVENED, those presented at Pentecost were LEAVENED — a difference which is thus accounted for, — that the one was a memorial of the bread hastily prepared at their departure, while the other was a TRIBUTE OF GRATITUDE TO GOD for their daily food, which was leavened…” (vol. 1, p.498).

However, even “leavened bread” is a TYPE of the body of the Messiah and represents “his flesh” which he gave for the sins of the world. To the Jews, unleavened or flat bread represented affliction and poverty, as when the Israelites came out of Egypt; but leavened loaves of bread, as were sacrificed at Pentecost to the Lord (Leviticus 23:17), typify ABUNDANCE, richness, wealth. The typology should be clear. The Messiah crucified was in affliction, flatness, abject, beaten, bruised, pierced, pummelled — the perfect type being unleavened bread. The Messiah as the richness of the abundance of life, life-giving bread, is pictured by the loaves of beautiful, sweet-smelling leavened bread! Don’t all of us enjoy a beautiful loaf of home-made leavened whole wheat bread straight out of the oven steaming? Therefore, the richness of leavened bread also symbolizes Yeshua the Messiah, the “bread of life.” Notice!

“The BREAD of Life”

In John chapter 6, when Yeshua fed the multitude from a few loaves of bread and a few fishes, he declared,

John 6:35 MKJV
And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes on Me shall never thirst.

John 6:48-50 MKJV
I am the Bread of life.  (49)  Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and died.  (50)  This is the Bread which comes down from Heaven, so that a man may eat of it and not die.

John 6:51 MKJV
I am the Living Bread which came down from Heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread, he shall live forever. And truly the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

John 6:53-58 MKJV
Then Jesus says to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you do not have life in yourselves.  (54)  Whoever partakes of My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.  (55)  For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.  (56)  He who partakes of My flesh and drinks My blood dwells in Me, and I in him.  (57)  As the living Father has sent Me, and I live through the Father, so he who partakes of Me, even he shall live by Me.  (58)  This is the Bread which came down from Heaven, not as your fathers ate the manna, and died; he who partakes of this Bread shall live forever.

Yeshua, then, is the “bread of life.” This is a reality. This is not just Passover. Throughout the year, every day, day in and day out, Yeshua the Messiah remains and is the “bread of life” which came down from heaven! We should be eating of this “bread” daily as we study the Scriptures! Yeshua went on to declare:

John 6:63 MKJV
It is the Spirit that makes alive, the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and are life.

Thus, even regular bread is a type of the richness of the life-giving bread of Yeshua the Messiah! In this sense, the leaven represents fullness and abundance.

True Christians, as members of the body of the Messiah, also are “one bread” in the Messiah!

Let’s now let’s return to: A Menu of Important Things.


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    HINT: No, it is NOT CORRECT… you will KNOW that if you have read, and understood, all of the teaching in the section, END-TIMES.