By Herb Evans
With comments in blue by John Henry
Evans' primary error in this article is that he moves the killing of the Passover lamb from the evening of the 14th to the afternoon of the 14th. Note that the evening is the beginning of the Biblical day. Exodus 12:6 refutes this false notion and lays it to rest. -- John Henry
In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even [sunset], ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. -- Ex. 12:18
In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. -- Ez. 45:21
Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. -- Luke 22:1 . . .
The confusion over the Passover is not to recognize the fact that the Passover was a day, a feast, a season,
a week, a lamb, a sacrifice, a meal, and a Person in the O.T as well as the N.T. and that it lasted
EIGHT DAYS (all of which were called the Passover - a feast of one day and a feast of seven days).
Outright pontification! No where in the Bible is it indicated that Passover is a WEEK or EIGHT DAYS. There can be no confusion for anyone who will lay aside preconceived ideas and simple believe the Bible. The confusion is not because the Passover is a day, a feast, a season (appointed time), a lamb, a sacrifice, a meal, and a Person. The Confusion is because 1) feast, sacrifice, meal, season all occurred on the same day, but the fact is denied and 2) Evans tries to force it to be a week, but it is not called such anywhere in the Bible which in fact refutes such a claim. Christ died on one day and that say was Passover. That was the symbolic and prophetic meaning of Passover, and He died but once in one day. -- John Henry Concerning Evans' confusion on Ezekiel 45:21: The most likely answer is that the two feasts are separated only by a comma. Furthermore, the verse is in the last chapters of Ezekiel which concern the Millennium, so it is likely that the verse concerns a future modified Passover. The verses following verse 21 speak of a bullock being offered in Passover for a sin offering and on the following seven days of the separate Feast of Unleavened Bread seven bullocks and seven rams are to be offered each day. These were not originally prescribed in Exodus 12. One thing is for sure though, they are not one feast, but two, otherwise the Bible would contradict it's self, and that in not possibility. -- John HenryConcerning Evans' confusion on Luke 22:1 it says, "Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. ..." This does not call THE Feast of Unleavened Bread, Passover. It rather calls Passover, a "feast of unleavened bread." As in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, likewise on Passover unleavened bread is not to be eaten making it a "feast of unleavened bread." However, it is clearly a distinct feast from the Feast of Unleavened Bread. -- John Henry
The two feasts are clearly differentiate. Passover is spoken of in the singular, they have different dates specified, to combine them would reduce the seven feasts of Israel to six, and they have different memorial, as well as symbolic meanings. -- John HenryTHE FEAST OF PASSOVER: "And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. ... 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. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it A FEAST by AN ORDINANCE for ever." (Exodus 12:8, 11-14)
The Lord's Passover is an ordinance and a feast, both referred to in the singular. Just one ordinance establishing one feast. -- John Henry
THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD: "Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever." (Exodus 12:15-17)PASSOVER & UNLEAVENED BREAD TOGETHER: "And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the passover of the LORD. And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten." (Numbers 28:16-17) "These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’S passover. 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. In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein." (Leveticus 23:4-8)The "Passover" and "feast of unleavened bread" are clearly separated here. The feasts of the LORD are these seven: 1) the Passover feast (Lev. 23:5) which is a picture of the death of Christ, 2) the feast of Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:6-8), a type of the burial of the sinlessness Christ, 3) the feast of Firstfruits (Lev. 23:9-14) which is symbolic of the resurrection of Christ, 4) the feast of Pentecost (Lev. 23:15-21) which was a picture of the enduement of the church with power from on high, 5) the feast of Trumpets (Lev 23:23-25) which is a type of the Rapture, 6) the Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:26-32), symbolizing of the Tribulation, 7) the feast of Tabernacles (Lev 23:33-43) picturing the Millennial reign of Christ. There are 7 feasts, not 6! -- John Henry
. . .
In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house . . . Your lamb shall be without blemish . . . 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. 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. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. . . .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. . . . and when I see the blood, I will pass over you . . . And THIS DAY shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe THIS DAY in your generations by an ordinance for ever. 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. Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses . . .
-- Ex. 12:3-19
Let the children of Israel also keep the passover [sacrifice] at his appointed season. In the fourteenth day of this month, at even [sunset], ye shall keep it in his appointed SEASON . . . And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the Passover [sacrifice]. And they kept the passover [sacrifice] on the fourteenth day of the first month at even [at the going down of the sun] in the wilderness of Sinai ... -- Num. 9:2-5
And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the passover [sacrifice] of the LORD. And in the fifteenth day of this month is the FEAST: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. In the first day shall be an holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work therein . . . After this manner ye shall offer daily, throughout the seven days, the MEAT of the SACRIFICE made by fire . . . And on the seventh day ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work. -- Num. 28:16-18, 24, 25
And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; ON THE MORROW AFTER THE PASSOVER [sacrifice] the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians. -- Num. 33:3
In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD'S passover. 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. In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein [High Day Sabbath]. -- Lev. 23:5-7
Observe the month of Abib [also Nisan], and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. Thou shalt therefore SACRIFICE the passover unto the LORD thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to place his name there. Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread . . . But AT the PLACE which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt SACRIFICE the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the SEASON that thou camest forth out of Egypt. And thou shalt roast and eat it IN the PLACE which the LORD thy God shall choose [the FIRST DAY] . . . Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work therein. -- Deut 16:1-8And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover [sacrifice] on the fourteenth DAY of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. And they did eat of the old corn of the land ON THE MORROW AFTER THE PASSOVER, unleavened cakes . . . --
Josh 5:10, 11
The first meal of unleavened bread, at the end of the 13th of Nisan or Abib, at sundown, and began the 14th, while the couple hundred thousand lambs were still being roasted. The next meal with unleavened bread occurred in the first day of the seven day feast of unleavened bread, at the end of the 14th, at sundown or the beginning of the 15th, which was a High Day Sabbath or Holy Day of Convocation as was the 21st and stood apart from the Passover Day sacrifice, which was distinct and apart from the seven day FEAST of lamb and unleavened bread.
Very good so far. -- John Henry
This week long "feast of unleavened bread" with lamb is also CALLED the "Passover" (Luke 22:1 and Ezek. 45:21) and scripturally referred to the "Passover" feast of seven days. These unleavened meals were a total of eight days of unleavened bread from the 14th to the 21st.
No, neither Ezekiel 45:21 nor Luke 22:1 call the seven feast of unleavened bread, Passover. These two verses were dealt with above, but to recap, according to Scripture the Passover is only one day (Lev 23:5), but the Feast of Unleavened Bread is seven days (Lev 23:6). That totals eight, not seven. Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23 are clearly talking about two different feasts. In Luke 22:1 where it says, "Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover" (cf. Ex 34:25) does not make "the Feast of Unleavened Bread" (Lev 23:6), Passover also. They are two different feasts of unleavened bread (Lev 23:5-6) Luke 22:1 just does not call the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Passover, but rather calls it "the feast of unleavened bread ... which is called the Passover." There is no reason to think that they are one in the same, because the Scriptures separate the two feasts of unleavened bread. There is the one day feast of unleavened bread which is called the Passover, and there is also the seven day feast of unleavened bread which is called The Feast Of Unleavened Bread (Lev 23:5-6; Ex 34:25). -- John Henry
Here are the procedural and chronological facts of these passages of the first Passover.
1. Every man took a lamb on the 10th day, a lamb per household (except for small families).
2. The lamb was killed and roasted on the 14th, to be a memorial throughout Jewish generations.
3. The whole assembly partook in the killing of the lamb with the priests and Levites officiating.
4. The slain lamb’s blood was put on the doors.*
5. The Passover was the sacrifice of the Passover and was to be kept.
6. The lamb was eaten at the end of the 14th at NIGHT on the 15th at sundown.
7. The shoes were to be on, staff in hand, no doubt standing, and eating in haste. *
8. This meal began the 15th, which was the first day of the feast, holy convocation, high day Sabbath.
9. The 15th followed the Passover 14th and began the Passover Week or Feast of unleavened bread.
10. Six more days were to follow of unleavened bread and roast lamb until the 21st.
11. In total, there were 8 days of eating unleavened bread. **
12. The Passover Sacrifice Day of unleavened bread was to be kept, and the 7 Day Feast was to be kept of lamb and unleavened bread each and every meal of the seven day feast. A distinction was to be made between the two parts of the Passover.
* Note 1: It may be noted that the observance of number 2 and number 7 were not recorded in the Gospels:
** Note 2: From the 14th to the 21st are eight days not seven. The Passover sacrifice day was a special day and the first day and seventh day of the seven day feast of unleavened bread and lamb were also special days (High Sabbaths or Holy Days of Convocation). (Ex. 12:16; Num. 28:16-18).
There are mistakes above in the points marked in red.
#6 above is wrong because the lamb was selected and the inspection for "blemish" began on "the tenth day" of Abib and they kept "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" (Exodus 12:3, 5-6). Where it says they kept "it up until the fourteenth" means until the beginning of the 14th, because the Bible says, "... from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath" (Lev 23:32; Gen 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). So it was at the beginning of the 14th, not the following evening which Biblically would have been the start of the 15th. To put it concisely: The the lamb was killed at the start of the 14th, not the end of it.
#8 follows the same error of #6
#9 above is wrong because of reasons already stated: namely, Scripturally there is no such thing as passover week, but only a seven day "Feast of Unleavened Bread" which follows Passover. It should also be noted that this seven days of unleavened bread does not run from Sunday to Saturday, but falls on different days every year. Passover is followed by an High Day, namely, the first day of the of "Feast of Unleavened Bread" which is an "holy convocation" (Lev. 23:6-7). This is the day spoken of in these words, "The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away." (John 19:31). The daylight hours of the 14th were the preparation time for the first day of "the Feast of Unleavened Bread" which began at sundown, the beginning of the 15th which was a sabbath in which no work was to be done (Lev 23:6-7). However, neither Exodus 12 nor Leviticus 23 say the Passover is a sabbath of rest.
An outline of Exodus 12 goes on this wise:
I. God gave detailed instructions for the first two feasts of Israel to Moses and Aaron (Exodus 12:1-20).
A. Passover (Ex 12:1-14):
1. In verse 3 God told Moses and Aaron that the Passover lambs were to be selected on the 10th day of the first month which is Abib (also called Nisan).
2. In verse 6 the Lord told them to "keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month" and for the people to "kill it in the evening" which according to Genesis chapter one would have been the very start of the 14th of Nisan, not the end of it as is the case in verse 18 where it is speaking of the beginning of the 15th. The difference being the words "up until the fourteenth" and "on the fourteenth" (Ex 12:18).
3. Verse 14 is the end of the first discourse on the one day Passover, and verse 15 begins the first discourse on the seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread which continues to verse 20.
4. Also in verse 14 it says that "... this day [singular] shall be unto you for a memorial [singular]; and ye shall keep it [singular] a feast [singular] to the LORD ..." It is a one day memorial feast.
B. Feast of Unleavened Bread (Ex 12:15-20):
1. In verses 15 to 20 the Lord makes it very clear that no leaven is to be found for 7 days inclusive.
2. In verse 17 it says, "... for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt." It was the evening at the beginning of the first day of "the Feast of Unleavened Bread" that the children of Israel's exited out of the land Egypt "... and pitched in Succoth" (Num 33:3, 5).
3. In verse 18 where it says, "... 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" From the very end of the 14th which is the very beginning of the 15th until the very end of the 21st; seven full 24 hour days).
II. Moses in turn gave the instructions to elders of Israel which they followed (Ex 12:21-28).
III. The record of the events of Passover night which began on the 14th at even (Ex 12:29-42).
A. At midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt except those in the houses where He saw lamb's blood upon the doors (Exodus 12:29).
B. Pharaoh rose up in the night and called for Moses and sent him and the children of Israel out of Egypt (Ex 12:30-35).
IV. God gave further instructions to Moses and Aaron that only circumcised men were eligible to partake of Passover (Ex 12:43-51).
A. Circumcision is a type of regeneration (Rom 2:29; Deut 10:16, 30:6; Jer 4:4).
B. On that "selfsame day" (Passover) the Lord brought "the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies" (Ex 12:51).
-- John Henry
The Priests/Levites, with the Congregation, Killed the Lambs that were Brought to Them
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. -- Ex. 12:6
For the priests and the Levites . . . killed the passover [sacrifice] for all the children of the captivity . . . And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy . . . -- Ezra 6:20-22
Moreover Josiah kept a passover unto the LORD in Jerusalem: and they killed the passover [sacrifice] on the fourteenth day of the first month . . . kill the Passover [sacrifice] -- 2 Chron. 35:1, 6
So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their courses . . . And THEY killed the Passover [sacrifice], and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hands, and the Levites flayed them. -- 2 Chron. 35:10, 11
So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the Passover [sacrifice] . . . And the children of Israel that were present kept the passover [sacrifice] at that time, AND the feast of unleavened bread seven days. -- 2 Chron. 35: 16-17
There is no record of the Jews killing the Passover lamb in their homes, since a special place of God’s choosing was specified. The killing and roasting of the Passover Lambs was to be done on the Preparation Day (14th) among the congregation by the priests and Levites. If we hold the "Passover" as a one and one day only, the scriptures will not allow such a narrow, private interpretation. The MAIN feast day (John 18:28) of the first day of the feast unleavened bread (15th) was a High Day Sabbath, when the lamb was eaten during this entire seven day feast of unleavened bread is called the Passover and is synonymous with the Passover in both of the Testaments. The meal before on the 14th was also a day of unleavened bread.
The passover spoken of in John 18:28 was an illegal one which was to be eaten by the cronies of the scoundrels that were sent to capture the Lord Jesus. Their illegal actions do not change the Scriptures concerning Passover. It has already been shown from Scripture that the killing and eating of the Passover lambs was done in the beginning of Passover, in the evening of the 14th. No sacrifice was prescribed for the first Feast of Unleavened Bread, only that unleavened bread was to be eaten for seven full days. Later in Leviticus 23 the first and last day of this feast were declared special sabbath days and holy convocations. The Passover is the preparation day for the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread which followed which was an High Sabbath as indicated in Leviticus 23:6-7 (John 19:31). There is nothing in Ezra 6, nor in 2 Chronicles 35 that contradicts the facts that these are two separate feasts and that the Feast of Unleavened Bread is not Passover. -- John Henry
The Alternative Passover for those Defiled in the Month that Followed.
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD. The fourteenth day of the SECOND MONTH at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. -- Num. 9:10, 11
Then they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the SECOND MONTH [DEFILEMENT PASSOVER]: and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought in the burnt offerings into the house of the LORD. -- 2 Chron. 30:15
You could actually have two Passovers in two succeeding months, both on the 14th of each month. The second Passover was for those who had been defiled by a dead body or some other thing. This was the defilement fear of the Jews that caused them to not go into the Roman judgment hall.
Fine and dandy. However, they should have already take the Passover like Jesus and the disciples had done at the proper time. "Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed. ... And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him." (Luke 22:7, 14) -- John Henry
The Chronology of the End of Pilate’s Judgment and the Crucifixion
And so Pilate, willing to content the people . . . delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified . . . and led him out to crucify him . . . And they bring him unto the place Golgotha . . . And it was the THIRD hour [9:00 a.m.], and they crucified him. -- Mark 15:15-27 (John 19:14-24)
And when the SIXTH hour [High Noon] was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the NINTH hour. And at the NINTH hour [3:00 p.m.] Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? . . . And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. -- Mark 15:33-37
And now when the even [the 14th] was come, because it was the preparation [the killing and roasting of the Lamb ? raw lamb is not good to eat, unless you are an Arab] that is, the day [the 14th] before the Sabbath [the 15th], Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counselor. . . came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus . . . he gave the body to Joseph. And he . . . wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre . . . -- Mk. 15:42-46
This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. And that day was the preparation [the 14th], and the [special] sabbath drew on [the 15th]. -- Luke 23:52-54
The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation [14th], that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day [the 15th -- Holy Day of Convocation], (for that sabbath day was an high day,) . . . -- John 19:31
There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day [the 14th about to end and the 15th, the Sabbath day, begin] ; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand. -- John 19:42
Pilate released Jesus to be crucified, and He was put on the cross and crucified at the third hour or 9:00 a.m. At high noon, the second Jewish sixth hour (High noon), darkness came over the whole land, for three hours until the ninth hour or three p.m. Jesus was crucified and gave up the ghost at the ninth hour or 3:00 p.m. on this same day of unleavened bread (Mark 15:33, 34), around the same time as the killing of the lamb (Selah, think of that!). After the Crucifixion, Joseph and Nicodemus begged the body and entombed it before the High Day Sabbath arrived at sundown that began the 15th.
Not a word is said anywhere about killing the Passover lambs at the end of Passover day. It is at the beginning of the Passover day, the day they departed out of Egypt. The Preparation is for the sabbath of the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Bible says, "Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? ... Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost." (Matt 27:45-46, 50) This "darkness" was a special evening provided by God for the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. -- John Henry
Did Jesus Eat the Passover Meal with His Disciples?
Now when he was in Jerusalem at the PASSOVER, IN THE FEAST DAY, many believed . . . -- John 2:23
. . . BEFORE the feast of the PASSOVER . . . and SUPPER BEING ENDED . . . he riseth from the supper -- John 13:1, 2, 4
After two days was the FEAST of the PASSOVER, AND of unleavened bread . . . -- Mark 14:1
Jesus was taken captive in the garden, after He ate the first Passover meal and the Lord’s Supper and after a series of events, which included a foot washing, a long sermon, at least an hour of prayer in the garden, and then He was taken to the judgment hall early after Jesus had eaten the first feast day, Passover meal with His disciples at EVEN after sundown of the 14th, after the day that the lamb was killed and roasted (14th). At the judgment hall, Jesus was judged before Pilate at the sixth hour, namely, 12:00 p.m., the sixth hour after sundown, on the preparation day (John 19:14), BEFORE the Jews ate the lamb in the second Passover meal (John 18:28), to be eaten on the 15th after sundown. It was possible to be INTO the Passover and not be IN the Feast Day of the SEDER.
After He ate the FIRST Passover meal? There is but one Passover meal in a month! "And it was the third hour, and they crucified him" (Mark 15:25). It is more likely that "the sixth hour" spoken of in John's narration in John 19:14 was "the sixth hour" from His capture, about 3:00 AM, rather that Midnight. That would have made it almost 9:AM (Mark 15:25) when John said, "it was the preparation of the passover," the Passover here being the Lord Jesus Himself (1 Cor 5:7). Then Pilate sent the Lord Jesus to the cross. This business of eating the Passover on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is not to be found in Scripture. It's a figment of the imagination. -- John Henry
Did Jesus and the apostles eat the Passover "LAMB," during their meal, since that supper was ENDED BEFORE the temple Passover lambs were killed the next following afternoon and was also BEFORE the first LAMB FEAST DAY of the PASSOVER? Jesus ate this Passover meal with His disciples without lamb, the meal consisting of unleavened bread and a dish (probably with bitter herbs or horseradish) for the SOP. They were sitting down, probably with their shoes removed (remember the foot washing to follow), rather than being shod with a staff in hand and standing. What they did not do here is curious, since it hardly resembles the instructions of Exodus 12:11. They did not even strike blood on the door.
The figment of the imagination continues. Just because these things are not specified in the text does not mean they were not done. John, James and Peter prepared the passover. In doing so they would have got the lamb and the blood and prepared everything as prescribed. There is nothing about having to stand, and shoes can be removed in order to wash feet. If Jesus did not eat the Passover lamb, then He did not keep the Law (Matt 5:17). The evening that Jesus took Passover with His disciples was the exact time prescribed in Exodus 12 to kill and eat the lambs. The Bible says this about it: "Then came the day of unleavened bread, WHEN THE PASSOVER MUST BE KILLED." (Luke 22:7) "... the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to EAT THE PASSOVER?" (Matt 26:17) "... they MADE READY THE PASSOVER." (Mark 14:16) The passover was killed the evening prior to the Lord's death for us just as the Law commanded. Just because these things are not specified in the text -- John Henry
The next day, the Jews would eat the lamb at the first part of the 15th after the sundown of the 14th. Jesus had been killed and entombed by that meal. This second Passover meal after sundown of the 15th would begin the first meal with lamb and unleavened bread, twenty four hours after the first Passover meal of only unleavened bread eaten by Jesus and the disciples after the sundown of the first part of the 14th. Still, the remaining seven Passover meals were eaten each and every day of the rest of the Passover week.
The Jews who properly kept the Passover would have eaten it the same time Jesus did. Again a second Passover meal on the 15th is a figment of the imagination as are "the remaining seven Passover meals." Jesus died but once for our sins, therefore there is but one Passover meal. -- John Henry
The New Testament Passover Definition
Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the FEAST of the passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had FULFILLED the DAYS [Plural], as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind . . . -- Luke 2:41-42
Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. -- Luke 22:1
What did Jesus' parents fulfill? They fulfilled the DAYS (Plural)? The days of what? They fulfilled the DAYS of the FEAST. What FEAST? The FEAST DAYS of the PASSOVER (Luke 2:41-43)! The Passover Sacrifice day of the 14th is a special FEAST day of unleavened bread, followed by seven days of unleavened bread, a total of eight days of unleavened bread. The first and seventh days of the seven day feast of unleavened bread were also special days, Sabbath days.
This is no evidence. Going up at the feast of Passover, and then also fulfilling the Feast of Unleavened Bread also does not change Exodus 12 or Leviticus 3, nor does it change the number of days involved. -- John Henry
The failure to understand that the Jewish day began at around sundown and ended at sundown the next day (the evening and the morning were the first day) is often a reason for misinterpretation. Jesus told us that there were 12 hours in a day (it also follows that there are 12 hours in a night or evening). The failure to recognize the Passover FEAST week as the Passover and to distinguish it from the Passover FEAST day is also reason for error. The feast of unleavened bread is called the Passover (Luke 22:1). The Passover is a feast, feast meal, a feast day, a feast week, a feast season, a lamb, a sacrifice, and a Person.
The failure to understand that Passover began at the beginning of the 14th at sundown and that the Feast of Unleavened Bread began the next sundown on the 15th, and that the two are separate feasts is the problem. Another problem is the invented "Passover FEAST week." -- John HenryNew Testament Chronology Problems
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? 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. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover. Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. -- Matt. 26:17, 19
And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover? And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and . . . say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us. And his disciples . . . made ready the passover. And in the evening he cometh with the twelve. And as they sat and did eat . . . -- Mark 14:12-18
Then came the DAY of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat . . . there make ready. And . . . they made ready the passover. And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat THIS passover with you before I suffer: --Luke 22:7-15
Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is CALLED the Passover. -- Luke 22:1
The question here is, "Did Jesus lie about eating the Passover with His disciples in that loaned guest chamber? The disciples could have asked this question of Jesus at the end of the 13th when the sun was going down or even after the 14th started after sundown. The disciples were preparing for the Passover meal that was not among the seven and were going to eat it with the Lord and finally did eat with Him. Prior to the meal, the disciples prepared and made ready the guest chamber to eat the lamb-less Passover meal with Jesus after sundown the 13th, which began the 14th, the day in which Passover would be sacrificed, when the lamb was killed the following afternoon of the 14th. The scripture leaves no doubt as to the fact that the 14th was the day that the Passover was killed and roasted and was also a first day of unleavened bread.
The real question here is, is this fellow lying, nuts, or just don't know what your are talking about? But it may be that the confusion is from preconceived ideas. The figment of the imagination concerning the Passover being killed during the afternoon of the 14th contradicts the command of Exodus 12:6 which says, "And ye shall keep it [the 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." When the disciples ask the Lord where they should made ready the passover they asked Him in these words, "Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?" Exodus 12:6 and 7 describes the major part of preparing to eat the passover. This Passover preparation would have included everything included in Exodus 12:1-14. They would have selected a lamb 4 days earlier on the 10th (Ex 12:3), they would have killed it in the evening of the 14th along with "the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel" (Ex 12:6) and they would taken some of the lambs blood and struck it on the door of the houses where they were to eat it (Ex 12:7). That is what prepare the passover means (Matt 26:17; Mark 14:12; Luke 22:8). To say that the Lord Jesus broke the Passover is mere pontification. It is a false statement. In that He established the Lord's Supper at this, His last Passover, and on the same day became our Passover does not mean that He did not fulfill it to the end. -- John Henry
Their preparation here is not of the lamb’s preparation but of the place where the disciples would eat their first Passover meal. The scriptures say that it is on the Preparation Day that the lamb is killed and roasted (the 14th). Jesus and his disciples ate a Passover meal, after sundown of the 14th, before the seven days feast of unleavened bread started or ever took place (Luke 22:15), on the 15th, after sundown, the first day of the seven day feast of unleavened bread and roast lamb.
Well of course that is what it is. If it were not his theory would not be untrue. But all kidding aside, the above is a bunch of baloney. This whole false theory hinges forcing the killing of the Passover from the beginning of the Passover in the evening to the afternoon of Passover day. The simple solution is to simply believe what Exodus 12:6 says! Jesus and his disciples ate THE Passover meal at THE prescribed time "in the evening" of the 14th which was the start of that day. -- John Henry
Now, we have established that there are seven feast days of the feast of unleavened bread technically. But the Passover day is also a feast day of unleavened bread and the scripture says that they were to eat unleavened bread from the 14th to the 21st (eight days). So, depending on your reference point, you can speak of the first day the first day unleavened bread to be the 14th as well as the 15th, since the 14th is the first day of the eight day feast from the 14th to the 21st. The 15th is the first day of the seven day feast from the 15th to the 21st.
It is more likely that Exodus 12:18 is just speaking in inclusive terms where it says, "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." Where it says, "on the fourteenth day of the month at even" is not as precise as the time given to kill and eat the passover in verse 6 where it says, "keep it up until the fourteenth day ... [and] kill it in the evening." The meaning of Exodus 12:18 is most likely speaking of the time period from the end of the 14th which would be the beginning of the 15th to the end of the 21st which would be all inclusive of the seven 24 hour days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread that they were to eat no leaven whatsoever. The rules for Passover were spoken of in Exodus 12:1-14, and the rules for the Feast of Unleavened Bread are laid out in Exodus 12:15-20. -- John Henry
In other words, there are two first days of unleavened bread in that it is in reality an 8 day feast split into two parts, namely, the Passover DAY feast (14th) in which only unleavened bread is eaten before the Passover is killed and also the First Day of the Passover week or seven day feast of unleavened bread, lamb being eaten each and every meal of the seven days, which was CALLED THE PASSOVER. Luke makes it very easy for us to reconcile the problem passages of Mark and Matthew by terming it the FIRST DAY of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed. We know that to be the 14th from both Testaments.
There are definitely two first days of unleavened bread. 1) the first day of the two feasts together which is Passover, and 2) the first day of the seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread. They may or may not have been eaten every day of the second feast, but the only mandatory lamb to be sacrificed and eaten was the one required at the beginning of 14th. To eat lamb during the Feast of Unleavened Bread is not required in Exodus 12, Leviticus 23 only to sacrifice. Scripture is silent at this point and the question of eating lamb during the 7 days of the second feast is neither here or there. However, it is not mandatory as it is not required by Exodus 12, and neither did they have any prepared to eat (Ex 12:9-10, 39, 34:25) when they left Egypt early in the morning on that first Passover (Ex 12:29-31). They left Egypt on that "selfsame day" which was that first Passover day (Ex 12:51). Furthermore, the Passover was a family affair, not a national affair as was the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Ex 23:14-17; Deut 16:16; 2 Chron 8:13). -- John Henry
The difficulty here is for those, who think that the 14th was when the Lord ate the lamb after sundown of the 14th and point to the first day of unleavened bread in Mark 14:12 and the first day of the feast of unleavened bread in Matthew 26:17-19 for such confirmation, it would make the first day of the seven days of unleavened bread to come before the lamb was killed and roasted on the 14th and would make the first day of unleavened bread/Passover to be on the 13th instead of the 14th.
How so? The only difficultly here is in someone's mind. Mark 14:12, Matthew 26:17-19 are both speaking of the same time, Passover evening, the first day of unleavened bread. Passover day is "the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover" which definitely occurs at the eventide when entering the 14th of Nisan. According to Scripture there is no way around this fact. Matthew 26:17, "the first day of the feast of unleavened bread," is simply speaking generically in that all 8 days only unleavened bread was to be eaten. No leavened bread was to be eaten whatsoever. But even though the Passover is the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, the following 7 days of the feast of unleavened bread are not Passover. No difficultly at all. -- John Henry
If the day that the Passover was killed and eaten was on the FIRST day of unleavened bread, then it follows that it was a day of unleavened bread apart from among other seven days of unleavened bread, which also had a first day, despite attempts of some to divorce the first day of unleavened bread from the other seven unleavened bread days. The only difference was that the FIRST day of unleavened bread of the seven day feast in which the Passover lamb was eaten on the 15th was a special day, a High day Sabbath. Still, the first Passover meal was that was eaten on the 14th at sun down of the same day that the lamb was killed and roasted was also a special day; it was the day that the sacrifice was kept. The one day Passover theory creates all sorts of confusion.
The Feast of the Passover was apart from the Feast of Unleavened Bread for these reasons: 1) Passover symbolized personal salvation, and Unleavened Bread pictured Israel national salvation. 2) They commentate different things. Passover commentates the deaths of all the firstborn who were not covered by the blood and the salvation of those who were, and the exodus from Egypt. Unleavened Bread commentates the seven day journey to the Red Sea. 3) They each presented different prophetic pictures. Passover speaks of Christ's death, while Unleavened Bread speaks of the sinless Christ's burial. By course the other five feasts of Israel are prophetic pictures of the following: The feast of Firstfruits is symbolic of the resurrection of Christ, the feast of Pentecost is a picture of the enduement of the church with power from on high, the feast of Trumpets is a type of the Rapture, the Day of Atonement is symbolic of the Tribulation, and the feast of Tabernacles pictures the Millennial reign of Christ. 4) Passover prophetically pictuered personal salvation, and Unleavened Bread pictured baptism.
Two Passovers or One?
Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. -- John 18:28
The unscriptural acts of the lost do not change the Word of God. These were busy following the orders of evil men the evening before when they should have taken Passover like Jesus did. -- John Henry
When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! -- John 19:13, 14
The preparation of the passover here is the preparation of the Lord Jesus Christ. -- John Henry
After being whipped and after the dialogue and questioning between Jesus and Pilate and Pilate and the Jews back and forth, and Jesus is brought forth to the judgment seat and at one time standing before Pilate at the 6th hour from sundown or midnight, Since we Gentiles are allowed two six o’clocks, we think it only fair for the Jews to be allowed two sixth hours. Jesus was crucified the third hour after sun up or 9:00
a.m., and darkness was at the sixth hour (high Noon) to the ninth hour after sun up, when He died. He was entombed before the 14th at even or sundown.
Passover was not long after sundown which the Lord and the disciples had taken already as prescribed in Exodus. It is very unlikely that Pilate would have been officiating anything at midnight. It is more likely that John was indicating that it was at about the sixth hour of the preparation of Jesus, the passover, Pilate said, Behold your King! This was the final stages of the inspection of the Lamb of God that was selected on the 10th. Concerning the time it says immediately after this in John 19:16-18 that they took the Lord Jesus away and crucified Him. We know that this occurred at the "third hour" (Mark 15:25). Therefore, "about the sixth hour" here probably means that He had been going through His mock trials since midnight, for 6 hours, because it was almost 9:00AM. Jesus was crucified 9:00 AM., and a special darkness was prepared for the Lamb of God's sacrifice from Noon to the 3:00PM, when He died. He was entombed before the 14th at even or sundown. -- John Henry
Well, the problem many have noted is that if Jesus ate the Passover with his disciples, then what Passover were these Jews planning on eating? This problem has caused some to say that Jesus only intended to eat the Passover with his disciples but did not. Others say that there were two Passovers, a temple Passover and a Passover in the individual homes. Others imagine Jews of different regions having the Passover on two different succeeding days. Yet others say that some Jews observed sunup to sun up and others sundown to sundown.
Illusions or hallucinations on the part of "some" and "others." What ever they believe or did is irrelevant. What the Lord Jesus and His disciples actually did is what is important. Jesus Christ took the Passover as prescribed the evening before He became our Passover as prophesied. -- John Henry
Still, Jesus and His disciples as well as the Jews had eaten the first Passover meal with unleavened bread on the sundown of the 14th, after the Passover was killed. The Jews at the judgment hall were expecting to eat the second meal, the main Passover meal or what is called the Seder with the lamb and the unleavened bread after the 14th after sundown on the 15th, the first day of the feast of unleavened bread. It is only ONE Passover but two different Passover days and Passover meals. The Jews would not go into the judgment hall during this day of unleavened bread when the lamb was killed because of Roman defilement (no doubt idols in the hall) "THAT THEY MIGHT EAT THE PASSOVER" (which is now called the Seder).
The unscriptural things that the Jews did back then, and today are irrelevant. What the Lord Jesus did is what I am talking about. He did as Exodus 12 required. Scripturally, concerning the topic at hand, there is but one Passover on the 14th of Abib, and beginning an even on the 15th is a seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Bible still calls Passover, Passover. -- John Henry
Remember, after sundown, Jesus ate the Passover meal with his disciples, instituted the Lord’s Supper, did a foot washing service, preached a long message, prayed in the garden for at least an hour, and then was taken captive by Judas’ gang, and was marched to the High priest and then to Pilate then to Herod and back to Pilate. This all took some time. So, to us, it seems this was about 12:00 p.m. or the sixth hour, after sundown, when Pilate is getting this thing over.
John 19:14 means that it was about the sixth hour of the preparation of Jesus to be the passover sacrifice for the sins of the World. John 19:16-18 say that they took the Lord Jesus away and crucified Him and we know that this was at "the third hour" (Mark 15:25). Therefore, "about the sixth hour" here (John 19:14) means that Christ had been going through His mock trials and beatings for 6 hours since midnight, because it was almost 9:00AM. -- John Henry
Morning and the Four Watches
And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out . . . and there prayed. -- Mark 1:35
The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early [same word translated morning elsewhere], when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. -- John 20:1
And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate. -- Mark 15:1
When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor. -- Matthew 27:1, 2
And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. -- Mark 6:48 (14:25)
Watch . . . ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even [1st watch-sundown to 9:00 p.m.], or at midnight [2nd watch-9:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m.], or at the cockcrowing [3rd watch - 12:00 p.m to 3:00 a.m.], or in the morning [4th watch - 3:00 a.m to sun up]: -- Mark 13:35
And it came to pass, that in the morning watch [4th watch] the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud . . . -- Ex. 14:24
I admit my weakness with the view that the "ABOUT sixth hour" was ABOUT 12:00 p.m. in that the Bible says that it was "early, in the morning, and when morning was now come," when Caiaphas released Jesus to Pilate the first time. After Pilate, Jesus was sent to Herod and then back to Pilate, and was back and forth from the hall and to the Jews and back as well.
This is not Evans' only weakness on this subject. This is a lesser of his errors. -- John Henry
Still, the KJB translators seemed to allow some latitude in what morning covered, i.e., the evening and the morning were the first day, counting morning daytime in this instance. Other times they sometimes used the words "early" and "morning" synonymously (Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 24:1; John 18:28; 20:21), since the words "early" and "morning" do not necessarily always have to be daylight, daybreak, or the rising of the sun, they sometimes did not use them like that. The KJB translators seemed to use "morning" to mean anywhere from 12:00 p.m. to daybreak, like we Gentiles do now. Moreover, the night period had four watches, and we assume that the day period also had four watches. We assume that they were three hours each. The Midnight watch in these watches seems to be from 9:00 P.M to 12:00 p.m.
* Note 1: Josephus includes, in his Antiquities, ii. 15:1, the 14th or preparation day, when he says, "we keep a feast for eight days, which is called the feast of the unleavened." Whereas in iii. 10:5 (Ibid.), he excludes the 14th or preparation day, "the feast of the unleavened falls on the FIFTEENTH day of the month, and continues seven days."
* Note 2: Passover - It begins on the 15th day of Nisan (on the Hebrew calendar). Passover commemorates the Exodus and freedom of the Israelites from ancient Egypt. . . . The two names for the holiday are a coalescence of two related celebrations. The name Passover (Pesakh, meaning "skipping" or passing over) derives from the nightof the Tenth Plague, when the Angel of Death saw the blood of the Passover lamb on the door posts of the houses of Israel and "skipped over" them and did not kill their firstborn. The meal of the Passover Seder commemorates this event. The name Feast of Unleavened Bread (Chag Ha'Matsot) refers to the week-long period when leaven has been removed, and unleavened bread or matzo ("flat bread") is eaten. -- Wikilpedia
I'm going to have to take the Bible over Josephus and Wikilpedia. -- John Henry
"... Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. ... I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.." (Mark 1:14-15, 2:17)
