| Today, our focus is on Thursday (Nisan 14) of Passion Week, which began after sundown on what we would call on the Roman calendar "Wednesday night". As we saw yesterday, the Last Supper has been concluded; Judas has fled to do his dastardly deed. The Savior and the Eleven have departed for the Garden of Gethsemane, on the Mount of Olives. The name "Gethsemane" has connotations of severe pressing, such as the pulverization of olives in order to obtain their oil. The region was replete with olive trees, as well as the mechanisms for pressing them. For certain, as the Lord travailed in prayer in Gethsemane He was severely "pressed". Here, then, are the incidents of those hours at the pitch of cosmic, spiritual battle: 1. Jesus says His disciples will be "offended because of" Him and Peter vehemently says he'll never deny Him. Jesus predicts that before the rooster crows to signal the dawn, Peter will have denied Him three times. (Matthew 26:30-35, Mark 14:26-31, Luke 22:31-34, John 13:36-38). 2. Jesus takes Peter, James and John (the Zebedee bros.) farther into the Garden with Him, to pray with Him as He agonizes in prayer (Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-42, Luke 22:39-46, John 18:1). 3. Jesus is betrayed by Judas, who leads the soldiers to them there in the Garden (Matthew 26:47-56, Mark 14:43-52, Luke 22:47-53, John 18:3-11). 4. Jesus is taken before the High Priest and the Sanhedrin, where He declares to the High Priest that He is the Messiah - - "I AM" (Matthew 26: 57-68, Mark 14:53-65, John 18:12-14 and 19-24). During this time, Peter is in the outer court, waiting by a fire ("warming himself"), when he is asked 3 times if he knew or was with Jesus. He denied this 3x. 5. After a confab of all the Jewish rabbinical leadership, Jesus was sent to Pilate (Matthew 27:2, Mark 15:1-5, Luke 23:1-5.) 6. Luke's gospel alone records (23:6-12) that Pilate sent Jesus to Herod, the tetrarch of Galilee, because Jesus was accused of crimes in Galilee. Interestingly enough, although Herod questioned Jesus extensively, He replied not a word. Herod and his cronies mocked Jesus, put a beautiful kingly robe on Him and sent Him back to Pilate. 7. During these hours of Jesus' mock trial, Judas began to be remorseful and returned the 30 pieces of silver (blood money) to the ruling priests (Matthew 27:3-10). 8. Back at Pilate's, (Matthew 27:15-26, Mark 15:6-15, Luke 23:13-25, John 18:39-19:16), his wife warns him to have nothing to do with "that righteous man", Jesus (Matthew 27:19), and the crowds demand that Pilate release Barabbas, a notorious seditionist and murderer. (Matthew 27:20 tells us that the chief priests and elders had persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas.) Regardless, Pilate, afraid of an insurrection, pronounces sentence. 9. Jesus is crucified at about 9:00 a.m. (the "third hour"), where He hangs on the cross in utter agony until He cries "It is finished" and gives up His spirit, at about "the ninth hour" (3:00 p.m.)1 The other Passover lambs were being slaughtered in preparation for the Passover seder (ceremonial feast), and the high priest was sacrificing the ceremonial Passover lamb in the Temple, on behalf of all the people.2 As His blood flowed down the wooden cross, the lamb's blood flowed on the Temple altar. Now, what else was going on in Jerusalem during these hours? The 14th of Nisan (that year it was what we would call Thursday) is the Preparation Day, the day the Jewish people make ready for the high, holy feast of Passover, which would begin that evening at sundown. They had actually been preparing for days, but this day bears the title "Preparation Day", because it falls immediately before the high holy day of Nisan 15. This proper name/title is used only six times in the New Testament: (Matthew 27:62, Mark 15:42, Luke 23:54, John 19:14, 31, 42.) In EVERY case, it is used to denote the day Christ was crucified, every single time. This is one of the strongest arguments for a Thursday crucifixion. In the scriptures above, we are told repeatedly that Jesus' body had to be in Joseph of Arimathaea's (a borrowed) tomb before sundown, as Passover began at sundown. In general, a preparation day (more generic usage) was any day that preceded a Sabbath. However, what is less commonly known is that any feast day (such as Passover) is also a Sabbath. So, in the time period of Jesus' Passion, there was the Sabbath spent in Bethany (Nisan 9), the Friday High Holy Sabbath of the Passover (Nisan 15) and the weekly "Saturday" Sabbath the very next day (Nisan 16), two Sabbaths back-to-back. This is why in Matthew 28:1, the word translated into English as "Sabbath" is actually the Greek word "Sabbaton"3, which is a plural, more accurately translated "Sabbaths". In the end of the sabbath [the Sabbath rest—after both the High Holy Day Sabbath and the weekly Sabbath], as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week [Sunday] came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. 4 As the Feast of Unleavened Bread continued on toward First Fruits, this is where we find them: wallowing in despair. Meanwhile, Jesus' body was in the tomb, but His spirit was elsewhere (which is a whole 'nuther blog post!)
Sunday's comin', Y'all! Let's count to three: Into the tomb just before sundown on "Thursday late afternoon" (Nisan 14). Thursday sundown to Friday (Nisan 15) sundown = 1. Friday sundown to Saturday sundown (Nisan 16 - regular sabbath) = 2. Saturday sundown into Sunday morning (Nisan 17 - - the feast of First Fruits) = 3. The words of Jesus: (Matthew 12:40) For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."
Luke 9:22
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn94B3GHcjY Oh how I thank you, my God, for the beautiful, perfect work of my Savior. In Jesus' name, amen! Sources: 1 http://www.bibleinsight.com/prepare.html 2 http://www.heraldmag.org/2004/04ma_3.htm |
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