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Passover Lamb or
Easter Bunny
The world has created a monster called “Christmas”
at the time of the winter solstice, which totally
misses the symbolism of the Savior’s birth during
the Feast of Tabernacles. Alexander Hyslop writes
in his The Two Babylons:
How, then, did the Romish Church fix on
December the 25th as Christmas-day? Why, thus?
Long before the 4th century, and long before the
Christian era itself, a festival was celebrated
among the heathen, at that precise time of the
year, in honor of the birth of the son of the
Babylonian queen of heaven; and it may fairly be
presumed that, in order to conciliate the heathen,
and to swell the number of the nominal adherents
of Christianity, the same festival was adopted by
the Roman Church, giving it only the name of
Christ. This tendency on the part of Christians to
meet Paganism half-way was very early
developed; and we find Tertullian, even in his
day, about the year 230, bitterly lamenting the
inconsistency of the disciples of Christ in this
respect. "By us," says he, "who are strangers to
Sabbaths, and new moons, and festivals, once
acceptable to God, the Saturnalia, the feasts of
January, … are now frequented; gifts are carried
to and fro, new year's day presents are made with
din, and sports and banquets are celebrated with
uproar; oh, how much more faithful are the
heathen to their religion, who take special care to
adopt no solemnity from the Christians." That
Christmas was originally a Pagan festival, is
beyond all doubt.
Man has traded Yahweh’s appointed times (see
Leviticus 23 [Sabbath, Passover, Feast of
Unleavened Bread, Wave Sheaf, Feast of Weeks,
Feast of Tabernacles]) for his own “unholy days”.
The celebration of Jesus’ death, burial and
resurrection is now also steeped in paganism and is
called Easter. Hyslop writes:
What means the term Easter itself? It bears its
Chaldean origin on its very forehead. Easter is
nothing else than Astarte, one of the titles of
Beltis, the queen of heaven, whose name, as
pronounced by the people Nineveh, was evidently
identical with that now in common use in this
country. The popular observances that still attend
the period of its celebration amply confirm the
testimony of history as to its Babylonian
character. The hot cross buns of Good Friday, and
the dyed eggs of Easter Sunday, figured in the
Chaldean rites just as they do now. The "buns"
were used in the worship of the queen of heaven,
the goddess Easter. "One species of sacred bread,"
says Bryant, "which used to be offered to the
gods, was of great antiquity, and called Boun."
The origin of the eggs is just as clear. The classic
poets are full of the fable of the mystic egg of the
Babylonians; and thus its tale is told by Hyginus,
the Egyptian, the learned keeper of the Palatine
library at Rome, in the time of Augustus, who was
skilled in all the wisdom of his native country:
"An egg of wondrous size is said to have fallen
from heaven into the river Euphrates. The fishes
rolled it to the bank, where the doves having
settled upon it, and hatched it, out came Venus,
who afterwards was called the Syrian Goddess"--
that is, Astarte. Hence the egg became one of the
symbols of Astarte or Easter.
The purpose of this meditation is not to catalog the
pagan influences on the celebration of the work of
Jesus, but rather to look at the amazing fulfillment
of Passover. The Apostle Paul writes:
For also Messiah our Passover was offered for
us. (1 Corinthians 5:7a)
Let us take a look at just how true Paul’s words are.
A People in Bondage
The story begins approximately 3,700 years ago.
The descendents of Jacob, whom Yahweh renamed
Israel, had gone down to Egypt when Joseph was
made prime minister. The Israelites greatly
increased, so that the Egyptians feared them:
So they set slave-masters over them to afflict
them with their burdens. … And the Egyptians
made the children of Israel serve with harshness,
and they made their lives bitter with hard
bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all kinds
of work in the field, all their work which they made them do was with harshness. (Exodus
1:11-14)
You may not feel like a slave. However, Jesus said:
Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone doing sin is a
servant of sin. (John 8:34)
As we all sin, we are all servants of sin. The
Apostle Paul writes:
The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23a)
As sinners, we all face the consequences – death!
And so we read in Hebrews:
Since the children share in flesh and blood, He
Himself (Jesus) similarly shared in the same, so
that by means of His death He might destroy him
having the power of death, that is, the devil, and
deliver those who throughout life were held in
slavery by fear of death. (Hebrews 2:14-15)
Jesus became a man that He might deliver us from
the consequences of sin; that we no longer might
live in bondage to the fear of death.
A Plan of Redemption
Pharaoh forced the Hebrews to throw their newborn
males into the Nile. The parents of Moses
disobeyed this decree by placing him in the Nile in
a basket covered in pitch, where he was found and
adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter. His mother was
paid to raise him his first several years (Exodus 2:9,
10) and she taught him about the true God,
Yahweh. After about 40 years, he killed an
Egyptian taskmaster who was mistreating a Hebrew
slave. He was forced to flee into the wilderness,
where he spent the next 40 years of his life. At the
end of this time, Yahweh came to him saying:
And now, see, the cry of the children of Israel has
come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression
with which the Egyptians oppress them. And
now, come, I am sending you to Pharaoh, to bring
My people, the children of Israel out of Egypt.
(Exodus 3:7-10)
Yahweh sent a series of ten plagues against the
Egyptians, each aimed at one or more of their gods
(Exodus 12:12). The tenth, the death of the
firstborn, was particularly directed at Pharaoh, who
was considered divine by the Egyptians. To avoid
the death of their firstborn, the Israelites were
commanded to place a lamb’s blood on the
doorposts of their dwellings. When Yahweh saw
the blood, He “passed over” that household, thus
the name Passover (Exodus 12:23). For the
remainder of this meditation, we will compare
Yahweh’s commands regarding this lamb and the
work of Jesus on the cross. Closely connected with
Passover are the Feast of Unleavened Bread and
Wave Sheaf Offering. We will also consider these
in light of Jesus resurrection and ascension.
A New Beginning
We will spend most of our time in Exodus 12. The
passage begins:
This month is the beginning of months for you, it
is the first month of the year for you. (Exodus
12:1-2)
In ancient Egypt, the first month was Thout,
corresponding to September-October. During the
Babylonian captivity, Israel reverted to beginning
the year in this timeframe. In Ezekiel 40:1, the
prophet mentions the “beginning of the year”,
which in Hebrew is Rosh Hashanah. Today this is
still the Jewish New Year. However, Yahweh
indicated that the year was to begin at the time He
delivered them from captivity in Egypt, in the
month called Chodesh HaRishon (“the first month”)
and referred to as “the month of the abib”
(Deuteronomy 16:1). What does “the abib” mean?
During the plague of hail, we read the following:
And the flax and the barley were smitten, for the
barley was in the head and the flax was in bud.
But the wheat and the spelt were not smitten, for
they were late crops. (Exodus 9:31-32)
The phrase translated “in the head” is abib. The
above passage relates that the barley was destroyed
by the hail while the wheat was not. Early in its
development grain is flexible and dark green. As it
ripens, it becomes light yellow and more brittle.
The barley was destroyed because it was in abib
and had become brittle enough to be damaged by
the hail. The wheat was early in its development,
flexible and not susceptible damage.
Why was it important for the barley to be in abib?
On the 16th day of the first month, the day after high
Sabbath associated with the first day of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread, Yahweh commanded:
When you come into the land which I give you,
and shall reap its harvest, then you shall bring a
sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest to the
priest. And he shall wave the sheaf before for
your acceptance. On the morrow after the Sabbath
the priest waves it. (Leviticus 23:10, 11)
Yahweh had given the following command
regarding first-fruit offerings:
And if you bring a grain offering of your first-
fruits to bring for the grain offering of your first-
fruits green ears (abib) of grain roasted on the
fire, crushed heads of new grain. (Leviticus 2:14)
The Hebrew words translated “grain roasted” and
“new grain” are qalah and karmel, respectively.
Qalah describes abib barley which has developed
so that it can be eaten if roasted. Karmel describes
grain that has developed beyond abib and can be
coarsely ground. If the offering on the 16th of the
first month was to be qalah or karmel, abib barley
had to be present on the 1st day of the first month.
The Hebrew word translated “month” (chodesh) in
Hebrew really means “new moon”. The root of this
word means “restoration, repair”. Therefore, the
“new moon” was associated with the first visible
crescent, as this was the start of the rebuilding of
the moon after it had waned. Therefore, the 1st
month began with the first visible crescent after
abib barley was discovered.
This year (2014) abib barley was observed in Israel
on March 25. The first crescent moon following
this was on March 31. Unlike the Jewish practice
today, the biblical evidence is that the day began at
sunrise. The period between sunrise and sunset was
divided into 12 hours (John 11:9 [ranging between
50-70 minutes depending on the time of year]).
Therefore, the 1st day of the first month by God’s
standards would correspond to our April 1. Jesus
presented Himself to the Father at the time of the
wave sheaf offering on the 16th day, the day we now
refer to as “Easter”. The 16th day of the first month
this year will be April 16, not April 20. This is
fairly close. In 2008, the dates were separated by a
month.
You may say, “Why make such a big deal about
this?” As alluded to earlier, days like Passover
were referred to as “appointed times” (Hebrew
moedim), appointments for meeting with Yahweh.
If you had an appointment to see your doctor on
April 16 at 8 AM and came on April 20 at 8 AM
would you get in? Probably not. The person who
had the 8 AM appointment on April 20 wouldn’t
appreciate it. Is the doctor more important than
God? While I am not saying that we are called to
keep the feasts (see Colossians 2:14-16), I am
trying to point out that so much is lost by not
studying them.
Being delivered from bondage in Egypt was a new
beginning for Israel. The work of Jesus on the
cross represents a new beginning:
And because of this He is the Mediator of a
renewed covenant, so that, death having taken
place for redemption of the transgressions under
the first covenant, those who are called might
receive the promise of the eonian inheritance.
(Hebrews 9:15)
The first covenant, the Ten Commandments,
showed us that we have been sold into bondage to
sin. However, through Jesus’ death, we are
redeemed. The Greek word translated
“redemption” (apolutrōsis) means “liberation
affected by the payment of a ransom”. Our
transgressions of the law are dealt with and we are
freed to have a renewed relationship with God – a
new beginning.
A Separated Lamb
On the tenth day of this month each one of them
is to take for himself a lamb … . (Exodus 12:3a)
The Israelites were to set aside a lamb on the 10th
day of the first month. The Apostle John writes
concerning the day that Jesus died:
Therefore, since it was the Preparation Day, that
the bodies should not remain on the cross on the
Sabbath – for that Sabbath was a high one – the
Jews asked Pilate to have their legs broken, and
that they be taken away. (John 19:31)
We read the following about the first day of Feast
of Unleavened Bread:
And on the fifteenth day of this month is the
Festival of Unleavened Bread to Yahweh – seven
days you eat unleavened bread. On the first day
you have a set-apart gathering, you do no servile
work. (Leviticus 23:6-7)
The fact that no work was to be done, indicates that
it was a Sabbath. However, every 15th of the month
was a Sabbath as the biblical month was made up
of: new moon day (1st), six work days (2
nd-7
th), first
Sabbath (8th), six work days (9
th-14
th), second
Sabbath (15th), six work days (16
th-21
st), third
Sabbath (22nd
), six work days (23rd
-28th), and fourth
Sabbath (29th). As the lunar cycle is 29.5 days,
approximately every other month had an additional
“new moon day” was added on (30th) until the first
crescent was observed. The Sabbaths lined up with
the phases of the moon. John points out that this
Sabbath was a “high one”, as it was the annual
Sabbath associated with the first day of Unleavened
Bread. As Jesus’ death was the day before, He died
on the 14th (keep that in mind).
I have attached a humble attempt to harmonize the
gospel accounts (Jesus’ Final Week) concerning the
events between the 8th and 16
th of the month. One
frequent misunderstanding is that Jesus’ trial before
Pontius Pilate was the same day as His crucifixion.
Mark tells us the time that Jesus was nailed to the
cross:
And it was the third hour, and they crucified
Him. (Mark 15:25)
As the day began at sunrise (~6 AM), He was
crucified at ~9 AM. So far so good. However, the
Apostle John writes:
And it was the Preparation Day of the Passover,
and about the sixth hour. And he (Pilate) said to
the Jews, “See your Sovereign!” (John 19:14)
Pilate presented Jesus before the Jews at the 6th
hour or ~12 PM (noon). Do you see the problem?
How could Jesus be nailed to the cross at 9 AM and
be presented before His crucifixion at 12 PM? It’s
not possible. Also note, it was the preparation day
of the Passover, which means the day before the
Passover. Passover is on the 14th (Leviticus 23:5).
Therefore, John 19:14 is occurring on the 13th. We
are given an important insight into what happened
between the trial on the 13th and the crucifixion on
the 14th in Isaiah 53:
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a
sheep before its shearers is silent, but He did not
open His mouth. He was taken from prison and
from judgment. And as for His generation, who
considered that He shall be cut off from the land
of the living? For the transgression of My people
He was stricken. (Isaiah 53:7-8)
“He was taken from prison.” We do not read about
this in the New Testament, but as everything else in
Isaiah 53 was fulfilled, why would this one detail
not be? In all likelihood, Jesus spent the night of
the 13th in a Roman prison before He was taken to
be crucified the next morning.
So what happened on the 10th of the month? If you
look at the attached table, it was on this day that
Jesus cleansed the temple of the merchandisers and
the money changers. The high priest’s Caiaphas
father-in-law Annas was sort of a religious
“godfather”, who made a fortune on the
merchandising and money changing occurring in
the temple. When Jesus attacked what he loved
most (i.e., money [Luke 16:14]), it was the last
straw. The religious leaders chose their Passover
lamb and planned on how to destroy Him.
A Household Lamb
… according to the house of his father, a lamb for
a household. And if the household is too small
for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his
house take it according to the number of the
beings, according to each man’s need you make
your count for the lamb. (Exodus 12:3b, 4)
The Aramaic paraphrase, the Targum of Jonathan,
provides the following commentary on this verse:
“if the men of the house are fewer than 10 in
number, in proportion to a sufficient number to eat
the lamb, he and his neighbor who is nearest to his
house shall take according to the number of souls.”
The picture of a lamb being too large a sacrifice for
just one household I believe points to the fact that
Jesus did not just die for the Jews only, but rather
He died for the sins of the whole world (1 John
2:2). The Apostle Paul writes:
And having come, He brought as Good News
peace to you who were far off, and peace to those
near. Because through Him we both have access
to the Father by one Spirit. So then you are no
longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow
citizens with the set-apart ones and members of
the household of God. (Ephesians 2:17-19)
The Jews were those who were “near” and the rest
of the nations were those who were “far off”. Jesus
died to give both access to God.
An Unblemished Lamb
Let the lamb be a perfect one … . Take it from
the sheep or from the goats. (Exodus 12:5a, d)
Why a sheep or a goat? In Leviticus 11:3, clean
animals were defined as: “whatever has a split hoof
completely divided, chewing the cud.” In
Deuteronomy 14:4-5, the list of animals that meet
these criteria includes: “ox, sheep, and goat.”
These two characteristics point to one with a set-
apart walk and one who ruminates or meditates on
the word of Yahweh. These were true of Jesus.
John the Baptizer referred to Jesus as “the Lamb of
God that takes away the sin of the world” (John
1:29). But this was not enough. The lamb had to
be perfect. In Leviticus 22:22-25, this is described
as not being blemished, blind, broken, dwarfed,
deformed, bruised, cut, torn, crushed, or having
ulcers, eczema or scabs. The religious leaders
chose their lamb (Jesus) and spent the next four
days trying to find something wrong with Him. But
in the end their only real charge was that He was
who He said He was, the Son of God. Pilate and
Herod found no fault in Him. The Apostle Paul
writes:
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for
us, so that in Him we might become the
righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
The unblemished Lamb of God became sin for us,
so that we might have His righteousness.
A One-Year Old lamb
Let the lamb be … a year old … . (Exodus 12:5b)
Male sheep reach sexual maturity by 6 months. A
one year old lamb would be one that had reached
the peak of its strength. Jesus did not die as a baby
or a teenager or an old man. He died as a man in
the midst of His strength (~33 years of age).
A Male Lamb
Let the lamb be a … male … . (Exodus 12:5c)
Why a male lamb? The Apostle Paul provides the
insight on this:
For this reason, even as through one man sin did
enter into the world, and death through sin, and
thus death spread to all men, upon which all
sinned – for until the Law, sin was in the world,
but sin is not reckoned when there is no Law. But
death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over
those who had not sinned according to the
likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a
type of Him who was to come. But the favorable
gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one
man’s trespass many died, much more the favor
of God, and the gift in favor of the one Man, Jesus
Messiah, overflowed to many. And the favorable
gift is not as by one having sinned. For indeed the
judgment was of one to condemnation, but the
favorable gift is of many trespasses unto
righteousness. For if by the trespass of the one,
death did reign through the one, much more those
who receive the overflowing favor and the gift of
righteousness shall reign in life through the One,
Jesus Messiah. So then, as through one trespass
there resulted condemnation to all men, so also
through one righteous act there resulted
righteous-declaring of life to all men. For as
through the disobedience of one man many were
made sinners, so also through the obedience of
the One many shall be made righteous. (Romans
5:12-19)
All men were constituted sinners and subject to
death as a result of one man’s (Adam) sin. In the
same way, all men will be constituted righteous and
given life through one Man’s (Jesus) obedience.
A “Single” Lamb
And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of
the same month. Then all the assembly of the
congregation of Israel shall kill it … . (Exodus
12:6a)
And Moses called for all the elders of Israel and
said to them, “Go out and take lambs for
yourselves according to your clans, and slaughter
the Passover lamb. (Exodus 12:21)
It has been estimated that the Exodus included
approximately 2 million people. Based on ten
people per lamb, 200,000 lambs were sacrificed that
first Passover. However, the command says take
the “lambs” and slaughter the “lamb”. All of these
lambs pointed to the final Passover Lamb, the Lord
Jesus. We read in Hebrews:
For Messiah has not entered into a Set-apart Place
made by hand – figures of the true – but into the
heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of
God on our behalf, not that He should offer
Himself often, as the high priest enters into the
Set-apart Place year by year with blood not his
own. For if so, He would have had to suffer often,
since the foundation of the world. But now He has
appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put
away sin by the offering of Himself. (Hebrews
9:24-26)
Millions of sheep, goats and bulls were sacrificed
between the time Yahweh gave the Law to Moses
and Jesus’ death. But they could only temporarily
cover over sin. His “once for all” sacrifice put
away sin.
We have already seen that Jesus died on 14th, just as
the Passover lamb did.
A Lamb Slain Between the Evenings
The congregation of Israel shall kill it between the
evenings. (Exodus 12:6b)
A study of the Hebrew words for morning and
evening, show that together they make up the day,
the 12 hour period of sunlight. Morning is the time
from sunrise (~6 AM) and noon (~12 PM).
Evening is the time from noon to sunset (~6 PM).
The phrase “between the evenings” refers to 3 PM,
the time between when the sun begins to set (noon)
and when it actually sets (~6 PM). Based on a 12
hour day, 3 PM is the ninth hour, which is exactly
when Jesus died (Matthew 27:46-50). He died
exactly when the Passover lambs were to be
sacrificed.
Lamb’s Blood Applied
And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it
in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the
lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is
in the basin, and you, none of you shall go out of
the door of his house until morning. (Exodus
12:22)
The Israelites were to apply blood to the two
doorposts and the lintel. Also notice, the blood was
in a basin. The word used for basin means also,
“sill, threshold”. The locations of the blood on the
door are representative of the four places from
which Jesus shed His blood – lintel (head, crown of
thorns), two doorposts (two wrists), and sill
(ankles).
Lamb’s Flesh Eaten
And they shall eat the flesh on that night … with
unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall
eat it. (Exodus 12:8)
While the lamb’s blood saved them from death, the
lamb’s flesh gave them strength for their upcoming
escape from Egypt. Jesus said to those who were
following Him, many merely because of His
miracles:
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh
of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you
possess no life in yourselves. He who eats My
flesh and drinks My blood possesses eonian life,
and I shall raise him up in the last day. For My
flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink.
He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood
stays in Me, and I in him. (John 6:53-56)
The key to what He is saying is found in vs. 35:
And said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who
comes to Me shall not get hungry at all, and he
who believes in Me shall not get thirsty at all.
(John 6:35)
Eating His flesh, which keeps you from being
hungry, involves coming to Him. Drinking His
blood, which keeps you from being thirsty, involves
believing in Him. When the lamb’s flesh was
eaten, it became part of the person. That is why
Jesus said that if we eat His flesh and drink His
blood, He would abide in us.
Fire Roasted Lamb
Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but
roasted in fire, its head with its legs and its inward
parts. (Exodus 12:9)
In Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho, he writes:
The [Passover] lamb which was commanded to be
wholly roasted was a symbol of the suffering of
the cross which Christ would undergo. For the
lamb, which is roasted, is roasted and dressed up
in the form of the cross. For one spit is transfixed
right through from the lower parts up to the head,
and one across the back, to which are attached the
legs of the lamb. (Chapter 20)
In John 19:28, we read, “Jesus, knowing that all had
been accomplished, in order that the Scripture
might be accomplished, said, ‘I thirst!’” What
Scripture is this referring to?
It is the great Messianic psalm, Psalm 22, where
David writes:
I have been poured out like water, and all My
bones have been spread apart; My heart has
become like wax; it has melted in the midst of My
inward parts. My strength is dried like a potsherd,
and My tongue is cleaving to My jaws; and to the
dust of death You are appointing Me. (vv. 14, 15)
The fire represents the sufferings that Jesus
experienced at the hand of His enemies. I have to
very briefly address the topic of God’s wrath and
the cross. A popular song (In Christ Alone) states:
In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
'Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live
Did God pour out His wrath on His Son? Was it
satisfied? If God’s wrath was poured out on Jesus
and satisfied, how is it that Paul could say two
decades later, “for the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all wickedness and
unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in
unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18)? If God’s wrath
was satisfied, why was it still being revealed? Did
God need to be appeased like the gods of the
heathen? Is that what was going on during the final
Passover?
The Apostle Paul tells us what was going on in 2
Corinthians 5:
God has restored us to favor with Himself through
Jesus the Messiah, and has given us the service of
restoration to favor, that is, that God was in
Messiah restoring the world to favor unto Himself, not reckoning their trespasses to them.
(vv. 18, 19a)
God did not have to be reconciled to man, man had
to be reconciled to God. The mind of the flesh is
enmity against God (Romans 8:7). Man viewed
God as an enemy; it was not the other way around.
Adam’s sin did not change God’s love for mankind,
nor did Jesus’ death on the cross change God’s
wrath against sin. Jesus was not a lightning rod for
the wrath of God. Paul writes in Colossians 1:
And He (Jesus) is before all, and in Him all hold
together. And He is the Head of the body, the
assembly, who is the beginning, the first-born
from the dead, that He might become the One
who is first in all. Because in Him all the
completeness was well pleased to dwell, and
through Him to completely restore to favor all
unto Himself, whether on earth or in the heavens,
having made peace through the blood of His
cross. And you, who once were estranged and
enemies in the mind by wicked works, but now
He has completely restored to favor in the body of
His flesh through death, to present you set-apart,
and blameless, and unreprovable before Him.
(vv. 17-22)
Reconciliation did not take place ON the cross, but
took place THROUGH the cross. Again, it is not,
God reconciles Himself to the world, but He
reconciles the world to Himself:
For when we were still weak, Messiah in due time
died for the wicked. For one shall hardly die for a
righteous one, though possibly for a good one
someone would even have the courage to die. But
God proves His own love for us, in that while
we were still sinners, Messiah died for us. Much more then, having now been declared right
by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath
through Him. For if, being enemies, we were
restored to favor with God through the death of
His Son, much more, having been restored to
favor, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5:6-
10)
It didn’t take Jesus’ death on the cross to get God to
love us, but Jesus died on the cross because God
loved us so much already. Reconciliation takes
place when man becomes convinced of God’s love,
demonstrated on the cross of Calvary and stops his
warring. A much better lyric than “the wrath of
God was satisfied” would be “love of God was
magnified”. God handed His Son over to wicked
men because He wanted to demonstrate His love,
not to appease His wrath.
Jesus words regarding thirst also draw us to Psalm
69, where we read:
Reproach has broken my heart and I am sick; I
looked for sympathy, but there was none; and for
comforters, but I found none. And they gave me
gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me
vinegar to drink. (vv. 20, 21)
We will see another connection with this psalm
later on in this study.
Lamb with Unbroken Bones
It is eaten in one house, you are not to take any of
the flesh outside the house, nor are you to break
any bone of it. (Exodus 12:46)
As you will see in the attached harmony of the
gospel accounts, the Jewish leaders wanted to
hasten the death of crucified by having their legs
broken, which caused suffocation. After they broke
the legs of the two criminals, they found that Jesus
was dead already and they did not break his legs.
This not only fulfilled the Passover type, but the
words from Psalm 34:
Many are the evils of the righteous, but Yahweh
delivers him out of them all. He is guarding all his
bones; not one of them is broken. (vv. 19, 20)
It is important to note that man did not take Jesus’
life from Him:
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays
down His life for the sheep. … No one takes it
from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have
authority to lay it down, and I have authority to
receive it again. This command I have received
from My Father.” (John 10:18)
When He had accomplished His work, He gave up
His spirit and died, on His timetable, not man’s.
There were times before this when they tried to kill
Him, but were unable to do so, because it wasn’t
time (e.g., John 7:30). However, in Matthew 26:5,
they indicate that they did not want to kill Jesus on
Passover, because the crowds will revolt. However,
on God’s timetable, He had to die on Passover and
that is exactly when He died. God is sovereign, no
man can thwart His plans.
Totally Consumed Lamb
And do not leave of it until morning, and what
remains of it until morning you are to burn with
fire. (Exodus 12:10)
Finally, the lamb was not to remain until morning
(sunrise). As shown in the attached Jesus’ Last
Week, Jesus was buried, not before sunset as many
teach, but rather before sunrise in accordance with
the Passover regulations.
A RESURRECTED PEOPLE
And the children of Israel set out from Rameses to
Sukkoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot,
besides the little ones. … And the sojourn of the
children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four
hundred and thirty years. And it came to be at the
end of the four hundred and thirty years, on that
same day it came to be that all the divisions of
Yahweh went out from the land of Egypt. It is a
night to be observed unto Yahweh for bringing
them out of the land of Egypt. This night is unto
Yahweh, to be observed by all the children of
Israel throughout their generations. (Exodus
12:37, 40-42)
Were the Israelites in Egypt for 430 years? Did
they leave Egypt at night? The answer to both of
those questions is “No”. The first question is
addressed in the attachment “How Long Was Israel
in Egypt?” Later we will look at the significance of
430 years. The answer to the second question is
very clear from what Yahweh told the people in
verse 22: “None of you shall go out of the door of
his house until morning”. They could not leave
their homes during the night without being
disobedient. We read, “Then Pharaoh called for
Moses and Aaron by night, and said, ‘Arise, go out
from the midst of my people, both you and the
children of Israel. And go; serve Yahweh as you
have said. Take both your flocks and your herds, as
you have said, and go. Then you shall bless me
too’” (vv. 31, 32). As Moses and Aaron could not
leave their homes, a messenger must have been sent
to them from Pharaoh. Yahweh did the work that
set His people free at night, but the people did not
leave from Rameses to travel to Sukkoth until the
morning, Abib 15, as we read in Numbers 33:
So they departed from Rameses in the first month,
on the fifteenth day of the first month, on the
morrow of the Passover the children of Israel
went out with boldness before the eyes of all the
Egyptians and the Egyptians were burying all
their first-born, whom Yahweh had smitten
among them. Also on their mighty ones Yahweh
had executed judgments. (vv. 3, 4)
As Abib 14 is Yahweh’s Passover (Leviticus 23:5),
Yahweh passed over the Israelites around midnight,
and Abib 15 is said to be on the morrow of the
Passover, it shows that biblical days begin with
sunrise, not sunset – otherwise Yahweh would have
passed over on Abib 15, not Abib 14.
In the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures
(Septuagint [LXX]), the word used for “arise” is
anistēmi, a word used, for example, by the Apostle
Peter in preaching on the day of Pentecost:
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of
Nazareth, a Man from God, having been pointed
out to you by mighty works, and wonders, and
signs which God did through Him in your midst,
as you yourselves also know, this One, given up
by the set purpose and foreknowledge of God,
you have impaled and put to death through the
hands of lawless men – Him God raised up
(anastēsen), having loosed the pangs of death,
because it was impossible that He could be held in
its grip. For David says concerning Him, ‘I saw
Yahweh before me continually, because He is at
my right hand, in order that I should not be
shaken. For this reason my heart rejoiced, and my
tongue was glad, and now my flesh shall also rest
in expectation, because You shall not leave my
being in the grave, nor shall You give Your Kind
One to see corruption. You have made known to
me the ways of life, You shall fill me with joy in
Your presence.’ Men and brothers, let me speak
boldly to you of the ancestor David, that he died
and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this
day. Being a prophet, then, and knowing that God
had sworn with an oath to him: of the fruit of his
loins, according to the flesh, to raise up
(anastēsein) the Messiah to sit on his throne,
foreseeing this he spoke concerning the
resurrection (anastaseōs) of the Messiah, that
His being was neither left in the grave, nor did
His flesh see corruption. God has raised up
(anastēsen) this Jesus, of which we are all
witnesses. Therefore, having been exalted to the
right hand of God, and having received from the
Father the promise of the Set-apart Spirit, He
poured out this which you now see and hear. For
David did not ascend into the heavens, but he
himself said, Yahweh said to my Master, ‘Sit at
My right hand, until I make Your enemies a
footstool for Your feet.’ Therefore let all the
house of Israel know for certain that God has
made this Jesus, whom you impaled, both Master
and Messiah.” (Acts 2:22-36)
We will come back to this passage. In the midst of
death all around them (i.e., the Egyptians burying
the firstborn dead), Israel began their exodus from
bondage. It was the resurrection of the nation –
Pharaoh could no longer hold them. Think about
what Peter said in his sermon, “Jesus God raised up,
having loosed the pangs of death, because it was
impossible that He could be held in its grip” (Acts
2:24). Just as Pharaoh could no longer hold Israel
captive, death could not hold Jesus.
As Israel was “resurrected” on Abib 15, I believe
that Jesus was also. Scripture does not give us a
clear statement regarding the time of the
resurrection, but we can put the pieces together.
You may be thinking “what about Matthew 28:1-
4?” Well what about it?
Now after the Sabbath, toward dawn on the first
day of the week, Mary from Magdala and the
other Mary came to see the tomb. And see, there
was a great earthquake, for a messenger of
Yahweh came down out of heaven, and came and
rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.
And his appearance was like lightning and his
garments as white as snow. And the guards
trembled for fear of him, and became like dead
men.
The stone was not rolled away to let Jesus out. The
stone and the guards were removed to allow Jesus’
followers in. This passage does not pinpoint the
time of the resurrection. Let’s look at the evidence
that is available to us.
1. The Sign of the Prophet Jonah – Three
Days & Three Nights
In Matthew 12 when asked for a sign, Jesus said to
the scribes and Pharisees:
“A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a
sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the
sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three
days and three nights in the stomach of the great
fish, so shall the Son of Man be three days and
three nights (treis hēmeras kai treis nuktas) in
the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:39-40)
The “heart of the earth” is generally taken to refer
to His burial and people try to jump through hoops
to get 3 days and 3 nights out of a 36 hour period
(Friday sunset to Sunday sunrise), which they try to
do with a Roman calendar. I have never thought of
this as a very good explanation.
Jesus was not buried in the “heart of the earth”.
The heart is a metaphor for the middle of
something. Jesus did not speak Greek, but
Aramaic. The Peshitta provides us with a good
indication of His actual words, namely, b’lebah
d’ara. The Hebrew word for “heart” is leb, which
can clearly be seen in the Aramaic b’lebah. The
Aramaic word for “earth” or more properly “land”
is ara and it is equivalent to the Hebrew erets,
which we find in Ezekiel 5:
Thus said the Master Yahweh, This is Jerusalem
which I have set in the midst of the nations,
with the other lands (arazot) all around her.
(vs. 5)
I believe that Jerusalem was the “heart of the land”
from Jesus’ and His audience’s viewpoint. Several
times we read things like the following:
And Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve
taught ones aside on the way and said to them,
“See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son
of Man shall be delivered up to the chief priests
and to the scribes. And they shall condemn Him
to death, and deliver Him to the nations to mock
and to flog and to impale. And the third day He
shall be raised.” (Matthew 20:17-19)
The Lord was very clear, He had to suffer, die, and
rise again in Jerusalem. I believe the 3 days and 3
nights were from the time Judas Iscariot betrayed
Him during the night portion of Abib 12 (“delivered
up to the chief priests and scribes”) until He was
resurrected after sunrise on Abib 15 (see attached
Jesus’ Last Week) (12N, 13D, 13N, 14D, 14N,
15D).
For those who demand that Jesus be in the tomb for
72 hours, we will see that this is not scripturally
possible considering that Jesus did not undergo
corruption and a further connection with Jonah
under Item #3.
2. Three Days & the Third Day
There are multiple Scriptures that refer to “three
days” and “the third day” in relationship to Jesus’
resurrection from the dead. It is indicated in the
New Testament that this was prophesied in the Old
Testament. For instance, Jesus Himself in speaking
with the disciples following His resurrection:
“These are the words which I spoke to you while I
was still with you, that all have to be filled that
were written in the Torah of Moses and the
Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” Then
He opened their minds to understand the
Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it has been
written, and so it was necessary for the Messiah
to suffer and to rise again (anastēnai) from the
dead the third day (tē tritē hēmera), and that
repentance and forgiveness of sins should be
proclaimed in His Name to all nations, beginning
at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these
matters.” (Luke 24:44-48)
The Apostle Paul as well writes:
For I delivered to you at the first that which I also
received: that Messiah died for our sins according
to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that
He was raised (egēgertai) the third day (tē tritē
hēmera), according to the Scriptures. (1
Corinthians 15:3, 4)
We see in these passages two words that are used
with regards to raising from the dead: anistēmi and
egeirō. Where is this written? It would seem to be
in Hosea 6:
Come, and let us turn back to Yahweh. For He has
torn but He does heal us, He has stricken but He
binds us up. After two days He shall revive us, on
the third day (LXX tēn hēmera tēn tritē) He shall
raise us up (LXX anastēsometha), so that we live
before Him. (Hosea 6:1, 2)
The Hebrew words translated “torn” and “stricken”
are used in great Messianic passages regarding the
crucifixion (translated ‘raging” and “smitten”,
respectively):
Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong ones of
Bashan have encircled Me. They have opened
their mouths against Me, as a raging and roaring
lion. (Psalm 22:12, 13)
Truly, He has borne our sicknesses and carried
our pains. Yet we reckoned Him stricken, smitten
by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our
transgressions, He was crushed for our
crookednesses. The chastisement for our peace
was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
We all, like sheep, went astray, each one of us has
turned to his own way. And Yahweh has laid on
Him the crookedness of us all. (vv. 4-6)
For two days while given over the hands of wicked
men, Jesus was torn and crushed. But on the third
day, Yahweh raised Him from the dead.
As noted earlier, thinking with Western minds,
many are convinced that Jesus had to be in the
grave exactly 72 hours. What does Jesus have to
say about “three days”:
On the same day there came certain Pharisees,
saying to Him, “Get out and go from here, for
Herod wishes to kill You.” And He said to them,
“Go, say to that fox, ‘See, I cast out demons and
perform healings today and tomorrow, and the
third day I shall be perfected.’ (Luke 13:31, 32)
From the perspective of something occurring today,
the third day could be as little as:
1 hr of Today (1st Day) 1 hr
Tonight 12 hrs
Tomorrow (2nd
Day) 12 hrs
Tomorrow Night 12 hrs
1 hr of Following Day (3rd
Day) 1 hr
Total 38 hrs
However, three days and three nights is a different
story:
1 hr of Today (1st Day) 1 hr
Tonight (1st Night) 12 hrs
Tomorrow (2nd
Day) 12 hrs
Tomorrow Night (2nd
Night) 12 hrs
Following Day (3rd
Day) 12 hrs
1 hr of Following Night (3rd
Night) 1 hr
Total 50 hrs
The 38 hrs from Friday just before sunset to Sunday
just before sunrise is too short to account for a
fulfillment of the sign of Jonah.
Let’s look at the passages regarding “three days”
and “the third day”. Following the Transfiguration,
we read in the synoptic gospels:
Then He warned His taught ones that they should
say to no one that He is Jesus the Messiah. From
that time Jesus began to show to His taught ones
that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem,
and to suffer much from the elders and chief
priests and scribes, and be killed, and to be raised
again (egerthēnai) the third day (tē tritē hēmera). (Matthew 16:20, 21) (cf. Mark 8:31;
Luke 9:21, 22)
There are three phases to what will occur to Jesus in
Jerusalem (“the heart of the earth”):
1. Suffering at the hands on elders, chief priests
and scribes (first day – Abib 13);
2. Being killed (second day – Abib 14); and,
3. Being raised from the dead (third day – Abib
15)
This is really similar language to what Jesus used in Luke 13 – today, tomorrow, the third day. We see
these same three stages in these other passages:
And while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said
to them, “The Son of Man about to be delivered
up into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him,
and the third day (tē tritē hēmera) He shall be
raised up (egerthēsetai).” And they were deeply
grieved. (Matthew 17:22, 23 [cf. Mark 9:31])
And taking the twelve aside, He said to them,
“See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all that
have been written by the prophets about the Son
of Man shall be accomplished. For He shall be
delivered up to the nations and shall be mocked
and insulted and spat upon, and having flogged
Him they shall kill Him. And on the third day (tē
hēmera tē tritē) He shall rise again
(anastēsetai).” But they understood none of this,
and this word was hidden from them, and they did
not know what was being said. (Luke 18:31-34
[cf. Matthew 20:17-19, Mark 10:32-34])
“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He
is not here, but has been raised up! Remember
how He spoke to you when He was still in
Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man has to be
delivered into the hands of sinners, and be
impaled, and the third day (tē tritē hēmera) rise
again (anastēnai).’” (Luke 24:5-7)
Over and over again, the same three stages:
suffering at the hands of the religious leaders and
Romans, death and resurrection on the third day.
During Jesus’ trial, we read the following:
And the chief priests, and the elders, and all the
council were seeking false witness against Jesus
to put Him to death, but found none. Although
many false witnesses came forward, they found
none. But at last two false witnesses came
forward, and said, “This one said, ‘I am able to
destroy the Dwelling Place of God and to build it
in three days (dia triōn hēmerōn).’” (Matthew
26:59-61 [cf. Mark 14:57, 58])
This takes us back to the beginning of Jesus’
ministry when John records Him saying:
And the Jews answered and said to Him, “What
sign do You show to us, since You are doing
these?” Jesus answered and said to them,
“Destroy this Dwelling Place, and in three days
(en trisin hēmerais) I shall raise (egerō) it.” Then
the Jews said, “It took forty-six years to build this
Dwelling Place, and You are going to raise it in
three days?” But He spoke about the Dwelling Place of His body. And when He was raised
(ēgerthē) from the dead, His taught ones
remembered that He said this to them. And they
believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus
had said. (John 2:18-22)
We can see why the individuals at the trial were
“false witnesses” – Jesus did not indicate that He
would destroy the Dwelling Place of Yahweh, the
Jews were going to do that when they handed Him
over to be crucified. We will not focus on the
“false witnesses” testimony, but Jesus’ actually
words. It sounds like He is saying that once they
have killed Him, He will raise it three days later –
which would contradict what I have been saying.
This passage seems to favor the Friday crucifixion –
Sunday resurrection theory – they completed
tearing down the temple on Abib 14 (1st day), He
was in the grave on Abib 15 (2nd
day) and arose on
Abib 16 (3rd
day). However, this theory cannot
account for the sign of Jonah – 3 days and 3 nights
as it is only:
1 hr of Daylight on Abib 14 1 hr
Nighttime Hours of Abib 14 12 hrs
Daylight Hours of Abib 15 12 hrs
Nighttime Hours of Abib 15 12 hrs
1 hr of Daylight on Abib 16 1 hr
Total 38 hrs
This is only 3 days and 2 nights. However, if our
understanding of the “heart of the earth” is correct,
and the clock begins with betrayal of Judas during
the night of Abib 12, then Jesus would be in the
heart of the earth for 4 days and 4 nights. This
scenario does not work either way. Therefore, it
would seem that Jesus started the clock for
rebuilding on the day that they started tearing down
the temple of His body. This sign in John 2 cannot
be any different than the sign given in Matthew 12,
since Jesus refers to the Matthew 12 sign as the
“only sign”.
References to Jesus’ statement in John 2 are made
two other times in the gospel accounts by Jesus’
enemies:
And those passing by were blaspheming Him,
shaking their heads, and saying, “You who
destroy the Dwelling Place and build it in three
days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God,
come down from the stake.” (Matthew 27: 39, 40
[cf. Mark 15:29, 30])
On the next day, which was after the preparation,
the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together
to Pilate, saying, “Master, we remember, while
He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After
three days I am raised.’ Command, then, that the
tomb be safeguarded until the third day, lest His
taught ones come by night and steal Him away,
and should say to the people, ‘He was raised from
the dead.’ And the last deception shall be worse
than the first.” (Matthew 27:62-64)
We have already addressed the understanding of his
enemies of Jesus’ words in John 2. Although I
cannot prove it, I believe Jesus had already left the
tomb before the chief priests and Pharisees set their
worthless guard up.
We have one last passage to look at – the
conversation between Jesus and the disciples on the
road to Emmaus:
And He said to them, “What are these words you
are exchanging with each other as you are
walking – and you are sad?” And the one whose
name was Cleopas answering, said to Him, “Are
You the lone visitor in Jerusalem who does not
know what took place in it these days?” And He
said to them, “What?” And they said to Him,
“Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a
Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and
all the people, and how the chief priests and our
rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death,
and impaled Him. We, however, were expecting
that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.
But besides all this, today is the third day since
these matters took place. (Luke 24:19-21)
This is on Abib 16. Jesus died on Abib 14, with
three hours of daylight remaining. Therefore, at the
time the disciples were talking to Jesus, it was the
third day (Abib 14, Abib 15 & Abib 16). However,
this verse has nothing to do with the timing of
Jesus’ resurrection, other than that it had to occur
before this conversation.
I believe an evaluation of all the “three days” and
“third day” Scriptures upholds the interpretation of
Jesus’ resurrection being on the first day of the
Feast of Unleavened Bread (Abib 15).
3. No Corruption
We have already quoted Peter’s sermon and his use
of Psalm 16 with regards to Jesus’ resurrection
(Acts 2). The Apostle Paul similarly uses this
Psalm in his sermon in Pisidian Antioch:
“Men, brothers, sons of the race of Abraham, and
those among you fearing God, to you the word of
this deliverance has been sent, for those dwelling
in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did
not know Him, nor even the voices of the
Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have
filled them in having judged Him. And having
found not one cause for death, they asked Pilate
that He should be put to death. And when they
had accomplished all that was written concerning
Him, taking Him down from the timber, they laid
Him in a tomb. But God raised (ēgeiren) Him
from the dead, and He was seen for many days
by those who came up with Him from Galilee to
Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people.”
“And we bring you the Good News, the promise
made to the fathers, that God has filled this for us,
their children, having raised up (anastēsis) Jesus,
as it has also been written in the second Psalm,
‘You are My Son, today I have brought You
forth.’ And that He raised (anestēsen) Him out
of the dead, no more to return to corruption, He
has said thus, ‘I shall give you the trustworthy
kindnesses of David.’ For this reason He also says
in another Psalm, ‘You shall not give Your Kind
One to see corruption.’ For David, indeed,
having served his own generation by the counsel
of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers,
and saw corruption, but He whom God raised
up (ēgeiren) saw no corruption.” (Acts 13:26-
37)
As both Paul and Peter use this Psalm, it is important
for us to look at it. David writes:
For You do not leave my being in the grave
(sheol), Neither let Your Kind One see
corruption. (Psalm 16:11)
The Hebrew word translated “corruption” is
shachath. It comes from an ancient root meaning
“sharp walls”, picturing a pit dug into the ground
for the purpose of trapping someone or something.
Where does the idea of corruption or decay come
from? The LXX translators used the Greek word
diaphthora, a word found in the NT only in Peter’s
sermon in Acts 2 and Paul’s sermon in Acts 13,
which means “to utterly bring into a worse state”.
An animal falling into a trap would die and then
decompose.
How long before bacteria begin decompose a dead
body? Let’s let God’s word provide the answer. In
the book of Leviticus we read:
And when you bring a peace offering to Yahweh,
bring it for your acceptance. It is eaten the same
day you slaughter it, and on the next day. And that
which is left on the third day is burned with fire.
So if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is
abominable, it is not accepted, and he who eats it bears his crookedness, because he has profaned
the set-apart offering of Yahweh, and that being
shall be cut off from his people. (19:5-8)
So it appears that an offering could be eaten on the
day that it was offered or on the next day, but it was
abominable on the third day. This Hebrew word for
“abominable” (piggul – something that stinks or is
rotten) is used only three other times in the
Scripture. Once in a similar passage in Leviticus 7.
Once by Ezekiel in declaring that he had never
eaten this type of sacrifice (meat left over to the
third day). And finally in Isaiah 65, where Yahweh
says to Israel:
I have held out My hands all day long to a
stubborn people, who walk in a way that is not
good, after their own thoughts; the people who
provoke Me continually to My face, who
slaughter in gardens, and burn incense on altars of
brick; who sit among the graves, and spend the
night in secret places, who eat flesh of pigs, and
the broth of unclean (piggul) meat is in their pots.
(vv. 2-4)
If Jesus was offered on Abib 14, His body could no
longer be in the tomb come Abib 16 (the third day).
He definitely could not have been in the tomb for
72 hours. In both cases, He would have undergone
corruption – His body would have decomposed and
David’s prophecy would not have been fulfilled.
While Israelites at the time of Isaiah may have been
going to cemeteries to consult with the dead (“sit
among the graves” “spend the night in secret
places”), as Jesus underwent no corruption, I
believe He spent as little time as possible in the
tomb – buried just before sunset of Abib 14 and was
resurrected just after sunrise on Abib 15.
We also see the word shachath in Jonah, where the
prophet prays from inside the fish:
I called to Yahweh because of my distress, and He
answered me. From the stomach of the grave
(sheol) I cried, and You heard my voice. For You
threw me into the deep, into the heart of the seas,
and the floods surrounded me. All Your breakers
and Your waves passed over me. So I said, ‘I
have been driven away from Your eyes. Would I
ever look again toward Your set-apart temple?’
Waters encompassed me, unto life, the deep
closed around me, weeds were wrapped around
my head. I went down to the base of the
mountains, the earth with its bars were behind me
forever. But You brought up my life from the pit
(shachath), O Yahweh, my God. (2:2-6)
This prayer draws us back to the opening words of
Psalm 69, which we looked at previously with
regards to a fire-roasted lamb:
Save me, O God! For waters have come up to my
neck. I have sunk in deep mud, and there is no
place to stand; I have come into deep waters, and
the floods overflow me. I am worn out from my
crying; my throat is dry; my eyes grow dim as I
wait for my God. Those who hate me without a
cause are more than the hairs of my head; they are
mighty who would destroy me, my lying enemies;
what I did not steal, I restored. (vv. 1-4)
There is a clear connection between the thoughts of
the Messiah on the cross and Jonah inside the fish.
This points out to me at least that Jonah’s three days
and three nights is more about the sufferings and
crucifixion of Jesus, than His time in the tomb.
One more thought with regards to the Messiah not
undergoing corruption. During the Feast of
Unleavened Bread, which was celebrated from
Abib 15 through Abib 21 (seven days), “unleavened
bread is to be eaten the seven days, and whatever is
leavened is not to be seen with you, and leaven is
not to be seen with you within all your border”
(Exodus 13:7). What is leaven? Se’or is inedible
fermented grain which is used to ferment dough.
Fermentation is a form of corruption. The
resurrection of Jesus on the first day of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread is consistent with David’s
declaration that the Messiah would not undergo
corruption.
4. Messiah’s Exodus
During the account of Transfiguration, Luke writes:
And it came to be, as He prayed, the appearance
of His face changed, and His garment dazzling
white. And see, two men were talking with Him,
who were Moses and Elijah, who having appeared
in esteem, spoke of His death which He was
about to complete at Jerusalem. (Luke 9:29-31)
“His death” is not a very good translation of the
Greek word exodus, rather we could say that they
were speaking of His departure or simply His
exodus, seeing that we are familiar with this word
from the name of the second book of Moses. This
word is also used:
By belief, Joseph, when he was dying, made
mention of the outgoing (exodou) of the children
of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.
(Hebrews 11:22)
Jesus was about to complete an exodus at Jerusalem
during the final Passover, similar to that which
Israel completed as a result of the first Passover.
As Israel began its exodus on Abib 15, it seems
only right that Jesus would do the same.
5. The Bones of Joseph
We just made reference to the bones of Joseph. In
Exodus 13, we read regarding the beginning of the
Israel’s departure from Egypt:
And it came to be, when Pharaoh had let the
people go, that God did not lead them by way of
the land of the Philistines, though that was nearer,
for God said, “Lest the people regret when they
see fighting, and return to Egypt.” So God led the
people around by way of the wilderness of the
Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up
armed from the land of Egypt. And Moses took
the bones of Joseph with him, for he certainly
made the children of Israel swear, saying, “God
shall certainly visit you, and you shall bring my
bones from here with you.” And they departed
from Sukkoth and camped in Ětham at the edge of
the wilderness. (vv. 17-20)
The first day (Abib 15) they traveled from Rameses
to Sukkoth and there Joseph’s grave was emptied.
Jesus was in Joseph’s grave, Joseph of Arimethea,
that is. Again I think it is appropriate that Joseph of
Arimethea’s grave was emptied the same day as the
patriarch Joseph’s grave – especially as Joseph’s
life was a type of Jesus’ death, burial and
resurrection.
6. The Sheep in the Pit
In Matthew 12, the same chapter where we find the
sign of the prophet Jonah, we have an account
where Jesus’ enemies question whether it is lawful
to heal on the Sabbath. He answers their question
by healing the man with the withered hand. But
before He does, He asks them a question:
“What man is there among you who has one
sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath,
shall not take hold of it and lift it out?” (vs. 11)
The Greek word translated “lift out” is one of the
two words that we have seen used regarding Jesus’
resurrection, namely, egeirō. Jesus was God’s
sheep and He was in a pit (the grave) on the
Sabbath. I believe that God raised His lamb on the
Sabbath (Abib 15).
7. 430 Years & Abrahamic Covenant
In Exodus 12:40, 41, we are told that Israel’s
sojourn was exactly 430 years to the day. As
shown in the attachment How Long Was Israel in
Egypt?, this timeframe relates to the timeframe
between the Abrahamic Covenant and the
Exodus/Mosaic Covenant, not the time in Egypt
alone. According to the synoptic gospel writers,
Jesus cried out the opening words of Psalm 22 from
the cross (e.g., Matthew 27:46):
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
(vs. 1)
Jesus was not saying that God had actually forsaken
Him, but was drawing the crowd’s and our attention
to this psalm of David. His enemies had mocked
him by quoting this psalm (e.g., Matthew 27:43):
All those who see Me mock Me; they shoot out
the lip, they shake the head, saying, “He trusted in
Yahweh, let Him rescue Him; let Him deliver
Him, seeing He has delighted in Him!” (vv. 7,8)
By quoting the first verse of the psalm, Jesus was
saying “Open up your Bibles to Psalm 22 and read
it! See what was really happening here today!” His
enemies were essentially saying that Yahweh had
abandoned Him, why would Jesus give credence to
their lies. Jesus had said the following about His
relationship with the Father:
“When you lift up the Son of Man, then you shall
know that I am He, and that I do none at all of
Myself, but as My Father taught Me, these words
I speak. And He who sent Me is with Me. The
Father has not left Me alone, for I always do what pleases Him.” (John 8:28, 29)
Jesus says the Father never leaves Him alone, for
He always does was pleases His Father. Was Jesus
pleasing God on the cross? He most certainly was,
so the Father did not abandon Him. Also, after
informing His disciples that they will abandon Him,
Jesus says:
See, an hour is coming, and has now come, that
you are scattered, each to his own, and leave Me
alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is
with Me. (John 16:32)
Was God no more faithful than the disciples? Of
course not, He did not abandon or forsake Jesus
while on the cross.
What does this have to do with the 430 years?
Remember Jesus is pointing us to the entire psalm,
not just the actual quotes in the New Testament.
We read in the latter part of the psalm:
Let all the ends of the earth remember and turn to Yahweh, and all clans of the nations bow
themselves before You. For the reign belongs to
Yahweh, and He is ruling over the nations. (vv.
27, 28)
The heart of the Abrahamic Covenant is found in
the words “in you all the clans of the earth shall be
blessed” (Genesis 12:3). A restatement of this
comes after the symbolic death and resurrection of
Isaac in Genesis 22: “And in your seed all the
nations of the earth shall be blessed” (vs. 18). Paul
makes clear that these promises find their
fulfillment in Messiah Jesus (Galatians 3:16).
It appears that Israel came out of Egypt the very
same day 430 years after the promise made to
Abraham that all the families of the earth would be
blessed in Messiah. I think it is appropriate that
Jesus was raised from the dead this very same day,
which was Abib 15.
8. The Offering of Isaac by Abraham
We mentioned in passing the episode of Abraham
and Isaac in Genesis 22:
And it came to be after these events that God tried
Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he
said, “Here I am.” And He said, “Take your son,
now, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go
to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a
burnt offering on one of the mountains which I
command you.” And Abraham rose early in the
morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of
his young men with him, and Isaac his son. And
he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose
and went to the place which God had commanded
him. And on the third day Abraham lifted his
eyes and saw the place from a distance. So
Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with
the donkey while the boy and I go over there and
worship, and come back to you.” And Abraham
took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on
Isaac his son. And he took the fire in his hand,
and a knife, and the two of them went together.
And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said,
“My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.”
And he said, “See, the fire and the wood! But
where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” And
Abraham said, “My son, God does provide for
Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” And the
two of them went together. And they came to the
place which God had commanded him, and
Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood
in order. And he bound Isaac his son and laid him
on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham
stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay
his son, but the Messenger of Yahweh called to
him from the heavens and said, “Abraham,
Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” And He
said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy, nor touch
him. For now I know that you fear God, seeing
you have not withheld your son, your only son,
from Me.” And Abraham lifted his eyes and
looked and saw behind him a ram caught in a
bush by its horns, and Abraham went and took the
ram and offered it up for a burnt offering instead
of his son. And Abraham called the name of the
place, Yahweh Yireh,’ as it is said to this day,
“On the mountain Yahweh provides.” (vv. 1-14)
Refer to the attachment Where Was Jesus
Crucified? to see that this episode occurred at the
same place as the crucifixion. In the book of
Hebrews, we read:
By belief, Abraham, when he was tried, offered
up Isaac, and he who had received the promises
offered up his only brought-forth son, of whom it
was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,”
reckoning that God was able to raise (egeirein), even from the dead, from which he received him
back, as a type. (11:17-19)
This episode is a type of the sufferings, death and
resurrection of Jesus. The resurrection occurs on
the third day from when the suffering began or
Abib 15.
THE WAVE SHEAF
And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to
the children of Israel, and you shall say to them,
‘When you come into the land which I give you,
and shall reap its harvest, then you shall bring a
sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest to the
priest. And he shall wave the sheaf before
Yahweh, for your acceptance. On the morrow
after the Sabbath the priest waves it. And on that
day when you wave the sheaf, you shall prepare a
male lamb a year old, a perfect one, as a burnt
offering to Yahweh, and its grain offering: two-
tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an
offering made by fire to Yahweh, a sweet
fragrance, and its drink offering: one-fourth of a
hin of wine. And you do not eat bread or roasted
grain or fresh grain until the same day that you
have brought an offering to your Yahweh – a law
forever throughout your generations in all your
dwellings. And from the morrow after the
Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf
of the wave offering, you shall count for
yourselves: seven completed Sabbaths. Until the morrow after the seventh Sabbath you count fifty
days, then you shall bring a new grain offering to
Yahweh. (Leviticus 23:9-16)
The “morrow after the Sabbath” refers to second
day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The first
day (Abib 15) is both a regular Sabbath (which
were on the 8th, 15
th, 22
th and 29
nd days of every
month) and also a high Sabbath (John 19:31). On
Abib 16, a sheaf of first-fruits of the barley harvest
was to be waved before Yahweh.
I think our understanding of this will be aided if we
look at Numbers 8 where we read about the
dedication of the tribe of Levi:
And you shall bring the Levites before the Tent of
Meeting, and you shall assemble all the
congregation of the children of Israel. And you
shall bring the Levites before Yahweh, and the
children of Israel shall lay their hands on the
Levites, and Aaron shall wave the Levites before
Yahweh, a wave offering from the children of
Israel – so shall they be for doing the service of
Yahweh. And the Levites shall lay their hands on
the heads of the young bulls. And one shall be
prepared as a sin offering and the other as a burnt
offering to Yahweh, to make atonement for the
Levites. And you shall have the Levites stand
before Aaron and his sons, and then wave them, a
wave offering to Yahweh. Thus you shall
separate the Levites from among the children of
Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine. Then after
that the Levites shall go in to do service in the
Tent of Meeting, when you have cleansed them
and waved them as a wave offering. For they are
given ones, given to Me from among the children
of Israel. I have taken them for Myself instead of
all who open the womb, the first-born of all the
children of Israel. For all the first-born among the
children of Israel are Mine, both man and beast.
On the day that I smote all the first-born in the
land of Egypt I set them apart unto Myself. And I
have taken the Levites instead of all the first-born
of the children of Israel. And I have given the
Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from
among the children of Israel, to do the service of
the children of Israel in the Tent of Meeting, and
to make atonement for the children of Israel, that
there be no plague among the children of Israel
when the children of Israel come near the set-
apart place. (vv. 9-19)
The Levites were a wave offering in place of the
firstborn of the children of Israel. They were set
apart as a gift to the high priest Aaron and his sons.
In His conversation with Mary of Magdala in the
early hours of Abib 16, Jesus said to her:
Do not hold on to Me, for I have not yet ascended
to My Father. But go to My brothers and say to
them, “I am ascending to My Father and your
Father, and to My God and your God. (John
20:17)
The Hebrew word for sheaf is omer, which was the
amount of manna each person was to collect each
day. It includes many heads of grain, not a single
one. This seems to be hinted at in Jesus’ words “I
am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to
My God and your God”.
We are not really given much detail regarding this
ascension, but it seems to be a fulfillment of the
wave sheaf offering. Jesus presented Himself, as
the first-born from the dead (Colossians 1:18) along
with the children God had given to Him as a wave
offering. They were set apart as kings and priests to
serve the High Priest.
One thing needs to be noted regarding the way the
New Testament refers to the day. We read the
following:
Now after the Sabbath, toward dawn on the first
day of the week, Mary from Magdala and the
other Mary came to see the tomb. (Matthew 28:1)
And when the Sabbath was past, Mary from
Magdala, and Mary the mother of James, and
Salome bought spices, to go and anoint Him. And
very early on the first day of the week, they
came to the tomb when the sun had risen. (Mark
16:1, 2)
And on the first day of the week, at early dawn,
they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which
they had prepared. (Luke 24:1)
And on the first day of the week Mary from
Magdala came early to the tomb, while it was still
dark, and saw that the stone had been removed
from the tomb. (John 20:1)
When therefore it was evening on that day, the
first day of the week, and when the doors were
shut where the taught ones met, for fear of the
Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said
to them, “Peace to you.” (John 20:19)
In each case, the phrase “first day of the week” is a
variant of the Greek mia sabbatōn, which is more
accurately translated as “first of the Sabbaths”.
This day was the first day in the count of “seven
completed Sabbaths (LXX sabbatōn)” plus 50 days
to the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost).
A Father’s Love
I have put a lot of time into this study over the
years. In the end, I may be out in left field. The
most important thing is that Jesus did die and that
He rose again from the dead.
With regards to the timing of the death and
resurrection of Jesus, you may disagree with me
whole-heartedly. But I hope this meditation has
given you a taste of the amazing plan of God in
providing for your salvation. Philips, Craig & Dean
sing a song that begins as follows:
What kind of love is this
That climbs the hill
That bears the cross
That takes the nails
What kind of love is this
That takes my place
That gives His life
And clears my name
Oh, I want to know what kind of love is this
It's wonderful
It's glorious
It's full of grace
And full of mercy
Powerful
It's marvelous
That's what this love is
That's what God's love is
My prayer for you is that you might firmly grasp
the wonderful, glorious, gracious, merciful,
powerful and marvelous love of God – its width and
length and depth and height (Ephesians 3:18).
In Jesus’ Love, Donald
Jesus’ Last Week
Day Night Event Scripture Reference
Matthew Mark Luke John
8
Sabbath
Comes to Bethany (home of Mary, Martha, & Lazarus) six days before the
Passover (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th & 14th) 12:1
8
Mary, Martha & Lazarus have a supper for Him and Mary anoints His feet
with very costly oil of spikenard. Judas Iscariot questions the waste of this act.
Many come to the home to see Jesus & Lazarus, whom He raised from the
dead.
12:2-11
9
Approaching Jerusalem, Jesus sends two disciples to get an unbroken colt and
its mother for Him. They place their coats on the colt and Jesus sits upon it.
Others spread their coats or palm branches on the road. People rejoice, praise
God & cry out “Hosanna, Blessed is the King who comes in the name of
Yahweh!” Matthew indicates that this was in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9.
21:1-11 11:1-10 19:28-40 12:12-19
Jesus weeps over the city of Jerusalem. 19:41-44
Jesus goes into the temple and looks around. As the hour is late, He goes back
to Bethany with the disciples. 11:11
10
Jesus returns from Bethany to Jerusalem in the morning. 11:12
Jesus curses the fig tree upon which He finds only leaves and no fruit. The
disciples hear Him. The tree immediately withers, but is not noticed by the
disciples.
11:13, 14
Jesus cleanses the temple of animal sellers and money changers. The scribes
& chief priests sought how to destroy Him (i.e., they selected a Passover
lamb).
21:12, 13 11:15-18 19:45, 46
Jesus teaches and heals the lame in the temple. The religious leaders are
indignant that the people are crying out, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” and
question why He is allowing it.
21:14-16 19:47 12:20-50
Jesus returns to Bethany for the night. 21:17 11:19
Jesus’ Last Week
Day Night Event Scripture Reference
Matthew Mark Luke John
11
Jesus returns from Bethany to Jerusalem in the morning. 21:18 11:20a
The disciples question Jesus concerning the withered fig tree. 21:19-22 11:20b-26
Chief priests and elders question Jesus’ authority to do the things He had been
doing. 21:23-27 11:27-33 20:1-8
Jesus’ parables of the two sons, wicked vinedressers & wedding feast. 21:28-22:14 12:1-12 20:9-19
Pharisees question Jesus regarding taxes paid to Caesar. 22:15-22 12:13-17 20:20-26
Sadducees question Jesus regarding the resurrection. 22:23-33 12:18-27 20:27-40
Scribe questions Jesus regarding the first commandment. 22:34-40 12:28-34
Jesus questions leaders concerning the relationship between the Messiah &
David. 22:41-45 12:35-37 20:41-44
Jesus’ woes against religious leaders. 23:1-39 12:38-40 20:45-47
Jesus’ teaching on the widow’s mite. 12:41-44 21:1-4
Jesus’ Olivet Discourse concerning the destruction of Jerusalem (in AD 70)
and the end of the age & His second coming. 24:1-25:46 13:1-36 21:5-37
Jesus indicates that after two days He will be betrayed. The chief priests &
scribes meet on how to take Jesus by trickery (11th & 12th [see night of 12th for
Jesus’ betrayal by Judas Iscariot])
26:1-5 14:1, 2 22:1, 2
Jesus’ Last Week
Day Night Event Scripture Reference
Matthew Mark Luke John
11
Jesus has meal at the house of Simon the leper in Bethany. A woman anoints
Jesus’ head with very costly oil of spikenard. Again the act is questioned.
Note: This is different than the anointing by Mary on the 8th. She anointed
Jesus’ feet.
26:6-13 14:3-9
12
Judas Iscariot agrees to betray Jesus to the chief priests. 26:14-16 14:10, 11 22:3-6
Jesus sends Peter & John to prepare the room where they would celebrate
Passover.
Note: They never did celebrate Passover, as Jesus died at the time the lamb
would have been sacrificed for the Passover meal.
26:17-19 14:12-16 22:7-13
12
Jesus washes the disciples’ feet after supper. 13:1-17
Jesus identifies His betrayer. 26:20-25 14:17-21 22:21-23
Jesus institutes the bread and wine ceremony symbolic of His body & blood. 26:26-30 14:22-26 22:14-20 13:18-30
Disciples argue about which one is the greatest. 22:24-30
Jesus predicts Peter’s denials 26:31-35 14:27-31 22:31-38 13:31-38
Jesus’ farewell discourse 14:1-17:26
Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane 26:36-46 14:32-42 22:39-46
Judas Iscariot betrays Jesus and He is arrested. All the disciples flee. 26:47-56 14:43-52 22:47-52 18:1-12
Jesus’ Last Week
Day Night Event Scripture Reference
Matthew Mark Luke John
12
“Matthew
12 First
Night”
Jesus is led to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and elders were
assembled. Peter and John follow at a distance. John gets them into the
courtyard. Jesus is taken to Annas (Caiaphas’s father-in-law) first.
26:57, 58 14:53, 54a 22:54 18:13-16
Peter stands by the fire to warm himself. Servant girl questions him and he
denies Jesus for the first time. A rooster crows. 26:69, 70 14:54b, 66-68 22:55-57 18:17, 18
Annas questions Jesus. 18:19-23
Annas sends Jesus to Caiaphas. 18:24
Jesus is tried before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin. Sanhedrin seek false
witnesses against Him. No witnesses agree with each other. Jesus is put under
oath to answer whether or not He is the Messiah, the Son of God. When He
says that He is, He is accused of blasphemy, deserving death. Thy spit in His
face and beat Him. He is blindfolded and taunted to prophesy who hit Him.
26:59-68 14:55-65 22:63-71
Peter denies Jesus two more times. A rooster crows. Jesus looks at Peter,
Peter remembers Jesus’ prediction, and goes out and weeps 26:71-75 14:69-72 22:58-62 18:25-27
13
Preparation
of the
Passover
“Matthew 12
First Day”
Jesus is bound and led from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, the home of Pontius
Pilate. As not to defile themselves, they do not enter the Praetorium. Pilate
comes out them and asks about the accusation. He tells them to try Him
themselves. They indicate that it is not lawful for them to put anyone to death.
27:1, 2 15:1 23:1 18:28-32
Judas Iscariot gives money back to chief priests and hangs himself. 27:3-10
Pilate returns to the Praetorium and calls for Jesus to be brought to him. He
asks Jesus if He is the King of the Jews. The chief priests accuse Him, but He
makes no answer. Pilate indicates he finds no fault. The chief priests indicate
that Jesus has been stirring up the people from Gal3ilee to Judea.
27:11-14 15:2-5 23:3-5 18:33-38
Hearing that Jesus was from Galilee, Pilate sends Jesus to Herod. Herod asks
Him many questions, but Jesus gives him no answer. Herod and his men of
war mistreat Jesus, dress Him in a gorgeous robe, and send Him back to Pilate.
23:6-12
Jesus’ Last Week
Day Night Event Scripture Reference
Matthew Mark Luke John
13
Preparation
of the
Passover
“Matthew 12
First Day”
Pilate tells the chief priests that neither he nor Herod have found any fault in
Jesus. He indicates that he will chastise Jesus and release Him according to his
Passover custom of releasing one prisoner.
23:13-17 18:39
Pilate tries to release Jesus, but the chief priests and crowds call for the
murderer Barabbas. They cry out for Jesus to be crucified. 27:15-25 15:6-14 23:13-23 18:40
Despite his wife’s warnings and his own belief that Jesus was innocent, he
releases Barabbas and delivers Jesus to be scourged. 27:26 15:15 23:24, 25 19:1
Soldiers clothed Jesus in purple and placed a crown of thorns on His head and
mockingly worship Him. They spit in His face and strike Him with their
hands.
27:27-31a 15:16-20a 19:2, 3
Pilate brings Jesus out for the crowds to see Him and again declares His
innocence, probably hoping if they see how badly He has been beaten, that
they will change their minds.
19:4, 5
The people continue to call for Jesus’ crucifixion. Pilate tells them to go
crucify Him themselves, as he found no fault. The people indicate that Jesus
must die because He claimed to be the Son of God. This causes Pilate to fear
and he questions Jesus some more. He continues to try to release Him but the
crowds indicate that Pilate is not a friend of Caesar if he lets Jesus go.
19:6-13
At the 6th hour (~12 noon [cf John 4:6]), Pilate brings out Jesus one last time
and presents Him as their king. The people continue to indicate that He should
be crucified and that Caesar is their king. He delivers Jesus to be crucified.
19:14-16a
13
“Matthew
12
Second
Night”
Jesus spends the night in prison. (Isaiah 53:8)
Jesus’ Last Week
Day Night Event Scripture Reference
Matthew Mark Luke John
14
Passover
Preparation
Day for the
Sabbath
“Matthew 12
Second Day”
Jesus led away to be crucified, along with two criminals. The soldiers force
Simon of Cyrene to carry His cross to Golgotha, the place of the Skull
(Calvary). Along the way, Jesus tells the women not to mourn for Him, but
rather for mourn for themselves and their children because of the judgment that
will come upon Jerusalem.
27:31b, 32 15:20b-22 23:26-32 19:16b, 17
They give Jesus sour wine mingled with gall but He will not drink it. They
nail Him to the cross at approximately the third hour (~9 AM). One of the
criminals in placed on His right and one on His left (in fulfillment of Isaiah
53:8). Jesus prays, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are
doing.”
27:34, 35a, 38 15:23, 25, 27 23:33, 34a 19:18
As the soldiers watch over Him, they cast lots for His clothes in fulfillment of
Psalm 22:18. 27:35b 15:24 23:34b 19:23, 24
Pilate has a sign placed on Jesus’ cross which reads, “Jesus of Nazareth, the
King of the Jews” in Greek, Latin & Hebrew. 27:37 15:26 23:38 19:19-22
Those passing by blaspheme Him. The religious leaders mock Jesus, saying,
“He saved others, Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him
now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him”. Both criminals
also mock Him.
27:39-44 15:28-32 23:35-37, 39
One of the criminals has a change of heart and asks Jesus to remember Him.
Jesus tells him “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.” 23:40-43
Jesus sees His mother Mary and asks John to take care of her. 19:25-27
Darkness is over all the land from the sixth hour (~12 noon) until the ninth
hour (~3 pm). 27:45 15:33 23:44, 45a
Jesus’ Last Week
Day Night Event Scripture Reference
Matthew Mark Luke John
14
Passover
Preparation
Day for the
Sabbath
“Matthew 12
Second Day”
At the ninth hour (~3 pm), Jesus cries out, “My God, My God, why have You
forsaken Me!” The crowds think that He is calling for Elijah. 27:46-49 15:34-36
Jesus said, “I thirst” to fulfill Psalm 22:15. 19:28, 29
Jesus said, “It is finished!” 19:30a
Jesus said, “Father into Your hands I commit My spirit” and dies. 27:50 15:37 23:46 19:30b
The veil in the temple is torn in two, from the top down. The earthquake
opened many graves. The centurion glorifies God by acknowledging that
Jesus was the Son of God. The crowds leave beating their breasts. The
women, who have been following Jesus from Galilee, stand by and watch.
27:51-56 15:38, 39 23:45b-49
Jews request Pilate that the legs of those crucified be broken to hasten death
(so that the bodies are not on the crosses on the Sabbath). The soldiers break
the legs of the two criminals, but when they come to Jesus, they find that He is
dead already, so they do not break His legs (in fulfillment of Psalm 34:20).
Just to make sure He is dead, a soldier pierces His side with a spear (in
fulfillment of Zechariah 12:10).
19:31-37
Near sunset, Joseph of Arimethea requests the body of Jesus from Pilate. 27:57, 58a 15:43 23:50-52 19:38a
14
“Matthew
12 Third
Night”
Joseph of Arimethea and Nicodemus bury Jesus.
Note: Jesus not buried before sunset. See attached list of all the things that
happened from His death to actual burial. It could not fit into the three hours
between the 9th hour and sunset.
27:58b-61 15:44-47 23:53-56 19:38b-42
Jesus’ Last Week
Day Night Event Scripture Reference
Matthew Mark Luke John
15
First Day of
the Feast of
Unleavened
Bread
High
Sabbath
“Matthew 12
Third Day”
Jesus rises from the dead after sunrise.
The chief priests and Pharisees come to Pilate and warn him about Jesus’
prophecy that He would rise from the dead after three days. They indicate that
the disciples may try to steal the body of Jesus by night and declare His
resurrection. Pilate gives them a guard. This occurs near sunset (original
manuscripts had no verses or punctuation, the phrase “in the evening of the
Sabbaths” in Matthew 28:1 belongs with the end of 27:66)
27:62-28:1a
15
The best evidence is that the Sabbath observance was from sunrise to sunset.
The commandment was to “remember the Sabbath day”. After, sunset on the
15th, the woman purchase additional spices.
16:1
16
Day of the
Wave Sheaf
Offering
Events between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension (events #2-#26 below). 28:1b-7 16:2-7, 9 24:1-8, 12 20:1-17
Jesus ascends to the Father at the time of the wave offering of the sheaf of
first-fruits (~9 AM, the time of the daily morning offering). Jesus is referred to
as the “firstborn from the dead” (Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5). Paul also
writes that He is “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians
15:20).
Events following Jesus’ ascension (events #27-#33 below). 28:8-10 16:8. 10, 11 24:9-11
Events between the Death & Burial of Jesus:
As these passages (Matthew 27:57-61, Mark 15:42-47, Luke 23:50-56 & John 19:38-42) are dealing with the same episode, they must be consistent. Luke and John do not use the word
“evening”; however, we need to look at all four accounts. The phrase that would seem to point to “days” beginning at sunset is Luke 23:54, which states, “it was the day of preparation, and
a Sabbath lighted up”. Young translates it as “the Sabbath was approaching.” Jesus had died at 9th hour (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34). Sunset was at the 12th hour. It is generally believed
that Jesus was buried before sunset. However, if Jesus was buried before sunset, the following things had to happen in those three hours (remembering this is a time long before cars and
telephones, getting a message from one place to another involved walking and talking to the person face to face):
1. Reaction to the three hours of darkness (Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44) in the middle of the day (noon to 3 pm) and the earthquake (Matthew 27:51-54). An
overcrowded Jerusalem must have been uproar;
2. Jews walk back to the Praetorium and request Pilate to have the legs broken of those being crucified (John 19:31). Although the distance between Golgotha and Pilate’s palace is
only a third of a mile (a five minute walk a good day), the conditions described above probably hindered movement in the city. After the darkness and earthquake and his previous
dealings with the Jews leaders, Pilate probably did not give them instant audience. They did not want the bodies hanging on the Sabbath, particularly the Sabbath associated with
the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Abib 15). As people could remain days on the cross, this does not mean that the Sabbath was merely 3 hours away. The Jews
needed to go home and celebrate the Passover and probably wanted to make sure it was finished before they had to leave. According to Exodus 12:6, the Passover lamb was to be
sacrificed “between the evenings”, which is the 9th hour (time between when the sun begins to set at 6th hour [noon] and when it sets at the 12th hour). Jesus died at the 9th hour or
“between the evenings”. Yahweh’s law continues in Exodus 12:8 to command that the flesh be eaten “on this night” or in other words, during the 12 hours of darkness of the 14th.
And then, most importantly for our discussion here, Yahweh indicates that none of the flesh shall remain “until morning”. From the point of view of fulfilling Scripture, Jesus had
to be buried before morning or sunrise, not sunset.
However, this is not the only Scripture that needs to be evaluated. We read in Deuteronomy 21:
22In case there should be in a man a sin incurring a judgment of death so that he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23his carcass shall not lodge on the tree
all night, for you shall entomb, yea entomb him on that day, for one being hung is under a malediction of Elohim, and you shall not defile your ground that
Yahweh your Elohim is giving to you as an allotment. (Deuteronomy 21:22, 23)
The verb translated “shall lodge” means to remain or stay the night. Therefore, the body was not to remain the entire night or 12-hour period of darkness on the tree.
3. The message is sent from Pilate to the soldiers allowing the legs to be broken;
4. The soldiers break the legs of the two criminals (John 19:32);
5. The soldiers observe that Jesus is already dead (John 19:33);
6. The soldier pierces the side of Jesus (John 19:34);
7. At evening (nearly sunset), Joseph walks to Praetorium and requests the body of Jesus from Pilate (Matthew 27:57, 58a; Mark 15:42, 43; Luke 23:50-52a; John 19:38a). Pilate
probably did not give Joseph instant audience. The Greek word translated “evening” is opsios. We are given insight into its meaning in the following passage:
32Now evening (opsios) coming on, when the sun sets, they brought to Him all those who have an illness and those who are demoniacs. (Mark 1:32)
So, we see that Joseph did not even go to Pilate until it was nearly sunset. How could Jesus have been buried before sunset?
8. Pilate sends a messenger to the crucifixion site to ask the centurion if Jesus is dead already (Mark 15:44);
9. The centurion returns from the crucifixion site to the Praetorium to tell Pilate that indeed Jesus is dead (Mark 15:45a);
10. Pilate grants Joseph the body of Jesus (Matthew 27:58b; Mark 15:45b; Luke 23:52b; John 19:38b);
11. Joseph purchases a linen cloth in which to wrap the body of Jesus (Mark 15:46b);
12. Nicodemus brings about 100 pounds troy (or 75 standard pounds) of myrrh and aloes (John 19:39). This is 100 times the amount used by Mary to anoint Jesus (John 12:3);
13. Joseph and Nicodemus take Jesus off the cross (Matthew 27:59a; Mark 15:46b; Luke 23:53a; John 19:40a). They had to do this carefully without breaking any of Jesus’ bones;
14. They wrap the body of Jesus in the linen and spices according to the custom of the Jews (Matthew 27:59b; Mark 15:46c; Luke 23:53b; John 19:40b). What is meant by this is
provided in John 11 regarding Lazarus:
43And, saying these things, He clamors with a loud voice, "Lazarus! Hither! Out!" 44And out came he who had died, bound feet and hands with winding sheets, and
his countenance had been bound about with a handkerchief. Jesus is saying to them, "Loose him and let him go!" (John 11:43, 44)
15. They place the body of Jesus in the tomb (Matthew 27:60a; Mark 15:46d; Luke 23:53c; John 19:41, 42);
16. They roll the stone in front of the tomb (Matthew 27:60b; Mark 15:46e);
17. Mary of Magdala and the other Mary observe the tomb (Matthew 27:61; Mark 15:47; Luke 23:55); and,
18. Before the Sabbath, the women prepare the spices that they will bring the day following the Sabbath (Luke 23:56).
It is very unlikely that all of these things could have been in a period of three hours. But what about the words “the Sabbath was approaching” in Luke 23:54? The Greek word translated
“approaching” is epiphosko. It is used only one other time:
1At the lighting up (epiphosko) into one of the sabbaths came Mary of Magdala and the other Mary to behold the sepulcher. (Matthew 28:1b)
Setting aside what is meant by “one of the Sabbaths” for now, were Mary of Magdala and the other Mary coming to the sepulcher at sunset? Epiphosko comes from epiphaino, which is
used in the following passage:
78Because of the merciful compassions of our God, in which the Dayspring from on high visits us, 79To make its advent to those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death,
to direct our feet into the path of peace. (Luke 1:78, 79)
The dayspring making its advent to those in darkness points to sunrise. The evidence points to Jesus being buried before sunrise, not sunset, just as the women came to the tomb at sunrise,
not sunset.
Sequence of Early Morning Events
The first thing to note is that all of these passages are post-resurrection. There is not a single reference to the actual resurrection of Jesus. We only know that it was before these events.
From these passages, the following sequence of events emerges:
1. With the elapsing of the Sabbath, the woman purchase spices (Mark 16:1);
2. The next time that is discussed is described by Matthew as the “lighting up into one of the Sabbaths” (28:1b), by Mark as “very early in the morning on one of the Sabbaths, at the
rising of the sun” (16:2), by Luke as “in the early depths of one of the Sabbaths” (24:1a), and by John as “on one of the Sabbaths, in the morning, being still darkness (20:1a);
3. The women come to the tomb (Matthew 28:1c, Luke 24:1b) with the spices they had prepared before the Sabbath (Luke 24:1c) and those just purchased;
4. The women wonder amongst themselves what they will do about the stone in front of the tomb (Mark 16:3);
5. The earthquake and the descending of the angel to roll away the stone (Matthew 28:2, 3). It is clear that this was not observed by the women, as they only observe angels inside
the tomb;
6. The guards are frightened by the angel (Matthew 28:4);
7. The women behold that the stone has been rolled away (Mark 16:4; Luke 24:2; John 20:1b);
8. Mary of Magdala, upon viewing the removed stone and assuming that Jesus’ body has been taken, runs back to tell Peter and John (John 20:2a). It does not say she told the other
disciples at this time. It is possible that John, who had remained in Jerusalem for the crucifixion, and Peter, who had remained in Jerusalem for at least part of Jesus’ trial, were the
only disciples in the city. The nine others may have fled to various places, including Bethany where they had been staying during the week prior to Passover.
9. Meanwhile as Mary went to tell Peter and John, the other women enter the tomb and observe that Jesus’ body is missing (Mark 16:5a; Luke 24:3);
10. The women are perplexed by the absence of Jesus’ body (Luke 24:4a);
11. The women observe two angels dressed in white inside the tomb (Mark 16:5b; Luke 24:4b);
12. The women are awed by the presence of the angels and bow to the ground (Mark 16:5c; Luke 24:5)
13. The angel tells the women not to fear and that they will not find Jesus the crucified for He has risen from the dead as He said He would (Matthew 28:5, 6; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:5b-
7);
14. The women remember the sayings of Jesus (Luke 24:8);
15. The angel tells the women to report to His disciples and Peter that He will precede them to Galilee (Matthew 28:7; Mark 16:7);
16. While all this is happening to the other women, Mary of Magdala reaches and tells Peter and John that someone has taken Jesus’ body (John 20:2b);
17. Peter and John race to the tomb (Mary of Magdala returning with them), with John arriving first, peering inside and observing only the empty grave clothes (Luke 24:12a; John
20:3-5). Luke’s reporting of Peter going to the tomb is not chronological in his account, but merely indicating that upon the first news of something occurring that morning, that he
had gone to the tomb. At that point, Peter did not have any information about the women seeing Jesus alive;
18. Peter arrives at the tomb, passes John and enters it, and observes the empty grave clothes (Luke 24:12b; John 20:6, 7);
19. John enters the tomb and believes that the body is missing (John 20:8). As the next verse (20:9) indicates that they did not know the Scripture concerning His resurrection, it is
doubtful that John believed He was alive;
20. Peter and John return to their home, marveling at what they had seen (Luke 24:12c; John 20:10);
21. Mary of Magdala lingers, weeping and finally looks inside the tomb and sees the two angels, one where Jesus’ head had been and one where His feet had been (John 20:11, 12). If
she had remained with the other women, she would have seen the angels previously. It is interesting that the angels appeared to the women, but not the disciples.
22. The angels ask Mary of Magdala why she is weeping and she indicates that it is because someone has taken her Lord (John 20:13);
23. Jesus appears to Mary of Magdala and asks her the reason for her weeping and what she is looking for (John 20:14). This is Jesus’ first post-resurrection appearance (Mark 16:9);
24. Thinking He is a gardener, she asks Jesus where the body of man who had been in the tomb has been taken (John 20:15);
25. Jesus then reveals Himself to her by calling her by her name and she recognizes Him, calling Him Rabboni (John 20:16);
26. Jesus tells her she cannot touch Him for He has not ascended to the Father yet and tells her to report that He is alive and ascending their and His Father and God (John 20:17);
27. Meanwhile as all this was happening to Peter, John & Mary of Magdala, trembling and amazed, the women flee from the tomb saying nothing to anyone for some time (Mark 16:8;
Luke 24:9a);
28. Eventually, overcoming their fear, the women run to report to His disciples, that is the disciples other than Peter and John, to whom Mary of Magdala reported the news of the
opened tomb and whom are on their way to the tomb; (Matthew 28:8);
29. Jesus meets the women (Matthew 28:9a);
30. The women hold onto His feet and worship Him (Matthew 28:9b). He does not stop them from touching Him as He did with Mary in #26, indicating that He had ascended to the
Father;
31. Jesus tells the women to report to His disciples that He will precede them to Galilee (Matthew 28:10);
32. Mary of Magdala and the other women report to the eleven disciples and those with them (Mark 16:10; Luke 24:9b, 10);
33. The disciples do not believe the report and thought it nonsense that Jesus was alive (Mark 16:11; Luke 24:11). Peter and John knew the grave was empty, but they did not believe
Him resurrected.
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Attachment 1
How Long Was Israel in Egypt?
Genesis 5 & 11
Genesis 5 carries us from creation to Shem and Genesis 11 from Shem to Abram. The narrative tells
us the name of one person, how old they were when a descendent was born and how long they lived
after the birth of that descendent. The following table summarizes the data, along with some additional
data found elsewhere in Genesis regarding Abram, Isaac and Jacob and Exodus 6 and Numbers 33
regarding Jacob’s descendents through Levi. The abbreviation AM stands for Anno Mundi (year of the
world [time since creation]):
Person Year of Birth
AM
Age When
Descendent
Born
Lifetime After
Descendent
Born
Age When Died Year of Death
AM
Adam 0 130 800 930 930
Seth 130 105 807 912 1042
Enosh 235 90 815 905 1140
Cainan 325 70 840 910 1235
Mahalalel 395 65 830 895 1290
Jared 460 162 800 962 1422
Enoch 622 65 300 365 987
Methuselah 687 187 782 969 1656
Lamech 874 182 595 777 1651
Noah 1056 502 448 950 2006
Shem 1558 100 500 600 2158
Arphaxad 1658 35 403 438 2096
Salah 1693 30 403 433 2126
Eber 1723 34 430 464 2187
Peleg 1757 30 209 239 1996
Reu 1787 32 207 239 2026
Serug 1819 30 200 230 2049
Nahor 1849 29 119 148 1997
Terah 1878 130 75 205 2083
Abram 2008 100 75 175 2183
Isaac 2108 60 120 180 2288
Jacob 2168 88 59 147 2315
Levi 2256 35 102 137 2393
Kohath 2291 29 104 133 2424
Amram 2320 110 27 137 2457
Aaron 2430 123 2553
Data based on direct statements in Scripture
See discussion under Noah-Shem
See discussion under Terah-Abram
See discussion under Jacob-Levi-Kohath-Amram-Aaron (based primarily on Scripture)
See discussion under Jacob-Levi-Kohath-Amram-Aaron (based primarily on extra-Biblical sources)
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Noah-Shem
The first difficulty in the genealogy regards Noah’s age when Shem was born. Genesis 5:32 states:
And Noah was 500 years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Does this verse mean that the three sons were triplets all born to Noah when he was 500 years old?
We know that flood came when Noah was 600 years (Genesis 7:6). We are also told in Genesis 11:10:
This is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was a 100 years old, and begot Arphaxad 2 years after the
flood.
If Shem was 100 years old two years after the flood, Noah must have been 502 years old at his birth.
Terah-Abram
With Terah, we have a similar situation that we had with Noah. In Genesis 11:26, we read:
Now Terah lived 70 years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Again, the question is: are Abram, Nahor and Haran triplets born to Terah when he was 70 years old?
In Acts 7, Stephen says:
And he said, Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our fathers Abraham when
he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, and said to him, “Get out of your country and
from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.” Then he came out of the land of the
Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this
land in which you dwell. (vv. 2-4)
Stephen indicates that when Terah died, Abraham left Haran. In Genesis 11:32, we are told that the
days of Terah were 205 years. And in Genesis 12:4, Abram is said to be 75 years old when he
departed from Haran. If Abram was 75 when his father was 205, then Terah was 130 years old when
Abram was born.
The Exodus
Jacob-Levi-Kohath-Amram-Aaron
As can be seen from the table, when we get to Jacob, the evidence becomes a little less clear.
Regarding Joseph, we know that when he stood before Pharaoh, he was 30 years old (Genesis 41:46).
When Jacob comes to Egypt, we are told that he is 130 years old (Genesis 47:9), which was two years
into the 7 years of famine (Genesis 45:11). Therefore, Jacob was 121 years old when Joseph stood
before Pharaoh (i.e., 130 – 7 [years of plenty] – 2 [years of famine]). This means that Jacob was 91
years old when Joseph was born (i.e., 121 – 30). We are told in Genesis 30:25 that Joseph was born at
the end of the 14 years Jacob worked for Leah & Rachel. Therefore, he was 77 years old when he
went to Padan Aram.
Jacob worked 7 years before he had any children. Levi was the third son that Leah bore to Jacob.
Assuming a little more than year between pregnancies, Jacob was approximately 88 years old when
Levi was born (i.e., 77 + 7 + 4).
In Exodus 6, Moses provides information on the next four generations: Levi, Kohath, Amram and
Aaron. However, information is only provided on the lifespans of these four men, but not how old
they were when their descendent was born. Based on Genesis 46:11, we know that Kohath was born
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before the descent into Egypt. In the Apocryphal book The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, it is
stated that Kohath was born to Levi when he was 35 years old. The book also indicates that Jochebed,
wife of Amram and mother of Moses & Aaron, was born to Levi in Egypt when he was 64 years old.
The Dead Sea Scrolls provide the following data:
1. 4Q559 Biblical Chronology
a. Levi 34 years old when Kohath born
b. Kohath 29 years old when Amram born
c. Amram 110 years old when Aaron born
2. 1Q21 Words of Levi
a. Levi 48 years old when Israel came to Egypt
b. Levi 94 years old when Amram married Jochebed
3. 4Q543-48 Vision of Amram
a. Amram died after Israel was in Egypt 152 years1
By using the data from 4Q559 and the fact that Aaron was 83 years old at the time of the Exodus (7:7),
the Exodus occurs in AM 2512 or 429 years after the Abrahamic Covenant (made in AM 2083, when
Abram was 75 years old). This nearly agrees with what Paul writes in Galatians:
Brethren, I speak in the manner of men; Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed,
no man annuls or adds to it. Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not
say, “And to seeds,” as of many; but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Messiah. And this I
say, that the law, which was 430 years after, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before
by God in Messiah, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance is of the
law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. (3:15-18)
By increasing the age of Levi to 35 years (per The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs), the Exodus is
in AM 2513. It is understood that these sources are not the word of God and are not inerrant. The
following is a check on the other information. Jacob went down into Egypt when he was 130 years old
(AM 2298) and Amram died in AM 2457. This represents 159 years (i.e., very close to the 152 years
in the vision of Amram). Levi was born in AM 2256, so that he was 42 years old at the time Israel
went to Egypt (i.e., close to the 48 years in Words of Levi). If Jochebed and Amram were married
when Levi was 94 years old, they got married in AM 2350. Jochebed was born when Levi was 64, so
that she was 30 years old when she married. In AM 2350, Amram was also 30 years of age. Although
the scenario presented in the table is not absolutely verifiable by Scripture, there is nothing in it that
disagrees with Scripture.
Who are the Egyptians?
One question we want to answer before moving on is “who are the Egyptians?” In the listing of the
descendents of Ham, we read the following:
And the sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. … Mizraim begot Ludim, Anamim,
Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (from whom came the Philistines and
Caphtorim). (Genesis 10:6, 13, 14)
1 Meyers, Stephen, The Date of the Exodus According to Ancient Writers (www.bibleandscience.com/archaeology/exodusdate.htm)
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Mizraim was the Hebrew name for Egypt. The Philistines descended from Mizraim and are therefore
to be considered Egyptians. In Genesis 12, after noting that the Canaanites were in the land, Yahuweh
said to Abram, “Unto thy seed will I give this land” (vs. 7). The land to be given to Abraham’s
descendents was associated with the Canaanites (descendents of one of the four sons of Ham). In fact,
God becomes more specific in Genesis 15:
To your descendents I have given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river
Euphrates: The Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. (vv. 18-21)
Israel was not given the land of the Philistines, Edom, Moab or Ammon. The land they were promised
was associated with these people groups. Our main point here though is that when Abraham and his
descendents were under the shadow of the Philistines, they were under the shadow of Egypt.
430 or 400 or 215 Years?
The time for Israel down in Egypt is 215 years (i.e., AM 2513 – AM 2298). This would seem to
contradict the words in Exodus 12:40, 41:
Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was 430 years. And it came to pass at
the end of the 430 years - on the very same day - it came to pass, that all the armied of Yahuweh
went out from the land of Egypt.
However, a careful review of all the data indicates that this passage does not mean 430 years in Egypt
alone. The following evidence is provided against 430 years in Egypt:
1. The Time between the Abrahamic Covenant & Mosaic Covenant
As we noted above in developing the chronology up to the Exodus, Paul writes in Galatians 3 that the
time between the promises to Abraham and the giving of the law was 430 years. If the time in Egypt
was 430 years, then God had to make a covenant with Abraham when Jacob went down to Egypt. This
is nonsensical. When Jacob went down to Egypt, Abraham had been dead for 115 years.
2. Septuagint Reading of Exodus 12:40-41
Although the Septuagint is not as reliable as the Hebrew text, the LXX has the following for Exodus
12:40-41:
And the sojourning of the children of Israel, while they sojourned in the land of Egypt and the
land of Canaan, was 430 years. And it came to pass after the 430 years, all the forces of the Lord
came forth out of the land of Egypt by night.
This is probably an addition made to account for the apparent discrepancies that arise by assuming that
Israel was in Egypt 430 years. Israel not only sojourned in the land of Egypt (proper) and the land of
Canaan, but also Padan Aram and the land of the Philistines, so the LXX statement is not entirely
accurate.
The Greek words translated “sojourning” and “sojourned” are katoikhsiv and katoikew,
respectively. The same verb is used in Hebrews 11:
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he would after receive as
an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land
of promise, as in a foreign country, dwelling (katoikew) in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs
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with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and
maker is God. (vv. 8-10)
3. 400 Year Pilgrimage for Abraham’s Seed
In Genesis 15, God said to Abraham:
Know certainly that your seed will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them,
and, they will afflict them 400 years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward
they shall come out with great possession. (vv. 13-14)
If Israel was in Egypt a total of 430 years and afflicted for 400 of those years, there would be
approximately 30 years in which they were not afflicted. The king that afflicts Israel is described as
one “who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8). Joseph was 39 years old when his family came down to
Egypt from Canaan. We are told in Genesis 50:22 that Joseph died when he was 110 years old.
Therefore, there was at least a period of 70 years when the Pharaoh or king would know Joseph.
Therefore, the period in Egypt would have to be at least 470 years (i.e., 70 years when Joseph was
known + 400 years of affliction).
A reading of Exodus 1 & 2 would imply that Moses was born near the time when the affliction began.
Stephen indicates that Moses was born at the time when the king arose that dealt treacherously (Acts
7:17-20). Moses was 80 years old at the time of the Exodus (7:6). Therefore, the affliction associated
with murdering Israelite children may have lasted 100 years at most, not 400 years. Based on where
punctuation is placed, it is possible that God is saying Israel will be a stranger for 400 years and that
during some of that time they will be afflicted and serve the Egyptians.
The word translated “stranger” is Genesis 15:13 is ger. The Greek word used to translate it in the LXX
is paroikov, which is the word used by Stephen in Acts 7:6 as he references Genesis 15:13. Abraham
uses the word when speaking to the sons of Heth after the death of Sarah:
I am a foreignor (ger) and a visitor among you: give me property for a burial place among you,
that I may bury my dead out of my sight. (Genesis 23:4)
The other word used by Abraham is visitor or towshab. In the LXX, the Greek word that is used is
parepidhmov. This word is used in Hebrews 11:
These all died in faith (Abraham, Isaac & Jacob), not having received the promises, but having
seen them afar off, and were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were
strangers and pilgrims (parepidhmov) on the earth. (vs. 13)
Since the Exodus occurred in AM 2513, this 400 year period would begin in approximately AM 2113.
Based on God’s word to Abraham, it was Abraham’s seed that would be strangers in the land. So this
period could not begin until Isaac was born (as can be seen in Hebrews, Abraham sojourned with Isaac
and Jacob, Ishmael is not included). From our table, we see that Isaac was born in AM 2108. If God
was using an approximation, this would appear to be good enough. If God was using exact terms, we
need to determine what happened when Isaac was 5 years old. There is only one possibility. In
Genesis 21, we read:
So the child (Isaac) grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast the same day that
Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to
Abraham, scoffing. Therefore she said unto Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for
the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac. And the matter was
very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son. And God said to Abraham, “Do not let it
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be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah
has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called. (vv. 8-12)
Since Hagar was Egyptian, so was Ishmael. From the time that Isaac was weaned, we see Egypt in a
sense afflicting Israel. It is possible that Isaac was 5 years old at this time, although most children are
weaned before this time (e.g., 3 years). Paul writes in Galatians 4 in referring to this episode:
But, as he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the
Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and
her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” So then,
brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. (vv. 29-31)
We see Ishmael (son of the bondwoman, born after the flesh) persecuting Isaac (son of the freewoman,
born after the Spirit).
4. Four Generations
In Genesis 15:16, Yahuweh told Abraham that:
But in the 4th
generation they shall return here: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.
Abraham’s seed would come out of the nation they would serve after four generations. In Exodus
6:16-27, we are told who these four generations were: Levi, Kohath, Amram and Aaron. We can be
fairly certain that Levi was born around AM 2256 and that Jacob went down to Egypt in AM 2298.
Based on Genesis 46:11, we know that Kohath was born prior to the descent to Egypt as he is
numbered among those who traveled with Jacob. He lived for 133 years (Exodus 6:18). If we assume
that Kohath was born just before descending into Egypt, he died in AM 2431 (2298 + 133). If we
assume that Kohath became the father of Amram the year of his death and we know that Amram lived
for 137 years (Exodus 6:20), then Amram died in AM 2568 (2431 + 137). If we assume that Amram
became the father of Moses in the year of his death and we know that Moses was 80 years old at the
time of the Exodus (Exodus 7:7), then the Exodus was in AM 2648 (2568 + 80). Based on this
analysis of the four generations, the maximum possible length of time in Egypt would be 350 years
(2648 – 2298). As we have seen from other analysis, the time was quite a bit shorter than this, as it
was highly unlikely that both Kohath and Amram would become fathers in the year of their deaths
(i.e., when they were over 130 years old).
Summary
Based on this analysis, the following has been determined: (1) there was 430 years between the time
Abram entered into the land of Canaan in Genesis 12 at the age of 75 and the Exodus from Egypt (i.e.,
the time between the Abrahamic and Mosaic Covenants); (2) there was 400 years between the time that
Isaac was weaned and persecuted by Ishmael and the Exodus; and (3) the Israelites were in Egypt for
215 years.
The Targum of Pseudo-Jonathan paraphrases Exodus 12:40, 41 as:
And the days of the dwelling of the sons of Israel in Mizraim were thirty weeks of years, (thirty
times seven years,) which is the sum of two hundred and ten years. But the number of four hundred
and thirty years (had passed away since) the Lord spake to Abraham, in the hour that He spake
with him on the fifteenth of Nisan, between the divided parts, until the day that they went out of
Mizraim. And it was at the end of thirty years from the making of this covenant, that Izhak was
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born; and thence until they went out of Mizraim four hundred (years), on the selfsame day it was
that all the hosts of the Lord went forth made free from the land of Mizraim.
The difference between the Aramaic Targum and our summary is that Abraham’s age when Yahuweh
made a covenant with him is 70 instead of 75. As such, the 400 years can be taken from Isaac’s birth
rather than his weaning (interestingly, Jews believe Isaac was born at Passover). By pushing these
dates back by five years, reduces the actual time in Egypt (Mizraim) from 215 to 210 years. There is
no statement in Scripture however about Abram being 70 years old during of any of Yahuweh’s
dealings with him. However, this first century understanding of this passage indicates that we are on
the right track.
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Attachment 2 Where Was Jesus Crucified?
Deuteronomy 16 bring up something not found in Exodus 12. We read:
Therefore, you shall sacrifice the Passover to Yahweh your God … in the place where
Yahweh chooses to put His name. … You may not sacrifice the Passover within any of
your gates which Yahweh your God gives you; but at the place where Yahweh your God
chooses to make His name abide, there you shall sacrifice the Passover. (vv. 2, 5, 6)
Where is the place that Yahweh has chosen for His name to abide? The Hebrew word translated
“abide” is shakan and it is the word from which “tabernacle” (mishkan) comes. The answer to
the question all depends on when you were answering the question. The first place was Shiloh
(Jeremiah 7:12). However, after the Solomon completed the construction of the Temple,
Yahweh said to him:
I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have
consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and
My heart will be there perpetually. (1 Kings 9:3)
From the time Solomon to the death of Jesus, the Jerusalem temple was the “place where
Yahweh chose to put His name”. The only three Passovers of which we read in the OT
following the Canaan conquest were at the times of King Hezekiah, of King Josiah and of
Zerubbabel. All three were held in Jerusalem: the first two at Solomon’s temple and the latter at
the restored temple following the Babylonian Captivity. Now, does this mean that Jesus had to
die at the temple in Jerusalem?
1. Jerusalem
It had to be in Jerusalem, even Jesus makes this clear:
From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer
many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the
third day. (Matthew 16:21)
It had to be Jerusalem based on Yahweh’s command in Deuteronomy 16. However, Jesus’ death
in Jerusalem brings up a very interesting implication. I have a separate study for anyone who is
interested, which concludes that the Garden of Eden was located where the Temple Mount is
today in Jerusalem. Strong correlation exists between what occurs in Genesis 2-4 and the
structure of the tabernacle/temple, namely:
East of Eden (i.e., the land of Nod or “wandering”), where Cain was driven from the
face of Yahweh after murdering his brother, corresponds to the area known as “outside
the camp”, a phrase we will be looking at shortly. This area pictures the condition of
Gentiles as described by Paul in Ephesians 2:12: “without Messiah, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel … having no hope and without God in the world.”
Eden, where Adam and Eve were allowed to live after they sinned, corresponds to the
Israelite camp (including the court of the tabernacle/temple). Genesis 3:23 does not say
that Yahweh sent Adam out of Eden but out of the Garden of Eden. The court area of the
tabernacle/temple included the altar of burnt offering, corresponding to where Cain and
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Abel brought their sacrifices at the door guarded by cherubim. This area pictures the
condition of Israelites, who could enter the court with a sacrifice but were denied access
to the Holy Place. Their access to God was through a mediator – a priest.
The Garden of Eden, from where Adam and Eve were driven from after they sinned,
corresponds to the tabernacle/temple. It was planted on the eastside of Eden, even as the
Temple was located on the eastern side of Jerusalem. The tabernacle/temple was
composed of the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. The Holy Place could only be
entered by priests during their service. The vast majority of the priests had no access to
the Holy of Holies.
The midst of the Garden of Eden corresponds to the Holy of Holies, where Yahweh
dwelled above the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant between the cherubim. As most
are aware, this portion of the tabernacle/temple, could only be entered by the High Priest
very briefly on Yom HaKippurim or the Day of the Atonements.
Sin entered the world and all men were constituted sinners when Adam sinned in the midst of the
Garden of Eden. If our conclusion is correct (i.e., that the Garden of Eden was in the general
vicinity of the Temple Mount), then Yahweh returned to the scene of the original crime to
accomplish the work by which all men could be constituted righteous.
So it is clear that Jesus had to die in Jerusalem. But did it need to be in the temple? We know
that Jesus did not die in the temple. Or did He? I mentioned last time that the scourging of Jesus
by the Romans could not represent the shedding of the blood of the Passover for three reasons:
(1) it was to be performed by the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel not by the
Romans; (2) it was to be performed on the 14th
of the month, not the 13th
; and, (3) it was to be
performed in the place where Yahweh chose for His name to abide and that definitely was not
the Praetorium. A surficial reading of Scripture does not seem to indicate that Jesus died in the
temple, but that is why surficial readings are not adequate.
2. Outside the Camp
The writer of Hebrews gives us one clue to where our Savior died:
We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the
bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin,
are burned outside the camp. Therefore, Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with
His own blood, suffered outside the gate. (13:10-12)
What is meant by the phrase “outside the camp”? We read in Exodus 33:
Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the
tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought Yahweh went out to
the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp. (vs. 7)
The Targum of Jonathan paraphrases the phrase “far from the camp” as “removed it from the
camp of the people to the distance of two thousand cubits.” Therefore, the understanding of
“outside the camp” was a distance of at least 2,000 cubits or approximately 3,000 feet. This
distance became known as a “Sabbath Day’s Journey”, as the people were allowed to walk this
distance to get to the tabernacle. According to the Law, what activities occurred “outside the
camp”?
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1. According to Leviticus 4, the hides, flesh, head, legs and entrails of sin offerings were to
be burned outside the camp. This is what the writer of Hebrews is referring to. Jesus was
a sin offering on the cross. This is why Paul indicates that He became a sin offering for
us in 2 Corinthians 5:21.
2. According to Leviticus 13, lepers were to live alone outside the camp. This separation
from people points to the separation that Jesus experienced on the cross.
3. According to Leviticus 24, blasphemers were to be stoned to death outside the camp.
Jesus was suffering the death penalty that was due to all sinners.
4. According to Numbers 19, the red heifer used for the preparation of the water of
purification was slaughtered and burned outside the camp. As we saw last time, Hebrews
9:13 compares the work of Jesus to the ashes of the red heifer.
All of these shadows point to the fact that Jesus had to die outside the camp. Are we given any
other clues?
3. View of the Temple Veil
Matthew writes following the death of Jesus:
Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth
quaked, and the rocks split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who
had fallen asleep were raised … So when the centurion and those with him, who were
guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared
greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (27:51-54)
Among the things that were seen by the centurion was the tearing of the veil in the temple, that
separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, the symbolic presence of Yahweh. The only
way that he could have seen this was if the crucifixion occurred directly east of the temple.
There are two sites are generally believed to be the site of the crucifixion: Catholics favor the
Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Protestants favor Gordon’s Calvary. The problem with these
sites is that the former is west and the latter is north of the Temple Mount, respectively. They
are also less than 2,000 feet from the Holy of Holies. What is 3,000 feet east of the Holy of
Holies? The Mount of Olives lies to the east of Jerusalem. According to Acts 1:12, it is a
Sabbath Day’s Journey from Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives rises to an elevation of 2,700 ft.
As the Temple Mount is at elevation 2,400 ft, the centurion would have been able to see the veil
from the crucifixion site. Regarding the red heifer, we read the following in the Talmud:
A causeway was made from the temple mount to the Mount of Olives … whereby the priest
who was to burn the heifer, the heifer itself and all who aided its preparation went forth to the
Mount of Olives. (Tractate Parah, 3.6)
Concerning the red heifer ceremony, Alfred Edersheim writes:
On the Mount of Olives … the priest slayed the sacrifice with his right hand, he caught up
the blood in his left. Seven times he dipped his finger in it, sprinkling it towards the Most
Holy Place, which he was supposed to have in full view over the Porch of Solomon or
through the eastern gate. (The Temple – Its Ministry & Service [Ch 18 Purifications])
Just as the priest could see the Holy of Holies during the red heifer ceremony on the Mount of
Olives, so also could the centurion during the crucifixion of Jesus. We read:
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Then you shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and burn it in the appointed place of the
temple, outside the sanctuary. (Ezekiel 43:21)
We have already seen that the sin offerings were burnt outside the camp (i.e., the same location
as the red heifer ceremony). Ezekiel informs us that this location, although it was outside the
sanctuary, was considered part of the temple. The Hebrew translated “appointed place” is
miphqad (mif-kawd); therefore, the area where the red heifer ceremony took place was called
the Miphkad Altar. We will come back to this.
4. View Graves Opening
Matthew also indicates that the centurion saw graves open. The Apostle John tells us that “in the
place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb” (19:41). Was
there a garden on the Mount of Olives? A comparison of Matthew 26:36 and Luke 22:39 shows
that the Garden of Gethsemane was on the Mount of Olives. Gethsemane is an Aramaic word
meaning “oil press” and oil was made from olives. From the time of Messiah to the present, the
Mount of Olives has been a burial ground with an estimated 150,000 graves.
5. Before Yahweh
In 2 Corinthians 5:21, Paul indicates that Jesus was a sin offering. Regarding the sin offering,
we read in Leviticus 4:
He shall bring the bull to the door of the tabernacle of meeting before Yahweh, lay his hand
on the bull’s head, and kill the bull before Yahweh. (vs. 4)
The phrase “before Yahweh” in Hebrew means “in the face of Yahweh”. Although Jesus was
not slaughtered in the temple court like Passover lambs, He was slaughtered before the face of
Yahweh as His cross faced the Holy of Holies.
6. In the Land of Moriah
While we are on the subject of the location of the Passover slaughter, let us consider what
occurred in Genesis 22 where we read:
Then God said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land
of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall
tell you.” (vs. 2)
According to 2 Chronicles 3, Solomon built the temple upon Mount Moriah. But you will notice
that God did not say that He was to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah, but rather he was to go to
the land of Moriah to a mountain that God would show him. Jerusalem has five mounts
associated with it: Zion, Moriah, Olives, Acra and Bezetha. The first three are the only ones
mentioned in Scripture. In vs. 4, it states that Abraham saw the place afar off. It is likely that he
saw the tallest of these mounts, which is the Mount of Olives. This would mean that the place
where Abraham was asked to sacrifice his only beloved son was the same place where God did
sacrifice His only beloved Son. When Isaac asked Abraham about the animal to be used for the
sacrifice, Abraham said to his son:
God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering. (vs. 8)
This may be better translated “Elohim will appear for Himself the lamb”. The indication being
that God would be the lamb Himself. And this is exactly what happened. Jesus – God in the
flesh, became the Lamb who died for the sins of the world in the exact spot where Abraham had
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been willing to sacrifice Isaac. As a result of what God had done, Abraham called the place
Yahweh Yireh or Yahweh Sees. From His place in the Holy of Holies on Mount Moriah,
Yahweh would see the death of His Son.
7. Golgotha
In 2 Samuel 15, when David escaped from Jerusalem during the conspiracy of his son Absalom,
it is stated that:
The king himself also crossed over the Brook Kidron … . So David went up by the Ascent
of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up; and he had his head covered and went
barefoot. (vv. 23, 30)
The conspiracy of Absalom was a shadow of the nation of Israel turning against Jesus. David
wrote Psalm 3 during this time, where we read:
Yahweh, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me.
Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.” (vv. 1, 2)
A comparison of 2 Samuel 15:25, 26 and Psalm 22:8 would seem to tie this Psalm also to the
time of Absalom’s conspiracy and David’s escape to the Mount of Olives. It is in this psalm that
we read:
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and
from the words of My groaning? … All those who see Me ridicule Me; they shoot the lip,
they shake the head, saying, “He trusted Yahweh, let Him rescue Him; let Him deliver Him,
since He delights in Him.” (vs. 1, 7, 8)
The chief priests, scribes, and elders mocked Jesus with very similar words:
He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come
down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now
if He will have Him; for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” (Matthew 27:42, 43)
You many ask “why doesn’t Scripture just say the crucifixion was on the Mount of Olives?” All
four evangelists indicate that He was crucified at the “place of the skull” or Golgotha. Gulgoleth
(gul-go’-leth) is a Hebrew word for head or skull. In 2 Samuel 15:32, we read regarding
David’s ascent of the Mount of Olives:
Now it happened when David had come to the top, where he worshiped God.
The Hebrew translated “the top” is ha-rosh, which could be translated “the head” or “the skull”.
It is not “a skull” or “skulls”, but “the skull”. What skull? Regarding John 19:38, John
Chrysostom wrote:
And He came to the place of a skull. Some say that Adam died there, and there lies; and that
Jesus in this place where death had reigned, there also set up the trophy. For He went forth
bearing the Cross as a trophy over the tyranny of death: and as conquerors do, so He bare
upon His shoulders the symbol of victory. (Homily 85)
It was an ancient belief that Jesus died at the place that Adam was buried. It is amazing
symbolism that death was defeated right where the one who brought death to all men was buried.
We also noticed earlier that Jesus died not far from where Adam first sinned.
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We mentioned that where Jesus died was near the Miphkad Altar. The Hebrew word miphqad at
its root has the idea of counting. It’s root (paqad [paw-kad]) is found with gulgoleth in three
passages, including this one:
These, were the sons of Levi by their ancestral house, the ancestral chiefs of them who were
counted (paqad) in the number of their names, by their polls (gulgoleth), doing the work,
for the service of the house of Yahweh––from twenty years old, and upwards. (1 Chronicles
23:24)
A census is essentially counting heads. We read in Exodus 30:
When you take a census (rosh) of the children of Israel for their number (paqad), then every
man shall give an atonement for himself to Yahweh, when you number (paqad) them …
This is what everyone among those who are numbered (paqad) shall give: half a shekel
according to the shekel of the sanctuary. … And you shall take the atonement money … and
shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting. (vv. 11-16)
The Hebrew word translated census is rosh, the same word used to describe David’s location on
the Mount of Olives. Here where the atonement money was paid – Jesus made atonement for
every person.
8. Crucifixion Tree
The crucifixion scene is generally portrayed as Jesus on a tee-shaped cross on a barren hillside
between two criminals on tee-shaped crosses (one on His left and one on His right). However, is
this really the case? Consider the following passages:
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. (Acts
5:30)
And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in
Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. (Acts 10:39)
Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took him down from
the tree and laid Him in a tomb. (Acts 13:29)
Messiah has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is
written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Galatians 3:13)
Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might
live for righteousness – by whose stripes you were healed. (1 Peter 2:24)
The Greek word translated “tree” is xulon (xoo’-lon) and it is used 17 times in the NT. Besides
the five we read concerning the crucifixion, it is used 5 times of the staves carried by those who
arrested Jesus, one time of the stocks that Paul and Silas were placed in while in the Philippian
prison, one time of inferior building material in 1 Corinthians 3:12, four times of the tree of life
in the Book of Revelation, and in these words of Jesus as He was going to His death:
Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, “Blessed are the barren, wombs that
never bore, and breasts which never nursed!” Then they will say will begin to say to the
mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” For if they do these things in the green
wood (xulon), what will be done in the dry? (Luke 23:28-31)
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So we see that xulon can refer to both living trees and materials made of wood. So how about
the cross? The word “cross” is stauros (stow-ros) and it is used 22 times to specifically refer to
the place where Messiah died. But why would the NT preachers and writers use “tree” when
they could simply stay “cross”? I believe that it is because the crossbeam, to which Jesus’ wrists
were nailed, was attached to a tree. As this was a tree in a garden, it would mean that sin began
with a tree in a garden and that sin was dealt with on a tree in a garden. And this tree, although
an instrument of death, would become a tree of life.
Were there three separate crosses? The Scriptural evidence would indicate NO! Consider the
following passage:
Therefore, because it was the Preparation, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on
the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be
broken, and that they might be taken away. (John 19:31)
Does the apostle write, “that the bodies should not remain on the crosses (plural)?” No, he
writes, “that the bodies should not remain on the cross (singular)?” John says that all three men
were on a single cross. This is in agreement with what we read next:
Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with
Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His
legs. (John 19:32)
If as is normally depicted, there were three crosses in a line, how could the soldiers come to the
crosses of both criminals before they came to the cross of Jesus? However, if each had their
crosspiece nailed to a common tree, the soldiers go around the tree and reach the two criminals
before reaching Jesus.
9. Roman Input
We have seen where Jesus needed to be crucified from a Jewish standpoint. How about from a
Roman standpoint? The Romans often crucified people: (1) where they committed their crimes;
(2) where they were arrested; or, (3) a high place or busy crossroad. Interestingly, the Mount of
Olives fulfilled all three criteria. First, Pilate could not have cared less if Jesus declared Himself
to be the Son of God. However, when the Jewish religious leaders, threatened him with not
being a friend of Caesar for not crucifying this one who made Himself a king, they won there
argument with the Pontius Pilate. Four days previously, it was from the Mount of Olives that
Jesus had ridden into Jerusalem with the crowds shouting, “Blessed is the King who comes in the
name of Yahweh” (Luke 19:38). Therefore, it could be said that Jesus committed His crime on
the Mount of Olives. Second, in a second or third century work called the Acts of Pilate, we read
the following:
Then Pilate ordered the curtain of the tribunal where he was sitting to be drawn, and said to
Jesus: Your nation has charged you with being a king. On this account I sentence you, first to
be scourged, according to the enactment of venerable kings, and then to be fastened on the
cross in the garden where you were seized.
As to whether these words are accurate, is not the point. It shows that it was believed that Jesus
was crucified in the garden where He was arrested. We have already noted that the Garden of
Gethsemane was located on the Mount of Olives.
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Regarding the last Roman criterion, we know that the Mount of Olives was elevated above
Jerusalem. Interestingly, David went up a road called the Ascent of the Mount of Olives. When
Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, Luke refers to the Descent of the Mount of Olives
(19:37). This would point to the fact that there was a major road between Jerusalem and the
summit of the Mount of Olives.
10. Summary
Amazing. By dying on the Mount of Olives, Jesus fulfilled the following Scriptural and Roman
requirements: (1) in Jerusalem close to where the original sin was committed; (2) at the temple
(remembering that the Miphkad altar was part of the temple) where Yahweh had chosen for His
name to dwell; (3) outside the camp where sin offering were burned, lepers were banished,
blasphemers put to death, and the red heifer ceremony carried out; (4) facing the temple; (5)
before Yahweh; (6) where Isaac was offered; (7) where the atonement money was paid; (8)
where He “committed” His crime against Rome; (9) where He was arrested; and (10) in full
public view. Is it any wonder that the early disciples prayed:
For truly against Your servant Jesus, whom You anointed, Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the
Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your
purpose determined before to be done. (Acts 4:27)
The other two locations that are claimed to be the spot of the crucifixion, do not fulfill any of
these requirements. It is because Old Testament shadows are ignored that people visit the
Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Gordon’s Calvary. Remember I began this morning by
indicating that this study has important implications. This may sound strong – but if Jesus died
at either of these locations instead of the Mount of Olives, God’s word would have been broken,
He would not have been the Messiah, and we would still be in our sins.
But all Scripture points to the fact that He did die on the Mount of Olives. Which means that
Jesus was arrested on the Mount of Olives, that Jesus died on the Mount of Olives, that Jesus was
buried on the Mount of Olives, that Jesus was raised from the dead on the Mount of Olives, that
Jesus ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives, and that Jesus will one day return per
Zechariah 14 to the Mount of Olives.
Hopefully this continues to cement in your heart the truth Jesus declared in John 10:35,
“Scripture, the word of God, cannot be broken”.
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