The Word of YHWH by The Word of YHWH The Word (freda ebook reader .txt) 📖
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Nonetheless, it behooves us to understand these Feasts instead of looking around for eggs or decorating trees. In particular, how the Feasts of the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, alongside one prophecy given to us by The Messiah, are intrinsically involved in fulfilling His death and in His timely resurrection. Let us listen carefully.
The Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread
When some of the scribes and Pharisees asked The Nazarene to provide a sign that He was The Messiah foretold, the only sign given to them was that of the prophet Jonah. Let us hear what we often read but keep failing to understand:
Matthew 12:39 “But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
This is the only sign that we can and must go by. For this explicit reason, we cannot veer an iota from the only sign that confirms the basic count. Again, everything else should confirm the three-day and three-night count. Once again, when The Word of God says, “Three days and three nights,” we should listen for this is precisely what He says and precisely what took place. John 11:9
Before we go on, let us cover some basic facts. First, the Passover begins on the evening of the 14th of the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Leviticus 23:5 Second, the first day of Unleavened Bread begins on the evening of the 15th of the same month. Third, where these two events meet is when the Passover Meal is observed.
So then, the evening of the 14th is not the Passover Meal but rather the beginning of the 24-hour period known as the Preparation day. During the Preparation day, the Hebrew was commanded to remove all visible leaven within his home. Exodus 12:19 Then, by the evening of the 15th, the home was free from leaven and the lamb already prepared for the Passover Meal. Then, for the next twenty-four hours, “No servile work was done therein,” much like the Sabbath.
Essentially, where the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th (the evening) meet is when the Passover Meal is commemorated with the first day of Unleavened Bread. The following passage illustrates which day is the Passover and which day begins with the Days of Unleavened Bread. Notice what God commands on the first day of Unleavened Bread as well as on the last (seventh) day:
Leviticus 23:4 “These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. 5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD'S passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. 7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. 8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.”
As Scripture records, a day of rest (a special Sabbath or high Sabbath) is to take place on the first day (evening) of Unleavened Bread (the Passover Meal), as well as on the last day (seventh) of Unleavened Bread. These two (the first and the seventh) holy days are Sabbaths aside from the Fourth Commandment of the Law. Because the Days of Unleavened Bread last seven days, the Fourth Commandment falls in-between these two special Sabbaths, where one of them is intrinsically involved with the prophecy given to us by The Messiah.
So regardless of which day of the week the Preparation day ended, the Passover Meal, with the first day of Unleavened Bread, begins at sunset. Thereafter, for the next twenty-four hours, a special Sabbath was observed aside from the Fourth Commandment of the Law.
The dispute among scholars and theologians regarding the day of the eventful crucifixion, during the Preparation day, has been argued to have taken place on a Wednesday, Thursday, or a Friday, “between evenings.” This time refers to the gap between noon and sunset, when the lamb was to be killed and prepared for the Passover Meal. John 19:14 In summary, a few hours after The Messiah became the Lamb Offering, the beginning of the special Sabbath, with the Passover Meal, was observed.
This brings us to understand why the Jews of that day took extraordinary measures to remove the bodies that had been crucified. John 19:31 “The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, (for that Sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32 Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs.” Deuteronomy 21:22-23 Understanding how these Feasts interact, let us go over the three possible calendar days to determine the exact day the crucifixion happened during the momentous Passover.
Friday Proposition
A Friday crucifixion would bring the special Sabbath (the first holy day) to begin on Friday evening. That is, the special Sabbath would have landed on the same day (evening) as the Fourth Commandment of the Law. This presents a problem once we recall what is recorded for our further understanding: Mark 16:1 “And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.” Under a Friday proposition, the only time the women could have purchased the spices would have been after a Saturday evening, “When the Sabbath was past.”
The task of purchasing spices on a Saturday night is highly unlikely since, in those days, vendors would not be selling spices after sunset or during the night. Notwithstanding the possibility, let us see what actually took place: Luke 23:56 “And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.” In other words, after the special Sabbath had past, they bought spices and prepared them before they rested according to the Commandment of the Law. Now we have two Sabbaths involved during the three-day and three-night prophecy.
Notice how the passages in Luke 23:55-56 appear to show that after the women followed Joseph of Arimathea to the tomb, they went home and prepared spices before resting on the Sabbath, according to the commandment of the Law. Without considering any other passages, it appears the crucifixion could had taken place on a Friday before sunset. In other words, there is no mention of the special Sabbath that we know took place. John 19:31 Even if we were to venture into the idea of the women purchasing and preparing the spices on the premise of a Friday crucifixion, we need to remember the following:
How would the women have time to purchase spices on the premise of a Friday crucifixion if, all along, they were present during the time when The Messiah died on the ninth (3 p.m.) hour? We recall that after witnessing the crucifixion, the women waited for Joseph of Arimathea to petition the body from Pontius Pilate. Then they waited for Joseph and Nicodemus to prepare the body with herbs before wrapping it with linen strips. After this, they followed Joseph and Nicodemus to the tomb. Luke 23:49-54, Mark 15:43-47, Matthew 27:57-61, Luke 24:12, John 20:4-7
Aside from not having any time, the women had no concern to purchase the spices and prepare them right after Joseph and Nicodemus had wrapped the body with more than enough myrrh and aloe for the immediate need. John 19:38-42
By seeing how the four Gospels complement each other, we notice the presence of the two Sabbaths involved during the three-day and three-night period of that momentous event. Because of this, a Friday proposition is simply out of the question even when not considering the only prophecy that counts. Truly brothers, with so many veils, we are not even allowed to count. 1Corinthians 1:19-21
Thursday Proposition
A Thursday crucifixion would leave a Thursday evening as the special Sabbath and immediately after, on a Friday evening, the Fourth Commandment of the Law. These back-to-back Sabbaths would leave no room to purchase and prepare the spices. Let us remember, Scripture records “When the Sabbath was past,” the women bought spices and prepared them. This is key to understanding the three-day and three-night prophecy.
Under a Thursday crucifixion, a Gentile perhaps might think, “Why not buy and prepare the spices after the first Sabbath during the Fourth Commandment of the Law and then rest for the remainder of the day?” Let us recall that no one is allowed to make a profit on the Sabbath…not then and not now. Even if a Gentile was selling on the Sabbath, no Jew was allowed to buy anything according to Jewish law. In fact, they were not even allowed to pick-up a mat on the Sabbath! John 5:10 This is why the women rested on the special Sabbath, then bought and prepared the spices on a day other than the Sabbath.
Aside from not having a day to buy spices, a Thursday crucifixion falls short of the expected period of three days and three nights to fulfill prophecy.
The Passover
The Passover of that momentous year is similar to the Passover of 2009. As Wednesday evening approached, The Messiah’s body had already been taken-down in haste for the holy day to begin. Deuteronomy 16:3 The special Sabbath (the first holy day) began on Wednesday evening and ended on Thursday evening. Thursday evening to Friday morning is the usual bedtime. The purchase and preparation of the spices took place on Friday during daylight and when sunset arrived, the women began to observe the Sabbath according to the commandment of the Law. Then on that Sabbath, on the ninth hour, between evenings, The Messiah resurrected from the dead. Luke 23:44-46, Psalms 16:10
Our great designer had aligned these Sabbaths to land precisely in this order for prophecy to be fulfilled. Much like everything else, this was a design. Even the forty lashes-minus-one reveals something that has bewildered many for nearly two thousand years. This is the correlation between the destruction of the Temple and the destruction of the temple.
The Lampstand of God also helps us confirm the count with the golden model. When we view the seven steps as the seven days of the week, we notice the middle of the week (Wednesday) resembles the fourth step of the Ladder. The fourth step is the Baptism of Repentance, which commemorates The Messiah’s crucifixion. Then, three days later, The Messiah resurrected on the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week.
When we follow The Messiah to this important commitment, we are to enter the likeness of His death and the likeness of His resurrection on a Sabbath. Romans 6:2, 18 This is done to fulfill the eternal covenant that is to take place on the Sabbath. Genesis 17:11-13, John 7:22, Colossians 2:11
As we see, the Sabbath plays an important role during the discipline to the Law and during the Baptism of our Repentance. The Sabbath will also be involved during the journey unto holiness and, as we are reminded, during the millennium to come. During the thousand-year reign, the uncalled Gentile that escaped the tribulation will be taught to observe the Sabbath: Isaiah 56:6 “Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the
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