Traditions of Passover
This brief space of time has more eternal significance than any other week in human history. Pastors have analyzed it, theologians have theorized, and devoted Christians have studied it. Even with all of this, I find myself being drawn to shed some light on a few aspects missed by many in Christiandom. The Church today can be characterized as mainly gentile. This is unfortunate, due to the Jewish roots of the Bible are intrinsically vital for us to have a holistic understanding of God’s Word. Today and next Monday, my goal is to bring some of this to light. Each of the gospels describe the final week of Jesus. Let’s discuss Passover! So many do not understand, or fail to recognize, the importance of this holiday through the Jewish lense.
Numbers 28:16-18 “On the fourteenth day of the first month [is] the Passover of the LORD. 17 ‘And on the fifteenth day of this month [is] the feast; unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days. 18 ‘On the first day [you shall have] a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work.”
From a historical point of view, the Passover is a holiday reminding the Jewish people of God delivering them out of the hands of Egypt. We know from Genesis when God talked to Abram aka Abraham.
Genesis 15:13-14“Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land [that is] not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 “And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.”
To study more of the origins of this event, examine Exodus 12. According to the Essene Calander, this was 2448 AM or to our modern calender this is 1450 BC.(1).
The 14th of Nisan, the lamb had to be prepaired for the passover meal. That night as it became the 15th, they would leave when Pharaoh gave permission. According to historical, archeological, and Jewish rituals, the lamb had to be cooked and be done no later then 6pm on the 14th.(2). The Mishnah described the passover with unique rules to help prepare the family to remember what happened in 2448 AM, but also for the prophetic picture. The father of the house would choose a lamb. This lamb had to be without issue such as defect or blemish. This happened on the 10th, so this last Friday March 27th, according to the Dead Sea Scroll Calender. The family could inspect the lamb for four days. On Nisan 14, which is Tuesday April 1 this year, the time called “between theevenings,” or 3pm, the father would have the lamb and family by the front door. The father would then kill the lamb. Now imagine for a moment the children seeing such a thing. The lamb had been with them for four days, this innocent lamb, and yet it was killed for their sin. Today’s children ministries fail to capture the attitude of what God thinks of sin. The father would gather the blood and place it in a basin and mark the doorway. The pattern was a cross. Imagine, the disciples and others when they started to connect the dots when John the Baptist had identified Jesus as the lamb of God. And now that innocent Man would be on a cross. The father woud then take the intestines and wrap them around the head and the lamb would be roasted. This was called “the crowned sacrifice.” Imagine, the man who was God incarnate with a crown of thorns on a cross and identified as the lamb of God.3.
After this, the parents would have to have the lamb cooked and done before the evening dusk turns into the 15th of Nisan. This was considered a high sabath. This is not Friday going into Saturday. Examine Leveticus 23 and Numbers 26, you can clearly see that these are special holidays that were sabaths of their own. This is why the Jewish leadership asked for the three to be killed before the High Sabath.
John 19:31-37“Therefore, because it was the Preparation [Day,] 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. 32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. 36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not [one] of His bones shall be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”
So, let’s examine this with this week in mind. Using the Dead Sea Scroll Calender, Nisan 14 is Tuesday. Nisan 15 is Wednesday. I would encourage you to examine all four gospels this week and see what was happening during this time. We do not need man’s traditions, but rather God’s Holy Word. Good Friday was never on a Friday. Next week we will examine what was happening with Jesus during this entire time and see how the only aspect the Church has gotten right with dates is resurrection Sunday.
Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,
JL
Ancient Messianic Festivals and the Prophecies They Reveal by Ken Johnson, TH.D. pg 36
Ancient Messianic Festivals and the Prophecies They Reveal by Ken Johnson, TH.D. pg 36
Ancient Messianic Festivals and the Prophecies They Reveal by Ken Johnson, TH.D. pg 37