The month Jesus died
Below is the first month (Abib) of the Jewish year in which Jesus was crucified. (The spelling of the month comes from Exodus 13:4, 23:15, 64:18, and Deu 16:1. The modern Jewish spelling for this month is Aviv when referring to the Torah for the name of this month.)
Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
Value |
1 New moon |
2 |
||||
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 Day Jesus arrived in Bethany; Mary and Martha prepare a supper for Jesus, Lazarus, and others. This is eaten after sunset |
9 |
10 Selection of the Passover lamb; Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey |
11 |
12 |
13 Jesus sends disciples to prepare the Passover. After sunset, Jesus eats the Passover with His apostles |
14 Passover |
15 First day of the feast of unleavened bread (high sabbath) |
16 The LORD's sabbath |
17 Day to bring to the tabernacle (temple) the first fruits of the barley harvest. It is the day Jesus arose. |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 Last day of the feast of unleavened bread (high sabbath) |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
One initial comment needs to be made. The Jewish day begins at sunset and ends on the next sunset. For example consider the entries on the 8th and 13th days above. Both events occurred after sunset. For the Jews, these happened at the beginning of the 9th and 14th days.
To establish the validity of this, consider what is written in Luke chapter 24. The first verse states the day is the first day of the week. Then through verse 12, it describes the things that had happened during this day so far.
Verse 13 clearly states that as the two disciples began their journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus on "the very same day". So it was still the first day of the week.
At some point, Jesus joins them in their walk. He wants to know why they are so sad. When they, after a while, tell Him of the crucifixion of Christ, they state, "to day is the 3rd day since these things were done." Since we know that Jesus died on Passover, the 14th, it follows that the day they were walking and talking with Jesus was the 17th day of the month.
The moon revolves around the earth a little over 29 days. Because of this, the Jewish months alternate being 30 or 29 days long. In fact, the odd months are 30 days long; the even months are 29 days long.
So, there are only 354 days in a year. In order to keep the seasons and the calendar in sync, a 30 day month is added after the 12th month 7 out of 19 months.
This is to clarify what happened on the 8th, 9th, and 10th. Jesus arrived in Bethany six days before the Passover. So this had to be on the 8th day. On that day, Mary and Martha prepared this supper. Because this was served after sunset, it was on the begging of the 9th day that the people ate this supper. What did Jesus do for the rest of this 9th day? No one recorded that.
So, when the Bible mentions what Jesus did on the next day had to be the 10th day of the month. In Exodus chapter 12. Moses told the children of Israel what was about to happen including what they had to do and when during this time. Included in this was the selection of the Passover lamb. This was to be selected on the 10th day of the first month, slain at the evening of the 14th day, place its blood on the side posts and lintel. roast the lamb with fire, eat it, and burn anything left until sunrise. Jesus fulfilled all of this to the jot and tittle.
Leviticus 23:6-8 states that the 15th day of the month is a sabbath. On that day, there is to be a holy convocation; no servile work was to be done. This also is the requirement for every seventh day of the week; each was a sabbath of the LORD.
There are seven Sabbaths in a Jewish calendar year that may or may not occur on the seventh day. They came to be know as high Sabbaths. The 15th day of the first month is the first one of the year. The 21st day of the first month is the second high Sabbath of the year.
After the Passover and first day of the feast of unleavened bread and then the Sabbath of the LORD, comes the day to bring in the first fruits of the barley harvest. The last feast always occurred on the first day of the week (Sunday).
All the rituals are contained in Lev. 23:10-14. During this particular year, Jesus arose on this very day. It was not a coincidence that this happened. In what way was Jesus fulfilling Scriptures in what He did this day?
First consider 1 Cor 15:20. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. (You see, the apostle Paul well knew the connection between this feast and Jesus' resurrection.)
The point Paul is making in the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians is that there is a resurrection of the dead. The sequence is death followed by the resurrection. If you please, it is burying the grain followed by the seed sprouting sending forth a plant. Jesus was buried followed by His resurrection which was done by the power of God. We are like Jesus in that we die. We will also be like Him in that we also arise, also by the power of God. As He was with the resurrection so will we be like Him in our resurrection. And as He is with God, so will we be with God: body, soul, and spirit.
To establish the validity of this, consider what is written in Luke chapter 24. The first verse states the day is the first day of the week. Then through verse 12, it describes the things that had happened during this day so far.
Verse 13 clearly states that as the two disciples began their journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus on "the very same day". So it was still the first day of the week.
At some point, Jesus joins them in their walk. He wants to know why they are so sad. When they, after a while, tell Him of the crucifixion of Christ, they state, "to day is the 3rd day since these things were done." Since we know that Jesus died on Passover, the 14th, it follows that the day they were walking and talking with Jesus was the 17th day of the month.
The moon revolves around the earth a little over 29 days. Because of this, the Jewish months alternate being 30 or 29 days long. In fact, the odd months are 30 days long; the even months are 29 days long.
So, there are only 354 days in a year. In order to keep the seasons and the calendar in sync, a 30 day month is added after the 12th month 7 out of 19 months.
This is to clarify what happened on the 8th, 9th, and 10th. Jesus arrived in Bethany six days before the Passover. So this had to be on the 8th day. On that day, Mary and Martha prepared this supper. Because this was served after sunset, it was on the begging of the 9th day that the people ate this supper. What did Jesus do for the rest of this 9th day? No one recorded that.
So, when the Bible mentions what Jesus did on the next day had to be the 10th day of the month. In Exodus chapter 12. Moses told the children of Israel what was about to happen including what they had to do and when during this time. Included in this was the selection of the Passover lamb. This was to be selected on the 10th day of the first month, slain at the evening of the 14th day, place its blood on the side posts and lintel. roast the lamb with fire, eat it, and burn anything left until sunrise. Jesus fulfilled all of this to the jot and tittle.
Leviticus 23:6-8 states that the 15th day of the month is a sabbath. On that day, there is to be a holy convocation; no servile work was to be done. This also is the requirement for every seventh day of the week; each was a sabbath of the LORD.
There are seven Sabbaths in a Jewish calendar year that may or may not occur on the seventh day. They came to be know as high Sabbaths. The 15th day of the first month is the first one of the year. The 21st day of the first month is the second high Sabbath of the year.
After the Passover and first day of the feast of unleavened bread and then the Sabbath of the LORD, comes the day to bring in the first fruits of the barley harvest. The last feast always occurred on the first day of the week (Sunday).
All the rituals are contained in Lev. 23:10-14. During this particular year, Jesus arose on this very day. It was not a coincidence that this happened. In what way was Jesus fulfilling Scriptures in what He did this day?
First consider 1 Cor 15:20. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. (You see, the apostle Paul well knew the connection between this feast and Jesus' resurrection.)
The point Paul is making in the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians is that there is a resurrection of the dead. The sequence is death followed by the resurrection. If you please, it is burying the grain followed by the seed sprouting sending forth a plant. Jesus was buried followed by His resurrection which was done by the power of God. We are like Jesus in that we die. We will also be like Him in that we also arise, also by the power of God. As He was with the resurrection so will we be like Him in our resurrection. And as He is with God, so will we be with God: body, soul, and spirit.
The week that Jesus died Sunday to Sunday [10-17 Abib] (September 12, 2022)
This will be looking at these eight days in more detail. It will be divided into sections.
This will be looking at these eight days in more detail. It will be divided into sections.
September 16, 2022
1 And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 ¶Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. (Exodus 12:1-6)
(Very important!: The Jewish Calendar is based upon the moon for the duration of its months. As a result, the standard year contains 354 days in twelve months. To keep the calendar close to the seasons, a thirteenth month (ADAR II, containing 30 days is added just before the first month of the year seven times during each nineteenth year period. In addition, the sunset marks the beginning and ending point for each day. This is based upon Genesis chapter one. And the evening and the morning were the … day. This is important for the Passover itself that year.)
The Passover supper was after sunset as was His teachings in John chapters 13-17. Later that night Jesus was captured, and tried and convicted by the Sanhedrin Court. This was the evening part of the day of Passover. The morning part began with Jesus being taken to Pilot to have Him convicted and sentenced to death by crucifixion. This was done and in the mid afternoon, He died at His own will. Burial to the extent was possible under the time constraints ended shortly before sunset. The point being that all of these things occurred on the same day (Passover).
It is now the morning of the tenth day of Abib (first month of the year). Jesus has been staying in the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. He leaves walking toward the village Bethphage. As He as His disciples neared it, Jesus sent them to it with instructions to two of His disciples to bring back the foal of an ass with its mother. They did so. At this point Jesus began His ride down the side of the mountain of Olives onto the valley floor. He began this ride with only His disciples walking along with Him. That did not last very long before others joined them.
There were Jews and Proselytes that had come before Passover to accomplish the rituals required prior to Passover. The number of them was very large indeed. Others were just arriving in the area. Some of them had heard that Jesus was coming, and they wanted to see Him. Others had heard about Lazarus being raised from the dead, and these had to see him as well. So, when word got out that Jesus and Lazarus are on their way to Jerusalem, they came out in massive numbers.
Those who knew Jesus the most were jubilant and voiced it. Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest was their cry. Others were shouting, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. Along with all of this, the people in this huge crowd began to make a path for Jesus and the foal He was riding. People removed their outer garments to do this. Others left the crowd only long enough to cut branches from trees for the path.
This was quite a procession as they approached Jerusalem! It was quite loud also and getting louder as more people joined it. This made it very difficult for the Pharisees and Sadducees to ignore. Their reactions to this even was just as emotional as the procession they were witnessing. But, theirs was hatred, wrath, and all manner of negative emotions. In fact, this led them to plot to kill Jesus and to put out the word that they would pay anyone who delivered Him into their hands! There were some among them that did not go along with this plot. There seems to be no evidence of the latter being consulted by the leaders of these two groups. (Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathæa were two of the latter group.)
Getting back to the procession, what was the basis for the things the people were shouting? Why were they shouting so loudly? Did God play a part in this?
Jesus’ disciples heard of Him speak of the kingdom of Heaven, teaching them the things they needed to know about it. They also knew that Jesus was a distant grandson of David (fourteen generations removed according to the Gospel of Matthew). By their actions, we can see how they believed that the kingdom that David had was going to be restored by Jesus. Others had been looking forward to the coming of the Messiah whom they thought would restore it very soon. With the things they had heard about Jesus pointed in that direction as well. So, they joined the chorus of voices. Others getting caught up in the emotions of those, who were already shouting, joined in as well. And on top of all of this, none of them really liked the Roman government. The sooner it was gone the better.
From this perspective, this was a triumphal march into Jerusalem and then the Temple. It is about this procession that brought Jesus to the Temple, the palm branches and branches of other trees as well. But what is God’s perspective? What purpose did this even have in His mind?
Verses 3-5 in the Biblical quotation at the beginning of this article gives the purpose. It describes what is happening along with those things which happened during the rest of this day.
As these verses state, this day was when the Passover lamb was to be taken from the flock and kept until the evening of the fourteenth day. Specific rules were given as to what lamb of the flock can qualify as that lamb.
These verses also reveal God’s purpose for having His True Passover which was held by Him coinciding with the Passover for this specific year. The things the Jews were to do during this week were also done by God. It began with the selection of His True Passover lamb on the tenth day which was the day when Jesus rode the foal of an ass into Jerusalem and then to the Temple where He walked into its grounds.
In reality, God had chosen Jesus for this role before the foundation of the world. But this had not yet been completely revealed by Him. In the writings of the prophets, various hints had been made concerning who the Messiah would be and what His characteristics were to be. From these writings, there were several misconceptions about Him. Then again, there were beliefs about Him that were accurate to the extent that they went.
What was God’s purpose in the procession that occurred on this day? What did He intend the words of praise that were heard so loudly? Jesus is the son of David and He was restoring the kingdom for those who do the will of His Father which is in Heaven. Not only that, but He came in the name of the LORD.
As it is written, [Heb 10:7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.] God had planned out the life of Jesus in detail and in wisdom. He had given this plan to Jesus for Him to live day by day. In fact, He had done each part of it at the time appointed and in the way it should be done.
So, every word that had been shouted that day in the procession were absolutely true. He was without blemish; He was a male; He was in the early part of His ministry at this point. God had sworn and will not repent: Jesus is His high priest after the order of Melchizedek. Jesus qualified as candidate for being God’s Passover lamb.
But what about other human beings? Are there anyone who is without even the slightest blemish? What about Noah, Daniel, and Job? Noah became drunk and laid naked in his tent afterwards. Since we do not know everything about Daniel’s life, we don’t know of any of his sins. After Job’s troubles compounded by what his three “miserable comforters” accused him of doing, he had to repent of many things that he had said to them. But what we do know is what the Apostle Paul taught, (Rom 5:12) Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned”. Every human being inherited sin from Adam, Jesus being the only exception. However, when Jesus on the True Passover removed the old man of each and every child of God, He was filled with their sins. It is this that made Him subject to the law of sin and death. (More about this in detail during the discussion about the Passover itself.) So, obviously, Daniel had sinned in someway in his life, and those sins were blemishes which disqualified even him from being the True Passover lamb. Only Jesus met every requirement of God for this specific lamb.
Again, the flocks belonging to the children of Israel consisted of both sheep and goats. Suppose a goat was found within a particular flock that was both without blemish, male of the first year. It was also the right size for the number of people who were going to sit down together to eat it on the Passover. Would this be appropriate? Verse 12:5 states it would be. You see, God had given Israel a choice between using a sheep or a goat in this service. As a side issue, it certainly appears that a lamb of the flock is either a sheep or a goat.
To go further into this, consider who Jesus is, what two of His titles are: son of God, and son of man. These are terms that are used many time in the Scriptures. Jesus often referred to Himself as the son of man. What are these terms the son of…? They are terms of heritage. As the son of God, God is Jesus’ Father. As the son of man, Jesus had taken on Himself the seed of Abraham, he was a human being. Either way, Jesus was still the perfect Passover lamb and the only one who was qualified as the True lamb for God’s True Passover. Actually, to truly understand Jesus, we need to look at Him as the son of God and the son of man. In fact, there were important parts of this week which required Him to be the son of man. Without this, it would be impossible for Him to save His people from their sins. (This too will be discussed in future articles.) Now back to Jesus’ journey to the Temple. He and the crowd surrounding Him have now entered into the city of Jerusalem and is heading for the Temple. They are still very loud as they have been for some time. Then at last, they arrive there.
Jesus is entering the Temple grounds with some preceding Him, others with Him, and the rest following. All of them are still praising God for this one who has come in the name of the LORD.
Jesus is now at home: it is the house of the LORD, the place that He has chosen to place His Name. This is the beginning of the fulfillment of the Scriptures which prophesied that Jesus would be select as the True Passover lamb and kept up until the fourteenth day of Abib. He is now in the Temple, and He will spend most of His time here from now to the beginning of Passover. He is here during the days and on mount of Olives at night. (This being only a Sabbath day’s journey from the Temple kept Him within the proper distance from the Temple.
As Jesus looked around, He saw money changers on these grounds and people selling and buying sacrificial animals. He became angry, and His wrath became very apparent as He threw all of them out of the temple. The Sadducees had defiled the Temple with these activities. This is a perfect example of leavening corrupting the services of God. What right did He have to do this? He is the Son of God, the high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
What did He do after cleansing the Temple of these things? Well, the people were still praising God for the One who
had come in the name of the LORD. At this time, this included children. This greatly displeased the chief priests and scribes: they wanted Him to put a stop to all of this. After telling them what would happen if He were to do so, He and His disciples left for Bethany on the mount of Olives. This likely mean that Jesus spent the night in the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus again.
With the setting of the sun, the first day of the week ended, and the second day of the week began...
1 And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 ¶Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. (Exodus 12:1-6)
(Very important!: The Jewish Calendar is based upon the moon for the duration of its months. As a result, the standard year contains 354 days in twelve months. To keep the calendar close to the seasons, a thirteenth month (ADAR II, containing 30 days is added just before the first month of the year seven times during each nineteenth year period. In addition, the sunset marks the beginning and ending point for each day. This is based upon Genesis chapter one. And the evening and the morning were the … day. This is important for the Passover itself that year.)
The Passover supper was after sunset as was His teachings in John chapters 13-17. Later that night Jesus was captured, and tried and convicted by the Sanhedrin Court. This was the evening part of the day of Passover. The morning part began with Jesus being taken to Pilot to have Him convicted and sentenced to death by crucifixion. This was done and in the mid afternoon, He died at His own will. Burial to the extent was possible under the time constraints ended shortly before sunset. The point being that all of these things occurred on the same day (Passover).
It is now the morning of the tenth day of Abib (first month of the year). Jesus has been staying in the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. He leaves walking toward the village Bethphage. As He as His disciples neared it, Jesus sent them to it with instructions to two of His disciples to bring back the foal of an ass with its mother. They did so. At this point Jesus began His ride down the side of the mountain of Olives onto the valley floor. He began this ride with only His disciples walking along with Him. That did not last very long before others joined them.
There were Jews and Proselytes that had come before Passover to accomplish the rituals required prior to Passover. The number of them was very large indeed. Others were just arriving in the area. Some of them had heard that Jesus was coming, and they wanted to see Him. Others had heard about Lazarus being raised from the dead, and these had to see him as well. So, when word got out that Jesus and Lazarus are on their way to Jerusalem, they came out in massive numbers.
Those who knew Jesus the most were jubilant and voiced it. Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest was their cry. Others were shouting, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. Along with all of this, the people in this huge crowd began to make a path for Jesus and the foal He was riding. People removed their outer garments to do this. Others left the crowd only long enough to cut branches from trees for the path.
This was quite a procession as they approached Jerusalem! It was quite loud also and getting louder as more people joined it. This made it very difficult for the Pharisees and Sadducees to ignore. Their reactions to this even was just as emotional as the procession they were witnessing. But, theirs was hatred, wrath, and all manner of negative emotions. In fact, this led them to plot to kill Jesus and to put out the word that they would pay anyone who delivered Him into their hands! There were some among them that did not go along with this plot. There seems to be no evidence of the latter being consulted by the leaders of these two groups. (Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathæa were two of the latter group.)
Getting back to the procession, what was the basis for the things the people were shouting? Why were they shouting so loudly? Did God play a part in this?
Jesus’ disciples heard of Him speak of the kingdom of Heaven, teaching them the things they needed to know about it. They also knew that Jesus was a distant grandson of David (fourteen generations removed according to the Gospel of Matthew). By their actions, we can see how they believed that the kingdom that David had was going to be restored by Jesus. Others had been looking forward to the coming of the Messiah whom they thought would restore it very soon. With the things they had heard about Jesus pointed in that direction as well. So, they joined the chorus of voices. Others getting caught up in the emotions of those, who were already shouting, joined in as well. And on top of all of this, none of them really liked the Roman government. The sooner it was gone the better.
From this perspective, this was a triumphal march into Jerusalem and then the Temple. It is about this procession that brought Jesus to the Temple, the palm branches and branches of other trees as well. But what is God’s perspective? What purpose did this even have in His mind?
Verses 3-5 in the Biblical quotation at the beginning of this article gives the purpose. It describes what is happening along with those things which happened during the rest of this day.
As these verses state, this day was when the Passover lamb was to be taken from the flock and kept until the evening of the fourteenth day. Specific rules were given as to what lamb of the flock can qualify as that lamb.
These verses also reveal God’s purpose for having His True Passover which was held by Him coinciding with the Passover for this specific year. The things the Jews were to do during this week were also done by God. It began with the selection of His True Passover lamb on the tenth day which was the day when Jesus rode the foal of an ass into Jerusalem and then to the Temple where He walked into its grounds.
In reality, God had chosen Jesus for this role before the foundation of the world. But this had not yet been completely revealed by Him. In the writings of the prophets, various hints had been made concerning who the Messiah would be and what His characteristics were to be. From these writings, there were several misconceptions about Him. Then again, there were beliefs about Him that were accurate to the extent that they went.
What was God’s purpose in the procession that occurred on this day? What did He intend the words of praise that were heard so loudly? Jesus is the son of David and He was restoring the kingdom for those who do the will of His Father which is in Heaven. Not only that, but He came in the name of the LORD.
As it is written, [Heb 10:7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.] God had planned out the life of Jesus in detail and in wisdom. He had given this plan to Jesus for Him to live day by day. In fact, He had done each part of it at the time appointed and in the way it should be done.
So, every word that had been shouted that day in the procession were absolutely true. He was without blemish; He was a male; He was in the early part of His ministry at this point. God had sworn and will not repent: Jesus is His high priest after the order of Melchizedek. Jesus qualified as candidate for being God’s Passover lamb.
But what about other human beings? Are there anyone who is without even the slightest blemish? What about Noah, Daniel, and Job? Noah became drunk and laid naked in his tent afterwards. Since we do not know everything about Daniel’s life, we don’t know of any of his sins. After Job’s troubles compounded by what his three “miserable comforters” accused him of doing, he had to repent of many things that he had said to them. But what we do know is what the Apostle Paul taught, (Rom 5:12) Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned”. Every human being inherited sin from Adam, Jesus being the only exception. However, when Jesus on the True Passover removed the old man of each and every child of God, He was filled with their sins. It is this that made Him subject to the law of sin and death. (More about this in detail during the discussion about the Passover itself.) So, obviously, Daniel had sinned in someway in his life, and those sins were blemishes which disqualified even him from being the True Passover lamb. Only Jesus met every requirement of God for this specific lamb.
Again, the flocks belonging to the children of Israel consisted of both sheep and goats. Suppose a goat was found within a particular flock that was both without blemish, male of the first year. It was also the right size for the number of people who were going to sit down together to eat it on the Passover. Would this be appropriate? Verse 12:5 states it would be. You see, God had given Israel a choice between using a sheep or a goat in this service. As a side issue, it certainly appears that a lamb of the flock is either a sheep or a goat.
To go further into this, consider who Jesus is, what two of His titles are: son of God, and son of man. These are terms that are used many time in the Scriptures. Jesus often referred to Himself as the son of man. What are these terms the son of…? They are terms of heritage. As the son of God, God is Jesus’ Father. As the son of man, Jesus had taken on Himself the seed of Abraham, he was a human being. Either way, Jesus was still the perfect Passover lamb and the only one who was qualified as the True lamb for God’s True Passover. Actually, to truly understand Jesus, we need to look at Him as the son of God and the son of man. In fact, there were important parts of this week which required Him to be the son of man. Without this, it would be impossible for Him to save His people from their sins. (This too will be discussed in future articles.) Now back to Jesus’ journey to the Temple. He and the crowd surrounding Him have now entered into the city of Jerusalem and is heading for the Temple. They are still very loud as they have been for some time. Then at last, they arrive there.
Jesus is entering the Temple grounds with some preceding Him, others with Him, and the rest following. All of them are still praising God for this one who has come in the name of the LORD.
Jesus is now at home: it is the house of the LORD, the place that He has chosen to place His Name. This is the beginning of the fulfillment of the Scriptures which prophesied that Jesus would be select as the True Passover lamb and kept up until the fourteenth day of Abib. He is now in the Temple, and He will spend most of His time here from now to the beginning of Passover. He is here during the days and on mount of Olives at night. (This being only a Sabbath day’s journey from the Temple kept Him within the proper distance from the Temple.
As Jesus looked around, He saw money changers on these grounds and people selling and buying sacrificial animals. He became angry, and His wrath became very apparent as He threw all of them out of the temple. The Sadducees had defiled the Temple with these activities. This is a perfect example of leavening corrupting the services of God. What right did He have to do this? He is the Son of God, the high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
What did He do after cleansing the Temple of these things? Well, the people were still praising God for the One who
had come in the name of the LORD. At this time, this included children. This greatly displeased the chief priests and scribes: they wanted Him to put a stop to all of this. After telling them what would happen if He were to do so, He and His disciples left for Bethany on the mount of Olives. This likely mean that Jesus spent the night in the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus again.
With the setting of the sun, the first day of the week ended, and the second day of the week began...
2nd day of the week [11 Abib] (Matt 20:23-26:5 Mark 11:20-14:11 Luke 20:1-22:6)
This is to become a very busy day for Jesus with quite a few things to accomplish. So He leaves Bethany for the temple. Along the way, He feels hungry and eyes a fig tree that looks promising yet not likely. But when He gets there, all He sees is leaves and branches. There were no figs. This is when Jesus cursed it for being barren. From there, Jesus continued to the temple.
But back to the fig tree. Why would He curse this tree? It had leaves on its limbs. These leaves usually did not usually appear until summer was near which was about a month after the time Jesus came to this tree. It was putting on its leaves early. So, it would seem likely that it would also be putting on its fruit early as well. It obviously was not doing this.
And yet we find that this was a lesson in faith. Walking by faith requires believing in the teachings of Jesus as well as acting upon them as well. In the second chapter of James, the works based upon faith are the very ones that make the faith perfect for the individual performing them (2:22).
To complete this lesson, we must also include the lesson about when they discovered the fig tree had withered and died. The disciples were shocked when they saw it. Jesus informed they that in the near future the apostles would also perform acts of faith greater than this. And in fact, they did; many of them are contained in the book of Acts.
The first example I will mention is 3:6. John and Peter were entering the Temple grounds when a lame man asked alms from them. Peter first told the man to look at them. Then he said, , Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. Peter pulled him up to a standing position. He became quite active on his feet!
What had happened? Peter had believed that by saying this, God would heal the man. He was also doing what Jesus had taught him to do. So, The healing occurred by Peter’s faith in the name of Jesus and the power that it contained (3:16).
The second example begins in Chapter 9 and continues for the rest of Saul of Tarsus’ life. During his short dialog with Jesus, he realized how wrong he had been in everything he was doing. His beliefs were all wrong. This turned his lifestyle upside down. Now like Abram in Genesis chapter 15 and Sarah in chapter 20 in believing in God, he believed in what Jesus told him. Time after time, he is found walking by faith, performing miracles in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Entering the temple
Before going on, consider the context in which these verses were placed. As Passover came nearer, more and more people were arriving to eat the Passover meal, the Passover Sater. Such was also the case on the Temple grounds: filled with people. These include Pharisees and Sadducees. Also included were the people who had heard about Jesus and wanted to see Him, perhaps in action. Likely this included the ones who either had been on the Temple grounds the day before or had heard about what He had done while there.
So there were many people who were there when Jesus returned this day that desired to see Him. We know that there were proselytes from Greece who desired to see Him. One of them told one of His disciples, and the word was passed to Jesus.
There were others who wanted to put a stop to what He was doing. They feared Him and what He might do to their position of power in a very negative way. These were the religious leaders who were chief priests and elders of the people. (Are the elders the members of the Sanhedrin court?)
Upon Jesus entering onto the Temple court, these people immediately met Him questioning Him. They wanted to know why He had said as and done the things they had heard about of saw. Where did He get the authority to do so? They were sure He did not have such authority. They wanted something to put a stop to Him, and they were looking for it.
Remember that what they saw before them was a man that had gone about preaching His doctrine among the people. Somehow He must have found a way to get Satan to help Him in the form of miracles He was reported to have performed. His educational ability was not very high because He had not studied under the tutorage of any known doctor of the law. Surely, they could easily outwit him in any discussion they had.
But such was not the case: this was the Son of God standing before them. The way He answered them points this out. They thought they had Him with the single question they put to Him. Jesus quickly turned the tables on them posing a question to them that put them on the horns of a dilemma. They make serious problems for themselves with either reply they could give Him. They had been outwitted.
Then from His lips came the parable about a father with two sons. He wanted them to work in his vineyard. The older refused, and the younger immediately said he would go. In the end, the older spent most of the day in the vineyard. The younger was a no show all day.
The lesson was what is done is more important than what one promises when it comes to an activity of any kind. Yet, Jesus was referring to the behavior of the people living in Israel at the time. The chief priests and elders of the people had promised to obey God but had not (the younger son). The Publicans and sinners refused to to do this (the older son). And yet, with the preaching of Jesus and the disciples He sent out to preach, there many Publicans and sinners that had repented, turning back to their God and His Son, Jesus. And so, what came out of Jesus’ mouth bother the chief priests and elders considerably. The Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
Then Jesus followed this up with a second parable about a man having a vineyard, rented it out to some men. But when he send someone to collect the rent, the men treated each one sent badly. When the owner sent his son to collect the rent, they killed him.
Then Jesus asked what should happen to these men. In the discussion came that they should be destroyed was mentioned. Some else should be found who will in fact pay the rent each year.
But Jesus was talking about Himself: He was that Son. The Jews were the evil men. The vineyard was the kingdom of God. The Jews were going to kill Jesus. They were going to lose the kingdom which was going to be given to the Gentiles. While the chief priests and Pharisees did not seem to understand Jesus, they were certain that it was talking about them. It was one more reason for getting rid of Him, to stop Him talking this way.
Then Jesus continued His dialog as He spoke of another parable, one about the marriage supper. It was a commentary on the behavior of the people who had heard Jesus but refused to follow up what they had been taught with actions. The people had advanced notice of this event. Yet, when the actual time came, they suddenly had other things to do instead. So, those sent to bid them to the wedding were hearing a variety of excuses as to why they could not come. Some of the servants sent for this purpose were not so fortunate. They were either beaten or killed.
The king became furious over the latter events. He ordered them slain who had beaten or killed one of these servants. Then the king sent his servants again to gather people for the wedding. When that did not provide enough guests, they were sent out a third time. This time there enough.
Again, this is all about the kingdom of God. The Jews were the ones who has advanced notice of the wedding of Jesus to His Church. Isaiah and many other prophets told of the coming of the Messiah. The kingdom was mentioned many times as well. So the Jews were without excuse when it came to the coming of Jesus and the fact that the kingdom of God was at hand which should have become obvious with the preaching of John the Baptist.
But like the original guests, the Jews had refused to come to the wedding, they had refused to listen to Jesus and obey what He told them to do. As their fathers before them, they had badly treated Jesus and would continue to follow this practice in harming and killing anyone who would dare to live the way Jesus taught. Leading up to 70 AD, the Jews even turned upon the Romans as well as to Jesus’ disciples. Rome fought back completely destroying the Temple and removing the Jews from their homeland. This parable’s conclusion was carried out by God upon them.
Interaction with Pharisees about tribute money: pay it or not?This is another time when they thought they trap Jesus with this question, and it was a rather simple question. But if He answered Yes, this would alienate the people who did not want to pay Rome anything. If He said No, this would bring the Roman government down on him for refusing to do so. So, what could He answer?
Jesus pointed out that this was not a simple yes or no answer. His reply was, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s. This pointed out that the people had responsibilities to both God and Caesar. Payments were to be made to each one according to what was due. So, yes it was right to pay tribute money to Rome, and it was wrong not to do so if that was what was owed.
This was not what they had expected Him to say. After all He was speaking of much more than making a specific payment. He broaden out this question to the people’s responsibilities toward all payments due to someone else.
interaction with Sadducees Later came people from this group who denied the resurrection existed. They had their own question about this issue which they posed to Him. (Matt 22:24-28) Neither were they prepared for His answer that followed their question. Why? Their belief that our life begins at conception and ends at death limited they understanding. Jesus, knowing what happens after physical death told them a little part of what occurs then.
What they needed to learn and what comforters us of our futures, is some basics about our life in its entirety. There are two point to this. First, we will be like the angels in the presence of the LORD God. Secondly, there are Scriptures which teaches the reality of life after physical death. God is always our God, and this continues in eternity.
With this reply, these people left Him not knowing what more could they say to Jesus. They had been silenced.
greatest commandment of the Torah.Now the Pharisees returned to challenge Him once again. This time the spokesman was a lawyer who knew the law well. So, his question was serious in nature. It went down deep to the basics of the law. What was the most important commandment in the law?
Once again, Jesus answered his question and then added more information to His answer. Why did He do this? Because the people needed to understand more than just the most important commandment. They needed to know what their responsibilities are toward God. Do you see that He is using the same pattern as He had in His replies earlier in the day?
How important was it for the people to love God? They should be doing this in each and every part of their lives! Even so, there is more that a person should do that is related to loving God. We should love others as Christ has loved us. (Jesus said so!) This is what loving our neighbour as ourselves is all about. Just to remind us, the Apostle John in his first epistle, wrote of the importance of loving others. He also taught what would be our condition if we do not. It was serious business.
One time when a lawyer asked this question, he was not completely satisfied with what Jesus said. He then asked, “Who is my neighbour?” Of course, he had his own idea of what that was. What he really wanted Jesus’ answer to be was what he already thought. (He should have known better.) He did not get his wish. Not only that but Jesus turned the question around. So what the lawyer heard was, “Who is a neighbour to him?” Now, in between these two questions, Jesus taught the parable of the Good Samaritan. A Jew was badly beaten and left for dead. In fact, I interpret the phrase half dead as meaning this man would die without medical attention. A priest and then a levite saw him in this condition but kept on going. The first person to have mercy upon this Jew was a Samaritan. Taking the Jew to a home where he would stay, he tended to the man as best as he could. He even provided additional care through the help of owner of the home.
It was no accident that Jesus chose a Jew for the one who needed help and a Samaritan as the one who gave it. There are lessons in it that the lawyer needed to know. The two groups as a whole disliked each other, and this is putting it mildly, very mildly. It was something that the lawyer needed to get over.
So, this brings us back to the question concerning this parable, who was a neighbour to the possibly dying man. The lawyer stated the obvious in that the one who had provided the help. This was one of the points Jesus was driving home when He said, Go, and do likewise.
What are other ways in which a person can be helpful to those in need. Matthew 25:34,35 mentions six of them. They are feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, lodging the stranger, visiting the sick, and visiting those in prison.
Even so, it needs to be done in the correct way as is written in Matthew 25:40. It is all about seeing the need and doing something about it regardless of who the other person is. He could be held in high esteem by us which could be easy for us. On the other hand, we might think that he is a nobody that we would want to even be around. He has a need, and we have the means to fill that need. God requires we provide the need in either example.
You see, this is why Jesus chose a Jew and a Samaritan for this parable. One would expect that members of these two groups to consider the other group as being the lease desirable. The appropriate action in a case of need was to provide it regardless.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (This is a continuation of the two great commandments.) God sent Jesus to fulfill the law to a jot and tittle. This means that while in human flesh, He completely kept both of these commandments in every way. It follows that He also kept every individual law, precept, and statute. It also agrees with what Paul wrote that by loving our neighbour as ourselves keeps the law. Notice: we show our love to God by how we love our neighbors.
While Jesus has the Pharisees around him, He asks them a question to get them to think. What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? This was easy to answer. There are many references of the Messiah (Christ), as being the son of David (descended from him). Now comes the hard part. "How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying," 44 "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?" 45 "If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?"
This is not a possibility for a human being. He does not exist until the time of conception, but David lived many centuries before the Holy Spirit over shadowed Mary, modifying the egg she had grown within her thus creating the cell that then grew into the body that Jesus inhabited. Jesus stumped them with this question, and they in turn stopped asking any more of them.
On the first day of the week, God revealed Jesus to be the true Passover lamb for His True Passover. This One was perfect in every way. Since then, people had been seeking for any blemishes in Him, but finding none. He had been more than up to the task of meeting every challenge.
Jesus speaks to the multitude and His disciples
exit from temple and the troubles to come with more instructions to disciples
Return to Bethany
sunset marking end of 2nd day and beginning of 3rd day
3rd day of the week [12 Abib]
Supper at Simon the leper
Mary anoints Jesus feet or did she
Judas conspires to betray Jesus
sunset marking the end of 3rd day and beginning of 4th day
4th day of the week [13 Abib]
Question of where to eat the Passover
sunset marking the end of 4th day and beginning of 5th day which is Passover
5th day of the week (Passover, 10 Abib)
After sunset, Jesus eats this supper with the twelve
During it, He blessed first the bread and then the wine
announces His betrayal and what would follow
sends Judas out to begin the completion of his part in the conspiracy
argument over who is the greatest among disciples
garden of Gethsemane
capture & trial
taken to Pilot for judgment
crucifixion & death
sunset marking the end of Passover and the beginning of the 6th day
6th day of the week: Feast of Unleavened bread begins [15 Abib] (ends on 21st day of the month)High sabbath
7th day of the week: Sabbath of the LORD [16 Abib]Weekly sabbath
1st day of the week: Firstfruits, Feast of weeks begins [17 Abib]Resurrection of Jesus
Search for His body
two disciples go from Jerusalem to Emmaus
conversation with Jesus
their return to Jerusalem to the upper room
This is to become a very busy day for Jesus with quite a few things to accomplish. So He leaves Bethany for the temple. Along the way, He feels hungry and eyes a fig tree that looks promising yet not likely. But when He gets there, all He sees is leaves and branches. There were no figs. This is when Jesus cursed it for being barren. From there, Jesus continued to the temple.
But back to the fig tree. Why would He curse this tree? It had leaves on its limbs. These leaves usually did not usually appear until summer was near which was about a month after the time Jesus came to this tree. It was putting on its leaves early. So, it would seem likely that it would also be putting on its fruit early as well. It obviously was not doing this.
And yet we find that this was a lesson in faith. Walking by faith requires believing in the teachings of Jesus as well as acting upon them as well. In the second chapter of James, the works based upon faith are the very ones that make the faith perfect for the individual performing them (2:22).
To complete this lesson, we must also include the lesson about when they discovered the fig tree had withered and died. The disciples were shocked when they saw it. Jesus informed they that in the near future the apostles would also perform acts of faith greater than this. And in fact, they did; many of them are contained in the book of Acts.
The first example I will mention is 3:6. John and Peter were entering the Temple grounds when a lame man asked alms from them. Peter first told the man to look at them. Then he said, , Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. Peter pulled him up to a standing position. He became quite active on his feet!
What had happened? Peter had believed that by saying this, God would heal the man. He was also doing what Jesus had taught him to do. So, The healing occurred by Peter’s faith in the name of Jesus and the power that it contained (3:16).
The second example begins in Chapter 9 and continues for the rest of Saul of Tarsus’ life. During his short dialog with Jesus, he realized how wrong he had been in everything he was doing. His beliefs were all wrong. This turned his lifestyle upside down. Now like Abram in Genesis chapter 15 and Sarah in chapter 20 in believing in God, he believed in what Jesus told him. Time after time, he is found walking by faith, performing miracles in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Entering the temple
Before going on, consider the context in which these verses were placed. As Passover came nearer, more and more people were arriving to eat the Passover meal, the Passover Sater. Such was also the case on the Temple grounds: filled with people. These include Pharisees and Sadducees. Also included were the people who had heard about Jesus and wanted to see Him, perhaps in action. Likely this included the ones who either had been on the Temple grounds the day before or had heard about what He had done while there.
So there were many people who were there when Jesus returned this day that desired to see Him. We know that there were proselytes from Greece who desired to see Him. One of them told one of His disciples, and the word was passed to Jesus.
There were others who wanted to put a stop to what He was doing. They feared Him and what He might do to their position of power in a very negative way. These were the religious leaders who were chief priests and elders of the people. (Are the elders the members of the Sanhedrin court?)
Upon Jesus entering onto the Temple court, these people immediately met Him questioning Him. They wanted to know why He had said as and done the things they had heard about of saw. Where did He get the authority to do so? They were sure He did not have such authority. They wanted something to put a stop to Him, and they were looking for it.
Remember that what they saw before them was a man that had gone about preaching His doctrine among the people. Somehow He must have found a way to get Satan to help Him in the form of miracles He was reported to have performed. His educational ability was not very high because He had not studied under the tutorage of any known doctor of the law. Surely, they could easily outwit him in any discussion they had.
But such was not the case: this was the Son of God standing before them. The way He answered them points this out. They thought they had Him with the single question they put to Him. Jesus quickly turned the tables on them posing a question to them that put them on the horns of a dilemma. They make serious problems for themselves with either reply they could give Him. They had been outwitted.
Then from His lips came the parable about a father with two sons. He wanted them to work in his vineyard. The older refused, and the younger immediately said he would go. In the end, the older spent most of the day in the vineyard. The younger was a no show all day.
The lesson was what is done is more important than what one promises when it comes to an activity of any kind. Yet, Jesus was referring to the behavior of the people living in Israel at the time. The chief priests and elders of the people had promised to obey God but had not (the younger son). The Publicans and sinners refused to to do this (the older son). And yet, with the preaching of Jesus and the disciples He sent out to preach, there many Publicans and sinners that had repented, turning back to their God and His Son, Jesus. And so, what came out of Jesus’ mouth bother the chief priests and elders considerably. The Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
Then Jesus followed this up with a second parable about a man having a vineyard, rented it out to some men. But when he send someone to collect the rent, the men treated each one sent badly. When the owner sent his son to collect the rent, they killed him.
Then Jesus asked what should happen to these men. In the discussion came that they should be destroyed was mentioned. Some else should be found who will in fact pay the rent each year.
But Jesus was talking about Himself: He was that Son. The Jews were the evil men. The vineyard was the kingdom of God. The Jews were going to kill Jesus. They were going to lose the kingdom which was going to be given to the Gentiles. While the chief priests and Pharisees did not seem to understand Jesus, they were certain that it was talking about them. It was one more reason for getting rid of Him, to stop Him talking this way.
Then Jesus continued His dialog as He spoke of another parable, one about the marriage supper. It was a commentary on the behavior of the people who had heard Jesus but refused to follow up what they had been taught with actions. The people had advanced notice of this event. Yet, when the actual time came, they suddenly had other things to do instead. So, those sent to bid them to the wedding were hearing a variety of excuses as to why they could not come. Some of the servants sent for this purpose were not so fortunate. They were either beaten or killed.
The king became furious over the latter events. He ordered them slain who had beaten or killed one of these servants. Then the king sent his servants again to gather people for the wedding. When that did not provide enough guests, they were sent out a third time. This time there enough.
Again, this is all about the kingdom of God. The Jews were the ones who has advanced notice of the wedding of Jesus to His Church. Isaiah and many other prophets told of the coming of the Messiah. The kingdom was mentioned many times as well. So the Jews were without excuse when it came to the coming of Jesus and the fact that the kingdom of God was at hand which should have become obvious with the preaching of John the Baptist.
But like the original guests, the Jews had refused to come to the wedding, they had refused to listen to Jesus and obey what He told them to do. As their fathers before them, they had badly treated Jesus and would continue to follow this practice in harming and killing anyone who would dare to live the way Jesus taught. Leading up to 70 AD, the Jews even turned upon the Romans as well as to Jesus’ disciples. Rome fought back completely destroying the Temple and removing the Jews from their homeland. This parable’s conclusion was carried out by God upon them.
Interaction with Pharisees about tribute money: pay it or not?This is another time when they thought they trap Jesus with this question, and it was a rather simple question. But if He answered Yes, this would alienate the people who did not want to pay Rome anything. If He said No, this would bring the Roman government down on him for refusing to do so. So, what could He answer?
Jesus pointed out that this was not a simple yes or no answer. His reply was, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s. This pointed out that the people had responsibilities to both God and Caesar. Payments were to be made to each one according to what was due. So, yes it was right to pay tribute money to Rome, and it was wrong not to do so if that was what was owed.
This was not what they had expected Him to say. After all He was speaking of much more than making a specific payment. He broaden out this question to the people’s responsibilities toward all payments due to someone else.
interaction with Sadducees Later came people from this group who denied the resurrection existed. They had their own question about this issue which they posed to Him. (Matt 22:24-28) Neither were they prepared for His answer that followed their question. Why? Their belief that our life begins at conception and ends at death limited they understanding. Jesus, knowing what happens after physical death told them a little part of what occurs then.
What they needed to learn and what comforters us of our futures, is some basics about our life in its entirety. There are two point to this. First, we will be like the angels in the presence of the LORD God. Secondly, there are Scriptures which teaches the reality of life after physical death. God is always our God, and this continues in eternity.
With this reply, these people left Him not knowing what more could they say to Jesus. They had been silenced.
greatest commandment of the Torah.Now the Pharisees returned to challenge Him once again. This time the spokesman was a lawyer who knew the law well. So, his question was serious in nature. It went down deep to the basics of the law. What was the most important commandment in the law?
Once again, Jesus answered his question and then added more information to His answer. Why did He do this? Because the people needed to understand more than just the most important commandment. They needed to know what their responsibilities are toward God. Do you see that He is using the same pattern as He had in His replies earlier in the day?
How important was it for the people to love God? They should be doing this in each and every part of their lives! Even so, there is more that a person should do that is related to loving God. We should love others as Christ has loved us. (Jesus said so!) This is what loving our neighbour as ourselves is all about. Just to remind us, the Apostle John in his first epistle, wrote of the importance of loving others. He also taught what would be our condition if we do not. It was serious business.
One time when a lawyer asked this question, he was not completely satisfied with what Jesus said. He then asked, “Who is my neighbour?” Of course, he had his own idea of what that was. What he really wanted Jesus’ answer to be was what he already thought. (He should have known better.) He did not get his wish. Not only that but Jesus turned the question around. So what the lawyer heard was, “Who is a neighbour to him?” Now, in between these two questions, Jesus taught the parable of the Good Samaritan. A Jew was badly beaten and left for dead. In fact, I interpret the phrase half dead as meaning this man would die without medical attention. A priest and then a levite saw him in this condition but kept on going. The first person to have mercy upon this Jew was a Samaritan. Taking the Jew to a home where he would stay, he tended to the man as best as he could. He even provided additional care through the help of owner of the home.
It was no accident that Jesus chose a Jew for the one who needed help and a Samaritan as the one who gave it. There are lessons in it that the lawyer needed to know. The two groups as a whole disliked each other, and this is putting it mildly, very mildly. It was something that the lawyer needed to get over.
So, this brings us back to the question concerning this parable, who was a neighbour to the possibly dying man. The lawyer stated the obvious in that the one who had provided the help. This was one of the points Jesus was driving home when He said, Go, and do likewise.
What are other ways in which a person can be helpful to those in need. Matthew 25:34,35 mentions six of them. They are feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, lodging the stranger, visiting the sick, and visiting those in prison.
Even so, it needs to be done in the correct way as is written in Matthew 25:40. It is all about seeing the need and doing something about it regardless of who the other person is. He could be held in high esteem by us which could be easy for us. On the other hand, we might think that he is a nobody that we would want to even be around. He has a need, and we have the means to fill that need. God requires we provide the need in either example.
You see, this is why Jesus chose a Jew and a Samaritan for this parable. One would expect that members of these two groups to consider the other group as being the lease desirable. The appropriate action in a case of need was to provide it regardless.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (This is a continuation of the two great commandments.) God sent Jesus to fulfill the law to a jot and tittle. This means that while in human flesh, He completely kept both of these commandments in every way. It follows that He also kept every individual law, precept, and statute. It also agrees with what Paul wrote that by loving our neighbour as ourselves keeps the law. Notice: we show our love to God by how we love our neighbors.
While Jesus has the Pharisees around him, He asks them a question to get them to think. What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? This was easy to answer. There are many references of the Messiah (Christ), as being the son of David (descended from him). Now comes the hard part. "How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying," 44 "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?" 45 "If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?"
This is not a possibility for a human being. He does not exist until the time of conception, but David lived many centuries before the Holy Spirit over shadowed Mary, modifying the egg she had grown within her thus creating the cell that then grew into the body that Jesus inhabited. Jesus stumped them with this question, and they in turn stopped asking any more of them.
On the first day of the week, God revealed Jesus to be the true Passover lamb for His True Passover. This One was perfect in every way. Since then, people had been seeking for any blemishes in Him, but finding none. He had been more than up to the task of meeting every challenge.
Jesus speaks to the multitude and His disciples
exit from temple and the troubles to come with more instructions to disciples
Return to Bethany
sunset marking end of 2nd day and beginning of 3rd day
3rd day of the week [12 Abib]
Supper at Simon the leper
Mary anoints Jesus feet or did she
Judas conspires to betray Jesus
sunset marking the end of 3rd day and beginning of 4th day
4th day of the week [13 Abib]
Question of where to eat the Passover
sunset marking the end of 4th day and beginning of 5th day which is Passover
5th day of the week (Passover, 10 Abib)
After sunset, Jesus eats this supper with the twelve
During it, He blessed first the bread and then the wine
announces His betrayal and what would follow
sends Judas out to begin the completion of his part in the conspiracy
argument over who is the greatest among disciples
garden of Gethsemane
capture & trial
taken to Pilot for judgment
crucifixion & death
sunset marking the end of Passover and the beginning of the 6th day
6th day of the week: Feast of Unleavened bread begins [15 Abib] (ends on 21st day of the month)High sabbath
7th day of the week: Sabbath of the LORD [16 Abib]Weekly sabbath
1st day of the week: Firstfruits, Feast of weeks begins [17 Abib]Resurrection of Jesus
Search for His body
two disciples go from Jerusalem to Emmaus
conversation with Jesus
their return to Jerusalem to the upper room
Rather than discuss this chapter in detail, I want to center my thoughts on the parts of Leviticus 16 that testify as to what Jesus would accomplish on the day of Passover with His death. Yet there are some parts that testify of what was required of Him throughout His life. This is where I will begin.
Verses 3,4,6
These describe what the high priest had to do for the atonement of himself and his family. Being a human being, he was not pure of sin, neither was his family. So, his following the steps in these verses would do two things. He would be purified sufficiently to offer the atonement sacrifices for the congregation and obtain atonement for him and his family.
Bathing was the first step as it began the cleansing process. The next step was to humble himself. The garment he normally wore were magnificent and designed that way (for glory and beauty [Ex 28:2]). He was a very special person among the people. He had to take off his royal garment and then after bathing put on the garments of ordinary priests (white linen garments).
The atonement sacrifice Verses 11 -16
The bullock was slain and bled, and the blood was retained. (More about its body comes later.) Now he needed to get burning coals off the brazen altar placing them into his censer. Just before he entered into the Holy of Holies with the blood and the censer, he placed incense on top of these coals creating a cloud that would protect him that he die not. Once in the Holy of Holies, he walked past the arc of the covenant before turning around to face it. (He is now facing east.) The blood is now sprinkled upon the mercy seat before he sprinkles it seven times before the mercy seat. He has made the atonement for the Holy place with respect to himself and his family.
Jesus as the high priest of God. While living in human flesh, Jesus never sinned. So, he did not need an atonement with God. And yet, He had to constantly keep His body under control to keep it from sinning against God. This was a constant, total sacrifice every day. He was pure as God had designed human beings to be in the beginning. He was the perfect person to offer the sacrifice required for God’s people.
As far as humbling Himself before His Father, He lived His entire life this way: He took upon Himself the form of a servant. Yet, as the Son of God, He had beauty and glory that was far greater than any high priest. He laid all of this aside for us!
Verses 8-10, 15-17
This part is to make an atonement for the children of Israel. A kid of the goat had to be used in this because this points to Jesus as the Son of man, a descendant of Adam. We can also see this as the last Adam. It is He who saved all of God’s children from their sins, He brought the atone-ment to us. So, in this ceremony, Jesus is now both high priest and Passover lamb. As the latter, He both died and came into the presence of God with His own blood just as the high priest took the kid’s blood into the Holy of Holies, there to sprinkle the blood on and seven times before the mercy seat.
The high priest in offering the blood of the kid completed the atonement for the Holy of Holies for the children of Israel just as Jesus appeared in Heaven with His own blood obtained eternal redemption for us. The offering of the blood of the bullock had begun the atonement.
Verse 17 is very important. Before the high priest entered into the tabernacle to make the atonement, anyone within the tabernacle or its court had to leave. The high priest had to complete this ceremony by himself. So, Jesus was under the same commandment: He had to complete everything alone. In fact, He did. This is the reason behind His declaring the “It is finished.”
Verses 18, 19
What was the purpose for putting the blood of the bullock and then the blood of the goat on the horns of the altar then sprinkling its blood on the altar? What has been accomplished up to this point in this chapter, reconciled God and the children of Israel: their relationship has been made whole once again. These two verses involves the worship of God, covering up with blood the things Israel had done in this area cleansing it in the process.
The fulfillment of them by Jesus cleanses our failure to worship God as we should. It is His blood that covers our failures so that God only sees the blood of His Son in our service of Him. It is this that makes our service to Him acceptable. When He looks at our worship service, He sees the blood of Jesus.
In another sense, This blood is also seen in the preaching that we do, when we do it the proper way. The center of every sermon is to be Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Even one on practical godliness must have this theme in the background. Our worship of God is only accomplished with the help of Jesus: He does what we can not. We can not sing, pray, nor preach, nor listen intently to a sermon without His help.
Verses 20-22
The second goat, the scapegoat presents us with a second view of Jesus’ accomplishments on Passover. For this I refer you to Romans 6:6 and Colossians 2:10-15 as well. It is truly a very wonderful picture.
But first turn to 2 Corinthians 5:21. This teaches what God has done for our sake in making Christ sin for us. The scapegoat tells us how God did this: He commanded Jesus to remove our bodies of sin, placing them within Himself, taking ownership of our sins upon Him upon Himself.
When did He do this? Consider the period of time in which He and His apostles in the upper room. When they left that room going to the mount of Olives, the garden they entered was not inhabited. (It seems like this occurred in the upper room.)
Just as the high priest confessed every sin of every child of Israel, Jesus removed our bodies of sin from us, placing them upon Himself. A fit man then took the scapegoat into the wilderness. He then left the scapegoat, leaving it to the mercy of the carnivorous animals living there.
Jesus led Himself into the garden, or was it God? (And this is the reason why I think He took our sins upon Him in the upper room.) We do know that it was God who removed the protection He had place upon Christ since His conception. There Jesus waited for Judas and the people he would bring with him. During this waiting time, Jesus had to be weighed down with the effects of all the sins that His body bore. He knew what was coming even if the thoughts of facing the wrath of God in its entirety were extremely unpleasant. Yet, He submitted to this future event, and the angels strengthened him for this task. He also knew of what was on the other side of the punishment He was about to endure which was glorious.
After a few hours, Judas does come with many others to lay hands upon Jesus. From this point to His death on the cross, those who opposed Jesus and His teachings had their way with Him. Their behavior was not unlike the way carnivorous animals had with the scapegoat: they were cruel if not very much more so.
Verses 23-28
Now it was time for the high priest to take off the garments of an ordinary priest and to put on his royal robes. The washing was necessary to remove any contamination the had occurred since he removed his royal garments earlier. The burnt offering pointed to his giving his all to the services of God, total dedication.
When did Jesus make this change of garments, took upon Himself His place as the high priest after the order of Melchizedec, a priest forever? I am not sure of when. However, I do know that He was constantly controlling His body so that there would be no contamination.
At this point, the fat of the bullock and the first goat was removed from their stomachs plus a few other organs. These were burned on the altar. The rest of their bodies were taken without the camp where they were completely burned, completely destroyed.
Neither am I sure of the meaning of burning the fat as specified organs on the brazen altar. I know this was the procedure for any sacrifice for the sin of the people. The part about burning the rest of the body without the camp after removing the fat occurred only when the blood of the animal had been taken within the tabernacle.
It is the latter situation that I want to consider based upon what is written in Hebrews 13:11,12. These verses refer to Jesus suffering without the camp, specifically identifiing suffering with the burning of the bullock and goat in Leviticus 16:27.
What makes this so important? Jesus’ suffering is because God poured out His wrath upon His Son which was because of the bodies of sin which His body contained. If we look at this as a form of burning, the lake of fire comes to mind. It was during the three hours of darkness that God poured out His wrath against Christ, immersed Him in the lake of fire during that period. When the darkness ended, the bodies of sin of God’s people no longer existed: they had been totally destroyed.
In the garden of Eden, God had told Adam, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” All of God’s children were guilty of this sin and had a death sentence placed upon them because of that. When Jesus removed their bodies of sin, He also took upon Himself the penalty for the commission of their sins. On this Passover, Jesus paid that penalty. Hence in God’s eye, His children have not done anything wrong.
So, what about those whose bodies of sin have not been taken from them? They still have the death penalty hanging over them: they still must face the lake of fire.
Conclusion:
As the high priest of God forever, made so by an oath of God, Jesus officiated over the ceremony which obtained the atonement bringing us back into fellowship with God. He returned our eternal inheritance to us that the sins of Adam and our own sins had taken away from us.
Surprising enough, this to is related to Leviticus chapter 16. But to learn of it we have to go Leviticus chapter 25 beginning with verse 8. This chapter discusses the year of Jubilee.
Every year at the beginning of the seventh month, trumpets were to be sounded. For the first six years of each group of seven years, the people were to get ready to plant their fall grains. Each seventh year, the trumpets marked the beginning of the year of release. No crops were to be planted, and all debts had to be forgiven. And so this pattern continued through the forty ninth year. On the fiftieth year, the trumpets had a special promise: the inheritance people had lost during the past 49 year was soon going to be returned to them. In previous years, this something they could look forward to. Now it at hand.
Only during this year was the trumpets to be sounded on the tenth day of the seventh month (the Jewish day of atonement). This was to be done at the completion of the ceremony described in Leviticus chapter 16. The atonement had been completed, their inheritances were officially theirs free and clear.
Verse 10 testifies of Jesus speaking very loudly from the cross moments before His death, saying, “It is finished.” We are at one with God once more. More over, from an eternal view this points the promise that we will always be at one with Him: our inheritance has been secured.
Verses 3,4,6
These describe what the high priest had to do for the atonement of himself and his family. Being a human being, he was not pure of sin, neither was his family. So, his following the steps in these verses would do two things. He would be purified sufficiently to offer the atonement sacrifices for the congregation and obtain atonement for him and his family.
Bathing was the first step as it began the cleansing process. The next step was to humble himself. The garment he normally wore were magnificent and designed that way (for glory and beauty [Ex 28:2]). He was a very special person among the people. He had to take off his royal garment and then after bathing put on the garments of ordinary priests (white linen garments).
The atonement sacrifice Verses 11 -16
The bullock was slain and bled, and the blood was retained. (More about its body comes later.) Now he needed to get burning coals off the brazen altar placing them into his censer. Just before he entered into the Holy of Holies with the blood and the censer, he placed incense on top of these coals creating a cloud that would protect him that he die not. Once in the Holy of Holies, he walked past the arc of the covenant before turning around to face it. (He is now facing east.) The blood is now sprinkled upon the mercy seat before he sprinkles it seven times before the mercy seat. He has made the atonement for the Holy place with respect to himself and his family.
Jesus as the high priest of God. While living in human flesh, Jesus never sinned. So, he did not need an atonement with God. And yet, He had to constantly keep His body under control to keep it from sinning against God. This was a constant, total sacrifice every day. He was pure as God had designed human beings to be in the beginning. He was the perfect person to offer the sacrifice required for God’s people.
As far as humbling Himself before His Father, He lived His entire life this way: He took upon Himself the form of a servant. Yet, as the Son of God, He had beauty and glory that was far greater than any high priest. He laid all of this aside for us!
Verses 8-10, 15-17
This part is to make an atonement for the children of Israel. A kid of the goat had to be used in this because this points to Jesus as the Son of man, a descendant of Adam. We can also see this as the last Adam. It is He who saved all of God’s children from their sins, He brought the atone-ment to us. So, in this ceremony, Jesus is now both high priest and Passover lamb. As the latter, He both died and came into the presence of God with His own blood just as the high priest took the kid’s blood into the Holy of Holies, there to sprinkle the blood on and seven times before the mercy seat.
The high priest in offering the blood of the kid completed the atonement for the Holy of Holies for the children of Israel just as Jesus appeared in Heaven with His own blood obtained eternal redemption for us. The offering of the blood of the bullock had begun the atonement.
Verse 17 is very important. Before the high priest entered into the tabernacle to make the atonement, anyone within the tabernacle or its court had to leave. The high priest had to complete this ceremony by himself. So, Jesus was under the same commandment: He had to complete everything alone. In fact, He did. This is the reason behind His declaring the “It is finished.”
Verses 18, 19
What was the purpose for putting the blood of the bullock and then the blood of the goat on the horns of the altar then sprinkling its blood on the altar? What has been accomplished up to this point in this chapter, reconciled God and the children of Israel: their relationship has been made whole once again. These two verses involves the worship of God, covering up with blood the things Israel had done in this area cleansing it in the process.
The fulfillment of them by Jesus cleanses our failure to worship God as we should. It is His blood that covers our failures so that God only sees the blood of His Son in our service of Him. It is this that makes our service to Him acceptable. When He looks at our worship service, He sees the blood of Jesus.
In another sense, This blood is also seen in the preaching that we do, when we do it the proper way. The center of every sermon is to be Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Even one on practical godliness must have this theme in the background. Our worship of God is only accomplished with the help of Jesus: He does what we can not. We can not sing, pray, nor preach, nor listen intently to a sermon without His help.
Verses 20-22
The second goat, the scapegoat presents us with a second view of Jesus’ accomplishments on Passover. For this I refer you to Romans 6:6 and Colossians 2:10-15 as well. It is truly a very wonderful picture.
But first turn to 2 Corinthians 5:21. This teaches what God has done for our sake in making Christ sin for us. The scapegoat tells us how God did this: He commanded Jesus to remove our bodies of sin, placing them within Himself, taking ownership of our sins upon Him upon Himself.
When did He do this? Consider the period of time in which He and His apostles in the upper room. When they left that room going to the mount of Olives, the garden they entered was not inhabited. (It seems like this occurred in the upper room.)
Just as the high priest confessed every sin of every child of Israel, Jesus removed our bodies of sin from us, placing them upon Himself. A fit man then took the scapegoat into the wilderness. He then left the scapegoat, leaving it to the mercy of the carnivorous animals living there.
Jesus led Himself into the garden, or was it God? (And this is the reason why I think He took our sins upon Him in the upper room.) We do know that it was God who removed the protection He had place upon Christ since His conception. There Jesus waited for Judas and the people he would bring with him. During this waiting time, Jesus had to be weighed down with the effects of all the sins that His body bore. He knew what was coming even if the thoughts of facing the wrath of God in its entirety were extremely unpleasant. Yet, He submitted to this future event, and the angels strengthened him for this task. He also knew of what was on the other side of the punishment He was about to endure which was glorious.
After a few hours, Judas does come with many others to lay hands upon Jesus. From this point to His death on the cross, those who opposed Jesus and His teachings had their way with Him. Their behavior was not unlike the way carnivorous animals had with the scapegoat: they were cruel if not very much more so.
Verses 23-28
Now it was time for the high priest to take off the garments of an ordinary priest and to put on his royal robes. The washing was necessary to remove any contamination the had occurred since he removed his royal garments earlier. The burnt offering pointed to his giving his all to the services of God, total dedication.
When did Jesus make this change of garments, took upon Himself His place as the high priest after the order of Melchizedec, a priest forever? I am not sure of when. However, I do know that He was constantly controlling His body so that there would be no contamination.
At this point, the fat of the bullock and the first goat was removed from their stomachs plus a few other organs. These were burned on the altar. The rest of their bodies were taken without the camp where they were completely burned, completely destroyed.
Neither am I sure of the meaning of burning the fat as specified organs on the brazen altar. I know this was the procedure for any sacrifice for the sin of the people. The part about burning the rest of the body without the camp after removing the fat occurred only when the blood of the animal had been taken within the tabernacle.
It is the latter situation that I want to consider based upon what is written in Hebrews 13:11,12. These verses refer to Jesus suffering without the camp, specifically identifiing suffering with the burning of the bullock and goat in Leviticus 16:27.
What makes this so important? Jesus’ suffering is because God poured out His wrath upon His Son which was because of the bodies of sin which His body contained. If we look at this as a form of burning, the lake of fire comes to mind. It was during the three hours of darkness that God poured out His wrath against Christ, immersed Him in the lake of fire during that period. When the darkness ended, the bodies of sin of God’s people no longer existed: they had been totally destroyed.
In the garden of Eden, God had told Adam, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” All of God’s children were guilty of this sin and had a death sentence placed upon them because of that. When Jesus removed their bodies of sin, He also took upon Himself the penalty for the commission of their sins. On this Passover, Jesus paid that penalty. Hence in God’s eye, His children have not done anything wrong.
So, what about those whose bodies of sin have not been taken from them? They still have the death penalty hanging over them: they still must face the lake of fire.
Conclusion:
As the high priest of God forever, made so by an oath of God, Jesus officiated over the ceremony which obtained the atonement bringing us back into fellowship with God. He returned our eternal inheritance to us that the sins of Adam and our own sins had taken away from us.
Surprising enough, this to is related to Leviticus chapter 16. But to learn of it we have to go Leviticus chapter 25 beginning with verse 8. This chapter discusses the year of Jubilee.
Every year at the beginning of the seventh month, trumpets were to be sounded. For the first six years of each group of seven years, the people were to get ready to plant their fall grains. Each seventh year, the trumpets marked the beginning of the year of release. No crops were to be planted, and all debts had to be forgiven. And so this pattern continued through the forty ninth year. On the fiftieth year, the trumpets had a special promise: the inheritance people had lost during the past 49 year was soon going to be returned to them. In previous years, this something they could look forward to. Now it at hand.
Only during this year was the trumpets to be sounded on the tenth day of the seventh month (the Jewish day of atonement). This was to be done at the completion of the ceremony described in Leviticus chapter 16. The atonement had been completed, their inheritances were officially theirs free and clear.
Verse 10 testifies of Jesus speaking very loudly from the cross moments before His death, saying, “It is finished.” We are at one with God once more. More over, from an eternal view this points the promise that we will always be at one with Him: our inheritance has been secured.
