The month Jesus died, Abib

     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.) While captives in Babylon for 70 years, Some of the months were given Babylonian names. Abib was one of them. Nisan was used instead of Abib. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah do this.
   In my attempt to mention as much as possible of the eight days between God revealing Jesus is the True Passover Lamb on the tenth day of the month to Feast of Firstfruits on the 17 day of the month. Yes, it is the day He arose seeing that the Feast of Firstfruits testifies of His resurrection and its meanings.
   I don not know if I will every finish this project given all the things that occurred in those days. I will probably have to limit the number of articles that it will contain. There are two sections. The first section will contain a description of the events that occurred from the sixth day before Passover to the day following His resurrection. The second section will contain some detailed description of  specific events and the Scriptures that testify why these events were necessary. Among them are the selection of the Passover lamb and what He accomplished during the day of the Passover from the Passover supper to His death and burial. I have begun the rewriting, but it is going to take a little time before I can complete the first section.

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

Section 1:

Day 8th through 17th of Abib Jesus last journey to Jerusalem

7th Day of Abib
   We actually begin near Jericho on the 7th day of the month.
35 ¶And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: 36 And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. 37 And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. 38 And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. (Luke 18:35-38)
1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchæus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. 4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, "Zacchæus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house." 6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. (Luke 19:1-6)
   This occurred in the afternoon of the 7th day of Abib as Jesus was making His way to Jerusalem for this very special Passover. It was not that much different from many days. There was a crowd around Him, and someone desiring to be healed of a handicap. No one else knew of what would happen in Jerusalem: only Jesus did. Even though He had told His disciples, they could not grasp how these things were even possible. What happen would turn upside down life as they had known it.
   Was this man’s calling out to Jesus any different than other times? Probably not. Neither was the crowd’s reaction to his loudly calling out to Jesus. They wanted him to quiet down. What right did he have to interfere with what Jesus was doing as He walked?
   What they did not know was Jesus knew that this blind man was and what he wanted. Yet, He waited until the man got loud enough for Him to hear the cry. Again, Jesus healed him as He was known to do. That is when the no longer blind man join the crowd.
   Jesus entered into the city of Jericho along with the crowd from there. This made it impossible for another man, Zacchæus, to see Him, and he felt that he had to do this. We are not told why, just that he had this huge desire. So, he set out to do so. He saw the crowd and here they were heading. Knowing of some trees that this crowd obviously would be passing under, he chose and climbed a sycamore tree. From this advantage point, he could see the crowd with Jesus in its midst coming closer, and closer. But then it stopped! And he heard a voice from below, calling his name. It was Jesus speaking to him! Unbelievable! Jesus wanted to spend the night with him!
  And here is another occurrence that was not much different from most days. Zacchæus was a Publican and a rich one at that. To some people, staying in the home of a sinner was unthinkable. And his being a Publican made him a sinner in their viewpoint. Jesus actions were this evening were just plain unacceptable! And as usual, Jesus comment about their feelings did not make any difference to them. They were right, and He was wrong.
   Jesus knowing that the people were sure that the kingdom of God was going to immediately appear, spoke a parable about the 10 pounds (Luke 19:12-27). This was much more than when the kingdom would appear which was not that important. What did matter was what the inhabitants of this kingdom did with the abilities given to them by God. Beside, how the people handled being in subjection to God. Those, who preferred to do things their way, will find themselves as dead to the wonders to this kingdom. This was not what they really wanted to hear.
  Perhaps we miss one of the things that Jesus told him, for to day I must abide at thy house. Do you see that this was a gentle demand? But then this was very important. There were things that Zacchaeus needed to learn, and now was the only time for Him to teach Him. Such was also the case in the fourth chapter of John. Then He had to go through Samaria so that a certain village were told the things that they needed to do. This included the women at the well of that village.
   So, down the tree he came. This is when he made a confession. Was these words describing what actions he was going to take in the future, or were they actions that he had already performed? It could be either. In any case, he now had a house guest for the night.
8th day of Abib: 6 days before Passover
While we do not know what happened in Zacchæus’ home that evening. I have no doubt that his heart burned within him as he listened to his Master. It would be a night to remember for the rest of his life.
        In the morning, it was time for Jesus to take His leave. He had to be in Bethany for supper that evening after sunset. While He was beginning making His way up to there, Mary and Martha were beginning to prepare for that meal as there were several people expected. There were also meals on Saturday, the Sabbath, that had to be prepared ahead of time. So, they are likely to be quite busy most if not all of the day.
    Jesus arrives in Bethany with His disciples. Likely He continues to teach and interact with others. Or perhaps He spends time alone in prayer with God? We really do not know. What we do know is that as the sun set, the sabbath drew on.
9th Day of Abib: 5 days before Passover
   With the setting of the sun, the celebration of the Lord's Sabbath. (Lev 23:3) The meal had been prepared before sunset, and those bidden gathered together for this meal. Lazareth was present (he was Mary and Martha's brother). Who else was there? The apostles were one group. Now Jesus was the main attraction here, but many had also want to see Lazareth as well. The thought that he had been buried in a grave for days, yet here he is alive and well!
   While I have no doubt that both Mary and Martha had prepared this meal, only Martha served the food. Mary had something else to do that was very important to her. Had she talked this over with Martha? Was this why Martha did not complain about not having any help? It is possible. Neither did she seem to have any problem with her sister bringing out this very expensive ointment to anoint Jesus feet. After all, these sisters did not seem to be rich people who could easily afford this expense.
   Immediately, Judas spoke up about this waste of good money. One might well question his choice as to what would have been a better use of the ointment's cost. He was the one that kept the purse that contained the money used by the apostles when needed. It seems he may have used some of the money for his own use. (The apostle John thought so.)
   So, once again, Jesus corrects the situation. Yes, it is good to provide for the poor, but there are also more important uses of it  as well. What none of the disciples wanted to acknowledge was going to happen in just five days: they were going to have to watch Jesus die a very cruel death! Their faith in Jesus would be severely tried. Hope would seem to be gone. They were going to be at a lose of what to do with the rest of their lives. Meanwhile, the chief priests were consulting with each other as what they were going to have to do with Lazareth well. Since his resurrection caused many to turn from the traditions held by these priests, they came to believe that he would have to die as well.
   Nothing is said  about what else happened during this 24 hour period from Friday evening to Saturday evening, so we will have to pick things Sunday morning...
 10th Day of Abib: 4 days before Passover
   Yes, the time for Jesus’ death is drawing nearer. So the amount of time in which Jesus can teach what His disciples need to hear. Not only this, but this is the day that the Passover lamb is to be selected. According to some people, this was the day when the people brought their choice for this lamb to the temple. There seemed to be some celebration with this choice. In the midst of this, Jesus has a couple of his disciples to bring a certain foal of an ass (donkey) to Him. When they returned, He got on it, riding it down the side of the mount of Olives, across the Cedron valley, into Jerusalem, and finally to the temple.
   By the time Jesus and His disciples reached to bottom of the mount, they were rejoicing about the things Jesus had done. It seems that others who were also celebrating their lamb selection joined them as well. With the disciples telling anyone who would listen all of the things they had seen Jesus do. So, praises to God was beginning to come from more and more people. It had to be loud to say the least.
   In fact, some Pharisees in the group demanded the He quiet the people. He refused because He knew what would happen: the stones in that area would cry out as well. This was a truly great day to celebrate. They had looked upon this day as any other day. This is because they did not understand the true meaning of this day. (Even today, most if not all of those who celebrate Palm Sunday do not understand its true meaning.
   What makes it so special? This is the day God revealed to Jesus’ disciples that Jesus is the true Passover lamb for the true Passover lamb. That service would occur on the cross upon which the Roman soldiers had placed Jesus. The Jewish Passover was held annually to celebrate Israel being set free from Egyptian slavery. God’s true Passover was to be held one time for all time. That event set free each and every one of God’s children for all eternity. All of their sins and iniquities were paid for in full. The blessings that come from that affect their lives now and guarantee their presence in Heaven throughout eternity. All of these things were going to happen in the next four days. Now this is something to celebrate!
   Even with all of this going around Jesus, He took time at one point to weep over Jerusalem. He had always loved these people, yet they repeated to reject His help. For that matter, they had done this throughout His ministry. This was the last straw. They were going to have to pay for this. (Matt 23:37: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!") They are God’s children, but their life is not going to be a pleasant as it could be.
   This is not the first time this happened. As Israel traveled through the desert from Egypt to Kadesh–barnea, they repeated to believe that God was helping them and could be depended upon to always do this in the future. The army with the exception of two men revolted against God insisting that they were returning to Egypt. This too was the last straw. They spend the rest of their lives in the desert. Besides their continual revolts resulted in their deaths being tragic with few exceptions. (God’s patience has limits.) Their horrible lives was their own faults.
   From here they entered into Jerusalem still very loud. This time there were people wanting to know what this commotion was all about. Who were they shouting about? They got their answer: Jesus the prophet of Nazareth.
   As Jesus entered the temple grounds, He saw the money changers, the clean animals that were available for sale, and the people who bought these things to be used for sacrifices. It certainly seems that this angered Him. As the high priest of God, He had the authority to cleanse this area of the temple grounds. So, He did. What He had seen was a den of thieves which was within the temple grounds.
   Then He went about doing what He often did: He healed those who come to Him who were in need of this. This was only part of the things which displeased the chief priests and scribes. (He was providing help to those in need taking the attention away from them.) But now even children were crying out glorifying Jesus! So for the second time this day, Jesus was told to stop people from loudly talking about Him. Again, He refused. In doing so, He quoted from the Book of Psalms as the reason for the children’s outbursts. Well this did not matter to them: they were even more certain that He must die.
   Even so, He continued provide help for those who needed it. He remained there until evening. This is when He went back to Bethany.
11th Day of Abib: 3 days before the Passover.
   The first son was told to go work in their vineyard, and he refused to do so. When the second son was told the same thing, he promised to do so. However, because the first one repented having refused to go, he later spent the rest of the day in the vineyard. The second one never showed up.
   Who were these about? The first son represented the Publicans and sinners. The father is God. The second points to the religious leaders (the chief priests and elders of the people). So, all were descendants of Abraham.
   All had been given the commandments to follow. The Pharisees and sinners while aware of the law in some sense did not try to keep it, rather did things their own ways. However, with the preaching of John the Baptist and then Jesus, turned away from their sinful ways.
   The religious leaders had a form of godliness. They saw the errors of the generation living during the Babylonian captivity. They even understood that that tragic even was the lack of knowledge as it was written in the law and the prophets. So, they were determined to provide that knowledge to future generations. They worked hard at it, and yet failed. Why? The people to whom they looked for knowledge were the most intelligent people in their day. But, these relied upon their own ideas of what God meant. These things got written down and became revered as much as the Scriptures themselves. Because God’s thoughts are above our thoughts, There was not way these intelligent people could completely understand what God meant. Their thoughts became traditions which they thought everyone had to follow.
   In the end, they were drawing near to God with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him. As a result, the continued to serve God according to traditions which was wrong while refusing to listen to Jesus who taught the proper way to live.
   So the answer to the question, "Whether of them twain did the will of his father?", is the Publicans and sinners who learned from Jesus and obeyed Him. The others set about kill the Son of God simple because they had closed their eyes as to the possibility of Him being who He said He was.
   Commentary:
   Jesus was not finished with His critic of the religious leaders of His day. While they were able to say which son did the will of his father and which did not, they could not see that someone else was the faithful one while they were only pretending to keep God’s commandments.
   John the Baptist had taught them that they needed to change their ways. This message came from God, and they ignored it. As a results, the Publicans and sinners that had repented of their evil way gained entrance to the kingdom of God. (In the end, they were going to be removed from the kingdom with others taking their place.)
   Jesus' authority
   Then in the next parable Jesus tells these same people what they are going to do in the near future and why. (Mat 21:33-40) This certainly pleased them even less. Actually, I don’t think they realized that this is what they had been doing for generations. They were gradually making their worship of God conform to what seemed right in their own eyes until God was no longer the center of their worship. Instead, He was defined in terms that pleased them.
   Since Jesus was teaching the people differently, they felt threatened. As more people seemed to gather around Him, the more threatened they felt. So, in the end, they felt they had no choice but to destroy Him. Such plans were already in some of their minds.
   Commentary:
   It is rather easy to find fault with these leaders, but just how easy is it to do exactly the same things? Are there other examples of this happening? Actually, it is very easy to make the mistakes these rulers have made. And yes it happens much more often than we would like to think.
   When it come to Spirituality, doctrines are determined by who is in control: they determine what various Scriptures mean. Whether a person can become a member of this group or not depends upon whether they believe what this group believes. So when there are groups that believe slightly different, each group is likely to accuse the other of being a heretic and refuse to have anything to do with each other. This I have repeatedly seen during the past decades or more. So, when moving to a different part of the country, one might well have finding a group that will accept him as a member.
   The tribute money
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.
The Pharisees question Jesus
The Pharisees were a persistent people. They were also intelligent and they knew it. Jesus, as far as they knew had a very limited education. So, they were certain that they could pose problems that would trip Him up. So this time, they bring a coin to Him asking whether it was proper to pay tribute or not. In their thinking, either way He answered would cause Him problems. If he said, “No,” He would be creating problems with himself with the Roman government. If he said, “Yes,” the people would think He was a Roman sympathizer. This would not go down with many of the people.
Jesus pointed out that this was not a simple yes or no answer. His reply was, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Caesars'; 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.
Commentary:His statement was about more than just money. It is about rules that were needed for the society to live peacefully. It is about honoring people around us for whom honor is due. (Rom 13:7) We are to pray for the government in which we live that we may live peacefully.
The Sadducees try as well
   They wanted to find a fault in the things He did or said. After all, They knew that their doctrines were the correct ones. Yet, Jesus was teaching the people to believe doctrine that was different. Clearly, He had to be wrong. Even worse, He had large crowds that seemed to follow Him. All of this made Him dangerous. He had to be exposed; He had to die. But first, they needed to find something about him that would cause the people to turn their backs on Him. Hence, the Pharisees’ question and now this question they were about to ask.    
   The question posed was based upon Deut 25:5 ¶If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother unto her. The purpose was to make it possible to produce an heir to the dead man. (The first male child of this marriage was considered to be that heir. The rest of those born to this union belonged to the brother who married him.
The Sadducees asked Jesus concerning a hypothetical situation. There are seven brothers. One of them married. He left no offspring. So his widow married another brother. He also died leaving no offspring. So the widow marries a second time. He dies without an offspring. And so the cycle continues: brother marries the widow followed by his death without leaving an offspring. In the end, she has married all seven brethren in succession. There are no children. Then she dies. So their question is, which one of these seven brothers would be in Heaven?
   The obvious assumption was that marriages begin in this life and continues into and throughout eternity. But upon what basis can one assume this? The Bible says nothing about this.
So, first of all, Jesus had to correct their thinking. "Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven." (Matt 29-30) The assumption was not correct. [Unfortunately, I do not know where in the Scriptures the resurrection is taught that includes anything about marriage.]
   Now, there is a place where the resurrection is taught, and Jesus referred them to these Scriptures. 31 "But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." (Matt 22:31,32)
Once again, Jesus has shown His knowledge and wisdom exceeded theirs. He had in fact left them with nothing more they could say!
What was the Sadducee’s problem? They did not pay enough attention to the meaning of the Scriptures. I have no doubt that they very well knew what God said to Moses on Mt. Sinai. But they did not understand the meaning contained in these verses. God spoke to Moses who was alive at the time. He also spoke of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob whose God He was at the time He spoke to Moses. Since He is not the God of the dead, He must be the God of those who are alive and those whose bodies are dead. Their souls are not dead but alive. 
The Pharisees are not ready yet to throw in the towel
   They just had to find someway to trip Jesus up in His speech. Up stepped a lawyer. He has studied the Scriptures for many years and is known for his vast understanding of them. Perhaps, he will succeed. It was a very simple question. Master, which is the great commandment in the law? There were many commandments, so which one would He select? He did not have long to wait. Not only this, but he was told a second commandment that blended in with the first.
   "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." 38 "This is the first and great commandment." 39 "And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." 40 "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matt 22:37-40)
   What could this lawyer say to this? What could he say? These are the most important commandments in the Scriptures!
   Then Jesus spoke to a gathering of Pharisees. He wanted some answers from them. Just how much did they know about Christ. "What think ye of Christ? whose son is He?" This was easy since everyone knew that the He was the son of David. Now comes a harder one based upon Psalm 110, "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?" How can Christ, whose is David's son, also be David's Lord? They did not know the answer. Actually, the answer was simple: as the Son of man, Christ is the son of David, and as the Son of God, Christ is David's Lord.
Day 12: 2 days before Passover
    It is difficult to separate the events of this day and the next as there is no statements in the Gospels as to when this day started or ended. So, I am artificially separating the 11th and 12 days of the month of Abib.
   The time of Jesus' departure was at hand. The religious leaders had been successfully silenced. So, now is the time to teach the people actions that they should be taken. There were events happening around them that could lead them astray. They need to know what they were so that they could avoid them.
   Jesus is at the temple once again. As the Passover is a day and a half away, more and more people continued to gather to celebrate the Passover. It is to this mass (and His disciples) that He had some warnings for them to heed concerning the Scribes and Pharisees. These were the ones in authority to tell them how to live. Jesus emphasized the importance of them obeying them regardless of how they acted.
   Then, Jesus described what some of their actions were and why they should not be copied.. One was the grievous burdens laden upon others. This is definitely not an attitude to take toward others. This attitude was thinking that it should be done, but I'm not going to do it. I will let others do it for me.  Jesus came to serve others, not to have others wait upon Him. Similarly, we are also to be servants for others rather than insisting that others serve us during grievous tasks being accomplished.
   Mat 23:5-10 contain specific examples what they people saw their religious leaders doing that they were not to emulate. In living they way, they were calling as much attention to themselves as much as possible. What Jesus had taught in Mat 5:3 requires a different lifestyle. Their soul was lifted up, but He told us to be poor in that kind of spirit. Jesus' lifestyle was that of being a servant. They were full of themselves. He teaches us to emulate His lifestyle, not that of the scribes and Pharisees.
   At this point, Jesus turns His attention to the scribes and Pharisees, themselves. This was for their benefit, a last warning to change their behavior. While they did not know it, they were getting  closer to the same situation that Zedekiah did at the end of his reign. God through Jeremiah had given him a choice: surrender to the Babylonians or not. If he did, all would go well for Jerusalem and Judah. If he refused, the city would be destroyed with all of the horrors that came with it.
   The scribes and Pharisees were given warnings by Jesus, the Son of God. Obey His teachings or not. If they did not mend their ways, destruction was coming upon them and those who were living in Judea and Galilee. We know that they refused to change their way. We also know of the destruction they brought upon their people as well.
   Why didn't they listen to Him? There are a variety of reasons. One being they had closed their eye to the truth, so they could not see. They had closed their ears, so they could not hear. Prov 29:1 states, He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. Repeatedly refusing to do what others tell him what is right can cause a person to stop listening and seeing what is really happening. In any case, God's comments about people who do this is that they have closed their eyes and ears to the truth. After a while, God further closes their eyes and ears preventing them from changing their ways. They have had their opportunities to obey Him. Punishment is sure to come in a most horrible way. Jesus said so.
   Mat 23:37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."
   Throughout this day, Jesus had been very serious with the people. They also needed to be very serious about the way they worshiped their God. Following traditions was not enough regardless of how sincere they did this. It had to be done His way. The scribes and Pharisees were guilty of promoting traditions instead of the truth, and they needed to mend their ways. Jesus knew what would be happening on the day of Passover (from sunset Wednesday to sunset Thursday). In the name of God, many people will be doing things that pleased Satan well. Yet, God was also allowing this to happen in order to accomplish His perfect plan of salvation.
   Yet, what was said by Jesus on this day had to do with the rest of their lives. Will they make the changes necessary, or will they continue doing the same things only to suffer the consequences of actions?
   But back to the last things He told these people. Notice how much Jesus cares for them. Every time you see the words: thou, thee, thy, and ye; you should also see just how much He cared. These words are forms of the word you. But when a speaker uses these words, he is saying to his audience that there is a caring relationship that exists between he and them. There is depth to this. Of course, the example of a hen and her chicks does as well. Apparently, hens were fairly common in that day. So, the people would be aware of how much a hen cares for her chicks  when she is protecting them from danger. I hear deep sadness in His voice as He spoke each of these words. On the depth of pain knowing that this punishment has to be administered to those who absolutely refused to obey their God!
   Continuing in Matthew (chapter 24, 25), I wonder if His disciples understood just how serious events were getting. It does not seem so, as they comment about the buildings that are in the Temple grounds. It seems like some of them were perhaps 180 feet tall. From a physical view point, this was really special. Yet, it was not the Temple that was important. It was only materials that had been put together by men. God is what matters most. The Jews had strayed from serving God as He had told them to do. Their refusal to obey Him was going have dire consequences. As a matter of fact, without God's presence, the Temple was just another tall building. Without His protection, it was not going to even be that. It would come to an end.
   So, Jesus heard their comments about these buildings, and He also added His comments about its demise. This led to many questions about what Jesus had said. But in order to keep time in context,  we need to remember that Jesus said this about this time. (Mat 24:33 "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." With this in consideration, the events of the 24th chapter of Matthew occurred prior to the end of the first century.
   All of this led Jesus to describe what is going to happen to them in the future. Much of this was not pleasant to one's ears. It would seem that they still thought that they would have Jesus with them bodily. It did not occur to them that this was not the case. Then again it would be after the Passover supper that Jesus would tell that His time with them physically would only for a short while.
   As we look back on that period of time, we see all of them coming to pass. There were false Christs and prophets. Many of them had large followings. One of them convinced their fellow Jews to sneak into Jerusalem on the day the Romans breached its walls. They were among the huge number of deaths occurring that day. What was the message? Is was that Christ would appear in Jerusalem to save Israel. He appeared that day but in the form of the Roman soldiers. They served to carryout His orders to destroy the temple, tearing each stone down from its position. The temple was set a blase.
   Jesus even told them what to watch out for and what to do when it occurred. It was the same warning written by Daniel. The abomination of desolation was set up by a Roman officer in the temple grounds several years after Jesus said this. Truly, this was the time for the Jews to leave as quickly as possible. Jesus said so. From this point on, there was great tribulation in Judah and Galilee until the final assault upon Jerusalem.
   How important did Jesus consider this warning He gave them? It was very serious. Repeatedly, people would claim to be someone special religiously. Each one sounded sincere but they were not. Jesus, the true Son of God, had already been here and returned to His Father. He is still reigning in His kingdom. The rest are imposters.
   THE TEN VIRGINS AND THEIR LAMPS
   This parable continues the serious teaching by the Lord Jesus. It is something that He had taught before and derided the scribes and Pharisees for not being able to decern the time and what is going to happen to Israel.
   This parable is rather simple. A ten had been invited to an evening wedding and went to it, each with her own oil lamp. The bride groom had not yet arrived when they got there, so they settled down to wait for him. With the passage of time, they all fell asleep. The oil of their lamps had all gone out: all of it had burned.
   Then came the announcement that woke them all up: the bride groom is here! The wise virgins noticed that their lamps had gone out which did not really concern them much. You see, they had brought extra oil just in case this happened. So, it did not take them very long to prepare themselves to go into the wedding.
   "Oh, no! our lamps have gone out, thought five of the virgins, the foolish ones. You see they did not think to bring extra oil with them. Likely they did not think that they would be gone this long. Time to panic perhaps? But there beside them was five virgins who had oil resulted in the sudden thought: we can get some oil from them! So they Asked for some, but were refused. And they were told to go out and find someone who would sell them some oil.
   Were the wise virgins right in their refusal? Not at all. Just as they knew ahead of time that some wedding ceremonies take long time requiring additional oil, they now knew that they could not share their extra oil. The length of the ceremony this time might take most if not all of their oil. Oh, there was a possibility that it might not last a long time, yes. But one can not be sure of this.
   The wise ones thought the coming event carefully so that they would have with them everything with them. The foolish ones did not think beyond the idea of going to this wedding. So, the wise ones entered into the wedding while the foolish had to go out to buy more oil. When they returned, the door was closed and locked. They were too late!
   The key to this parable is the description of the two groups of virgins: one contained wise ones, and the other foolish. The Book of Proverbs teaches the importance of possessing wisdom. Of equal importance is obtaining understanding. There were other characteristics that are also emphasized. However, it is wisdom that directs the wise to learn how to use them.
   How important is wisdom? This is what Moses told Israel in Deu 4:5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. 6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. 7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
   Yes, wisdom and understanding were very important to Israel. It is still very important to us today. In fact, it has always been important. God used them repeatedly in His creation. Jesus' life was filled with them. His teachings and conversations were two examples of this. His enemies tried their best to put Him into a corner so to speak, but their wisdom was no match for His. Theirs was based upon man's knowledge: theirs upon God's.
    Understanding is a form of knowledge, specifically the knowledge of the relationships that exist between the different parts of anything. Things are not always simple even when they may seem to be. Neither are problems or plans as two examples. It certainly helps to know the parts of a problem if we are going to try to solve it. You might succeed once in a while, but not very often without knowing a lot about its parts. Once most if not all of the parts are known, wisdom can now select the best solution to the situation.
   What seems strange is that the scribes and Pharisees were not able to understand Jesus' teachings, yet people who were much less religious, sinners in fact, did understand and turned to Him for instructions for how to live for the rest of their days. Yet it should not be a surprise at all. Paul explained why this was so in 1 Cor 1:26-29. God chose to use those who were considered to be the dregs of society to confound those who were considered to be the best, the most important. What is the difference between the two groups? It is upon whom do people rely, unto whom do they rely as their authority for how they live. God said in Deu 8:3, this has to be Him.
   Yet, is this really the case with people we hold in high esteem? How often are they following the traditions as the way to live? How often are Scriptures interpreted based upon what previous generations have taught and practice? Do they really understand the relationships that exist between different parts of a specific doctrine?    These last two are what caused the downfall of the nation of Israel in 70 AD. The religious leaders led those blindly following them into destruction.
   Not all men followed these leaders. Others, who did not blindly follow the traditions of the fathers, gladly heard Jesus and followed Him. While they were not all from the lower levels of society, many of them were. All saw this way that made sense to them, God having already written His laws in their hearts and minds. As they began this new lifestyle, they received the rewards of their faith. Life was not worth living even if others still looked down on them. But God's approval was more important than men's.
   The lesson for us is clear. The foolish virgins represented those who "knows" what they should be doing based upon what is right in their own eyes. They are not about to change their ways without being forced to do so. Sometimes really harsh punishments are required. History states that even the threats of the severest of penalties is not always enough to change the behaviors of some people. At Kadesh Barnea, all but two members of the army of Israel rebelled against God because they could not even conceive of God providing them with everything they needed to fight the battles ahead. They definitely could not do this on their own. The other two? These were positive of God's power and willingness to use it for them. These two lived for decades in the land of Canaan as the last part of their lives. The others? They were given a death sentence for their lack of faith: they were doomed to spend the rest of their lives in the desert until they died. Then there was the Babylonian captivity... 70 years away from their homeland. They came to think of themselves as pile of dried bones with all hope of anything good happening completely gone.
   Parable of the Talents:
   The theme of this is the answer to the question: What profit is there in doing what you are given? With wisdom, God has designed the human being to contain everything it needs to work well. Unfortunately, the sin of Adam has effect how it works in many cases. The kingdom of Heaven was also designed this way. Every gift that is needed by it is provided for it. It is the responsibility of its members to use the gifts Jesus has given them to the best of their abilities as well as help the others to develop their gifts. Then too, each one should work together for what is best for everyone: unity is the key. (Paul wrote this to the Ephesian brethren.)
   Not all people have the same number of gifts nor the same levels of ability. This is why the three servants were given three different amounts. Why were there different amounts? One servant only had an ability to handle a single talent. The second servant had enough ability to work with 2 talents. Like wise, the third servant had the ability to work with 5 talents.
   It was at this point that there were tried. Their master left them for a while. What were they going to do? After all this is a rather large amount of money that they had just received. One talent represented the lifetime earnings for most people.
  So, fear griped the servant given a single talent. What was he going to do if he lost it? What if someone stole it? What would he tell his master then? Carefully hiding it might be the only way to keep it. Did his thinking get any further than this? Even if he did think further, what would happen if he did invest it, but it went sour? He still would not have anything real to show for it. The point being that he was thinking in a very negative way. So, he settled on hiding it.
   The other two servants took their new found riches to invest. Were all of their investments good ones? Possibly, they were not. But the important point is that they chose wisely. In the end each had twice as much as they started.
   The master returned and so did the trial of these three servants. How well had each one use their abilities to work with the amount of money given to them? This is the question. The servants, who had one well, were commended for their use of what they had. Then he richly rewarded them for their performance. The servant, who had hid his, was rebuked for not looking for ways to profit from what he had been given. As the result, he lost his place in that master's estate. The rest of his life was to be spent in misery. (This sounds much like the misery spent by the children of Israel after the rebellion against God at Kadesh Barnea.)
   The sheep and the goats:
"¶When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:" (Mat 25:31)
   First, there is the mention of His glory twice. What is this glory? This is the sum total of His accomplishments concerning all of the commandments given to Him by His Father. Everything that He was told to do by His Father, He did perfectly. These effected God's children both in their lives on earth and in their spending eternity with the Godhead in Heaven. This is the recognition that Jesus is the Kings of kings and Lord of lords. It in this state that He sits upon the throne of His glory. Now, being King of kings, what is the kingdom over which He rules?
   Consider the context of Luke 22:24-30. It was during the time that Jesus and His apostles ate the Passover supper. Once again, the apostle were disagreeing with each other as to who would be the most important among themselves. Jesus again told them what it would take to become the greatest among them: live as a servant to others. Then He went further telling something that they had to look forward to. He is appointing them a kingdom with a throne for each apostle. There they would judge the twelve tribes of Israel. This followed what God had done for His Son: He appointed a kingdom to Jesus. This kingdom is the kingdom of Heaven (kingdom of God). So, it follows that the kingdom under consideration in Mat 25:31 is this kingdom. Jesus has spent His entire ministry describing this kingdom including what was required to enter into and continue to live in it.
   Coming back to the glory of Jesus, consider God's throne. Yes, Jesus sits on the right hand of the Father. The Holy Spirit is also there. Yet, the glory of this throne belongs to God. After all, He is all in all. (1 Cor 15:28) This is in the end of all things.
32 "And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:"
   Jesus compares His separating mankind into two groups to that of a shepherd his flock. To me, this raises a question. Jesus has the authority to divide mankind. Shepherds are a different matter. He has the right to separate what is his from someone else's. But this is all.
   Something people may not see when reading Scriptures on the printed page, but electronic devices may not notice. The word his is printed in italics as it is here. Any word or phrase printed in italics is added text. It does not exist in the language from which the passage was translated. What it the purpose in doing this? It was done to make the meaning clearer. So, the phraseology should be the sheep  from the goats. It is, at least in German Bibles.
33 "And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left."
34 "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me."
   Judgement had come. The sheep receive one judgment, and the goats receive another: one is blessed and the other is cursed. The blessing is the inheritance of the kingdom. But which kingdom? It seems that verse 31 points to the kingdom of Heaven is the one.
   Why? This one was prepared from the foundation of the world in the form of the garden of Eden. Further manifestation was the land of Canaan. Then came the kingdom of God.
   Consider Heaven as it will be at the end of time. Was this prepared from the foundation of the world, or was this prepared from before the foundation of the world? When were God's children chosen in Christ that they should be holy and without blame before Him in love? When were they predestinated unto the adoption of sons? When did the Godhead determine what had to be done because man would sin against Them? It definitely was before the creation not from it.
   Why did the righteous receive this judgment? Verses 35 and 36 state the reasons. In doing so, Jesus mentions six different conditions in which someone needs help from others. The righteous chose to provide what is needed. Yes, Jesus uses Himself as being the person in need, but only to make the situation more personal. Someone who knows Jesus is more likely to help Him than if it were someone who is one with a bad reputation. But, regardless of who the person is, if he needs help, he needs help.
   The comes the point that most people miss. Each one of these conditions requires someone to work to help whosoever is in need. This is obvious in James 2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
   There is another way to view what we do when we someone in need. It is the lesson taught in the parable of the Good Samaritan. The question raised to Jesus was, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus turned it into another question, "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?" (Luke 10:36) The obvious answer to the latter question is the Samaritan. What made him this? He provided help when it was needed.
   Verse 16 is an example of a person who does not follow through on their faith. They know there is a need. They know that God provides for His people. But, they are willing for others to do it for them. Their faith is dead. And as it states later, those, who exercise their faith through good works, perfect their faith by doing so.
   So, the conclusion is that the righteous obtain this kingdom because they exercise their faith through faith. I personally call these works are works of faith. Life in Heaven is based upon the finished work of Christ, and nothing else. This brings us back to the kingdom being the kingdom of Heaven.
  Just a short observation: consider how Jesus described these six conditions and who the persons were that obeyed God. All six times, they are referred to as ye. This is a form of the word you. Yet there is much more to it than this. It is the familiar form of the word you. That is, there exists a relationship between the speaker and the person spoken to. In fact there is a depth to this relationship. Jesus is saying here that He loves those to whom He speaks. (While, the English language has become less sensitive to emotional relationships. Such is not the case to most if not all foreign languages.) The English statement: I love you can mean anything from meaning lust after to wanting to spend the rest of our lives is a deeply emotional love.
37 "Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?"
   Immediately, they want to know when they had seen Him in any of these conditions. His reply was typical for Him. They had done these things because someone needed their help. He emphasized the importance of not considering who the person was that had the need. It was just as important to do this to someone who would be considered to be the least as it is to someone who is considered to be a much better person.
41 "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not."
  These are spoken to the goats who are cursed for what they have not done. Take a close look. I count the use of the word ye six times. Again this is the familiar form of the word you. Jesus continues to use ye through verse 45. The word thou is also used once which is also the familiar form of the word you. So there exists a relationship between Jesus and these goats. It is the goats that refer to Jesus as thou. In fact, it is a caring one. Yet, there is still disobedience on the part of the goats.
   So, if the kingdom inherited by the righteous is the kingdom of Heaven, is this curse Hell on earth? In Mat 5:22 "But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." This can not be Hell, so it must be Hell on earth.
44 "Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me." These are the same questions that the righteous asked. The lesson both groups missed was that when we serve others, we are also serving Jesus.
   Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. The first important part is that these people are in Christ Jesus. Among them, part of them walk after the flesh and the other part live after the Spirit. Those who walk after the flesh are condemned, and those who walk after the Spirit are not, the are blessed of God. To me, the actions of those,who are on Jesus' right hand walk after the Spirit and are thus blessed rather than condemned. Similarly, those on His left walked after the flesh and are condemned (cursed) rather than blessed. Again, we are speaking of the present rather than the end of time.
   OBSERVATION: The view of goats in Matthew 25 differs from that of the law. So, it is important that we take a very close to the Torah, the 5 books of Moses. This will be in a separate article, Goats in the Torah, in Section 2 below.
Day 13: 1 day before Passover
   This day is similar to the previous Saturday: we know very little about it. When this day came to its close at sunset, it would be the time to begin the Passover Supper. But as yet, no preparations had been made for this. Some disciples remembered Jesus being asked, "Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the Passover?" (Mat 26:27) Others remembered Jesus telling John and Peter, "Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat." (Luke 22:8) Of course, these two brethren wanted to know where and how. Jesus tells them everything they needed to know in order to accomplish the task that He had just given them. Then off they went...
   But what happened for the rest of the day. The Gospels are silent on this point. While we may want to speculate, it is probably best not too; God has His reasons for not revealing this.

Day 14: Day of Passover
   Shortly after the sunset, Jesus began the Passover supper with, "With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God." Luke 22:15, 16. This is when He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it unto His apostles saying, "Take this, and divide it among yourselves:"
18 "For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come." (Luke 17,18) What followed was the rituals required during the Passover supper along with the conversations.
   According to Matthew, While they were eating of the Passover supper that Jesus took the bread , blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them saying, "Take, eat; this is my body." (Note: this was done in the midst of the meal.) Luke mentions it was done but not when it was done.
   Luke does tie in the bread and wine in verses 19 and 20. Jesus' actions with the wine was similar to those with the handling of the bread: Jesus first blessed and then gave the wine to them to drink. As an introduction to the wine, Jesus said, 18 "For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come."
   Then came the shocking news from Jesus: one of them was going to betray Him. In fact, it would be one of the 12, Judas being in the room along with the others. Immediately, everyone wondering who this could be. Each one wondering if it could possibly be him! In the end, Jesus revealed that it was Judas. At some point after this, Judas left the room going to the high priest to betray Jesus.
   There had been another discussion that Jesus had to correct: who was the greatest among the apostles. Who was going to be the most important one among them? Who is going to be the one telling the others what they should be doing?
   Obviously, none of them had observed Jesus' behavior very closely. Most likely, they were more concern with their own importance. He is the Son of God, one of Three who created the universe and governs it. Yet, He lived the life of a servant. What they failed to understand is that He expects us to live as servants to others. So, Jesus once again taught them of their responsibilities that they have for each other. This was far more important than what others should be doing for them. He followed this up with His washing of their feet.
   From this point, He continues to teach so many things that are found in John chapters 13 through 17. It was after all of this instructions that Jesus and the 11 apostles (still present) sang a hymn and went out. (This is probably Psalm 118 according to Hebrew traditions.)
   There was something that Jesus was doing in the background that everything to do with the scapegoat in Leviticus chapter 16. As the High Priest of God, He was removing the old man from each and every child of God placing it within Himself. These He would take to the cross with Him, there to be destroyed by the wrath of God. (In Leviticus chapter 16, the high priest confessed the sins and trespasses upon the head of the scapegoat.)
   Then He led Himself and them to the garden on the mount of Olives. (The scapegoat carrying all of the sins and iniquities was led by a fit man into the wilderness. Who is more fit to lead Himself this night than He?) Now is when God removed His protection from Jesus just as the scapegoat was vulnerable to flesh eating animals living in that wilderness.
   Upon arrival, Jesus first leaves 8 of the apostles, taking only peter, John, and James with Him. Then He instructs these three to stop while He went farther. Then as He awaits the arrival of Judas, and those with him, He prays three times. After each prayer, He returned to the three finding them asleep each time.
   Why was He is such agony? I think it is because what He had earlier placed upon Himself. What lie before Him was horrible to say the least! He was about to face the wrath of God, the lake of fire for 3 hours! Yet, He also knew that this is why He had come to the earth. There was no other way! He had to complete what He had started, so He submitted to His Father. This is when angels were sent to strengthen Him. He used this to suffer all the things that would come His way.
   Judas and company arrives and captures Jesus, or so they thought. He went willingly. Jesus as The Scapegoat was now at the mercy of those who sought His life. They began showing just how horrible they could treat another human being. We have an expression for this: they were acting like wild animals.
   First He is taken to Ananias who then sends Him to Caiaphas, the high priest. There Jesus is tried and convicted of blaspheme during the night. Early in the morning, He is taken to Pilate for the judgment of crucifixion. (The Romans would not permit the Jews to convict and execute anyone.) Since Jesus was from Galilee, Pilate sent them to Herod who after examination, sent him back. Pilate finally relents to their desire, pronouncing judgment upon Jesus. After scourging, He was taken out with two thieves to the crucifixion site. All three are placed upon crosses (poles). Observation: no where in the gospels does it way which thief was on which side.Then it was in the beginning of His crucifixion that He said, " Father forgive them for they know not what they do."
   There was a crowd present at the site who wanted to see the demise of Jesus who had gotten under the skins constantly. They knew what they believed and hated that He had not only taught the people differently but also spoke of them as being evil. Death was the only solution, and now they were getting to see it happen right before their eyes! They were ecstatic!
   At first, both convicts did everything they could think of to get Jesus to come down off the cross and take them of their crosses as well. Now, this does not mean that either one of the believed that He had this power: they did not want to die this way. If He were who they were hearing that He claimed He was, He could save His own lives and His as well. After a while, one of the thieves realized that their pleading was getting them absolutely nowhere. One of them came to realize who Jesus is: exactly what the crowd was saying He was: the Son of God. This was done under the influence of the Holy Spirit. So, now he has a different plea, " Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." Jesus' reply was, "Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise." Now this thief had something to look forward to whereas the other one did not.
   At noon, it turned very dark for three hours. It was during this time that God immersed Jesus in His wrath. The sentences of death that His people deserved were being carried out on Jesus. In the process, each and every old man that had been place in Jesus body was destroyed. They no longer existed. (Romans 6:6)
Commentary:
   Why did I mention the lake of fire as God's means of punishment? This involves the prophesy contained in Leviticus 16:27. The sin offering which is part of the atonement ceremony had to be burned without the camp. Now Jesus is The Sin Offering to God required for our atonement. Furthermore, Hebrews 13:11,12 compares the suffering of Jesus to that of the goat who was the sin offering in Leviticus 27. This goat was burned to ashed which then points to the equivalent of fire that God uses. This could only be the lake of fire.
  When daylight returned about the 9th hour, Jesus had as few more things to do before He laid down His life. But first He cried out, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is to say, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (The 3 hours in the lake of fire was at an end.) Then He cried out, "It is finished!" What was finished? The sins and iniquities that had been part of God's children had been destroyed. 33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. (Rom 8:33) And then in a personal situation, someone was needed to take care of His mother, Mary. So, Jesus speaks to both Mary and John. He makes it clear to John that he was to take care of her for as long as she lived and to Mary that she was to rely upon John for her needs.
   Now the time had come for Jesus to die. So, He commended His Spirit back to His Father, who was no longer forsaking Him. Then after he bowed his head, He willing died of His own will. The body went limp as it died. Sometime later, the soldiers went about breaking the leg bones of the two thieves to hasten their deaths. Jesus already being dead, they stuck a spear in His to make sure this was so. Out flowed both blood and water from the wound.
   When Joseph, a secret disciple saw that Jesus was dead, he went to Pilate to get permission to remove Jesus from the cross so he could bury Him. Pilate had to make sure of this death before he would release the body. This is when Nicodemus stepped forward to help get Jesus into Joseph's new tomb before the sun set. Now Nicodemus had already bought spices for the burial process. 
   How much were the two of them able to accomplish before sunset? Probably everything that they intended to do. Why do I say this? It has everything to do with the women who had witnessed the crucifixion. They had also seen how jesus was lain in the tomb. It was at this point that they went home to prepare spices which they would use to anoint Jesus' body the first time they had a opportunity. They knew that sunset that day would mark the beginning of the sabbath, and it was too close to this event to apply the spiced this day. So they rested until the sabbath ended which would be sunset Saturday.
Day 15: First day of unleavened bread
   The disciples gathered together in an upper room, probably the same one in which they had eaten the Passover the previous day. Everyone there felt the tremendous pain, sorrow, and anxiety after having seen Jesus die.They were also filled with questions for which they had no answers.
   However, they did have some stability to their lives if only for this one day. This day began the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and there were specific things they had to do during this day as outlined in Lev 23:5-8. You see, although this day began on Thursday at sunset and ended at sunset on Friday, they were to be a part of an holy convocation as well not engage in any work. (This is the definition of a sabbath.) John described this sabbath as a high day. (John 19:31 This has been interpreted as a high sabbath.) This is why the women would not go to Jesus' tomb: taking care of Jesus' body was in fact, work. They would have to wait another day.
   There was one except in this day compared to other sabbaths: they could prepare food. (This is found in Ex 12:16. The same rule held on the 21st day of the first month.)
    While the disciples were observing this sabbath, it would seem that the religious leaders were not. They had brought Jesus to Pilate earlier on the 14th, on the 15th they come to Pilate again with another problem they wanted solved. They feared that the disciples of Jesus would steal Jesus' body and then declare that He had risen as He had said. So, they wanted Pilate to protect the grave site with Roman soldiers. He refused telling them to use their guards which they did. This certainly looks like work to me, but then I think it is another example of them telling others what to do when they did not follow their own instructions.
Day 16: The sabbath of the LORD
   With the sun setting on this Friday, The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread ended, and the second day began (the seventh day of the week). So, what they then was consecutive sabbaths. Once again, the disciples were limited in what they could do. So they continue to sit in the upper room still wondering what was going to happen next. They had spent up to three years with Jesus, believing that He is the Son of God. They believed in what He had taught them. Now, nothing of this seemed to matter at all. All hope was gone. Depression is probably the correct word to describe their mental state.
   And yet, the women still had a task to do that would have to wait until the next morning. How many of them were thinking of the things that they were going to do with His body then? They still had a purpose in their lives if only in anointing Jesus' body. The men did not even have that much!
Day 17: Third day of the feast of unleavened bread as well as the Feast of Firstfruits
   The sun has now set ending the sabbath. How much sleep did the women get this night? How many of them had thoughts continuously running through their minds concerning what they were going to do at the tomb? How many were beginning to worry about what they were going to do after they had accomplished this task?
   In any case, they were up early that Sunday morning. The sun had not risen yet: it would by the time they arrived at the tomb. They had waited to do this for two and a half days so they were in a hurry. Yet as they walked, doubts began to enter their minds. When preparing the spices Thursday evening, they were only concerned with anointing Jesus' body. They had forgotten one thing: they had seen Joseph and Nicodemus roll a large stone over the mouth of the tomb... But now as they walked, they suddenness realized this was a problem that they could not solve. They did not have the strength to remove it. Neither did they know that the religious leaders had positioned guards at the site to prevent the removal of His body. (This guard was set Friday morning while the women were at home observing the sabbath.) So, how were they going to be able to anoint Jesus' body with the spices that they had brought with them? This had to weigh heavily upon them, yet they continued walking...
   As they arrived, the sun peeked just above the horizon, but something did not look right! The stone was not over the tomb anymore: it had been moved. Then as they entered the tomb to anoint the body, it was not there. What had happened to it? Did someone steal it?  Then suddenly, they found themselves joined by two men in shining apparel. Their reaction was to bow with their faces to the earth, when they heard something very startling! The men asked them a question: "Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again." (Luke 24:5-7)
   This had to be a shock to the women, yet they did remember that Jesus had said these very thing! But did they truly believe what they had just heard? We do know that they immediately headed back to the disciples to tell them the good news. Matthew then relates that Jesus appear to them while they were rushing back giving them an additional message to take with them. John writes of Mary Magdalene being alone when she met Jesus actually touched Him.  She was give more information after being told to stop touching Him. With these meetings were over, the women continued on their way to the upper room where the very depressed disciples were in deep mourning.
   This had to be a sight when the women came into the room! These women knew that Jesus was very much alive. Hope was not lost. They did not know how yet, but the future to them was indeed very bright. So, they were very excited when they began to tell everyone what they had seen and heard. And what was on their faces while they spoke? What were these disciples feeling and thinking? Were they really listening to anything the women had said?
   Well, the disciples were shocked! There was no way that Jesus could be alive! They had seen Him die. They had had experiences with death many times before. A dead person does not just come to life. Do you think that they may have forgotten about Lazareth's resurrection? Or, were they thinking that this was different. Jesus raised him from the dead. (They had seen Jesus do this a few times; they had seen dead people raised by the apostles. But in each case, someone with authority did the raising of the dead.) They knew of no one who would resurrect Jesus' body! So, they were forced to disbelieve what they had just heard.
   How could they explain the actions of the women? It's possible that their grief was so great that they had imagined what they reported. It had to fall into the category of old wives' tales that are not to be believed. They did not realize that their depression was so great that they could not believe what they had just been told. So, they continued to mope and mourn for the rest of the day.
   But the women would not give up: they kept insisting that what they reported was the truth! This is when Peter and John had a foot race to the tomb.  (John won.) Sure enough, there was no body. Even more amazing was the napkin and linen clothes that Jesus had been buried in. The napkin was folded neatly at one end of the tomb with the linen clothes laying at the other end. It seems that this was saying that the person whose body had been covered with these items no longer had need of either.
   So what did Peter and John decide? The women were right about one thing: Hes body was not there. John came to believe one thing, but what? John did not write what. One thing for sure: the words they were heard within the previous week about Jesus rising from the dead were deep within their subconscious. They left the tomb as depressed as they ever since the say Jesus die! So on their return to the disciples, they did not have any encouraging words for the disciples. The brethren in deep mourning over the death of Jesus and over the mental and emotional state of the women who had gone to the tomb early that morning.
   By early that afternoon, two of the disciples left Jerusalem for Emmaus still in a state of utter shock over the recent events. It was obvious that they were sad, so much that a seemingly stranger comments about their body language. Someone, whom they did not think they knew, joined them asking why they were so sad. Cleopas answered him with a question of his own. Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? You see, in Cloepas' depressed mind, he could only think of his situation. He did not realize that the million or more people present for the Passover were not all aware of the crucifixion of Jesus. The stranger then presses for more information. This come tumbling out as one or both tells of what happened to Jesus the previous Thursday. They even went so far to state that it had been three days since these things had happened.
Commentary:
   If Jesus was crucified and died as these disciples told Jesus, the crucifixion and death had to occur on Thursday at the ninth hour. And since Jesus died on Passover, He died during the fourteenth day of the first month. Sunday being three days since then has to be on the seventh day of the first month. This being so, the previous Sunday had to be the tenth day of the first month. The first part of chapter 12 of Exodus describes what had to happen on this day: the selection of the Passover. Hence, on this tenth day of the first month had to be the day God revealed His selection of The True Passover Lamb: the Lord Jesus Christ. This then is the reason for the activities on this Sunday four days before the death of Jesus!
The journey continues
   The stranger then begins to upbraid these disciples for not believing the Scriptures as they should. He goes on teaching them things that they should have known. In fact, he revealed the meaning of Scripture that described all the things that referred to Jesus beginning with the Law of Moses and continuing through the Scriptures. (Even with all of this, they did not realize who this stranger was!
   This took quite a bit of time to accomplish, and sunset was nearing... (It was about a 3 hour trip from Jerusalem to Emmaus.) Besides they had arrived at Emmaus. The stranger seemed to be going farther, but they constrained him to eat and spend the night with them. As they sat to eat, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them. Then he disappeared! This was quite a shock, and they suddenly realized who this stranger: It is Jesus. Now this was a time to get excited! Their hearts were burning within them as they had been for a while.  Instead of eating supper they headed back to the upper room and the disciples. We can be sure that it took far less time to get back to Jerusalem than it had earlier going from Jerusalem to Emmaus.
   Like the women that morning had entered the upper room all excited, these two did the same thing. They also got the same reaction! Ah yes, stubborn people. But we are not different, unless we are prepared to believe things that do not seem possible yet there is evidence of the truth in the belief.
   Then it was time for a shock for the disciples minus the two men and the women visiting the tomb that morning. Jesus appears out of nowhere! Even the sight of Him was not enough. It took His eating food to convince them. Then Jesus opened up their understanding of the Scriptures. He also told them, "Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And ye are witnesses of these things." (Luke 24:46-48)

Section 2

 Requirements for the True Passover Lamb 
The Jewish Calendar
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. (Exodus 12:1-2)
   This calendar is based upon the phases of the moon with a new month began with a new moon. This limits the days of a year to 354 days for a 12 month year. At some point, an extra month was added seven times during a 19 year cycle. This keep the calendar and seasons of the year fairly close together.
   This is not the only change. Traditions teach that the creation occurred in the fall, and that the calendar goes back that far. The year is the number of years since the creation. For example: in on September 16th in 2023, The Jewish date is Tishri 1, 5784. So, according to tradition, the creation occurred 5,784 years ago.
   Originally, the month of Tishri was the first month of the year and the first day of the month, Rosh Hashana, was what we would call new year’s day. It remained this way until the month Israel was to leave Egypt. That is when God said that this month was now the first month of the year; its name is Abib. (Modern spelling of this month is now Aviv.) Now, Tishri comes six months after Abib. While the first month of the year had been changed, their Rosh Hashana and the calendar dates did not change at all.
Passover lamb selection
   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: (Exodus 12:3-5)
   These verses describe what was required of the children of Israel the day that Jesus rode the foal of an ass (donkey) from the mount of Olives to Jerusalem and into the temple. There is much more to this than it being palm Sunday.) Its real importance is the revealing of who was to be the true Passover Lamb for the true Passover which God would celebrate four earth days later. While the Passover held by men is an annual occurrence, God’s true Passover occurred only once and had eternal effects. Now what Israel was to celebrate with the Passover and events around this day were what God does for His people. In this, they also testify of the things Jesus did during God’s true Passover. It is this testimony that I seek to describe to you.
   These verses describe what the head of each house was to do. It was also what God had chosen to do. They are the following:

1. The head (male) of the house selected a lamb from the flock.
2. The size of the lamb must be close to the requirements of the people who are going to eat this lamb. If it were too little, two families were to share it.
3. The lamb must be without blame and male of the first year.
4. The lamb must be taken either from the sheep or from the goats.

Lamb selection
   Because Adam sinned in the garden, man had lost his estate in this life as well as after his death. With His wisdom, He knew that returning their inheritance to them would cost someone their life; it had to be a descendant of Adam.
Lamb size
   God has always known whom He loved and what He was going to do for them. He also knew to whom He would give special treatment, providing them with the kingdom of God while they lived. Some of these, He will be giving knowledge of Himself and instructions as to how they should live. Others would not receive these extras. Thus, there arose two families. His Passover lamb was more than enough for either family by itself. They would have to be merged for this Passover supper which God did. (The middle wall of partition had to be broken down.)
Lamb requirements
   God’s requirement for is straight forward (without blame also means without sin). Since His lamb must be a man, that man must be without sin. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God is a Bible phrase we have often used. Therefore, only He can be God’s true Passover lamb. While from a Spiritual view, He has always been. However, given that He consists of more than His Spirit: He has a body. For 33 and a half years, He lived in a body that was natural, corruptible, and mortal which was just like others yet without sin. On His resurrection, this body became Spiritual, incorruptible, and immortal. He is alive forever more. From this viewpoint, he was quite young when He was crucified.
   Which animal? This is where we have problems with verse 5. How can a goat testify about Jesus? Goats testify of the worse of man’s character. Such men were the children of wrath at some point in their lives. This is true for even those whom God had chosen to save.
   Now, in Matthew 25, goats are describing men who obey not God as a group, what they all are like. They are all descendants of Adam, they are all made of flesh. But, the true Passover lamb is only one person. Is there one descendant of Adam that is made of flesh? Heb 4:19 answers that with a YES! This is Jesus, the ONLY ONE who fulfills the requirements of the true Passover lamb. Important: Jesus being the Son of Adam also means that He is the Son of man.
   (So, consider what God saw in this group of people. Everywhere He looked, every animal had all manner of blemishes and purifying sores. Again this is with of only one of them. This one was pure in every way. Just as we would expect of Jesus.)
   (A possible confusion point in Matthew 25 is that the only one “goat” that God saw when He chose the true Passover lamb was Jesus who is without sin. In Matthew 25, Jesus is sitting on the throne. The rest of the goats have no redeeming features at all so they must pay for the sins they have committed.)
   Why then also mention using a sheep as a Passover lamb? This is where God is comparing all of those who have been faithful at various levels during their lives. Among them are Enoch, Noah, Abraham, the prophets, and an innumerable host. These are the ones who have walked not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Goats in the Torah

 1. Goats are clean animals
Leviticus 11:3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
   While this verse does not directly state that those beasts which have all three characteristics are clean animals, the later verses state that those who do not have all three are unclean. It follows that those who do have them are clean. So, basically God has defined goats as clean animals.

 2. The firstling of the goats are holy
Exodus 13:12 That thou shalt set apart unto the Lord all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the Lord’s.
   The context for this verse is a follows. God is telling Aaron and the priests what is rightfully theirs which the members of the congregation must bring to the priests. More detailed instructions were given later.
Num 18:15 Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the Lord, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.
   Later even more instructions were given for the firstlings of the herd, sheep, and goats. This is also for the priest to follow.
Num 18:17 But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy: thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savour unto the Lord.

3. Goats can be used as a sacrifice from eight days old and older with certain conditions.
  Two things we know for certain about animal sacrifices to God: they must be clean, and must be without blemish. Clearly, goats are clean animals. Lev 22:27 When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
   So, the firstlings of the goats were to be kept with their mothers for seven day and then sacrificed to the LORD on the eighth day. The rest of the goats could then be used as specific sacrifices according to what they law of Moses required as long as they are without blemish. These include the Passover lamb, whole burnt offerings, the atonement ceremony among others. I will mention this one as well: during each year a total of 31 goats were used as the sacrifice for the sin of the people.
Observations: The kid of the goats was the only animal to be sacrificed for the people. Not only that, but when used for this purpose along with multiple other animal sacrifices, it was the last animal to be sacrificed. So, its blood was placed or sprinkled over the blood of the rest of the animal's blood. So, the predominate blood was that of the goat. Another point is that the number of each animal sacrifice was in multiples. Only ONE kid of the goats was required. God saw the blood of the one and was satisfied.

4. Goats represent mankind, the descendants of Adam and Eve. In the beginning of their lives in the garden of Eden, they were good, and very good, (they were clean in every way). But when Eve and the Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, they had just sinned which is a blemish which became the inheritance for all of their descendants. They had just become unclean condemning their descendants to the same fate.
   Biology can help in this lesson, specifically human reproduction with a slight correction. God made man and then gave him life. It was then that He took a living rib from Adam to make Eve. So, she was a new life but was made from living cells that had been his. The only difference was that changes were made in her chromosomes. The life in each one of them was one and the same.
   Conception occurs when a living sperm cell becomes one with a living egg cell. The life that each has is the same life that was in Adam. We are indeed Adam multiplied. In other words, all of his offspring are different manifestations of him. This is the concept of total depravity: we all are children of wrath even as others which is from the Ephesians chapter 2 verses -3.
   The penalty for the sin of Adam, Eve, and their descendants is death (total destruction in the lake of fire). No human being was capable of surviving the execution of this judgment. Well, God knows of a way to pay the entire penalty and survive: use His Son who is eternal. Jesus was made flesh: being born of a woman, He became a descendant of Adam.

5 Jesus is the Goat that is both a descendant of Adam: yet He is without spot and without blemish.
   This is the difference between the goats of Mat 25 and the Goat of the Torah. It all boils down to whether we are talking about seemingly all goats of one Goat. In Mat 25, every goat descendant from Adam on Jesus' left are unclean. The one descendant of Adam is sitting on the throne. It is the only clean one. In the various sacrifices listed in the Torah, each had this requirement: it must be without blemish. Again, there is only One that meets this requirement: the Lord Jesus Christ when it comes to the sacrifice to save God's people from their sins. The goats of the Law testify of Jesus in this regard.

What is the day for the Feast of Firstfruits (Resurrection)?

   The easiest way is to use the calendar app of a cell phone. Then in Settings, select Jewish holidays. It will then list both the day for the Passover and the Feast of Firstfruits. As a bonus, it will also list the other feast of the Lord. Where in the Bible that describes when this day occurs each year? It is Leviticus chapter 23 verses 4-14. in this part of the chapter, specific days are mentioned. Among these verses are descriptions of what is done during these feasts, for our purposes, the specific days are what are important.
   The first day is Passover which is the 14th day of the first month (Nisan). The second day is the Feast of Unleavened Bread which is the 15th day of Nisan. The third day is the Sabbath of the Lord, the seventh day of the week. The fourth day is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. All of this Is shown in the calendar month above.
   Now the Jewish calendar periodically has a 13th month (7 out of every 19 years) which is added between the 12th and 1st months of the year. This occurs somewhere within the February to March period of time, and this month has 29 days. This is how it is set up now. Prior to the middle ages, The first day of each month was determined based upon what night the moon had the smallest crescent throughout the year. The first day of the first month was determined by this process. If the barley was just beginning to open up, then this was the month. If not, the next month would be. Some very smart people discovered the 19 month cycle that would keep the calendar and the seasons within a certain amount of synchronization. This was written down and followed every since.
   This is the situation in 2024. The last day of the twelveth month, Adar Is March 10. At sunset on March 10, the next month began. Its date in the Jewish format is 1 Adar II (in some calendars, it is Adar B). This is the beginning of the 13th month. The 1st day of the first month comes in the evening of April 9th. The 14th day is April 22,Passover; The 15th day is April 23, First day of Unleavened Bread; The next sabbath is April 27th; and the Feast of Firstfruits is April 28th.
   Here is a bonus: The feast of Weeks begins with the feast that follows the sabbath and lasts 50 days (7 weeks and one day). This is the Feast of Firstfruits. The “bookends” of this feast are Firstfruits at the beginning and Pentecost at the end. Both of this occur on Sunday. Please pay close attention to the wording. Why? People have come to think that what was written was the feast lasted from Passover until Pentecost. That is not what is written.