Expert: Brenda Martin - 12/27/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi Brenda,
I read one of your earlier answers and found that you said that there exists evidence that the Bible was inspired by God. So if God inspired the writing of the Bible then there can not be any mistakes in it.
If you agree with my statement above, then please refer to Mark 14:12-18 and 15:24. These passages indicate that Jesus was crucified AFTER the Passover meal. It has to be this way because it mentions that "...the sat and did eat, Jesus said...", therefore the Passover meal occurred AFTER the crucifixion.
But John 19:24 says that "... it was the preparation of the passover..." when Jesus was taken to be crucified. Therefore, Jesus was crucified BEFORE the meal, i.e. he did not eat the meal, like it mentions in Mark.
Can you please explain?
Thanks,
MM

ANSWER: MARK 14:12-18 AND 15:24--JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED AFTER THE PASSOVER MEAL.

Correct :¬)

JOHN 19:24--JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED BEFORE THE MEAL

This scripture is speaking of events AFTER the meal—“Therefore they said to one another: “Let us not tear it, but let us determine by lots over it whose it will be.” This was that the scripture might be fulfilled: “They apportioned my outer garments among themselves, and upon my apparel they cast lots.” And so the soldiers really did these things.”

This happened AFTER Jesus death & AFTER the Passover
----

Look back to John 13--As the Passover meal proceeds, Jesus becomes troubled in spirit, identifies Judas as his betrayer, and dismisses him. It is only after this that Jesus tells his 11 faithful disciples: “I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves.” (John 13:34, 35)

This was the Passover BEFORE his death so no contradiction.

all the best
Brenda


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Brenda,
My apologies, I typed John 19:24 when I should have typed John 19:14, the number keys of 1 and 2 are too close for my fat fingers. :-)
19:14 tells that it was the "preparation" of the passover meal, i.e. while the meal was being prepared the events of Jesus being taken by the Jews took place (John 19:15) and then he was crucified (John 19:18). So how could he have been crucified after the meal if this clearly states he was taken DURING the preparation of the meal and then crucified?
MM

ANSWER: At John 19:14, the apostle John, in the midst of his description of the final part of Jesus’ trial before Pilate, says: “Now it was preparation of the passover; it was about the sixth hour [of the daytime, between 11:00 a.m. and noon].” This, of course, was after the time of the Passover meal, which had been eaten the night before.

Similar expressions are found at verses 31 and 42. Here the Greek word pa·ra·skeu·e′ is translated “preparation.” This word seems to mark, not the day preceding Nisan 14, but the day preceding the weekly Sabbath, which, in this instance, was “a great one,” namely, not only a Sabbath by virtue of being Nisan 15, the first day of the actual Festival of Unfermented Cakes, but also a weekly Sabbath. This is understandable, since, as already stated, “Passover” was sometimes used to refer to the entire festival.—Joh 19:31

The day of Jesus’ trial and death could be viewed as the “preparation of the passover” in the sense that it was the preparation for the seven-day Festival of Unfermented Cakes that began the next day. Because of their closeness on the calendar, the entire festival itself was often included in the term “Passover.” And the day after Nisan 14 was always a Sabbath; additionally, in 33 C.E., Nisan 15 fell on the regular Sabbath, making the day a “great” or double Sabbath.

all the best
Brenda


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi  Brenda,
Thank you for your response.
A couple of things I need clarification on please.
Where does the notion that the "sixth hour" is around noon come from (just curious)?
Jewish sources show that the Passover meal is NOT eaten before the Preparation of the Passover. The meal is not eaten till the first night of Passover; the Preparation can not be AFTER the meal, it doesn't make sense. The preparation of the passover takes place before the first night of the Passover.
By the way the exact quote is "Now it was THE preparation of the passover..." which would negate the idea that it meant the whole festival. This is clearly about the preparation and not the whole festival.

Thank you,

MM

Answer
"THE "SIXTH HOUR" IS AROUND NOON?"

Hours were counted from sunrise, or about 6 a.m. The Bible mentions the “third hour,” which would be about 9 a.m. The “sixth hour” is mentioned as the time when darkness fell on Jerusalem at Jesus’ impalement. This would correspond to our 12 noon. Jesus’ expiration in death on the torture stake is stated to have occurred “about the ninth hour,” or about 3 p.m.—Mark 15:25; Luke 23:44; Matt. 27:45, 46.

In the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the practice of dividing the daylight period into hours was common. Thus, at John 11:9 Jesus said: “There are twelve hours of daylight, are there not?” These were generally counted from sunrise to sunset, or from about 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. So, “the third hour” would be about 9:00 a.m., and it was at this time that the holy spirit was poured out at Pentecost. (Mt 20:3; Ac 2:15) When Jesus, tired out from a journey, was sitting at Jacob’s fountain it was about “the sixth hour,” or noon, which was also the time when Peter became very hungry at Joppa. (John 4:6; Ac 10:9, 10)  This ninth hour was also called “the hour of prayer.” (Ac 3:1; 10:3, 4, 30) So, “the seventh hour” would be about 1:00 p.m. and “the eleventh hour,” about 5:00 p.m. (John 4:52; Mt 20:6-12) the night was also divided into hours at that time.—Ac 22; 23

JEWISH SOURCES SHOW THAT THE PASSOVER MEAL IS NOT EATEN BEFORE THE PREPARATION OF THE PASSOVER

According to the Jewish calendar, the anniversary date for the celebration of Passover falls in the month of Nisan. Regarding the lamb or goat that was to be eaten during the course of the Passover meal, Jehovah God commanded: “It must continue under safeguard by you until the fourteenth day of this month, and the whole congregation of the assembly of Israel must slaughter it between the two evenings.”—Ex. 12:6.

What does the expression “two evenings” mean? Does it have any bearing on the date for celebrating Passover?

Jewish tradition generally presents the “two evenings” as the time from noon (when the sun begins to decline) on until sundown. As the Israelites measured their day from sundown to sundown, this would mean that the Passover victim was slaughtered prior to the sundown with which Nisan 14 ended and Nisan 15 began. If this were correct, the Passover meal itself would have been eaten in Egypt on Nisan 15 and the Israelites would not have left Egypt until that date.

But the traditional Jewish view regarding the “two evenings” does not harmonize with the Bible account at Exodus 12:17, 18. There we read: “You must keep the festival of unfermented cakes, because on this very day I must bring your armies out from the land of Egypt. And you must keep this day throughout your generations as a statute to time indefinite. In the first month [Nisan or Abib], on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening you are to eat unfermented cakes.”

Had the Passover victim been slaughtered as Jewish tradition holds, namely, in the last quarter of the fourteenth day, which ended at sundown, then the Israelites could not have left Egypt that “very day.” The event that enabled them to depart was the death of the Egyptian firstborn. But, as this took place at midnight, it would not have come until about six hours after Nisan 14 ended.—Ex. 12:29.

So we must look to a source other than Jewish tradition to find out when the Passover victim was sacrificed and then eaten. We need to examine the Bible itself to determine the significance of the expression “two evenings.” Directing our attention to Deuteronomy 16:6, we note that in the case of the first evening a time beginning considerably later than noon is involved. The instructions to Israel here read: “You should sacrifice the passover in the evening as soon as the sun sets.” So the first of the “two evenings” manifestly designates the time when the sun sets, whereas the second evening would correspond to the time when the sun’s reflected light or afterglow ends and darkness falls.

This explanation of the two evenings was also offered by the Spanish rabbi Aben-Ezra (1092-1167 C.E.), as well as by the Samaritans and the Karaite Jews. It is the view presented by such scholars as Michaelis, Rosenmueller, Gesenius, Maurer, Kalisch, Knobel and Keil.

Viewing the Biblical evidence as a whole, we can see that the Passover victim was slaughtered at sunset, at the start of Nisan 14, and the meal itself was eaten later that evening. Whereas the Jews of today, in keeping with tradition, eat the Passover meal on Nisan 15, their practice is not supported by the Holy Scriptures. The correct anniversary date is Nisan 14.

Thus Jesus Christ must have eaten the Passover with his disciples on Nisan 14 “after evening had fallen” and thereafter instituted the Lord’s Evening Meal. (Mark 14:17; Matt. 26:20-28) then the “preparation” began for the weekly Sabbath.

All the best
Brenda