A Profound New Look at
A careful day-by-day exploration of the final week Jesus
Christ spent on this earth explodes many myths and
grievous
misunderstands of scholars and theologians about His last
week, His entrance into Jerusalem, the dating of the
"Last
Supper," the arrest and capture of Christ, the
timing of His
appearances before Annas, Caiphas, the Sanhedrin, Pilate,
Herod, and His final condemnation before Pilate, and His
final crucifixion.
Here is the TRUE STORY of Jesus' last
week on earth before His death and resurrection. Here is
NEW EVIDENCE which once and for all time buries
the
notion that the "Last Supper" was in any way a
"Passover"
meal or service!
Let the reader beware: If you
read this
material with an open, unprejudiced mind, this article
could
completely change your life!
William F. Dankenbring
When was Jesus arrested? When was He interrogated by the high
priests, and later by Pilate, Herod, and a final time before Pilate? When was He scourged by the Roman soldiers,
and led away finally to Golgotha?
No subject has been more
controversial, and beset with difficulty, and a clear understanding of the true
sequence of events during Jesus Christ's last week on earth, before His death
as the Passover lamb of God (John 1:29; I Cor.5:7). Scholars claim the gospel accounts are plagued with
inconsistencies and contradictions; theologians attempt to explain away the
differences between Matthew, Mark, Luke and John's accounts. Few have stopped to think that it is not the
gospel writers who are at fault -- but rather the assumptions and
rationalizations of
error-prone
scholars and theologians, who have their own "turf" and religious
beliefs to "defend," which may be subject to complete overhaul and in
need of total revision!
Jews and Christians alike will find
this study fascinating, emotionally moving, and tremendously inspiring -- and
Biblically sound and truthful. Let us,
therefore, begin "at the beginning," and go step by step through the
final week of Christ on earth, beginning with proving the date of the
crucifixion – the year, month, and day of the week.
I recently purchased a book entitled
Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets by astronomer Jean
Meeus (second edition, published by Willmann-Bell, Inc., PO Box 35025,
Richmond, Virginia 23235). Part four
deals with the “Phases of the Moon.”
This remarkable work provides tables by which readers can compute the
phases of the moon, including the New Moons (molads) with an accuracy within 10
minutes or less, for any year from 1500 B.C. to 2999 A.D. (The calculations of course may not work for
years prior to the Exodus or Noah’s Flood, if the earth’s orbit or the moon’s
orbit were changed during those periods of upheaval). However, the tables work just fine for the year 30 A.D., when the
Messiah was crucified!
Using these tables, and doing a
little math, it turns out that the tables in this book, show that the
conjunction of the New Moon for March, 30 A.D., was on the 22nd day
of the month (Wednesday), at 17:32 GMT– that is, 5:32 PM, Wednesday
evening! This would have been about
7:32 Jerusalem time. Since the conjunction occurred Wednesday evening, the New
Moon crescent for the month just beginning – Abib – could not possibly have
been seen before Thursday evening.
You cannot see the crescent the same evening the conjunction
occurs! Normally it is visible about
one day or 24 hours later – which fits the picture perfectly.
This information means that Abib 1
was a Friday that week, and Abib 14 – the day of the crucifixion – had to be
on a Thursday, not a Wednesday or a Friday! There is no disputing these facts – and the Jews plainly state
that in those days the months were determined by the sighting of the New Moon
crescent by confirmed, authorized witnesses who were posted to watch for
it.
Roger Rusk, Professor of Physics at the University of Tennessee, has also provided astronomical evidence that in A.D. 30 the New Moon crescent for the month of Nisan would make Nisan 14 occur on a Thursday. So reported Christianity Today, a well-known Christian magazine (March 24, 1974).
Jack Finegan in Handbook of
Biblical Chronology says absolute astronomical evidence proves the
crucifixion date could not have been on a Wednesday for the years A.D. 29 to
A.D. 33. He points out April 25 could
NOT have been a possible date in 31 A.D. because it would involve an extra
lunar month, and the barley would have been ready to begin harvesting much
sooner than April 25—over a month sooner.
Our conclusion, then, has to be that
both the Wednesday crucifixion theory and the Friday crucifixion theory are
wrong, disproved by this indisputable astronomical evidence! But the Thursday crucifixion fits perfectly
with both Biblical evidence and astronomical evidence!
Keeping this fact in mind,
therefore, let’s begin to trace the events of Jesus’ last seven days before His
crucifixion. We begin with Friday,
Nisan 8.
Nisan
8 -- Friday
"And the Jews' passover was nigh
at hand; and many went out of the country
up to Jerusalem before the
passover, to purify themselves" (John 11:55).
In order to partake of the Passover, if a person was
ritually "unclean" -- if they had touched a "dead body" or
corpse, for example -- they would have to be "purified," and go
through a cleansing ceremony according to the law of God (see Numbers
19:11-22). This purification ritual
lasted seven days and had to be done at the Temple, with a priest, and therefore
many Jews came up to Jerusalem a week before the Passover festival began.
This year, 30 A.D., the first holy
day, Nisan 15, fell on a Friday. This
fact is proved beyond question by modern astronomy. The New Moon conjunction of Nisan 1 that year fell on Wednesday
evening. The crescent of the New Moon
would not be seen until Thursday evening, making Friday to be Nisan 1. See our article “How Long Was Jesus in the Grave?”
for the incredible proof that Jesus was crucified on Thursday, Nisan 14.
The seven days' purification, then
would have to be accomplished by Nisan 14 in order to celebrate the Passover
seder (dinner) at the beginning of the 15th of Nisan, after the lambs were
slain on the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan.
"Now both the chief priests and the
Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if
any man knew where he were, he
should shew it, that they might take him" (John 11:57).
The Jewish religious leaders, the chief priests, who were mainly
Saducees, and the Pharisees, who controlled the religious observances of the
people, were very disturbed at the increasing popularity of Christ, since He
had raised Lazarus from the dead and had performed many miracles. They were plotting against Christ Himself
and were intent on arresting Him and having Him put to death (John 11:47-53).
Then Jesus six days before
the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was
which had been dead, whom he
raised from the dead. There they made
him a
supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the
table with
him.
"Then took Mary a pound of
ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the
feet of Jesus, and wiped his
feet with her hair: and the house was
filled with the odour
of the ointment . . ."
(John 12:1-3).
The Passover lambs were slain on Nisan 14. This supper at the home of Lazarus and his
two sisters, Mary and Martha, was "six days before" Passover -- or
Nisan 8, which was a Friday that year.
This was no doubt a very joyous and wonderful fellowship meal, and Mary
showed her great gratitude to Jesus and her love for Him, by anointing His feet
with expensive perfume. Lazarus, whom
He had resurrected from the dead, was there at the meal with them!
Meanwhile, many of the Jewish people
had learned that Jesus was visiting with Lazarus and his family, and wanted to
see the man who was raised from the dead and the One who had done it (John
12:9). The chief priests, because of
the notoriety of this miracle, consulted to put Lazarus to death, because many
people believed on Jesus due to him (John 12:10-11).
Nisan
9 – the Weekly Sabbath
"On the next day much people
that were come to the feast, when they heard that
Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet
him, and cried Hosanah: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in
the name of the
Lord. And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as
it is written, Fear
not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an
ass's colt" (John 12:12-14).
"And it came to pass, when
he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount
called the mount of Olives, he
sent two of his disciples, saying, Go ye into the village
over against you; in the which
at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet
never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither" (Luke
19:29-30).
On this entrance into Jerusalem, Jesus sat on a colt, the
offspring of an ass. Both accounts
concur. Mark makes this even
plainer. Notice!
"And when they came nigh to
Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount
of Olives, he sendeth forth two
of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go your way into
the village over against
you: and as soon as ye be entered into
it, ye shall find a colt
tied, whereon never man sat; loose him,
and bring him. . . . And they brought the colt
to Jesus, and cast their
garments on him; and he sat upon him.
And many spread their
garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees,
and strawed them in
the way. And they that went before, and they that
followed, cried, saying, Hosanna;
Blessed is he that cometh in the
name of the Lord . . . And Jesus entered into Jerusalem,
and into the temple: and when he had looked about on all things,
and now the eventide
was come, he went out unto
Bethany with the twelve.
Notice! This was
Sabbath, Nisan 9. Jesus entered the
city riding on a colt -- one animal -- and looked around at the Temple, and
then returned to Bethany. This was a
sort of "scouting" mission -- a preliminary trip into the city.
Nisan 10 – Sunday
The gospel account of Mark continues
the story thread:
"And on the morrow [Sunday], when
they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:
And seeing a fig tree afar off
having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing
thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but
leaves; for the time of figs was
not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man
eat fruit of thee henceforth for
ever. And his disciples heard it.
"And they come to Jerusalem
[His second entrance, obviously], and Jesus went into the
temple, and began to cast out
them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew
the tables of the moneychangers,
and the seats of them that sold doves; and would not
suffer that any man should carry
any vessel through the temple. . .
"And the scribes and chief priests
heard it, and sought how they might destroy him:
for they feared him, because all
the people were astonished at his doctrine.
"And when even
was come, he went out of the city" (Mark 11:12-16).
This was a very eventful Sunday entrance into the
city! This was Jesus' second entrance,
and this time He did more than just look around and observe. This time He took ACTION! The prices charged by the merchants were
abominably high and amounted to extortion -- a religious
"rip-off." Jesus chased the
money-changers and thieves out of the temple and denounced their wickedness.
The gospel account of Matthew tells
us more about this second entrance. We
read:
"And when they drew nigh unto
Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount
of Olives, then sent Jesus two
disciples, saying unto them, Go into the village over against
you, and straightway ye shall
find AN ASS TIED, AND A COLT WITH HER:
loose
THEM, and bring THEM unto me
. . . And this was done, that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken by the prophet,
saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh
unto thee, meek, and sitting
upon an ass, AND a colt the foal of an ass.
And the disciples
went, and did as Jesus commanded
them, and brought the ass, and the colt, and put on
THEM their clothes, and they sat him thereon"
(Matt.21:1-7).
Notice that when Christ entered Jerusalem on the Sabbath,
He rode upon a colt -- a single animal.
But this time, on Sunday, the next day, TWO ANIMALS were provided for
Him -- an ass AND its colt! These
Scriptures do not contradict each other.
They describe two separate and distinct entrances into the city! There is no contradiction -- rather, these
scriptures supplement each other, and together they paint an amazing picture of
what really happened!
This was Nisan 10. Nisan 10 was the real beginning of the
preparation for the Passover festival.
What happened on this day? In
the book of Exodus we read:
"This month [Nisan] shall be unto you
the beginning of months: it shall be
the first
month of the year to you. Speak ye unto the children of Israel,
saying, IN THE TENTH
DAY OF THIS MONTH they shall
taken to them every man A LAMB, according to the
house of their fathers, a lamb
for an house . . . Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male
of the first year: ye shall take
it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
And ye shall
KEEP it up until the FOURTEENTH
DAY of the same month: and the whole assembly
of the congregation shall kill
it in the evening" (Exodus 12:1-6).
In ancient Israel, preparation for Passover began on Nisan
10, with the selection of a Passover lamb for each household, which was then
kept up apart from the regular flock or herd for five days, until the
"evening" (afternoon portion) of Nisan 14th, at which time they were
to be slain. Take notice of how
remarkably Jesus Christ fulfilled this prophecy of the Passover lamb -- it was
on the 10th of Nisan, the first day of the week, in 30 A.D., when He rode into
Jerusalem, and was proclaimed by the masses of people as "King of the
Jews," "The Son of David," as "He who came in the name of
the Lord," as He entered the city!
In essence, they were accepting Him as their "Passover lamb"
and fulfilling this selection process commanded for the 10th day of Nisan! The first day of the week represents a NEW
BEGINNING! This entrance represented
Jesus’ SECOND COMING when He will usher in a “new beginning” for mankind – the
Kingdom of God!
Matthew goes on to show that on that
day He exerted His authority, and established Himself in the sight of the
people, for He took action and cast out those who bought and sold in the temple
and overthrew the tables of the money-changers and merchants (v.12), and healed
"the blind and the lame" that came to Him in the temple (v.13). This upset the chief priests very much, but
they felt powerless to do anything in broad daylight, before all the people who
were astonished at Him (v.15-16). After
this eventful, tumultuous day, we read:
"And he left them, and went out of
the city into Bethany: and he lodged
there"
(Matt.21:17).
Notice that during this time Jesus and the disciples were
lodging in Bethany, the village where Lazarus and his sisters dwelt. It is very likely that He and the disciples
abode with them, or nearby, during this period before the Passover, and each
morning He would return to Jerusalem.
Now we come to the next day . . .
Nisan
11 -- Monday
"And when even was come, he went out
of the city. And IN THE MORNING,
as they passed by, they saw the fig tree
dried up from the roots. And Peter
calling
to remembrance saith unto him,
Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst
is withered away. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have
faith in God. For
verily I say unto you, That
whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed,
and be thou cast into the sea;
and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that
those things which he saith
shall come to pass: he shall have
whatsoever he saith.
"Therefore I say unto you,
What things soever ye desire, believe that ye receive them,
and ye shall have them. . .
"And they come again to
Jerusalem: and as he was walking in
the temple, there come
to him the chief priests, and
the scribes, and the elders, And say unto him, By what
authority doest thou these
things? and who gave thee this
authority to do these things?"
(Mark 11:19-28).
On Monday, the second day of the week, the scribes and
priests and religious leaders were waiting for Him, seeking to entrap Him in
His words, and "ambushed" Him with carefully calculated questions to
challenge His authority. But in
response, His wisdom and understanding put them to silence, and He began
speaking in parables to the people, warning them of the wickedness of their
leaders (Mark 11:29-33; chapters 12-13).
Notice that as they approached the
city, Peter calls His attention to the fig tree which He had cursed the
previous morning. It was all withered
up and dead! Jesus used this example as
an illustration and lesson on the power of true "faith."
But Jesus gave them another lesson
on "faith" as they entered the city that morning. We read of a separate and different event
that occurred as they entered Jerusalem, in Matthew's account!
"And he left them, and went out of
the city into Bethany; and he lodged there.
NOW IN THE MORNING [Monday
morning] as he returned into the city, he
hungered. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he
came to it, and found nothing
thereon, but leaves only, and
said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward
for ever. And presently [immediately, in the Greek]
the fig tree withered away!
And when the disciples saw it,
they marveled, saying, How soon is the fig tree
withered away!
"Jesus answered and said
unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and
doubt not, ye shall not only do
this that is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall
say unto this mountain, Be thou
removed, and be thou cast into the sea, it shall be
done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye
shall receive"
(Matt.21:17-22).
Notice that this was a different fig tree. First of all, it was not outside of the
city, like the first one Christ cursed the previous day. He came upon this fig tree "as he
returned into the city" (v.18).
Also, this fig tree dried up "immediately" when he cursed
it! The Englishman's Greek Interlinear
translates the Greek word "immediately." The first fig tree dried up overnight, but
this one shriveled up as the disciples stood there watching it! What a double-lesson in FAITH!
Later that day, the second day of
the week, Nisan 11, as Jesus left the Temple, the disciples were very impressed
by the temple stones and magnificence.
Jesus told them not one stone would be left on top of another
(Matt.24:1-2) but the whole edifice they so admired would be completely
destroyed. Later, as they once again came
to the mount of Olives, the disciples, still puzzling over His remarks,
inquired, asking Him when these things would happen, and what would be the sign
of His coming and the end of the age (Matt.24:3). At this point "he sat upon the mount of Olives," once
again outside of Jerusalem. He spells
out for them the famous Mount Olivet prophecy in which He detailed the awesome
things which would occur at the end of this age, signaling His soon return.
Just as Jesus had entered Jerusalem
twice, with people shouting Hosanna in the highest, and just as He had cursed
the barren fig tree twice, so He was plainly telling them that He was coming
TWICE -- that He would come again (John 14:1-3). On the weekly Sabbath, the Messiah had
entered the city and "looked around." That was a type of His first coming. On Sunday He entered again, and began JUDGMENT by casting out the
evil-doers from the Temple. That is a
type of His Second Coming, when He will come to JUDGE the nations, and all
mankind, with FURY poured out! The
first fig tree that was cursed, withered away overnight -- the judgment
occurred over a period of time. The
second fig tree shriveled up immediately -- showing that at the Messiah's
second coming, judgment will be SWIFT and CERTAIN and there will be NO DELAY!
So now we come to Monday evening,
the beginning of Nisan 12. Notice the
story flow -- and be sure you understand the time sequence. We began the "last week" of Jesus
Christ on this earth with Friday, Nisan 8 -- and now we come to Monday night,
Nisan 12. Let's pick up the story once
again:
Nisan
12 -- Monday Night
"And it came to pass, when Jesus had
finished all these sayings, he said unto his
disciples, Ye know that AFTER
TWO DAYS is the feast of THE PASSOVER ,
and the Son of man is betrayed
to be crucified" (Matt.26:1-2).
"AFTER TWO DAYS was the
feast of THE PASSOVER, and of unleavened
bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take
him by
craft, and put him to
death. But they said, not on a feast
day, lest there be an
uproar of the people" (Mark
14:1-2).
"Now the feast of
unleavened bread drew night, which is called the passover" (Luke
22:1).
Notice that I highlighted the expression "the feast
of" as it is found in Matthew and Mark.
This expression, in italics in the King James Version, is supplied by
the translators and does not appear in the Greek originals at all! This was an incorrect assumption by the
translators. It was not the
"Feast" that was two days hence, but rather "the Passover"
-- that is, the day of Nisan 14, when the Passover was KILLED! This was the very day that Jesus Christ
would be crucified, as our Passover (I Cor.5:7). Thus the time sequence here shows that we have come to the
evening of Monday, and the beginning of Nisan 12 -- Monday night. What occurred at this time?
"Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in
the house of Simon the leper, there came unto
him a woman having an alabaster
box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his
head, as he sat at meat
[dinner]. But when his disciples saw
it, they had indignation,
saying, To what purpose is this
waste? For this ointment might have
been sold for much,
and given to the poor. When Jesus understood it, he said unto them,
Why trouble ye the
woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with
you; but me ye have not
always. For in that she hath poured
this ointment on my body, she
did it for my burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresover this
gospel shall be preached in
the whole world, there shall
also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial
of her" (Matt.26:6-13; see
also Mark 14:3-9).
"Then one of the twelve,
called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said unto
them, What will ye give me, and
I will deliver him unto you? And they
covenanted with
him for thirty pieces of
silver. And from that time he sought
opportunity to betray him"
(Matt.26:14-16).
It was now Monday evening.
Judas went out after the supper in the home of Simon the leper, and met
with the chief priests, who were Sadducees, and made an agreement to betray
Jesus to them for the equivalent of $150 dollars today -- the price of a slave
in those days. And so was fulfilled the
prophecy of Zechariah:
"And I said unto them, If ye think
good, give me my price; and if not, forbear.
So
they weighed for my price thirty
pieces of silver" (Zechariah 11:12).
Nisan 12 -- Tuesday
What was the next event to occur in the life of the
Messiah, the Lamb of God?
Here is where scholars, Bible
translators, and theologians, all become the most confused, befuddled, and
frustrated. Here is where grievous
misunderstanding of the text and of the sequence of events has led to massive
error and doctrinal confusion on the part of churches, Christians, and students
of the Scriptures. Scholars assume that
the accounts of Matthew, Mark and Luke -- called the "synoptic
gospels" -- differ from the gospel of John. Most theologians also ASSUME there is a problem in reconciling
the first three gospel accounts with John's account. This has led to many strange and puzzling theories and even wild
speculations, concerning the last days of Jesus, and the 'Lord's supper." Why all the confusion?
Let us proceed carefully,
step-by-step, and see if we can solve the problems that suddenly begin to
appear in the various accounts. Is the
problem in the texts? Or is the
problem in the minds of the men who study and interpret the texts?
Some scholars assume the
contradictions are real, and therefore prove the gospel accounts contradict and
therefore could not be divinely inspired.
Some theologians are hard pressed to find a
"reasonable" explanation for the assumed
"contradictions."
What IS the problem? Some believe the "last supper"
Jesus held with His disciples was the Biblical "Passover" and was
held at the beginning of Nisan 14, even though the Jews would not be
sacrificing the passover lambs until the following afternoon. The churches who teach this believe that the
Jews over the centuries somehow changed the passover from the
beginning to the end of Nisan 14. Other
churches admit that the Jews never changed the passover -- it was always held
at the end of Nisan 14. But they
believe that the "last supper" Jesus held with His disciples was at
the beginning of Nisan 14 and was "the New Testament passover." That is, they conclude that even though
Jesus NEVER SAID He was changing the date and time of the observance of the
passover seder or dinner, He did it anyway by instituting the bread and wine
ceremony at the "last supper"!
Therefore, they call this the "New Testament Passover," in
distinction from the "Old Testament Passover."