A New Look at the Passover Question
When
Should the
PASSOVER
Be
Observed?
Never since the days of the
has the Passover been correctly observed
or understood!
Some make it into a Church service; some
observe it at the
beginning of Nisan 14; others at the end
of the 14th. What
what does the Bible say? When did
did Jesus Himself observe Passover? What did the scribes
and Pharisees, who sat in Moses' seat,
command? For
ALMOST TWO THOUSAND YEARS the truth has
been
buried under pagan superstition! What is the PLAIN TRUTH
about the Passover? When should it be observed? Here is
VITAL TRUTH you need to know!
WILLIAM F. DANKENBRING
The
Passover is one of the most important of all God's festivals -- yet
surprisingly there is more controversy and confusion over this holy festival of
God than any other! Why all the
confusion?
Some observe the Passover at the beginning of the 14th
of Nisan, some at the end of the 14th of Nisan; some make it into a
cold, austere religious Church service, with ministers officiating, and lock
the doors to keep out any who are late.
To some it is even more solemn an
occasion than the Day of Atonement!
Why such confusion and misunderstanding over the
Passover? In this article, you will
learn the truth about the Passover -- truth which has been buried and totally
lost for almost 2,000 years, but now revealed during these LAST DAYS for the
very first time! Surely God Almighty is
beginning to RESTORE His true knowledge during this end time! The true understanding of the Passover is
one of the KEY ESSENTIAL TRUTHS which
has been lost to the world and to the
Consider for a moment!
The Word of God says we are to first REPENT of sin (that is, put sin out
of our lives), and then “believe on Christ” and be baptized, and receive the
Holy Spirit. Peter was inspired to
write, "REPENT, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit” (Acts
But the Worldwide Church of God and others claim Passover
pictures “repentance” and the Feast of Unleavened Bread pictures putting “sin”
out of our lives. Yet, once they partake
of the Passover, the next day they go out and eat leavened products --
doughnuts, toast, pancakes, hamburgers, etc. -- AFTER they have partaken of
“Passover” picturing “repentance” of sin!
Does this make any sense? This
is backwards! God does not really cover
our sins with the blood of Christ, our Passover lamb, until AFTER WE REPENT OF
SIN, and and put “sin” -- typified by “leaven” -- OUT of our lives, and depart
from sin!
What, then, is the truth about the Passover? When should it be observed? Let us study the original instructions
concerning the Passover, and see if we can sort out this problem once and for
all.
The Old Testament Passover
In the book of Exodus we read, “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 . . . And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same
month: and the whole assembly of the
congregation of Israel shall KILL IT IN THE EVENING” (Exo.12:3-6).
The original Hebrew in this passage is ben ha arbayim and means, literally, “between the two
evenings.” Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee
Lexicon to the Old Testament tells us about this expression. It relates, “between the two evenings, Ex.
The big question is, then, what does this expression really
refer to? There has been controversy over this point for thousands of years. According to the opinion of the Karaites and
Samaritans, the expression refers to the time between sunset and deep twilight,
or dusk. ‘The Pharisees, however, and
the Rabbinists considered the TIME WHEN THE SUN BEGAN TO DESCEND to be called
the FIRST EVENING (Arabic ‘little evening’; ‘when it begins to draw towards
evening’; and the SECOND EVENING to be the REAL SUNSET” (Gesenius).
The question, then, is -- who is
right?
Before going further into this question, I would like to
point out two very important facts which we must keep uppermost in mind. First, who were the “Samaritans”? Since they
are the foremost ancient "authority" for the "dusk
theory" as the interpretation of this Hebrew expression, we ought to know
who they were. The Samaritans were a
NON-HEBREW, GENTILE people who were transported into the northern portion of
They were PAGANS!
They built their own temple at
The Jewish Holy Scriptures continues the account: “They worshiped the LORD, but they also
appointed from their own ranks priests of the shrines, who officiated for them
in the cult places. They worshiped the
LORD, WHILE SERVING THEIR OWN GODS according to the practices of the nations
from which they had been deported. TO
THIS DAY THEY FOLLOW THEIR FORMER PRACTICES.
They do not worship the LORD
[properly]. They do NOT follow the laws
and practices, the Teaching and Instruction that the LORD enjoined upon the
descendants of Jacob -- who was given the name Israel . . . . But they did NOT
obey; they continued their FORMER
practices. Those nations
worshiped the LORD, but they also served their idols. TO THIS DAY their children and their
children's children do as their ancestors did” (II Kings 17:33-41).
Notice! These
Samaritans were MIXED UP PAGANS!
They perverted, twisted, and distorted the truth of God into error. They tried to mix the worship of God with their
ancient PAGAN superstitions and practices.
They compromised the truth of God and amalgamated, merged, blended truth
with pagan superstition and error!
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ had an encounter with
these pagan Samaritans. Jesus said to a
woman of Samaria, descended from these pagan people, “Ye worship ye know not what: we [Jews] know what we worship: FOR SALVATION IS OF THE JEWS” (John
4:22). Thus the Holy Word of God,
clearly shows us we should NOT look to the SAMARITANS for religious teaching,
or practice! To do so would be a grave
error of the first magnitude!
The Teaching of the Pharisees
Now, point number two:
As Gesenius pointed out, the Pharisees and Rabbis of the Jews taught that
the phrase “between the two evenings” meant from the time the sun begins to
descend till final sunset. Josephus, a leading Pharisee and Jewish
general of the first century, and the greatest Jewish historian of ancient
times, wrote concerning this subject. In
his book Wars of the Jews, he declared:
“So these high priests, upon the coming of their feast which is called
the PASSOVER, WHEN THEY SLAY THEIR
SACRIFICES FROM THE NINTH HOUR TO THE ELEVENTH . . .” (Wars, Bk.VI, ix,
3).
Notice carefully! In
terms of Roman time, or today's Roman calendar, this means that the JEWS in
ancient times sacrificed the Passover from 3:00 PM in the afternoon until 5:00
PM -- obviously BEFORE
SUNSET! In the months of
March-April, when Passover occurs, sunset is about 6:00 PM or later!
Now consider carefully!
Since the Passover was sacrificed between 3-5 PM, BEFORE SUNSET, on
Nisan 14, IT HAD TO BE SACRIFICED AT THE
END OF NISAN 14, AS THE DAY WAS DRAWING TO A CLOSE! If it had been sacrificed between 3-5 PM just
before the BEGINNING of Nisan 14, it would have been sacrificed on NISAN
13! That, of course, is
preposterous! God did not command the
Passover to be killed on the 13th of Nisan
-- He said very plainly, “ye shall KEEP IT UP UNTIL THE FOURTEENTH DAY” -- and then “KILL IT IN
THE EVENING” (Exodus 12:6). To kill it
before the 14th of Nisan would have been contrary to the LAW!
What
could be plainer than that? But some say
it was to be killed right after sunset, when the 14th of Nisan
began. This interpretation has many
problems. Number one is, how do you kill
so many lambs within a short space of 45 minutes, between sunset and
nightfall? Number two is, how do you
roast the lamb, beginning at that time, and sit down to eat it before very,
very late, since lambs would require several HOURS to properly roast? If sunset were 6:30 PM, and you roasted the
lamb for 3-4 hours, you wouldn’t be ready to eat it until 9:30 to 10:30! Is that the time these various churches hold
their so-called “Passover” services? Of
course not!
The Pharisees were the religious teachers during the time of
Christ. They were the ones followed by
the whole nation of Judea in terms of religious practice. On this point of the proper time for
observing the Passover, there is no argument or disagreement between the
Pharisees and high priests. They were in
complete unity, so far as history relates.
Should we today follow the example set by the Pharisees, as
to the proper time for observing the Passover?
That is, the original Passover was slain in the latter part of the 14th,
but not eaten until the twilight or darkness of Nisan 15th. What did Jesus Himself say on this issue?
Jesus did not take issue with the teaching of the Pharisees
concerning the Torah, or Law, or the proper times for the holy days and
festivals of God to be observed. Rather,
He Himself,
with all the authority of
Heaven, declared: “The scribes and the
PHARISEES SIT IN MOSES’ SEAT: ALL THEREFORE WHATSOEVER THEY BID YOU OBSERVE, THAT
OBSERVE AND DO . . .” (Matt.23:2-3).
How crystal clear -- how plain! Since the Pharisees sat in MOSES’ SEAT, their
authority in teaching the laws and statutes and holy days of God was BINDING
UPON ALL THE CHURCH! They taught that
Passover should be observed at the closing or ending of the 14th of Nisan, not
at the beginning of the day! The
Passover was killed in the LATE AFTERNOON, AT THE VERY TIME JESUS CHRIST, OUR
PASSOVER LAMB, WAS SLAIN AND SHED HIS BLOOD FOR OUR SINS! Therefore, Jesus was a PERFECT ANTI-TYPE of
the original Passover lamb!
Imagine the scene, if you can. Just as Jesus Christ was pouring out His holy
blood for our sins, hanging on the tree, paying the penalty for our sins, as
our Passover Lamb of God, multiple thousands of Jews throughout Judea were also
slaying their Passover lambs! What a
perfect fulfillment! What a perfect
anti-type! What a marvelous picture! Jesus fulfilled the anti-type of the Passover
PERFECTLY! Josephus tells us that
during that time about 256,000 Passover lambs were being slain, one for every
ten people who were undefiled. Thus the
population in Judea was about 2,500,000 during the time of Jesus. All those Passover lambs pointed to HIM --
the true Passover Lamb of God!
Unger’s Bible Dictionary points out concerning the
Passover, “The daily evening sacrifice (Exod.29:38,39), usually killed at the
eighth hour and a half (i.e., 2:30 P.M.), and offered up at the ninth and a
half hour (i.e., 3:30 P.M.), was on this day killed at 1:30 and offered at 2:30 P.M., an hour earlier . .
.” (article, “Festivals,” p.354).
The New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible declares
concerning the Passover, “[Heb.pesah from pasah (to pass over, in
sense of sparing) . . . ] The 1st of the 3 annual festivals at which all the
men were required to appear at the sanctuary . . . known also as the Feast of
Unleavened Bread (Ex.23:15; Deut.16:16).
It was instituted in Egypt to commemorate the culminating event in the
redemption of the Israelites (Ex.12:1,14,42; 23:15; Deut.16:1,3). THAT NIGHT WAS TO BE MUCH OBSERVED UNTO THE
LORD, WHEN HE SMOTE ALL THE FIRSTBORN in the land of Egypt, but passed over the
houses of the Israelites where the blood had been sprinkled. . . .The festival
began on the 14th of Abib AT EVENING, THAT IS, IN THE BEGINNING OF THE 15TH
DAY, with the sacrificial meal (Lev.23:5-6).
A lamb or kid was SLAIN BETWEEN THE EVENINGS, THAT IS, TOWARD SUNSET
(Ex.12:6; Deut.16:6; cf. between the 9th and 11th hours” (article “Passover,”
p.705).
Other Biblical Evidence
After studying into this subject, I must confess I find it
incredibly difficult to believe anybody could claim, today, that the Passover
was slain and offered AFTER SUNSET, that is, at the beginning of the 14th of
Nisan or Abib. Certainly, everyone
admits that Jesus Christ, the true Passover Lamb of God, of whom the Passover
lamb was a forerunner or type, was slain at the END of the 14th of Nisan! There is no argument there. Then why do whole Churches believe that the
Passover itself was offered at the BEGINNING of the 14th of Nisan? The very idea boggles my mind. However, they have swallowed the teaching of
the Samaritans, those pagan idolaters who had their own competing temple at
Mount Gerazim in Samaria -- the Samaritans, whose Babylonian roots is clearly
revealed in the Bible!
Notice further evidence concerning the proper time for the
slaying of the Passover!
God told Moses, “But at the place which the LORD thy God
shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the PASSOVER AT
EVEN, AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN, at the season that thou camest forth out of
Egypt” (Deut.16:6). Notice! It was to be slain “at the going down of the
sun” -- that is, at the DESCENDING of the sun, or, to put it another way, “as
the sun goes down,” or “as the sun DESCENDS.”
This tense is equivalent to the present progressive tense in
English! It is not past tense, that is,
“after the sun goes down,” or “after sunset.”
It is, rather, AS THE SUN IS GOING DOWN, or descending in the western
sky, toward the horizon -- not AFTER it has GONE down!
This same expression is used elsewhere in the Old
Testament. “And when the sun was going
down . . .” (Gen.15:12). The Hebrew
Scriptures state: “AS THE SUN WAS ABOUT
TO SET . . .” Clearly, this expression
refers to the time BEFORE SUNSET,
not afterward!
“And afterward Joshua smote them (the Canaanite kings), and
slew them, and hanged them on five trees:
and they were hanging upon the trees UNTIL THE EVENING. And it came to pass at the TIME OF THE GOING
DOWN OF THE SUN, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the
trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great
stones in the cave’s mouth, which remain unto this very day” (Josh.10:26-27).
This event shows that the expression “going down of the sun”
refers to the time right up until sunset or sundown, but not after. The Israelites were commanded, in the law of
God, not to allow the dead bodies of criminals to hang on a tree at night. God told Moses, “If a man is guilty of a
capital offense and is put to death, and you impale him on a stake, you must
not let his corpse remain on the stake overnight, but must BURY HIM THE SAME
DAY” (Deut.21:22-23). Since each day
begins and ends at SUNSET, to bury such a criminal “THE SAME DAY” means he had
to be buried PRIOR TO SUNSET!
Thus, we read again of Joshua who slew the king of Ai. “And the king of Ai was impaled for a stake
UNTIL EVENING. AT SUNSET, Joshua had the
corpse taken down from the stake . . .” (Joshua 8:29)
This same expression is used in the Bible of the death of
king Ahab. As Ahab was fighting the
Syrians, he was struck by an arrow from a bowman and was sorely wounded. “And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot
against the Syrians, and DIED AT EVEN:
and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. And there went out a proclamation throughout
the host ABOUT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN, saying, Every man to his city, and
every man to his own country” (I Kings 22:35-36). The Hebrew Tanakh, or Holy Scriptures, has
this verse, “AS THE SUN WAS GOING DOWN.” Again, the reference is to the time
just prior to sunset or sundown, as the sun’s light begins to fade in the west.
The Evening Sacrifice
In the book of Numbers God gives instructions concerning the
daily sacrifices which were to be offered before Him. God commanded, “And thou shalt say unto them,
This is the offering made by fire unto the LORD; two lambs of the first year
without spot DAY BY DAY [Heb. ‘IN A DAY’], for a continual burnt offering. The one lamb shalt thou offer IN THE MORNING,
and the other lamb shalt thou offer AT EVEN [Heb. 'BETWEEN THE EVENINGS'] . .
.” (Num.28:3-4).
Notice carefully!
Both these offerings were to be offered DAILY, “day by day,” “IN A DAY”
-- that is, WITHIN THE SAME DAY! The
first one is the morning sacrifice, and the second one is the EVENING
sacrifice. In order for the evening
sacrifice to be offered the SAME DAY as the morning sacrifice, it had to be
offered BEFORE SUNSET! Otherwise it
would have been the NEXT day! What could
be clearer? Thus, the daily sacrifices
is another additional proof that “evening” or “between the evenings” has to
refer to the period of time BEFORE SUNSET, or LATE AFTERNOON BEFORE
SUNDOWN!
Now that we have thoroughly proved this vital point, let’s
continue the story of the Passover in Egypt, and understand the time sequence
of events which occurred during that fateful and awesome night. As we go, the story will become more and more
plain, even to those who have been confused in the past.
The Passover Saga
After slaying the Passover lamb, the children of Israel were
told to take the blood of the lamb and strike it over the two side posts and on
the upper door post of their houses. God
said, “And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and
unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it . . . And ye shall
let nothing of it remain until the morning . . . And thus shall ye eat it; with
your LOINS GIRDED, YOUR SHOES ON YOUR FEET, AND YOUR STAFF IN YOUR HAND; and ye
shall eat it in HASTE: it is the Lord’s
passover. For I will pass through the
land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of
Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute
judgment: I am the LORD.
“And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses
where ye are: and when I see the blood,
I will PASS OVER YOU, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when
I smite the land of Egypt.
“AND THIS DAY SHALL BE UNTO YOU FOR A MEMORIAL; and ye shall
KEEP IT A FEAST to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a
FEAST by an ordinance FOR EVER” (Exo.12:7-14).
Now notice carefully.
This day which is to be kept a Feast to the Lord forever -- what day or
event is God talking about in this passage of Scripture? Why, read it again! The context here is very clear; it can be
nothing else; God is plainly talking about the PASSOVER! The Passover is a MEMORIAL; it is a FEAST --
ordained FOREVER!
Why, then, do the Worldwide Church of God and others claim
the Passover is NOT a “Feast” day of God?
How can they say such a thing?
Where did they go astray? The
Word of God is explicitly clear. All
through this passage of Scripture, the context is the Passover celebration, the
eating of the lamb, the celebrating of God’s passing over the children of
Israel when He smites the Egyptians and their pagan gods! After discussing nothing else but this
magnificent “Passover” day, God says, “THIS DAY shall be unto you . . . a
FEAST” -- not some other day, or some other celebration (Exo.12:14). The Passover meal is eaten on a literal FEAST
day – the first Day of Unleavened Bread!
How plain! So it is both a Holy
Day and a Feast Day! The slaying of the
Passover, on Nisan 14, is merely preparatory to the great FEAST that begins
with the Passover meal that very night, as the 15th of Nisan – the
first Day of Unleavened Bread – begins!
For years I had trouble with this verse, as I read it,
wondering how in the world the Worldwide Church of God could say it does not
refer to the PASSOVER! What was their
problem? Simple: They put the Passover a night early, and
therefore they had to invent another separate feast, which they called “The
Night To Be Much Observed,” not realizing that the “night to be much observed”
was actually the PASSOVER itself! Of
course! It makes perfect sense! It was the Passover – that is why it
was the night to be much observed! It
celebrates their being SET FREE from bondage to the Egyptians!
The Passover was to be slain on the 14th, before
sunset. It was then to be eaten on the
15th, during the night (Exo.12:8), “in haste.”
It was commanded to be a FEAST -- a memorial forever! Although the 14th of Nisan itself was not a
“holy day,” the Passover feast was actually eaten on the “First Day of
Unleavened Bread,” at night, which is a HOLYDAY of God!
Notice! God
commanded, “And this day [the Passover] shall be unto you . . . a FEAST to the
Lord . . . ye shall keep it a FEAST by an ordinance forever. SEVEN DAYS SHALL YE EAT UNLEAVENED BREAD . .
. for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day,
that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
And in the first day shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh
day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done
in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you”
(Exo.12:14-16). This seven-day
observance began with the FEAST of the Passover meal itself!
The Passover itself, then, introduces the seven day festival
of the Passover, or unleavened bread. It
was actually a seven-day festival, not an eight day festival. The first part of the 14th of Nisan, prior to
the slaying of the lamb, was actually referred to by the Jews as the
“preparation of the Passover.” In
Matthew’s gospel we read that Joseph of Arimathaea came and took the body of
Jesus, “when the even was come” (Matt.27:57), laid it in his own new tomb, and
departed (v.60). This would have had to
be the evening of the 14th, beginning of the 15th. The we read, “Now the NEXT DAY [the morning
of the 15th], THAT FOLLOWED THE DAY OF THE PREPARATION, the chief priests and
Pharisees came . . .” (Matt.27:62). Now
since the “next day” had to be the daylight portion of the 15th of Nisan, and
since it “followed the day of the preparation,” this proves that the 14th of
Nisan was also known as the “day of the preparation,” or “the preparation of
the Passover”! The day of the
preparation was not the 13th; this verse proves it! Here, then, is further proof that the
Passover occurred at the END of the 14th, and not at its beginning!
Mark corroborates this fact.
We read in Mark, “And now when the even was come, BECAUSE IT WAS THE
PREPARATION, that is, the DAY BEFORE THE SABBATH [the annual Sabbath, or First
Day of Unleavened Bread) . . ." (Mark 15:42).
Luke further states, "And THAT DAY [the 14th] was the
PREPARATION, and the sabbath drew on” (Luke 23:54). Even more emphatic proof is found in the
gospel of John. Here we find in chapter
19 the details of Jesus’ appearance before Pilate on the daylight portion of
the 14th, in the morning. Pilate brought
Jesus to the place called the Pavement (John 19:13). “And it was THE PREPARATION OF THE PASSOVER .
. .” (verse 14)! This day, all admit,
was the 14th of Nisan. Yet Scripture
itself plainly calls it “THE PREPARATION of the Passover”! Why?
Because the Passover was not yet to be eaten, until that same
evening! And remember – this was some
time AFTER Jesus had finished His last meal with the disciples, proving once
again that His final meal with them was not the Passover!
What could be plainer?
In this same chapter, after Jesus was crucified, and died,
about 3:00 PM in the afternoon, we find, “The Jews therefore, BECAUSE IT WAS
THE PREPARATION, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the
sabbath day, (FOR THAT SABBATH WAS AN HIGH DAY,) besought Pilate that their
legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away” (John 19:31). Here again the 14th of Nisan is called the
“preparation,” because the following day, beginning at evening, was an ANNUAL
HOLY DAY -- an “High Day,” the day the Passover was to be eaten, the First Day
of Unleavened Bread!
Mark explains further, “And the first day of unleavened
bread, when they KILLED THE PASSOVER, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou
that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?” (Mark 14:12). The actual “first day of unleavened bread” is
Nisan 15. So what does this verse mean? The Scriptures cannot be broken (John
10:35). Actually, the term “first day”
here is protos hemera, and can be translated “beginning time” or “prior
period.” It is a reference to the time
before the Passover celebration itself – that is, the preparation period!
“First” here is number #4413 in Strong’s Concordance and means, “foremost, in
time, place, or importance – before, beginning, best, chief, first,
former.” The word hemera translated
“day” can refer to a “period of time,” such as “the day of the Lord,” “the day
of vengeance,” etc. Therefore this verse
is simply referring to the PERIOD OF TIME PRIOR TO THE PASSOVER, WHEN IT WAS
BEING PREPARED FOR – the time period during which it was prepared and finally
killed. This entire period was from the
10th of Nisan, when the Passover lambs were selected, until the 14th,
when they were killed (Exodus 12:3-6).
Now notice once again God's commandment! In Exodus we read, “In the first month, on
the fourteenth day of the month AT EVEN, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until
the one and twentieth day of the month, at even. SEVEN DAYS shall there be no leaven found in
your houses . . .” (Exo.12:18-19).
Here it should be as plain as day. The feast of unleavened bread was to last
exactly SEVEN DAYS, not eight days. It
was to continue through the evening of the 21st day of Nisan. Therefore, it was to begin the evening of the
14th of Nisan, or beginning of the 15th -- that is, at sunset at the end of the
14th! This verse plainly says unleavened
bread was to be eaten beginning the 14th of Nisan at evening till the 21st of
Nisan at evening -- and it says this period of time is “seven days.” If the evening of the 14th meant the
beginning of the 14th, as some suppose, then the correct number of days would
have to have been EIGHT, not seven! So
here again is proof the Passover occurred at the END of the 14th, and not its
beginning! It is a SEVEN DAY FESTIVAL,
not an eight day festival!
This “evening of the 14th”
of Nisan in Exodus 12:l8 has to be the same “evening” of the 14th of Nisan when
the lamb was to be slain (Exo.12:6).
Counting from that evening, there were to be SEVEN DAYS of unleavened
bread -- not eight!
The Saga Continues
After the Israelites struck the blood of the lamb over their
doorposts, they were commanded, “none of you shall go out at the door of his
house until the morning” (Exo.12:22).
They obeyed God. Later that
night, “And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn
in the land of Egypt . . . And Pharaoh ROSE UP IN THE NIGHT, he, and all his
servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a GREAT CRY in Egypt; for there
was not an house where there was not one dead.
“And he called for Moses and Aaron BY NIGHT, and said, RISE
UP, AND GET YOU FORTH FROM AMONG MY PEOPLE, both ye and the children of Israel;
and GO, serve the Lord, as ye have said,
and BE GONE [GET OUT!]; and bless me also.
“And the Egyptians were URGENT upon the people, that they
might send them out of the land IN HASTE; for they said, We be all dead
men. And the people took their dough
BEFORE IT WAS LEAVENED, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes
upon their shoulders” (Exo.12:29-34).
Now notice what happened!
That same Passover night the plague struck the Egyptians. At midnight they all arose, and found dead
people everywhere! Pharaoh and his
councilors were beside themselves with anger, trembling with fear, and they
were horror-struck. They immediately
sent for Moses and Aaron, and commanded them, begged them, beseeched them, to
take the children of Israel and GET OUT -- SCRAM! All the people were urgent upon them, urging
them to DEPART immediately! As an
enticement for them to leave, they gave them all their jewels and silver and
gold, and beautiful things (Exo.12:35-36).
Actually, they had begun doing this before the final plague (see
Exodus 11:2-3). But as an added
inducement for the Israelites to be cooperative, and to get out, before
more calamities occurred, the Egyptians gave them even more jewelry as they
were leaving!
Isn't it perfectly clear that all this happened the very
night of the Passover, and the very next morning, early? The Egyptians didn’t want the Israelites
hanging around any longer. They URGED
them to be ON THEIR WAY! They virtually
kicked them out the door!
The account goes on, “And the children of Israel journeyed
from Ramses to Succoth . . . And they baked UNLEAVENED cakes of the dough which
they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were
THRUST OUT OF EGYPT, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for
themselves any victual” (Exodus 12:37-39).
They were literally THROWN OUT of Egypt! They could not dilly dally, or drag their
heels. They were ON THEIR WAY, and
marched all the way from Ramses to Succoth that very day!
Two things you should notice here. First, the day they left Egypt was the very
next morning, early, after the horrendous PASSOVER NIGHT when the Egyptians
were destroyed! They did not spend a
whole day wandering around, packing, and getting “ready” to go -- they were ALREADY READY!
Remember, they ate of the Passover fully clothed, and with their staffs
in their hands, ready to depart (Exodus 12:11).
The next morning they did not wait around, or tarry; they were on their
way out of Egypt!
Now those who observe Passover at the beginning of the 14th
have a major problem here, because they have to conclude that the following day
was spent by the Israelites just moping around, and gathering jewels, and
getting organized and ready to go -- because that day would have been the
daylight portion of the 14th of Nisan -- yet Scripture plainly says, “And they
departed from Ramses in the first month, on the FIFTEENTH DAY of the
first month; ON THE MORROW AFTER THE PASSOVER the children of Israel went out
with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians” (Numbers 33:3).
Notice! They didn't
depart on the 14th, but on the 15th!
This was called the “morrow” after the Passover night! Remember, the Egyptians were URGENT upon the
people to get out, leave, vamoose, scram, high-tail it, to "beat
it!" They were afraid they might
all get killed (Exo.12:33). Yet, those
who observe Passover at the beginning of the 14th would have us believe that
the Israelites waited around another WHOLE DAY, just getting organized, and visiting
their Egyptian neighbors, saying their good-byes! Does that make any sense to you? Some claim that they spent this time
collecting the valuables of their Egyptian neighbors. But they had days and days to do this, as the
plagues of God descended! God had told
them to do this back before the last plague struck Egypt (Exo.11:2-3), telling
them to ask for jewelry from the Egyptians – and they did so, PRIOR to the last
plague, the Lord giving them grace and favor in the eyes of the Egyptians
(verse 3). So they had NO EXCUSE to just
“hang around” a whole day, after they were given their marching orders! Do you see?
Besides, they did not want to wait around, in case this unstable Pharaoh
once again changed his mind, as he had done so often!
Secondly, notice that when the Israelites left they were in
such a hurry that their dough did not even have time enough to become leavened,
from sitting out in the air. The yeast
did not even have time to work. If they
had sat around on their hands and knees for a whole day, there would have been
plenty of leaven in their dough by the following evening! As any modern cookbook will show, it only
requires bread dough with leaven from one to two hours to rise, and double in
bulk! But these two million or more Israelites
had NO LEAVEN AT ALL! Imagine the
pressure they must have been under to get moving and to get out! They did not have even an hour to spare!
When Did Israel Organize for Departure?
Some, in their haste to make apologies and excuses for their
erroneous beliefs, have said that the Israelites could not have begun moving
out of Egypt the following morning after the Passover (despite the plain verse
in Numbers 33:3 which plainly says they departed “on the MORROW after the
Passover”), because it would require all day for them to get ready, to marshal
together in one place, and to be put in ranks.
One writer said he discussed the logistics problems with a local army official,
who said it would of course require much time to organize such a large,
unwieldy group. Nonsense! These people simply don’t know what they are
talking about.
Let’s examine the facts!
The Israelites had been planning this exodus for many weeks. This was not a sudden, impromptu departure. God had announced to them at the beginning of
Nisan that they were to select their Passover lambs on the tenth day of the
month (Exodus 12:1-3). They had weeks to
prepare. It is not as if they were a
bunch of ill-equipped stumble-bums who didn’t know what was going to
occur. They were well prepared. Besides, Moses was a great leader.
The Jewish historian Josephus tells us much about the
intricate and detailed planning for the journey out of Egypt. He wrote in Antiquities of the Jews,
“But when God had signified, that with one more plague he would compel the
Egyptians to let the Hebrews go, he commanded Moses to tell the people that
they should have a sacrifice ready, AND THAT THEY SHOULD PREPARE THEMSELVES
on the tenth day of the month Xanthicus, against the fourteenth . . . and that
he should carry away the Hebrews with all they had. Accordingly, HE HAVING GOT THE HEBREWS
READY FOR THEIR DEPARTURE, AND HAVING SORTED THE PEOPLE INTO TRIBES,
HE KEPT THEM TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE [therefore, no gatherings were
required -- the people were already assembled together!]: but when the fourteenth day was come, and ALL
WERE READY TO DEPART, they offered the sacrifice . . . as just ready to depart”
(Antiquities, Bk.II, xiv,6).
Josephus continues, describing the scene: “. . . for the destruction of the firstborn
came upon the Egyptians that night, so that many of the Egyptians who lived
near the king’s palace persuaded pharaoh to let the Hebrews go. Accordingly he called for Moses, and bid them
be gone; as supposing, that if once the Hebrews were gone out of the country,
Egypt should be freed from its miseries.
They also honored the Hebrews with gifts; some in order to get them to
depart quickly, and others on account of their neighborhood, and the friendship
they had with them” (ibid.).
Josephus also points out that Moses had formerly been a top
general of the Pharaoh, a man well acquainted with the problems of logistics
and supplies for an entire army in the field.
He fought against the Ethiopians who were rampaging throughout
Egypt. In dire distress, Pharaoh turned
to Moses and appointed him general of the army of Egypt (Ant., II,x, l). Moses, with sagacity and brilliance, routed
the Ethiopians, striking them by surprise, and slaughtering a multitude. Thus, for anyone to think that Moses and the
children of Israel were ignorant shepherds, unable to organize themselves in
the time they had available, to march out of Egypt in ranks, is foolishness of
the highest order. Israel left Egypt “by
their armies” (Exo.12:51), “troop by troop,” as the Hebrew Scriptures declare.
The New Testament Passover
When did the Jews in the New Testament times observe the
Passover? And, more importantly, when
did Jesus Himself observe it?
It is very clear that the Jews observed it at the ending of
the 14th, when they killed the Passover lamb, and the beginning of the
15th. The time Jesus appeared before
Pilate, on the morning of the 14th, was still known as “the preparation of the
Passover” (John 19:14). Early that same
morning the high priests took Jesus from Caiaphas to the hall of judgment, to
see Pilate. They themselves, however, would
not go into the judgment hall, “lest they should be defiled; but that they
might EAT THE PASSOVER” (John 18:28).
It is clear that the year of the crucifixion Jesus and His
disciples ate a special meal before all the Jews, including the high
priests and Pharisees, ate the Passover.
The Jews still had not eaten of the Passover after they had apprehended
Jesus and brought Him to trial!
Many assume that Jesus referred to the final meal He had
with His disciples as the “Passover.” Actually, that is a matter of
dispute. How could it have been the
“Passover,” since the following day would still be the “preparation” of the
Passover? So in what sense was this
final meal a “Passover” since the traditional Passover would not be until some
days later? He plainly said to the
disciples, “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). So, what did He really
mean?
Why did Jesus that night, at supper with the disciples,
speak of “THIS Passover”? Was He
referring to that evening meal? Or was
He not referring to the upcoming Passover which He would be unable to
eat with them since He would be dead at that time? Notice precisely what He said! The word translated “desire” in this verse is
#1939 in Strong’s Concordance, the word epithumia, and means “a longing
(especially for what is forbidden).”
How natural! Jesus really wanted
to eat the regular Passover with them that year -- but it was “forbidden”! He would be unable to do so
because it was required that He die, and become our “Passover” lamb (I
Cor.5:7).
Notice, therefore, exactly what Jesus said! This particular “Passover” He could not eat
with them, because He would be sacrificed as our “Passover Lamb” at the very
same time the Jews would be killing their physical Passover lambs! That year, on Nisan 14, when the Jews would
be sacrificing their Passover lambs, He Himself would be sacrificed as our
Passover. As Paul wrote, “For even Christ OUR PASSOVER is sacrificed for us” (I
Cor.5:7). The following evening, when
everybody else would be partaking of the Passover lamb, at the beginning of
Nisan 15, Jesus would be in His tomb, dead.
Obviously, He would not be able to partake of the normal Passover with
His disciples at that time! Therefore,
He deliberately arranged to eat this final meal with them “before” He
suffered -- that is, before the regular Passover!!
This was an arrangement done to give them special parting
instructions. It was not the
Passover. Since He could not keep the
regular Passover with them, as commanded, at the END of the 14th and beginning
of the 15th of Nisan, He made special arrangements to have a final,
“going-away,” dinner -- a “Passover-like” dinner, in some respects -- with them
that final night before His arrest, incarceration, judgment, and His
crucifixion! What could be more natural?
It was not “the” Passover, always
held on Nisan 15. The date and time for
that can never be changed. It is
ETERNAL! Rather, it was a
“pre-Passover” going away meal, which, because it was linked with His
crucifixion, seemed LIKE a Passover in some respects! This final meal itself, however, was NOT “the
Passover.” If it had been, then the apostle
John would have described it as such, when he spoke of it in John 13. But he did not. Rather, he plainly said it was simply a
“supper” or “dinner” (John 13:2, 4). He
plainly said this dinner was eaten “BEFORE the feast of the Passover”
(John 13:1).
Let’s understand the timing, here. This final meal occurred on the evening,
beginning portion, of Nisan 13. He was arrested that very night and taken into
captivity. The next morning, still Nisan
13, he appeared before Pilate, then Herod, and finally again before Pilate,
when He was judged and condemned “about the sixth hour” (John 19:14). The “sixth hour” in Jewish terminology meant
“twelve o’clock noon.” See our article,
“Just What Do You Mean, ‘The Sixth Hour’?”
After being condemned, Jesus was flogged, scourged, and
beaten, and thrown into the dungeon where He was left until the following
morning, Nisan 14, bright and early, when He was led up to the spot of the
crucifixion, on the Mount of Olives, overlooking the Temple, where the Red
Heifer sacrifices were wont to be made.
There He was nailed to the stake at “the third hour” of the day -- nine
AM in the morning (Mark 15:25). This
means the final supper Jesus had with His disciples occurred TWO nights before
the regular Passover seder, which would be observed throughout Jerusalem on the
night of Nisan 15, after all the lambs had been sacrificed and roasted. What could be clearer?
Therefore, this final meal -- similar to the traditional
Passover in certain respects -- was a special, unique, final “going away” meal
-- which many have referred to as “the Lord’s Supper.” It was like a normal Passover in some
respects, but it was different in other respects -- it was actually two nights BEFORE the
actual Passover, there was no “lamb” eaten with it, as the Passover lambs would
not be killed at the Temple till the afternoon of Nisan 14, as the Law
prescribed (Exo.12:6). The bread eaten
at it was regular leavened bread -- artos in the Greek language, which
simply means a “loaf” of bread, or “raised bread.” The word used for “unleavened bread”
everywhere in the New Testament is azumos.
But here the word is just the common word for “bread” which has
leavening (see Matt.4:4; John 6:48; and esp. Matt.16:6-7, 12)!
However, since Jesus knew He would be dead at the time of
the traditional Passover meal, this particular year, He chose to hold a
special, unique “going away” dinner with His disciples the last available night
He had with them before the regular Passover that year. At this meal, or supper, He introduced the
new symbols of bread representing His body and wine representing His
blood. What was this all about, and how
did it relate to the Passover?
What
Is the Real Meaning of the "Bread and Wine" Ceremony?
Jesus used this final meal, held at the
beginning of Nisan 14, as an “introduction” to the Passover Feast. The whole Feast was called “the Passover”
(Luke 22:1). Therefore, this meal, as
being part of the “Passover preparation” this one year, was very special. It was unique. And Jesus used it to impart to His disciples
instructions regarding a ceremony which very few have really understood -- the
ceremony about the “bread and wine.”
Let’s notice!
The apostle Paul declared to the Corinthian church, “When ye
come together therefore into one place, this is NOT to eat the Lord’s supper”
(I Cor.11:20). The margin has the
original Greek as saying, “Ye cannot eat the Lord’s supper.” In other words, Paul is telling them that
when they gather for a special service, IT IS NOT TO CELEBRATE some new ritual
called “the Lord’s supper”! That is not
the way it is to be done! He admonishes
them, “For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another drunken. WHAT?
HAVE YE NOT HOUSES TO EAT AND TO DRINK IT? Or despise ye the Church of
God, and shame them that have not? What
shall I say to you? shall I praise you
in this? I praise you NOT” (I
Cor.11:21-22). Clearly, Paul is telling
them here that they should be eating their dinners IN THEIR OWN HOUSES,
and not coming together in a Church service to observe a “Lord’s supper”!
Paul then goes on to explain the basic, overall instructions
Jesus gave to His disciples for observing the “bread and wine” ceremony that
Jesus revealed to His disciples on the very night He was betrayed. Paul writes, “For I have received of the Lord
that which I also delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in
which he was betrayed took bread:
and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat; this is
my body, which IS broken for you: this
do in REMEMBRANCE of me [in the Greek, “for a remembrance”]. After the same manner also he took the cup,
when he had supped, saying, This cup is the NEW TESTAMENT in my blood [a
testament, remember, is only in effect after the DEATH of the testator -- see
Hebrews 9:15-17]: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, IN REMEMBRANCE OF
ME. For as often as ye eat this
bread, and drink this cup, ye do SHEW THE LORD’S DEATH till he come” (I
Cor.11:23-26).
As we have seen earlier, this “bread” was artos, raised
or leavened bread, the kind you can dip as a “sop” (John 13:26-27). The Jews of Christ’s time did not begin
eating “unleavened bread,” called azumos in the Greek language, until
the beginning of the Feast, on Nisan 15.
To eat unleavened bread before the Feast of Unleavened Bread
would have detracted from the rich meaning and symbolism of the Feast.
This special ceremony of the bread and wine was commonly
observed by the Jews. It was a tradition
that went back as far as the time of Abraham and Melchisedek (Gen.14:18). They,
of course, never connected it with the body and blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb
of God! The night before His
crucifixion, Jesus gave NEW MEANING to these familiar items and this
customary observance! It was
commonly called the Kiddush!
Paul says this ceremony was to be done “as often as” -- in
other words, OFTEN, throughout the year!
This was not instituted as an ANNUAL observance, which would be added
to the Passover, but as a SPECIAL OBSERVANCE to be celebrated OFTEN throughout
the year! The “Kiddush” itself has
nothing to do with the Passover -- no direct connection -- it is a ceremony
which ought to be performed by God’s people “OFTEN” through the year! Write for our special article, “Are We Neglecting
the Sacred Fellowship Meal?” It will
explain the truth of this observance thoroughly for you.
A New Look at the Passover