Crucifixion Week and the Harmony of the Gospels - Section II Paras 11-16
Section II
Paragraphs 11 through 16
THE DAY OF PASSOVER
11.a. In section I (paragraph 1a) above, we made the claim that we could identify the correct chronological placement of four important days in crucifixion week. Thus far we have covered the day in which the Last Supper was eaten, crucifixion day, and resurrection day. We will now look at the four gospels and the biblical teaching on two key parallel passages that explain the placement of the day of Passover within the week.
11.b. In a previous section labeled as THE DAY OF THE CRUCIFIXION IS PREPARATION DAY FOR PASSOVER, NOT THE DAY OF PASSOVER, a few passages were used that showed that the crucifixion occurred on Thursday the last day of preparation, and Passover was on Friday. I have listed those Scriptures here again from above for our convenience.
Mark 15:42-43 KJV, "42 And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of [Yahoshua]."
Luke 23:53-54 KJV, "53 And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. 54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.”
John 19:14 KJV, "And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!"
John 19:31 KJV, "The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the [stakes] on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away."
11.c. In the first of these two following passages of Scriptures we will explore Yahoshua's declaration that after two days is the Passover and His declaration that He will be crucified. In the second of these two passages that follow we will explore the instructions given to the disciples to find a place to prepare for the Passover. It just so happens that both of these sets of passages occur on the same day, Wednesday Abib 12. And it is not until we read the gospel of John that it all comes together in an understandable manner. However, do not take any short cuts. Please read the first three gospel accounts first, then read John.
12. Matthew 26:2 KJV, "Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified." Here is the meaning of "after two days". The first day is the day that is currently at hand and since we know that Passover is always Friday Abib 14 (see our teaching Calendar of Scripture), the current day is Wednesday Abib 12. The second day is Thursday Abib 13. After two days is therefore Friday Abib 14, which is Passover. Parallel passages are Mark 14:1-2, Luke 22:1, and John 13:1.
This story that was begun in Matthew 26:1-2 has a chronological break, but the story continues again starting in verse 17. From that point on it becomes obvious that this is the day of the Last Supper. The chronological break tells a story that occurred four days earlier on Saturday Abib 8 at Simon the Leper's house when Yahoshua was anointed with spikenard.
13. Mark 14:1-2 KJV, "1 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. 2 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people." Mark chooses to mention not only the upcoming Passover which is written as “the feast of the passover”, but also the Feast of Unleavened Bread that comes the day after Passover which is written as “unleavened bread”. This passage shows that the chief priests and scribes did not want Yahoshua the Christ to be put to death on the day of Passover which is referred to in verse two as “the feast day”.
The same chronological break that was in Matthew is also here in Mark 14. This chronological break tells a story that occurred four days earlier on Saturday Abib 8 at Simon the Leper's house when Yahoshua was anointed with spikenard. John 12:1 KJV, “Then [Yahoshua] six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.” Six days prior to Passover on the 14th was Abib 8.
14. Luke 22:1 KJV, "Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover." Luke does not mention the Feast of Unleavened Bread, just as Matthew did not. Luke concentrates on the single day of Passover.
The chronological break in Luke is not the same story that was told in Matthew and Mark that occurred at Simon the Leper's house. Instead, a story is told of Judas Iscariot with Satan entering him. This event did not occur until after the Last Supper had begun.
15. John 13:1 KJV, "Now before the feast of the passover, when [Yahoshua] knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." John begins his telling of the story with the emphasis on Yahoshua departing out of this world. He does mention that the Passover is in the future. But there are no out of order chronological breaks in John as there were in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
16.a. The story that began in Matthew 26:2 shows that Yahoshua and His disciples separated for a time on that day, but then the disciples returned on that same day with a question. Matthew 26:17 KJV, "Now the first (Strong's G4413 protos πρωτη) day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to [Yahoshua], saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?" The italicized words are not in the Textus Receptus and have been provided by the translators to clarify the meaning of this passage. These words are day and feast of. The word bread is not in the Textus Receptus either and should have been italicized. The danger of inserting words into the text that are not in the original document - in this case the Textus Receptus - is that this is when the translators have the greatest tendency to interpret the text rather than providing a pure translation. For a translator to become an interpreter is the greatest scholarly offense that can possibly be committed: A translator blundering into interpreting destroys his credibility as an unbiased translator. This is exactly what the King James translators have done. They have interpreted this verse and given us a totally corrupt translation. Parallel passages are Mark 14:12, Luke 22:7, and John 13:1-2.
16.b. Without the four manufactured and unnecessary words the meaning of the passage is not only quite different, but the meaning has completely reversed. Please remember that which we mentioned in section I (paragraph 3a), the Bible teaches that there are two separate and different feasts referred to as unleavened: Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Furthermore, we must determine from the context which of the two unleavens is being spoken of. The King James translators have blurred our ability to make a correct determination by adding the words feasts of prior to the word unleavened. And they have completed the corruption of this verse by adding the word bread after the word unleavened. We are being told by these translators, turned interpreters, that Matthew 26:17 is speaking to the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This is not true. In fact, now the verse contradicts itself because near the end of the verse the word "Passover" is used, which identifies that it is really the day of Passover that is being addressed, not the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
16.c. Here is what the verse says without the added words: "Now the first of the unleavened the disciples came to [Yahoshua], saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?" With this correct wording from the Textus Receptus we can discern that the unleavened being addressed in this verse is the day of Passover, and we can see that this verse no longer contradicts itself.
16.d. Let us look at Matthew 26:17 in some other translations. Biblegateway.com, at the time of this writing, had 46 translations available. Twenty-four of these translations have corrupted this verse, twenty-two have not corrupted this verse. I have an additional translation that has not corrupted this verse either, which brings the count up to twenty-three. So, the count is 24 corrupted and 23 uncorrupted. But, of course, our doctrine is not determined by counting noses. I felt it was important to point out that translators turned interpreters of this verse are in a tug of war with the truth at your expense.
16.e. The casual reader of this Scripture needs to understand that preparing the Passover is nothing like mom saying, "Hey, Billie Boy would you like a peanut butter sandwich for lunch." And to suggest that the Passover Feast is that simple is to invite ridicule. How many days does mom take to prepare Thanksgiving dinner? You better believe it is not a single day. She has to plan, shop, prepare, cook, and so on. Imagine if she had to find a house to rent as well, in order to prepare and serve this big momentous celebration. Do you really think the disciples were asking their question and expecting to fulfill all the preparations in one afternoon? If you do, then stop it! Get out of the box*. Do not think like that any more!
*Note. Interestingly, under the unction of the Holy Ghost, I started the box thing over twenty-five years ago, around 1985-6. It was strange to see it starting to make the mainstream circa 2005. It’s in commercials, it’s on the news, it’s in the workplace and marketplace. It was originally employed as a witnessing example. It originally was used to help people be set free to come to know the one true God and His Son that sacrificed His Blood and Life so that man could be reconciled to Him. Now it is used by the secular world to sell tacos.
16.f. In Matthew 26:17, the word first (Strong's G4413 protos πρωτη) in Greek is prota. The translators added the word day after the word first. Just what is the meaning of "Now the first of the unleavened"? This is an extremely important phrase and discerning its meaning removes the confusion about which day of crucifixion week is being spoken of. Passover is only one day (please ask for our teaching Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread). How can there be a first when Passover is an only? As we showed above in Exodus 12:3, there is more than one day involved in the preparation of Passover. In fact, the Greek word protos translated into the English word first means the first day in a series of days, it does not mean a single day. Therefore, “Now the first of the unleavened” means the first day in a series of days leading up to the day of Passover. In other words, this day, that this phrase was written, was absolutely not the day of Passover, it was several days prior to the day of Passover.
16.g. Therefore, it follows that this means that the Passover Feast which the disciples were instructed to prepare was not the very day in which this phrase was written. In other words, the disciples received their instructions to prepare the Passover Feast several days prior or before the actual day of Passover. In no manner, shape, or form was Yahoshua expecting His disciples to accomplish the preparation and produce the Passover in one afternoon. Besides, a lamb would need to be sacrificed at the Temple that afternoon and the roasting begun in order for it to be ready to eat at the feast which would begin after sundown. Deuteronomy 16:5-6 KJV, "5 Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which [Yahowah] thy God giveth thee: 6 But at the place which [Yahowah] 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." Do you really think that the priests would accommodate Yahoshua and sacrifice a Passover lamb for them in the Temple two days prior to Passover contrary to the law? They were busy plotting to kill Yahoshua, they certainly were not going to sacrifice a lamb for Him. There is no indication that any lamb was involved at all. And of course there would not be. Because, our Lord and Savior would be the Passover Lamb this year. And He knew this even though no one else did at the time. By tomorrow afternoon, no substitutionary Passover lamb would ever be needed or accepted by God again for the remainder of history.
16.h. Now that it has been shown that Matthew 26:17 does not say that the Passover will be sacrificed and the Passover Feast eaten on the day the disciples received the instructions to prepare the Passover, I will add some additional information. Protos can also be translated as before or preceding. If we were to replace the word first in this Scripture and substitute the word before or preceding then the Scripture would read as, "Now before (or preceding) the unleavened the disciples came to [Yahoshua], saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?" This rendering agrees with John 13:1-2. This rendering also makes it clear that the preparing of the Passover was not going to be completed that very day - the day the disciples received their instructions.
16.i. With the proper understanding of Matthew 26:17 now stated, the understanding of Matthew 26:18-19 is possible. Matthew 26:18-19 KJV, "18 And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep (Strong's G4160 poieo ποιω) the passover at thy house with my disciples. 19 And the disciples did as [Yahoshua] had appointed them; and they made ready the passover." Once again, this does not mean that the Passover preparations were completed that very day. We know that Passover is two days away, and that a couple of days were available for them to complete the preparations. Also, poieo translated as keep is not the best translation for our century. Since we know that Yahoshua will not actually keep the Passover this year, the better word to have used would be make or prepare; and some translations do use these words instead of keep.
16.j. With the proper understanding of Matthew 26:17-19, we can now continue with Matthew 26:20 KJV, "Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve." This is the same day that the disciples began preparations for Passover and now it was night. We know it was night because "even was come" is a time marker that shows us that the sun had set. They all sat down to eat the Last Supper on Wednesday Abib 12. Therefore, the following day was the last preparation day and crucifixion day on Thursday Abib 13, and the next day after that was Passover on Friday Abib 14. Please read the rest of chapter 26 to satisfy yourself that this was indeed the Last Supper. If this was the day of Passover, then a lamb would have been required to be sacrificed sometime between noon and sundown and the roasting of this lamb would have had to begun. You cannot have a Passover Feast without first having a Passover sacrifice. There is no evidence that a Passover lamb was sacrificed and prepared that afternoon; however, there is evidence that there would be sacrifices two days later.
John 18:28 KJV "Then led they [Yahoshua] from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover." If Yahoshua had eaten the Passover Feast the night before, then there would be no Passover Feast for the Pharisees to eat in the future. Everyone, by law, eats the Passover at the same time. There is no allowance for some to eat it one night and some Jews to eat it the next day. The Last Supper was not the Passover Feast, therefore, the eating of it was still in the future.
The Jewish leadership did not enter into the judgment hall because they would be put at risk for being in the presence of a dead body and this would make them unclean, therefore, making them ineligible for partaking of the Passover feast two days hence. See Numbers 19, and 31:19-24, particularly Numbers 19:14 KJV, “This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.”
John 19:31 KJV, "The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the [stakes] on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away."
16.k. Besides, the focus of Passover is not the feast. The focus of Passover is the sacrifice. How can the story resume with them sitting down to a feast and the whole ceremony of the sacrifice is not even addressed at all? It was not addressed, because it was not due until Friday Abib 14 and it was still Wednesday Abib 12.