For those of you that pay attention to the Jewish religious calendar, the 14th of Nisan begins today at sundown. Tomorrow is the preparation day for the Passover, and, at sundown tomorrow, the Passover meal will be celebrated. Exodus 12:5-6 says,
“Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.”
From sundown today until sundown tomorrow, think of everything that Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, went through in order to atone for our sins. Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was mocked and beaten before the High Priest and religious leaders. He was put on trial before the Roman Governor Pilate. He was abused by Roman soldiers. He was ridiculed by His own people. All of this happened in less than 24 hours. The Four Gospels, give us a timeline for the events of the 14th of Nisan in the year of our Lord’s Passion.
John 19:14 states, “Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, ‘Behold your King!’” Given the details provided by the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark & Luke) and discussed below, it is unlikely that John is using the term “sixth hour” in keeping with the Jewish chronology of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Rather than using Jewish chronology, John seems to be using the term in the Roman sense, that is, at 6:00 AM Jesus was condemned to die.
Mark 15 indicates that our Lord was crucified at 9:00 AM which was the third hour of the day. Mark 15:22-25 says,
“And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it. And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take. Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.”
Darkness set in at noon and remained until 3:00 PM. We recently experienced an eclipse, and some people asked me if I thought that was what happened at the crucifixion. An eclipse only lasts for a few minutes. What happened at the crucifixion was supernatural. It lasted for three hours.
Matthew 27:45 - “Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.”
Mark 15:33 - “Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.”
Luke 23:44 - “Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.”
The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark & Luke) tell us Jesus died about 3:00 PM, which was the 9th hour of the day.
Matthew 27:46 - “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’”
Mark 15:34 - “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which is translated, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’”
Luke 23:44-46 - “Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, ‘Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ Having said this, He breathed His last.”
Remember, all of this happened on one day… the 14th of Nisan… the day of Passover. Here’s a recap:
At sundown, the beginning of the 14th, Jesus celebrates the Last Supper.
Jesus is arrested in the night and endures numerous trials.
At 6:00 AM Jesus is condemned to die.
At 9:00 AM Jesus is crucified.
At noon the sun goes dark for roughly three hours.
At 3:00 PM Jesus dies - the earth quakes & the veil of the temple is torn.
Jesus is buried by sundown to maintain Sabbath regulations (crazy that the Jews were worried about keeping Sabbath rituals while they were killing the Son of God).
As you reflect on this timeline today and tomorrow, may the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 bless you with a fresh understanding of the Scriptures.
“Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
God before government,
Rit