08- One Day after Passover
John 19:31
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- The 14th Day of Nissan month is the Passover
- The 15th Day of Nissan month – First day of the Unleavened Bread – Thursday And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.
Leviticus 23:1–4 (NKJV)
The Sabbath ‘Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings. The above verses clearly signify that there is a weekly Sabbath, to be set aside in honour of the Lord. Verse 3 makes it crystal clear that the seventh day is a holy convocation on which no work should be done.
However, these verses only mention about the regular weekly Sabbaths not the annual Sabbath or High Day. There are 7 annual Sabbaths: the first and seventh days of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah in Hebrew), Atonement (Yom Kippur), the first day of Tabernacles (Succoth), and the Last Great
Day. The first three occur in the spring, and the last four in the fall. The Lord set forth two Sabbath days each for the Feast of the Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Tabernacles.
Leviticus 23:6–8 tells us that both the first and seventh (last) days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread are a holy convocation and to do no servile work therein. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it. But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.’”(NKJV) Also read Exodus 12:14-16. So on 15th Day of the Nissan Month is the Feast of the Unleavened Bread and it is a Holy Convocation or High Day or annual Sabbath that comes once a year! Please note, the Passover is not a High Sabbath day, this important fact is often overlooked. Passover is NOT a Sabbath! “Why is that important?” It was on this day that Jesus did the work of redemption. Work would have been unlawful on a Sabbath day, so God ordained for this day to be a festival, remembering the lamb’s blood that caused the angel to “Passover” the Israelites in Egypt and pointing to the Lamb who would shed His blood for all mankind. One other important feast day is not a High Sabbath day – the Feast of First Fruits. Interestingly enough, this is the day of Jesus’ resurrection. Next day after the Sabbath after the Unleavened Bread is Feast of First Fruits (Leviticus 23:10).
So what happened following Jesus’ death?
(NKJV) Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. John makes it very clear that it was not a regular Sabbath!
John 19:42 (NKJV) So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby. As it was the preparation day, they cannot leave the body on the corss and hence buried Him in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.
Matthew 12:38–40 (NKJV)
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Jesus said three days and three nights. There is absolutely no way to have three days and three nights bewteen Friday and Sunday. See below keeping in mind that a typical Jewish day starts at sunset rather than midnight.
- Day 1 = Friday before Sunset
- Night 1 = Friday sunset to Saturday sunrise
- Day 2 = Saturday sunrise to Saturday sunset
- Night 2 = Saturday sunset to Sunday sunrise
- Day 3 = Sunday sunrise to Resurrection
Assuming that Jesus rose from the dead AFTER sunrise on Sunday, which is not stated as such in the Scriptures (the Scriptures merely state that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb right after sunrise), there still are only two nights. There is no way to get three nights in this scenario. To dogmatically choose this position of crucifixion on Friday and Resurrection on Sunday is to choose a position contrary to Jesus’
own prophecy.
Luke 23:53–54 (NKJV)
Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.
Mark 15:42 (NKJV)
Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath. Confusing with Mark’s above remarks that the day before the Sabbath has to be a Friday, Whereas it was a High Day(annual Sabbath), first day of the Unleavened bread hence people have got it wrong.
Matthew 27:62 (NKJV) On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate.