CHRIST OUR PASSOVER -- I CORINTHIANS 5:7-8

Refuting the Good Friday Crucifixion

and Easter Sunrise Resurrection Hersy

by Bob Allgood  

      The purpose of this Bible study is to show from the Scriptures that Jesus Christ, the true Passover Lamb. was sacrificed for the sins of God's chosen people and that this sacrifice was made on Wednesday the fourteenth of Nisan. Nisan is the first month of the Jewish year and compares to our April. It will also be shown that Jesus was in the grave three days and three nights as he testified he would be in Matthew 12:40. This is not necessary in order for the child of God to believe what Jesus said, but rather to provide help to the child of God in understanding the beauty of the "fulfilled" scriptures.

    At the same time, by using detailed Biblical facts, the study will refute the religious heresy that Jesus was crucified on "good Friday". It will become obvious that to "hold to" the "good Friday" crucifixion and Easter sunrise resurrection belief, is a violation of true worship, since they that worship God "must worship Him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24).

    The pagan festival of Easter (the worship of the goddess Ishtar, the goddess of fertility) was being observed prior to the time of Christ and has nothing to do with Christianity. * See Acts 12:1-4. The worship of the sun is called an abomination by God. * Refer to Ezekiel 8:15-16. "Good Friday" and "Easter" were made part of the Roman Church holidays under Emperor Constantine, about 325 AD, in his effort to induce pagans to become part of "Christianity"  without giving up their pagan practices.

   It is not the purpose of this study to "establish a special day" for worship, etc.. We are not to observe "days and months and times and years" (Galatians 4:10-11).

 I.    FIRST WE MUST LEARN HOW TO COUNT THE DAYS AND THE HOURS.

     A. DAYS START WITH NIGHTS -- Genesis 1:5, 1:8, 1:13 etc.

     B. COUNTING THE HOURS -- The word "hours" appears in the O.T. only in the book of Daniel. It seems that counting hours was a modern N.T. custom. The following illustrates the Jewish terms and how they are = to our terms.

      1. Night Hours - Even = 6 pm ;   Midnight = 12 am

              Cock-crowing = 6 am ;   Morning = 9 am -- ** Mark 13:35

      2. Day Hours: 3rd hour = 9 am ;  6th hour = 12 noon

                   9th hour = 3 pm ;  12th hour = 6 pm

                a. 6:01 pm would be the "evening of the new day".

       3. Night hours: 3rd hour = 9 pm ; 6th hour = 12 am / midnight

II. EXAMINE THE "FIRST" PASSOVER -- EXODUS 12:1- 17

            * Careful reading of this text FIRST is strongly suggested.

      A. The beginning of months - "first month" - v. 2

             1. Called "Abib" - Deut. 16:1  )  ** compares to our

             2. Called "Nisan" - Esther 3:7 )     month of April

      B. There was a preparation - v.3 - The lamb was to be selected on the tenth day

           and kept until the fourteenth day - v.6

It is obvious from the scriptures examined in the N.T. that "customs and traditions" had narrowed this time to the one day called the "preparation of the Passover" and that this day was the 14th or the Passover day.  ** Mark 14:12, Luke 22:7-8

     1. The entire "Feast" was called "the Passover". Luke 22:1

     C. CONSIDER HOW THE PASSOVER WAS A TYPE OF THE SACRIFICE OF CHRIST - OUR PASSOVER LAMB. v. 5-7, v. 13

    1. This was to be a perpetual memorial -- an "ordinance" for ever. -- v. 14  

             Cf I Corinthians 11:23-29

     D. THERE WAS TO BE A "SEVEN DAY FEAST" OF "UNLEAVENED  

       BREAD" AFTER THE PASSOVER LAMB WAS KILLED.  V. 15-17

     1.  Note - The first and seventh days of the feast were to be "Holy Convocations" 

      -- HIGH or HOLY DAYS, just  like SABBATH DAYS.       

              ** Exodus 12:16, Lev 23:4-8    ** Read carefully Leviticus 23:23 - 39

     THERE ARE MORE SABBATH DAYS THAN JUST THE SABBATH DAY OBSERVED ON THE SEVENTH DAY. Observation: The regular Sabbath comes every SEVENTH DAY but there was also to be a Sabbath on the 10th day          

             ** Lev. 23: 24, 27, 35-36, 38-39

 ** Observation: DURING A SEVEN DAY FEAST WITH TWO SPECIAL SABBATH DAYS, ONE ON THE FIFTEENTH DAY AND THE OTHER ON THE TWENTY FIRST DAY (AND THE FOURTEENTH DAY CAN NOT BE A REGULAR SABBATH DAY) THE REGULAR SEVENTH DAY SABBATH MUST OCCUR SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN.

 III. FOLLOWING HIS STEPS ON THE DAY OF CHRIST OUR PASSOVER.

  Step 1 - The Disciples   ask "Where to PREPARE THE PASSOVER "

                         Matt 26:17-19, Mark 14:12, Luke 22:7-8

  * This had to be during the day of the 13th of Nisan - the day prior to killing the Passover lamb at "even" on the 14th.

  Step 2 - THAT EVEN ( 6 pm or later ) Jesus sat down with his disciples to eat the

            Passover -- ** Matt 26:19-20  ** Mark 14:16-17   ** Luke 22:13-14

  ** This and the following events take place on the 14th of Nisan - the day the Passover was to be slain -- which we will find was on a Wednesday this particular year.

  Step 3 - Jesus institutes the "Lords Supper" after the regular meal, and as many 

                believe, AFTER JUDAS LEAVES TO BETRAY THE LORD.

                Read first -- John 13:1-4 , This is a summation of the details that follow.

                Read next --  John 13:18-32 -- following this Jesus will institute the

                           Lord's Supper, and afterward wash the feet of the disciples.

                  Read next -- Matt 26:25-29, Mark 14:18-25, Luke 22:15-38

                Note: After Judas departed (John 13:30) Jesus said to his disciples all

                          the beautiful things written in John 13:31 - 18:1.

  Step 3 - Jesus and the "eleven" disciples went to the Mount of Olives –

              Matt 26:30,   Mark 14:26,  Luke 22:39   John 18:1-3

  Step 4 - Jesus was arrested and taken before Caiaphas and later Pilate -- 

                John 18:12-14   18:28-32

   ** Note: It was early in the night, some of the Jews had not yet eaten the Passover,

        and did not want to be defiled by a "dead body" - **  John 18:28,   Num. 9:6

  Step 5 - Jesus is scourged, mocked, beaten for the rest of the night, up until about

        "the third hour" or 9 am   ** Matt 26:65-75  , Mark 14:62-72 , John 19:1-15

              **  In the meantime - Peter had denied the Lord three times after which the

                 Cock crowed -- about 6 am

    Step 6 - Jesus was nailed to the cross to be crucified about the third hour of the

               morning - 9 am --- Mark 15:25

    Step 7 - Jesus gave up his life about the ninth hour or 3 pm.

             ** Matt 27:45-46,  50,   Mark 15:34-38,  Luke 23:39-46

    Step 8 - Jesus was taken down from the cross prior to 6 pm or the start of the next

              day WHICH WAS TO BE A SPECIAL SABBATH = A HIGH DAY (Holy

              convocation). AND BURIED IN A NEW TOMB –

         First read     ** John 19:31 

         Next:   ** Matt 27:55-61,  Mark 15:42-47,   Luke 23:50-54

          ** Note That the women observed where Jesus was buried with the intent to

              return and anoint his body with spices. - Luke 23:55-56

 IV. THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS -- OR -- TWO SABBATHS AND

      ONE  FRIDAY ---  Matt. 12:38-40,  also  John 2:18-22

  ** Jesus had foretold of his resurrection from the grave, and the fact that he would

        be in the grave three days (and three nights) -- a period of about 72 hours.

  ** The following scriptures show that those three (3) days consisted of TWO

         SABBATHS AND A FRIDAY.    ** Please Follow carefully:

      A.   The Jews wanted Jesus taken down from the cross before 6 pm on the

           "Passover Day" - because the next day was a Sabbath day -- a high day

- a holy convocation. ** John 19:31 w/ Ex.  12:16 and Lev. 23:4-7

          1.  Jesus was buried in a nearby sepulcher because the start of the Sabbath

               "drew on" -- came closer.       ** John 19:41-42,  Luke 23:52-54

        B.  The women returned to prepare spices and ointments with which to anoint

             the body of Christ -- Luke 23:55-56

            1. THEY EVEN BOUGHT SOME SWEET SPICES - Mark 16:1

            2. They could not have "BOUGHT OR PREPARED" these spices on the

                Sabbath -- the first day of the feast, the fifteenth day of the first month,

                which was a holy convocation wherein no servile work was done.

                    ** Friday would have been the only day they could have done this.

        C.    Since they came to the sepulcher "very early in the  morning" – even while

               it was still dark -- ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK – we know that

               the Regular OR Seventh Day Sabbath preceded their  coming to the tomb.

                 **  John 20:1    ** Mark 16:1-2

            1.  Jesus had already risen prior to the “rising of the sun” - sometimes during

                  the night hours. Some believe shortly after 6 PM after the start of the

                  First Day of the week.

V. COUNTING BACKWARDS - the three days and three nights.

    ** Early on the first day of the week -- even while it was dark -- Jesus was not in

         the tomb -- HE HAD RISEN.

     3.  DAY THREE = SATURDAY, the regular seventh day Sabbath.

     2.  DAY TWO = FRIDAY, the women bought and prepared spices.

     1.  DAY ONE = THURSDAY, the First day of the Feast of unleavened bread, a

          High Day - A HOLY CONVOCATION -- A SABBATH DAY.

    ** JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED ON WEDNESDAY, THE FOURTEENTH DAY OF THE MONTH, AND WAS RAISED ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, PROBABLY RIGHT AFTER THE START OF THE DAY, AND CERTAINLY PRIOR TO THE MORNING SUNRISE.

PLEASE NOTE: Jesus was in Bethany "six days before the Passover" ** John 12:1 -- This would have been Thursday, the eighth day of the month. Bethany was neigh to Jerusalem, only about fifteen furlongs ( 1 furlong = about 1/8 mile) -- * John 11:18.  Jesus was in and out of Jerusalem several times during these six days, and those events can be charted to provide supporting evidence to the above study. I may at some future time add those details to this study.

   Comments and suggestions are welcome. No claim to perfection is made. If any error is found, or if any suggestion can be made on how to improve this study, please let me hear from you.

Elder Bob Allgood