Passover For Christians

[Filippus]

Point taken. I should have kept it short.


“Somewhere in history, people started keeping Pesach at the beginning of the 15th. Their excuse is "It's the 14th, going into the 15th". In other words, they keep Pesach on the 15th instead of the 14th.”

I also started with this understanding, but is it possible that people started keeping the Pesach at the beginning of the 15th day in Exodus?

This requires that you acknowledge that the Biblical day starts in the evening or twilight. Alternatively, there will be a contradiction between Scripture, but not everybody is prepared to accept this.

Ex 12: 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.

At twilight meant they ate the Passover that night, which meant it fell on the start of the 15th. This is further emphasised in verse 8.


Ex 12:8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.

The Passover lamb was eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, which confirms that the Pesach was eaten on the first day of unleavened bread.

When did unleavened bread start?

Lev 23:6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.

Numbers 28:17 and on the fifteenth day of this month is a feast. Seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten.

Numbers 33:3 They set out from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the day after the Passover, the people of Israel went out triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians,

This is also supported by historical evidence from Josephus.

Antiquities 2.14.6 311-317 (Exodus 11-12)

The Origin of Passover

When God revealed that with one more plague, he would compel the Egyptians to let the Hebrews go, he commanded Moses to tell the people they should have a sacrifice ready and should prepare themselves on the tenth day of the month Xanthicus in readiness for the fourteenth (this is the month that is called Pharmuthi by the Egyptians, and Nisan by the Hebrews, but the Macedonians call it Xanthicus), and he should then lead away the Hebrews with all they had. He accordingly prepared the Hebrews for their departure and, having arranged them into companies, departure and, having arranged them into companies, gathered them together in one place; and when the fourteenth day came and all were ready to depart they offered the sacrifice and purified their houses with blood, using bunches of hyssops to apply it; and when they had eaten, they burnt the remainder of the meat as would people ready to set off on a journey.

Antiquities 3.10.5 248-251 (Lev. 23)

The Law on the Celebration of the Passover

Josephus relates the laws of celebration specified in Leviticus. Details of the celebration. The Passover sacrifice is on the 14th of the first month of the year, Nisan, "when the sun is in Aries," and is celebrated "in companies, leaving nothing of what we sacrifice to the following day." The Feast of Unleavened Bread starts on the fifteenth of Nisan and Unleavened Bread starts on the fifteenth of Nisan and lasts for seven days;

Ant. 11.4.8 109-112 (Ezra 6:22; 1 Esdras 7:14)

The First Passover in the Second Temple (c. 515 BCE)

The construction of the [Second] Temple was with great diligence completed as prophesied by Haggai and Zechariah, according to God's commands and by order of the kings Cyrus and Darius…

As the Feast of Unleavened Bread was at hand, it being the first month, which the Macedonians call Xanthicus but we call Nisan, all the people streamed out of the villages to the city to celebrate the festival in a state of purity with their wives and their children, according to the law of the fathers. They offered according to the law of the fathers. They offered the sacrifice which was called the Passover, on the fourteenth day of the same month, and then feasted seven days.

War 5.3.1 98-105

Passover 70 CE: The Last Passover in the Second Temple

As now the war outside the walls ceased for a while, the factional violence within was revived. When the Feast of Unleavened Bread came on the fourteenth day of the month Xanthicus

This is how the Jewish people celebrate it and is supported by the Bible.

Anyway, that's my perspective on it, I believe all scriptures requires to be in harmony.

Passover

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2313774/jewish/The-Jewish-Festivals.htm#Pesach

Hebrew for Christians - Jewish Holidays Pages

 

[Filippus]

Link http://www.josephus.org/Passover.htm#origin

Link https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2313774/jewish/The-Jewish-Festivals.htm#Pesach

Link Hebrew for Christians - Jewish Holidays Pages

 

[Torah Keeper]

All I see is that Passover is the 14th.

when the fourteenth day came and all were ready to depart they offered the sacrifice and purified their houses with blood, using bunches of hyssops to apply it

It seems the lamb was sacrificed when the 14th day came. Not when the 14th ended. Else, Passover would be the 15th.

Numbers 33:3 They set out from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the day after the Passover, the people of Israel went out triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians,

I missed this verse. Thanks. On one hand, we see here that this is the day after the Passover. Not the day of the Passover. Since a new 24 hour day begins at sunset, the only conclusion I can make is the Israelites didn't leave Egypt on the 14th, but on the 15th. But since this is the day after Passover, they seem to have stayed another night, or perhaps they spent the 14th assembling, and preparing for the journey.

But I still can't see how Passover can be on the 15th, when we read several times in the Bible it is the 14th.

 

[Torah Keeper]

Leviticus 23:5-6
5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's passover.

6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.

Why the distinction between the 2 days? Passover is the 14th, Matsa is the 15th. If Passover is the 15th, verse 5 doesn't make sense to me.

Exodus 12:6-8
6 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. 7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. 8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night;

Shouldn't this read "until the 15th day", since it was technically slaughtered after sunset? Thus making it a new day? It would no longer be the 14th when they slaughtered the lamb.

 

[HARK!]

I missed this verse. Thanks. On one hand, we see here that this is the day after the Passover. Not the day of the Passover. Since a new 24 hour day begins at sunset, the only conclusion I can make is the Israelites didn't leave Egypt on the 14th, but on the 15th. But since this is the day after Passover, they seem to have stayed another night, or perhaps they spent the 14th assembling, and preparing for the journey.

But I still can't see how Passover can be on the 15th, when we read several times in the Bible it is the 14th.

I've been honoring Pesach for many years now. I don't do it according to tradition. I follow scripture. I prepare a study a few days before Each Hag Matzot, to discuss during the night of Hag Matzot.

The Pesach lamb is killed on the 14th. It must be; because no work is to be done on the 15th. It is to be killed between the evenings on the 14th. When the sun goes down the 15th begins. That is when Pesach ends, and when Hag Matzot begins. The Pesach lamb that was prepared during the day of the 14th, is eaten when the sun goes down on the 14th, which begins the 15th, Hag Matzot. The lamb is to be eaten with Matzot and bitter herbs on the night of the 15th. No one is to leave the house until the next morning at sunrise. This is still the first day of Hag Matzot. Hag Matzot lasts for 7 days. Matzot is to be eaten for 7 days. The 7th day of Hag Matzot, which ends at sundown on the 21st. This begins the 22nd.

Matzot is to be eaten with the Pesach lamb that was killed on the 14th before sundown and then eaten shortly thereafter when the sun has gone down, starting the 15. Matzot is to be eaten for 7 days. This is the celebration, not the preparation of the lamb.

(CLV) Ex 12:5
A flawless flockling, a year-old male, shall you come to have. From the he-lambs or from the goats shall you take it.

This is the Pesach lamb.

(CLV) Ex 12:6
And it will become a charge of yours until the fourteenth day of this month. Then they will slay it, every assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel, between the evening hours.


Slay the Pesach between the evening of the 14th, and the evening of the 15th. During daylight hours. Hag Matzot has not yet begun. The 14th is a day of preparation for Hag Matzot, the 15th day, which begins from the 14th at sundown.

(CLV) Ex 12:7
And they will take some of the blood and put it on the two jambs and on the lintel, on the houses in which they are eating it.

(CLV) Ex 12:8
Then they will eat the flesh on this night, roasted with fire, and with unleavened bread; over bitter herbs shall they eat it.

At evening, when the 15th has begun.

(CLV) Ex 12:9
Do not eat any of it underdone or cooked by being cooked in water, but rather roasted with fire, even its head along with its shanks and with its inwards.

(CLV) Ex 12:10
You shall not reserve any of it until the morning. And what is left of it until the morning you shall burn with fire.

(CLV) Ex 12:11
And as thus shall you eat it, with your waist girded, your sandals ion your feet and your stave in your hand. You will eat it in urgent haste. It is the passover to Yahweh.

Get it? The Passover lamb is slayed on the 14th during the day, and eaten that night, the 15th.

(CLV) Ex 12:12
For I will pass through the land of Egypt in this night and smite every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human even unto beast, and on all the elohim of Egypt I shall execute judgments; I am Yahweh.

(CLV) Ex 12:13
Then the blood will become a sign for you on the houses where you are. When I see the blood I will pass over on you. And there shall not come to be a stroke on you to cause ruin when I smite in the land of Egypt.

The night of the 15th.

(CLV) Ex 12:14
Hence this day will become for you a memorial, and you will celebrate it as a festival to Yahweh. Throughout your generations shall you celebrate it as an eonian statute.

This means forever.


(CLV) Ex 12:15
Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread. Yea, on the first day you shall eradicate yeast from your houses; for anyone eating what is leavened, from the first day unto the seventh day, that soul will be cut off from Israel.

Seven days, starting from the 15th of Abib as we transition to evening from the day of the 14th, unleavened bread. Remember that number! We started eating Matzot with the Pesach lamb on the 15th. We count to seven from the 15th.



(CLV) Ex 12:16
On the first day you shall come to have a holy meeting, also on the seventh day a holy meeting. Not work at all shall be done on them; only what is eaten by every soul, that alone may be prepared by you.

Kadosh meeting on the 15th of Abib Pesach, and on the 21st of Abib (first fruits). 7 days.

(CLV) Ex 12:17
You will observe the instruction, for on this very day I will bring forth your hosts from the land of Egypt. And you will observe this day throughout your generations as an eonian statute.

The 15 of Abib is when the Pesach lamb is eaten, forever.

(CLV) Ex 12:18
In the first month on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until day twenty-one of the month, in the evening.

From the end of preparation day, the 14th, evening, which begins the 15th, a kadosh day, Pesach, the first day of Hag Matzot (unleavend bread) until the end of the 21st day at evening, the end of the seventh day of Hag Matzot, a kadosh day..

Let's count them.

15 (1) 16 (2) 17 (3) 18 (4) 19 (5) 20 (6) 21 (7)

Hag Matzot ends at sundown, at the end of the day on the 21st, leading to the evening of the 22nd.


(CLV) Ex 12:19
For seven days yeast shall not be found in your houses, for anyone eating leavened bread, that soul will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, both among the sojourners and among the natives of the land.

7 days, not 8. 7 days of unleavened bread.

(CLV) Ex 12:20
You shall not eat any leavened bread in all your dwellings; you shall eat unleavened bread.

This includes artos.

 

[HARK!]

Leviticus 23:5-6
5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's passover.

6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.

Why the distinction between the 2 days? Passover is the 14th, Matsa is the 15th. If Passover is the 15th, verse 5 doesn't make sense to me.

The Passover (lamb) is slaughtered on the 14th during daylight hours.

Exodus 12:6-8
6 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. 7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. 8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night;

That night, when the sun has gone down, the 15th has begun. That is when the Passover lamb is eaten with unleavened bread, and bitter herbs.

I had to figure all of this out on my own, before I knew about MJ. It wasn't easy.

 

[Filippus]

Well said.

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

Read the Pesakh instructions in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and finally, especially, Deuteronomy.

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

Your highlighting supports your case. But what you did not highlight contradicts your view.

out of the house of bondage

Should have highlighted that verse this way.

out of the house of bondage

The house of bondage was Egypt.

Mitzrayim...it is a physical as well as a spiritual place...

 

[Clare73]

1.) The last supper was not a Pesach seder.

2.) What does forever mean?


“And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD {YHWH} throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance FOREVER.” (Exodus 12:14)

Forever means to the end of the age (dispensation; old covenant).

The next age being unending eternity, forever then means unending.

 

[Torah Keeper]

1.) The last supper was the Pesach seder, the following Scriptures clearly tells us this.

Matthew 26:17-20 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?”


Mark 14:12-18 And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?”


Luke 22:7-20 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So, Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.”

The Pesach lamb is killed on the 14th. It must be; because no work is to be done on the 15th

It is clear to me, the Last Supper was indeed the Passover. And the following morning was a working day. This indicates to me, the Passover is the night of the 14th. After Yeshua died, they hastened to place Him in the tomb, and had no time to properly prepare His body with spices and ointments, because of the approaching Sabbath. But was this the weekly Sabbath? Or the Matsa "Sabbath"? If it is the weekly Sabbath, we must accept the crucifixion was on a Friday. But if it was Matsa, then the crucifixion was Thursday. A Thursday crucifixion gives us the required "3 days and 3 nights". A Friday crucifixion does not add up to "3 days and 3 nights", no matter how anyone tries to explain it. And the Gospels claim the lamb was sacrificed on the 1st day of Matsa. Is this just a mistranslation? It's really confusing. Something isn't right.

I am still trying to figure this out. But the Jewish leaders had not yet eaten the Passover even after Yeshua and His followers had already eaten it. What does this tell us?

 

[Minister Monardo]

I am still trying to figure this out. But the Jewish leaders had not yet eaten the Passover even after Yeshua and His followers had already eaten it. What does this tell us?

He shared the Seder with His chosen apostles before the actual Passover Day, knowing
that He would not live to see it.

 

[Torah Keeper]

1.) The last supper was the Pesach seder, the following Scriptures clearly tells us this.

Matthew 26:17-20 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?”


Mark 14:12-18 And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?”


Luke 22:7-20 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So, Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.”

Is this a mistranslation? In all 3 Gospels? What are we to make of it?

 

[HARK!]

Forever means to the end of the age (dispensation; old covenant).

The next age being unending eternity, forever then means unending.

I see, So we can change the meaning of the word, as we see fit, to fit our doctrine?

Should I start preparing for the next world flood?

One covenant does not invalidate another.

(CLV) Ga 3:17
Now this am I saying: a covenant, having been ratified before by God, the law, having come four hundred and thirty years afterward, does not invalidate, so as to nullify the promise.

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

He shared the Seder with His chosen apostles before the actual Passover Day, knowing
that He would not live to see it.

It had aspects of the Passover meal...it was a rehearsal. It was actually a seudah hamafsekhet...literally the "last supper" before the fast...The 14th was a fast day...from sunrise to sunset...ta'anit bekhorim...the fast of the firstborn. The Passover meal would break the fast.

 

[Clare73]

I see, So we can change the meaning of the word, as we see fit, to fit our doctrine?

I suggest that instead we pay attention to the actual meaning of words.

Is "forever" in the Bible?

"Everlasting" (aidios) is in the Bible, which means without interruption, permanence, unchangeable.
It does not mean never ending, but rather age-lasting.

Should I start preparing for the next world flood?

One covenant does not invalidate another.

(CLV) Ga 3:17
Now this am I saying: a covenant, having been ratified before by God, the law, having come four hundred and thirty years afterward, does not invalidate, so as to nullify the promise.

The Mosaic covenant did not invalidate the Abrahamic covenant.
God never promised salvation through the law of the Mosaic covenant.
He promised it through faith in the Promise (Christ, Genesis 15:5-6) from the beginning (Galatians 3:21-25).
The Mosaic Covenant was not a new covenant of works (Galatians 3:18), but a continuation of the covenant of grace through faith which obeys (Exodus 19:5).
The Mosaic covenant did not do away with righteousness by faith going all the way back to Abraham (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3, Romans 4:5).
Rather, it was given to reveal sin (Romans 3:20, 7:7) and to lead to Christ (Galatians 3:24).

Now that faith in Christ has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law of the Mosaic covenant (Galatians 3:25), which was temporarily added (Galatians 3:19; Romans 5:20) to the Abrahamic covenant until faith in Christ came.
Now that covenant is obsolete (Hebrews 8:13).

That is NT apostolic teaching. . .authoritative regarding NT belief.

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

It is clear to me, the Last Supper was indeed the Passover. And the following morning was a working day. This indicates to me, the Passover is the night of the 14th. After Yeshua died, they hastened to place Him in the tomb, and had no time to properly prepare His body with spices and ointments, because of the approaching Sabbath. But was this the weekly Sabbath? Or the Matsa "Sabbath"? If it is the weekly Sabbath, we must accept the crucifixion was on a Friday. But if it was Matsa, then the crucifixion was Thursday. A Thursday crucifixion gives us the required "3 days and 3 nights". A Friday crucifixion does not add up to "3 days and 3 nights", no matter how anyone tries to explain it. And the Gospels claim the lamb was sacrificed on the 1st day of Matsa. Is this just a mistranslation? It's really confusing. Something isn't right.

I am still trying to figure this out. But the Jewish leaders had not yet eaten the Passover even after Yeshua and His followers had already eaten it. What does this tell us?

There was no mention of any lamb. Who sacrificed the lamb for Yeshua and His Talmudim? He died when the Pesakh lambs were killed during the daylight hours of the 14th...

 

[Clare73]

1.) The last supper was the Pesach seder, the following Scriptures clearly tells us this.

Matthew 26:17-20 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?”


Mark 14:12-18 And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?”


Luke 22:7-20 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So, Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.”

Is this a mistranslation? In all 3 Gospels? What are we to make of it?

Because Passover and Unleavened Bread were an 8-day continuing period, it was common for the whole 8-day period to be referred to simply as "Passover" or "Unleavened Bread," because you didn't have one without the other.

 

[HARK!]

God never promised salvation through the law of the Mosaic covenant.

Perhaps Solomon can shed some light on this subject.

(CLV) Pr 21:29
A wicked man sets his face with impudence, Yet an upright man, he considers his way.

(CLV) Pr 21:30
There is no wisdom, there is no comprehension, And there is no counsel in confronting Yahweh.

(CLV) Pr 21:31
A horse is prepared for the day of battle, Yet the victory ( התשועה the salvation) belongs to Yahweh.

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

BTW, where in the bible is this from..."a mark branded on your hand or your forehead"? It will surprise you...