Leviticus 23:4-8:
These are the appointed feasts of Yehovah, the holy convocations, which
you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them. In
the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight [between the
two evenings], is Yehovah’s Passover. And on the
fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to Yehovah;
for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On
the first day, you shall have a holy convocation [Sabbath]; you shall not do any
ordinary work. But you shall present a food
offering to Yehovah for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy
convocation [ Sabbath]; you shall not do any ordinary work.
History of what happened during the Passover when
Jesus was crucified.
What meal did Jesus and the disciples eat in the
upper room?
Matthew 26:17-19: 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?” He
said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher
says, my time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my
disciples.’” And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they
prepared the Passover.
Institution of the lord's supper
Matthew 26: 26-29: Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread,
and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and
said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when
he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of
you, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is
poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I
will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it
new with you in my Father's kingdom.”
Notice that the supper that Jesus ate was not the Passover, but a supper eaten at the beginning of the 14th day of Nisan, the preparation day for the high holy day Sabbath, the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, the 15th of Nisan, when all leaven was taken out of the houses. How do we know this?
Observe:
John 18:28: Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters [the praetorium]. It was early morning [of the 14th of Nisan – the preparation day for the high holy Sabbath – the 15th of Nisan – the first day of the feast of unleavened bread]. They did not enter the governor's headquarters, so they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.
After the supper that Jesus and the disciples ate, they
went out to the Mount of Olives
Matthew 26:30-32: And when they sang a hymn, they went to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee
Jesus Prays in Gethsemane [The name Gethsemane
(Hebrew “gat shemanim”, “oil press”) suggests that the garden was a grove of
olive trees in which was located an oil press – the place Jesus was pressed
down – physically, morally, mentally and spiritually before his crucifixion.
Matthew 26:36-46:
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch[d] with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And again, he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”
Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus
Matthew 26:47-56:
While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a
great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the
people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will
kiss is the man; seize him.” And he came up to Jesus at once and said,
“Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. Jesus said to him, “Friend, Friend,
why are you here?” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. And behold, one of those who were with Jesus
stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the bondservant of
the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put
your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by
the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father - Yehovah, and
he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But
how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” At that
hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber,
with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the
temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But all this has
taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then
all the disciples left him and fled.
Jesus Before Caiaphas and the Council
Matthew 26:57-68: Then those who had seized
Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the
elders had gathered. And Peter was following him at a distance, as
far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat
with the guards to see the end. Now the chief priests and the whole
council - Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against
Jesus that they might put him to death, but they found none, though
many false witnesses came forward. At last, two came forward and
said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to
rebuild it in three days.’” And the high priest stood up and said, “Have
you no answer to make? Have you no answer to what these men testify against
you? But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest
said to him, “I adjure you by the living God - Yehovah, tell us
if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” Jesus said to
him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the
Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds
of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He
has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard
his blasphemy. What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves
death.” Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some
slapped him, saying, “Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who is it that struck
you?”
Matthew 27:1-2:
When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took
counsel against Jesus to put him to death. And they bound him and led
him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor.
Jesus before Pilate
Matthew 27:11-14:
Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are
you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” But
when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. Then
Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify
against you?” But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so
that the governor was greatly amazed.
The Crowd Chooses Barabbas
Matthew 27:15-23:
Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one
prisoner whom they wanted. And they had then a notorious prisoner called
Barabbas. So, when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you
want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”
For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. Besides,
while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him,
“Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much
because of him today in a dream.” Now the chief priests and the
elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The
governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for
you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I
do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” They all said, “Let him be
crucified!” And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they
shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”
Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified
Matthew 27:24-26:
So, when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot
was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd,
saying, “I am innocent of this righteous man's blood; see to
it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be on us
and on our children!” Then he released for them Barabbas, and
having scourged Jesus [A Roman judicial penalty, consisting of a severe
beating with a multi-lashed whip containing embedded pieces of bone and metal],
delivered him to be crucified.
Jesus Is Buried
Matthew 27:57-61:
When it was evening [late afternoon], there came a rich man from Arimathea,
named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and
asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And
Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid
it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a
great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene
and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
Notice:
Joseph and Nicodemus Bury Jesus
John 19:38-42: After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
Note: Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy man and Nicodemus
as a member of the Sanhedrin also had money. As they had to carry the body of
Jesus from the cross to the tomb and also carry 75 pounds of spices, etc., they
probably had servants to help them, although they were not mentioned. Now we know
that Jesus was not taken down from the cross until late in the afternoon. So,
to take him down from the cross and place him in the tomb to prepare him for his
burial took some time. Now the format to prepare a Jewish burial is this:
In Jewish tradition, preparing a
body for burial is a deeply respectful and time-sensitive process. The
preparation is performed by the Chevra Kadisha (holy society), a group
responsible for ensuring the body is handled according to Jewish law. The
process includes the following key steps:
1. Taharah (Purification): The
body is ritually cleansed and purified, a process that typically takes about
1-2 hours, depending on the condition of the deceased and the situation.
2. Tachrichim (Shrouding): After
purification, the body is dressed in simple, white burial shrouds made of plain
linen. This step also takes around 30 minutes to an hour.
This being the case it is quite possible that Joseph and Nicodemus did not finish the burial of Jesus until after sunset, which was the 15th of Nisan [Abib] a high holy day, the first day of the feast of the Passover [days of unleavened bread]
The Guard at the Tomb
Matthew 27:62-66:
The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation [the 14th
day of Nissan], the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and
said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still
alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore, order the
tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and
steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last
fraud will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “Take a guard of
soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So, they went and made the
tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.
Note: The stone had already been rolled back to
cover the entrance to the tomb by Joseph and Nicodemus.
The Passover sacrifice is killed in the late
afternoon on the 14th of Nisan and eaten after sunset. Since sunset starts the
next day, the Passover meal actually ends up being eaten at the beginning of
the next day, the 15th day of Nisan, which is the first day of the seven-day
Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:6-19). Despite the fact, that it was a
Sabbath day, the Pharisees and chief priests were so filled with trepidation
about Jesus that they went to Pilate and requested a guard to keep the tomb
secure. Pilate’s answer, “You have a watch,” or as it is in some versions, “You
have a guard,” has sometimes been misunderstood to mean that the Priests already
had the Temple police, so they should use them. That is not correct. Pilate
gave permission to the priests to requisition a detachment of Roman guards,
which is why the guards would have been in trouble if the governor heard that
the body of Jesus had been stolen while they were guarding it (cp. Matthew
28:12-15). “Were gathered.” Passive voice. The spiritual and social forces were
powerfully at work, exerting an influence. It is as if an invisible hand
rounded up these religious leaders. 27:63. “will be raised.” Passive voice. The
religious leaders remembered but did not believe, what the disciples never
grasped - that Jesus taught he would be raised after three days and three nights
in the tomb, the sign of the prophet Jonah.
Matthew 27:65. “You can have.” The Greek word is
echō (# 2192 ἔχω), which is usually “you have,” but in this case, it can be “you
can have” (see BDAG, ἔχω, definition 9). “a guard of soldiers.” The Greek word
is koustōdia (# 2892 κουστωδία), a guard of Roman soldiers. Pilate gave
permission to the priests to requisition a detachment of Roman guards, which is
why those soldiers would have been in trouble if the governor heard that the
guard and fallen asleep and the body of Jesus had been stolen (Matthew
28:12-15). Pilate would not care if the Temple police had fallen asleep and
Jesus’ body had been stolen.
Matthew 27:66: “Put a seal on the stone.” They put
a seal on the stone, which would have been wax or clay that connected the stone
to the wall and which would have had a “seal” (an insignia of some kind),
pressed into the wax. If the stone were moved, the wax or clay would have been
broken and the insignia destroyed. This seal let everyone know the grave had
not been tampered with. It is even possible that in this case, the seal was clay
attached to the wall of the tomb and wax on the rolling stone, with a chord
between them.
Matthew 28:1: “As it began to be dusk and coming toward the first day [Sunday] of the week.” This is now Saturday the 17th of Nisan, in the late evening, just before the Saturday Sabbath ended and Sunday, the first day of the week, began. The Jewish day starts with sunset, and this verse says it was late on the Sabbath (late Saturday afternoon); it was not Sunday morning as many people believe.
We need to know two things: that “Sabbaths” (the
plural of Sabbath) was the regular Hebrew idiom for a week, and also that the
Jewish day, and thus each new week, “dawned,” or “began” at sunset on the
weekly Sabbath. Thus, sunset on Saturday started the first day of the week, Sunday, and the new week. Although many English versions read “dawn” in this verse, the
Greek word epiphōskō (# 2020 ἐπιφώσκω) literally means, “to grow light,” and it
was used of the “dawn” or “beginning” of something (for more on epiphōskō, see
commentary on Luke 23: 54). According to Jewish reckoning of time, the new day
was dawning, or beginning, at sunset.
Thus, the women came to see the tomb late on one
“Sabbaths” (on one week), just before the beginning of another “Sabbaths” (the
beginning of another week). So, this record occurred Saturday evening, just
around sunset, but it was still the Sabbath. Even so, it would not have been
wrong for the women to come late on the Sabbath, because walking was allowed on
the Sabbath as long as one did not walk too far. Thus, this verse does not
contradict the verse that says the women “rested” on the Sabbath (Luke 23:56).
Besides, that verse was speaking in the context of
the work involved in preparing the spices for Jesus’ burial.
About this verse, Robertson (Word Pictures) writes:
“This careful chronological statement according to Jewish days clearly means
that before the Sabbath was over, that is before Six P.M., this visit by the women
was made ‘to see the sepulcher.’” Robertson is correct that this is a “careful
chronological statement,” and not paying attention to it is one of the reasons
people wrongly think the Bible contradicts itself in the timing of some of the
events that occurred after the death of Jesus. The Sabbath that ended would
logically been the weekly Saturday Sabbath, which followed the high holy day
Sabbath, the 15th of Nisan which occurred on Thursday. Mary Magdalene
and the other Mary were checking on the tomb in expectation of anointing Jesus’
body at daylight the next morning, i.e., on Sunday morning.
This verse is saying that just as the Sabbath was
coming to an end on Saturday evening, the women came to “look at” the tomb. The
Greek word theoreō, “to look at,” usually refers to viewing something from a
distance, which would have been the case since the guards would have kept the
women from getting too close to the tomb. At this time the stone would have
been still in place in front of the tomb. If the women came Saturday night just
to “see the tomb,” it is very possible that they were checking to see if the
guard was gone yet. The third day of the Messiah’s “three days and three
nights” ended just about this time Saturday evening, so if the guards had
already left, then the way was clear to bring the spices. However, the guards
were still there and so was the stone that was covering the tomb door. Due to
the time of day, it is possible that Jesus was already up from the dead and out
of the tomb. If not, his resurrection would have occurred very shortly after
they saw the tomb.
There is a time break between Matthew 28:1 and
28:2. The events of 28:2 occurred around dawn Sunday morning because when the
angel opened the tomb, some of the guards went and reported to the chief
priests what had happened. One of the astounding things about the four Gospels
is that there is no explicit description of Jesus getting up from the dead, an
event that would have happened around the time Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
came to the tomb. There is no description such as, “Then the life of God
entered into Jesus, and he woke up from the dead and passed effortlessly
through the stone wall of the tomb.”
Matthew 28:2. “Look!” The Greek word is idou (#2400
ἰδού), and it is used to get our attention. “There was a great earthquake.” On
the 18th of Nisan, Sunday morning, while it was still very dark, but getting
close to early dawn, there was an earthquake, and an angel rolled the stone
away from the tomb door. We know this occurred close to dawn because the guards
would have gone back into the city and told the chief priests what had happened
shortly after they had been frightened by the angel (Matthew 28:4, 11).
However, the Scripture says that the guards were still talking to the chief
priests when the women, who had come to the tomb at dawn just after the sun
rose, had already seen both the angels and Jesus and were on their way to tell
the disciples what they had seen (Matthew 28:5-11). Thus, the angel rolling
back the stone and scaring the guards could not have been too long before
daybreak. However, it was early enough that the guards had left by the time
Mary Magdalene arrived, and she had come alone to the tomb before the sun rose
and thus before the group of women who came with the spices, who arrived after
the sun had risen. The guards coming to their senses, discussing what to do,
going to the chief priests, and reporting to them what happened, would have
likely taken no more than an hour, two at the most.
It is often taught that the resurrection occurred
simultaneously with this earthquake. However, Scripture never says this. The
actual event of the resurrection is not portrayed in Scripture. Furthermore,
this was now Sunday, the first day of the week, which would have been the
fourth day since Jesus was buried. But Jesus was only in the grave 3 days and 3
nights (Matthew 12:40). The Messiah’s resurrection was “three days and three
nights” after his burial, so it would have been on Saturday just before sunset.
If Jesus got up from the dead Saturday night around sunset, why would the angel
wait until just before dawn to open the grave? The most likely reason is that
God knew the disciples would start coming to the tomb Sunday morning, and did
not want to have the tomb open all night without a guard lest people think that
the most likely explanation for the missing body of Jesus was that people stole
it (which is what people believed anyway; cp. Matthew 28:15). So likely not too
long before sunrise Sunday morning (an hour or so would be enough), there was
an earthquake. The earthquake and angel were not needed for Jesus to rise from
the dead and leave the tomb, they were for a witness of the resurrection to
people, and to clear the way for the disciples to get to the tomb without Roman
interference. The angel rolled the stone away, doing it without human
involvement, proving the tomb was empty. Then, when Mary Magdalene arrived at
the tomb before sunrise, the guard was already gone, and by the time the women
who brought the spices to the tomb were going to tell the disciples what had
happened to them, the guard was in the city reporting to the priests. “Rolled
away the stone.” The Greek is apokuliō (# 617 ἀποκυλίω), to roll away.
In this context, it seems that the stone was more
than simply rolled back away from the entrance of the tomb but rather rolled
away from the tomb entirely. It would have been lying flat on the ground some
distance from the grave to mark the fact that the grave was empty for all to
see and could not be closed again without a major effort requiring many men.
The flat stone also provided a good seat for the angel, who sat on it in the triumph of the resurrection.
Matthew 28:6: “Come, see the place where he was
lying.” Since the women were already in the tomb, this is a clear indication
that there was more than one room in the tomb, and the women were standing in
the weeping chamber, the large room just inside the door of many tombs. The
angel invited the woman to step into the room that had held the dead body of
Jesus (Mark 16:5).
28:7: “Go quickly.” The Greek is in the past tense,
literally, “having gone.” This is the idiom of the prophetic perfect when a
past tense is put for something that is actually future to express the
certainty of it or emphasize it. “Jesus met them.” The first person that Jesus
met after his resurrection was Mary Magdalene. The next people Jesus appeared
to was a group of women that had come to the tomb to properly bury his body but
were met by angels and now were on their way to the disciples to tell them that
Jesus had been raised from the dead.
How much more convincing their testimony should
have been now that they could all say in unison that they had actually seen the
lord Messiah Jesus alive. No matter: the Eleven and the disciples did not
believe them any more than they had believed Mary Magdalene. By evening,
however, when Cleopas and the other disciples returned from the road to Emmaus,
where they had seen the lord, Jesus had already appeared to Peter, and at last
the disciples (most of them, anyway), believed he was raised from the dead
(Luke 24:34).
