Today we are going to review the Passover sequence in the NT and OT.

First, The New Testament Passover Sequence

Mathew 26:17 - This is referring to the hours leading up to the coming festival season (the word day Is not in the original text). The first event of the season would be the killing of the Passover lamb. The people commonly spoke of the spring festivals as the Passover… or Unleavened Bread. They rolled them together even though they are separate events.

Evening of the 14th of Nissan Begins

Luke 22: 13-15 they made their preparations and when the appointed time came they ate the Passover meal together. Matthew 26:20 indicates the appointed time for the  Passover meal was the evening.

During the meal Jesus washes their feet and instructs them to do likewise to one another which you can read about in John 13:1-20. Then in verse 21 Jesus says one of them [Judas] will betray Him. Judas then leaves the meal. See also Matthew 26:23-25.

Matthew 26:26-30 Jesus instructs them regarding the new covenant symbols of bread and wine which replace the flesh and blood of the old covenant lamb.

John 14 through 17 Jesus delivers His final words to the disciples followed by prayer.

Other Events During The Night

The Passover meal ends and they head over to Gethsemane on the other side of the Kidron Valley.

John 18:12 Jesus is arrested during the night. An illegal session of the Sanhedrin is held in the dead of night. They declare Jesus guilty of blasphemy for claiming to be the Son of God.

Morning Comes

Matthew 27:1 Since the Jewish leaders don't have the authority to execute Jesus they haul Him before the Roman magistrate [Pilate] and demand the Romans do the deed. This takes place in the morning of the 14th day.

John 18:28 it was already the morning of the 14th day of Nisan and the Jews had not yet had their Passover meal, even though Jesus and His disciples had already done so.

Next, for political reasons Pilate agrees to execute Jesus at the request of the Jews. Jesus is beaten mocked, then crucified.

Matthew 27:45-50 Jesus dies in the middle of the afternoon around 3:00 pm. … Nisan 14th 31 A.D.

John 19:30-31 The Jews want the body taken down off the cross so it is not left hanging there during the next day because it was a HIGH day. It would be a day of rest which is why they called it a Sabbath. But it would not be the weekly 7th day Sabbath. This would be the first of the 7 annual Sabbaths... which is why they called it a HIGH day. It would the 15th of Nissan, the 1st day of Unleavened Bread.

Note: the verse also says that before this HIGH day there was something called a day of preparation. Question: what sort of preparations come before the 1st day of Unleavened Bread? Answer: removal of all leavening from our homes. This is the day of preparation they are referring to.

John 19:40-42 Jesus is placed in a tomb. This takes place in the last hours of the day of preparation that came before the first day of unleavened bread... the 15th of Nissan.

Evening comes... the 14th day of Nissan passes and the 15th day of Nissan begins. The Jews eat their Passover meal. A practice which they still adhere to to this day.

Why Did Jesus Eat the Passover 24 Hours Before The Jews?

Was this thing He was doing something different from the Passover?

Do we now have some sort of Last Supper... or Lord's Supper in place of the Passover?

Was He instituting a change to the timing of the Passover? He had changed the symbols from eating the flesh of a lamb to eating the bread which represented His body. He had changed the blood of the lamb to the wine which represented His own body... why not the timing?

The answer to these questions is: No,

The Jews were following their own humanly devised traditions instead of the commandments of God.

You might say... how can a bunch of American Christians presume to know more than the Jewish people about how to keep the Passover? One would assume that the Jews were the authority in such matters... they are so particular and precise about stuff like this... or are they?

What Do God's Commands Say?

Leviticus 23:5-8

The word evening is used to refer to the end of the old day and the beginning of a new day. It is used both ways in scripture.

Leviticus 23:32 here used to bracket in a single day... from evening to evening.

Genesis 1: 3,5,8,19 etc. Here it is used to describe the beginning of each new day… there was evening and there was morning--the first day, and there was evening and morning--the second day...  each day starts with a night time portion followed by a daytime portion.

Exodus 12:18 here is it used to describe the end of a day. From the end of the 14th day [which is called evening] through to the end of the 21st day [which is called evening]. The end of the 14th is the beginning of the 15th… and there is no time sandwiched between to them.

When it comes to the Passover and the slaughter of the lamb, Jewish people have come to interpret evening to mean the end of the day.

That is not how Jesus understood it. He clearly instructed His disciples to prepare and keep the Passover before His death. So, Jesus own statements and practice are what guide the Church's understanding that the Passover is to be observed at the beginning of the 14th day... which begins at sundown.

The Exodus Passover

The testimony of Jesus words and deeds regarding the Passover help us get back to the original instruction given at the time of the Exodus. Exactly how the Jewish people got the Passover all mixed up is besides the point. We are not Jews and their traditions are irrelevant.

Jesus clearly wanted to initiate a reset on the Passover.

Exodus 12:2-3 the Passover is the beginning: of the annual cycle of biblical festivals. It is the beginning of God's annual walk-through of His plan for bringing many children to glory in His eternal family.

Each family was to take a lamb without blemish. From the 10th to the 13th they would keep the lamb until the 14th day begins.The 14th day would begin when the sun went down the end of the 13th. Beginning in the evening and on through the night they were to kill the lamb, prepare it, roast it, and eat it. They would also smear its blood over their doorways to protect themselves from the angel of death sent that night.... sent to strike the first born of every family in Egypt at midnight. The death of the Passover lamb occurred during the night-time portion of that 24 hour period... the 14th day.

Exodus 12:6-13 the night-time portion of the 14th day

Exodus 12:21-22 Moses now passes God's instructions along to Israel. Note the key phrase at the end of the command STAY IN YOUR HOMES UNTIL MORNING! They were to stay in their homes the entire night-time portion of the 14th day.

Exodus 12:29-30 during that night-time period of the 14th day [at midnight] the death angel strikes down the firstborn of Egypt.

Exodus 12:33-36 after day break the people of Israel would have come out of their homes. The Egyptians wanted them gone. To urge them on their way the Egyptians gave them jewelry, clothing, etc. This transfer of goods could only have happened during the daytime portion of the 14th day since Israel was forbidden to leave their homes until morning.

Key point: Israel did not go out from the land of Egypt until the night that followed. During the daytime portion of the 14th they were grabbing all their stuff... receiving the jewelry and clothing from the Egyptians and gearing up to leave.

We are talking about 600,000 Israelite households. Consider the logistics. by the end of the day time portion of 14th day they were ready to head out. Night would be falling. According to God's clock a new day was about to begin. The 15th of the month.

Exodus 12:41-42 the "very day" referred to here is the 15th day of the month beginning at evening. This is the first day of unleavened bread which begins at sundown. That is what we call the night to be much observed... a night of watching. Which is why we gather together on the opening evening that begins the 15th . The beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Verse 43 then begins a new section which goes through additional Passover regulations.

Israel left Egypt during the night-time portion of the 15th day. The beginning of the 15h day.

Deuteronomy 16:1 they went out by night. This could not be the 14th  because they were commanded to stay in their homes ALL NIGHT.

Numbers 33:1-4 they went out on the 15th day of the month.

A Reset to the Original Design

Jesus example of observing the Passover on the evening that marks the beginning of the 14th day of Nisan was a conscious reset of the Passover. It would be a reset to the original pattern established and recorded in Exodus 12.  Jewish tradition had muddled up the days, mushed them together... and obscured the very important distinction between these 14th and 15th day.

First we have the memorial which is the Passover: a time when a lamb without blemish is sacrificed to save us from death. Jesus is that lamb and His blood saves us from the penalty of death.

Second we have the the memorial which is the First day of unleavened bread: a time to remember leaving bondage. For Israel it was a very real bondage in the forced labour camps of Egypt. For you it is bondage to sin, Bondage to a way of thinking and acting that you must put out of your life like the leaven you put out of your homes. You must replace it with the mind of Christ like the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth you are to eat during these days.

Why Am I Telling You All This?

You might be thinking... do I need to know that stuff. Why not just tell me when to show up, and where, and leave it at that?

Yes, it is the job of the ministry to proclaim the appointed times of the Lord. But, let em give you a little bit of a warning.

First: a significant change to the ministry is underway, a new generation is moving into the positions of leadership, and instruction. As generations pass information and experience gets lost. One day that new leadership may be some of you.

Second: our society is rapidly changing the way we record, store and deal with information. Digital storage is easy to delete, and is easily altered. Truth and understanding can be lost.

Israel lost hold of the truth. So much so that in the days of King Josiah the temple had failed into disrepair, while they were restoring the facility they found a copy of the law and they were shocked. They had forgotten it even existed [2 Kings 22].

Israel lost their understanding of how to keep the Passover. The Church has at times lost a good grasp of the holy days.

When Jesus came it was important enough to Him that Hee set the record straight. I hope its important to you.