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All four Gospels state that Jesus was crucified on the Day of Preparation (Matthew 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:14, 31, 42). Mark, Luke, and John all state that the following day was the ...

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April 06 2016 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

John Appelt

In the Gospels, the observance of the Passover seems to be on two different days. Of the number of proposals attempting to solve the problem, there is one explanation that satisfactorily solves the problem. There were really two Passover observances. One was the private, family observance on Thursday, the 13th, and the other was the public, formal observance on Friday, the 14th. It can be shown by comparing Scriptures. 

In Exodus 12:14-20 is the first observance which happened on the night the Israelites left Egypt. It was a private ceremony. They were to remove leaven on the first day, 12:15. The lamb or goat was to be roasted in fire, but not to be boiled, Exodus 12:7-9. It was to be eaten at twilight and eaten in one house, Exodus 12:46. It was a ceremony for everyone in the congregation, 12:47, and was to be observed annually and throughout their generations, 12:14. This is the ceremony Jesus and His disciples observed.

The second was the formal, public observance, Leviticus 23:5, on the 14th day of the month. It was observed by Israel as a nation in the wilderness the second year after the exodus, Numbers 9:1, 2, 5, and by Israel under the leadership of Joshua, on the plains of Jericho, Joshua 5:10. Eventually it was observed at Jerusalem, Deuteronomy 16:5, 6. It was also observed by Josiah, II Chronicles 35, of which it was said, “no Passover had been observed like this since Samuel,” II Chronicles 35:18. Later, returnees from the captivity also observed it, Ezra 6:19. 

In this observance, the animals were killed before sunset. The people would eat at the going down of the sun, Deuteronomy 16:6. Also, the animals could be from either the flock or herd rather than just the flock of sheep or goats, and in this ceremony, the meat could be boiled, as indicated in the original of Deuteronomy 16:7 and II Chronicles 35:13, which was prohibited in the family observance, Exodus 12:9. 

The public ceremony under Josiah involved the singers, the sons of Asaph who were in their places, according to the command of David. Those who attended and partook of the celebration had to return to their tents to prepare for the 7-day Feast of Unleavened Bread that began on the 15th of the month, Deuteronomy 16:7. 

If anyone were defiled, they could not keep it on this day, but had to wait to observe the Passover “on the fourteenth day of the second month,” Numbers 9:10, 11. In John 18:28, the Jews were concerned about not being defiled, so they could eat the Passover.

Jesus did not observe this ceremony at this time, but instead became our Passover sacrificed for us, I Corinthians 5:7. 

With the destruction of the temple in AD 70, it is likely that the formal observance fell into disuse and was forgotten, leading to later confusion among commentators not realizing there were two Passover celebrations: the family or private one and the formal or public one.

December 27 2021 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report