The Passover Lamb

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Short Summary
The discourse explores the significance of the Passover as outlined in Exodus 12, emphasizing how the Jewish calendar originally counted years from Nisan (spring) before later shifting to Tishri (autumn) for agricultural reasons. It draws symbolic connections between the Passover lamb and Jesus as the Redeemer, highlighting key events in Jesus’ final week that fulfilled Old Testament types, such as his identification as the Passover lamb on the 10th of Nisan and his crucifixion on the 14th. The message underscores the importance of fully embracing Jesus’ sacrifice and faith, linking the two ages of redemption—the gospel age and the millennial kingdom—and concludes by affirming Jesus’ sacrifice as a blessing not only for Christians but ultimately for all mankind.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary of the Discourse on Exodus 12 and Jesus as the Passover Lamb

Introduction to the Subject:
– Typically, Passover is discussed only during the springtime services.
– The speaker aims to explore deeper insights about the Passover and Jesus as the Passover Lamb.
– Focus will be on Exodus chapter 12, verses 1–12 and verse 46, and the fulfillment of these types in Jesus’ last week.

Exodus 12:1-2 – Beginning of Months:
– God instructs Moses and Aaron that the first month of the year is the month of Abib (Nisan), marking the beginning of months.
– Historically, Jewish years are counted from Tishri (month 7) to Tishri, especially after the Israelites settled in Canaan.
– Originally, years were counted from Nisan to Nisan (spring to spring) during the wilderness period.
– Example: Aaron died in the 40th year, month 5, and Moses said farewell in month 11 of the same year, showing continuous year count.
– The change to Tishri-to-Tishri counting was practical, based on agricultural seasons in Canaan and adopted by kings of Judah.
– Symbolically, spring (Nisan) represents the first age of redemption (Gospel Age), and autumn (Tishri) represents the second age of redemption (Millennial Kingdom).

Exodus 12:3 – The Selection of the Lamb on the 10th Day:
– Every household is to take a lamb on the 10th day of the month.
– The number 10 symbolizes humanity (10 fingers and toes).
– Biblical references:
– Daniel 2: ten toes on the statue symbolizing world empires.
– Daniel 7: ten horns representing kingdoms.
– Jesus as the Passover Lamb atones for humanity, not for angels or heavenly beings.

Exodus 12:4 – Whole Lamb Consumed:
– If a household is too small for a whole lamb, neighbors join to consume it entirely.
– Symbolizes the necessity to fully appreciate and internalize Jesus’ complete sacrifice.

Exodus 12:5 – Lamb Without Blemish:
– The lamb must be a male of the first year, without blemish, from sheep or goats.
– Male animals were valued more highly in the law.
– Jesus is represented as the perfect male lamb, emphasizing His worth and purity.

Exodus 12:6 – Killing the Lamb on the 14th Day in the Evening:
– The lamb is kept until the 14th day and then killed “between the two evenings,” commonly understood as mid-afternoon (around 3 pm).
– The 14th day is symbolic, being a double seven (7 + 7), possibly representing two ages of redemption.
– Astronomical note: On the 14th of Nisan in 33 AD, when Jesus died, there was a partial lunar eclipse at moonrise.
– Symbolism of moon eclipse: Jewish law represented as the moon, the Gospel as the sun (Revelation 12:1).
– Jesus’ death at this time marked a diminishing of favor for Jewish law due to their rejection.

Exodus 12:7 – Blood on Doorposts:
– Blood was applied to the sides and upper doorposts.
– Symbolizes believers being “under the blood” – protected by faith in Jesus.
– Not all in the household were consecrated believers; some had faith but were not fully consecrated.
– Hebrews 12:23 references the “church of the firstborn” whose names are written in heaven, representing those preserved from judgment.

Exodus 12:8-9 – Eating the Lamb with Unleavened Bread and Bitter Herbs:
– The lamb is roasted (symbolic of Jesus’ fiery trials).
– Unleavened bread represents purity and sinlessness (believers desiring to be sin-free).
– Bitter herbs represent the hardships and trials believers endure.
– The lamb is Jesus; unleavened bread and herbs represent the believers’ attitude and experience.

Exodus 12:10 – No Remains Allowed:
– Any leftover lamb must be burned, emphasizing full acceptance and application of Christ’s sacrifice.

Exodus 12:11 – Eating in Haste:
– Believers should be spiritually prepared, “loins girded,” shoes on feet, staff in hand, ready for the journey to heavenly home.

Exodus 12:12 – God’s Judgment on Egypt:
– God declares He will pass through Egypt and smite the firstborn, executing judgment against Egypt and its gods.
– This foreshadows judgment on the world but sparing those under the blood.

Exodus 12:46 – No Bone Shall Be Broken:
– The lamb’s bones were not to be broken.
– Jesus’ bones were not broken during crucifixion (John 19:36), fulfilling prophecy.
– Psalm 34:19-20 supports that the righteous are preserved; none of their “bones” (hopes) are broken.
– Symbolizes the preservation of the hope of eternal life through trials.

Jesus’ Last Week and Fulfillment of Passover Types (John 12 and Gospels):
– John 12:1: Jesus arrives in Bethany 6 days before Passover (Nisan 9 or 10).
– Mary anoints Jesus’ feet with costly ointment on the 10th of Nisan, identifying Him as the Passover Lamb prepared for death.
– Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the 10th of Nisan (Palm Sunday) is the public identification of Him as King and Messiah.
– Jesus’ soul is troubled the same day, fully aware of His approaching sacrifice (John 12:27).

Temple Cleansing and Events Leading to Crucifixion:
– Jesus cleanses the temple not on the day of entry but the next day (Monday or Tuesday), after thoughtful deliberation.
– Curses the fig tree as a symbol of judgment.
– Final teachings and prophecies given on Wednesday.
– Last Supper on Thursday evening; Jesus arrested and crucified on Friday.
– Jesus rises on Sunday, coinciding with the offering of barley wave sheaf (Leviticus 23).
– Pentecost (50th day from Passover) marks the giving of the Law and later the church’s empowerment.

Joshua’s Crossing of the Jordan (Joshua 4:19):
– Israelites crossed the Jordan on the 10th of Abib (Nisan), a symbolic new beginning.
– The city “Adam” near the crossing means “man,” and “Zaretan” means “pierced,” alluding to Jesus’ piercing and the opening of the kingdom for Israel.

Two Distinct Ages of Redemption:
– Spring festivals relate to the Gospel Age (Church’s redemption).
– Autumn festivals relate to the Millennial Kingdom (world’s redemption).
– Pentecost marks the church’s blessing; Jubilee represents mankind’s restoration.

Supporting Scriptures and Final Notes:
– 1 Corinthians 5:7 – “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.”
– 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 and 11:23-27 discuss the Lord’s Supper, the cup of blessing, and the sequence of bread and cup.
– The Passover Lamb’s sacrifice benefits all mankind, not just the church.
– Israel will eventually acknowledge Jesus as Messiah, mourning their past rejection (Zechariah 12:10).
– The discourse emphasizes God’s grace and the full application of Jesus’ sacrifice.

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Key Bible Verses Referenced:

Exodus 12:1-12, 46 – Instructions on the Passover lamb and feast.
Daniel 2:33-43 – Ten toes representing kingdoms.
Daniel 7:7-8 – Ten horns representing kingdoms.
Revelation 12:1 – Woman clothed with the sun standing on the moon.
Hebrews 12:23 – Church of the firstborn.
John 12:1-7, 12, 27 – Jesus’ last week events.
Matthew 21:12; Mark 11:11-14, 20-21 – Temple cleansing and fig tree.
John 19:36 – No bone of Jesus broken.
Psalm 34:19-20 – Preservation of righteous.
Leviticus 23 – Feast days and offerings.
Joshua 4:19, 3:16 – Crossing Jordan on 10th Abib.
Zechariah 12:10 – They will look upon him whom they pierced.
1 Corinthians 5:7 – Christ our Passover lamb.
1 Corinthians 10:16-17; 11:23-27 – Lord’s Supper.

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This detailed summary captures the discourse’s exploration of Exodus 12 Passover instructions, their symbolic fulfillment in Jesus’ last week, the significance of timing, and the two ages of redemption, supported by numerous scriptural references.

Transcript

The subject we’re going to speak on is a subject that we don’t usually speak on at a convention. In the springtime, we all hear a Passover service, and we do talk about it then. But there are things about the Passover and about Jesus, our Passover lamb, that I didn’t always know. So perhaps we’ll share some of those with you. Today we’re going to look at Exodus, the 12th chapter.

We’re going to read the first 12 verses of that chapter one by one and comment on them as we go. Now we’re going to look after that, on how Jesus in his last week fulfilled the types and pictures that are given to us in this chapter. So in Exodus 12, verse 1 and 2, the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, this month shall be to you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you. Now that’s engaging.

If you look on the Internet and you ask how the years of the Jewish count are counted, they’re not counted from Abib or Nisan. They’re counted from Tishri, and yet this says you should count the years from Nisan. Well, Abib, the first month of the year, as they used to call it, that actually continued for a long time. It continued all the way in the wilderness in Sinai that they numbered their years from spring to spring.

Now, we know that because Aaron died in the 40th year of their past, of their wilderness wandering, and it was in month number five.

And then later in Deuteronomy, the first chapter, you find that Moses said farewell to the Israelites, also in the 40th year, but it was a month number 11. So the year number did not change from month 5 to year to month 11. The year number was still numbered the same. So they did indeed do what this passage says. But why is it today that Israel counts their years from Tishri to Tishri, that is, month seven to month seven?

Well, the answer is that after they got into the land of Canaan, they changed their practice because it was better for them to count years in an agricultural season, from August, from autumn to autumn, and that’s what they have done even in the days of King Solomon and in all the days of the kings of Judah, they counted their years from Tishri to Tishri. Now you can establish that even from the Scriptures, not just historically. For example, in the reign of Josiah, you’ll find recorded in the Book of Kings and chronicles, in his 18th year, he began to refurbish the temple, and they found a law concerning the Passover that they had not been keeping for many years. Jesus says, we have to keep this law.

And so they did on the first month that followed after their examination of the temple, and yet the year number did not change. Excuse me, the year number did not change from the time they began cleansing the temple to the time they began observing the Passover. So the year did not change on Nisan, the first that they used to call Abib. So that was already Tishri.

To Tishri. Okay, it may seem a little complex, but the point is that there are two ways of counting Jewish years, and God said, count them from Habib or Nisan to Nisan, and they did. But later on, they changed and adjusted.

Now, is that meaningful symbolically at all? Yeah, I think everything has a symbolic meaning. I’m going to suggest that the springtime has to do with the first age of redemption, and that is the gospel age. That the August, the autumn of the year has to do with the second age of redemption. That would be from Tishri going forward.

Now, we’ll talk about that a little bit later in our discussion as well. But in this time, they were to observe it from spring to spring. Now, let’s go on to verse. By the way, I will say, you know, I have an opportunity to present the truth to people by zoom that are freshly new to the truth. We do that in Africa from time to time.

And I always emphasize that the key to understanding God’s plan is recognizing not one, but two distinct ages of redemption. That seems to go over very well. It seems not to be a problem, and they seem to latch onto that quickly. Okay, we’re going to read now verse number three. This is Exodus 12.

Three, speak you unto the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth month of the year, in the tenth day of this month, excuse me. They shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers. A lamb for a house. Now, why is it that they were to do this on the 10th day of the month? If he didn’t say day nine or day 11, I’m guessing there’s a symbolic point to day 10.

And our suggestion is. Well, let’s see. Now, as you know, I’ve got 10 fingers. You can’t see them, but I got 10 toes as well. 10 fingers, 10.

This is talking about humanity, and when you look in the scriptures, the number 10 frequently connects to humanity and humankind. You remember that in Daniel chapter two, you had four world empires governing this world, and the strongest of those empires, the Roman Empire had at its feet ten toes mixed with iron and clay that were defined in the prophecy. Then when you go to Daniel chapter seven, you find the same Roman Empire represented differently with ten horns. So I think humanity and the earthly things thrust of humankind is represented by the number 10.

Well, Jesus, the Passover lamb, is to atone for everybody on earth. He’s not going to atone for anybody up there now they’re going to learn from what he did, and fallen angels can observe what he did, and they can repent and they can change. But it wasn’t the same with them as it is with mankind who are condemned to die, and he had to come to earth and die as our Passover lamb to redeem us.

So I think perhaps his selection on the 10th day is meaningful symbolically in that regard. Okay, we’re going to go on to the next verse. That would be verse number four. If the household be too little for the Lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of souls. Every man, according to his eating, shall make your count for the lamb.

The point of this seems to be that the entire lamb has to be consumed. So if you have a small household and you’re not really able to consume an entire lamb, then you should join with your neighbors and participate so that you can consume the whole thing. Now, later on we’re going to see that if you didn’t consume it all, you should burn the remainder of it. You don’t save it for another time and another meal. Conveniently, the point of this seems to be that the entire sacrifice of Christ should be absorbed.

And the entire sacrifice of Christ for mankind is required. Not just partial, not just portions of it, but his entire life given for us should be consumed and used.

Going on to verse number five, Exodus 12, 5. Your Lamb shall be without blemish. A male of the first year. You shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats. Now this is engaging to me.

I have never in my life heard of a Passover goat, not even one time, except when I read this. But apparently the word lamb, and I’m not good at these areas, but the word lamb apparently refers to a young one from the flock. Now, almost always we see a lamb of a sheep rather than a young goat. But apparently if you were a person that raised flocks, and later in the law, it does talk about the flocks as opposed to the herds. So the flocks can be the sheep or goat, and the herds, of course, would be cows and bullocks and so forth.

So they’re kind of one segment of animal, but almost always we see the lamb as a sheep. As a lamb of the sheep, it says a male of the first year. Now, when you look at how animals in the law covenant were designated or valued, you will see that the males were always valued more highly. If you look at Leviticus, the fourth chapter, for example, we’re not going to turn there and read, but if you did, and you looked about the law of the sin offering, you would see that the sin offering animals could be a male if it was for a priest, but if it was for a common person, it could be a female. So this, I think, probably is because males can have many children and females can have fewer children.

Perhaps that’s the reason for the value. But Jesus is represented by a male, which would be of a higher quality, higher value in this culture. Verse number six.

And you shall keep it up until the 14th day of the same month, and the whole assembly of the congregation shall kill it in the evening. Now, the 14th day, well, the 14th day is a double seven. Is that because in fact this Passover lamb is going to apply for two ages of redemption, not only the Gospel age, but then after that, the millennial age. I’m partial to that view, but there is another option, and I think actually both views have some meaning, and that is on the 14th day of the month, you are at the time of a full moon. Now, the Jewish month begins at new moon, which is when it’s basically dark, and then half a month goes by and it’s at full moon.

Now, it just turns out that in the very year that Jesus himself died, on exactly the 14th day of Nisan, that night, there was an eclipse of the moon as it rose above the Horizon. So the 14th day was meaningful there. Now, you won’t find that in the Bible, it doesn’t actually say there was an eclipse on the day he died. I’m not even sure they saw it, although I think they would have were the clouds, you know, removed enough for them to see it. But if you look on the Internet and you just a little bit of calculation on with programs that deal with astronomical events and I have access to one of those programs, then it’s unquestionable that on the day he died in the year 33 AD on Nice and 14, according to the Jewish calendar, that night when he died, that night when the moon rose, it was not full eclipse, but it was partially eclipsed.

So if the Jewish people did see that, perhaps they recognize, at least in Retrospect that this has something to do with the fact that they denied their Savior and that their favor is being eclipsed. Now the Jewish people and the Jewish law are often represented in the Bible as a moon as opposed to the Gospel sunlight. You remember, even In Revelation chapter 12, you have a woman close clothed with the sun. She’s standing on the moon, the moon is something behind her. That was the old Jewish law and the old Jewish types and pictures.

So perhaps the death of Jesus at the height of the full moon and then it began to degrade suggests that because they did not receive him, their favor was diminished as a result.

Now, in this sixth verse we read something at the end of the verse that said, shall kill it in the evening, and probably most of you know that if you look in the King James, which I use all the time, that in the margin it says between the two evenings. That’s the most specific time, and I know there’s discussion about when is between the two evenings. My suggestion is in the reprints you’re going to find a letter that was written to Brother Russell by a Jewish brother.

And he explained that his understanding of the Jewish count of days and the hours of a day was that there were two parts of the morning and there were two parts of the afternoon period, and the two parts of the afternoon are the two evenings, the middle of which would be three o’ clock in the afternoon. Afternoon. Now some of you may know that view, and you may know that there are other views too. Well, I’m going to give you a scripture that I think will resolve the issue.

I won’t insist upon it, but look at it and see if you think it might, and that would be First Kings, chapter 18, verse 29. Now I’m not going to read that, but you can turn there and note it down. Think about it. But I’ll tell you what it says.

First Kings 18 is all about the time of Elijah the prophet, and Elijah at this time was confronting the priest of baal. It was a long episode, started in the morning. It even mentions noon, and then it mentions that Elijah went into action between the at the time of the evening sacrifice, which according to the old law was also between the two evenings.

Now let’s see, if it mentions the morning, it mentions noon, and it mentions between the two evenings. You remember when Jesus was put on the cross Mid morning, 9 o’ clock in the morning, our time, and then at noon things darkened severely and then he died at what we would call 3pm in the afternoon. Jesus was on the cross for six hours. I don’t think that was a. I think that was intentional.

I think those six hours suggested that Jesus sacrifice atones for the 6,000 years of mankind. All these details I think have some meaning. So when Elijah went into action, it was the time of the evening sacrifice, and if you read the entire narrative, you see all the things that happened after that could not have been at sunset. It must have been mid afternoon.

So I think that that suggests that in fact this law was intended to be mid afternoon, and when did Jesus actually die? Mid afternoon. So I think this is meaningful prophetically also to Jesus. Okay, let’s go on to Exodus 12, verse 7.

They shall take of the blood and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper doorpost of the house wherein they shall eat it. Now that’s interesting. That means that all of the Israelites that went into the house that night to eat that Passover lamb, they were under the blood. They had walked in through the door, that had blood on the top, blood on the two side posts. So you walked in, symbolically speaking, you were under the blood.

And I think that means that all of those that were in the house that night had faith. Well, I think prophetically it means all of those who appreciate the passover lamb in the gospel age have faith in Jesus death on their behalf. But I don’t think it means all of them in the house represent consecrated members of the church. I’m going to go back just a little bit to this. Now.

You see in the gospel age that there’s a large truncated pyramid at the bottom, and that’s in four parts. You see the two yellow parts, N and M, that would represent spirit begotten brethren, and some of them are going to be part of the bride class and some will be part of the great company. But below that you see still on the same plane of righteousness and justification is another group.

And that group are people who have faith in Jesus but are not yet consecrated. Now below that you find another group that call themselves Christians, but they don’t really act like Christians. They’re not really people recognized by God as people of faith and justified by their faith. So that wouldn’t work. But I think here in the home, eating the lamb that night, you had people that represent people of faith in the Christian world during the gospel age, even if they’re not consecrated.

So I think that’s the point here. Of those that are there now, as far as the firstborn, you know Paul says in Hebrews the twelfth chapter, the church of the firstborn whose names are written in heaven. That’s a well known scripture, and I think that tells us that the firstborn that were passed over in that night, not smitten like the firstborn of Egypt was, they are consecrated one, ones that do not lose their spiritual hope. Okay, let’s go back to Exodus 12 and this is verse 8.

They shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire and unleavened bread, and bitter herbs shall they eat with it, and verse 9. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden with all with water, but roast with fire the head with his legs, and with the pertinence thereof. Now in this, these two texts, I think it’s talking about Jesus in one respect.

That is the Passover land that had to be roast with fire, speaking about things pertaining to Him. Well, that would be that he was indeed roasted with fiery trials as he presented himself and was prepared for our us as our Redeemer and our Passover lamb. But the next two items, you eat it with unleavened bread and you eat it with bitter herbs. I don’t think represents something about Jesus. Now, he was unleavened, he was perfect, and he had trials.

But these are the people actually eating the Passover lamb. This would represent yourself and myself, and it suggests that what we want to be is unleavened. We want to have sin purged from us. Now, some of the hymns we have sung at this convention, which I find moving and wonderful, it does talk about our sins.

Even the hymn that we opened with talks about our sins, and when I read about that, when I sing those words, I have to admit that I recognize as the years go by, every year brings more trouble in that regard. I hope that the percentage goes down. But still we’re not perfect, and still we do have sin.

And we want to be unleavened. We want to be unblemished as much as possible, and that’s what eating of the unleavened bread represents. It’s not talking about Jesus. He’s not eating the lamb.

We are, and the bitter herbs, of course, would represent the experiences of life that we as Christians have as we’re participating in Jesus sacrifice. Okay, let’s go on to verse 10. You shall let nothing of it remain until the morning, and that which remains, you shall burn with fire.

Again, I think this is emphasizing that the entire value of his sacrifice we have to appreciate, receive, and apply to ourselves. Verse 11, and when you shall eat it, thus shall you eat it with your loins girded Your shoes on your feet, your staff in your hand, and you’ll eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. Well, I think you all know the point, that we’re ready for a journey.

We’re ready to go to a different area. We’re ready to go to our home in heaven, and so we’re prepared for that journey. Verse 12. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night.

I will smite the firstborn of the land of Egypt, man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. So Those are the 12 verses that introduce the Passover offering. There’s more to read.

We’re not going to read all of that, but we are going to Skip in chapter 12 to verse number 46, and that will be the last verse in this chapter, verse 46. In one house shall it be eaten. Thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house, and here’s the point of interest.

Neither shall you break a bone thereof. So you’re not going to break any bones of this lamb. Now, you all know that when Jesus was on the cross, there was no bone of him broken. Now, how is that possible? They even drove a nail through his feet and through his hands.

Maybe the wrists perhaps, but those nails missed the bones, and they did not break the bones. Why? Why is that meaningful? Because your bones represent your home for the future. You remember in Ezekiel 37, the vision of the valley of dry bones?

There was a whole valley of dry bones, and the prophecy said these represent the hopes of Israel. So even though Israel is not a nation for through the Diaspora, their bones represent their hopes for the future. Well, likewise, Jesus bones represented his hope for the future, and those bones were not broken. Now, it’s interesting to me that that will apply to more than just Jesus. There’s another scripture that refers to this first John 19, verse 36, that does say, for these things were done, that the Scriptures should be fulfilled.

A bone of him shall not be broken. Well, that’s good. That applies to him. But there’s another scripture, and that’s in Psalms 34, verses 19 and 20, and this is not just about Jesus.

This is about you. Psalm 34, 19 and 20. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but Jehovah delivers him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones. Not one of them is broken.

Well, I think that means your hopes for heaven are not broken by your various problems and experiences and trials. Now, we’re thankful that the Lord is ready to atone and forgive our sins. We’re not quite like Jesus in that respect, but we still do have a heavenly hope, and that heavenly hope is not going to be diminished by the afflictions that the righteous have during this time. Okay, we’re going to go on now to something else, and that is to looking at how these things were fulfilled in the experiences of Jesus in his last week of life.

We’re going to turn to John the 12th chapter.

And this is going to be the beginning of a narrative that compasses his last week of life.

This is John 12. We’re going to start with verse number one. Jesus, six days before the the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he had raised from the dead six days before Passover. Now, if you look on the Internet today and you find out when the Passover is going to be, you will never find it on the 14th of Nisan. You always find it on the 15th of Nice.

And the lamb was to be killed between the two evenings on the 14th day. But that would be late in the afternoon, and then you were to eat it that night. That’s why the Passover feast is the 15th day. So let’s apply that to this. We would take 15 minus 6.

Now that would be 9. Doing this in my head. I hope I’m right. That would be the 9th of Nisan. So it says in this verse that on the 9th of Nisan he came to Bethany, where Lazarus had been was.

And they made verse two. They made him a supper and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table. So what day is that when they had supper? Well, that would be the next day because, you know, a Jewish day begins at sunset. So they arrived on the 9th.

Now that makes sense too, because on that week that would have been a Sunday. Had he traveled the day before, he would have violated the Sabbath commandment about travel on the Sabbath. That was customary in the Jewish keeping of his day. So he arrived on Sunday. That night turned into the 10th of Nisan.

Let’s see what happened to him that night. Verse number three. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spirit spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. Then guess who objected.

You all can remember Judas Iscariot. He says that money should have been sold, that material should have been sold and the money given to the poor. But as it explains, he said that not because he cared for the poor, but because he kept the money and he would like a little more. So this is very selfish of him. But the other disciples thought it was justified and so they complained as well.

So Jesus says, no, no. Verse number seven. Jesus said, let her alone. She has done this against the day of my burying. In other words, that 300 pence of ointment was preparing for his burial.

This is the 10th of nice. That’s when you identify the Passover lamb. That’s when Mary’s anointing of his feet identified him as the one that’s ready to die. This wasn’t a random date. This was the 10th of Nice.

And when the Passover lamb was identified.

We’re going to move on now to John 20:12, verse 12. This says on the next day, a bunch of people that were come to the feast when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took branches of palm trees, went forth to meet him, and cried hosanna. Blessed is the king of Israel that comes in the name of the Lord, and you know this famous episode when he rode into Jerusalem triumphant, and this was probably the greatest day of triumph and glory that he had experienced so far in his three and a half days years of ministry. This would be the 10th of Nice.

And so when they acclaimed him king and identified him, that would be fitting for the Passover lamb to be identified. Now if we go to verse number 27, this is a surprising text to me. Same day, the most true triumphant day that he experienced in his ministry so far. Verse 27. Now is my soul troubled.

What shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. For this cause I came into this hour. In other words, he knows he’s preparing to die. So on the most triumphant day of his ministry, that was the 10th of Nyssan.

Do you think he recognized that? Do you think he understood he was now being identified, Identified as the Redeemer? I think so. I think that’s appropriate connection with the Old Testament timing. Okay, if we go forward to Matthew the 21st chapter, or backward rather, in the Gospels, Matthew 21:12, we’re going to see what Jesus did in this last week of his experience.

Verse number 12, Matthew 21:12. Jesus went into the temple of God and cast out all them that bought in the temple and overthrew the table of the money changers. Well, that’s odd. Now, he came in triumphantly. He talked about his approaching death.

He enters the temple and throws out the money changers. No, that’s not really what happened. You Might get that idea from reading Matthew. But Matthew is not clear in dividing the days. Luke, or rather Luke and Mark are.

They’re much clearer, and Matthew, of course, as you may know, was a book written in Hebrew. Matthew framed his book to gather things about Jesus collectively in five different episodes, kind of to parallel the five books of Moses. That’s not my opinion. That comes from other Christian writings, but I think it’s probably correct.

But Matthew sometimes groups things together. I’ll give you an example. In Matthew, chapter 24, you have the Lord’s great prophecy. It’s a long prophecy. But if you look in Luke, you’ll find that prophecy actually is an appendage of things in Luke 12, Luke 16:17 and Luke 21.

So Matthew doesn’t always precisely define the proper days and distinguish them. So let’s look at what mark says. Mark 11, verse 11, mark 11 11. Jesus entered into Jerusalem, into the temple, when he had looked around upon all things, and now the eventide was come.

He went into Bethany with the 12. He didn’t go in the temple, he didn’t cast out the money changers. Verse 12. On the morrow, when they were come forth from Bethany, he was hungry and seeing a fig tree, had no figs on it. You know what he did?

He cursed the fig tree. Well, that’s the next day, and then as you go down through the narrative, when he came into the city, he went into the temple and came cast out the money changers. So that’s actually the next day. So what we have here is Monday, he entered Jerusalem.

Tuesday, he cursed the tree, and then he went in and cast out the money changers. Now that makes sense to me, because I don’t think Jesus was impulsive. I think he was very thoughtful. He looked in the temple and he saw what they were doing. He went to rest that night, deliberated on it during the night, came back in the morning ready for action, and then he was ready to cast out the money changers.

This was not an impulsive action. This is a thoughtful deliberation. Okay, so then the next day, Wednesday, he comes back into the city. Matthew, he found the tree dried by the roots. The disciples were quite surprised.

And when he went into the city, he saw that he was confronted by the scribes and Pharisees because of what he had done the previous day. Now that Wednesday you’ll find also is the date when he gave the long prophecy of Matthew 24 and 25 after he left the city that night. But the other experiences in the previous chapters give a long Narrative of about Wednesday, probably the longest single narrative of Jesus entire service and ministry. Thursday, the next day he was at Bethany. He came back to Jerusalem for the Last supper.

That night, Friday he was tried crucified, Saturday was in the tomb and Sunday he was raised. The same day that they would offer the barley wavy back in Leviticus, Jesus was raved, because Jesus represents the barley, just as the church later are represented by wheat. Okay, now at the very end of that slide, you see that if you add up the 15th of Nisan, 15 days more of Nisan, 29 days of the next month, and six days of the next month, you have, you’re taken to the 50th day. That would be Pentecost, and if you look in Exodus 19:11, which we won’t read, time is going by Exodus 19:11, and look at the whole of the 19th chapter of Exodus.

Our suggestion, not fresh with us, but we think it’s correct, is that the day the Israelites received the law through Moses from the mount is the very day that was the 50th day from Passover. So I think that this is meaningful, that when Jesus blessed the church at Pentecost, that has something to do with a new age of blessing for the church. Okay, let’s go on.

This is something we have referred to on other occasions with other subjects. Time is brief, so we’re just going to just review it fairly briefly. But this is Joshua’s crossing of the river Jordan with the Israelites, and you’ll find the whole narrative in Joshua 4, chapters 4 and 5, and you’ll find that in Joshua 4:19, that on the 10th of Abib, they actually crossed the River Jordan.

The 10th of Abib. Now, Abib is the month that we call Nice in, and then it says Joshua 3:16, that the reason the Jordan river was passable was because way in the north, at a city called Adam, there was a landslide. A city called Adam, a landslide that stopped the water so you could cross over into the kingdom. It’s on the 10th day of Nisan.

I think this is a picture of the opening of the kingdom for Israel. When they finally realize, as Zechariah 12:10 says, they will look unto him whom they pierced and mourn for him, as one mourns for their only son. That won’t happen until the curse from Adam has been blocked, has been changed, and that river of water of the Jordan, the cursed river, is finally relieved, and they’re able to pass over into a new side, which I believe represents the kingdom.

But there’s another point, it says, by Adam near to a place called Zaretan. Now we just quoted a scripture in Zechariah 12:10, they’ll look unto him whom they pierced. That word Zeratan in the Hebrew means pierced. So not only is it a reconciliation for Adam’s sin, but now they’re going to recognize when. When the ancient worthies come back and inform them who it is that just delivered them from their enemies from the Ezekiel 38 conflict, they’re going to recognize that was Jesus.

Now I think many of them of faith would recognize God intervened. But how would they possibly know it was Jesus rather than God directly? Only if the ancient worthies are back to explain it to them and to tell them five special occasions. Leviticus 23. Our time is so short we can just look at this and suggest it.

But I’m going to suggest that in the springtime there are five. What shall I say? Activities that are in the Jewish law, that are all in the springtime, that all pertain to you, to the brethren of the Gospel age. In the autumn, there are five other events that are all relative to the world of mankind in the Kingdom. Now, because of our time, because of our pleasant chairman coming to remind me, we won’t itemize in detail these, but if you ever want a list of those, we can provide it for you.

You’ll find there are numerical connections between the first five in the spring and the first and the last five in the autumn that all pertain to the Gospel age and the thousand year millennial kingdom later for mankind. You see that very last one, Pentecost. That’s when the Church was inaugurated and received their blessing, the Jubilee, the 50th year. That’s when mankind gets their land back. That’s the world of mankind that received life again in the Kingdom.

Okay, we have a list of other references. Now I’m just going to go through these and mention them rather than read them all because of time. First Corinthians 5, 7. Christ is our Passover. No Christian disputes that Jesus is our Passover lamb.

Paul is very clear there. First Corinthians 10:16. He talks about the blessing. What he’s talking about is the cup of blessing. It turns out that in the Jewish keeping of Passover, even at the Last Supper, which was not Passover, but it was the day preparing for Passover at the Last Supper.

If you look in the Gospel of Luke, you’re going to see more than one cup. You’re going to see a cup of blessing and then you’re going to find that Jesus passed the bread and then after supper, not after sipping, but after eating dinner, then he passed the cup a second time. Well, that cup of blessing is the first thing that identifies the blessing of that evening for the disciples, and when you look in 1st Corinthians 10, 16 and 17, you’re going and further in chapter 11, you’re going to find in the 10th chapter the cup and then the bread. You look in the 11th chapter, you’re going to find the bread and then the cup.

It’s not a mistake because there was a cup of bread and another cup. That’s the way Luke in his Gospel is very clear. First Corinthians 11, 23, 27. You see the word sept. Never think that means sipped. It doesn’t.

It means dined. If you look at that scripture clearly that’ll help get the focus on the sequence. First Corinthians 11, 20, 22 we’re going to pass on. You can look at that, think about it later if you wish. So we’re going to close here.

We’re going to all of us appreciate what Jesus has done for us. But he hasn’t done that just for us. He has done that for every person who has ever lived. The Passover lamb is going to be for not only this age of redemption, but for the whole world of mankind in the kingdom, and Israel is going to be thrilled, but also a little bit ashamed because they have for 2000 years rejected the wonderful blessing that you and I have received.

Not because we deserve it, because God is gracious.

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