Study Resources: The Crucifixion & Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Posted on Wednesday, April 19 @ 06:47:07 PDT by John |
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RevelationMan submitted: "In this article on “The Crucifixion & Resurrection of Jesus Christ,” A Personal Revelation author Eric Fugett examines the events surrounding the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
According to Daniel 9:25-26, some decree will be issued to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. Exactly sixty-nine "sevens" (69x7) or 483 years after this occurs, the Anointed One will come. The decree in question is the one issued by King Artaxerxes in 458 BCE (Ezra 7:11-26). Ezra left Jerusalem in April and arrived in Jerusalem in August of that same year (Ezra 7:8-9). Originally, I believed that Ezra read the decree to the Israelites on or near the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), which fell on September 11, in 458 BCE. He may have actually read it on The Feast of Trumpets, which fell on September 2, 458 BCE. If Ezra is truly when we should start counting, then 483 years from 458 BCE brings us to 26 CE.
Now if I am correct, Jesus began his ministry and was baptized on or near His 30th birthday (Luke 3:23) on The Day of Atonement in 26 CE. FYI, the Greek words used in Luke 3:23, which tell us that "Jesus was about 30 years of age when he began his ministry," should be translated, Jesus began (commenced) to be or just turned 30 years of age when he began his ministry. Also, in John 2:13-20, when it was almost time for the Passover, the Jews told Jesus it had taken 46 years to build the temple up to its current state. The work on the Jewish temple began in 20 BCE, so 46 years from that time brings us to 27 CE (year 0 does not exist). Since this is the Passover that occurred just after Jesus’ baptism, we now have further assurance that it was in 26 CE that Jesus was baptized and began his ministry. Three and a half years after beginning His ministry, Jesus offered His life as a sacrifice, for you and me, on the cross. Now let’s take a look at the crucifixion of Jesus.
I began writing my book in May of 2002 and finished it in 2003. These are perfect years to explain what happened the year that Jesus was crucified. The Passover in 30 CE, much like both of these years, began on a Wednesday evening. I believe (as a result of Matthew 27:45-50, Mark 15:33-37, and Luke 23:44-46) Jesus was crucified around 9:00 a.m. on a Wednesday in 30 CE. I first heard Wednesday, as the day for the crucifixion of Jesus, while listening to Chuck Swindoll on the radio one afternoon. Even as a child, I questioned the logic of the numbering used for a Friday crucifixion. I know what you’re thinking. How do you explain the fact that the chief priests wanted him off the cross before the Sabbath began? Chuck Swindoll also mentioned that the Greek word for Sabbath in Matthew 28:1 is plural rather than singular. Scofield’s 1917 Commentary on the Matthew 28:1 confirms this to be true. Therefore, I think we can deduce that, along with the weekly Sabbath, there was another holiday that was considered a Sabbath that occurred between Jesus’ death and resurrection.
According to John 19:14, it was at noon on the Day of Preparation of Passover Week that Jesus was sentenced. In the Aramaic, it says that it was Passover Eve or Tuesday, Nissan 13. In John 19:31, it is Wednesday, Nissan 14 and Jesus has just been slaughtered, like the lambs that were to be eaten at twilight or the close of the day. We are also told that there will be a special Sabbath the next day. As I said, Passover began at twilight on Wednesday evening on Nissan 14 and the special Sabbath was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread which began after sundown on Nissan 15. It is a day on which no work is to be done and is thus considered a special Sabbath (Leviticus 23:6-7, Numbers 28:17-18, and John 19:31).
Jesus died somewhere around 3:00 p.m. Thus, Jesus was in Paradise from about 3:00 p.m. Wednesday afternoon until about 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning or about three and a half days. This is why we celebrate the Lord’s Day and have church on Sunday. As a matter of fact, if you check all of the passages that talk about him rising on the third day, you will find that the word "on" is either added or is not present. However, there are a couple of scriptures (Matthew 27:63 & Mark 8:31) that said He would rise after three days.
If you go to the website, www.abdicate.net/cal.asp, you will find that in 30 CE, Passover began on the evening of April 5th (Julian), which was a Wednesday. Daniel was told that the Anointed one would come 483 years after Artaxerxes' decree was issued and afterwards he would be cut off (Daniel 9:26). Jesus came in 26 CE, preached for three and a half years, and then died on the cross. In the prophecy about Jesus in Isaiah 53:8, Jesus is described as being cut off from the land of the living when he died on the cross. Thus, the 1st Coming of Jesus was not in reference to his birth, but to the three and a half years of his ministry.
Passover Meal
What I am also suggesting is that Jesus did not eat a Passover meal with his disciples. I think that they did begin doing what was required in preparing the lamb for the Passover meal (which would occur two days later) but they did not eat the Passover meal that night. The day that Jesus ate the meal with his disciples was actually a Monday.
If you examine all of the events that occurred between the meal and the crucifixion of Jesus, you will see that they were completed over the course of two days. That night, after the meal, Jesus went out and prayed for hours about going to the cross. He was then captured and taken before the Sanhedrin for a trial. The next morning, the Sanhedrin took Him before Pilate for a trial (Matthew 26:17-27:1). John also tells us earlier that the Jews did not want to go into Pilate’s palace because they did not want to be unclean for the Passover (John 18:28-29). Pilate sent Jesus to Herod for a trial, and Herod in turn sent Him back to Pilate for yet another trial (Luke 22:66-23:25). Pilate handed Jesus over to the soldiers, at noon according to John 19:14 (see Matthew 20:5 and John 4:6 for other time frame references on the sixth hour), who made a sport of beating Him (Matthew 27:27-31). After all of this, according to Mark 15:25, Jesus was crucified the next morning at 9:00 a.m. (see Matthew 20:3 for other time frame reference on the third hour). Do you honestly believe that all of this occurred over the course of one night?
Let’s face it, if The Crucifixion is the antitype of The Passover type, then Jesus could not be the Passover Lamb if the Passover had occurred before He died. What I just said is that if The Passover foreshadowed The Crucifixion, then Jesus needed to die on the same day that the lambs were slaughtered. We know that the Passover lamb’s bones could not be broken (Exodus 12:46) and Jesus’ bones were not broken in his death either (Psalm 34:20, John 19:31-36). Why not? As I said before, The Crucifixion is the antitype of The Passover type. In Isaiah 53:7, Isaiah describes Jesus as being "led like a lamb to the slaughter" and Jesus is also described as a slain Lamb in Revelation 5:6. Remember that Paul calls Jesus "our Passover lamb" in 1 Corinthians 5:7.
If you think about it, Jesus also broke all of the requirements for Passover in the meal that He ate with his disciples. There was some type of stew for the bread rather than a roasted lamb. The bread that they ate during this meal was leavened (in the Greek) rather than unleavened bread. However, this leavened bread is the same type of bread described in Acts 2:42-47, 20:7-11; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, 11:23-28. Knowing that his followers would indeed eat, maybe what Jesus wanted them and us to remember is what He said in John 6:53-57 in comparing his flesh and blood to food and drink. Perhaps what Jesus also had in mind is the concept from Deuteronomy 6:4-9, that we should be talking about the cross all the time.
Next, we see that the disciples’ cloaks were not tucked into their belts (Jesus even took his outer garment off in John chapter 13). They were reclining at the table rather than standing. They did not have staffs in their hands, and they were not wearing their sandals. Last, but not least, they did not eat the meal quickly (Exodus 12:1-11, which is a correction from referencing Numbers beforehand in my book, Matthew 26:1-23, Mark 14:1-20, Luke 22:1-7, John 13:1-6).
Each of the four gospels provides a clear and detailed account of the Last Supper. Jesus is definitely making a statement here. That meal was not the Passover meal because He is the Passover Lamb. The only exception, to eating the meal on a day other than Passover, was to eat it a month later on the same day. If you missed Passover for legitimate reasons (Numbers 9:6-12), then you could participate in the Passover celebration on the same day of the next month.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
In the above section, I mention that Jesus died on a Wednesday afternoon around 3:00 p.m. on April 5 (Julian date) in 30 AD. That date corresponds to Nissan 14 on the Jewish calendar, which is the annual date for The Passover. In case you are not aware, Jewish days begin in the evening and end on the following evening. So the Passover meal was to be eaten at twilight or at the close of the day on the 14th. Nissan 15 is the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It is a day on which no work is to be done and is thus considered a special Sabbath (Leviticus 23:6-7, Numbers 28:17-18, and John 19:31).
According to Matthew 27:62, in the Aramaic Peshitta, the Pharisees went to Pilate on the next day after sunset. This means they went to see Pilate to ask him to place a guard at the tomb on Thursday night or during the day Friday before the weekly Sabbath began Friday evening. Those who believe that the Pharisees actually went to see Pilate during the Sabbath need to keep in mind that these are the same guys who would not enter Pilate’s palace and who wanted the bodies off the crosses before Passover and the first day of The Feast of Unleavened Bread began (John 18:28-29; 19:31).
It was definitely on Friday, after the special Sabbath had ended, that Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome purchased spices at the marketplace, so that they might go and anoint Jesus’ body (Mark 16:1). If the women did not purchase the spices on Friday, then the question remains as to when they could have purchased them. After purchasing the spices, the women went home and prepared the spices and perfumes, but they rested on the weekly Sabbath in obedience to the commandment (Luke 23:56).
Early on Sunday morning, there was a violent earthquake, which was an angel of the Lord moving away the stone from in front of the tomb (Matthew 28:2). The angel’s appearance was so bright and blinding that the guards were nearly frightened to death (Matthew 28:3-4). At some point after this encounter the guards leave, because when the women get to the tomb they are nowhere to be found. This is evident by the facts that the women do not ask the guards what they have done with the body, and because the guards are not recorded as being present in any of the other gospels (Matthew 28:1-15, Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-18). The guards eventually tell the Pharisees what happened and they create the lie that has been circulated about the disciples stealing his body (Matthew 28:11-15).
So, after the weekly Sabbath (on Sunday), while it was still dark (John 20:1), the women mentioned above started out for the tomb, with the spices that they had purchased and prepared on Friday (Luke 24:1). However, the idea of moving the stone didn’t occur to them until they were nearly at the tomb just after sunrise (Mark 16:3). When they arrived, they were astonished to find that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance (Mark 16:4, Luke 24:2-3, John 20:1). They went in and discovered that the tomb was empty (Luke 24:2-3).
At this point, I can only surmise that the women split up. Perhaps each took three to four Apostles to go and find. Mary Magdalene went to tell Peter, Andrew, James and John (John 20:2) and the other women went to tell the rest of the apostles. Apparently, she only found Peter and John. This is perhaps why John tells the entire account from Mary Magdalene’s perspective, and the other gospel writers record that other women were present. Mary Magdalene never went to the tomb alone, because she tells Peter and John that “we” do not know where they have put him.
Immediately, Peter and John head to the tomb with John outrunning Peter to arrive there first (John 20:3-4). However, John just stands there and Peter, upon arrival, goes right in. Both see the empty tomb and placement of the cloths, but don’t know what to make of it (John 20:6-9). Then they leave, but Mary Magdalene and the women, who have also returned to the tomb, stay (Luke 24:4, John 20:11).
Now the women begin to ponder all of the events that have taken place (Luke 24:4). Mary Magdalene is so distraught that she breaks down and begins crying (John 20:11). It is then that they see the angels inside the tomb and fall face down before them (Matthew 28:5-6, Mark 16:5, John 20:11-12, Luke 24:4-5). The angels ask Mary Magdalene why she is crying and she tells them (John 20:13). The angels invite the women to come and see the place where lay (Matthew 28:5-6, Mark 16:5-6, Luke 24:4-7). However, only Mary Magdalene originally saw both angels (John 20:12), for when the women went inside the tomb, they were alarmed to see that there was another angel on the right side (Mark 16:5). While the angels are telling the women about Jesus’ resurrection, Mary Magdalene, still distraught, remained outside. She turns and sees who she believes to be the gardener and begins a conversation with him (John 20:14-15). Mary Magdalene finally has someone whom she can ask where they have taken Jesus’ body and does so (John 20:15). When she realizes that it is Jesus, she cries out, “Rabboni!” which brings the other women running. They all grab hold of him & he explains everything to them (John 20:16-17, Matthew 28:8-10).
The women, now overcome with joy, race back to tell the apostles that Jesus is alive and wants to meet with them in Galilee (Luke 24:9-11, John 20:18). If Luke is not recording the same event as John, then Peter went back to the tomb again & it was probably on his way back from there that he saw Jesus (Luke 24:34). On that same day, we know that Jesus appeared to Cleopas and another disciple while they were on there way to a village called Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. He also appeared to ten of the apostles later that day, Thomas being the one apostle who was not present (Luke 24:13-49, John 20:19-25). A week later he appeared to all eleven apostles and removed all doubts from Thomas (John 20:26-29).
Jesus apparently made several appearances to over 500 people (John 21:1-24, Acts 1:1-9, 1 Corinthians 15:3-7), especially over the 40 days that began with his resurrection.
Information about The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus is just one of the many topics you can read about when you buy my book, "A Personal Revelation.""
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