A deeper understanding of the Gospels
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Answering your Gospel questions is a tall order. So we will begin with a list of questions and then follow that with the background you need to understand what things mean in the Gospels. Like what time did the work day end if the steward paid the workers who started at the eleventh hour and only worked one hour? (Mt 20:9). Or where it says Jesus disciples were going up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles (Jn 7:2). What time of year was that and what did it celebrate?
Then we will discuss the common teaching techniques that were in use during Jesus' time so that you can recognize them and know what if anything more you need to do to gain the full meaning that the evanglist and Jesus intended to convey.
We will also walk you through establishing the actual dates of Jesus' birth and death.
Lastly and most importantly we will show you how knowing these thing impact your understanding of the life and death of Jesus.
Some house keeping:
Let's start with a quiz. Give your self 2 points for each correct answer. You need 70 points to pass. If you don't pass, that is why this site exists. These questions are some of the ones I wrote down when I began to really try to meditate on the mysteries of the rosary. I have never met anyone who could pass the quiz so if you can, leave me a comment I would be delighted. If you don't pass don't be discouraged. I couldn't answer any of them when I started at age 40.
As Mary said in one of her appearances at Medjugore about her birthday, it is not as important on what day it is celebrated as it is that it is celebrated. Mary told the children in July of 1984 that on August 5th she would celebrate her 2000th birthday. The children objected that her birthday was Sept 8th. Mary simply replied I have two birthdays. The problem is that when it can be shown that something stated is not factually correct, it casts doubt on everything else that has been said. That is exactly what the Devil wants to do: to cast doubt on everything else that is said in the Bible.
We have celebrated the Last Supper on Holy Thursday so long we have forgotten that Jesus actually celebrated it Tuesday evening with the Essenes. Factually the only way that the Last Supper could have been on Thursday is if the Shroud of Turin is a fake, or John was mistaken in his Gospel when he said Jesus was buried according to Jewish burial custom, or Jesus attended the Last Supper after having been scourged by Pilate’s soldiers. Oh, and Jesus was just kidding when He said he came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. I personally conclude that the Last Supper didn’t happen on Thursday and that Jesus never said it did to anybody, ever!
The Church originally celebrated the Last Supper on Tuesday and the beginning of the Jesus’ Passion on Wednesday. See Pope Benedict XVI homily for April 5, 2007, Mass of the Lord’s Supper. 1 It was at least a century after Jesus died when the Church instituted the Tridium for the convenience of both the clergy and the laity.
I am not attacking the Church or its teachings. I believe that Sacred Scripture is inerrant except where human beings have made alterations to further their own agendas. (As was done with the Masoretic Text). I believe that if you dig you will find that Jesus was really born in 2BC despite what all our bible scholars try to tell us. The devil doesn’t want us to know when Jesus was born because then he has to admit that Jesus is real!
There are just a few discoveries that really opened up my understanding and are behind the answers to most of my questions:
God wanted Moses to convey to his people some truths that He wanted them to never forget. Those truths form the very basis of salvation history. So, he made them a list of festivals to be celebrated every year (Lev 23:4-43): Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles. He called them “holy convocations, my appointed feasts.” (Lev 23:2) Convocation in Hebrew, “ קָרָא ” (transliterated: “kaw-raw”), has two meanings and God meant both: a “convocation” and a “dress rehearsal”. Isn’t it possible that you fulfill the Law by treating the Feasts of the Lord which God commanded be celebrated every year as dress rehearsals thus fulfilling the feasts themselves? Jesus came to fulfill the prophets, psalms, and the Feasts of the Lord: on the Day of the Feast!
Any part of a unit of time was considered that time; a minute into an hour was one hour, an hour into a day was one day. Jesus was in the tomb 33 elapsed hours, but he was in the tomb 3 days: He was buried right before sunset Friday, the first day; He was in the tomb from sunset Friday through sunset Saturday, the second day; and He rose at 3 am on Sunday, the third day. By the same token, a year on the temple calendar has 51 weeks even though it has 50 weeks and 4 days. The hours of the day varied in length based on the time between sunrise and sunset. Time zones didn’t exist. Jerusalem today is UTC+2, but the time in Jerusalem is 21 minutes east of UTC+2, when you are looking at a sun dial. So, for example, on the day Jesus died, April 3rd 33 AD, the sun rose at 5:25 am 5 and set at 5:59 pm so there was 12 hours and 34 minutes of sunlight. The day was divided in 12 hours, so each hour was 62 minutes and 50 seconds long. Solar Noon is the time when the shadow cast by the sun points due north (North of the Equator). It can be off by as much as 2.39 minutes
Thus John says Jesus was crucified at the 6th hour – that was 5 hours 14 minutes and 10 seconds after sunrise: so somewhere between 10:39:10 am and 11:42:00 am, and He died at the 9th hour or sometime after 1:47:40 pm. But wait! Jesus died at 3pm! I am truely sorry, but John said He died at the 9th hour. 3pm is during the 10th hour. Oh, it bothered me too until I realized that they started sacrificing the Paschal Lambs at 2pm when Preparation Day fell on a Friday and it was a Friday. Jesus was the Lamb selelcted for sacrifice for all the people. He was to be the first Lamb sacrificed! For Jesus to fulfill Passover, He had to be the first Lamb to die!
What do calendars and measures of time have to do with our faith? Nothing, unless you would like to understand when something happened and what impact that had on Salvation History. You will see in the story of the birth of Jesus that when you know when in time Jesus is born on the Temple calendar it totally changes our understanding of the events narrated in scripture.
Suddenly it makes sense that there was no room in the inn, that Jesus was born in a stable, and that the angels appeared to the shepherds. It had to be that way! Suddenly you will see that even from his birth Jesus is the Light of the World, the Source of Living Water, and the Lamb of God. You will also understand why the Essene Calendar could not be supressed until after the death of Jesus.
The Essene Calendar is based on the book of Enoch (Jubilees 6:30) and Noah’s solar year in the ark. It is the older of the two Jewish Calendars. During the time of the Maccabees the priests adopted the Temple Calendar and attempted to supress the Essene Calendar but a portion of the people objected to the reforms and stuck with the solar calendar. By the time of Jesus that group represented 20% of the population. It is a solar calendar in which there are always 12 months in a year. There are 4 quarters of 30, 30, and 31-day months. The Essene calendar maintains the focus on the week as primary to the month.
The Essenes added an additional week to the 12th month every 7th year. They also added an additional week (making two extra weeks in the 12th month) every 49th year and every 70th year:
The focus on the week of the Essene calendar meant that a date, say the 15th of Nisan, would always fall on the same day of the week: Wednesday. So, if your birthday was on Tuesday it was always on Tuesday.
In the year 2015 the Gregorian, Israelite, and Essene calendars were all back to the same position as they were in the year 33, the year Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead.
The Temple Calendar 6 is a solar/lunar calendar which considers the rotation of the earth a day. Yahweh ordered the days into weeks, with a week consisting of 7 days. The rotation of the moon defines a month, and the rotation of the earth around the sun a year. On average, the moon revolves around the Earth in about 29½ days. The Earth revolves around the sun in about 365¼ days, that is, about 12.4 lunar months. Thus, a month has either 29 or 30 days and there are either 12 or 13 months in the Temple calendar. Each month begins on the day of the new moon. Each year began on the first day of the month following the barley crop reaching a point when it was “Abib” (became yellow and brittle):
For the temple, each month began with the sighting of the new moon. The priests used the fact that barley only had one crop per year; so, if the crop was not ready (Abib) for harvesting at the end of the 11th month then an additional month was added to the year. Barley was used based on the requirement to both support the feast of First Fruits with a barley wave offering and the fact that Exodus (Passover) occurred during the month of the Abib.
Prior to Ezra months were not named they were simply numbered.
There was both a religious calendar and a secular calendar. The religious calendar begins on the 1st of Nisan. The Feasts of the Lord are based on the religious calendar. The secular calendar begins on the 1st of Tishrei. The year on the Jewish calendar is the count of the years since the creation of Adam based on the text in the bible and the secular calendar. However, there is some argument among Jewish scholars as to exactly what the current year should be. The year values shown in this document is from the Calendar used for all the dates shown here. 7
Kaluach 3.2 which is available for free at http://kaluach3.software.informer.com/3.2/
The Israelites held that every 7th year was a Sabbatical year or Shemitah year. During that year, there was to be no farming done, debts were to be forgiven and slaves released. In addition, on the Shemitah year the Torah was to be read aloud on the feast of Tabernacles and all women and children were to accompany the men to the designated place of worship for the Feast of Tabernacles.
The Days of the week are:
On the 29th of Adar a priest examined the barley in the fields outside Jerusalem. If it was Abib, the next day was Nisan 1. If it was not Abib, the next day was the 30th of Adar I, the leap month. If a particularly dry year caused the barley to be late and a leap year was declared there could be 3 years before the next leap year. The barley served to keep the calendar correct. There is a 19-year cycle for leap years: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19 where each bolded year is a leap year. A cycle began in the year 3 AD so 2 AD (year 19), 1 BC (year 17), and 4 BC (year 14) are leap years. Shortly after the destruction of the temple it was decided to simply follow the observed cycle and not pay attention to the barley since the Jews had spread all over the known world and communicating with the diaspora that it was to be a leap year was problematic.
There are occasionally minor adjustments made to keep Yom Kippur (Tishrei 10) from falling on a Friday or Hoshanah Rabad (Tishrei 21) from falling on a Saturday. When that could potentially occur, an extra day is added to Cheshvan or subtracted from Kislev the previous year and then reversed the following year. What this is doing is preventing the occurrence of back to back Sabbaths. Since cooking is forbidden on the Sabbath this prevents people from having to make and store food for 2 days, something problematic before refrigeration. One of the side effects is that Nisan 14 will never fall on a Thursday, which would cause Friday, Nisan 15, to be a Sabbath and Saturday is always a Sabbath. That means that First Fruits can never fall on a Saturday so it is always the 3rd day!
Jewish people did not have surnames until the time of Napoleon. If there was more than one person with the same name, they used a variety of surnames to differentiate based on the current knowledge of the people communicating.
A significant event in one’s life that marked a change in a person warranted a name change: Saul became Paul (Acts 13:9), Simon became Peter (Jn 1:42), Jacob became Israel (Gen 35:10), Abraham’s wife Sarai became Sarah (Gen 17:15), and Bernice became Veronica.
Jesus’ name is a transliteration of the Greek: “ ιησουν ” “Iesous” which in turn is the transliteration of the Hebrew: “ ׳שרצ ” “Yeshua”. It means Yahweh saves and is the same name as Joshua who was Moses’ aid. (Remember it was Joshua who led the Israelites into the promise land and Jesus who leads us into the Kingdom of God.)
Jewish burial customs required that a body be washed prior to burial. However, life blood could not be washed off. Life blood was defined as any fluid that came from the body as a result of trauma to the body that occurred on the day of death. If life blood was on a person’s clothing, the clothing could not be removed. If life blood got on a piece of cloth (possibly used as a compress to stop the bleeding) it must be buried with the individual. Thus, the Sudarium that Joseph of Arimathea placed on Jesus’ head when He died was found rolled up in the corner of the tomb. If however, the individual lived until the next day (after sunset), then any fluid shed the previous day was not life blood and must be washed off. The Shroud shows us that the blood from the scourging was washed off Jesus’ back while the blood and pleural fluid from the crown of thorns and the crucifixion and the lance wound in Jesus’ side were not washed off. The blood from the crown of thorns, the crucifixion, and the lance wound was life blood shed on Friday; while the blood from the scourging was shed on Thursday.
We all know that the Holy Family consisted of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Mary’s parents, were Sts. Joachim and Anne. There is little known about Joseph’s family; however the second-century historian Julius Africanus, a native of Israel, records information given by Christ’s remaining family in his day. According to their family genealogy, Joseph’s grandfather Matthan (mentioned in Matthew) married a woman named Estha, who bore him a son named Jacob. After Matthan died, Estha married his relative Melchi (mentioned in Luke) and bore him a son named Heli 8
Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 1:6:7
(marrying relatives was common among Jews at this time). Jacob and Heli were thus half-brothers. Heli died childless, so Jacob married Heli's widow and fathered Joseph, who was biologically the son of Jacob but legally the son of Heli, Jacob subsequently had another son, Cleophas.
9
Cleophas was married twice. With his first wife, he had two boys: Simon and Jude, and some daughters. After his first wife died, he married Mary the widow of Alpheus. When Alpheus died, he left Mary with a stepson, Matthew, and two sons of her own: James and Joset (Joseph) as well as some daughters. Cleophas now had a large family. Matthew the son of Alpheus who was older left home and eventually became a tax collector, until he was asked by Jesus to follow him. Cleophas and Mary lived together with four boys, Simon and Jude, James and Joset and a number of girls. When Cleophas died, Joseph took in Cleophas’ family as was custom among the Jews. With the joined families, the confusion over Jesus’ family is understandable: thus, Jesus’ brethren (cousins): Simon son of Cleophas (aka Simon the Canaanite, Simon the Zealot, and the 2nd bishop of Jerusalem), Jude (aka Thaddeus), James (aka James the younger, 1st bishop of Jerusalem) and Joset (aka Joseph), and their sisters
(Mk 6:3). Mary the mother of Jesus now lived with her sister [in law] Mary
(Jn 19:25). Family was everyone living together.
(If you look at the names of the apostles in Matthew and Luke you will realize that the order is significant. Peter is first, followed by the non-related apostles followed by the related apostles, followed by Judas Iscariot. You will notice that Luke didn’t know the connection between Matthew and Jesus when he wrote his gospel but corrected his error in Acts by providing a second list in the correct order with Matthew together with the other related apostles.)
Missing Years (something known by every Jewish child who has completed mitzvah). Because Jesus was a Rabbi the missing years were spent in Rabbi School. It turns out that the best school at that time was the one in Nazareth.
The level of learning and education in Galilee exceeded that of Judea in Jesus’ day. Galilee surpassed Judea even in its schools of learning, and most of the famous rabbis of Jesus’ day were from Galilee (Johnanan ben Zakkai, Hanina ben Doda, Abba Yose Holikufri, Zadok, Halaphta, Hananian ben Teradyon.) 10
Although Holy Scripture does not mention any events in Jesus’ life after his birth other than the episode at age twelve in the temple, we can deduce what was happening in his life based on the fact that he lived in Nazareth and began his ministry as a rabbi at age 30.
Education for a child in the first century began at age three or four at Beit Sefer, the “House of the Book,” (elementary school) with the child learning to read. and write the Torah. They began memorizing the Torah with lots of practice at home (one didn’t have a take-home scroll of the Torah). The children each had a slate, so writing space was very limited. They were educated at the local synagogue by a scribe or rabbi. (“rabbi means teacher” (Jn 1:38)). Preferably the teachers were rabbis. If a rabbi was not available a scribe could substitute.
At age ten, they began Beit Talmud, the “House of Learning” (middle school), still at the local synagogue instructed by a rabbi. From age 10 to 13 they studied the Oral interpretations of the Torah. During that time, they memorized parts of the Tanakh (Joshua and Malachi). They also learned rhetorical debating as a technique to force the student to demonstrate a knowledge of more than just the facts but also an understanding and application of the acquired knowledge. At age 14 they were focused on fulfilling the commandments (all 613 of them). Jesus was found in the temple among the teachers listening to them and asking questions (rhetorical debating) and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. (Lk 2:47)
The students who excelled to this point were placed in Beit Midrash, the “House of Study” (secondary school). At Beit Midrash, they studied the Rabbinic interpretations of the Torah (that would become the Talmud). Beit Midrash lasted until, at age 18, the student began to learn a trade and most married.
Rabbis needed to be self-sufficient as most synagogues were too poor to pay them enough to support themselves, let alone a family. Rabbis tended to travel from place to place, since small villages could not support a tradesman: tent maker, carpenter, potter, tailor, and so forth, for more than a few jobs.
The best of the best students at age 20 apprenticed themselves, became Talmid, to a Master Rabbi. They followed, studied, and imitated the Master Rabbi. At age 30, those who remained could be granted authority by the Master Rabbi. With authority, the new rabbi could introduce new interpretations of scripture. When Jesus was asked, “By whose authority do you do these things?” (Mt 21:23, Lk 20:2), they were asking Him to whom He had been Talmid. Jesus said if you tell me if John’s baptism was from heaven or from men, I will tell you; but they responded that they did not know. So now we can only speculate on who could have been His teacher.
Jesus demonstrated through his teaching that he was well educated. 11
Brian Chilton, The Education of Jesus of Nazareth
https://crossexamined.org/the-education-of-jesus-of-nazareth/https://crossexamined.org/the-education-of-jesus-of-nazareth/
That He could read was demonstrated when He read from the scroll of Isaiah at the synagogue in Nazareth. And that He could write when He wrote in the dirt when they brought the woman caught in adultery for him to judge
(Jn 8:3-11).
To understand what happened during Holy Week, we need to pick up background on the feast of Passover and relate it directly to what was happening in the year 33. It is important to know that Jesus fulfilled Passover in all aspects. The Evangelists didn’t need to go into these details because everybody knew them. Two thousand years later, we are missing a lot.
The celebration events began with Lamb-Selection day, then Lamb-Acquisition day, Cleaning day, Preparation day, Passover, and on through the seven days of unleavened bread.
During Passover, all Israelites were supposed to go to Jerusalem. Jerusalem was normally a city of 200,000. During Passover, the city grew to about two and a half million people of which Josephus says 20%, about 500K, were Essenes. The law of hospitality requires that everyone has a place to stay. There were no hotels or motels. There were caravansaries, but they couldn’t handle anywhere near the volume. The visitors joined other families living in Jerusalem. Thus, every home had four or five additional families joining them for Passover. Most families did not need to join with their neighbors to share a lamb as was specified by Moses. The host family got the lamb on the 10th of Nissan for themselves and their guests who would be arriving over the next few days.
Jewish historians record that the lambs were brought from the fields of Bethlehem, in the south, up to Jerusalem and through the Northeast gate of the city by the pool of Bethesda, called the “Sheep’s Gate.” Because the flocks of Bethlehem were owned by the Sadducees, only these sheep and goats were allowed to be sacrificed on Passover – for the purpose of filling their coffers. There were so many lambs/goats sacrificed that the flocks were moved back out of the city walls to the fields to the north of the city.
The high priest would go out the Damascus Gate into the fields to the north of Jerusalem to select his lamb (the best of all the lambs) for the sacrifice. His lamb was sacrificed for the whole people. The people would wait in the city until he returned with the selected lamb. Then they would wave palm branches and sing out “Hosanna” (God Save us!) as he came into the city. This signified the people’s acceptance of the lamb chosen to be sacrificed for the people.
That day, the 9th, came to be called, "Lamb Selection Day." On that day in Jerusalem, several hundreds of thousands of people would be entering the city so that they would be there to choose their lamb on the following day, the lamb that their family would sacrifice.
20% of the population were Essenes. The Essenes followed a solar calendar developed by Enoch while the rest of the population followed a solar/lunar calendar. While most of the Essenes recognized the legitimacy of the temple and paid the Temple tax, they were excluded from animal sacrifices. 13 Thus the Essene celebration of the Seder meal did not include a sacrificed animal and the corresponding requirement to consume the entire animal. For the Essenes the celebration began with Cleaning Day
The other 80% of the population arrived in sufficient time to acquire their lamb, for the required four days prior to the sacrifice of the lamb.
A "year-old" male runs from 12 to 100 lbs. (5 to 45 kg.). A 100 lb. (45 kg.) lamb will produce 39 lbs. (18 kg.) of meat. 14 Josephus tells us the normal group for Passover consisted of 20 people. He was of course only counting the men (males over 13 years old). So, with 20 males probably 15 are married and each has an average of 4 children (grandparents’ kids are grown so actually the families are larger). You would have 30 parents and 10 teenagers and 46 children for a group of 86 people. They would be eating between 27 and 39 lbs. (12 to 18 kg.) of meat. Figure a ¼ lb. (.11 kg.) for the children (11.5 lbs. or 5.2 kg.) and a ½ lb. (.22 kg.) for the teenagers and adults (20 lbs. or 9 kg.) It works out. A small group could consist of 10 (men) but anything smaller had to be combined with another group. All the leftovers had to be burnt. Passover was always a Sabbath so one could not start a fire or cook anything. Thus, the fire used to roast the Passover Lamb (or Goat) had to have enough coals so that any leftover lamb could be burned several hours later when the celebration ended.
Take care of them (the lambs) until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Care must be taken not to break any of the bones. (Ex 12:46) All the left overs must be burnt. So, the objective is not the largest but one that can feed the assembled family with very little left over. The lambs will be grossly over priced as they are owned by the Sadducees and are "one-year-old" (meaning less than one-year-old. A lamb is one-year-old from the time it is 8 days old until its first birthday) certified unblemished males. These lambs are taken into the temple where they are paid for, and documents are provided that will allow them to be taken into the temple on preparation day for sacrifice.
Then Nissan 13 is Cleaning Day. The law specifies that all leaven must be removed from the house and sold or destroyed (burnt) and no leaven may be in the house during the seven days of unleavened bread. (beginning on the 15th of Nissan). All the food to be consumed was cooked on preparation day and so you cleaned the preceding day. The 14th of Nissan will be spent cooking, so the housecleaning must be done the day before. Cleaning Day became incorporated into the religious practices. Mom would hide breadcrumbs throughout the house and the children would help mom to clean by gathering all crumbs into baskets. There were neighborhood bonfires created to burn any of the leaven found to be in the houses during the cleaning. The children assisted their mothers, gathering the leaven found into baskets to take to the bonfire after all the leaven had been found. Removing of leaven from the homes symbolized the removal of sin from their father’s house.
Nissan 14 is Preparation Day. The head of the household took the lamb to the temple for slaughter while the women prepared the meals for two days to feed the assembled group. No cooking could be done after sunset and the assembled family groups consisted of 60 to 100 people that needed to be fed both that evening, at the Seder Meal, and all day the 15th. The slaughter of the lambs began at 9th hour when Preparation Day fell on a Friday and in the 10th hour when it fell on Sunday thru Wednesday. Preparation Day never falls on a Thursday or a Saturday. Saturday is a Sabbath and cooking cannot be done on a Sabbath and Thursday would cause back to back Sabbaths which were never allowed. The slaughter of the lambs had to be done by 21 minutes after sunset: 15
Pitre, Brant. Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper (pp. 63-65). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
The lambs needed to be skinned and roasted before the start of the Seder Meal, at approximately 8 pm in Jerusalem that day! Josephus tells us that the lambs were slaughtered in two waves and that a river of blood flowed from the temple, about 50,000 gallons (200,000 liters). Once killed, the lambs are to be roasted. That is, trussed up in the form of a cross. One spit is transfixed right through from the lower parts up to the head, and one across the back, to which are attached the forelegs of the lamb.
Nissan 15 is technically "Passover" as the Angel of Death passed over at midnight. Since the day changes at sunset, the Seder meal is celebrated on the 15th of Nissan since it is celebrated after sunset. The Seder meals follows a prescribed formula.
There are two ritual washings: between parts #1 and #2 without a blessing, and between #2 and #3 with a blessing. Jesus proclaimed a blessing when He finished washing the feet of the apostles, so it would make sense if before starting #3 was the point at which He washed the feet of the apostles. John also tells us that Jesus returned to the table after washing the apostles’ feet (Jn 13:12) .
Some house keeping:
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Table of Contents
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Questions
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The Feasts of the Lord
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Background Necessary to Understand 1st Century Jewish Life
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Rabbinical Teaching Techniques
- P'shat: simply saying what you mean
- Prompting: beginning a quote from the Torah to becompleted by students
- Remez: a hint that conveys or references something that elaborates further what you mean
- Enactment: acting out a story from the Torah, similar to typology but more effective
- Gezera Shewa: drawing together two verses linked by a common word
- (Mi)Dash: a parable or an analogy
- Sod: secret
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Messianic Expectations
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Establishing the Date of Jesus' Birth and Death
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The Life and Death of Jesus
- Early Years
- Events of Holy Week
- The Institution of the Eucharist
- The Agony of Jesus in the Garden
- The Trials of Jesus
- Trials Before the Sanhedrin
- The Scourging
- Jesus is Crowned with Thorns
- Jesus Carries the Cross
- The Crucifixion of Our Lord
- The Resurrection
- The Ascension
- The Descent of the Holy Spirit
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Let's start with a quiz. Give your self 2 points for each correct answer. You need 70 points to pass. If you don't pass, that is why this site exists. These questions are some of the ones I wrote down when I began to really try to meditate on the mysteries of the rosary. I have never met anyone who could pass the quiz so if you can, leave me a comment I would be delighted. If you don't pass don't be discouraged. I couldn't answer any of them when I started at age 40.
- Which of Mary’s parents was related to Elizabeth?
- Why was Mary betrothed (engaged) to Joseph, if she took a vow of celibacy?
- When did the Incarnation happen? (hint it wasn’t March 25th).
- How did Mary, a 14-year-old girl, get to Elizabeth’s house 90 miles away?
- Where did Elizabeth live?
- What was the sign given by the angel, so that Mary would know that what the Angel told Mary was true?
- When did Joseph find out that Mary was pregnant?
- When was John the Baptist born?
- Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem, (other than to fulfill prophecy of Micah 5:1)?
- What does “Bethlehem” mean in Aramaic? in Arabic? (each is worth 1 point)
- When was Jesus born? (Hint: it wasn’t December 25th)
- Why was there no room in the inn?
- Why was Jesus born in a stable, in a culture known for hospitality to strangers, in Joseph's home town no less?
- Why did the angels appear to the shepherds?
- When was Jesus redeemed as Mary’s first born? (Hint: it was not when He was presented)
- Why did Jesus have to stay in the Temple when He was 12 years old and hurting one’s parents is a sin yet Jesus didn’t sin?
- What was Mary’s role at the Wedding in Cana? She was there and the others were invited?
- Whose wedding was it? (There are two possible answers either one of them is acceptable)
- What did Jesus communicate to Mary, when He said: “Woman what is this between you and me, my hour has not yet come”? (again 2 parts each is worth a point)
- How were James, Joset, Jude, and Simon, named as Jesus' brothers (Mk 6:3), related to Jesus? Give yourself 0ne point if you know the name of the relationship and one more if you know either of their parents.
- Which of the apostles were known to Jesus before He began his ministry?
- What is the symbol of the Jewish political establishment?
- Where was Caiaphas when Jesus came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday?
- What were the Essene children doing while Jesus cleaned the temple?
- What day of the week was the Last Supper? (Hint: it wasn’t Thursday.)
- Why did the people in the front of the crowd fall over each other when Jesus approached in the Garden?
- How many trials (opportunities to be freed) did Jesus have?
- What is a Mesith?
- How many blows was Jesus given during the scourging (that were hard enough to leave a mark)?
- What was the “given” name of the woman who wiped the face of Jesus? (Hint: it isn't Veronica.)
- What was the “given” name of the man who was released by Pilate instead of Jesus? (Hint: it isn't Barabbas.)
- What does “barabbas” mean?
- How many times did Jesus fall under the weight of the cross? (Hint: it isn't three.)
- What were the names of the men crucified with Jesus?
- Which Psalm did Jesus name while on the cross?
- Why did Jesus name the psalm?
- Which of the apostles’ mothers were at the crucifixion, while they hid?
- What were those mother's names?
- “Jesus knowing that everything had now been completed, in order to completely fulfill the scriptures said: ‘I thirst’.” (Jn 19:28) What scripture was He fulfilling?
- What did Jesus say after He finished the Last Supper?
- Which of Jesus' wounds did Padre Pio say hurt the most?
- What was the name of the centurion who pierced Jesus' side with a lance?
- What does INRI stand for?
- What is the Hebrew equivalent and what does it spell?
- What caused the darkness while Jesus hung on the cross?
- What does the letter based pictograms (picture words) for YHVH "יהוה"say ?
- With what was the shroud bound to Jesus' body?
- How many fish did Jesus provide the apostles at the Sea of Tiberias after the resurrection?
- What is the significance of the number of fish?
- Every Sunday in the Nicene Creed you say: “For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures.” Where does it say in scripture that the Messiah must die and rise on the third day?
- How do we know that Mary ascended into heaven before she died?
As Mary said in one of her appearances at Medjugore about her birthday, it is not as important on what day it is celebrated as it is that it is celebrated. Mary told the children in July of 1984 that on August 5th she would celebrate her 2000th birthday. The children objected that her birthday was Sept 8th. Mary simply replied I have two birthdays. The problem is that when it can be shown that something stated is not factually correct, it casts doubt on everything else that has been said. That is exactly what the Devil wants to do: to cast doubt on everything else that is said in the Bible.
We have celebrated the Last Supper on Holy Thursday so long we have forgotten that Jesus actually celebrated it Tuesday evening with the Essenes. Factually the only way that the Last Supper could have been on Thursday is if the Shroud of Turin is a fake, or John was mistaken in his Gospel when he said Jesus was buried according to Jewish burial custom, or Jesus attended the Last Supper after having been scourged by Pilate’s soldiers. Oh, and Jesus was just kidding when He said he came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. I personally conclude that the Last Supper didn’t happen on Thursday and that Jesus never said it did to anybody, ever!
The Church originally celebrated the Last Supper on Tuesday and the beginning of the Jesus’ Passion on Wednesday. See Pope Benedict XVI homily for April 5, 2007, Mass of the Lord’s Supper. 1 It was at least a century after Jesus died when the Church instituted the Tridium for the convenience of both the clergy and the laity.
I am not attacking the Church or its teachings. I believe that Sacred Scripture is inerrant except where human beings have made alterations to further their own agendas. (As was done with the Masoretic Text). I believe that if you dig you will find that Jesus was really born in 2BC despite what all our bible scholars try to tell us. The devil doesn’t want us to know when Jesus was born because then he has to admit that Jesus is real!
There are just a few discoveries that really opened up my understanding and are behind the answers to most of my questions:
- Jesus said I have come to fulfill the Prophets, the Psalms, and the Law: it is easy to understand how Jesus fulfilled the Prophets and the Psalms but how do you fulfill the Law? Just what is the "Law". Many will say that the Torah itself is the Law of Moses. John implies that in the opening to his Gospel. "In the beginnng was the word." (Jn 1:1) The Torah is the Word of God. At the end of John's Gospel Jesus provided 153 fish plus the one already on the charcoal fire. By providing the 154th fish himself Jesus is saying the number of fish points to himself. There are 154 verses (sedarum) in the Torah. Jesus is saying He is the Torah. So, if the Law is the Torah and Jesus is the Torah just what does it mean "to fulfill the Law"? How do you fulfill the Law? The answer to that may just lay in the fact that the Law specifies feasts that need to be celebrated every year so that they are always remembered! If God wanted them to always be remembered why don’t we celebrate all of them? Does God not want Christians to remember 3 of them? One of those three Jesus already fulfilled on the day of the feast! We actually celebrate that one but not on the day of the Feast and with no reference to it. Yet it celebrates one of our most essential beliefs: "The Divinity of Jesus." Each of the Feasts are also Messianic Prophecies. So far each that has been fulfilled was fulfilled by Jesus on the Day of the Feast! Remember what John said after leaving the tomb Sunday morning after Jesus rose from the dead: We didn’t yet understand the Scripture. They didn’t understand because it never occurred to anyone that the Feasts they were celebrating every year were all Messianic prophecies. Five down. Two to go. Jesus said to the apostles: “And from the fig tree learn a parable: When the branch thereof is now tender and the leaves come forth [blooms], you know that summer is nigh. So you also, when you shall see all these things, know ye that it is nigh, even at the doors. Amen I say to you that this generation shall not pass till all these things have taken place.” (Mt 24:32-34) The fig tree is the symbol of the Jewish State (Nation). The truth that this parable relates is that within 80 years after the Jewish Nation comes into existence (blooms) all Messianic Prophecies will have been fulfilled. (Two to go!) Scripture also says that a generation is 70 years, 80 for the strong. (Ps 90:10) that does not mean that I am saying the world will end; it means that all the Messianic prophecies will have been fulfilled by Jesus, on the day of the feast, if God is consistent which I believe He is.
- The Last Supper didn’t happen on Thursday. The Synoptic Gospels say the time from the meal at which Jesus was anointed for his burial to the Passover was two-days while John says it was six-days. It turns out they are both right! There were two Passovers celebrated in Jerusalem that week! And there needed to be to enable Jesus to fulfill the Feast of Unleavened Bread on the day of the Feast! The Seder Meal is the meal on which the sacrificed lamb was consumed. But more importantly it was a thanksgiving sacrifice of unleavened bread and wine in thanksgiving for the deliverance about to be provided by the blood of the sacrificial lamb. Jesus couldn’t celebrate the Last Supper while He was in the grave and He couldn’t fulfill it by celebrating it on his own with just his apostles. God arranged for there to be two calendars in use in Jerusalem. The Essene Calendar used by 20% of the population and the Temple Calendar used by 80% of the people.
2
Annie Jaubert, La Date De La Cene: Calendrier Biblique Et Liturgie Chretienne (Etudes Biblique)(Paris: Lecoffre, 1957) (ET: The Date of the Last Supper [Staten Island, N.Y.: Alba House, 1965])
- Jesus was a rabbi. He had to be! Only an authorized rabbi could make a new interpretation of Scripture. Jesus had to be a rabbi for anyone in that culture to listen to him. Don’t think that Priests, Scribes, and Pharisees would not have shut him down in a heart-beat if He were not.
To avoid peeking, the answers have been separated from the questions. Here are the answers to the quiz. That you had an answer does not mean it is the right answer so check carefully and adjust you score appropriately.
This is a retelling of the birth and death of Jesus as a consequence of the physical evidence of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection provided by the scientific examination of the Shroud of Turin, and Mt 5:17 which states: “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill them.” And Lk 24:44, which states “Then he said to them, ‘these are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.’” This combines what we have learned from studying the Shroud and what we have learned from the study of 1st century Judaism, with the realization that the Old Testament feasts are all fulfilled or will be fulfilled by Jesus. We will show both that Jesus has fulfilled five of the seven Feasts on the day of the feast before He died, and that He will fulfill the other two before He is finished. We will then walk you through the events of Jesus’, birth and death that can be derived or are impacted by that. You will then know why there was no room in the inn, why no one took Mary in when they arrived in Joseph’s hometown, and why Jesus was born in a stable. Sorry! He was not born in a cave. I have checked with several rabbis and even though some Israelites may have stayed in a cave at sometime during the Exodus, a cave does not qualify as a sukkah and Mary would no more stay in a cave than she would in a house. Miracles are a function of the faith of the receipent not the veracity of the incidents surrounding the event or location. Miracles at the cave in Bethlehem are a function of the faith of the believer that Jesus will answer their prayer.- Which of Mary’s parents was related to Elizabeth? Elizabeth and Zechariah were of the house of Levi. Mary’s father was a Judahite and Mary’s mother was a Levite. So, Ann was a sister or cousin to Elizabeth.
- Why was Mary betrothed (engaged) to Joseph, if she took a vow of celibacy? A father or a husband could nullify a woman’s vow. Weddings were arranged by parent or guardian whether or not the bride consented. If Mary’s elderly parents were to die, she would be placed with a guardian who would have married her off to be freed from the obligation to support her. And her husband would have nullified her vow as soon as he heard of it (Num 30:7-9). Being betrothed Mary was already married but she would remain with her parents until they passed and then would typically support herself; in Mary’s case she was trained as a handmaid. But she would be under the protection and if necessary, the support of her Betrothed. Since her Betrothed knew that the vow of celibacy existed and went ahead with the betrothal the vow remains in force.
- When did the Incarnation happen? Tevet 2, December 9, 3 BC on the Little celebration of Light, the last day of Chanukah. Jesus is the Light of the World. (see the Dates of the Birth and Death of Jesus in this blog. - walking the priestly rotation back in time from the 9th of Av in 70AD when the temple was destroyed to when Zachariah was serving in 3 BC then forward to the start of Elizabeth’s 6th month)
- How did Mary, a 14-year-old girl, get to Elizabeth’s house 90 miles away? What a coincidence! Since it was the end of the feast of Chanukah there was a caravan leaving the following morning, with the people who had come to Nazareth from Jerusalem for the feast of Chanukah; which had lasted 8 days and has just ended. I suspect that there were several families who were delighted to share the expenses of a fourteen year old to have a babysitter to help watch their little ones on a 7 day trip.
- Where did Elizabeth live? Ein Kerem. The route taken was likely Nazareth on the Via Maris road west to just east of Caesarea then south on the the same road to the first turn toward Jerusalem just south of Lydda. That route was paved most of the way and over flatter terrain as well as slightly shorter than going up toward the Sea of Galilee and then south along the Jordan river road or easier than going overland straight to the Jordan river and then south.
- What was the sign given by the angel, so that Mary would know that what the Angel told Mary was true? Elizabeth was 5 months pregnant, in her 6th month, (I didn’t realize that the Angel had given Mary a sign.)
- When did Joseph find out that Mary was pregnant? When he met her, Elizabeth and Zachariah in Jerusalem for the celebration of the Feast of Passover. As Mary’s betrothed, he would have been expected to join Mary’s extended family for the celebration.
- When was John the Baptist born? On the feast of Passover in 2 BC during the celebration of the Seder Meal, per the expectation of the Jews that Elijah would return on Passover - announcing the arrival of the Messiah, and at the same time to prevent Joseph from confronting Mary about her pregnancy. Mary had been busy with meal preparations and then busy helping Elizabeth with the birth and the immediate care of the infant. Thus, Joseph had time to consider the implications for both himself and Mary. Then after he had decided to sacrifice his own life to prevent Mary from being stoned; the Angel appeared to him. That way it was Joseph’s free choice to Love! That also answers the question as to why the angel said "Do not be afraid." Joseph having decided to divorce Mary privately was looking at being shunned.
- Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem, (other than to fulfill prophecy.)? All the temple flocks used for Paschal lambs were raised in the vicinity of Bethlehem. To be qualified to be a Paschal Lamb the lamb had to be born either in the Sadducees pasturage or in a stable owned by them.
- What does “Bethlehem” mean in Aramaic? in Arabic? The Aramaic meaning is “House of Bread”. Jesus is the Bread of Life. The Arabic meaning is “House of Meat”. Jesus is the Lamb of God! In the Eucharist the Bread of Life becomes the Flesh of the Lamb of God. What a coincidence, the name of Jesus birthplace points both to Jesus death, the “Lamb of God” and the Eucharist, “Bread of Life”.
- When was Jesus born? On the Feast of Tabernacles, the “Feast of God with Us”. Tabernacles celebrates the physical presence of God with the Israelites during the Exodus and simultaneously celebrates God as the “Light of the World”: Tishrei 15 or September 13 of 2 BC. (See the Dates of the Birth and Death of Jesus in this blog.)
- Why was there no room in the inn? No one could stay in the inn! It was empty! The courtyard where the poor people, like Mary and Joseph, would normally have stayed was filled with rich men’s tents: During the 8 days of Tabernacles everyone had to live in a tent-like dwelling with at least 3 sides and a leaky thatched roof. There was physically no room in the courtyard (the inn from a poor man’s perspective.)
- Why was Jesus born in a stable? The stable had 4 walls and a leaky thatched roof so it qualified as a sukkah. It was currently empty as it was only used by the Levitical Shepherds to protect newborn lambs during the extreme cold of winter. Lambs are only vulnerable to the weather for the first two weeks of life. The flocks were kept away from Bethlehem during the fall so that they would not consume the forage prior to the cold of winter. Jesus was a newborn unblemished lamb born in a stable used to protect paschal lambs from the weather, inspected by Levitical shepherds, found without blemish thus qualified for sacrifice on Passover! The Lamb of God! Quite a new twist on the nativity story!
- Why did the angels appear to the shepherds? Jesus is the Lamb of God, a newborn male lamb needed to be inspected by Levitical Shepherds to be qualified to be a paschal lamb.
- When was Jesus redeemed as Mary’s first born? (Hint: it was not when He was presented.) Jesus was redeemed according to the Law at his Pidyon Haben on Cheshvan 14 or October 12, 2 BC.
- Why did Jesus have to stay in the Temple when He was 12 years old? Simeon witnessed Mary and Joseph holding Jesus up and saying: “Yahweh your Son,” coincidently both the formula for dedicating an infant to temple service and a formal introdduction of a child to his father. Thinking that Mary and Joseph simply forgot to record Jesus’ presentation, Simeon recorded Jesus’ dedication on their behalf. That is why Mary did not know that Jesus needed to stay. She had no intention of presenting Jesus for dedication to temple service. She was introducing him to his Father. Thus, Mary didn’t understand what Jesus was saying. But a male child dedicated to Temple service had to be in residence before he turned 13. They were not returning to Jerusalem before his birthday, so He had to stay. Mary subsequently refers to Jesus presentation acknowledging that even though that was not her intent it is what happened. Mary and Joseph would have then redeemed Jesus in order to bring him home. See ( Lev 27:1-5 )
- What was Mary’s role at the Wedding in Cana? Mary was at the wedding and not invited like Jesus and the other disciples. That is because she was a host; the wedding was for a relative.
- Whose wedding was it? (There are two possible answers either one is acceptable) Either the Apostle Simon the Canaanite or his brother the Apostle Thaddeus who was also known as Jude; both of whom were nephews of Joseph. Since both Joseph and his brother Clophas had already passed away, Mary was the closest living relative on the father’s side of the Grooms family: thus a host). Weddings were held in the grooms parents home town. Simon is a Canaanite meaning he is from Cana.
- What did Jesus communicate to Mary, when He said: “Woman what is this between you and me, my hour has not yet come”? “What is this between you and me” is a Hebrew idiom that means: You know whatever you ask of me I will do. Bishop Sheen and Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo point out that this was most likely not the first time Mary wanted something out of charity for another and likely she always got what ever she needed. So Jesus was at the same time saying you can do this yourself, you don't need me. “My hour has not yet come” is to remind Mary of the connection to Jesus Passion, “My Hour,” where He will turn wine into his Blood. Thus, completing the parallel to Moses turning water into blood. But her response: telling the men to do what ever He says was, at the same time, her telling Jesus that now was the time for Him to show himself for who He was. Jesus turns water into wine (also called the blood of the grape) and then in his hour turns wine into blood. Jesus turned far more water into wine, at least 120 gallons, than they would need to finish the wedding feast. Makes one wonder if the left-over “best” wine was actually the wine used during the Last Supper. They were already using Oak Barrels to store and transport wine in Jesus’ time. (Alexander the Great used clay “amphora” while the Romans switched to Oak barrels prior to their conquest of the Greeks.) Jesus as a carpenter may have even made oak barrels.
- How were James, Joset, Jude, and Simon, named as Jesus' brothers (Mk 6:3) related to Jesus? Give yourself 0ne point if you know the name or the relationship and one more if you know either of their parents. Simon and Jude were first cousins. Their father Clophus was Joseph's younger brother. James and Joset were the sons of Alpheus and his 2nd wife Mary. Mary as the widow of Alpheus married Clophus. When Clophus died Joseph took in his family.
- Which of the apostles were known to Jesus before he began his ministry? Simon the Canaanite and Jude (Thaddeus), James the younger, and Matthew. Simon and Jude are sons of Clophas, Joseph’s brother, James the less was a stepson of Clophas and Matthew was a half-brother to James the less. Joseph took in his brother’s family when Clophas died.
- What is the symbol of the Jewish political establishment? The fig tree. Note that on Monday of Holy week Jesus cursed a fig tree for bearing no fruit.
- Where was Caiaphas when Jesus came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday? Caiaphas was choosing the best of the lambs to be offered for the people on Passover. (And Jesus, the Lamb of God, was selected by the people as the lamb for the sacrifice by waving palm branches and shouting Hosanna.) - Jesus was fulfilling a part of the Passover celebration.
- What were the Essene children doing while Jesus cleaned the temple? Removing the leaven, sin, from their father's homes. - Jesus was fulfilling a part of the Passover celebration.
- What day of the week was the Last Supper? (Hint: it wasn’t Thursday.) Tuesday evening or technically Wednesday on Nissan 15 on the Essene Calendar since Wednesday began at sunset. Jesus fulfills the Feast of Unleavened Bread which falls on the 15th of Nisan. However, since the Paschal lamb is consumed at the Seder meal and Jesus can’t be both the lamb consumed and establish the Eucharist at the same time. God used his other calendar established by Enoch, which was in use during Jesus time by 20% of the population of Jerusalem on which an “un-bloody” celebration of the Seder meal was held.
- Why did the people in the front of the crowd fall over each other when Jesus approached in the Garden? They knew Jesus was a great prophet and they also knew the story in 2nd Kings Chapter 1 (2Kings 1:9) of King Ahaziah's attempt to arrest Elijah: 100 soldiers and 2 captains were killed by fire from heaven.
- How many trials (opportunities to be freed) did Jesus have? Six: (at Annas' house, at Caiaphas' Palace, before the Sanhedrin, before Pilate, before Herod, before Pilate again - after which He was scourged, before Pilate again - at which He was condemned)
- What is a Mesith? A Mesith is a someone who subverts the nation by causing the people to worship some other god. Such an individual is tried without any of the benefits of, or protection normally provided the accused, under the law. It is likely they began Jesus’ trial as a trial for a Mesith since He was denied all protections under the law, but they were unable to convict him. So, they switched the charge to Blasphemy using a double meaning to immediately find him guilty. A charge of Blasphemy required a second trial in the morning. The synoptic gospels all reference the first trial and Luke’s Gospel records the second trial at which they violated all the laws necessary to convict Jesus but still condemned him.
- How many blows was Jesus given during the scourging? 124 (counted by a Shroud team member). It was initially reported as 135 so that is an acceptable answer.
- What was the "given" name of the woman who wiped the face of Jesus? (Hint: it isn't Veronica.) Bernice (see the annals of Pilate or the gospel of Barnabus)
- What was the “given” name of the man who was released by Pilate instead of Jesus? (Hint: it isn't Barabbas.) Jesus! (Mt 27:17) or its footnote some versions only put the name in the footnote)
- What does “barabbas” mean? “Son of the father”, a name used for a man who does not know the name of his father, the son of a prostitute or a man conceived by rape.
- How many times did Jesus fall while carrying the cross? (Hint: it isn't three.) Once, if Jesus died before crucifixion the centurion would have to take his place. Thus, Simon the Cyrene was forced to help him. He may have stumbled after Simon began helping but he was immediately removed (untied) from the patibulum so it wouldn’t fall on him again.
- What were the names of the men crucified with Jesus? Dismas and Gestus (see the annals of Pilate or the gospel of Barnabus)
- Which Psalm did Jesus name while on the cross? Psalm 22: Eli, Eli Lema Sabachthani.
- Why did Jesus name the psalm? To point all present back to the Todah offering at the Last Supper which He was about to finish, and for which He was about to provide the deliverance that would be proclaimed to all future generations thus fulfilling Psalm 22.
- Which of the apostles' mothers were at the crucifixion, while they hid? James the son of Zebedee and James the younger.
- What were those mother's names? Mary the sister (in law) of Mary the mother of Jesus, and Salome the Mother of the sons of Zebedee (James and John)
- “Jesus knowing that everything had now been completed, in order to completely fulfill scripture said 'I thirst' " (Jn 19:28) What scripture was He fulfilling? Jesus wanted to fulfill the Feast of Unleavened bread: the Seder Super (Lev 23:6-7). To do that He needed to take the 4th cup and invoke the Nirtzah saying: “It is finished”.
- What did Jesus say after He finished the Last Supper? "Father into your hands I commend my spirit." - the Last supper was finished on the cross with the Nirtzah: "It is finished."
- Which of Jesus' wounds did Padre Pio say hurt the most? The wound in the shoulder from carrying the cross.
- What was the name of the centurion who pierced Jesus' side with a lance? Longinus (see the annals of Pilate or the gospel of Barnabus)
- What does INRI stand for? Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews.
- What is the Hebrew equivalent and what does it spell? YHVH, the name of God: Yahweh. (Now you know why the Jews wanted Pilate to change what he wrote. Hanging over Jesus’ head was the name of God! It proclaimed that they were crucifying God!)
- What caused the darkness while Jesus hung on the cross? By the time Jesus died, it had been unnaturally dark for 3 hours (Mk 15:33). It is interesting that during an Exorcism performed by Fr. Gabriel Amorth. Fr Gabriel had a demon say to him if we demons showed ourselves it would eclipse the sun. It is my opinion that from the sixth to the ninth hour, until Jesus died, all the demons had gathered to witness Satan’s victory over the Son of Man and in fact it did eclipse the sun. That is until Jesus died and Satan realized that the Son of Man, the Son of God, God the Son had just performed the greatest act of sacrificial Love ever performed. God had just given up his own life to teach men to Love. The Son of God had in fact just caused Satan’s ultimate defeat. (because this is my opinion give yourself 2 points for your opinion.)
- What does the letter based pictograms (picture words) for YHVH "יהוה" say? “Behold the hand. Behold the nail.”: The very name of God, YHVH, points to Jesus’crucifixion!
- With what was the shroud bound to Jesus' body? A strip cut from the edge of the shroud (which has subsequently been sewn back onto the shroud.)
- How many fish did Jesus provide the apostles at the Sea of Tiberias after the resurrection? 153 + the 1 that was already on the fire = 154
- What is the significance of the number of fish? It is the number of Sedarim (the Hebrew verses) in the Torah. John finishes his Gospel as he began it: proclaiming Jesus as the Word, the Torah. By providing the 154th fish Himself, Jesus is saying the number of fish point to Himself. He is the Torah!
- Every Sunday in the Nicene Creed you say: “For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures.” Where does it say in scripture that the Messiah must die and rise on the third day? Lev 23:5-14 which defines the Feasts of the Lord: Passover and First Fruits. Jesus fulfills Passover with his sacrifice of himself as the “Paschal” Lamb, the Lamb of God who is God’s first-born son to save all men thus pointing to his suffering and death. He also fulfills First Fruits which is always on the 3rd day with his Resurrection, (1Cor 15:20).
- How do we know that Mary actually ascended into heaven before she died. Tradition tells us that she was placed in a tomb witnessed by all the Apostles except Thomas but when Thomas arrived, and they opened the tomb her body was gone? "The Blessed Virgin Mary did not die; She ascended to Heaven with Her body and soul" -Message from Our Lady to five year old Gilles Bouhours which was given to Pope Pius XII during a special private audience May 15th, 1950 exactly three months prior to Pius XII issuing the dogma of the Assumption. http://www.mysticsofthechurch.com/2017/08/little-gilles-bouhours-6-year-old-who.html and In Medjugorje, on Monday, October 12th 1981, Mary responded to a question; "Did you go to Heaven before or after death?" By saying "I went to heaven before death." Further at the beginning of August of 1984, Mary told Jelena: "Prepare [for] the second millennium of my birth which will take place August 5th, 1984. If Mary had died it would not have been her 2000th birthday as birthdays stop being counted at death.
God wanted Moses to convey to his people some truths that He wanted them to never forget. Those truths form the very basis of salvation history. So, he made them a list of festivals to be celebrated every year (Lev 23:4-43): Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles. He called them “holy convocations, my appointed feasts.” (Lev 23:2) Convocation in Hebrew, “ קָרָא ” (transliterated: “kaw-raw”), has two meanings and God meant both: a “convocation” and a “dress rehearsal”. Isn’t it possible that you fulfill the Law by treating the Feasts of the Lord which God commanded be celebrated every year as dress rehearsals thus fulfilling the feasts themselves? Jesus came to fulfill the prophets, psalms, and the Feasts of the Lord: on the Day of the Feast!
- A convocation is when all the Israelite men were to convene in the place designated for the worship of Yahweh: the place where the Ark of the Covenant resided. (Deut 16:6) After the Exodus, but prior to David, that place varied between Bethel (Judg 20:27) , Shiloh (1Sam 1:3) , seven months (1Sam 6:1) in the hands of the Philistines in Ashdod, in the temple of Dagon (1Sam 5:2) , Kiriath-jearim (1Sam 7:2) and later Gibeon, in the house of Obed-edom (2Sam 6:11) . After David, it was Jerusalem. “Three times a year all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place He will choose: at the Feast of Passover, the Feast of Weeks [Pentecost], and the Feast of Tabernacles” (Deut 16:16) . Women and children went to Jerusalem for Passover which is a family feast but were only required to go to Jerusalem for Tabernacles during a Shmittah year – years divisible by seven. (Deut 31;10-13) They did not need to attend the other Feasts. The holy family went to Jerusalem every year for Passover. (Lk 2:41)
- A dress rehearsal implies that these feasts are prophecies of something beyond themselves. These feasts form the cornerstone of the practice of the Jewish faith and the Catholic faith! Unfortunately we don’t celebrate them all like we should.
The Feasts in date sequence, according to the Jewish Temple, solar/lunar Religious Calendar
Passover (Pesach)
is celebrated on the 14th day of the first month, Nissan. It is a remembrance of the sacrifice of an unblemished, male lamb whose blood saved the firstborn-sons of the Israelites from death and delivered the Jewish people from slavery to the Egyptions. It is in fact a dress rehearsal for the sacrifice of God’s First-Born Son, the Lamb of God, to save all men. And to deliver all men from slavery to sin. It happened on the 14th day of the first month. St. Paul says: “For our Passover has been sacrificed, that is, Christ.” (1Cor 5:7) We will look at how the Jews celebrated the Feast of Passover and show that Jesus fulfilled every aspect from Lamb-Selection Day to the Death of the Paschal Lamb – even meeting the requirements at his birth to be a Paschal Lamb!
Feast of Unleavened Bread (Chag Matzot)
begins on the 15th of Nissan with the Seder Meal which was both the sacrificial meal for the Paschal lamb, slaughtered just before sunset, and more importantly a Todah, the thanksgiving offering of unleavened bread. and wine. The Todah at the Seder Meal was in thanksgiving for the deliverance, about to be provided, by the blood of the Paschal Lamb: the Angel of Death would see the blood on the door posts and lintel of the homes of those who had participated in the Seder meals. The Angel of Death would then "pass over" their houses. (Ex 12:21-23)
Animal sacrifices could only be made in the Temple in Jerusalem. Anyone offering sacrifice anywhere else was to be cut off from the people of God. Anyone who could not travel to Jerusalem, or could not sacrifice in the Temple, was expected to celebrate the Seder in an unbloody fashion (without a sacrificed animal); the primary event at the Seder Meal is the Todah. The word “Todah” means “Thanksgiving.” Todah in the Greek is “Eucharistia.” The Seder is a dress rehearsal for the Eucharist: a Todah – Eucharistic – offering of unleavened bread and wine given in thanksgiving for the deliverance [from sin] about to be provided through the blood of the unblemished Paschal Lamb: The Lamb of God. The Seder meal as the sacrificial meal for the Paschal Lamb is celebrated after the death of the Lamb. Since Jesus could not celebrate the Seder meal after his own death, God arranged for there to be two calendars in use in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’ death. Jesus celebrated the Seder meal on the Essene calendar, on Tuesday Evening. The Essene’s calendar is based on the book of Enoch (Jubilees 6:30) and Noah’s solar year in the ark. It is a solar calendar in which there are always 12 months in a year. There are 4 quarters of 30, 30, and 31-day months. The Essene calendar maintains the focus on the week as primary to the month. (Leap weeks not leap months like the Hebrew calendar or leap days like the Roman calendar.)
The Essenes added an additional week to the 12th month every 7th year. They also added an additional week (making two extra weeks in the 12th month) every 49th year and every 70th year: The Essenes were not allowed to offer sacrifice in the Temple. So, the Essene Seder celebration was called an unbloody sacrifice, celebrated just as the Jews celebrate the Passover Seder Meal today.
Dr. John Bergsma, PhD has written extensively about the Essenes and the dead Sea Scrolls noting that the Essenes paralleled our existing liturgy for the Eucharist with daily meals that were liturgical celebrations shared only with the faithful who were free from sin!
There were two Seder Meals! The Last Supper, a Seder meal, was initiated on the 15th of Nissan, according to the Essene calendar. God uses both of His calendars! It was completed on the cross, with the completion of the Seder ritual’s consumption of the 4th cup and the declaration of the Nirtzah: “It is finished.” That happened right before the death of the Paschal Lamb, the Lamb of God, on the Passover Preparation Day: Nissan 14 on the Temple calendar!
Remember what Gamali-el said in (Acts 5:34-39)
. “If this is of men it will fail but if it is of God you will not be able to overcome it.” The Essene calendar could not be suppressed by the Jewish authorities until it had served God’s purpose and since it is no longer necessary, it is not used anymore.
First Fruits (Reishit Katzir)
is the celebration of the first fruits of the harvest. It is an acknowledgment that God continues to provide for us. Jesus is the first fruit of the resurrection, opening the Kingdom of God and demonstrating that God continues to provide for us for all eternity. (1Cor 15:20)
First Fruits is the third day: Passover Eve (the day the Lamb of God died on the cross) is the first day; the first day of Unleavened Bread. (the Seder) is the second day; and First Fruits is the third day. First Fruits was the day Jesus rose from the grave. So, in answer to the question: Where does it say in scripture that the Messiah must die and rise on the third day? Although most scholars will quote Hos 6:2
, it is specifically in the fulfillment of Passover and First Fruits! (Lev 23:1-14)
Passover, Nissan 15, the second day, is always a Sabbath. The Hebrew calendar is always tweaked so that two Sabbaths will never occur back to back: Friday & Saturday or Saturday & Sunday. That was because no cooking was done on the Sabbath and without refrigeration food would not keep for two days. Thus, the Feast of First Fruits, specified in Leviticus as occurring on the first day after the Sabbath, is always the 3rd day after Preparation Day. First Fruits is always the 3rd day: to fulfill the Feast of First Fruits, Jesus must have died on Passover Eve and arose on the 3rd day, the Feast of First Fruits according to scripture!
Pentecost (Shavuot)
means 50 days and is the 50th day after First Fruits. It is a memorial of the day God himself came down on Mount Sinai in a cloud of fire and smoke and a blast of God’s trumpet,
(Ex 19:18-19),
to ratify the covenant with his people. It is a dress rehearsal for the day the Holy Spirit came down as flames of fire on the disciples, with a noise loud enough to draw a crowd of over 3,000 to the Cenacle, to ratify the new covenant written in our hearts. Thus the Church celebrates the Feast of Pentecost as the birthday of the Church.
Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah)
is celebrated on the 1st day of the 7th month. The feast celebrates God judgment: when all the world is judged before God’s throne. The Feast of Trumpets in Old Testament times was understood as the inauguration of a judgment process.
3
Rosh Hashanah itself is also known as Yom Hadin or the Day of Judgment, on which God opens the Books of Life and Death, which are then sealed again on Yom Kippur.
4
It is unfulfilled but thought to be the warning or illumination when everyone will see themselves as God sees them. It is the first of the two events that must yet be fulfilled before the Messiah returns: the Gospel must have reached all men. If you think about it the only way that can happen is with the warning: a supernatural event in which all men see and recognize the truth. It is interesting to note that it is the only event that happens to everyone in the world on the same day. If you think about it there is no time when it is the same day everywhere in the world because the International date line is not a straight line, but Trumpets is also a 2-day feast; oh, what a coincidence!
Atonement (Yom Kippur)
is the holiest day of the year. It is celebrated on the 10th day of the 7th month. It is unfulfilled. It is thought to be when the Jewish nation will acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah. The second event, that must happen before the end, is the conversion of the Jews. That is not meant to be the personal conversion of every Jew but rather the acknowledgment by the Jewish people, the nation of Israel, that Jesus was/is the Messiah.
Tabernacles (Succot)
, the Feast of “God with us,” in Hebrew “Emmanuel,” is on the 15th day of the 7th month. It is the feast that celebrates God’s physical presence with the Israelites, during the Exodus, in a pillar of cloud by day to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light during the Exodus.
(Ex 13:21) The feast is celebrated by living in Sukkot, tents with a thatched roof, through which the stars must be visible, and rain must leak into the dwelling (thus a cave doesn’t qualify as the stars are not visible nor does it usually leak when it rains). Tabernacles is a dress rehearsal for the birth of Jesus; when God came to live among his people as both the Light of the World and the Source of Living Water. Jesus was born in a lamb birthing stable, which with the thatched roof qualified as a sukkah. The stable was used only during the winter to protect infant lambs during the first week of life, while they were still vulnerable to the weather. Jesus, like infant lambs, was inspected by Levitical Shepherds and found without blemish; thus He qualified to be selected for sacrifice on Passover: The Lamb of God! It is interesting to note that just as it says in scripture the first shall be last and the last shall be first
(Mt 19:30, Mk 10:31): Tabernacles was the first of the Feasts to be fulfilled and the last in the list on the Jewish lunar, solar calendar.
Chanukah (Hanukkah)
is not on the lists of Feasts to be celebrated based on the Law. It is a Feast that commemorates a miracle of Light and is the second festival of Light, called the “Little Celebration of Light” in the Jewish Religion. It is closely tied to the big Celebration of Light, Tabernacles. It celebrates the miracle that occurred when the single days supply of uncontaminated oil lasted all eight days of the re-dedication of the Temple after it had been desecrated by the Syrian armies under Antiochus Epiphanes. For the people of Israel, that 8th day, in 3622, 139 BCE., represented a new beginning in their relationship with Yahweh. In the year 3759 on the same day on the Jewish Calendar, which occurred that year on December 9th of 3 BCE., was another very new beginning in God’s relationship with man! God became man! In the 40th week, 278 days from Chanukah was Tabernacles in 2 BCE.
Time:
Any part of a unit of time was considered that time; a minute into an hour was one hour, an hour into a day was one day. Jesus was in the tomb 33 elapsed hours, but he was in the tomb 3 days: He was buried right before sunset Friday, the first day; He was in the tomb from sunset Friday through sunset Saturday, the second day; and He rose at 3 am on Sunday, the third day. By the same token, a year on the temple calendar has 51 weeks even though it has 50 weeks and 4 days. The hours of the day varied in length based on the time between sunrise and sunset. Time zones didn’t exist. Jerusalem today is UTC+2, but the time in Jerusalem is 21 minutes east of UTC+2, when you are looking at a sun dial. So, for example, on the day Jesus died, April 3rd 33 AD, the sun rose at 5:25 am 5 and set at 5:59 pm so there was 12 hours and 34 minutes of sunlight. The day was divided in 12 hours, so each hour was 62 minutes and 50 seconds long. Solar Noon is the time when the shadow cast by the sun points due north (North of the Equator). It can be off by as much as 2.39 minutes
NOAA Solar Calculator for Lat 31.78, Lon 35.23 |
Hours of the Day in Jerusalem: Apr 3, 33AD |
Event | Hour | UTC+2 | Jerusalem |
Sunrise | 1st Hr | 05:46:00 AM | 05:25:00 AM |
2nd Hr | 06:48:50 AM | 06:27:50 AM | |
3rd Hr | 07:51:40 AM | 07:30:40 AM | |
4th Hr | 08:54:30 AM | 08:33:30 AM | |
5th Hr | 09:57:20 AM | 09:36:20 AM | |
6th Hr | 11:00:10 AM | 10:39:10 AM | |
Solar Noon | 12:02:37 PM | 11:41:37 AM | |
7th Hr | 12:03:00 PM | 11:42:00 AM | |
8th Hr | 01:05:50 PM | 12:44:50 PM | |
9th Hr | 02:08:40 PM | 01:47:40 PM | |
10th Hr | 03:11:30 PM | 02:50:30 PM | |
11th Hr | 04:14:20 PM | 03:53:20 PM | |
12th Hr | 05:17:10 PM | 04:56:10 PM | |
Sunset | 06:22:00 PM | 05:59:00 PM |
Thus John says Jesus was crucified at the 6th hour – that was 5 hours 14 minutes and 10 seconds after sunrise: so somewhere between 10:39:10 am and 11:42:00 am, and He died at the 9th hour or sometime after 1:47:40 pm. But wait! Jesus died at 3pm! I am truely sorry, but John said He died at the 9th hour. 3pm is during the 10th hour. Oh, it bothered me too until I realized that they started sacrificing the Paschal Lambs at 2pm when Preparation Day fell on a Friday and it was a Friday. Jesus was the Lamb selelcted for sacrifice for all the people. He was to be the first Lamb sacrificed! For Jesus to fulfill Passover, He had to be the first Lamb to die!
Calendars:
The calendar was very important, as the Feasts of the Lord, established by Moses in Leviticus (part of the Torah) were considered Divine Appointments. They were the specific times when God wanted to meet with the people. Those reoccurring appointments must be kept on the correct day.What do calendars and measures of time have to do with our faith? Nothing, unless you would like to understand when something happened and what impact that had on Salvation History. You will see in the story of the birth of Jesus that when you know when in time Jesus is born on the Temple calendar it totally changes our understanding of the events narrated in scripture.
Suddenly it makes sense that there was no room in the inn, that Jesus was born in a stable, and that the angels appeared to the shepherds. It had to be that way! Suddenly you will see that even from his birth Jesus is the Light of the World, the Source of Living Water, and the Lamb of God. You will also understand why the Essene Calendar could not be supressed until after the death of Jesus.
The Essene Calendar is based on the book of Enoch (Jubilees 6:30) and Noah’s solar year in the ark. It is the older of the two Jewish Calendars. During the time of the Maccabees the priests adopted the Temple Calendar and attempted to supress the Essene Calendar but a portion of the people objected to the reforms and stuck with the solar calendar. By the time of Jesus that group represented 20% of the population. It is a solar calendar in which there are always 12 months in a year. There are 4 quarters of 30, 30, and 31-day months. The Essene calendar maintains the focus on the week as primary to the month.
The Essenes added an additional week to the 12th month every 7th year. They also added an additional week (making two extra weeks in the 12th month) every 49th year and every 70th year:
Month | Days |
Nisan | 30 |
Iyyar | 30 |
Sivan | 31 |
Tammuz | 30 |
Av | 30 |
Elul | 31 |
Tishre | 30 |
Cheshvan | 30 |
Kislev | 31 |
Tevet | 30 |
Shevat | 30 |
Adar | 31 |
The focus on the week of the Essene calendar meant that a date, say the 15th of Nisan, would always fall on the same day of the week: Wednesday. So, if your birthday was on Tuesday it was always on Tuesday.
In the year 2015 the Gregorian, Israelite, and Essene calendars were all back to the same position as they were in the year 33, the year Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead.
The Temple Calendar 6 is a solar/lunar calendar which considers the rotation of the earth a day. Yahweh ordered the days into weeks, with a week consisting of 7 days. The rotation of the moon defines a month, and the rotation of the earth around the sun a year. On average, the moon revolves around the Earth in about 29½ days. The Earth revolves around the sun in about 365¼ days, that is, about 12.4 lunar months. Thus, a month has either 29 or 30 days and there are either 12 or 13 months in the Temple calendar. Each month begins on the day of the new moon. Each year began on the first day of the month following the barley crop reaching a point when it was “Abib” (became yellow and brittle):
For the temple, each month began with the sighting of the new moon. The priests used the fact that barley only had one crop per year; so, if the crop was not ready (Abib) for harvesting at the end of the 11th month then an additional month was added to the year. Barley was used based on the requirement to both support the feast of First Fruits with a barley wave offering and the fact that Exodus (Passover) occurred during the month of the Abib.
Prior to Ezra months were not named they were simply numbered.
Month
|
Hebrew
|
Transliteration
|
Days
|
1.
|
נִיסָן
|
Nisan
|
30
|
2.
|
אִיָּר / אייר
|
Iyar
|
29
|
3.
|
סִיוָן / סיוון
|
Sivan
|
30
|
4.
|
תַּמּוּז
|
Tammuz
|
29
|
5.
|
אָב
|
Av
|
30
|
6.
|
אֱלוּל
|
Elul
|
29
|
7.
|
תִּשׁרִי
|
Tishrei
|
30
|
8.
|
מַרְחֶשְׁוָן / מרחשוון
|
Cheshvan
|
29 or 30
|
9.
|
כִּסְלֵו / כסליו
|
Kislev
|
30 or 29
|
10.
|
טֵבֵת
|
Tevet
|
29
|
11.
|
שְׁבָט
|
Shevat
|
30
|
12L.
|
אֲדָר א׳
|
Adar I
|
30
|
12.
|
אֲדָר / אֲדָר ב׳*
|
Adar / Adar II
|
29
|
There was both a religious calendar and a secular calendar. The religious calendar begins on the 1st of Nisan. The Feasts of the Lord are based on the religious calendar. The secular calendar begins on the 1st of Tishrei. The year on the Jewish calendar is the count of the years since the creation of Adam based on the text in the bible and the secular calendar. However, there is some argument among Jewish scholars as to exactly what the current year should be. The year values shown in this document is from the Calendar used for all the dates shown here. 7
Kaluach 3.2 which is available for free at http://kaluach3.software.informer.com/3.2/
The Days of the week are:
(Hebrew is written from right to left. Thus
יום is moY pronounced Yom)
Hebrew
...
(Hebrew is written from right to left. Thus ילם is moY pronounced Yom)
|
Transliteration
|
English
|
|
יום ראשון
|
Yom Rishon
|
First Day
|
Sunday
|
יום שני
|
Yom Sheini
|
Second Day
|
Monday
|
יום שלישי
|
Yom Shlishi
|
Third Day
|
Tuesday
|
יום רביעי
|
Yom R’vi’i
|
Fourth Day
|
Wednesday
|
יום חמישי
|
Yom Chamishi
|
Fifth Day
|
Thursday
|
יום ששי
|
Yom Shishi
|
Sixth Day
|
Friday
|
יום שבת
|
Yom Shabbat
|
Sabbath
|
Saturday
|
There are occasionally minor adjustments made to keep Yom Kippur (Tishrei 10) from falling on a Friday or Hoshanah Rabad (Tishrei 21) from falling on a Saturday. When that could potentially occur, an extra day is added to Cheshvan or subtracted from Kislev the previous year and then reversed the following year. What this is doing is preventing the occurrence of back to back Sabbaths. Since cooking is forbidden on the Sabbath this prevents people from having to make and store food for 2 days, something problematic before refrigeration. One of the side effects is that Nisan 14 will never fall on a Thursday, which would cause Friday, Nisan 15, to be a Sabbath and Saturday is always a Sabbath. That means that First Fruits can never fall on a Saturday so it is always the 3rd day!
Names:
Jewish people did not have surnames until the time of Napoleon. If there was more than one person with the same name, they used a variety of surnames to differentiate based on the current knowledge of the people communicating.
- The father’s name: Simon bar Jonah (Simon son of Jonah), Nathanial is also called Bartholomew (which means son of Talmai).
- The name of the city of origin: Jesus the Nazarene or Judas Iscariot (Kerioth in Palestine). Judas was always referred to in the New Testament by his place of origin or his father’s name, bar Simon, to differentiate him from Judas son of Cleophas. Cleophas was the brother of Joseph, the spouse of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Simon the Canaanite was also used to differentiate Simon son of Cleophas from Simon Peter.
- A descriptive adjective: St. Jude (Judas son of Cleophas) was sometimes called Thaddeus which means “good heart” again to differentiate him from Judas Iscariot. (That tells you more about Judas than it does about Jude!) Simon the zealot, aka Simon the Canaanite, also differentiated Simon son of Cleophas from Simon Peter “Rock.”
A significant event in one’s life that marked a change in a person warranted a name change: Saul became Paul (Acts 13:9), Simon became Peter (Jn 1:42), Jacob became Israel (Gen 35:10), Abraham’s wife Sarai became Sarah (Gen 17:15), and Bernice became Veronica.
Jesus’ name is a transliteration of the Greek: “ ιησουν ” “Iesous” which in turn is the transliteration of the Hebrew: “ ׳שרצ ” “Yeshua”. It means Yahweh saves and is the same name as Joshua who was Moses’ aid. (Remember it was Joshua who led the Israelites into the promise land and Jesus who leads us into the Kingdom of God.)
Burial Customs:
Jewish burial customs required that a body be washed prior to burial. However, life blood could not be washed off. Life blood was defined as any fluid that came from the body as a result of trauma to the body that occurred on the day of death. If life blood was on a person’s clothing, the clothing could not be removed. If life blood got on a piece of cloth (possibly used as a compress to stop the bleeding) it must be buried with the individual. Thus, the Sudarium that Joseph of Arimathea placed on Jesus’ head when He died was found rolled up in the corner of the tomb. If however, the individual lived until the next day (after sunset), then any fluid shed the previous day was not life blood and must be washed off. The Shroud shows us that the blood from the scourging was washed off Jesus’ back while the blood and pleural fluid from the crown of thorns and the crucifixion and the lance wound in Jesus’ side were not washed off. The blood from the crown of thorns, the crucifixion, and the lance wound was life blood shed on Friday; while the blood from the scourging was shed on Thursday.
Jesus’ Family:
We all know that the Holy Family consisted of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Mary’s parents, were Sts. Joachim and Anne. There is little known about Joseph’s family; however the second-century historian Julius Africanus, a native of Israel, records information given by Christ’s remaining family in his day. According to their family genealogy, Joseph’s grandfather Matthan (mentioned in Matthew) married a woman named Estha, who bore him a son named Jacob. After Matthan died, Estha married his relative Melchi (mentioned in Luke) and bore him a son named Heli 8
Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 1:6:7
Missing Years:
Missing Years (something known by every Jewish child who has completed mitzvah). Because Jesus was a Rabbi the missing years were spent in Rabbi School. It turns out that the best school at that time was the one in Nazareth.
Education:
The level of learning and education in Galilee exceeded that of Judea in Jesus’ day. Galilee surpassed Judea even in its schools of learning, and most of the famous rabbis of Jesus’ day were from Galilee (Johnanan ben Zakkai, Hanina ben Doda, Abba Yose Holikufri, Zadok, Halaphta, Hananian ben Teradyon.) 10
Although Holy Scripture does not mention any events in Jesus’ life after his birth other than the episode at age twelve in the temple, we can deduce what was happening in his life based on the fact that he lived in Nazareth and began his ministry as a rabbi at age 30.
Education for a child in the first century began at age three or four at Beit Sefer, the “House of the Book,” (elementary school) with the child learning to read. and write the Torah. They began memorizing the Torah with lots of practice at home (one didn’t have a take-home scroll of the Torah). The children each had a slate, so writing space was very limited. They were educated at the local synagogue by a scribe or rabbi. (“rabbi means teacher” (Jn 1:38)). Preferably the teachers were rabbis. If a rabbi was not available a scribe could substitute.
At age ten, they began Beit Talmud, the “House of Learning” (middle school), still at the local synagogue instructed by a rabbi. From age 10 to 13 they studied the Oral interpretations of the Torah. During that time, they memorized parts of the Tanakh (Joshua and Malachi). They also learned rhetorical debating as a technique to force the student to demonstrate a knowledge of more than just the facts but also an understanding and application of the acquired knowledge. At age 14 they were focused on fulfilling the commandments (all 613 of them). Jesus was found in the temple among the teachers listening to them and asking questions (rhetorical debating) and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. (Lk 2:47)
The students who excelled to this point were placed in Beit Midrash, the “House of Study” (secondary school). At Beit Midrash, they studied the Rabbinic interpretations of the Torah (that would become the Talmud). Beit Midrash lasted until, at age 18, the student began to learn a trade and most married.
Rabbis needed to be self-sufficient as most synagogues were too poor to pay them enough to support themselves, let alone a family. Rabbis tended to travel from place to place, since small villages could not support a tradesman: tent maker, carpenter, potter, tailor, and so forth, for more than a few jobs.
The best of the best students at age 20 apprenticed themselves, became Talmid, to a Master Rabbi. They followed, studied, and imitated the Master Rabbi. At age 30, those who remained could be granted authority by the Master Rabbi. With authority, the new rabbi could introduce new interpretations of scripture. When Jesus was asked, “By whose authority do you do these things?” (Mt 21:23, Lk 20:2), they were asking Him to whom He had been Talmid. Jesus said if you tell me if John’s baptism was from heaven or from men, I will tell you; but they responded that they did not know. So now we can only speculate on who could have been His teacher.
Jesus demonstrated through his teaching that he was well educated. 11
Brian Chilton, The Education of Jesus of Nazareth
https://crossexamined.org/the-education-of-jesus-of-nazareth/https://crossexamined.org/the-education-of-jesus-of-nazareth/
Celebration of Passover:
To understand what happened during Holy Week, we need to pick up background on the feast of Passover and relate it directly to what was happening in the year 33. It is important to know that Jesus fulfilled Passover in all aspects. The Evangelists didn’t need to go into these details because everybody knew them. Two thousand years later, we are missing a lot.
The celebration events began with Lamb-Selection day, then Lamb-Acquisition day, Cleaning day, Preparation day, Passover, and on through the seven days of unleavened bread.
During Passover, all Israelites were supposed to go to Jerusalem. Jerusalem was normally a city of 200,000. During Passover, the city grew to about two and a half million people of which Josephus says 20%, about 500K, were Essenes. The law of hospitality requires that everyone has a place to stay. There were no hotels or motels. There were caravansaries, but they couldn’t handle anywhere near the volume. The visitors joined other families living in Jerusalem. Thus, every home had four or five additional families joining them for Passover. Most families did not need to join with their neighbors to share a lamb as was specified by Moses. The host family got the lamb on the 10th of Nissan for themselves and their guests who would be arriving over the next few days.
Jewish historians record that the lambs were brought from the fields of Bethlehem, in the south, up to Jerusalem and through the Northeast gate of the city by the pool of Bethesda, called the “Sheep’s Gate.” Because the flocks of Bethlehem were owned by the Sadducees, only these sheep and goats were allowed to be sacrificed on Passover – for the purpose of filling their coffers. There were so many lambs/goats sacrificed that the flocks were moved back out of the city walls to the fields to the north of the city.
Lamb Selection Day
Because there were so many people selecting lambs to comply with the instructions from
Exodus 12
, the lamb that would be offered by the high priest on behalf of the people was chosen the afternoon of the 9th of Nissan.
12
The High Priest was to select the best of the lambs for the sacrifice for the people so he would be the first to select his lamb: on the day before the rest of the people selected their lambs.
The high priest would go out the Damascus Gate into the fields to the north of Jerusalem to select his lamb (the best of all the lambs) for the sacrifice. His lamb was sacrificed for the whole people. The people would wait in the city until he returned with the selected lamb. Then they would wave palm branches and sing out “Hosanna” (God Save us!) as he came into the city. This signified the people’s acceptance of the lamb chosen to be sacrificed for the people.
That day, the 9th, came to be called, "Lamb Selection Day." On that day in Jerusalem, several hundreds of thousands of people would be entering the city so that they would be there to choose their lamb on the following day, the lamb that their family would sacrifice.
20% of the population were Essenes. The Essenes followed a solar calendar developed by Enoch while the rest of the population followed a solar/lunar calendar. While most of the Essenes recognized the legitimacy of the temple and paid the Temple tax, they were excluded from animal sacrifices. 13 Thus the Essene celebration of the Seder meal did not include a sacrificed animal and the corresponding requirement to consume the entire animal. For the Essenes the celebration began with Cleaning Day
The other 80% of the population arrived in sufficient time to acquire their lamb, for the required four days prior to the sacrifice of the lamb.
Lamb Acquisition Day
On the tenth day of the first month of the year (five days before Passover), every family was required to choose a lamb for Passover, according to the instructions given by God to Moses: “Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. The animals you choose must be year-old (more than eight days old but less than one year old) males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.”
(Ex 12:3-5)
A "year-old" male runs from 12 to 100 lbs. (5 to 45 kg.). A 100 lb. (45 kg.) lamb will produce 39 lbs. (18 kg.) of meat. 14 Josephus tells us the normal group for Passover consisted of 20 people. He was of course only counting the men (males over 13 years old). So, with 20 males probably 15 are married and each has an average of 4 children (grandparents’ kids are grown so actually the families are larger). You would have 30 parents and 10 teenagers and 46 children for a group of 86 people. They would be eating between 27 and 39 lbs. (12 to 18 kg.) of meat. Figure a ¼ lb. (.11 kg.) for the children (11.5 lbs. or 5.2 kg.) and a ½ lb. (.22 kg.) for the teenagers and adults (20 lbs. or 9 kg.) It works out. A small group could consist of 10 (men) but anything smaller had to be combined with another group. All the leftovers had to be burnt. Passover was always a Sabbath so one could not start a fire or cook anything. Thus, the fire used to roast the Passover Lamb (or Goat) had to have enough coals so that any leftover lamb could be burned several hours later when the celebration ended.
Take care of them (the lambs) until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Care must be taken not to break any of the bones. (Ex 12:46) All the left overs must be burnt. So, the objective is not the largest but one that can feed the assembled family with very little left over. The lambs will be grossly over priced as they are owned by the Sadducees and are "one-year-old" (meaning less than one-year-old. A lamb is one-year-old from the time it is 8 days old until its first birthday) certified unblemished males. These lambs are taken into the temple where they are paid for, and documents are provided that will allow them to be taken into the temple on preparation day for sacrifice.
Then Nissan 13 is Cleaning Day. The law specifies that all leaven must be removed from the house and sold or destroyed (burnt) and no leaven may be in the house during the seven days of unleavened bread. (beginning on the 15th of Nissan). All the food to be consumed was cooked on preparation day and so you cleaned the preceding day. The 14th of Nissan will be spent cooking, so the housecleaning must be done the day before. Cleaning Day became incorporated into the religious practices. Mom would hide breadcrumbs throughout the house and the children would help mom to clean by gathering all crumbs into baskets. There were neighborhood bonfires created to burn any of the leaven found to be in the houses during the cleaning. The children assisted their mothers, gathering the leaven found into baskets to take to the bonfire after all the leaven had been found. Removing of leaven from the homes symbolized the removal of sin from their father’s house.
Nissan 14 is Preparation Day. The head of the household took the lamb to the temple for slaughter while the women prepared the meals for two days to feed the assembled group. No cooking could be done after sunset and the assembled family groups consisted of 60 to 100 people that needed to be fed both that evening, at the Seder Meal, and all day the 15th. The slaughter of the lambs began at 9th hour when Preparation Day fell on a Friday and in the 10th hour when it fell on Sunday thru Wednesday. Preparation Day never falls on a Thursday or a Saturday. Saturday is a Sabbath and cooking cannot be done on a Sabbath and Thursday would cause back to back Sabbaths which were never allowed. The slaughter of the lambs had to be done by 21 minutes after sunset: 15
Pitre, Brant. Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper (pp. 63-65). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
The lambs needed to be skinned and roasted before the start of the Seder Meal, at approximately 8 pm in Jerusalem that day! Josephus tells us that the lambs were slaughtered in two waves and that a river of blood flowed from the temple, about 50,000 gallons (200,000 liters). Once killed, the lambs are to be roasted. That is, trussed up in the form of a cross. One spit is transfixed right through from the lower parts up to the head, and one across the back, to which are attached the forelegs of the lamb.
Nissan 15 is technically "Passover" as the Angel of Death passed over at midnight. Since the day changes at sunset, the Seder meal is celebrated on the 15th of Nissan since it is celebrated after sunset. The Seder meals follows a prescribed formula.
The Seder
ritual was codified by Gamaliel in the Haggadah. That was included in the Mishnah Pesahim 7.1-2
16
The Haggadah has four parts:
- It begins with an initial blessing, the kiddush, spoken over the first of four cups of wine. Then the eating of the bitter herbs which symbolizes the bondage in Egypt.
- They then recite Exodus 12 , the story of the Exodus, and then sing (Psalm 113) , the little Hallel. After which they drink the second cup of wine.
- The main course is eaten. The lamb and bread. are consumed. The third cup is consumed.
- The great Hallel is sung, the fourth cup is consumed, and the Nirtzah, a simple statement that the Seder has ended, ends the Seder.
There are two ritual washings: between parts #1 and #2 without a blessing, and between #2 and #3 with a blessing. Jesus proclaimed a blessing when He finished washing the feet of the apostles, so it would make sense if before starting #3 was the point at which He washed the feet of the apostles. John also tells us that Jesus returned to the table after washing the apostles’ feet (Jn 13:12) .
Rabbis used similar methods of interpreting and teaching scripture. The primary methods were
- P’shat: (simply saying what you mean)
- Prompting (beginning a quote from the Torah to be completed by the students)
- (Mi)Dash: (parable or analogy)
- Remez: (hint that conveys or references something that elaborates further what you mean)
- Enactment (acting out a story from the Torah, similar to typology but more effective.)
- Gezera Shewa: (drawing together two verses linked by a common word)
- Sod (secret)
P’shat
Needs no example.
Prompting
Prompting used by rabbis that are teaching the Torah. The rabbi would begin a quote from the Torah and the students would then finish the quote.
This example that follows was from when Pilate was attempting to release Jesus. Without realizing it, Pilate used one of the most frequently used quotes relating to the prophecies concerning the Messiah:
When Jesus arrived, Pilate was moved at the sight of Jesus scourged and crowned with thorns. He took him before the people and spoke to the crowd, unintentionally, in the words of the prophet Zechariah saying: "Behold the man[!]"
(Jn 19:5),
(Zech 6:12)
The verse in Zechariah says: "Behold the man whose name is Branch; and he shall grow up in his place, and he shall build the temple of God[.]"
(Zech 6:12) “Branch” is the primary symbol of the Messiah used also by Isaiah: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots” (Is 11:1); and Jeremiah: “See the days are coming when I will raise up a righteous branch for David; as King, he shall govern wisely, he shall do what is right in the land”
(Jer 23:5).
A typical rabbinical teaching technique is to start a quote: “Behold the Man” and everyone fills in the rest of the quote: “whose name is branch ...”
When Pilate said: “Behold the Man.” the priests and scribes, knowing the next line, all heard: “Behold the Messiah.”
The high priest had put Jesus under oath during his trial before the Sanhedrin and then asked Jesus specifically if He were the Messiah. When Jesus answered, they had screamed: “Blasphemy!”
Pilate was looking to elicit sympathy for Jesus and to satisfy the blood lust of the scribes and priests, but Pilate unknowingly called Jesus the Messiah. Instead of getting sympathy, Pilate inflamed the hatred of the scribes and priests.
Remez
The great teachers used a technique today called remez or hint, in which they used part of a scripture passage in discussion assuming their audience’s knowledge of the Torah would allow them to deduce for themselves the fuller meaning. Jesus used this method often:
- When the children sang Hosanna to him in the Temple and the Sadducees demanded Jesus quiet them, he responded with a quote from Psalm 8: "From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise." Their anger at Jesus is better understood when you realize that the next phrase in the Psalm adds the reason why children and infants would praise: “because of the enemies of God who would then be silenced” (Ps 8:3) . In other words, the priests realized Jesus was implying they were God’s enemies!
- Jesus also used the technique in his comments to Zacchaeus. (Lk 19:1-10) Jesus said: "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (Jn 19:10) The background to this statement is in Ezekiel. (Ez 34:11) God, angry with the leaders of Israel for scattering and harming his flock, states that He himself will become the shepherd and will seek the lost ones and deliver (save) them. Based on this, the people of Jesus’ day understood that the Messiah to come would "seek and save" the lost. By using this phrase, knowing the people knew the Scripture, Jesus said several things. To the people, he said "I am the Messiah and God no less." To the leaders (whose influence kept Zacchaeus out of the crowd) He said: "you have scattered and harmed God’s flock." To Zacchaeus He said: "you are one of God’s lost sheep, He still loves you."
Enactment
Enactment is another technique in which the rabbi enacts a scene out of the Torah. Jesus uses this in the story of the man with the withered hand:
On another Sabbath He [Jesus] entered the synagogue and was teaching;
17 James Alison, Jesus the Forgiving Victim DOERS Publishing p347-357
An extreme reaction to curing on the Sabbath, don’t you think? Jesus knew that He was being set up by the Scribes and Pharisees. They wanted to categorize Jesus as a sinner. (The word “accuse” that was used also means “categorize.”) They wanted to be able to discount the things that Jesus was saying which made them uncomfortable. Jesus knew what was happening and decided to make the situation into a learning experience for the people in the synagogue: Remember that the man with the withered hand did not ask to be healed. He was just listening to Jesus speak. Jesus asked him to come to the front so that He could more readily make his point. He then asked the Scribes and Pharisees: “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?” Jesus was referring to Moses’ sermon in which he explained the law (Deut 11:26-28), (Deut 30:15-1), a sermon that has been memorized word for word by everyone present and which basically says: if you obey by pursuing life and good, you will receive blessings; and if you disobey by pursuing death and evil you will receive curses. Jesus implied that to fail to do the good, is to do harm. The Scribes and Pharisees were getting a new interpretation on the words of Moses. A new interpretation that they realized was correct.
(This story serves as a proof that Jesus was a rabbi. If Jesus were not a rabbi, the Scribes and Pharisees would have stopped him right there. Only an authorized rabbi can provide a new interpretation of scripture. That means that Jesus had to have spent his early years studying and then at least 8 years serving as Talmid, apprentice, to a Master Rabbi.)
The Scribes and Pharisees were going to categorize Jesus as someone that can be ignored because he did not keep the law. Instead, Jesus has just pointed out that according to that same law, they are the ones failing to keep the law because they are not asking, even begging, Jesus to cure the man. The trap they set for Jesus had just rebounded onto themselves. They were the ones not keeping the law! They chose to remain silent because to answer Jesus, they either had to publicly deny Moses (condemning themselves in the eyes of all present) or they had to ask Jesus to cure the man.
Jesus was angered at their lack of response, but He wasn’t finished yet, his teaching moment had just begun. The rabbis used a variety of teaching techniques to convey a message so that it could be easily remembered. One of the common ones was “enactment,” a technique in which the rabbi enacted a scene from the Torah. Since everyone in the Synagogue had memorized the entire Torah word for word, it only took a few words to set the stage so that everyone “got the message.” The evangelists set the stage for us, the reader of the story, by saying that Jesus was angered at the hardness of their hearts. Who in the Torah was known for hardness of heart? Pharaoh. Who stretched out his arm before Pharaoh? Moses. Who told Moses to stretch out his arm? Yahweh. What happened when Moses stretched out his arm? Miracles, which confounded Pharaoh. Thus, when Jesus told the man to stretch out his arm, Jesus was enacting a scene from Exodus, where He was playing the role of Yahweh, the man with the withered arm was playing Moses, and the Scribes and Pharisees were forced into playing Pharaoh. Everyone in the Synagogue understood that Jesus was doing much more than just curing the man. He was demonstrating that the Scribes and Pharisees, just like Pharaoh, were bullies who cared nothing for the people. Only Jesus didn’t call them bullies who use the law as a weapon, Moses just did! Moses did it with a major miracle as an explanation point.
The Scribes and Pharisees were the face of the religion to all the people in the Synagogue. They were the ones who kept all 613 commandments and taught the law and the prophets. Philosophically speaking, the major problem between Jesus and the Scribes and Pharisees is in the two greatest commandments. Jesus’ interpretation of love requires a relationship and is based on sacrifice: no sacrifice equals no love. The Scribes and Pharisees believed that all that was necessary was to keep the 613 commandments. They only wanted a relationship with the law. That allowed them to focus on wealth, power, fame, and pleasure for themselves. Jesus had no use for them as they served only themselves. Jesus used their trap to show them to be bullies who use the law as a weapon.
Gezera Shewa
Another technique called “Gezera Shewa,” draws together two passages linked by a common word. The technique interprets an ambiguous word in one context by its clear meaning in another context. It can also link passages whose themes or motifs might be mutually illuminating. This is exemplified by linking “rest” in
(Ps 95:11) [ So I declared on oath in my anger, ’They shall never enter my rest. ] with
(Gen 2:2) [And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done].
as illustrated in
(Heb 3:18) [And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? ]
implying that God’s rest is a state into which God himself entered at the time of creation.
(Mi)Dash
We are all familiar with the parables.
Sod
Sod is a hidden message that can be found by using the numerical or lexicon associated with the text.
Right from the outset, in Genesis, the Old Testament points to the New Testament. In fact, beginning with the first word in the Bible: “In the beginning” which in Hebrew is
בְּרֵאשִׁי “Barasheet”. In Hebrew every letter is also a number and a picture word. Hebrew is written from right to left; thus the first two letters of Barasheet are the Hebrew letters
ְְּּבְּ
Bet and
רֵ Resh.
By combining these two letters, the Hebrew word בְּרֵ "Bar" is formed, which means “son of.” For example, the phrase "Simon bar Jonah" means Simon, son of Jonah, where the Hebrew word "bar" means "son". Thus:“In the beginning” “ בְּרֵאשִׁית ”:
בְּרֵ | Bet & Resh = Son of |
א | Aleph = God, the first |
שִׁ | Shin = To destroy |
י | Yod = By his effort or hand |
ת | Tav = The cross |
If all six Hebrew letters in the word Barasheet are used to construct a sentence from the meaning of each letter, the following statement is created: "The Son of God will be destroyed (or killed) by His own hand (or by his own effort) on the cross." Now, why is this so significant? Because God made sure that His word (the Hebrew Scriptures) contain the truth: that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that, from the beginning (בְּרֵאשִׁית "Barasheet”), it was determined by God, that His Son, Jesus Christ, would die on the cross for our transgressions. Indeed, according to the New Testament (Rev 13:8), Jesus is “the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.” Even the very name of God: “ יהוה ”, “Yahweh” when translated from the pictogram is "Behold the Hand, Behold the nail." 18
Dr. Kenneth Stevenson: NAZAH: White Linen and the Blood SprinklingMorgan James Publishing
In Genesis 5 we find the genealogy from Adam to Noah. Each name can be traced to its etymological roots 19 to see the meaning of the name, which every Jewish Christian would have known.
Name | Meaning |
Adam | Mankind |
Seth | Appointed |
Enosh | Mortal, Feeble, Frail |
Kenan | Sorrow |
Mahalalel | God who is praised |
Jared | Shall come down |
Enoch | Teaching |
Methuselah | His death shall bring |
Lamech | Despairing |
Noah | Comfort |
Reading the meanings as two sentences from Adam to Noah, we get: Mankind (is) appointed (to) mortal(ity), feeble(ness), frail(ity), and sorrow. God who is praised shall come down [in the person of his Son] teaching (that) his death shall bring the despairing comfort.
Noah’s son Shem was the only righteous first-born son all the way back to Adam. Shem became the King of Salem ...
(Salem (Σάλεμ) is the Greek word for Peace,)
which was later renamed Jerusalem. As king of Salem, he was also called Melchizedek: Prince of Peace. Abraham defeated the kings in the area of Salem, while rescuing his nephew, Lot.
(Gen 14:14-16) In defeating them, he also saved Salem. Melchizedek
...
( In Genesis the priesthood was handed down from father to son. We saw above the genealogy from Adam to Noah, and Shem was Noah’s first-born son. Thus, he was a “Priest of God most High.” Shem out-lived all his descendants through and including Abraham. In Genesis ,it is recorded that after the Todah, Thanksgiving Sacrifice, Shem blessed Abraham
(Gen 14:19), making him his spiritual heir: passing on to him priesthood.)
, a priest of God Most High, came out from Salem and offered a thanksgiving sacrifice of bread. and wine. Thus, the Prince of Peace initiated the Todah.
(Gen 14:18) The Todah
20 Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg: Judaism p190 Simon & Schuster
Jesus was a rabbi. Thirteen times in the New Testament, Jesus is called a rabbi (Mt 26:25), (Mk 9:5); (Mk 11:2); (Mk 14:45); (Jn 1:38, 49); (Jn 3:2, 26); (Jn 4:31); (Jn 6:25); (Jn 9:2); (Jn 1:8)). He was called rabbi by his disciples, by lawyers (scribes), ordinary people, the rich, Pharisees, and Sadducees. Jesus would have gone through all the training required to become a rabbi. Makes you wonder to whom he was Talmid? I wonder if both Jesus and John the Baptist were Talmid to John’s father Zechariah. It makes Jesus’ response to those asking him who gave him authority very interesting. If they had responded that John’s baptism was from heaven, Jesus could have said that his authority was the same as John’s. That would have been true on two levels as both would have been from Zechariah and both would have been from God himself!
The list of prophecies fulfilled by Jesus would be very long. The following list seems to be the expectations of the people in Jesus’ day. Number 1 and 2 were the only ones the authorities were interested in and only in an earthly political context. No one (other than Isaiah and Jesus' mother Mary) was expecting the suffering servant of Isaiah.
- Reuniting the 12 tribes; (Galilean ministry). That is why most of Jesus’s ministry was in Galilee. The leaders only counted the wealthy. They were deported by Assyria. Many of the poor remained in Galilee. When Assyrians went through Galilee killing everyone, the poor fled into Judea ahead of the troops and returned when the troops left.
- Establishing a Kingdom that would last forever and which would be ruled with justice (The Kingdom of God) (Ps 110:4 Jer 23:5)
- Initiating a new Exodus that would include the gentiles (Free all, from slavery to self; and lead all, into the Kingdom of God). The notion of the New Exodus that includes the gentiles comes from (Deut 30:1-6) and (Is 40:3-5, Is 55:12-13, Is 56:6-7) with (Mt 8:10-12, and Rom 11:13-15).
- Be a Priest, Prophet, and King (like Melchizedek)
- Provide a new Manna from Heaven
- Heal the blind, deaf, mute, and lame; (Is 35:5-6)
- Free the captives (possessed) (Is 61:1)
- Be the Son of God (Ps 2:7), (Prov 30:4), (Dn 7:14)
(The tradition in the Eastern Church is that the unnamed disciple was in fact Luke.)
on the road to Emmaus and to the apostles in the upper room after his resurrection that the Feasts of the Lord in
(Lev 23 1:14) were also Messianic Prophecies:
- Passover (The Messiah would as the Lamb of God be sacrificed, die on a cross to save all men)
- Unleavened Bread. (Heavenly bread, as part of an unbloody Eucharistic sacrifice, would provide the Manna for the new Exodus)
- First Fruits (The Messiah would rise on the 3rd day as the first fruits of the Resurrection)
- Pentecost (The Holy Spirit will descend in noise and fire to ratify the new Covenant)
- Trumpets (the Gospel will reach everyone, and all will know the truth, seeing themselves as God sees them: as yet unfulfilled)
- Atonement (The Jews will acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah: as yet unfulfilled)
It is one thing to derive the approximate year of Jesus birth and to believe that Jesus fulfilled the feast of Tabernacles with his birth. It is another to show that it is in accord with Matthew and Luke’s description of all the events surrounding the conception of John the Baptist and the birth of Jesus.
A birth on the Feast of Tabernacles explains:
- Why there was no room in the inn (the caravansary courtyard for a poor couple): it was full of wealthy men’s tents (sukkot). No one could stay inside the inn, so the rich set up their sukkah in the courtyard where the poor people normally stayed.
...
The caravansaries all had high walls surrounding them to protect the pack animals and the baggage of the people staying in the caravansary from wild animals and bands of thieves. Because the inn was responsible for protecting your property the wealthy could then leave and go to the temple or markets without fear of loss.
- Why Jesus was born in a stable: it qualified as a sukkah and provided more privacy, warmth, and comfort than a poor man’s sukkah: which was basically a lean-to.
- Why none of Joseph’s relatives opened their home to Mary who was about to give birth: she wouldn’t have stayed anywhere but in a sukkah.
- It fulfills both Jewish celebrations of light:
- The Incarnation on the last day of Chanukah, the little celebration of light, when every family had lit all nine candles (one for each of the eight days of Chanukah and the center one to light the other candles.) Every family had Menorahs for each of the older children in addition to the family Menorah. A half a million families with just one older child each lighting their Menorahs produces 9 million candle power.
- The Feast of Tabernacles, the great celebration of light, for which 4 giant (75 ft) Menorahs were erected in the Court of Women. The Menorahs produced enough light to keep all of Jerusalem lit up all night.
- Jesus was born in a stable used to protect “paschal” lambs from the weather. He was inspected by Levitical shepherds (All the shepherds around Bethlehem were caring for the flocks owned by the Sadducees and only a Levitical shepherd could declare a lamb unblemished). Jesus was found without blemish; thus, qualified to be a lamb for sacrifice on Passover: The Lamb of God. That would not have happened if He had not been born on the Feast of Tabernacles. He would have been born in a family home. Remember Joseph was from Bethlehem. He certainly had friends and family there. In a culture with a strong tradition of helping travelers, Joseph would not have been refused shelter in his own hometown, especially when his wife was in labor.
Luke tells us that John the Baptist began his ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar (Lk 3:1)., who reigned from September 17, 14 AD to 37 AD. ...
Tiberius Caesar did not become emperor until September 17th even though Augustus died on August 19, 14 AD. See: Tiberius roman emperor at http://Britannica.com
That means his 15th year began
on September 17, 28 AD and ended at his 15th anniversary which would
have been Sept. 17, 29 AD. John was the son of a priest. He was also called “Rabbi.” (Jn 3:26). John would have been trained as a rabbi. A priest like a rabbi began his ministry at age 30. We also know that Jesus was 30 when He was baptized by John and began his ministry (Lk 3:23), about 6 months after John began his ministry. So, if John was 30 by September 17, 29 AD, then he was born in 2 BC or late 3 BC. There was no year 0. So, if he was born in 2 BC, he was 1 in 1 BC; 2 in 1 AD; and 30 in 29 AD. Thus, John would have most likely been conceived in 3 BC.
We know from scripture that Zechariah was serving in the temple during his divisions “normal” course of service when the angel appeared to him (Lk 1:11). Normal course of service means he was not serving during one of the convocations during which a man from any division could serve for the Feast specific offerings. We know that he was of the division of Abijah (Lk 1:5). which is the eighth division. There were 24 divisions (1Chr 24:7-18) , and each served for a week twice a year. 24 divisions twice a year is 48 weeks. There are 51 weeks (50 weeks and 4 days) in a year on the Jewish calendar. In a leap year there is an additional 4 weeks and 2 days. The temptation is to consider that the extra weeks were all common weeks or that the rotation continued during the leap year but paused during the convocations: festival weeks of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles, when all men were required to be in Jerusalem. ...
There is some controversy over whether the weeks of
the leap year were common weeks. That cannot be the case as to travel just
from Nazareth to Jerusalem took 6 days so priests living away from Jerusalem
would be en route when the designated priest examined the barley to see if it
was a leap year. That would then imply that either the traveling priest had to
return home or stay in Jerusalem for a month which is not logical.
However Gemera Suka 55b-56a
21
and Rambam Hilchos Klei Hamkidash 4:4-6
22
indicates that during the festivals all Kohanim, priests,
could serve in the service that was specific to the holiday. They were
selected by lot for that service. They would all share from the Lechem Hapanim,
the showbread, and the two breads of Shavuos, the leavened bread offered at
Pentecost, but other sacrifices were brought by the mishmar, the division of
priests, of that week
...
Gemara Suka 55b-56a seems to imply that the
priests assigned that week continued to serve and would complete their normal
rotation in spite of the additional priests. It makes no difference as there
were 216 common weeks between Av of 70 AD and Tammuz of 3 BC. That is exactly
9 rotations: oh, what a coincidence!
Thus, the weeks served by each division shifted from year to year and the rotation never paused. That means a division could over time serve in any of the weeks. There is no reference in scripture as to which division of Priests was serving on any particular date. There is however a reference in the Talmud
23 Talmud Mishnah (b. Ta?an 29a).
Josephus Wars 6.4.5 (b. Ta?an 29a).
There are only 2 cases to consider:
-
John was conceived Shevat 10, 3758 (Jan 26, 3 BC) which would imply that Jesus was
born on Nisan 15, 3759. That might explain why the caravansary
was full (there was no room in the inn).
...
Bethlehem was a town of about 400 people. It was, at that time, the center for sheep production for the priests in the temple. It had a caravansary which is an inn with a walled in courtyard. The courtyard was used to protect pack animals and their owner’s property from wild animals and thieves. Poor people slept on the ground inside the courtyard with the pack animals while the wealthy slept in the inn. For the inn to be full means there had to be a very large celebration going on in Jerusalem which was 5 miles away. Travelers to Jerusalem would have stayed there if they expected the inns in Jerusalem to be full. There was nothing but sheep to attract people to stay in Bethlehem, but Jerusalem was only an hour away.We know from scripture that there was no room in the inn. (Lk 2:7). But most importantly, Jesus said that John the Baptist was Elijah (Mt 11:13-14). and the Jews hold that Elijah would return for the Seder Meal to herald the coming of the Messiah. Which in fact is what John the Baptist did! So, John the Baptist must have been born on Nisan 15 of 3759 (March 20, of 2 BCE.), not Jesus. If John was conceived on Jan 26 there is no way he could be born on Passover. 26 ...https://outorah.org/p/33319 explains the origin of the custom of setting an extra place at the table for Elijah. It is ultimately based on the fact that Elijah comes to announce the arrival of the Messiah and the corresponding redemption which happens at midnight (when the Angel of Death passed over the firstborn of the Israelites.)
- John was conceived Av 1, 3758 (July 13, 3 BC) which implies that Jesus was born on Tishrei 15, 3760 (Sept 13, 2 BC). That explains: why the caravansary was full; why Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger; why shepherds were sent to the stable; and how the Feast of Tabernacles was fulfilled, and even explains that the Feast of Chanukah was also fulfilled. It also explains how Mary a fourteen-year-old girl got from Nazareth to Ein Kerem 92 miles away.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3777570/ Normal time of human gestation is between 268 days and 280 days.
The number 8 stands for new beginnings and dedication to God.
- Sukkoth lasts 8 days,
- Boys are circumcised on the 8thday,
- Temple dedication took 8 days.
The Feast of Tabernacles and the 8th day of Chanukah are the two celebrations of light in the Jewish religion. On the eighth day of Chanukah all nine candles on the menorah are lit (8 candles for the 8 days and the center candle which is used to light the daily candles). 28 On that day Jesus, the light of the world, was conceived. On the Feast of Tabernacles four giant menorahs were constructed in the court of women in the temple and lit. 29
http://www.jewishroots.net/library/holiday-articles/illumination-of-the-temple-ceremony.html
Which celebration of light was greater: The 9
candles on 2 million menorahs in homes throughout the world or four 75ft, (23m)
menorahs each fueled by a barrel of oil with wicks made of rolled up priestly
garments? Jesus’ birth required the public manifestation while the incarnation
was the more significant event (my opinion).
The Jewish tradition has been that Elijah would return on Passover, Nisan 15. The angel told Zechariah that John would have the spirit of Elijah (Lk 1:17). and Jesus himself confirmed that John the Baptist was Elijah (Mt 11:14)., so he would be born on Passover. 30
All that being said, we could have simply looked at scripture. Jesus fulfills all the Feasts of the Lord, so He also fulfills the Feast of Tabernacles with his birth on Tishrei 15. Tabernacles celebrates God’s physical presence with the Israelites, in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night (The Light of the World) during the Exodus and is also called the feast of Emanuel “God with us”. Thus if you profess that Jesus is the Son of God, then you have to agree that He fulfilled the Feast of Tabernacles with His birth when He again became physically present with the Israelites for 33 years.
Extra Biblical Validation
Thus, we have established from scripture the date of Jesus birth and validated it via the story of the conception of John the Baptist. There should be no further requirement, but our atheistic society demands extra biblical validation and Luke was kind enough to provide it. The biggest obstacle to dating Christ birth is the belief that because Herod’s son began his reign in 4 BC, Herod must have died in 4 BC. Thus, Jesus must have been born before Herod died. However, Herod was reduced from a “friend” to a “subject” by Cesar Augustus in 4 BC 31
Antiquities’ of the Jews, Josephus Flavius Book 16, Chapter 9:3
Herod’s sons were king in name only. Herod
retained his power and his sons the title.
Antipater considered his two younger half-brothers who were of “Royal”, Hasmodean, descent a potential threat. He connived to have them executed for treason. Then Antipater plotted to kill Herod, so he would not have to wait to have control of the kingdom. His plot was discovered and exposed. Since Herod had been demoted, he had to get Varus, governor of Syria, to hear the case. (That would be difficult to do while dead.) Varus found Antipater guilty and left the punishment up to Herod. Herod ordered him executed 32
Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus Flavius Book 17 Chapter 7 ...
That was the origin of the joke told by Cesear Augustus: “It would be safer to be a pig in Herod’s court than his son.”
Josephus gives two indications of the length of the rule of Herod: 1) He says Herod had a reign of 37 years from the time he was proclaimed king by the Romans and; 2) He says he reigned for 34 years after the death of Antigonus, which happened shortly after Herod took Jerusalem. 34
Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus Flavius Book 17 Chapter 8
Antiquities of the Jews Book 14 Chapter 16
Josephus also tells us that Herod burned Matthias and his companions to death for raising a sedition. And that very night there was an eclipse of the moon. 38
Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus Flavius Book 17 Chapter 6 verse 4
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEcat5/LE-0099-0000.html : 04821 0000 Jan 10 02:04:40 (note: NASA uses a year 0 in the eclipse list but since there was no year 0 that year is actually 1 BC.)
Jul Date
|
Time
|
Type
|
Umbra
Magnitude
|
Duration
|
Lat
|
Lon
|
|
Jan 10, 1 BC
|
02:04:40
|
Total
|
1.7825
|
98.8
|
22N
|
16E
|
Luke also ties the birth of Jesus to a census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria (Lk 2:2). This has caused problems because Quirinius reigned from 6 to 9 AD. But considering that: “there was found near Tibur (Tivoli) in AD.1764 a fragment of marble known as the Lapis Tiburtinus, with part of an inscription, which is now preserved in the Lateran Museum of Christian Antiquities, as one of the important monuments bearing on the history of Christianity”
Lapis Tiburtinus |
Though the name has perished, yet these indications are sufficient to show with practical certainty (as all the highest authorities are agreed -- Mommsen, Borghesi, de Rossi, Henzen, Dessau, and others), that the officer who achieved this splendid career was Publius Sulpicius Quirinius. His government of Syria in 6-9 AD, was therefore his second tenure of that office. He had administered Syria at some previous time. Is not this earlier administration the occasion to which Luke refers? 40
Arthur Eedle, Seven Steps to Bethlehem page 81 and http://www.torahtimes.org/writings/roman-governors-of-syria/article.html
http://biblehub.com/library/ramsay/was_christ_born_in_bethlehem/chapter_11_quirinius_the_governor.htm and http://www.ccel.org/ccel/ramsay/bethlehem.iv.vii.html
We have established now that Quirinius was the Governor of Syria at the time of Jesus’ birth. We still want to validate the rest of Luke’s statement, that there was a requirement to go to the ancestral home for taxation. The Romans levied both a Land Tax and a Poll tax. The Land Tax was levied every 14 years and only affected the wealthy who owned property. The Poll Tax was also levied every 14 years. It affected both men (age 14 to 60) and women (age 12 to 60). The Poll Tax required everyone to return to their home city and register. (the need to register was because this was the first Poll Tax as stated in (Luke 2:2). The Poll Taxation would occur half way between the Land taxations. There was a Land tax riot mentioned by Josephus which occurred in 6 AD. Thus, the prior Land Tax would have occurred in 9 BC and the Poll tax would have occurred in 2 BC and would have been executed by Quirinius during his first reign as governor of Syria from 3 to 1 BC. 42
Author Eedle Seven Steps to Bethlehem p77-79
Jewish Temple Priest Rotation- Courses of Priest from 70 AD to 4 BC
This spreadsheet is very large so it will take a few moments to completely load onto screen. To scroll down use the scroll wheel on your mouse, or the scroll bar on the right side of the spreadsheet. There are two sheets. Sheet1 shows the serving Division of Priest beginning in the week ending 8/11/70 AD and goes back in time to the week ending 1/5/3 BC while Sheet2 begins with week ending 1/5/3 BC and goes forward in time to week ending 8/11/70 AD. Also, those interested can view the full document in Excel format here.
If Jesus fulfills the Feast of God with us: Emanuel; that has to be the date [September 13, 2BC] as that is the date of the feast of Tabernacles in 2 BC. It also is validated by the story in Luke of Zechariah of the division of Abjiah getting his vision. We have always known that December 25 is nothing more than the feast of the Roman sun god. Most Messianic Jews hold that Jesus was born on the feast of Tabernacles. There is something about the date of Jesus’ birth that the devil just doesn’ want it known. There has been centuries of obfuscation. Herod died in 4 BC, Quirinius didn’t serve as governor of Syria until 6 AD, and there was no reason to register. The devil doesn’t want it known because then he has to admit that Jesus really lived. It has now been shown with sources referenced the answers to those objections. The birth of Jesus on the Feast of Tabernacles explains:
- Why there was no room in the inn (the caravansary courtyard): it was full of wealthy men’s tents (sukkot).
- Why Jesus was born in a stable: it qualified as a sukkah and provided more privacy than a poor man’s sukkah.
- Why none of Joseph’s relatives opened their home to Mary who was about to give birth: she wouldn’t have stayed anywhere but in a sukkah.
- How Mary, a fourteen-year-old girl got from Nazareth to Ein Kerem. (There would have been a caravan leaving Nazareth the very next morning for Jerusalem.)
- The incarnation on the last day of Chanukah , the little celebration of light, when every family had lit all eight candles on the Menorah (a half a million families with 8 candles on each Menorah produces 8 million candle power.)
- The great celebration of light at the feast of Tabernacles,for which 4 giant (75’) Menorahs were erected in the Court of Women. Those Menorahs provide enough light to make it as daylight during the 8 day festival in the Jerusalem area and was visible in Bethlehem.
The date of the death of Jesus
All the historians seem to begin with establishing the date of Jesus’s death. Using a Hebrew calendar it was easy. There were only three occasions during Pilate’s reign, on which Passover was on a Saturday. The first year in AD 26, the year AD 33, and on the last year of his reign 36 AD. It could not have been his first or his last therefore there was only one possibility. It was apparent none of the historians bothered to look at the Hebrew calendar.
Image from Kaluch3 Hebrew Calendar for PC or for those who would prefer a standard calendar here is the same from https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/monthly.html?year=33&month=4&country=34
As can be seen from the Calendar above, for April of 33 AD, that Passover, Nisan 15 appears on April 4th which begins at sunset on April 3rd.
Further we can see from both the NOAA’s solar calendar and the sunrise/set app shown below that sunrise was at 5:25 am and sunset was at 5:59pm. The moonrise for April 3 comes from https://www.cambridgeincolour.com ’s sunsrise and moonrise calculators.
At that time there was no notion of time zones. It was mid day when the sun was directly overhead so that any notion of time will be scewed by how far the individual location is from the center of the time zone. Jerusalem is on the right side of the time zone denoted UTC+2. Since there was no such thing as a time zone in Jesus' day we used a calculation based on geographic location (Lat/Lon). It turns out that Jerusalem is 21 minutes ahead of UTC+2. To see the detail for moon rise or sunrise click on the image and it will show full size in your browser.
Using the sunrise and sunset times we can divide daylight into 12 hours as ocurrs with the sundial to determine when each of the hours started. We know from scripture that that Jesus died at the 9th hour. We now know that He died at about 2pm. I want to point out for those who may think the ancients were unsophisticated in calculating the calendar. The full moon is shown as on April 3rd, not on April 4 which for the Israelites is Nisan 15: the day of the full moon. However if you look carefully the moon rises as a full moon at 6:44 pm and sunset was at 5:58 pm which is the start of Nisan 15! Exactly right!
Finally, the moon rose over Jerusalem as a partial blood moon: in a partial eclipse on April 3rd of the year 33 A.D. This was referenced by Peter’s speech referring to the day of Jesus’ crucifixion on Pentecost (Acts 2:20). as a fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy (Joel 2:10).. We can validate that via NASA’s eclipse web site:
Jul Date
|
TD of Greatest Eclipse
|
Type
|
Umbra
Magnitude
|
Duration m.
|
Lat
|
Lon
|
|
Apr 03, 33 BC
|
17:37:53
|
Partial
|
0.5764
|
170.1
|
5S
|
13W
|
Validation of the Jewish Calendar
Some scholars may complain that I used a derived calendar, whereas the Jews only started using a derived calendar after the destruction of the temple in 70 AD and therefore, all my dates are suspect at best because all the dates are on or before 70 AD. However the derived calendar was derived based on 2000 years of practice. And was self correcting every spring. So to validate the calendar I will demonstrate its validity using NASA’s solar and lunar eclipse records. All dates are going to be plus or minus 1 day because the date changes at sunset not midnight and because the Jews tweaked the calendar to prevent back to back Sabbaths. Because the Hebrew calendar is a lunar based calendar a total solar eclipse can only occur on the 1st of the month and a total lunar eclipse can only occur on the 15th of a month.
We have shown that the temple destruction began on the 9th of Av, of 70 AD and the Talmud establishes that on the 10 of Av the priests were reciting the prayers for the afternoon of the first day of the week when the soldiers came into the Holy of Holies. On our derived calendar the 9th of Av is also a Saturday, August 4th and the 10th is thus also a Sunday the first day of the week: Sunday August 5th: exactly right.
Once again the validity of the date of the crucifixion is easy because the moon rose over Jerusalem as a partial blood moon: in a partial eclipse on April 3rd of the year 33 AD. 43 (As referenced by Peter’s speech referring to the day of Jesus’ crucifixion on Pentecost (Acts 2:20). as a fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. (Joel 2:10). As shown in this Web publication the crucifixion happened on April 3rd, 33AD, the 14th of Nissan the eve of Passover.
There has recently been those who claim that Jesus died in 30 AD. or earlier; I suppose in an attempt to make Jesus 33 years old when he died. However, to simplify things, Scripture explicitly tells us that Jesus died on Preparation day and that it was an especially holy Passover as it would be a double Sabbath. Preparation day was on a Friday and the next day was both a Sabbath and Passover which was always a Sabbath. During Pilate’s time in Israel from 26 AD. to 36 AD. there were three times that Passover was on a Saturday: 26 AD, 33 AD, and 36 AD. There was only once when there was also a lunar eclipse as described by Peter on Pentecost. 44 Jesus was, in fact, still 33 when he died in 33 AD. as he died on April 3rd and his 34th birthday was not until September 13th. If you try doing the math remember there was no year 0. The year preceding 1 AD. was 1 BCE.
To validate the calendar for the date of Jesus’ birth we have:
On February 15, 3 BC a total solar eclipse #4757 which occurred on the last day of Adar, 30 Adar
On January 10, 1BC a total lunar eclipse #4821 which occurred on the 15th of Shevat
On July 5, 1 BC a total lunar eclipse #4822 which occurred on the 14th of Tammuz
Since Jesus was born on Tishrei 15, of 2 BC, which is after the solar eclipse of February 15, 3 BC at which time the derived calendar was exactly right and before the total lunar eclipse of January 10th, 1 BC at which time the derived calendar was exactly right; we have established the date of his birth.
Finally we can see from the following table for moon phases 45 in Jerusalem UTC +2 that the full moon which always falls on the 15th of the month (Teshrei), which was Sep 13, in 2 BCE. Teshrei 15 in 2 BC fell on a Saturday because the actual full moon fell on Sunday morning at 6:07am (The table is UTC and Jerusalem is +2 UTC.) But that would make back to back Sabbaths so the calendar was tweaked so that the 15th fell on Saturday creating a double Sabbath.
Year | New Moon | First Quarter | Full Moon | Last Quarter |
-0001 | Jan 6 11:54 | Jan 13 12:07 | Jan 20 11:41 p | Jan 28 10:28 |
Feb 5 01:30 A | Feb 11 19:18 | Feb 19 02:50 | Feb 27 05:55 | |
Mar 6 12:18 | Mar 13 02:55 | Mar 20 18:36 | Mar 28 22:17 | |
Apr 4 20:44 | Apr 11 11:58 | Apr 19 10:19 | Apr 27 11:02 | |
May 4 03:44 | May 10 23:04 | May 19 01:29 | May 26 20:19 | |
Jun 2 10:28 | Jun 9 12:28 | Jun 17 15:48 | Jun 25 02:54 | |
Jul 1 18:10 | Jul 9 04:08 | Jul 17 05:03 p | Jul 24 08:03 | |
Jul 31 03:48 H | Aug 7 21:47 | Aug 15 17:07 | Aug 22 13:14 | |
Aug 29 16:04 | Sep 6 16:44 | Sep 14 04:07 | Sep 20 19:59 | |
Sep 28 07:10 | Oct 6 11:49 | Oct 13 14:31 | Oct 20 05:33 | |
Oct 28 00:54 | Nov 5 05:26 | Nov 12 00:54 | Nov 18 18:35 | |
Nov 26 20:22 | Dec 4 20:14 | Dec 11 11:42 | Dec 18 10:57 | |
Dec 26 15:58 P | ||||
Astropixels.com Moon Phases for 2 BCE
Annunciation
- December 9, 3 BCE./Tevet 2, 3759
“The true light, that enlightens every man, was coming into the world.” (Jn 1:5-9)
Mary lived in the temple from the time she was weaned until she was twelve. 46
Proto Evangelium of James. chapter 5ff;
Mary was trained in the spirit of the law and prophets: philosophically an Essene. The Essenes prayed, fasted, and denied themselves pleasures, as a sacrifice, to beseech God to send the Messiah. Mary, along with many other Essene men and women, committed herself to a vow of celibacy as part of a “prayer chain” to bring the Messiah. 47 An uncommitted young woman at that time was essentially the property of her designated guardian. A woman could not make a vow without her spouse or her father’s consent. If Mary had not been betrothed and her father (who was older) died, Mary could be given in marriage despite her wish to remain celibate. (Num 30:3-5) This would typically be done to relieve the guardian of the cost of supporting her. Her new spouse could nullify her vow if he did so as soon as he learned of it.
According to church Fathers, such as St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Augustine, Mary had previously taken a vow of lifelong celibacy. 48
Ignatius Study Bible, Lk 1:34 commentary.
Talmud Niddah 44a
Talmud Niddah 45b:3
Mary’s private prayer was to be allowed to be the handmaid of the mother of the Messiah. Mary took a vow of celibacy, so she did not expect to be the mother of the Messiah. With her vow of celibacy she took herself out of the running to be the mother of the Messiah. She was trained in the temple in weaving and sewing. As a celibate maid so trained, she would have expected to earn her own livelihood as a handmaid. Having dedicated her life to the coming of the Messiah, her highest aspiration would have been to be the handmaid of the mother of the Messiah. Thus, she learned to weave and sew providing the items needed for service in the temple while learning skills necessary to be a handmaid. (Tradition has it that Mary wove the tunic without seam, worn by Jesus to his death. It is also tradition that Mary sewed the strip of cloth that was cut from the shroud back onto the shroud after the resurrection.) Children serving in the temple were taught skills that were required in support of temple functions: including weaving and sewing. Specifically, the priests offering sacrifice were required to wear a tunic woven without seam.
The authorities betrothed Mary to Joseph, who had also committed himself to lead a life of celibacy. The kiddushin, the betrothal ceremony, was celebrated before she left the temple when she turned twelve. With the betrothal, Joseph committed himself to provide for Mary’s support after she was no longer supported by her father. At twelve, Mary could no longer stay in the temple, so she returned to Nazareth to rejoin her family. At that same time, Joseph would have relocated from Bethlehem to Nazareth to be close to Mary, whom he was now committed to protecting and to provide for, after she no longer lived with her parents.
If Joseph had already lived in Nazareth he would not have been known to the priests. Thus, he likely would not have been considered as a candidate to be betrothed to Mary. If you are picking someone to remain celibate it is prudent to pick someone whom you know has demonstrated the ability to do so, in addition to the desire and willingness to remain so.
A betrothal with intent to consummate the relationship usually only lasted a year unless one of the betrothed was underage: 12 for a girl, 13 for a boy. As of December 9, 3 BCE., Mary was 4 months past her 14th birthday. She has been betrothed 2 years and 4 months after becoming of age, well beyond the normal time between the kiddushin, betrothal, and the nisu’in, the husband taking his bride to his home. When a couple is betrothed, they are committed to each other, but each remains with his or her own family.
December 9th, Tevet 2, was the last day of Chanukah that year. While at the local well drawing a pitcher of water, Mary sensed a presence, heard a voice, and seeing no one she became frightened and fled to her home. 51 ...
Protoevangelium of James (11): “And she took the pitcher and went out to fill it with water. And, behold, a voice saying: Hail, thou who hast received grace; the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women! And she looked around, on the right hand and on the left, to see whence this voice came. And she went away, trembling, to her house, and put down the pitcher.”
There, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her saying: “Hail Mary full of grace! The Lord is with you." (Lk 1:28)
This is the only time in scripture that an angel greets someone by title, "Hail” which was ordinarily only used for royalty. Grace is what draws us to God. And the angel is indicating that Mary is already completely drawn to God. She already has the fullness of divine life within her. Her love for God was so strong that she was already recognizable in the spiritual dimension as the Queen of Heaven and Earth.
Mary was greatly troubled and wondered what sort of greeting this might be. (Lk 1:29) Asking herself why would this spiritual being refer to a 14-year-old with such a title? A girl who aspires to be a handmaid! Gabriel continues: "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God." (Lk 1:30) Gabriel says: “Behold you will conceive and bear a son and you will name him Jesus [Yeshua: ‘Yahweh saves’].” (Lk 1:31) “He will be great and will be called ‘Son of the Most High,’ and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of David forever, and of his kingship there will be no end.” (Lk 1:32)
That is the Messiah! Mary is to be the mother of the Messiah!
However, both she and Joseph have vowed to live a life of celibacy. Mary asks: “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" - I am under a vow of celibacy (Lk 1:34) Mary’s statement leaves no room for a future relationship with a man: she is under a vow of celibacy.
The angel tells Mary: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” (Lk 1:35)
God himself is to Father the Messiah! Mary’s vow of celibacy is key to her selection (Is 7:14) ...
(Is 7:10-14)
The LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, “Ask a sign of the LORD your God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.” He [Isaiah] said, “Listen now, house of David. Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God also? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” The word for virgin here is “almah” and the rabbis, as well as many translations from the original Hebrew, say that does not mean virgin but young girl. They say the Hebrew word for virgin is “betulah.” But אלמה “almah” can refer to a literal virgin as we see in the story of Rebekkah at the well in Genesis 24:43. “Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin אלמה, ‘almah,’ cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, ‘Give me I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink…[.]” Etymologically, the meaning of the word “almah” is derived from the verb meaning “to hide,” or “to conceal” as a womb conceals a child. Other aspects of the almah’s “hiddenness” is that the term “almah” is never applied to a married woman. And “betulah” doesn’t always refer only to literal virgins but could also mean a young woman who is married as we see here: Joel 1:8 “Lament like a virgin, בתולה, “betulah” girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.” When the Septuagint was written by the 72 elders of Israel (six from each tribe) all the writers specifically chose the Greek word “parthenos,” for virgin. This clearly demonstrates the common Jewish understanding of this passage at that time. There is no doubt that Jewish leaders looked at this passage as a messianic passage with the expectation of some type of supernatural birth. Also in Is 9:6-7 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever.” In the dead sea scrolls, there was found an anomaly: the letter מ “mem” is only closed at the end of a word but the word here for increase the ם “mem” is closed when it should not be: לםרבה instead of an open mem as here: מ “Mem” means water in Hebrew and they say an open mem is an open womb and a closed mem represents a barren womb. The rabbis teach that when it is time for the Redemption, the closed mem of Isaiah’s l’marbeh will open for the coming of the Messiah (Radak, Isa. 9:6).
There can be no possibility of another father. Gabriel continued: “Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail!” (Lk 1:36-37) Mary’s child is to be the long-awaited Messiah, the Son of God! How could Mary have said anything but yes? There is one rather large problem: Joseph, her betrothed. When Mary is found to be pregnant, Joseph can denounce her, and she will be stoned for adultery. (The Jews didn’t lose the ability to enforce the Levitical Law until 6 AD. So, stoning for adultery was still enforced.) Mary’s response is one of complete surrender to God: her heart’s only desire is to do God’s will. To even consider the consequences is to attempt to control, which is against the complete surrender to God’s will. 52
Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo: Surrender Novena Day-2
Mary says: “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be it done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Lk 1:38) God’s plan for salvation was dependent on a human. With Mary’s “Yes” came the Incarnation: God assumed human nature! God entered his own creation! Jesus is both God and is fully man.
As God’s plan unfolds, it is Tevet 2, the last (8th) day of the celebration of Chanukah. The number 8 signifies new beginnings. The feast of Chanukah celebrates the re-dedication of the temple after it had been profaned by the Syrian armies under Antiochus Epiphanes. It took 8 days to complete the re-dedication. For the people of Israel, that 8th day, in 3622, 139 BCE., represented a new beginning in their relationship with Yahweh. In the year 3759 on the same day on the Jewish Calendar, which occurred that year on December 9th of 3 BCE., was another very new beginning in God’s relationship with man! God has become man! That day, the completion of Chanukah, is called the little celebration of light. (During the re-dedication in 3622 there was only enough uncontaminated oil for the lamps for a single day. Miraculously the oil lasted throughout all 8 days of the re-dedication.) Chanukah is closely tied to the big celebration of light during the Feast of Tabernacles. That day the true light that enlightens every man came into the world. God has answered Mary’s prayer, Joseph’s prayer, the prayers of all the Essenes, and of all Israel! What joy she must feel!
Elizabeth got it right when she said: “Happy is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” (Lk 1:45) Share Mary’s joy!
Visitation
- approximately 12/16/-3 to 3/19/-2 about 3 months
(Lk 1:56)
A Love Story
As Mary reflected on the words of the angel, she realized the angel had given her a sign in the pregnancy of Elizabeth. Gabriel had said: “Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” (Lk 1:36-37) Mary rejoiced for Elizabeth. Elizabeth and Zechariah lived only 6 miles (9.6 kilometers) from the temple where Mary lived for 8 years. Being childless, Elizabeth devoted care and attention to the children in the Temple. During her stay in the Temple, Mary saw much more of Elizabeth than she did of her parents, who lived 90 miles (145 kilometers) away. Mary knew how much her own child would mean to Elizabeth. As she thought about Elizabeth, Mary also realized that Elizabeth, because of her age, would need help during the last months of her pregnancy and she was already in her sixth month. Mary was delighted at the thought of helping Elizabeth. She had to go to Elizabeth! Now Elizabeth needed her!
It was the last day of Chanukah, an 8-day Feast, one of the few that does not require travel to Jerusalem. Chanukah was an opportunity for people from Jerusalem to travel to spend the holiday with friends and relatives who did not live in Jerusalem. (On the other holidays, Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles, everyone had to come to Jerusalem.) There were likely visitors from Jerusalem in Nazareth who would be returning to Jerusalem right after the feast, on Tuesday December 10th, the 3rd of Tevet. We are told that “Mary made haste.” (Lk 1:39) Mary likely joined that caravan going from Nazareth back to Jerusalem, leaving the following morning. What family, with several children under the age of 8, wouldn't have fought over the opportunity to have a 14-year-old babysitter join them on the 7-day, 92 mile trip? Elizabeth lived in Ein Karem, Israel, which is about 5 miles (8 kilometers) west of Jerusalem. Mary only went with the caravan as far as the turn off to Ein Karem, which is about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) north of Ein Karem. The route taken was likely Nazareth south on the paved Via Maris road toward Caesarea then south to the first turn toward Jerusalem, going throuh Lydda and on to Jerusalem. That route was paved (by the Romans) most of the way and over flatter terrain as well as slightly shorter than going overland to the Jordan river road. “Mary entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leapt in her womb,” (Lk 1:40-41) and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, realized that Mary was the mother of the Messiah.
Elizabeth cried out in a loud voice; “Most blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk 1:41-43) Elizabeth knows!
Mary followed the sign given by the Angel Gabriel and is rewarded with confirmation of the angel’s message! Now, suddenly Mary has someone with whom to share her joy! God has not only filled Mary with joy at the Annunciation, He wants Mary to experience the full measure of joy, so He has now provided someone to share it with. Someone who also has great joy to share: Elizabeth was barren and now she is pregnant and in her 6th month. (Lk 1:37) Elizabeth has just recently come out of seclusion (Lk 1:24) and somehow Mary already knows and has come all the way from Nazareth to help her. Joy is not complete until it is shared.
Notice also that Mary turns everything to God. Mary immediately proclaims how great God is: “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for He has regarded the humility of his handmaid. For behold henceforth all generations will call me fortunate??? ...
A heteronym is a linguistic term for two words that are spelled the same but are pronounced differently and have different meanings. Some examples:
- Combine komBYNE- put together; KOMbyne- a threshing machine.
- Conduct KONduckt- behavior; kunDUCKT- to lead. (as in an orchestra)
- Blessed blesD – the receipient of a blessing; blesSED – someone or something that is holy.
- Latin: (Lk 1:42) et exclamavit voce magna, et dixit: Benedicta tu inter mulieres, et benedictus fructus ventris tui.
- English: (Lk 1:42) And she cried out with a loud voice and said: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb”
- Latin: (Lk 1:48) Quia respexit humilitatem ancillæ suæ: ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes
- English: (Lk 1:48) For he has looked with favor on the humility of his handmaid. For behold, from this time, all generations shall call me blessed.
- “Benedicta mulier” translates: “blessed woman”
- “Beata mulier” translates: “happy woman”
The point here is that Mary never said: “All generations will call me blesSED (Holy)” she said: “All generations will call me blesD (the recipient of a blessing – Happy)”.
This is not intended to take anything from Mary, but rather to point out Mary’s humility. It is most appropriate that all generations call Mary blesSED (Holy) because she is indeed so. But understand that that was not Mary’s prophecy, because she never said it. To attribute to Mary something that is not true gives her no honor!
“… He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm, He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their hearts, He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and has exalted the lowly; He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his posterity forever.” (Lk 1:46-55)
It is important to realize the humility of Mary. She did not consider herself a candidate to be the mother of the Messiah. Mary truly considered herself just a handmaid who loved God and her people. She loved so much that she had committed to make her whole life a prayer to bring the Messiah into the world. Now she is to be the instrument that brings him into the world.
Elizabeth is also someone with whom Mary can share her concerns as well as her joy. As Mary thinks about her situation. she turns to Elizabeth for advice. Mary has shared the story of the angel’s visit with Elizabeth. Thus, Elizabeth knows that Joseph is not aware of it and that there was no mention of Joseph during the angel’s visit. Mary had a deep love and respect for Joseph. She does not want Joseph to be hurt nor does she know how to tell him. Mary and Elizabeth surely talk about the approach to telling him and concluded that it was a problem best left for God. They would not presume to know the rest of God’s plan or Joseph’s place in it! It is the height of arrogance to attempt to do God a favor. They would simply trust God to handle it. Mary would meet her betrothed, Joseph, for Passover. As Mary’s betrothed, Joseph would have been expected to join Mary’s extended family to celebrate the Passover Seder meal. He probably traveled from Nazareth with Mary’s parents for the festival in Jerusalem. Joseph had a donkey cart which was required for a carpenter to harvest stone or wood for building. The donkey could not be left at home for a month and would certainly provide a comfortable ride for an elderly couple traveling 90 miles from Nazareth to Jerusalem.
One year old unblemished male lamb
Mary’s extended family: relatives, friends and neighbors numbered about 70: men, women, and children. The minimum number required to consume a year-old lamb was 10 adult males (males over 13) with their immediate families, while the average number was 20 adult males. The Paschal Lamb had to be at least eight-days-old (about 12 to 15 lbs, 5 to 7 kg) and not more than a year old. A year-old male lamb weighed from 70 to 100 lbs. (32 to 45 kg). A small lamb weighing 70 lbs. (32 kg) produced 27 lbs. (12 kg) of meat. The entire lamb needed to be consumed. Anything left over had to be burnt.
Joseph has not seen Mary for at least 3 months. By Passover, Mary was in her 15th week ... (see the 4th month in the Stages of Pregnancy below),
Stages Of Pregnancy
enough to tell on a woman who was accustomed to fasting: a regular practice for a devout Israelite. Mary was likely self-conscious and Joseph was perceptive enough to recognize the problem. Mary saw the confusion and pain in Joseph’s face. There was nothing she could say. Elizabeth was overcome by the stress of the situation: seeing Joseph as he looked at Mary, watching Mary as Joseph looked at her, trying to protect Mary, trying to communicate to Joseph the integrity of Mary, but Mary is obviously pregnant, and yet Elizabeth cannot address the obvious.
The combination of the stress of Mary’s situation and the stress of Passover Meal preparations (three meals for the extended family, 70 plus people, to be prepared before sundown) was likely enough stress to cause Elizabeth to go into labor and deliver early! Elizabeth was not due until April 18th and it was only March 20th. Luke says that Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months (Lk 1:56) If Elizabeth had gone full term, Mary would have stayed over four months and it makes no sense to consider that Mary would have left Elizabeth when Elizabeth was in her 9th month. Elizabeth giving birth would have distracted Joseph and the rest of the family. More importantly, Mary would have been totally focused on helping Elizabeth. Joseph could not speak with her.
After Elizabeth’s baby was born and the Seder meal finished, things began to settle down. Joseph laid down for the night in a common area (likely the roof) with the rest of the extended family. Passover was a Sabbath regardless of the day of the week on which it fell. Therefore, Joseph would have stayed the night since he could not travel more than 2000 cubits (about 1000 yards, 914 meters) on a Sabbath.
His thoughts return to Mary and her situation. Mary left suddenly three months ago; had she been attacked? He was hurting. He felt betrayed. Eventually he considered the consequences for Mary. It was not his child, so if he denounced her, she would be stoned to death as an adulteress. Over the two and a half years that he has known Mary, he has grown to love her. Mary was such a good, kind, and loving girl. She had an incredible love of God. It was difficult to understand how this could have happened. He could not let such a one be stoned. If instead, he could just submit a writ of divorce to the Great Sanhedrin. The Great Sanhedrin met daily in Jerusalem, and he was going to be in Jerusalem for at least a week. At that time a man could obtain a divorce for any reason by just submitting the writ of divorce to the Sanhedrin. If he did that then Mary would be a repudiated woman and free to marry the father of her child, if that was what she wanted. But, because he had not divorced her for adultery, people would think that he was the father. He would be considered a “deadbeat” father and be scorned and possibly even shunned for casting Mary off while she was with child. As shameful as that would be, he could not leave Mary subject to the law (stoning). Joseph chose to divorce Mary privately rather than to make an example of her. (Mt 1:19) He chose to give up his own reputation for Mary. Joseph chose to take on Mary’s "guilt,” just as Jesus has taken on our guilt. There is no greater love than to give up your life for someone. (Jn 15:13)
Typical 1st century home
Joseph fell asleep, praying over the problem, but his decision was made. An angel appeared to him in a dream. It must have been a dream as only Joseph, in a crowded area, saw or heard the angel and yet it was so real that Joseph was wide awake at the end and could not doubt its reality. The angel said: “Joseph son of David, do not fear to take Mary, your wife, for what is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit: she will bear a son and you will name him Jesus, ‘Yahweh saves,’ for He will save His people from their sins.” (Mt 1:20-21) Naming Jesus was an adoptive act. Joseph was to adopt Jesus as his own son. The Angel had asked Joseph if he would take Mary into his home and be the father to Jesus. I wonder if Joseph slept at all, for the remainder of the night. Joseph pondered the implications of being a father to the Messiah, a father to the Son of God! He had thought, with his vow of celibacy, he would never get to experience the joy of fatherhood. He had thought that, even though he was a descendant of David, he was not worthy to even be considered, to be in line for the fatherhood of the Messiah. He took the vow of celibacy as a prayer to bring the Messiah. Now the Messiah was not only coming, but He was also coming into Joseph’s care! His sorrow has turned to great joy: his prayer for the Messiah has been answered. Mary is not an adulteress; she is the mother of the Messiah! He can hardly wait for Mary to get up.
Consider the joy in the house on the following morning, the morning following the Seder Supper. Mary and Joseph shared the stories of their respective angelic visits: “Mary, an angel came to me last night …” Think of the flood of relief and joy that poured over Mary at those words!
Elizabeth and Zechariah are now parents of a son, just as the angel had told Zechariah. They are now also overwhelmed with relief and delight at the sight of Mary and Joseph together: hand in hand and grinning from ear to ear! One look at the joy on Mary’s face and Elizabeth knows that Joseph is also part of God’s plan.
Mary’s parents are told that they will be grandparents after all, of the Messiah! (Remember Mary’s father had to give his permission for Mary to take a vow of celibacy.)
The Seder celebration has a custom of setting an extra place at the table for Elijah, because of the tradition that Elijah would return on Passover. That year, with the birth of John the Baptist, whom the angel Gabriel told Zechariah had the spirit of Elijah (Lk 1:17) , Elijah did return for the Seder meal on Passover of 2 BCE
Normally the father of the groom determines when a marriage for a betrothed couple will be formalized: the nisu’in is celebrated under the wedding canopy. Hence the saying “Only the Father knows the day and the hour.” (Mt 24:36) The father determines the day and the hour based on the couple’s behavior. Think about that in the context of (Mt 24:36)
But if Joseph was 30 years old, then he alone could decide when the nisu’in is celebrated. Joseph and Mary likely celebrated it that same day, while together with the extended family in Jerusalem. Zechariah, a priest, has known Mary’s situation for three months. He gladly officiates at the ceremony (with someone reading the words for him as is normally done even today for a priest or minister who lost his speech to a stroke).
Since John was born on Passover, his circumcision would have taken place on Passover Yizkor. [Yizkor is a memorial service (one of three each year) held for all those who have recently died. It is possible that the caravan from Nazareth would be delayed a day if several wanted to stay for the memorial service.] Circumcisions took place on the 8th day even if it fell on a Sabbath. Mary and Joseph would have stayed for the celebration. They would not have left for home until Nisan 23. Mary would have arrived at Elizabeth’s home on or about Dec 16 and would have left on March 19th with Elizabeth and Zechariah for the Passover celebration in Jerusalem. Thus, Mary remained about 3 months.
And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zechariah, after his father. But his mother answered and said, “No, he will be called John.”
And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.” And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called.
Zechariah asked for a tablet and wrote as follows: “His name is John.” And they were all astonished and at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea.
All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him. And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: “Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant [a prophecy concerning Jesus; John is not of the house of David] - as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old - Salvation from our enemies from the hand of all who hate us; to show mercy toward our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant. The oath which He swore to Abraham our father, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
“And [concerning his own son] you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways to give to His people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise will visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Lk 1:57-79) [Jesus is the dawn from on high, the “Sunrise,” who will visit us bringing ‘life,’ ‘light,’ and ‘peace.’] 53
Oxford Bible Commentary Edited by John Barton and John Muddiman, Lk 1:59-80 p928. Mary had to have been there for the memory of the words of Zechariah to have been preserved.,
After sharing such a powerful experience as that which occurred throughout the Feast of Passover, Mary and Joseph did not leave until they had made plans to return in the fall, when they would be relocating to Bethlehem, a suburb of Jerusalem. (They did not return to Nazareth after Mary’s Purification and were found in Bethlehem by the Magi.)
Both Mary and Joseph knew that Micah had prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, (Mic 5:1) Joseph’s hometown. Even if they hadn’t remembered it, Zechariah would surely have reminded them. Knowing Mary was carrying the Messiah, Zechariah would have reviewed all the scriptural prophesies relating to the Messiah.
Mary and Joseph had been betrothed for almost three years. Mary has been away from home, Nazareth, for just over three months and returns a married woman. Joseph’s family is from Bethlehem where the wedding would have normally been held. No one in Nazareth would have expected a wedding in Nazareth. Mary and Joseph left Nazareth for Bethlehem three weeks before Jesus’ birth, the last week of August. They then fled from Herod by going from Bethlehem to Cairo, Egypt. (The Holy Family likely went to Cairo, Egypt. Mary appeared in Zeitoun, Egypt in 1968, where it is widely believed that she passed enroute to Cairo, while fleeing from Herod.)
The Holy Family did not return to Nazareth for almost eight months. They did not return to Nazareth until after Passover in 1 BCE., returning from Jerusalem with the caravan from Nazareth on Sunday, April 15th, 1 BCE. The timing of Jesus’ birth versus the formalization of the marriage would simply never have arisen.
Nativity
- September 13, 2 BCE./Tishrei 15, 3760
The birth of the Lamb of God
That summer there came a decree, from Caesar Augustus, that the entire world should be taxed. This new tax was a poll tax that applied to everyone not just the land owners, taxing the poor as well as the rich. The Romans had for some time levied a land-tax that was paid only by property owners. Every 14 years the Romans levied the land tax, and the poll tax was to be levied halfway between the land taxations. 54
William Thomas Arnold. The Roman System of Provincial Administration to the Accession of Constantine the Great, page 172
Joseph, being from the house of David and intending to relocate to his hometown, Bethlehem, now also had to go to Bethlehem to register for the poll tax. (Lk 2:1-3) The census during the reign of Quirinius (It has now been established that Quirinius served as governor two times; the first from 3 to 1 BCE. and the 2nd from 6 to 9 AD.) required all to travel to their own city sometime during the fall and winter months: when harvest was over. Harvest completion was marked by the Feast of Tabernacles, Sukkoth, an eight-day feast, beginning on Tishrei 15.
The Feast is in remembrance of God’s physical presence with the Israelites in the pillar of cloud and fire, during the Exodus. (Ex 13:21) It is also called the Feast of God with us, in Hebrew: “Emmanuel.”
The Israelites lived in booths, called a sukkot, during the Exodus. They were accompanied during their journey by the physical presence of God in the Pillar of cloud by day and a Pillar of fire by night. They were also provided water from the rock that accompanied them during the Exodus. Thus, there are three components to the celebration of Tabernacles: lights, water, and booths:
- The Illumination of the Temple Ceremony in which four oil-fed lamps, seventy-five foot Menorahs, provided light to the entire city all night long, just as the pillar of fire provided light during the Exodus (Jesus is the light of the world).
- The Joyous Water-Drawing Ceremony. On Sukkoth, water was also poured over the altar in a special ceremony. This ritual engendered such joy that it was celebrated with music, dancing and singing all night long. It celebrates the fact that during the Exodus water flowed from the rock that accompanied them during their journey (Jesus is the source of living water). The rock was Jesus (1Cor 10:4) and that is why Moses was punished for striking the rock twice. (Nm 20:11)
- Tabernacles is also called Shelters or Booths, because during the entire eight days, all Israelites are required to live in shelters, called sukkot, like they did during the Exodus. The sukkot are tents for the wealthy but for the common people, like a carpenter and his wife, it was a kind of lean-to. A sukkah must have at least 3 sides, allow the stars to be visible, and have a cover of branches: a leaky thatched roof. If it rains you are supposed to get wet!
Expensive Sukkah Exodus Encampment Minimum
Bethlehem Caravansary Ruins
Joseph needed to go to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles as it is a convocation during which every Israelite male over 13 was required to go to the designated place of worship: Jerusalem. Bethlehem is a suburb of Jerusalem, just 5 miles (8 kilometers) south of the Temple. Although it is only 70 miles (113 kilometers) from Nazareth to Jerusalem the route the caravan would take was 92 miles (148 kilometers) to avoid going through Samaria.
Travel arrangements were complicated by the fact that a large group, most of whom are on foot, could only travel 15 miles (24 kilometers) per day. A caravan can only travel at the speed of the slowest traveler. Even today caravans in Pakistan traveling on foot typically cover 15 miles (24 km) per day, according to missionary, Fr. Greg Rice. Jerusalem was 92 miles (148 kilometers) away via the Kings Road. That meant a six-day trip. Normally, you would begin a six-day trip on Sunday and arrive on Friday in time for the Sabbath. The Feast of Tabernacles, the 15th of Tishrei, was always a Sabbath and that year it fell on the Sabbath so for the 92-mile (148 kilometer) trip one would need to leave on the 9th. But the 10th of Tishrei was always a Sabbath since it was Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the holiest day the year. Then the 8th that year was a Sabbath and the 1st was the Feast of Trumpets; for which, the first day of the two-day Feast was also a Sabbath. Unless you wanted to spend a Sabbath or two in a caravansary, you were going to have to leave on the 24th of Elul (August 24th). Thus, there were probably two caravans from Nazareth that year. The first leaving on the 24th of Elul, enabling the travelers to spend all the feast days in Jerusalem and the second caravan would have left on the 7th of Tishri (September 5th), giving those travelers an extra ten days to finish the harvesting, but their trip was 8 days instead of 6. The additional two days were spent in a caravansary joined in prayer with other travelers. It can be noted that a group with mounts (donkeys, horses, or camels) could easily make 25 miles (40 kilometers) per day, making the journey in four days ,but everyone would need to be mounted. A group with no children or elderly could travel 20 miles (32 kilometers) in a day, making the journey in five days.
Mary and Joseph joined the first caravan, as that provided the safety of travel in a caravan with their possessions, since they were moving to Bethlehem. It also allowed them to spend the feasts of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur with Elizabeth and Zechariah as they had planned. Mary and Joseph loaded their possessions onto a donkey cart (Although they were poor, Joseph had to have brought his tools and even with what little they possessed it could not be carried. As a carpenter, Joseph would have had to travel to find and harvest the wood or stone that he would be using. That required a donkey cart. That they were moving can be seen from the fact that they were still in Bethlehem when they were found by the Magi sometime after the presentation of Jesus which was 40 days after his birth.)
They joined their neighbors traveling in the caravan from Nazareth to Jerusalem. During the six-day journey from Nazareth, the caravan stopped for the night at caravansaries: inns with a central courtyard. The central courtyard was intended for the pack animals: camels, mules, donkeys, horses, and oxen that were used to transport the travelers and their baggage. This courtyard provided security for the travelers’ property, both from wild animals and from bands of thieves. The poor travelers stayed in the courtyard with the animals while the wealthy rented space in the inn. The courtyard in unpopulated areas usually contained a mini market providing provender for the pack animals and food and supplies for the travelers.
Mary and Joseph likely separated from the caravan at the turn off to Ein Karem just as Mary had done when she went to help Elizabeth. They still had 2 weeks before the baby was due and they haven’t seen Elizabeth and Zechariah since John was circumcised and Zechariah regained his speech. They remained with Elizabeth and Zechariah through the first of the holidays. They planned to leave Ein Karem for Bethlehem on the 14th of Tishrei, Friday the 12th of September, and set up their sukkah in Bethlehem thereby spending the eight-day Feast of Tabernacles with Joseph’s extended family.
Joseph had only been in Nazareth for 3 years. He likely had property in Bethlehem and maybe even a house. Joseph traveled to Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost 50 days after Passover. Knowing he would be relocating to Bethlehem, he likely made arrangements for the relocation at that time. ...
Joseph knew everyone living in Bethlehem, a town of about 400 people. So he knew the owner of the inn. It is likely, that when he was there for Pentecost, he made arrangements to winterize the birthing stable in return for lodging which would also give him time to prepare their new home. However the inn filled up early for the Feasts of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement. So that there was no room for Joseph's sukkah and property, when they arrived for the Feasts of Tabernacles. But since Joseph was to winterize the stable, the inn keeper suggested that they just stay there. (Just my opinion but it explains why staying in the stable is a consequence of no room in the inn.)
Joseph planned on preparing their house while they were living in the sukkah as was required during the eight-day feast. They set out on Friday morning for the 6.75-mile (10.8 Km) trip to Bethlehem. (A donkey cart can travel 3 mph and can travel for 10 hours/day). 55 At three miles (4.8 kilometers) per hour traveling by themselves the trip would only have taken about 2.5 hours. They were traveling along the south side of Jerusalem never more than a few miles (kilometers) from Jerusalem which would have been safe traveling.
Route from Ein Kerem to Bethlehem
Travelers without family or friends in Jerusalem, upon arriving in environs of Jerusalem, set up their sukkot in the central courtyard of the caravansaries with the pack animals and baggage. This allowed them to leave their property in the caravansary and go to the Temple or market, as was required, without fear of losing their property. With the courtyards filling up with sukkot, even the caravansaries as far away as Bethlehem filled quickly. For the next eight days, no one lived inside! The Greek word for “caravansary” which is used by Luke in his Gospel has been translated into English as “inn.”
Arriving at the caravansary in Bethlehem early Friday afternoon, Joseph discovers the courtyard is already full of sukkot (there is physically no room in the “inn,” the caravansary courtyard, to set up even a poor man's sukkah).
The choice to stay in the caravansary was probably based on the fact they wanted security for all their possessions, without imposing anything on family, while Joseph prepared their new home and Mary cared for the new baby.
The stables were only used to protect newborn lambs from the cold weather. The stables are currently empty since the temple flocks are still in pasture.
The Sadducees, the priestly family, controlled all the pasture lands around Bethlehem. It was only September so the flocks would remain in the surrounding pastures until winter set in so they would not consume the vegetation near the city until the weather turned cold. Newborn lambs were vulnerable to the weather for only the first two weeks of life.
Joseph’s sukkah does not provide the required privacy for giving birth. The stable qualifies as a sukkah, provides privacy, and is much warmer than Joseph’s lean-to. Joseph’s family is there to assist Mary with the birth of Jesus. (Whether Mary needed assistance is not relevant, Joseph and Mary would not have expected that giving birth would be any different than when Mary assisted Elizabeth.)
When my daughter had her first child, a son, as she lay in the hospital bed holding her son, she looked up at me and said: “I didn’t think it was possible to love a human being this much!” Worn out from hours of labor, hair in disarray, with no makeup, her face radiated with so much joy; I have never seen her so beautiful!
Consider the joy felt by both Mary and Joseph. They also know that their little baby boy is the long-awaited Messiah! The baby is God’s Son! God’s own son is the answer to their prayer for the Messiah!
Their joy is magnified when shepherds arrive. The shepherds likely did not leave right away, as it was the Sabbath. They would have remained with the sheep until relieved the following day. They would have had no trouble finding the Holy Family as the requirement to remain in a sukkah was an eight-day requirement and it was their birthing stable.
They arrived with news that a host of angels had appeared and that the angels were singing praise to God. The shepherds explain that the angels told them where to find the child. (Lk 2:8-16) Mary and Joseph are now sharing their joy with the shepherds!
The shepherds to whom the angelic host appeared had been tending the temple flocks. The Sadducees had a monopoly on Paschal lambs. The Sadducees’ flocks had more than 600,000 sheep and goats. They controlled all the pasturage for 6 or 7 miles (10 or 11 kilometers) in all directions from Bethlehem. When a ewe gave birth to a male lamb, a Levitical shepherd inspected the lamb. Only a Levite could make the determination that a lamb was unblemished.
If it was a male without blemish, both the ewe and the lamb were moved to a separate flock and especially cared for. The lamb was destined for the Paschal sacrifice in the Temple. The shepherds, likely all Levites, were sent by the heavenly hosts to the birthing stable in Bethlehem to inspect God’s First Born, Mary’s first born: The Lamb of God!
Jesus is Mary’s first born, born in a stable used by the Levitical shepherds to protect new born Paschal Lambs from the weather. He is inspected by the Levitical shepherds and found without blemish! How else could the Lamb of God be born?
Mary’s child is born in Bethlehem which means “House of Bread.” Where else would the Bread of Life be born? In Arabic, "Bethlehem" means "House of Meat." But wait. isn’t the Bread of Life actually the flesh of the Lamb of God! The Nativity is not only pointing to Passover but also to the Eucharist!
Jesus is born on the Feast of Emmanuel, the Feast of God with us! When else would He who is God, who is now with us, and who is even called Emmanuel (God with us) by Isaiah (Is 7:14) , be born?
Jesus is conceived and born on the two Jewish celebrations of light. How else should the “Light of the World” be brought into the world? Mary had much to ponder in her heart. (Lk 2:19)
This gives additional meaning to the words of Jesus to Pilate when He said: “for this I was born.” (Jn 18:37) Jesus was born in a stable used for the temple flocks to protect the newborn lambs, inspected by the Levitical shepherds, found without blemish, and thus qualified from His birth for a Paschal sacrifice: The Lamb of God.
Presentation
- October 22, 2 BCE./Cheshvan 24, 3760
Jesus meets his Father
On the 8th day, September 20th, Tishrei 22, Jesus was circumcised at the local synagogue and given the name prescribed to both Mary and Joseph by the Angel Gabriel. Joseph’s naming Jesus was the formal act of adoption. That made Joseph Jesus’ father. ...
Joseph was made Jesus’ father by virtue of adoption as dictated by the Angel Gabriel. When Gabriel told Joseph to name the baby he was telling him to adopt the baby. Why do we insult him by calling him Jesus’ foster Father?
After the Feast of Tabernacles, when the requirement to live in a sukkah ended, Joseph moved his small family into a home where they would be found by the magi. (Mt 2:10)
When a woman gives birth to her first child, if it is a boy, then he must be redeemed by the father. The ceremony of redemption of a firstborn by his father is termed a Pidyon Haben. It takes place on the 30th day after the birth (for Jesus that would have been: October 12th, Cheshvan 14th). The offering for redemption, five shekels (Nm 18:15-16) , is not mentioned in the New Testament; but Joseph understood his role as adoptive father and we are told that they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord. (Lk 2:39)
A woman, who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son, is ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as during her monthly period. Then the woman must wait 33 more days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary. (Lev 12:2-4) The mother does not attend the Pidyon Haben. At the end of this period of purification, the woman was required to make a sacrifice of a year-old lamb for her purification and a turtle dove or pigeon for sin. (Lev 12:6) If she could not afford that, then a sacrifice of two turtle doves could be made. (Lev 12:8) Simeon Ben Hillel was known for providing the two turtle doves required for the purification out of his own pocket, when a woman came to the temple for purification and did not have the money for the doves. That implies that Simeon’s encounter with Mary and Joseph may not have been an accidental encounter. He may have been pointed out to Mary and Joseph as a source of funds for Mary’s purification. Remember Mary and Joseph left Nazareth August 24th and it is now October 22nd. Joseph has not worked except for possibly winterizing the stable in return for lodging there and preparing his own home for his new family in Bethlehem.
Mary and Joseph went to the temple to make the required sacrifice for Mary’s purification. (Lk 2:22) Mary, like any woman who has given birth while the father is away, wanted to take Jesus to His Father, Yahweh.
As Mary and Joseph entered the temple, after Mary’s purification in one of the many baths located just outside the temple, Simeon approaches. (Lk 2:27)
Simeon was likely Simeon Ben Hillel, the grandfather of Gamaliel. Simeon lived 130 years, dying in 20 AD. He was noted for both believing in the eminent arrival of the Messiah and teaching the requirement for love of God and neighbor. Simeon recognized Jesus as the Messiah. He takes Jesus into his arms, saying: “Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the sight of all peoples, a light of revelation to the gentiles, and glory for Your people, Israel.” (Lk 2:29-32) 56
Journal of Bible and ReligionVol. 34, No. 1, Jan., 1966
Simeon would not have just made such an exclamation and then turned around and left. He follows Mary and Joseph into the temple and is thus present when they introduce Jesus to His Father: “Yahweh, your Son!” Consider the joy felt by Mary and Joseph as they presented Jesus to His Father.
Mary also rejoices with Anna, an 84-year-old widow of the tribe of Asher, who recognizes Jesus and goes off telling everyone who was looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. (Lk 2:38)
Both Simeon and Anna (Lk 2:36) are filled with the Holy Spirit, having recognized not Mary and Joseph but the child; and they give glory to God! According to Jewish Law, it takes two witnesses of an event to prove that the event occurred as described by the witnesses. It is not a coincidence that Luke provides two witnesses to the Presentation of Jesus.
Consider the joy Mary felt when strangers exclaimed over her newborn. Even more so, the joy she felt when her child is recognized for being special. Jesus is recognized as the Messiah even as an infant!
As they were leaving the Temple, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary: “Behold this child is destined for the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted and you yourself a sword will pierce so that the thoughts of many may be revealed.” (Lk 2:33-35)
Mary holds her son close to her heart as she realizes that Simeon’s prophecy will come because of her son.
Simeon has witnessed what he perceives to be a dedication to temple service, a Presentation. Mary and Joseph did not make a sacrifice for the redemption of Jesus after presenting Him to His Father, so from Simeon’s perspective, Jesus, the Messiah, has just been, very appropriately, dedicated to the service of God as was both Samuel and Jesus’ mother, Mary. Since Mary and Joseph must have forgotten to record the dedication, Simeon was happy to take care of that for them. Jesus assumed his mother knew that He had to stay in the temple. The only reason He would have had to stay was because He was Presented. Mary would not have forgotten such a dedication, so when she brought her son to the temple to meet His Father, she had no intention of dedicating Jesus to Temple service, Presenting Him. Someone else must have recorded the Presentation. Simeon became the head of the Sanhedrin in 9 AD, when his father died. Not knowing the relationship between Jesus and his father, Joseph, Simeon is the likely candidate for having mistaken Jesus’ introduction to His Father for a Presentation. ...
Mary told the story to Luke and said she didn't understand what Jesus said: "I must be in my Father's house. She told the story with the description of the two witnesses to Jesus Presentation because after the fact she understood that she had in fact presented Jesus! It just wasn't what she intended.
Mary 59
Proto Evangelium of James. Joachim chapter 1; Anna chapters 3 & 4
New Jerusalem Bible Luke 2:22 commentary; Navarre Bible, Pentateuch commentary Lev 27:1-34 page 514(1Sam 1:28)
Both Samuel and Mary, dedicated to the temple, were brought back to the temple to stay when they were weaned (able to live without their mother) but it was not required to bring the male child until he became of age, turned 13, because his dedication was for life.
God initiated Jesus’ conception. Mary had no intention of dedicating Jesus to the Temple. Mary and Joseph knew Jesus was to be the Messiah. They were simply introducing Jesus to His Father.
Adoration of the Magi
- November - December, 2 BCE. / Kislev to Tevet, 3760
We all associate the “three Kings” with the Nativity; the arrival of the kings is a mystery in the Franciscan Crown rosary. The magi didn’t arrive until after the Presentation. (Mary’s offering was two doves: they had not received any gold). The actual number of magi is unknown. What we know about the Magi is the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh which remind us of (Isaiah 60:6) . (Both frankincense and myrrh are types of incense.)
There are two potential sources for the magi. Isaiah 60:6 implies they came from Sheba. Since the queen of Sheba came to visit Solomon, they would have known about the Israelites and Judea but why and how could they have known about the sign of the Messiah’s birth? In addition, Sheba is due South and Matthew specifically says they came from the East. (Mt 2:1) The other source which seems more plausible is that they were part of the group started by Daniel. Daniel prophesied the date of the death 61
Daniel's Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks; Author, Alva J. McClain ; Edition, 2 ; Publisher, Zondervan Publishing House, 1940 ; ISBN, 0884690768, 9780884690764.
Based on the Daniel assumption that their origin was from the East. It is thought from either Seleucia (Babylon was destroyed in 325 BCE. and a new capital city, Seleucia, was established 27 miles (43 kilometers) to the North) or possibly Persepolis if Cyrus or Darius had moved the wise men back to Persia.
It took 4 months for a large caravan to travel from Babylon to Jerusalem. It was 1090 miles (1754 kilometers). It is 1420 miles (2285 kilometers) from Persepolis to Jerusalem. A small group on camels would average 25 miles (40 kilometers) a day carrying up to 300 lbs. (136 kg) per camel for a few days. For a longer trip the average was closer to 18 miles (29 kilometers) a day. Thus, the trip would have taken a minimum of 72 days from Seleucia and 94 days from Persepolis, allowing for 1 day of rest for every 6 days of travel for the camels and men. 62
Beginning on Tishri 1, (September 11, 3 BCE.), the Jewish New Year of 3759 and throughout 2 BCE., 3760, there occurred a rare triple conjunction of Jupiter (the king planet, through its retrograde motion) and Regulus (the king star) they intersected on 9/11/3 BCE., 2/6/2 BCE., and 5/7/2 BCE. The Magi likely interpreted this rare triple conjunction as a giant neon sign in the heavens blinking KING-KING-KING. This all began at the Jewish New year and all within the constellation of Leo (the lion, a symbol of the tribe of Judah). So, it heavily symbolized a Jewish King from the tribe of Judah, a clear indication for those familiar with the Messiah.
“Attempts to identify the Christmas star with a planetary conjunction, comet, or supernova are futile. The protoevangelium of James 63 , Ephrem the Syrian in his commentary on the Diatessaron, and Chrysostom in his commentary on Matthew all rightly recognize the so-called star does not stay on high but moves as a guide and indeed comes to rest very near the infant Jesus. Matters become clear when we recall that the ancients generally believed stars to be animate beings, and the Jews, in particular, identified them with angels. (Job 38:7) The Arabic Gospel of the Infancy, chapter 7 and Theophylact must be right in identifying the magi’s star with an angel, and one may compare the angelic guide of the Exodus. (Ex 23:20,23) ; (Ex 32:34) 64
The Oxford Bible Commentary Edited by John Barton and John Muddiman: Matthew 3 p849
All this symbolism of a Jewish king from Judah was enough to get the well-versed Magi moving to Jerusalem, but you can understand why the average citizen of Jerusalem missed it. 65
The wise men were likely of the group of scholars that was originally formed and led by the prophet Daniel in Babylon. Daniel left an inheritance for the Messiah and instructed the other scholars in how to determine the date of the Messiah’s birth based on the stars. (Nm 24:17) His instructions to them were to pass the task down through the generations of scholars until the appointed time and then to take the inheritance to the newborn Messiah. The triple conjunction of Jupiter and Regulus indicated the time was near. Leaving for Jerusalem on the first day of the following Jewish new year would have them arriving in Bethlehem in late November or December depending on whether they came from Seleucia or Persepolis and how long they were delayed in Jerusalem.
Daniel had been shown the heavens at the time of the Messiah’s birth and told them what to look for in the sky. Daniel had also been shown the number of years that would pass before the coming of the Messiah. Armed with the time frame to start looking and what to look for; the Magi found in the sky the formation foretold by Daniel and headed off to Jerusalem as instructed by Daniel ... In my humble opinion all the symbolism of the Star of Bethlehem, and the events of the birth of the Lamb of God as well as the symbolism and physical evidence remaining from the crucifixion were lost on those living during Jesus’ lifetime. Those things were from the beginning directed to those of us living today that we would be able to see the Hand of God in the events of the past.
The Magi would have arrived in Jerusalem sometime in November or December of 2 BCE. saying: “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” That they have come to worship the newborn king implies that they were worshipers of Yahweh and followers of Daniel. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet Micah: ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.’” (Mic 5:2) While in Jerusalem seeking direction from the priests and scribes, Simeon likely told the Magi to ask for Mary and Joseph when they got to Bethlehem.
Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared (the first conjunction of Jupiter and Regulus). And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. (The early Church Fathers assumed that the star was angelic at this point as the star had to have been low enough to designate which house it was over). When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house, they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way. (Mt 2:1-12)
Herod would have figured out that the Magi weren’t coming back by the end of December. The triple conjunction began on 9/11/-3. It was now 12/-2 so if the baby was born on 9/11/-3 He would already be over a year old so to be safe he ordered the death of all boys in and around Bethlehem that were 2 years old and under.
The population of Bethlehem was about 400 and the population of the surrounding area an additional 200. One half were female so there were 300 males. One half were under 20 years old, so, 150 or 7.5 per year. Thus about 15 baby boys were killed. Mary would have met many of the mothers in her brief time in Bethlehem. Think of the pain she felt upon learning of their loss.
Herod died sometime between the total lunar eclipse on January 10, 1 BCE. and March 25, 1 BCE.
Finding in the Temple
– April 5th, 12/Nisan 25, 3772
A foreshadowing of Jesus’ death and resurrection
The Passover Festival in 3772 (12 AD.) would have ended on Nissan 22 (a Sabbath) so the caravan from Nazareth would have departed for their return on the 23rd of Nissan. Mary and Joseph discovered Jesus was missing on that day (April 3rd). Their return to Jerusalem would have been on the 24th of Nissan (April 4th) and they would have found Jesus on the morning of the 25th of Nissan, which is April 5th on the Gregorian Calendar. The finding in the temple has traditionally been considered a foreshadowing of the death and resurrection of Jesus. In fact, it happened on the Gregorian Calendar on the same days as Jesus’ death, April 3rd, and Resurrection, April 5th.
This mystery is both one of Mary’s sorrows and a Joyful Mystery. Being one of Mary’s sorrows is an indication of how much Mary and Joseph were hurt because Jesus stayed behind in the Temple. To hurt one’s parents is a sin and Jesus didn’t commit a sin! We are missing something!
When Jesus was introduced to His Father as an infant (at the time of Mary’s Purification); Simeon, a leading Pharisee, recognized Jesus as the Messiah as the family entered the temple. He saw what he assumed to be Mary presenting Jesus for dedication to temple Service, Jesus' Presentaton, and so Jesus was likely recorded as dedicated to temple service by Simeon, who assumed that Mary and Joseph simply forgot to record it. Thus, unless He was redeemed before He became of age, turned 13, He had to be in the temple just as Samuel and Mary stayed in the temple.
It says in the Torah: The Lord said to Moses, “speak to the children of Israel and say to them: ‘If anyone vows to give himself or one of his family members to the full service of the Lord, and circumstance changes so that he cannot keep his vow, he shall pay a redemption price to be freed from that vow. The value of an adult male from twenty to sixty years old is to be set at fifty pieces of silver; for an adult female at thirty pieces of silver; for a young male from five to twenty years at twenty pieces of silver[.]” (Lev 27:1-5)
“If anyone making such a vow is too poor to pay the required amount, he must present himself or the other family member to the priest, who will make an adjustment of the redemption price according to what the man can afford.” (Lev 27:8)
Jesus was 12 years old when He stayed behind in the temple. (Lk 2:42) An Israelite boy becomes of age at 13. The family traveled together each year to Jerusalem for Passover, Nisan 15 (Lk 2:41) .
Simeon lived until 20 AD. (There is a question as to the date Simeon died. The genealogical records indicate that he may have lived until 20 AD.) 66 He would have remembered Jesus and looked for His coming to the temple each year at Passover. Simeon would have been looking forward to the day that Jesus would be coming under his care and likely asked Jesus each year, from the time Jesus started His education, if He was staying. Simeon had explained to Jesus that it had been arranged by His parents when He was presented as an infant, an event that he, Simeon, had personally witnessed. Simeon may even have shown Jesus where His dedication was recorded. During each subsequent visit, after Jesus had begun His education, Simeon would have spent time with Jesus to observe His progress. Simeon at some point would have told Jesus that He had to be in residence before He turned 13. Even if Simeon had died in 10 AD, when he was replaced as the leader of the Sanhedrin, Jesus would have last seen Simeon when he was 10. Now at 12, knowing His family would not return to Jerusalem before His birthday, Jesus had to stay.
Since His parents had presented Him, Jesus logically assumed that they planned for Him to be dedicated to the Temple and knew that He would need to stay.
Mary and Joseph had presented Jesus to His Father. They did not, however, intend to dedicate Him for temple service; but there was no legal distinction. The dedication had been recorded by Simeon. They needed to redeem Jesus. When Mary finds Jesus, she says: “Son, why have You done this to us?” (Lk 2:48) Mary didn’t realize that Simeon had recorded the dedication for her and the corresponding legal implications.
Jesus responds: “Why were You looking for Me?” He was doing what the law required. “Didn’t you know that I must be in My Father’s house?” (Lk 2:49) There was no sin: Jesus could not leave. What must Mary have thought and felt? Her son was 12 years old and His family left Him; without even saying “Good-by”!
Mary had been committed to the Temple, so she also knew the requirements for the young men. Jesus must be redeemed (released from temple service) before He becomes of age, turned 13, or be committed to temple service for life. Mary presented Jesus, so she had to release Him from temple service while she could; before He was responsible for Himself! At the same time, Mary realized the pain she had caused her son by leaving without saying anything. That hurt more than the pain of His loss. Mary was sinless, but still human. Neither she nor Joseph checked for Jesus when they left or at any time during the 15 miles (24 kilometers) traveled that day. (Even today, caravans in Pakistan traveling on foot typically cover 15 miles (24 km) per day: Fr Greg Rice missionary)
Luke says that Mary and Joseph did not understand what Jesus said to them (Lk 2:50) . (This narrative is the only explanation as to why Luke calls Mary’s purification, the Presentation of Jesus. It was a Presentation of Jesus but not one intended by Mary or Joseph. When Mary told the story to Luke, she, with 20:20 hindsight, would have realized it was Jesus’ Presentation, but Jesus had already been redeemed as a firstborn by Joseph 10 days before they went to the Temple for Mary’s purification. Mary and Joseph did not comprehend the intensity of the hatred the priests and scribes would have for Jesus. If they had not redeemed Jesus, the devil would have prompted a priest or scribe to check and they would have found that Jesus was dedicated to the temple as an infant. Jesus would have been forcibly made into a temple slave. Remember, we are in the middle of a spiritual battle and the enemy, the devil, knows far more than we do. Our only recourse is to stay close to Jesus. Jesus was doing both what the law required and what was necessary in God’s plan.
Mary and Joseph are overjoyed that they have their son back and that He will remain with them.
It is apparent that Jesus did not use His divinity, or He would have known that Mary was not aware. Jesus was totally focused on His humanity. Jesus was like us in everything but sin. (Heb 2:17) That means He had to go to school to learn and needed to study. He grew up as a normal (although exceptional) Jewish child, adolescent, and young man. Jesus obtained knowledge by studying; beginning as was custom at age four and continuing His education through a formal program of study to become a rabbi, until, at age 30, He was given “authority.” Authority meant that He could make new interpretations of scripture. The scribes could only read existing interpretations. All rabbis also learned a trade. Jesus was a carpenter, taught by Joseph. Jesus followed the law. He would have completed all the requirements to make new interpretations of scripture.
The Events of Holy Week
The Events of Holy Week in the year 33 AD., the year Jesus died.
Lamb Selection Day: Palm Sunday - March 29th; Nissan 9th (for the Temple Passover)
Exodus 12 tells the story of the Passover. Both Mt 21:1 and Lk 19:29 say Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem from Bethphage, east of Jerusalem. He entered the city through the Golden (Eastern) Gate. The prophet Ezekiel had prophesied that the Messiah would enter through the Golden gate. (Ez 43:4) Zechariah says that the Messiah would enter the city riding a donkey and its foal (Zech 9:9) which is also prophesied in Gen 49:11 . As Jesus approached the city, He was recognized by a group of zealots. They saw the miracle worker fulfilling two Messianic prophecies! They began shouting their battle cry: “Hosanna” (God Save Us). They were hoping Jesus, the miracle worker, would be their savior from the Romans. After all, Jesus was an established miracle worker and He was coming into Jerusalem through the Golden gate just as Ezekiel had foretold and He was riding a donkey and its foal just as Zechariah and Genesis had foretold.
Meanwhile, Caiaphas had just left the city through the Damascus gate, the next gate (not counting the sheep gate) to the North and West of the Golden Gate, to select a lamb to be the Passover sacrificial lamb. The people were waiting with palm fronds to shout Hosanna (God Save us) when Caiaphas returned with the lamb. Their shouting and palm waving would signify their acceptance of the lamb as the sacrifice for all. But then they heard the shouting of “Hosanna” coming from the Golden gate (the next gate to the right). They hurried to the Golden gate, thinking Caiaphas had returned that way. When they saw Jesus, and were told of the fulfilled prophesies, they joined the chorus in the celebration of Jesus, the Messiah!
However, Jesus was not entering the city as a conquering Messiah but rather as the Lamb of God. With their shouting and waving of palm fronds the Israelites formally selected Jesus, the Lamb of God, to be their sacrifice on Passover. When Caiaphas returned with his lamb through the Damascus Gate, there was no one to meet him. The people had already selected the Lamb of God as the lamb to be sacrificed for all the people! Jesus, a first-born male, born in Bethlehem in a stable used for the protection of Paschal lambs, inspected by the Levitical shepherds, and found without blemish was offering Himself as the sacrificial lamb, on Lamb Selection Day! He fulfilled the prophecies of Zech 9:9 and Gen 49:11 as well as Ez 43:4 . He came as the Lamb who would be sacrificed for the sins of all mankind. 67
That evening both Matthew (Mt 26:2) and Mark (Mk 14:1) indicate that Passover was in two days time. The Essene Passsover was always on Wednesday which is two days (Monday and Tuesday) away. John says Jesus "went" to Bethany six days before Passover. The Temple Passover was on Saturday so Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday Thursday, and Friday are the six days. The evening meal would have been after sunset (on Monday) so John also counts Sunday. It was still Sunday when Jesus went to Bethany. Jesus and His apostles had gone to a suburb, Bethany, and at the home of Simon the Leper where they had dinner. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus were present. While at dinner, Mary poured expensive ointment over Jesus. When Judas complained, Jesus said that she was anointing His body for burial beforehand.
Judas surely thought that Jesus had blown it. He came into Jerusalem amid shouts and jubilation. The people were ready to make Him king. Instead, He wept over the city and then left, going to Bethany.
Maybe Judas should force Jesus to take action?
Jesus, as God, knew the Jews would reject Him and kill Him; that had been the plan from all eternity. Jesus also knew the Jews would continue to reject Him and that was necessary until the time of the Gentiles was fulfilled, (See Romans 11) . If the Jews had not rejected Jesus, Christianity would have been just another Jewish Sect and would not have been accepted in the Gentile world. We are now in the time of a “Post Christian world” which implies that the time of the Gentiles has been fulfilled and we will now soon witness the conversion of the Jews!
The Essene Passover celebration was an unbloody celebration just as Seder meals are today. The Essenes were not allowed to offer sacrifice in the Temple. Their Passover celebration would begin on Monday with cleaning day, followed on Tuesday as preparation day, with Unleavened Bread and Passover on Wednesday. The Essene Celebration would begin after sunset Tuesday with the Seder Meal. Preparation day (the day before the feast) was spent preparing food for two days and sacrificing the lambs. Unleavened Bread, Nissan 15, was a Sabbath, regardless of the day on which it fell. Sabbath rules applied: no fire could be started, and no cooking could be done. All the food to be consumed was cooked on preparation day and so you cleaned the preceding day. Monday was cleaning day for the Essenes. Thursday was cleaning day on the Temple calendar.
That year, Monday was also the day that 80% of people went to the temple to buy the lamb for the Passover sacrifice. It was the big day for the Sadducees. That day, they sold approximately 100,000 lambs at a premium since they were unblemished, one year old, male lambs.
As Jesus came into the city on Monday, He passed a fig tree that had no fruit. He then cursed the fig tree. Jesus, like other prophets, used prophetic actions as well as prophetic speech. His cursing the fig tree, the symbol of the Jewish political establishment (the Jewish State), and its subsequent withering showed the Apostles that the Israelite rulers (the fig tree) had failed to do what God wanted – they produced no fruit. Thus, God had cursed their leadership: they and their temple would be destroyed!
When Jesus drove out the money-changers (Mt 21:12-13) , the sons of Annas were apparently among them, if not the most important ones. This money-changing business normally took place in the Royal Stoa, an addition to the temple added by Herod that was specifically used as a market. But it would appear that, on this occasion, the day every family group had to acquire a lamb for the paschal sacrifice, the market had spilled over from the Stoa beyond the soreg or balustrade into the holy area, and so profaned it. When Jesus quoted God’s words: “My house shall be called a house of prayer” (Is 56:7 , Jer 7:11) , He would not have referred to the Royal Stoa, but to the sacred 500 cubit square precinct. 68
Mishnah Middot 2.1
Since the priest, in addition to the money from the sale of the lambs, took a commission from the money changers and sellers of other sacrificial items (wine, bread, oil), cleansing the temple put pressure on the priest to deal with the “Problem of Jesus” who is now both testing the authority of the Sadducees and affecting profits! The people coming from all over the known world were bringing their local currency. Currency that needed to be changed into the temple currency, the shekel, (at a profit).
It can be noted that the first time Jesus cleaned the temple, likely on Temple Cleaning Day, on April 4, 30 AD, was not on the day the lambs were being sold. That first cleaning, while annoying, would not have been a big deal. On the Essene calendar in 30 AD, Passover was on April 27, and on the Temple calendar it was on April 6.
Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests and said: “What are you prepared to give me if I hand Him over to you?” They paid him thirty silver pieces, and from then onward he began to look for an opportunity to betray Him. (Zech 11:12-13 , Mt 26:14-16 , Mk 14:10-11 , Lk 22:3-6 , Jn 13:2) .
The Last Supper Tuesday March 31th/Nissan 11th/Essene Nissan 14th:
In one ancient Jewish commentary on the Book of Exodus, Rabbi Joshua, son of Hananiah, who was of priestly descent and had served in the Temple before it was destroyed, says: “In that night they were redeemed, and in that night they will be redeemed [by the coming Messiah].” 70
Mishnah Middot 2.1
Exodus Rabbah 18:11
Pitre, Brant. Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper (pp. 66-67). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
As we prepare to focus on the Passion of Jesus, we need to address the elephant in the room: It is not possible that the Last Supper, a Seder Meal, took place on Thursday. It never says that it did in scripture. Consider the following:
- Jesus said “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” (Lk 22:15) The only Seder celebrated in Jerusalem before Jesus died was by the Essenes (20% of the population) on Tuesday night about 30 minutes after sunset.
- A capital trial could not be started on a Friday, as a capital trial required two days and the Sanhedrin never met on the Sabbath!
- John’s Gospel says Jesus died on Preparation Day. The Seder Meal occurs after sunset after Preparation Day. How could the Last Supper occur after Jesus already died?
- The body on the Shroud was washed – the blood from the scourging was washed off; therefore, it was not life blood like the blood from the crown of thorns, the crucifixion and the wound from the lance in His side. He died on Friday, but He was not scourged on Friday! He did not attend the Last Supper, Thursday, after having been scourged.
- The Sanhedrin would not have met on Friday, a festival eve – yet three gospels speak of the meeting of the Sanhedrin after Jesus was arrested and before He was condemned by Pilate. He could not have been arrested Thursday night / Friday morning.
- How would Pilate’s wife have even known that Jesus was before Pilate if Jesus was initially brought before Pilate Friday morning?
- Mark says Jesus was crucified at the 3rd hour (between 7:30 and 8:33am: not enough time for at least 6 trials, scourging, crowning with thorns and still walk to Calvary. Even if we use John’s 6th hour which started at 11 am. (John 19:14) , there still isn’t enough time to accomplish everything.
The solution to the dilemma is provided when we realize that there were two celebrations of Passover every year. 75,
Annie Jaubert, La date de la Cena Derniere: Calendrier biblique et liturgie chr?enne(Paris: Lecoffre, 1957) (ET: The Date of the Last Supper [Staten Island, N.Y.: Alba House, 1965])
The Date of the Last Supper [Staten Island, N.Y.: Alba House, 1965]
Once we accept that Jesus celebrated His Last Supper on the Essene calendar, a lot of things make sense: The apostles didn’t each have to eat a pound (.5 kg.) of meat: there was likely lamb served, but it was not a sacrificed lamb that needed to be consumed or burnt. The Essene celebration of the Seder Meal was a bloodless sacrifice celebrated Tuesday evening after sunset. Now there is enough time for all the events of Holy Week. In fact, the early Church commemorated the Last Supper not on the night before Good Friday but on the Tuesday before. 77 This tradition is preserved in the Syriac sources including the third century Didascalia Apostolorum (Teaching of the Apostles) XXVI v14:
- "Now this was done on the fourth day of the week. For when we had eaten the passover on the third day of the week at even [evening], we went forth to the Mount of Olives; and in the night they seized our Lord Jesus. And the next day, which was the fourth of the week, He remained in ward in the house of Caiaphas the high priest. And on the same day the chiefs of the people were assembled and took counsel against Him. And on the next day again, which was the fifth of the week, they brought Him to Pilate the governor. And He remained again in ward with Pilate the night after the fifth day of the week. But when it drew on (towards day) on the Friday, [[182]] they accused him much [ (Mk 15:3) before Pilate; and they could show nothing that was true, but gave false witness against Him. And they asked Him of Pilate to be put to death; and they crucified Him on the same Friday."
- "For while He was yet with us before He suffered, as we were eating the Passover with Him, He said to us: To-day, in this night, one of you will betray Me." (p. 88) "And we said unto Him, each one of us: Is it I, Lord? And He answered and said to us: He that putteth forth His hand with Me into the dish (Mk 14:30 Mt 26:21-23 ) Mk 14.18-20) . And Judas Iscariot, who was one of us, rose up and went His way to betray Him [cf. (Jn 13:30) . Then our Lord said to us: Verily I say unto you, a little while and ye will leave Me; for it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the lambs of His flock shall be scattered (Jn 16:32 ; Mt 26:31 ; Mk 14:27) . And Judas came with the scribes and with the priests of the people, and betrayed our Lord Jesus."
Day of Week
|
Temple
|
Essene
|
Event
|
Sunday March 29
|
Nisan 9
|
Nisan 12
|
Temple Lamb Selection Day,
Jesus enters Jerusalem
|
Monday March 30
|
Nisan 10
|
Nisan 13
|
Essene Cleaning Day,
Jesus cleans the Temple
|
Tuesday March 31
|
Nisan 11
|
Nisan 14
|
Essene Preparation Day,
Last Supper, Agony in Garden
|
Wednesday April 1
|
Nisan 12
|
Nisan 15
|
Essene Passover; Arrest, Ananus’
house, Sanhedrin T1 & T2, (T= Trial)
|
Thursday April 2
|
Nisan 13
|
Nisan 16
|
Temple Cleaning Day, Pilate T3, Herod T4, Pilate T5, and Scourging
|
Friday April 3
|
Nisan 14
|
Nisan 17
|
Temple Preparation Day,
Crowning with Thorns, Pilate T6, Crucifixion
|
Saturday April 4
|
Nisan 15
|
Nisan 18
|
Temple Passover (Sabbath)
|
Sunday April 5
|
Nisan 16
|
Nisan 19
|
Temple First Fruits: Resurrection
|
The Institution of the Eucharist
March 31, 33; Nissan 12, 3793; Essene’s Nissan 15th
For the Jews, sacrificed objects needed to be consumed, some by just the priest, and others by those making the sacrifice. What was not consumed by the participants must be burnt. The objective of sacrifice was not simply the killing of animals but the communion of the participants in the offering: the sharing in the consumption of the sacrificed object. God’s relationship with the Israelites is a covenant relationship, a family bond. Families eat together. The objective of sacrifice was establishing, re-enforcing, or re-establishing the covenant relationship, to allow the participants to “draw near” to God. The word ‘offering’ in Hebrew, “qorbanot” comes from the root Qof-Reish-Beit, which means “to draw near,” and indicates the primary purpose of offerings: to draw us near to God. 78
The covenant between the Israelites and Yahweh was given to Moses. It was ratified on Mt Sinai on the Feast of Pentecost.
The Todah is one of the sacrifices of the Israelites, dating back to Melchizedek, Prince of Peace. After Abraham had defeated the four kings, Melchizedek, a priest of God Most High and King of Salem (Jerusalem), offered a sacrifice of unleavened bread. and wine, in thanksgiving for the deliverance of Salem and then blessed Abraham. (Gen 14:17-18) A Todah is a sacrifice of unleavened bread. and wine that is accompanied by thanksgiving hymns and is offered by someone who has been delivered from great peril.
An Aaronite-Temple priest could only serve from age 30 to 50, whereas the Messiah was to be a priest forever. (Ps 110:4) He was to be a priest of the order of Melchizedek. (Ps 110:4) That priesthood was passed down from father to son. Melchizedek, priest of God Most High, is Shem, Noah’s first-born Son. Shem was the only righteous first-born son all the way back to Adam. Shem out-lived Abraham. Check it out in Genesis! Shem was the King of Salem (Jerusalem). When Shem blessed Abraham, he passed on to Abraham the priesthood which he had received from Noah. Priesthood passed all the way down from Adam. Abraham then passed it on to Isaac and which Israel (Jacob) purchased from his brother, Esau.
At His baptism, Jesus received His priesthood as the voice from heaven announced: “This is my beloved Son (Ps 2:7) in whom I am well pleased (Is 42:1) .” (Mt 3:17 , Mk 1:11 , Lk 3:22) and the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove. (Jn 1:32 Lk 3:21) .
An old rabbinic teaching says: “In the coming Messianic age all sacrifices will cease, but the thank offering [Todah] will never cease.” 79
Pesiqta, as quoted in Hartmut Gene, Essays On Biblical Theology (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House 1981, 133. And The menorah Journal p824
“Todah” is the Hebrew word for “thanksgiving.” The word “Eucharist” is from the Greek word “Eucharistia” which also means “thanksgiving.”
The Seder Meal was a special celebration in that it was both a sacrificial meal in which the sacrificed paschal lamb was consumed but it was also a Todah, a thanksgiving sacrifice of unleavened bread and wine, in thanksgiving for the deliverance that would be provided by the blood of the sacrificed lamb. The Angel of Death would see the blood and pass over the house, thus saving the first born sons of the Israelites from slavery to Egypt. The Seder meal initiated the Exodus from Egypt. During that physical Exodus of the Jews, they were fed with Manna from heaven. The Eucharist is the heavenly bread, with which we are fed during the spiritual Exodus initiated by Jesus at His Last Supper. The first Eucharist, an unbloody sacrifice of unleavened bread and wine, in thanksgiving for the deliverance from slavery to sin which would be provided by the blood of the Lamb of God was completed Friday on the cross.
Jesus’ Exodus is another parallel between Moses and Jesus. Moses led the Israelites out of slavery to Egypt in his exodus and took them to the promise land. Jesus leads all of us out of slavery to self and leads us into the Kingdom of God. Moses’ exodus was in the physical realm while Jesus’ exodus is in the spiritual realm. "
In Moses’ Exodus the people were fed with the Manna from heaven and provided water from the rock that followed them throughout the 40 years wandering in the desert. In Jesus Exodus, we are led throughout our physical life to the Kingdom of God. During our journey we are fed with heavenly bread for as we say in the Our Father: “Give us today our daily bread” what was really said by both Matthew and Luke is:
Give us today our daily bread
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τόν äρτον ημών τόν έπιούσιον δός ημίν αήμερον
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Give us today our day by day bread
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τόν äρτον ημών τόν έπιούσιον διδόυ ημίν το καθ ήμεραν
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Epiousiosis, έπιούσιον, is the significant Greek word which is only used in scripture in the Our Father. Epi means super or beyond and ousia means substance or nature which should probably have been translated into English as our super-substantial bread or maybe our heavenly bread. The Eucharist is the manna provided to us by Jesus for our journey to the Kingdom of God, which would be opened with the death of Jesus. Jesus, who according to St. Paul, was the Rock 80 (1Cor 10:4) that provided the water for the Jews during Moses’ Exodus. Likewise Jesus has promised us to be the source of living water during our Exodus.
Jesus’ Exodus began when He died on the cross and continues until He comes again to establish a new earth.
The key to the Seder is the communion in the thanksgiving sacrifice: the Todah. Sacrificed animals could only be sacrificed, killed, in the temple. If you attempted to sacrifice a lamb or any other animal somewhere other than the temple you would be cut off from the people of God. Deut 16:5 says “You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of your towns which the Lord your God gives you.” Passover refers to the sacrifice of the Paschal lamb, the Seder meal refers to the Thanksgiving offering, the Todah is giving thanks that through the blood of the sacrificed animals the Angel of Death passed over the homes of the Israelites. So, if you could not get to Jerusalem or if you were an Essene and could not sacrifice in the temple, you still celebrated the Seder meal as the Thanksgiving Sacrifice, the Todah. You could and normally would eat lamb at the meal just as is done at Seder meals today. The point here is that the key to a Seder meal is the communion in, the consumption of, the sacrificial unleavened bread. and wine, the thanksgiving sacrifice in thanksgiving for the deliverance provided by the blood of the sacrificial, Paschal, lamb! Even today, 2000 years years later if you were to attend a service at a Jewish Synagogue they celebrate a Todah sacrifice of bread and wine which is shared by all the participants (communion).
The synoptic gospels ... The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, all indicate that the last supper was a Passover Meal (a Seder Supper). John’s Gospel says that the Last Supper was before the Feast of Passover (Jn 13:1) and that Jesus died on Preparation Day (Jn 19:31) . Thus, the Last Supper could not have been a Seder Supper. We now know from the Qumran scrolls there is no conflict: there were two Passovers celebrated every year: by two calendars! That is what Matthew and Mark meant by “1st day” (Mt 26:17 , Mk 14:12) : the first of two celebrations, not the first day of a 7-day feast.
The Paschal Lamb was consumed (eaten) at the Seder Meal and anything left over was burnt. Thus, the sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb on the afternoon of Nissan 14 preceded the Seder Meal celebrated on the 15th of Nissan that same evening. (The date changed at sunset.)
For the Seder Meal to be a dress rehearsal for the Eucharist there must be a Seder Meal before the temple sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb which is the dress rehearsal for the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. For this God utilized the Essenes’ solar calendar. All things come from God, even the calendars. God uses both his lunar/solar (Temple) and his solar (Essene) calendars.
Last Supper Upper Room
Following the Essene solar calendar, the Seder Meal that year would have been on a Tuesday evening after sunset. When the apostles asked Jesus where to prepare the Passover meal, He told Peter and John (Lk 22:7) “Go into the city and you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him and say to the owner of the house that he enters: ‘The Master says where is the room for Me to eat the Passover with My disciples?’ He will show you a large upper room furnished with couches, all prepared. Make preparations for us there.” (Mk 14:12-14 , Lk 22:9-13)
The man was easily identifiable since men did not carry water. That was women’s work. Because many Essenes took a vow of celibacy, such an individual would have no wife; therefore, no woman who would carry the water; so a man carrying water was most likely an Essene and he did, in fact, take them into the Essene quarter of Jerusalem. They followed him to the Essene Quarter, the southeast corner of the city, to a house now called the Cenacle, that had been built over the tomb of David.
The Last Supper, a Seder Meal, is on the Essene’s 15th of Nissan as it should be, but that was on the 12th of Nissan by the temple calendar.
The Essenes were not allowed to offer animal sacrifices in the temple because they had different rites for cleaning the sacrificial animals. 81 The Last Supper was therefore a “bloodless” celebration: there was no sacrificed animal that must be fully consumed, just as Seder meals are today. There was therefore no requirement to consume an entire lamb. Thus, a meal with only the apostles present, as is traditionally held to be the case, is possible.
“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” (Lk 22:15) .
The ritual for the celebration of the Seder: the Haggadah, that was included in the Mishnah Pesahim 7.1-2, was provided by Gamaliel. 82 It is in four parts:
- It begins with an initial blessing, the kiddush, spoken over the first of four cups of wine. Then the eating of the bitter herbs which symbolizes the bondage in Egypt.
- They then recite Exodus 12 , the story of the Exodus, and then sing (Psalm 113) , the little Hallel. After which they drink the second cup of wine.
- The main course is eaten. The lamb and bread. are consumed. The third cup is consumed.
- The great Hallel is sung, the fourth cup is consumed, and the Nirtzah, a simple statement that the Seder has ended, ends the Seder.
Jesus knowing that the Father had put everything into His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God, got up from supper, and took off His outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around His waist. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel around His waist.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him: “Master are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will understand later.”
Peter said to Him, “You will never wash my feet!”
Jesus answered him: “Unless I wash you, you have no inheritance with Me.”
Simon Peter said to Him: “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head. as well.”
“Whoever has bathed has no need to wash, except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so, you are clean, but not all.” He knew the one who would betray Him; for this reason, He said, “Not all of you are clean.”
So, when He had washed their feet, and put His garments back on and reclined at table again, He said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I therefore, the master and teacher, washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example to follow so that as I have done for you, you should also do. Amen, amen, truly, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master, nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you, if you do it. (Jn 13:1-17)
Jesus probably announced that He was to be betrayed after eating the main course but before drinking the 3rd cup. Mark describes it: “As they reclined at table and were eating, Jesus said, ‘Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray Me, one who is eating with Me.’” (Mk 14:18) From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe that I Am.’ Amen, amen, I say to you, he who receives the one I send receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” (Jn 13:19-20)
When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.” (Jn 13:22) I do not speak of all of you. I know those whom I have chosen. But so that the Scripture might be fulfilled: ‘The one who eats My food has raised his heel against Me.’ (Ps 41:10) Jesus continued: “The Son of Man indeed goes, as is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for him if he had never been born.” (Mt 26:24-25 , Mk 14:21 , Lk 22:22) . The disciples began looking at one another, at a loss to know of which one He was speaking. Deeply distressed the apostles began to ask, one after another: “Surely it is not I.” (Mt 26:23) .
There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom (on His right), one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. So, Simon Peter gestured to him, and said to him, “Tell us who it is of whom He is speaking.”
He, leaning back thus on Jesus’ bosom, said to Him, “Lord, who is it?”
Jesus then answered, “That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel [sop] and give it to him.”
So, when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. After eating the morsel, Satan entered him. Judas said to Jesus, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi? Jesus answered: “You have said so.” (Mt 26:25) Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.”
Now none of those reclining at the table knew for what purpose He had said this to him. For some were supposing, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus was saying to him, “Buy the things we have need of for the feast” ...
the feast cannot refer to the Seder they are currently eating, that doesn’t make sense. It must therefore mean the temple Seder celebration they were expecting to have 3 evenings later;
or else, that he should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the morsel, he went out immediately; and it was night.
(Jn 13:21-30)
For the Master to share the sop was a sign of love and deep friendship. Jesus wanted John to know how much He loved His betrayer, despite knowing what he was about to do. He was showing John what it is to love Your enemy: “Love one another as I have loved you.” (Jn 13:34)
When Judas had left, Jesus said: “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and He will glorify Him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for Me, and as I told the Jews, ‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you. I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (Jn 13:31-35) .
Jesus reiterated: “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this: that a man lay down His life for His friend.” (Jn 15:12-13) Jesus is about to do just that: allowing Himself to be tortured and killed so that we can have everlasting life.
It was during that third part that Jesus instituted the Eucharist, He took bread, blessed it and said: "Take and eat, this is My Body." (Mt 26:26) Taking the 3rd of 4 cups of wine (called the “Blessing Cup” (1Cor 10:16)) or the “Cup of Redemption”), Jesus said: "Drink from it, all of you, for this is My Blood. This cup is the new covenant in My Blood, shed for you." (Mt 26:28 , Lk 22:20) , 1Cor 11:25) . Covenants were made with a blood sacrifice. At this point Jesus is initiating the new covenant spoken of by Jeremiah (Jer 31:31) . The consumption of the bread, Jesus’ body, and the wine, Jesus’ blood, is the beginning of the gift of Jesus’ life for His friends. He has separated His body and blood; offering them as the communion in the new covenant that He is now establishing.
“Do this in remembrance of Me.” (Lk 22:19 , 1Cor 11:24) . [Thus, instituting Holy Orders]. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me and I in him." (Jn 6:56)
Jesus said: “I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom of God comes.” (Mt 26:29 , Mk 14:25 , Lk 22:18) Jesus is saying He won’t take the 4th cup until His work is finished; that is, finishing the Last Supper will be His last act before death. The Kingdom comes at His death.
Then Jesus said to them: “All of you will have your faith shaken, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ (Zech 13:7)
Peter said to him: “Even though all will have their faith shaken mine will not be.”
Jesus said: “Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded to sift you all like wheat. But I have prayed that your faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers.” (Lk 22:31-32) Then Jesus said to him: “Amen I say to you this very night before the cock crows twice you will deny me three times.” (Mk 14:30)
But he vehemently replied, “Even though I should have to die I will not deny you,” and they all spoke similarly.
They then sang the great Hallel including:
“What shall I render to the LORD for all His bounty to me? I shall lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD … Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His holy ones. Oh LORD, I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of your handmaid. You have loosed my bonds; I will offer You the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.” (Ps 116:12–13 , 15–17)
This is exactly what Jesus is doing at the Last Supper: He is offering to God the “sacrifice of thanksgiving,” the new “thank offering” (zebah todah). Even more striking, given what He was about to suffer on the cross, imagine Jesus chanting (probably in Hebrew) these words of the Great Hallel on the night He was betrayed:
“Out of my distress I called to the LORD; the LORD answered Me and set Me free … I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD. The LORD has chastened Me sorely, but He has not given me over to death. Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. I thank You, that You have answered Me and have become My salvation. The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. (Ps 118:5 , 17–22) 83
Pitre, Brant. Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper (pp. 156-157). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Normally at this point the fourth cup is consumed, and the Nirtzah ends the Seder. This time it didn’t happen that way.
The Eucharist is a sacrifice inasmuch as it is offered up, and a sacrament inasmuch as it is received.
It is interesting to note that the original Seder meal, the night before the Exodus, was a thanksgiving offering in thanksgiving for a deliverance that was about to take place. The destroyer had not yet passed over the houses where the Seder supper had been celebrated and the blood of the lamb had been placed with a hyssop branch on the lintel of the door.
The Last Supper, a Seder Supper, was a “Eucharistic,” “Todah,” “Thanksgiving” offering in anticipation of the deliverance that was about to take place after the 4th cup was taken from the hyssop branch on the cross: deliverance by means of the blood from the sacrifice of the Lamb of God via crucifixion. At every Eucharistic Celebration, the sacrifice of Calvary is made present because the Eucharist was finished not in the upper room but on the cross.
Every Eucharist we celebrate is a thanksgiving (Todah) for the deliverance we have received by means of the crucifixion. The Seder Supper which is celebrated by the Israelites in remembrance of Passover is a dress rehearsal for the Eucharistic meal which we share in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice. The Eucharist, like the Seder Supper, transcends time and is always celebrated in the present.
Jesus has shown us through many Eucharistic miracles 84
There are 133 recognized Eucharistic miracles: http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/polish-eucharistic-miracle-in-legnica
The flesh that was the bread. is still present from all four miracles and the blood that was the wine is still present from the Lanciano miracle. The Lanciano, Buenos Aries, and Legnica flesh has been tested and shown to be human heart tissue. The bread. from the miracle in Argentina and Poland underwent testing at multiple independent laboratories and all labs reported that it was human heart tissue from someone who had been tortured. The flesh from Argentina was also shown to be “living” heart tissue! Four of the five samples show blood type AB positive. The fifth wasn’t typed. AB positive is the same blood type that is on both the Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium! ... The Shroud was called a medieval forgery, based on faulty carbon dating in 1983 (to much fanfare by the Lord of the Air (Ep 2:2) ). However, that resulted in extensive research which has proven that the carbon dating was in error and the shroud does date to the 1st century.
The ritual of the Seder meal prescribes a very specific set of prayers and actions. Paul makes a point of telling us that it was the Blessing Cup, the third cup, that Jesus consecrated and then we are told that they sang a hymn. (Mk 14:26) The full Hallel (Ps 113 to 118) was sung right before the fourth cup of the Seder Meal. Then they left! Jesus and his disciples left the last supper after drinking the blessing cup but before taking the 4th cup (the “Cup of Acceptance” or the “Cup of consummation”), leaving the Paschal meal unfinished! The Seder meal traditionally ends with the Nirtzah: a simple statement that the meal has been completed. That too didn’t happen until later.
The Agony of Jesus in the Garden
March 31 - April 1, 33/Nissan 12, 3793 Jesus’ Exodus begins
And He came out and proceeded as was his custom over the ravine of the Kidron, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed him. (Lk 2:1) They came to a garden, a place named Gethsemane; and He said to them: “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” (Lk 2:1)
Jesus tells his disciples: "Stay here, while I go over there and pray." (Mt 26:36)
Entering the garden with Peter, James, and John, Jesus says: "My soul is sorrowful unto death; remain here and watch with me." (Mt 26:38 , (Mk 14:34)
Jesus asked for prayer! Jesus also asked them to keep watch (likely so that He would not be surprised at the arrival of Judas). And He went a little beyond them, about a stone’s throw, and fell to the ground, praying, that if it were possible, the hour might pass him by.
Gardem of Getsemane
Jesus knew what was coming. He knew that he would be crucified and that it was required in order to complete the fulfillment of the sacrifice of the Pascal Lamb: in the first century A.D., the Passover lambs in the Temple were not only sacrificed; they were, so to speak, crucified. As the Israeli scholar Joseph Tabory has shown, according to the Mishnah, at the time when the Temple still stood, after the sacrifice of the lamb, the Jews would drive “thin smooth staves” of wood through the shoulders of the lamb in order to hang it and skin it 89
Mishnah:Pesahim 5:9
Mishnah Pesahim 7:1
Pitre, Brant. Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper (pp. 63-65). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition
Jesus knew that He would be scourged and He would be crowned with thorns. Jesus had undoubtedly carried a crucified Paschal Lamb from the Temple and had seen men crucified by the Romans. Jesus knows what is coming and stress is building.
His sweat becomes as drops of blood falling to the ground (Lk 22:44) . That is a medical condition called hematidrosis brought on by extreme stress or pain. Hematidrosis causes the sweat glands to rupture making the sweat bloody and causes the onset of traumatic shock. Traumatic shock is the body’s self-destruct mechanism, wherein the air spaces in the lung (alveoli) rupture and the air tubes (bronchi) spasm. The ruptured alveoli can no longer oxygenate the blood. The lungs begin to fill with the fluid from the ruptured cell tissue. This will, if the stress and/or pain does not cease, ultimately cause the individual to “drown” in cell tissue (the non technical ccause of Jesus' death).
Fear that is anguish based on the unknown, is from the devil. Jesus does not fear his passion; because the torment is not unknown. He knows exactly what is coming and that knowledge is causing the stress. ... (Hematidrosis is frequently found in veteran soldiers before an impending battle.)
Jesus was praying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.” (Mk 14:36)
That cup was the 4th cup, the “Cup of Acceptance,” that He had omitted from the Seder meal: the cup He would drink from the cross. Jesus came back to where He had left Peter, James, and John and found them sleeping.
He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour?” (Mt 26:40) “Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak....” Notice: Jesus again differentiated watching and praying. He was asking his closest friends to stand guard to alert him of the arrival of the crowd.
He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, your will be done.”
Again, He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. (Mk 14:42-44) This time, an Angel came to console him. (Lk 22:43)
Three times He is tempted and all three times He turns to his Father. All three times He submits his will to his Father’s will. He chooses three times to undergo torture and death! “There is no greater love than to lay down your life for a friend.” (Jn 15:13)
Jesus’ suffering was in reaction to the Devil’s temptations. Remember that, at the beginning of his ministry, Jesus went out into the desert and remained forty days. At the end, when He was weakest, the devil came and tempted him three times. Then it says: "And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time." (Lk 4:13) and in Matthew it says "Then the devil left him and behold angels came and ministered to him." (Mt 4:11)
It is now the opportune time: the devil came to show Jesus exactly what He was going to suffer, causing the onset of traumatic shock. “The effects of the hematidrosis, and the severe anxiety associated with it, are weakness, depression, mild to moderate dehydration, and mild hypovolemia (low blood and fluid volume) due to sweat and blood loss — all of which would have greatly weakened Jesus prior to His crucifixion.” 92
Zugibe, Frederick T.. The Crucifixion of Jesus, Completely Revised and Expanded (p. 11). M. Evans & Company. Kindle Edition.
The angels ministrations fortified him against what was about to happen.
Jesus came back to the apostles the third time and found them sleeping from sorrow (Lk 22:45) , and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough; the hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going; look, the one who betrays Me is at hand!” (Mk 14:43-46)
The sleeping disciples had exhausted themselves in fear of what might be coming. Jesus lets them know they are not supporting him; but He is gentle about it. He understood.
Now Judas, who was betraying him, also knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with his disciples. Judas then, joined by the temple guards, their officers, servants of the priests (who were sent by the chief priests), and the elders of the people, came there with lanterns, torches, swords and clubs. (Jn 18:1-3, Mt 26:47, 2Kng 1:9-15)
Now Judas had given the crowd leaders a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize him and lead. him away under guard.”
Upon arriving, Judas immediately went to Jesus, saying, “Rabbi!” and kissed him.
Jesus said to him: “Friend, why are you here? (Mt 26:50) Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Lk 22:48)
The crowd is afraid of Jesus. Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon him, then steps forward right in front of the crowd, asking: “Whom do you seek?”
They answer: “Jesus of Nazareth.”
Jesus responds: “I AM.” The original Greek εγώ έιμι [Latin:egó éimi] is translated ‘I Am’ however many editions of the Bible have added “he” on their own.
At Jesus’ response, the ones in front, in fear at both Jesus’ use of God’s name and the boldness of Jesus stepping toward them, take a step back, thinking of the fire of Elijah. The step back causes them to fall over those in the back of the crowd who were still moving forward.
After they get back to their feet, Jesus asks again: “Whom do you seek?”
When they reply, Jesus answers: “I told you ‘I AM’ if you seek me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill the word which He spoke: “Of those whom You have given Me, I lost not one.” (Jn 18:4-9)
Meanwhile Peter has jumped up, drawn a sword, and cut off the ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave. (Jn 18:10)
Jesus calls out: “No more of this!” (Lk 22:51) .
Jesus then said to Peter: “Put your sword back into its sheath. For all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of Angels? [A legion is 5000 soldiers: 93 or officially 5240 94 How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled which say that it must happen this way? (Mt 26:52-54) Jesus is referring to (Is 53:4-12) the suffering servant as well as to the fulfillment of Passover in (Lev 23:4-14)) . Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” (Jn 18:11) .
Jesus was being arrested and his focus remained on the cup of acceptance!
Notice that while Jesus was stopping Peter and curing Malchus nobody in the crowd had reacted to Peter’s attack. Contrary to some translations and commentaries, there were no Roman soldiers, for no Roman soldier would have failed to counterattack when Peter struck out with a sword. These were men deathly afraid of being struck by lightning. Apparently, no one wanted to be the first aggressor toward the prophet!
Jesus healed Malchus ...
The Evangelists only named people who are well known to their audience. That malchus is named implies that he likely became a Christian and was therefore known to the readers.
(Lk 22:49-51)
and saw to it that his disciples were not also taken.
(Jn 18:8-9)
The crowd has been attacked by Peter and yet they were so afraid of Jesus that even though Jesus made it easy for them: “No one takes my life from me”
(Jn 10:18)
, they did exactly as Jesus had said: after all, they just watched Jesus re-attach an ear and heard Jesus tell Peter he had access to 60,000 angelic warriors (the sources of the fire that had consumed the two captains and the 100 men).
And Jesus said to the Chief Priests (Chief Priests were likely Sadducees who are descendants of Aaron, and are differentiated from the current high priest, Caiaphas, and the past high priest, Annas, who as a past high priest retained the title.) 95 and officers of the temple [guard] and elders who had accompanied the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a robber? I sat teaching in the Temple day after day and you never laid a hand on me” (Mt 26:55 , Lk 22:52) ; but this hour and the power of darkness are yours.” (Lk 22:53)
And the disciples all left him and fled.
So, the temple guards, the commander, and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus, bound him, and led him to Annas first (Jn 18:13) ; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people. (Jn 18:14)
Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest. He entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest, but Peter was standing at the door outside. So, the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in.
Then the slave-girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are also one of this man’s disciples, aren’t you?”
He said, “I am not.”
Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were warming themselves; and Peter was also with them, standing and warming himself. (Jn 18:15-18) He then sat down with the officers to see the outcome (Mt 26:58) . The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples, and about his teaching. Jesus answered him: “I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret. Why do you question me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; they know what I said” (Jn 18:19) ... (It was illegal to question the accused. Conviction required two witnesses.) (Deut 17:6)
When He had said this, one of the officers standing nearby struck Jesus, saying, “Is that the way You answer the high priest?” (Jn 18:22) ... (It was illegal to strike the accused.)
Jesus answered him: “If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?” (Jn 18:19-23)
So, Annas, once he received word that a quorum of the Sanhedrin was assembled at Caiaphas’ palace, had Jesus bound and then sent to Caiaphas the high priest (Mt 26:67, Mk 14:53, Jn 18:24) . (Recent archaeological projects have unearthed what is thought to be Annas’ home. The structure appears to have housed both Annas and Caiaphas with a shared courtyard. 96
Simon Peter again followed the crowd as it moved to the high priest’s palace. There was a fire there also; so Peter stood beside it, warming himself. One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, said: “Did I not see you in the garden with him?”
Peter denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.
And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter: “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean, too.”
But he began to curse and swear: “I do not know this man you are talking about!”
While Peter was still speaking, the cock crowed a second time and Jesus turned and looked straight at Peter. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him: “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly. (Mt 26:69-75, Mk 14:66-72, Lk 22:54-62, Jn 18:15-18, & Jn 18:25-27)
The Trials of Jesus
The Trials of Jesus before the Sanhedrin
The Jews had a great regard for life. When there was a capital offense, two trials were required before someone could be condemned to death. The second trial began the day following the first trial and had to start over from scratch. Only when someone had been condemned twice was he executed. The book of Daniel describes what was supposed to happen when someone was condemned: Suzanna was tried and found guilty on the basis of two witnesses. But because someone spoke up in her defense on the way to her execution, they rushed back to re-try her, even though the someone was a young boy (Dn: 13:28-62) . If you look carefully at the Gospels, three of them mention that Jesus was taken before the Sanhedrin in the morning (the second trial). In fact, while John only describes events at Annas’ house, Matthew and Mark describe the first trial at Caiaphas’ palace, and Luke describes the second trial.
There is an ongoing debate about the legality of the trial of Jesus. There are those who maintain that Jesus was tried as a Mesith. A Mesith is a someone who subverts the nation by causing the people to worship some other god. Such an individual is tried without any of the benefits of, or the protections normally provided for the accused under the law. For this to be the case, Jesus would have had to be found guilty under the law of that charge. Pilate said to the Jews: “You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion (sounds like a Mesith), and behold, having examined him before you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against him. No, nor has Herod, for he sent him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by him.” (Lk 23:13-15) That statement may imply the Jesus was found guilty of being a Mesith; but the charge was both ludicrous and irrelevant so that both Pilate and Herod ignored it. However, Jesus was also tried and condemned for blasphemy; as Pilate was told: “We have a law and by that law he ought to die, because he has made himself the Son of God.” (Jn 19:7)
What likely happened was that the Sanhedrin originally intended to try Jesus as a Mesith. His arrest and trial would only be legal if He was tried as a Mesith. The witnesses kept contradicting each other so that after several hours they had nothing on which to condemn Jesus as a Mesith. So, as Matthew states: “Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put him to death. They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward.” (Mt 26:59-60) Thus, they failed to be able to condemn him as a Mesith. Then Caiaphas used a double meaning to trap Jesus.
Caiaphas knows the Christ (Messiah) was to be a son of David: which made him a “son of God” as all the Davidic kings were sons of God by adoption. The high priest puts Jesus under oath (Jesus must answer) and since Caiaphas knows that Jesus is in fact the Messiah, he knows that Jesus will answer in the affirmative. Now for the high priest to put Jesus under oath and demand the answer to his question should have had the whole proceeding thrown out but the trial has begun as a trial for a Mesith for which that could actually be considered legal, if they condemned Jesus as a Mesith. When Jesus responds Caiaphas tore his garment. Many scholars claim that the tearing of Caiaphas’ garment was illegal (Lev 21:10) and invalidated his role as High Priest. However, the restriction only applies to when he is in the temple wearing his ceremonial robes, which was not the case here. Even then the violation would only have had him publicly scourged not relieved of his office. Caiaphas screamed “blasphemy!” Because everyone heard Jesus’ response they are now all witnesses to what they are calling blasphemy.
Caiaphas has suddenly changed tactics to charge and condemn Jesus for blasphemy. Since the members of the Sanhedrin who are present are now all witnesses to the blasphemy, they have no problem finding Jesus guilty of that charge. However, the charge of blasphemy requires two trials with one on the next day to support condemnation. By rationalizing the use of the Temple calendar, they can have the second trial later in the morning at which they will condemn Jesus to death. (Mt 27:1, Mk 15:1, Lk 22:66)
Jewish law provided that a final decision for acquittal could come on the first day but a decision for condemnation could only come after a 2nd trial on the next day, except in the case of a trial for a Mesith. Blasphemy is of course a crime against the Temple, but since it requires a second trial, rather than wait another day they rationalized the use of the Temple calendar: after all, Blasphemy is a crime against the Temple.
While the Israelites measured the day from sunset to sunset, the Temple measured it from sunrise to sunrise. The difference was due to the serving priests’ need to finish the sacrifices that were still in process after sunset. ...
This explains why the priest had to start the sacrifice of Paschal Lambs an hour earlier when Preparation fell on a Friday. The Sabbath didn't start for the priest until after sunrise so they could continue sacrificing lambs even after sunset. But when the following day was a festival, the Sabbath started for the festival at sunset.
The change in serving priest occurred at sunrise. Needing two trials -- on successive days -- to legally condemn Jesus to death, they rationalized the days based on the temple day since the first trial ended before sunrise and the charge was now blasphemy.
Many of the events of the trials, provided us by the Evangelists, were provided because the described events or interactions rendered the trials invalid and should have resulted in the acquittal and release of Jesus. Some examples:
- Questioning of the accused by Annas. Note that Jesus said to Annas: “Why do you question me?” (Jn 18:19) It was illegal to do so!
- Striking the accused. (Jn 18:22)
- Capital cases are to begin with the case for the defense.
97
Mishnah, Sanhedrin 4.1(e) - Only in a trial for a Mesith does it begin with the case for the prosecution. They began as a trial for a Mesith and did not start over when they had failed to convict, and tactics changed.
- They never had the case for the defense at either trial.
- The High Priest questioned Jesus.
(Mk 14:55)
Talmudic law prohibits direct questioning of the defendant. The Talmud indicates that a man does not belong only to himself; just as he has no right to cause physical harm to others, so he has no right to inflict injury on himself. This is why it was determined that the confession of the defendant had no legal consideration. This rule, which has its own formal substantiation, served courts for centuries as a powerful weapon against attempts to extract confessions by force or persuasion. Not only can no man be forced to incriminate himself through his own testimony, but self-incrimination has no significance and is unacceptable as evidence in court.
98
Adin Steinsaltz, The Essential Talmud, pp. 167-168 - That Caiaphas sought such a confession from Jesus, even to the point of placing him under oath, is ordinarily seen as nullifying the proceedings.
99
The Jewish Encyclopedia, Accusatory and Inquisitorial Procedure, p. 163 - At face value, Caiaphas’ statement that we have no further need of witnesses should have also invalidated the trial. Mishnaic law specifies the need for two or three qualified witnesses agreeing as to what had been seen or heard.
100
The Jewish Encyclopedia, Capital Punishment, p. 556 - In capital cases the Sanhedrin was not allowed to render a unanimous verdict of guilty,
101
Mishnah, Sanhedrin 4:1(f) - The trial in the morning before the Sanhedrin was the second trial on the charge of Blasphemy. (Mt 26:65, Mk 14:63-64) There was no case for the defense, they directly interrogated the defendant, and they unanimously found Jesus guilty.
At Caiaphas’ palace the Sanhedrin first condemned Jesus to death. To condemn Jesus required a trial on two successive days. ... Matthew and Mark describe the first trial.
Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put him to death. They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward.
But later on, two came forward, and said: “This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.’”
The high priest stood up and said to Jesus: “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?”
But Jesus kept silent. (Mt 26:59-62)
During that first trial, various false witnesses have come forward, but their testimony is conflicting. Finally, two witnesses actually agree, and Jesus ignores them. In frustration, the high priest said to Jesus: “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” (Mt 26:63) That Caiaphas sought a confession from Jesus, even to the point of placing him under oath, should have nullified the proceedings. The Torah allows no use of admissions or confessions in or out of court. (Deut 19:15) 102,
The Jewish Encyclopedia, Accusatory and Inquisitorial Procedure, p. 163
Not able to convict Jesus with false witnesses, Caiaphas uses a double meaning to trap Jesus. Caiaphas knows the Christ (Messiah) was to be a son of David: which made him a “Son of God” as all the Davidic kings were Sons of God by adoption. The high priest puts Jesus under oath (Jesus must answer) and since he knows that Jesus is in fact the Messiah he knows that Jesus will answer in the affirmative.
Jesus acknowledges that He is the Messiah and the Son of God: “You have said so” [what you say is true], and then He provides two Messianic quotes: “but I tell you: from now on you will see the ‘Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power’ (Ps 110:1) and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven’ (Dn 7:13) ” (Mt 26:64) . Note that in acknowledging that He is the Son of God and the Messiah, He does so by referring to Himself as the Son of man. He is reminding us that He is both God and man.
The high priest tore his robes. (Lev 21:10) The high priest is prohibited from tearing his clothes. This action of the high priest tearing his clothes is seen by some as a direct violation of one of the requirements of his office. (Lev 21:10, Lev 10:6) This is thought by some to be a subtle indication by Matthew and Mark that the priesthood itself was no longer legitimate because now Jesus, the perfect High Priest, was now making the perfect sacrifice. However, the prohibition only applied to when he was in the Temple wearing his ceremonial robes and the penalty is flogging. A pious thought, but not applicable. 104 When he accuses Jesus of blasphemy, claiming to be the “Son of God” (Mt 26:65) , Caiaphas thinks he has trapped Jesus. They all agree he deserves to die: the first trial. The Sanhedrin was not allowed to render a unanimous verdict of Guilty. 105,
Mishnah, Sanhedrin 4:1(f)
Although striking the accused was illegal under Jewish law, the soldiers felt free to strike Jesus once He had been condemned. Now that they are safe, no fire has come down from heaven, they are repaying Jesus for the fear they had felt earlier. The men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him and beating him, and they blindfolded him and were asking him, saying, “Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?” And they were saying many other things against him, blaspheming. (Lk 22:63-65) The scribes and priest in their hatred of Jesus make no attempt to stop them. (Mt 26:67-68 , Mk 14:65 , Lk 22:63-65 , Jn 18:22) .
Later the same morning the Great Sanhedrin met as was normal on Wednesday. The Great Sanhedrin met daily. It did not meet on the Sabbath, festivals, or festival eves. 107 Friday would be a festival eve. Jesus could not have been taken before the Sanhedrin on Friday! During the Wednesday morning meeting, the Sanhedrin held the second trial required to put a man to death. (Mt 27:1, Mk 15:1, Lk 22:66, Lk 2:1)
Luke’s account of the trial is an account of the second trial. During that trial, they didn’t bother with the witnesses; they get directly to the point, saying: “If you are the Messiah, tell us.”
Jesus replied to them: “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I question you, you will not respond. But from this time on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”
They all asked: “Are you the Son of God, then?” (Lk 2:1)
To which Jesus answers: “You say that I am.”
Then they said: “What further need have we for testimony? We have heard it from his own mouth.” Matthew carefully points out the violations of Jewish law during the trial of Jesus from striking the accused, skipping the defense of the accused and others, as already pointed out in this narrative. There are sources who will claim that the trial was legal because Jesus, was being tried as a Mesith: a magician, who was leading the people astray, enticing them to follow other gods. The normal law would be set aside in such a case, but John’s gospel is careful to point out the real reason Caiaphas wanted Jesus arrested: “It is better for one man to perish than for the nation to be suppressed.” (John 11:50)
The Scourging
April 2, 33/ Nisan 13, 3773
“He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed." (Is 53:5)
Jesus was taken to Pilate Thursday morning. The Jews intended for him to die Thursday thereby avoiding the Temple Passover Festival. They could not allow his disruption of temple commerce to go unpunished, thereby undermining the authority of the priests. They led Jesus to the Praetorium, but the Scribes and priest did not enter so that they would not become unclean (Jn 18:28) . Pilate, therefore, went out to them and said: “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” They answered and said to him: “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered him to you.” (Jn 18:29-30) So Pilate said to them: “Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.” (Jn 18:31) The high priest then informs Pilate that they have found Jesus guilty of a capital crime under their law and have thus condemned him to death. By Roman law, they cannot execute Jesus, so they are asking Pilate to execute him. The Jews said to Pilate: “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,” to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die and to fulfill the prophecy of Caiaphas that it is is better for one man to die… (Jn 18:14) Pilate informs the Jews that under Roman law they do not condemn a man without first examining him.
Pilate takes Jesus inside and bluntly asks: "Are you a king of the Jews?" (Mt 27:11 , Mk 15:2 , Lk 23:3 , Jn 18:33)
Jesus answers: “Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?” Jesus wants to clarify for Pilate that this was a claim made by the Jews and not by Rome.
Pilate answered: “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?” (Jn 18:35)
Jesus responds: “I am a King, but my kingdom, [the Kingdom of God], is not of this world.” (Jn 18:36)
Jesus then points out his kingship is nonviolent and thus no threat to Rome: “If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants [would] be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is my kingdom is not here.”
Pilate said to him: “Then you are a king?”
Jesus answered: “You say I am a king. For this I was born [as a firstborn male in a stable used for the paschal lambs, inspected by the Levitical shepherds, and found without blemish, Jesus thus qualified for the paschal sacrifice for His crucifixion, He was born the Lamb of God! He was also just selected by the people, on lamb-selection day, as the Paschal Lamb for this Passover!] and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. [Jesus’ message, the truth, is the Kingdom of God]. Everyone who belongs to the truth [the Kingdom of God] listens to my voice.”
Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” (Jn 18:33-38)
Little does Pilate know that before him stood the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (Jn 14:6) After examining Jesus, Pilate realized that Jesus was innocent of everything except being hated by the high priest. Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds: “I find no guilt in this man.” (Lk 23:4) But they kept on insisting, saying: “He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee even as far as this place.” (Lk 23:5)
When Pilate heard that, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that Jesus belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. (Lk 23:6-7)
Jesus was probably taken to Herod late Thursday morning. Herod was delighted to see Jesus for he had wanted to see him for a long time, because he had been hearing about him and was hoping to see some sign performed by him. Herod interrogated Jesus at length (Lk 23:8-9) trying to get him to work a miracle but he failed to get Jesus to even respond to him. The chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing him vehemently. And Herod, with his soldiers, after treating him with contempt and mocking him, dressed him in a gorgeous robe and sent him back to Pilate Thursday afternoon.
Now Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been enemies with each other. (Lk 23:10-11)
Herod had killed John the Baptist; he was not about to kill another prophet. He would leave that to Pilate. .
Pilate is informed that Jesus has been returned by Herod and the Jewish leaders are back demanding his execution before the Friday festival. But Pilate can "find no guilt in him." (Lk 23:4, Jn 19:4-6) Pilate needs to identify a capital offense if he is to condemn Jesus.
Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers of the people. He tells the Jews that there is no capital offense; that even Herod found him innocent of any capital crime. (Lk 23:13) “You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined him before you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against him. No, nor has Herod, for he sent him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by him. Therefore, I will punish him and release him.” (Lk 23:13-16) A scourging should also elicit sympathy from the crowds. Pilate may then be able to release Jesus on Passover as the festival prisoner release. Pilate announces that he is having Jesus scourged. (Lk 23:16, Jn 19:1)
Pilate wants to figure out how to save Jesus. He thinks that a solution may be to appeal to the crowd: for he knows that the priests fear the crowds. (Mk 12:12) If he has Jesus scourged, then maybe the Jews’ envy will be satisfied, and they will stop demanding that He be crucified. Pilate realizes that he needs to satisfy their envy or releasing Jesus will just cause the priests to find another way to kill him.
Pilate informed the soldiers that they should not kill Jesus because he wants to release him Friday. After turning Jesus over to the soldiers, Pilate goes home and tells his wife about the holy man the high priest wants to have executed. They conclude the priests are envious of Jesus (Mk 15:10) Jesus was likely scourged late Thursday afternoon. The scourging was finished before sunset otherwise the blood from the scourging would have been life blood. The scourging was done by two men each using a flagellum. The lead balls on the leather strips were made to bruise and at the same time to tear the skin.
While Jewish law restricted the number of blows in a scourging to 39 (Deut 25:3), Roman law had no such restriction. The objective of the soldiers was to mark his entire body below his head ... Looking at Jesus on the Shroud we can see that they succeeded.
Flagellum
A member of the team that studied the shroud in 1978 counted the markings: 124 lashes. The shroud image as shown in this document (following the Sorrowful Mysteries) is in black and white, it is yellow and brown on the original. But consider the black and blue bruising on his body that resulted from each of the strokes of the flagellum! With each stroke, 6 lead balls traveling more than a hundred miles an hour (161 kilometers an hour) strikes his body! ... Anywhere, below his neck, that was not bleeding was bruised.
The scourging beginning at the ankles and moving up to the shoulders ...
The objective was to mark the entire body. To do so required that they start at the ankles and work up as the blood flow would be flowing downward. They would not be able to see what needed to be marked if they started at the top.
would cause penetration of the skin (bleeding) with trauma to the nerves, muscles, and skin. It would reduce the victim to an exhausted condition, with shivering, severe sweating, frequent seizures, and a craving for water.
108, Pierre Barbet Revisited by Frederick T. Zugibe, M.D., Ph.D.
Those who died from scourging died from traumatic shock that was accelerated by blows of the lead. balls to the chest. Traumatic shock causes the rupture of the alveoli in the lungs (Boxers have died from traumatic shock caused by repeated blows to the chest.) Direct blows to the chest bruises the ribs, and physically damages the alveoli, thereby accelerating the progress of traumatic shock. If you compare the ventral and dorsal images of the Shroud (shown below), you should note that there were fewer blows to the chest. That was required to keep Jesus alive as requested by Pilate. That there are intersecting blows to the chest from both the right and the left shows that Jesus was upright: scourging was not at a pillar. He may have been tied to two pillars, because the scourging covered both the front and the back. Neither did the soldiers want to stop to pick Jesus up every time his legs collapsed.
“He was flogged across the back, chest, hips, and legs with a multifaceted flagellum with bits of metal on the ends. Repeatedly the scorpiones dug deep into the flesh, ripping small vessels, nerves, muscles, and skin. The weight of the scorpiones carried the leather thongs to the front of the body, ripping the flesh there as well. His body became distorted with pain, causing Him to fall to the ground, only to be jerked up again. Seizure-like movements occurred, followed by tremors, vomiting, and cold sweats. Screams echoed out at the conclusion of each stroke. [The beating with the lead. weights on each of the straps did severe damage to the lungs, kidneys, liver, and spleen.] His mouth was dry, and His tongue stuck to the roof of His mouth. He was reduced to a wretched state because Pilate wanted to appease the mob so they would not demand that he be crucified.” 110
Zugibe, Frederick T. The Crucifixion of Jesus, Completely Revised and Expanded (p. 329-330). M. Evans & Company. Kindle Edition.
A detailed examination of the Shroud of Turin shows the marks from the scourging are very distinct. They are not obscured by blood. It has thus been established that Jesus’ body was washed prior to burial and that the bloodshed from the scourging was washed off: (Jewish burial practices require that the body be washed prior to burial. However, when the individual died a violent death any fluid that flowed out as a result of the trauma that caused death is life blood and must not be washed off. If there was life blood on the clothing, the clothing could not be removed and was buried with the body. If a person lived until the next day, then it was not considered life blood and must be washed off. 111, 112
The Jewish Way of Death and Mourning by Maurice Lamm (1969)
After the scourging, Jesus was likely placed in a dry cistern 12 to 15 ft. deep with smooth sides. Jesus was lowered into the cistern with a rope looped around his chest and pulled up to his arm pits. The cistern had no sewage facilities causing Jesus to spend the night standing in sewage with the other prisoners.
Meanwhile, that evening Pilate sent a message to the priests, summoning them to the praetorium on Friday morning to resolve the issue of Jesus. (Lk 23:13) had Pilate not ordered the priests, they would not have come back until at least Monday. The priests didn’t want to execute Jesus on Friday or Saturday because of Passover and Sunday was the Feast of First Fruits. It was not religious conviction that would deter them but rather the fear that the crowds from the rest of Judea and Galilee, who loved and admired Jesus, would riot. (Mk 14:2)
When they were summoned by Pilate on Thursday evening, the high priest realized that Pilate would attempt to release Jesus to the crowds on Friday. So, the high priest ordered everyone to pass the word to be at the praetorium in the morning and that the priests wanted Jesus Barabbas released. (Mk 15:11) They didn’t even need to mention Jesus the Nazarene.
Jesus is Crowned with Thorns
April 3, 33/ Nisan 14, 3793
“I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting." (Is 50:6)
Jesus was scheduled by Pilate to be brought out the first thing Friday morning, so he could affect his release. He was taken from the prison (cistern) before the morning briefing, so as not to risk a delay, should soldiers need to be lowered into the pit to put the rope on him to lift him out or, worse, needed to clean him off before taking him to Pilate because he had fallen.
Today in Jerusalem there are Spina Christi trees. As the soldiers, sent to retrieve Jesus, were taking him to the morning briefing from the cistern (that served as the public jail for both the Romans and the Jews) they likely encountered a Spina Christi; a jujube tree. It is likely, that a descendant of the tree used to make the crown of thorns still thrives in the same area of Jerusalem to this day. One of the soldiers likely saw the thorns as they passed with Jesus and said: “Let’s make the King of the Jews a crown.” The new growth was 3’ (1 m.) long, green and very supple with thorns up to 2 1/2” (6 cm.) as it was only April 3rd. By June the new growth will be 4’ (1.2 m.) long and have 4” (10 cm.) thorns.
Jesus was thus present when the cohort met for its normal morning briefing in the praetorium. (Mt 27:27) The soldiers on night-duty were going off shift and the soldiers coming on duty were getting briefed: the whole cohort, who numbered never less than 480, nor greater than 1000 men, was present. (A cohort was a tenth of a legion. A legion had 5000 men. A cohort had 6 centurions. The Romans only had 5 cohorts and some cavalry in all of Judea. Four cohorts were stationed in Caesarea Maritima and one in Jerusalem. During the Festivals, such as Passover, the governor came from Caesarea to Jerusalem and brought at least another cohort to help maintain order. The Greek word used in Mk 15:16 , σπεῖραν, is translated “cohort.” Some bibles will use “band,” “squadron,” or “battalion.” 113 It was at this briefing early Friday morning that the soldiers decided to have fun at the expense of the "King of the Jews." Jesus was crowned with thorns.
Thorns and Sugar Cane Reeds
The soldiers formed a crude crown (more like a cap) from thorns of the Christ Thorn Jujube, commonly called a Spina Christi tree, (Zizyphus Spina species). It was spring, and the new growth was supple and easily woven together to form a painful equivalent to the laurel wreath shown on Caesar’s head, but with thorns that varied from one inch (25 mm.) to 3 inches (75 mm.) in length. The branches used were green with white thorns not as typically shown on images of the crucified Jesus. They put a purple robe on him and forced the crown down onto Jesus’ head.
In his bound hands, they place a reed, as a scepter, in mockery of his kingship. Kneeling before him in derision, they spit on him, (Is 50:6) and cry out: "Hail, King of the Jews!” (Mt 27:29)
Taking the wild sugar cane (Saccharum biflorum) from his hand, they strike him on the head, (Mt 27:28-30) driving the thorns further into his scalp. Then they pull a few hairs from his beard. (There is missing hair both on the right side just under his lip and from the center of his chin.) The crown of thorns digs into the trigeminal nerve (which carries facial pain sensation to the brain – think exposed nerve: like a root canal without anesthetic) and into the greater occipital nerves (causing extreme headaches), especially as he was struck with reeds, contributing to traumatic shock. “His cheeks and nose became reddened, bruised, and swollen [from the blows with the reed]. Severe stabbing, lancinating pains that felt like electric shocks or red-hot pokers traversed His face, immobilizing Him so He was afraid to turn lest the pain might recur, a condition medically known as trigeminal neuralgia or tic douleroux. His face became distorted, and He tensed His whole body so that He would not move, for every movement activated little trigger zones, bringing on agonizing attacks. 114
Zugibe, Frederick T. The Crucifixion of Jesus, Completely Revised and Expanded (pp. 332). M. Evans & Company. Kindle Edition.
Head Wounds and Nerves
Head wounds bleed profusely. The wounds from the thorns were still leaking blood when Jesus died eight hours later. That would indicate that the thorns were continually being pushed into the nerves as He turned his head. or leaned back while on the cross, which kept the wounds from closing. We have all felt the pain of a thorn or splinter but consider that the splinter is going right into a nerve where the nerve bundle enters the brain!
The soldiers incurred what was thought to be a minimal risk in torturing Jesus. The soldiers could torture any prisoner; with the exception that if the prisoner was condemned to death, he had to be alive to be executed. The execution was both a state event and an example to the people. If a tortured, condemned prisoner died before execution, the soldier doing the torture - or the centurion assigned to the crucifixion detail - would take the prisoner’s place and an execution would still be held. The risk was thought to be minimal, as the soldiers were told that Pilate intended to release Jesus.
At this point the severe pains from the trigeminal neuralgia, and the multiple strikes to Jesus’ head and the crown of thorns added to the trauma already received from the brutal scourging and beating at the home of Caiaphas, thereby deepening the degree of traumatic shock. At the same time, the blood loss and sweating from the hematidrosis, the increased sweating during the trigeminal neuralgia attacks, the blood loss from the penetration by the thorns, and the sweating and vomiting caused by the flogging all added to the degree of hypovolemic shock. At this time, there would be significant fluid buildup around His lungs (pleural effusion), which was slowly developing due to the severe beating to the chest during the flogging. At this stage, Jesus would be progressively weaker, light-headed, ashen in color, somewhat short of breath, and unsteady on His feet, and He would experience intermittent episodes of sweating. 115
Zugibe, Frederick T. The Crucifixion of Jesus, Completely Revised and Expanded (pp. 332). M. Evans & Company. Kindle Edition.
Jesus was then taken to Pilate at the appointed time. Pilate’s strategy to release Jesus is to satisfy the envy of the priests and scribes by showing them a beaten and humiliated man while at the same time obtaining the sympathy of the crowd.
When Jesus arrived, Pilate was moved at the sight of Jesus scourged and crowned with thorns. He took him before the people and unintentionally spoke to the crowd in the words of the prophet Zechariah saying: "Behold the Man." (Jn 19:5, Zech 6:12)
The verse in Zechariah says: "Behold the man whose name is Branch; and he shall grow up in his place, and he shall build the temple of God." (Zech 6:12) and from Isaiah: “A branch shall sprout from the stump of Jesse and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” ( Is 11:1); and Jeremiah: “See the days are coming when I will raise up a righteous branch for David; as King, he shall govern wisely, he shall do what is right in the land.” (Jer 23:5)
A typical rabbinical teaching technique is to start a quote: “Behold the Man” and everyone fills in the rest of the quote: “whose name is branch…”
Pilate said: “Behold the Man.”
And the priests and scribes, knowing the next line, all heard: “Behold the Messiah.”
The high priest had put Jesus under oath during his trial before the Sanhedrin and then asked Jesus specifically if He was the Messiah. When Jesus answered, they had screamed: “Blasphemy!”
Pilate was looking to elicit sympathy for Jesus and to satisfy the blood lust of the scribes and priests, but Pilate unknowingly called Jesus the Messiah. Instead. of getting sympathy, Pilate inflamed the hatred of the scribes and priests.
Not realizing what he had just done, Pilate then offered to release Jesus as the customary prisoner released during the festival. However, the crowd was primarily temple sympathizers, organized by the priests; it was after all Preparation Day and the devout Israelites were at home preparing for Passover. Led by the scribes and priests the crowd did as they were instructed and screamed for Barabbas.
The name Barabbas means “son of the father” (a name for a man who does not know his father’s name). The crowds were then given a choice between Jesus Barabbas, “the son of an unknown father,” and Jesus Christ (Mt 27:16), “the Son of God the Father.” Jesus Barabbas was released (Mt 27:20-22) .
Pilate still wanted to release Jesus, so he said: “Then what shall I do with Jesus?” (Mk 15:12)
The crowd, led by the scribes and priests, yelled: “Crucify him.”
Pilate said: “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no crime in him.” (Jn 19:6)
The Jews answered Pilate: “We have a law and by that law he ought to die, because he has made himself the Son of God.” (Jn 19:7) In 42 BCE., Julius Caesar was formally deified as "the divine Julius" (divus Iulius) after his assassination. His adopted son, Octavian (better known as Augustus, a title given to him 15 years later, in 27 BCE.) thus became known as divi Iuli filius (son of the divine Julius) or simply divi filius (son of the god).
When Pilate heard these words, he was even more afraid as Caesar Augustus’ title was the “son of god” thus this could imply a claim to usurp Caesar’s role. Pilate went back into the praetorium to determine if Jesus was a revolutionary. He asked Jesus: “Where are you from?”
But Jesus didn’t answer.
Pilate said: “You will not speak to me? Don’t you know that I have the power to release you, and the power to crucify you?”
Then Jesus responded: “You would have no power over me unless it had been given to you from above; therefore, he who delivered me to you has the greater sin.” (Jn 19:7-11)
Jesus chooses to allow events to play out. Jesus had an opportunity to plead. his case, but makes no attempt to do so: “No one takes my life from me.” (Jn 10:18)
A messenger then interrupts as Pilate’s wife has sent him a note. The note tells him: “ Have nothing to do with the holy man for I have suffered much over him today in a dream.” (Mt 27:19)
Pilate sought to release Jesus, but the chief priests cried out: “If you release him you are no friend of Caesar because He claims to be king and we have no king but Caesar.” (Jn 19:12) (Jesus’ accusers have now violated a Jewish Law according to (Deut 17:15) which prohibits the Jews from having or recognizing, any foreigner as king.)
Now that’s a threat! Pilate will now have to formally acknowledge the kingship of Jesus or there is no crime against Rome to justify his execution. Pilate in frustration sat down on the judgment seat at a place called “The Pavement,” but in Hebrew, “Gabbatha.” (Jn 19:13) When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying: “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.”
and all the people said: “His blood shall be on us and on our children!” (Mt 27:25)
Thus, Pilate relented to the will of the priests and scribes. (Lk 23:25) Jesus was led off to be crucified.
In a murder for hire, who is to blame? Beware of anyone who blames only the Jews or only the Romans: both are guilty! Remember Jesus had said: “No one takes my life from me. I lay it down of my own accord.” (Jn 10:18) . [Do most Christians know that it was/is our own sins that contribute/contributed to Jesus’ death?]
Pilate is faced with a choice: risk his position in a political confrontation or sacrifice his conviction that Jesus does not deserve to die. When I am faced with a choice between the world and its pleasures and my convictions, how will I choose?
Jesus Carries the Cross
- April 3, 33/Nissan 14, 3793
If anyone would come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Mt 16:24 , Mk 8:34 , Lk 9:23)
The scourging that was the “normal part of crucifixion” occurred just prior to carrying the cross-piece (patibulum). The condemned will die by torture: so much pain that the person dies by drowning in his own cell tissue (the burst alveoli). Crucifixion could take days, so to accelerate death on the cross, the condemned were scourged primarily on the back and chest to inflict maximum pain as well as to damage the alveoli, thus accelerating traumatic shock. Jesus was the only person known to have suffered a full body scourging and a crowning with thorns, prior to crucifixion. Jesus had already been more thoroughly scourged and the soldiers now had a vested interest in keeping Jesus alive. The soldiers escorting Jesus to Golgotha know how much Jesus bled during the crowning of thorns and they have seen the bruising and blood caked on his body from the earlier scourging. They are worried that Jesus won’t even make it to Golgotha; less than a mile (1.6 Km) away. We know He was not scourged Friday because if He had been scourged, then there would be life blood on his back from the scourging.
One condemned to death on the cross had the patibulum tied to his extended hands and positioned on his back across his shoulders. He then had to carry the patibulum, weighing between 50 and 75 lbs. (22.7 and 34 kg.) 116 assuming a cedar patibulum of 6’ x 9” x 4” with 25% moisture (a Northern White Cedar – the lightest cedar versus Eastern Red – the heaviest cedar, depending on the size, type of wood, and how dry the wood was) to the place of execution. The tradition of three different types of wood on the cross makes sense: Pine, Cedar, and Cypress – the upright, the patibulum, and the titulus. Research done by Charles Rohault de Fleury in 1870 on a piece of the relic found by St. Helen indicates that piece was pine. St Helen’s technique for identifying the true cross was laying a cripple on each piece of wood that was uncovered. When the person was cured, Helen declared that was the true cross. The technique would likely imply that what they were uncovering was uprights. 117
Jesus meets the weeping women and says: ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are surely coming when they will say, “Happy are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.” Then they will begin to say to the mountains: “Fall on us” and to the hills: “Cover us.” For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’ (Lk 23:26-31)
Jesus as a prophet is warning the women that if the high priest does this to the innocent (Jesus) then the guilty will surely be burned, as in fact happened when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD.
Note that the destruction of Jerusalem was less than a generation from Jesus’ crucifixion. We legalized the killing of the innocent in 1973.
The Stations of the Cross indicate that Jesus met his mother along the way to Golgotha. There is no mention in any ancient texts of her specifically meeting Jesus as He carried the cross, but it is likely she was with the weeping women. We do know that Mary was present at the foot of the cross and that there were other women nearby (Mt 27:55-56) ; the question is one of timing. When did she arrive, after Jesus or with Jesus? It makes no difference: the meeting, whenever it occurred, caused untold anguish to both. Mary sees her son; beaten and bloody. The anguish felt at seeing a loved one suffer when there is nothing that can be done to alleviate the pain is incredible and yet it is even worse when the one suffering is completely innocent. Mary sees Jesus’ physical suffering and Jesus sees Mary’s anguish.
The bruises on Jesus’ knee, 118
John, Jackson et al, The Shroud of Turin A Critical Summary of Observations, Data and Hypotheses, Version 4.0 Turin Shroud Center of Colorado p63
When Jesus fell, the soldiers became very concerned that he may die. The soldiers rushed to remove the heavy patibulum from his shoulders and back. Rather than take the time to untie the ropes or try to lift both Jesus and the patibulum, a soldier used his sword to hack through the ropes. Freeing Jesus from the patibulum they began to help him to his feet.
Normally, a civilian would not be allowed near the condemned. However, since they need to get Jesus to the cross before He dies, anything that helps is going to be allowed. Bernice, the woman who had the hemorrhage cured by touching the hem of Jesus’ garment, steps forward and wipes Jesus’ face with her veil. Tradition calls her Veronica but that is just Latin for “true image,” which is what the soldiers who saw it reported to Pilate. There was a “true image” of the man’s face on her veil.
The story of Veronica does not come from the gospels but rather from the annals of Pilate, which is sometimes called the gospel of Barnabas: not inspired writing, but an historical document. 119 We also believe the Tradition that makes up our faith. The story of Veronica is a classic example. The story of Veronica is part of tradition which we are supposed to believe. However, it is also supported in history (as stated above) and is tied to the woman, Bernice, who had the hemorrhage cured by touching the hem of Jesus’ tunic. A significant event in a person’s life may very well bring a name change. Remember Sarai, Abrahams wife’s name was changed from Sarai (quarrelsome) to Sarah (princess) after she gave birth to Isaac, and Saul became Paul after his encounter with Jesus on the road. to Damascus. The reason that we don’t find reference to Bernice as the person who wiped Jesus’ face with her veil is likely that she was never called Bernice after that event. Remember that she had timidly just touched Jesus’ clothing believing she would be cured. Suddenly she is the center of attention as she has been cured. She had incredible faith in Jesus to have believed that it only required contact with him. Afterwards she had to have been very grateful and probably joined the other devout women who traveled with Jesus and his disciples. So now as Jesus is about to be crucified, she has joined the other women to follow Jesus to his death. When Jesus fell under the weight of the patibulum, the cross piece, somewhere between 50 and 75 lbs, Jesus falls face forward into the dirt. Instinctively he would have brought one arm around in an attempt to plant the edge of the patibulum into the ground to break his fall; if he had enough time to react. Either way, He was going to land face first, the patibulum falling onto his back. His face was wet with blood from the crown of thorns which continued bleeding all day, as well as from sweat resulting from the traumatic shock, and the spit. When the soldiers removed the patibulum from his back and grabbed each arm to lift him to his feet, Bernice could see that Jesus’ face was covered with mud. He likely could not even open his eyes. She boldly stepped forward and wiped his face, without regard for her own life. Touching the condemned was punishable by instant death. She was rewarded with an image on her veil that so startled the soldiers that they reported the event to Pilate. That was for her a life-changing moment. From timid to bold. She was likely not called Bernice again but was called by the phonetic equivalent of the exclamation uttered by the soldier who saw the image on her veil: ver iconica "true image."
That the soldiers forced Simon of Cyrene to help Jesus carry his cross indicates the level of concern. They feared that Jesus may die before being crucified. (Mt 27:32, Mk 15:21, Lk 23:26) The patibulum was placed on Jesus and Simon’s shoulders. The patibulum’s weight that Jesus now had to carry was between 30 and 40 lbs. (14 and 18 kg.) Instead of carrying it across his back, which crossed over the cuts on his shoulder from the scourging, the edges of the beam now dig into the cuts from the scourging and begin to tear into the shoulder muscles.
When St. Padre Pio was asked in 1947 by Karol Wojtyla, St. John Paul II, which of Jesus’ wounds hurt the most, he responded without hesitation: “The wound in the shoulder from carrying the cross.” 120
http://catholicism.org/devotion-to-the-shoulder-wound-of-christ.html
http://caccioppoli.com/Close%20encounters%20of%20the%20special%20kind%20of%20Padre%20Pio%20with%20Jesus’%20Passion,%20receiving%20wounds%20on%20the%20hands,%20feet,%20side,%20shoulder,%20and%20an%20invisible%20crown%20of%20thorns.%20Examinations.html
Cutting the ropes to remove Jesus from the cross-piece, meant Jesus’ hands would be nailed to the cross when He got to the place of execution (the rope pieces are now too short to re-tie).
On the bumpy, uphill road. to Golgotha Jesus continued to stumble and fall gasping for breath because of the buildup of pleural fluid around the lungs. His perspiration added to the hypovolemia (insufficient blood plasma). The escaping body fluids as perspiration are reducing the fluids available for plasma. Jesus’ veins and lungs are beginning to collapse.
The placard (Titulus) that Pilate had written, which would be placed on the cross, was carried in front of the condemned as he carried the cross piece (Jn 19:19-20). It announced the crime for which the prisoner was being punished. It read: “Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews”. Nazareth is the Hebrew word for “Branch town”. Thus, it can be read: “Jesus the Branch, King of the Jews" reminding us again of Zechariah’s “Behold the man whose name is Branch” (Zech 6:12)
The placard was written in:
Hebrew | יהוה | ישוע הנצרת והמלך היהודים |
Latin | INRI | Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudæorum |
Greek
ἰνßἰ
ἰησοῦς ναζωραῖος ßασιλεύς ἰουδαίων
Hebrew: Yeshua HaNatzeret V’HaMelech Hayehudim [YHVH - which in Hebrew spells the name of God: “I Am”]. It should be noted that Hebrew is read from right to left as shown in the Hebrew script above but it has been written here as a transliteration so we can pronounce it from left to right.
Relics from the Crucifixion by J. Charles Wall indicates that the actual Titulus was 10” long and was etched into the wood. The scribe who did the etching actually etched all three languages from right to left. It may very well be that the story around the titulus is suspect. It claimed that the titulus was still attached to the cross when identified by St Helen, which would imply no one after Jesus was crucified on that upright. That is difficult to believe and would render the story on St. Helen’s method for determining which cross was the one on which Jesus was crucified ludicrous.
Jesus in frustration when arguing with the Pharisees had said: “When you have lifted up the Son of Man then you will know that I am.” (Jn 8:28)
Now the Titulus has YHVH: “I am” just as Jesus foretold. Since every letter in the Hebrew alphabet is also a word, it can be read. “Behold the hand, behold the nail.” 121
Dr. Kenneth Stevenson: NAZAH: White Linen and the Blood Sprinkling
The priests objected to Pilate’s wording not so much because it clearly proclaimed Jesus the Messiah (Jn 19:21) but that it proclaimed that Jesus was God! Pilate however would not/could not change it because the kingship of Jesus was the crime for which He was condemned. Anyone can claim to be king, that is not a crime; but being a king is a crime against Rome.
Placard
The Crucifixion of our Lord
- April 3rd, 33 /Nissan 14th, 3793
The Exodus of a Priest, Prophet and King
"There were many who were appalled at him, his appearance was so disfigured, beyond that of any man, and his form marred beyond human likeness." (Is 52:14)
When they arrived at the summit of the hill called the "Skull," someone offered Jesus wine to drink that had been mixed with gall. (Mt 27:34) ...
Mark says it was wine mixed with myrrh
(Mk 15:23)
Considering all hypothesis, what most probably happened, is that Lord Jesus, as an ultimate act of mercy, was offered “posca”, a cheap sour wine mixed with real myrrh, to dull his senses to pain and stress. Since Myrrh alone would fulfil all the characteristics and purpose of the substance, it may be possible that the word “ χολή” used by Matthew, and translated as “gall”, may only refer to the bitter taste, “bile like” of this substance.
122 But when He tasted it, He would not drink it. Jesus had been offered something to reduce or eliminate the pain, but He refused it. (Mt: 27:34, Ps 69:22) Jesus’ tunic was a white linen tunic that closely resembles the alb that a priest wears when saying Mass, except that Jesus' tunic was woven without seam. It had been placed back on him after the scourging and was stuck to his body just as a bandage sticks to a wound. Criminals were crucified naked to increase their shame, degradation, and vulnerability. The soldiers stripped Jesus of his garments. When they ripped his tunic from him it ripped the dried blood from his chest and back leaving his body raw from the scourging, exposing a man who no longer resembled a man. A man who was red and black and blue from his ankles to his shoulders. The soldiers divided his garments between themselves. Jesus’ tunic was woven without seam, making it rare and thus valuable, so they cast lots for it. (Ps 22:18, Mt 27:36, Mk 15:24, Lk 23:34, Jn 19:23-24) A tunic woven without seam is what Moses prescribed to be worn by the high priest as he ascended the altar to offer sacrifice. (Ex 28:31-32) Jesus ascended Golgotha to offer Himself as the sacrificial victim for the Paschal offering: “No one takes my life from me.” (Jn 10:18) He went to His crucifixion dressed as the High Priest! Jesus is the true High Priest offering Himself, the Lamb of God, on the cross.
Jesus was almost 6 inches (152 mm) taller than the average man of his day. The upright portion of the cross was permanently fixed into the ground, so it could be reused and would be stable (not fall over with the writhing of the condemned). Wood was scarce and thus expensive. However much the priests may have wanted to burn the crosses, that was not going to be allowed. Neither were the soldiers going to dig a fresh hole every time someone was to be executed. There was a notch, mortise, in the upright into which a corresponding notch in the patibulum would be placed and the two pieces securely held together with a rope (allowing for reuse of the patibulum as well as the upright). The notches carried the weight of the patibulum and the victim while the soldiers fastened them together with ropes. So, the height of the cross was fixed, and Jesus was 6 inches (152 mm) too tall, and his arms were too long. To compensate they stretched his arms as far as possible before nailing him to the patibulum. 123
Zugibe, Frederick T. The Crucifixion of Jesus, Completely Revised and Expanded (p. 332-333). M. Evans & Company. Kindle Edition.
While Dr. Frederick T. Zugibe, M.D., Ph.D. was studying the shroud, he had a patient, from the garment district in New York, come in after accidentally having a large needle driven though her hand. He was amazed that not only did it exit exactly where the exit wound was on the shroud; it also entered exactly where Padre Pio and St Francis of Assisi had the entry wounds on their hands. When x-rayed it showed that no bones were broken and nails would easily have held the weight of the body on the cross.
Driven exactly as in the picture of the woman’s hand above, a nail would have prevented tearing since it nails the wrist to the wood of the cross and the entire hand is above the nail.
Dr. Zugibe describes the scene of Jesus’ crucifixion:
“The crosspiece was then laid on the ground, and Jesus was placed on top of it while three men of the team [of five, four soldiers and a centurion] held Him down, one lying across His chest. The latter brought on bitter pain and difficulty breathing because of the damage to the chest wall by the scourging. Jesus screamed in agony. While holding Him down, a large, square nail was then driven through the palm of the hand just in the fold of the large muscular prominence at the base of His thumb. He let out a blood-curdling scream. The nail struck the median nerve, causing one of the worst pains known to man, which physicians call causalgia. Soldiers who experienced shrapnel wounds to the median nerve during World War I often went into profound shock if the pain was not promptly relieved. Despite His exhaustion, Jesus wrenched and struggled; the pain was unbearable, burning, and incessant like a lightning bolt traversing the arm. The second hand was then nailed in the same manner, causing another loud shriek. Jesus was then forced to His feet with His hands nailed to the crosspiece. His knees buckled and he dropped to his knees. (This is likely where he got the dirt on his knees that transferred onto the shroud.) Two [members] of the team lifted each end of the crosspiece while the other two grasped Him around the body. Then they placed the crosspiece into the mortise that had been cut out of the top of the upright. While still holding Him around the lower part of His body, the two members of the quaternio bent His knees and lifted His heels against the upright until His feet were flush to the cross. One of the men drove a nail through each foot as another of his team held it against the cross. The pain was excruciating, and again Jesus screamed out in pain. He was almost totally exhausted, gasping for breath, and in severe pain. His tongue stuck to the roof of His mouth, which was full of stringy mucous. Sweat poured over His entire body, drenching him, and His face assumed a yellowish ashen color. His respirations became more rapid and shallow and severe cramps started in His calves. With this He twisted, turned, and arched His body to extend His legs and assume different positions in an attempt to relieve some of the cramping in His legs. The deep, burning, radiating pains like lightning bolts traversing the arms and the legs from the nails in the hands and feet, the lancinating pains across the face from irritation by the crown of thorns, the excruciating pains from the scourging, the severe pull on the shoulders, the intense cramps in the calves, and the severe thirst together composed a symphony of unrelenting pain.” 124
Zugibe, Frederick T. The Crucifixion of Jesus, Completely Revised and Expanded (p. 332-333). M. Evans & Company. Kindle Edition.
Jesus’ head. and body bumps against the upright as they secure the patibulum, driving the thorns deep into the occipital nerves while forcing the movement (twisting) of the thorn in the trigeminal nerve. Jesus cannot hold himself up for more than a few seconds with the torn muscle, his arms stretched out almost horizontal, and nerve damage in his shoulders. The full weight of his body on the weakened shoulders dislocates the shoulders, 125
http://www.shroudofturinexhibition.com/Shroud_of_Turin_exhibition/Biblical_Injuries_of_Jesus_1.htm 11. Dislocation page 8
Zugibe, Frederick T. The Crucifixion of Jesus, Completely Revised and Expanded (p. 332-333). M. Evans & Company. Kindle Edition. https://www.shroud.com/zugibe.htm
The hours on the cross, with pressure of the weight of the body on the nails through the hands and feet, cause episodes of excruciating agony every time Jesus moves. The unrelenting pains of the chest wall from the scourging are felt with every breath. The excruciating headaches are exacerbated every time the back of his head touches the cross, driving the thorns still further into the occipital and trigeminal nerves; the torn muscle and the dislocated shoulder send searing pain every time he moves or tries to lift himself. The combination of pain is more than a human body can bear so the body continues to respond with ever deepening traumatic shock.
Jesus was on the cross somewhere between three and six hours. Mark is saying that Jesus was nailed to the cross at the same time the lamb picked by Caiaphas was tied to the altar in the temple (that usually happened between 7:30 and 8:30 am). John says it was closer to noon. Because the priests were at the praetorium and then followed Jesus to Calvary, they likely didn’t get the lamb tied to the altar on time. John was there on Calvary, so he is referring to the time Jesus was crucified while Mark is simply pointing us to the Paschal Lamb: like the Paschal lamb is tied to the altar; so also, the Lamb of God, is nailed to the cross: the altar on which the Lamb of God will be sacrificed.
The first thing Jesus did from the cross was to forgive those who were crucifying him: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." (Lk 23:34) Who is "them"? Just the Roman Soldiers? Those who screamed "crucify Him"? Those who condemned Him? All of us? Isn't this Jesus' redemptive prayer? Sin unknowingly committed carries the least guilt. Jesus has already forgiven them and us; and now He is begging His Father to also forgive! Jesus set an example of forgiveness. Failure to forgive only keeps us out of heaven. There is no conflict in heaven, so I can’t enter heaven if I hold anything against someone else - lest I encounter them in heaven! It does not affect the person we have not forgiven. The issue is my pride!
During that time on the cross Jesus was taunted by the priests. Those passing by were hurling abuse at him, wagging their heads, and saying: “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking him among themselves and saying, He saved others let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his chosen one!” Come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” (Mk 15:27-32) “He trusts in God; let God rescue him now, if He delights in him; for He said I am the Son of God.” (Mt 27:43)
Gestus, one of the criminals who was hanged there was also hurling abuse at Jesus. Saying: “Are You not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” (Lk 23:39)
But the other criminal, Dismas, ...
(Dismas & Gestas are named in the Gospel of Nicodemus.)
answered, and rebuked him saying: “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And then he said: “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!”
That is an incredible leap of faith until you remember that Dismas spent the night with Jesus in the cistern! Jesus’ focus while in the cistern wasn’t on Himself. He was reaching out to Dismas. Jesus responded: "This day you will be with me in paradise." (Lk 23:40-43)
Look at the definition of Penance from the catechism, paragraph 1491:
The sacrament of Penance is a whole consisting of three actions of the penitent and the priest provides absolution [acting in persona Christi]. The penitent’s acts are
- repentance,
- confession or disclosure of sins to the priest,
- and the intention to make reparation and do works of reparation.
But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly; [disclosure of sins] for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds [reparation] but this man has done nothing wrong.“ And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power.“ [repentance] And Jesus said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
What is happening is that Jesus just heard the first confession made at the time of Dismas' impending death. (Lk 23:40-43)
As Jesus was nearing the end, He took care of his mother saying: “Woman, behold your Son!” Then He said to the disciple: “Son, behold your Mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. (Jn 19:26-27)
That is one of the more powerful arguments that Jesus was an only child. For what child would entrust his mother to someone else’s care if he had siblings? That would be an incredible insult to his siblings! Jesus’ use of the word “woman” is to let it be known that his reference to his mother is also in her role as the new Eve, the mother of the human race. He gives his mother to all of us and He gives us to his mother. At the same time, Jesus just fixed through Mary what Eve broke by bringing sin into creation (Gen 3-15) and at the same time allows Mary to fulfill her Motherhood becoming the mother of all Creation. (Jn 19:27) In giving His Mother to John, Jesus is making the parental connection establishing our obligation to Honor Mary as our Mother.
Now consider that you are watching your son die, being murdered, being tortured, by those who are supposed to be leading us to God. Then your son looks at you and despite his own suffering, he is concerned that you are taken care of!
Jesus is experiencing traumatic shock. His lungs are filling with pleural fluid, ruptured alveoli. Each time He speaks, it gets more difficult. Each time there is less oxygen capacity in his lungs and so He has to expand his diaphragm and chest still further when he speaks, to get enough air flowing over his vocal cords to be heard. Expanding his diaphragm and chest means lifting himself with torn muscles and enduring the pain of expanding bruised ribs.
When Jesus said on the cross "Eli, Eli lema Sabachthani" (Mt 27:46),(Mk 15:34) He was naming a traditional prayer that we know today as Psalm 22. (Some editions of the Old Testament have a different numbering system for Psalms: it could appear as Psalm 21.) Jesus is pointing out to his Mother and the apostle John that he is about to finish the last supper, the Seder Meal: a Todah for a great deliverance, and fulfilling the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Our salvation is complete. That is not what is expected from someone who feels forsaken. But let us not forget that God, in the person of the Holy Spirit, inspired David to write that first line, the name of the psalm: “My God, My God why have you forsaken me.” The Holy Spirit knew that it would be centuries before we understood what was happening and many souls would be aided by the thought that Jesus felt forsaken. Matthew and Mark both give it to us as Jesus said it: in Hebrew (the name of the Psalm) not in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke (which, of course, the evangelists translated to Greek). Both Mark and Matthew want us to know Jesus is referring to the prayer, so they give us the name of the prayer in Hebrew just as Jesus said it. Jesus’ switch to Hebrew caught those nearby completely off guard some even thought that Jesus was calling to Elijah (Mt 27:47 , Mk 15:35) .
Psalm 22 describes exactly what has just happened: “All who see me mock me saying: ‘He trusted in the Lord; let the Lord deliver him’… all my bones are out of joint… dogs ...
“dog” is a euphism for someone who gets physical pleasure from the nakedness and/or suffering of another.
are round about me… they have pierced my hands and feet… they stare and gloat over me… they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots…” and yet the prayer ends triumphantly with David proclaiming deliverance: “… And I [David] will live for the Lord; my descendants will serve you. The generation to come will be told of the Lord, that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn the deliverance you have brought”
(Ps 22:28-32)
. Deliverance by means of a crucifixion is to be proclaimed to all generations! The psalm has described the anticipated deliverance that was referred to in the Eucharistic (Todah) sacrifice during the Last Supper at which Jesus has introduced the New Covenant in his blood! Jesus now has us focused. With just four words, “Eli, Eli lema Sabachthani”, He has taken us with him back to the Last Supper and the New Covenant. Now He will finish the Last Supper! He is now about to provide the fulfillment of
(Psalm 22
by providing the deliverance for which we are giving thanks in the Todah, celebrated during both the Last Supper and every Mass!
When Jesus left the last supper, He had not finished the Seder meal. He left out the 4th cup: the “Cup of Acceptance” (Mt 26). and the Nirtzah. When He prayed in the garden "Father, if it be possible, take this cup from me," (Mt 26:39 , Lk 22:42) and when He said to Peter: “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” (Jn 18:11) He was referring to the 4th cup which He had not yet drunk.
“Jesus knowing that everything had now been completed, in order to completely fulfill the scriptures said: ‘I thirst.’" (Jn 19:28) The commentaries will refer you to Psalms, but Jesus was more than likely referring to Lev 23:6 . John is telling us that Jesus was being deliberate and calculating: He wanted to fulfill the Feast of Unleavened Bread. To do so He needed to finish the Last Supper. They held up a hyssop branch to which was attached a sponge that had been dipped in a mixture of vinegar (sour wine) and wine. (Jn 19:29) (Hyssop was used on Passover to put the blood of the lamb, the means of deliverance, on the lintel and doorposts. (Ex 12:22) )
Jesus drank the wine, the 4th cup, from the hyssop branch; and said: “It is finished” (Jn 19:30) . “It" is:
- the Nirtzah that ends the Seder meal 127
- what the priest says when he has struck the sacrificial lamb the killing blow
- the fulfillment of Psalm 22
- the fulfillment of the Feast of Unleavened Bread
- the fulfillment of Passover
Jesus is both priest and victim! He finished the Last Supper on the cross: tying together the Essene’s “un-bloody” Seder celebration (the Todah as dress rehearsal for the Eucharist: an un-bloody sacrifice) with the Temple Passover celebration (the animal sacrifice as the dress rehearsal for the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.) The Kingdom of God has arrived, Jesus is finished! (Mt 26:29, Mk 14:25 Lk 22:18)
Jesus said: "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." (Ps 31:6 , Lk 23:46) (The Hebrew word translated, “I commend,” is “לְשַׁבֵּחַ ” pronounced afkid). (This word has a meaning that is much closer to “I deposit” – which necessarily signifies a future “reclaiming” of the thing deposited) 124 and died as the Passover victim, at the same time, that the priests began sacrificing the Paschal lambs ( Mt 27:46, Mk 15:34, Lk 23:44). This is also the Jewish evening prayer which would have been said by Jesus every evening:
In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; Be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commend my spirit; (Ps 31;2-5) deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.
Just as the Jewish morning prayer: “I thank Thee, living and eternal King, for Thou hast mercifully restored my soul within me; Great is Thy faithfulness” was likely said by Jesus every day. Notice that the thought was, that during sleep the soul left the body as shown in the word commend. It implies that I will take it back in the morning. Jesus is also prophesying both His resurrection and the fulfillment of the Feast of Fruits with his very last words!
God arranged for there to be two Passovers celebrated. On the first, the Essene “unbloody” Seder meal, beginning on the Essene Feast of unleavened bread, would be the dress rehearsal for the Eucharist with Jesus as the priest for the Todah, and ending coincident with the Temple sacrifice of the Lamb of God. The second would enable the remembrance of Passover, on which the High Priest sacrificed a lamb, selected by the people, on Lamb Selection Day, to save their firstborn sons; to be the dress rehearsal for the sacrifice of God’s firstborn son, with Jesus as both the priest and the victim, the Lamb of God, to save all men!
Jesus began his life as the Lamb of God: born in a stable used to protect new born lambs from the weather, inspected by the Levitical shepherds, found without blemish; thus destined to be sacrificed at Passover. At the start of his ministry, Jesus was proclaimed the Lamb of God by John the Baptist. With his baptism, He accepted His role as suffering servant. He began Holy Week as the Lamb of God: selected by the people as the lamb to be sacrificed for the people. Just as the Paschal lamb was attached to the altar, Jesus was nailed to the cross. The Lamb selected as the offering for the people on Lamb Selection Day was always the first lamb sacrificed. Jesus died as the Lamb of God so that through His blood all men would be delivered from the bondage of sin.
By the time Jesus died, it had been unnaturally dark for 3 hours. (Mk 15:33 , Am 8:9) The event is prophesied in Amos: (Am 8:9) and attested to in Olympiades by Phlego Trallianus: “In the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad. [32-33 AD], a failure of the sun took place greater than any previously known, and night came on at the sixth hour of the day [noon], so that stars actually appeared in the sky; and a great earthquake took place in Bithynia and overthrew the greater part of Niceaea[.]” Although the Olympiades are lost to history, seven historians directly quote the above: Eusibius, The Chronicon Alexandrinum, Syncellus, Jerome, Anastasius Bibliothecarius, The Historia Miscella and Freculphus Lexoviensis. The most interesting part of the account is that stars were visible! Anywhere the sun was darkened by volcanic ash wouldn’t the stars also have been obscured? Something very large passed slowly between the earth and the sun such that it took almost three hours to pass. The early Church Fathers assumed the light that led the Magi to the house in Bethlehem was angelic. It is possible that the darkness over Jerusalem was a result of the host of demons attending their victory over God. While in reality, it was the prelude to the ultimate victory of God over the demons. It is interesting that during an Exorcism performed by Fr. Gabriel Amorth, Fr Gabriel had a demon tell him “If we demons showed ourselves it would eclipse the sun.” 128
Father Gabriel Amorth: An Exorcist Explains the Demonic; the Antics of Satan and His Army of Fallen Angels, by Sophia Institute Press © 2016, page 17
As Jesus died, the earth quaked and the centurion cried out: “This truly was the Son of God!” (Mk 15:39)
The curtain that separates the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple was torn from top to bottom: profaning the Temple. (Mk 15:38) Only the high priest could venture into the Holy of Holies and then only on the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year and one of the Feasts of the Lord. (The Holy of Holies which should have contained the Ark of the Covenant was empty and had been since Jeremiah hid it.)
When an Israelite expressed extreme sorrow, he tore his garment from top to bottom. Caiaphas tore his garment when he heard Jesus admit to being the Son of God. God himself tore his garment, expressing his extreme sorrow, when his son Jesus died on the cross!
The ultimate cause of death is forensically determined to be from a combination of traumatic shock (torture) and hypovolemia. 129
Frederick T. Zugibe, M.D., Ph.D. Babbet Revisited
There has been so much pain, so many alveoli have ruptured; which, when combined with the loss of blood, causes there to be not enough oxygen provided to his brain to sustain life. In his capacity as medical examiner, Dr. Zugibe states he would have written: "Cause of Death: Cardiac and respiratory arrest, due to hypovolemic and traumatic shock, due to crucifixion." 130
Zugibe, Frederick T., The Crucifixion of Jesus, Completely Revised and Expanded (p. 130). M. Evans & Company. Kindle Edition.
After Jesus died at 3 pm his face was immediately covered with the sudarium, a linen cloth. (Jn 20:7) This was allowed by the Romans because upon death the criminal’s debt was paid; so, to end the embarrassment of the family, the criminals face could be covered. Covering the face of the deceased is a tradition still practiced today. Forensic scientists have testified that the blood splatter pattern on the Sudarium matches the wounds on the Shroud and could only have come from the same man. The blood type -AB positive - of the blood on the Sudarium matches the blood found on both shroud and the blood in the Eucharistic miracles in Lanciano, Buenos Aires, Tixtla, and Legnica.
The linen cloth does not contain an image of Jesus’ face. It has blood, sweat, and pleural fluid from his head, face and lungs. The cloth is the other cloth that was folded up in the corner of the tomb. (Jn 20:7) Any piece of clothing or cloth that had life blood on it had to be buried with the deceased. The cloth is currently in Oviedo, Spain.
Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate to obtain his body (Mk 15:43) and Pilate, surprised that He could have already died, sent for the centurion to be sure that Jesus was dead. (Mk 15:44) Once assured, he then gave Joseph permission to remove the body from the cross. His body was placed in the arms of his mother.
Mary immediately covered Jesus and then held him for about an hour. During that time Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus left to get burial linen and spices. Scientific analysis of the blood stains on the sudarium shows the body positions prior to burial. His body was taken down from the cross and placed in a slightly inclined position for about one hour and then it was moved to the burial site.
Shortly after Joseph of Arimathea left Pilate, the priests came to Pilate to request that no one be left on a cross after sunset: 5:59pm local time. (Jn 19:31)
Pilate then instructed a centurion to break the legs of those who were crucified. Breaking the legs radically increases the level of pain since their legs are supporting most of their weight.
When the soldier, the centurion Longinus, ...
Named in the Gospel of Nicodemus / Acts of Pilate
came to Jesus, He was lying in the arms of his mother, with his face covered, his body rhythmically moving as Mary breathed. Longinus could not tell if Jesus was dead. or alive.
To follow his orders, rather than break Jesus’ legs (which would not be lethal to a man already removed from the cross), Longinus stabbed Jesus in his side and into his heart to ensure that Jesus was dead. 131 Blood and water burst from the pierced pericardium. The flow of blood and pleural fluid on the shroud and sudarium shows that Jesus was not on the cross. In addition, the lance could not have pierced his heart, entering between the 5th and 6th rib, if He was still on the cross. If the Sacred Heart of Jesus was pierced, it happened in his mother’s arms! When Jesus’ heart stopped beating. the only force on the blood was gravity, so the blood in his head. drained back down into his heart stretching it like a water balloon. When the lance pierced his heart, it exploded just like a water balloon sending a combination of blood and pleural fluid back out the entry wound and up the unobstructed pathway to his nose and open mouth. (Zech 12:10-11, Zech 13:1. Jn 19:34) The blood flowed back out of the entry wound and across his back, as well as up his esophagus and out his nose and mouth. The water was edema caused by the cellular breakdown of the alveoli as well as pleural effusion from the bruising of the ribs that had accumulated around the lungs. Mary cried out for the first time that day when her dead. son was brutally stabbed as she held him in her arms.
Shroud Sudarium Overlay
When the image on the shroud is overlaid with the stains on the sudarium, except for the fact that the mouth was open when the stains were made on the sudarium (drop the lower lip to the unstained area); it is clear that the predominant flow of fluid is to the left side of his face and actually upward! It needs to be noted that there are two distinct stains. The first indicated by the dark stains around the nose and mouth. These occurred earlier and are darker because they they had different ratio of blood to plueral fluid. That would also indicate that it is the stain from the removal of the body from the cross, when the compression of Jesus chest on the shoulder forced some fluid up from his lungs. That stain had partially dried before the stain from the explosion of the pericardium. The larger stain is primarily pleural fluid coming from the bottom of the lungs under pressure.
Since Jesus was already dead in both cases the flow was only influenced by gravity and the force of the heart contraction when it was pierced. Jesus’s head could not have been vertical for the second event. It had to have been horizontal (actually tipped back) and turned to the left and then turned to the right. By looking at the shroud we see that the flow of blood and pleural fluid from his side wound is downward for only 6 to 8 inches (152 to 203 mm) and is primarily to the right and behind his back. When we look at the back we see the flow actually goes clear across his back and pools on his left side. That could only have happened if he was horizontal at the time his side was pierced!
With a look at the anatomical figure of the body (shown above) we can see the direction the lance had to follow to pierce the pericardium when entering between the 5th and 6th rib. Remember that Jesus was almost 6 feet tall (1.83 m) and his feet would have been at least a foot off the ground as he hung on the cross which would have put the 5th and 6th ribs at least five feet off the ground unless the knees were bent far more than that shown on the Shroud. Jesus had to be in the tomb before sunset. Rigor Mortis had already begun by the time Jesus was wrapped in the shroud as his knees are still bent, as they were on the cross. It is possible that the dislocation of the shoulders and elbow was caused by breaking the rigor mortis to bring Jesus arms down and across his body, but it is also possible if the shoulders were already dislocated they were able to move them. The most plausible answer is the when they took Jesus down from the cross and placed him on his mother’s lap they would have moved his arms to the position shown on the shroud as rigor had not yet set in.
For the centurion to have pierced his side Longinus would have had to hold the lance with both hands and stabbed at a level equal with his own head. The average man of the time was just less than 5’ 6” (1.68 m). Why would a professional soldier have done that when the entry of the lance from below the sternum with an upward blow would have been much easier and much more accurate?
It is inconceivable that with that much fluid none of it would have flowed vertically down his stomach and onto his legs or down his back and onto his legs. The fluid was life blood and would not have been washed off.
Jesus’s face was covered with the sudarium so Mary was not looking at his face. She likely had her eyes closed. When the blow came Mary would have cried out in surprise as the force of the blow would probably have knocked her over (causing the turning of Jesus’ head shown on the fluid flow on the sudarium.)
If Jesus was no longer on the cross breaking his legs would not have caused his death. Breaking the legs of the other two on the cross will accelerate their death from torture since they can’t avoid putting weight on the broken legs; thereby greatly increasing the level of pain on an on going basis. If one is not on the cross breaking the legs will hurt but if held immobile the pain is manageable.
The centurion could not see Jesus’s face since it was covered. He either would have to trust that someone gave them permission to remove Jesus from the cross, as he was known to be dead; or suspect that maybe Jesus’ friends simply covered his head when he lost consciousness and then removed him from the cross with the intent of nursing him back to health later. A centurion was not going to take any chances. His instructions were to make sure they were all dead. Breaking legs is only fatal if you are on the cross. He had to pierce Jesus’ heart.
We are left then with the objection that in John’s gospel it seems to imply that Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate after Jesus was pierced by a lance. But it was John’s gospel! John has no interest in the sequence of events. John is telling us first of the indignities and torture inflicted on Jesus and then he tells us of his burial. John has no more interest in event sequence at the end of his gospel than he did at the beginning when Jesus is baptized on the 2nd day and 4 days later goes to a wedding at Cana while the other gospels clearly indicate that after his baptism Jesus went on retreat for 40 days into the desert and did not begin selecting his disciples until after He returned. John is telling us a theological story not describing historical events. John indicates that Longinus broke the legs of both Dismas and Gestus before he came to Jesus (Jn 19:32) . If Jesus was still on the cross why would Longinus have skipped Jesus who was crucified between the two criminals? But if Jesus was already on Mary’s lap, then the scenario makes complete sense! Look at the physical evidence and decide for yourself.
But if Joseph and Nicodemus had already removed Jesus from the cross and laid him in his mother’s arms slightly turned to his left toward her body with his head turned to the left toward his mother and tilted back, the blow would have been the natural one on the right side and the result would have been exactly what we see on the shroud and the sudarium!
Pieta
The shroud was an expensive linen cloth (a Herringbone weave) that was exactly 8 cubits by 2 cubits. John along with Joseph of Arimathea, Mary, Nicodemus, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, Salome, (Mk 15:4) the mother of the sons of Zebedee (Mt 27:56) , and Joanna, the wife of Chuza carefully, lovingly washed the dirt, sweat, spit, and blood (that was not life blood) from Jesus’ body to prepare him for burial. They did not have time to place the spices and anoint the body so some of the women volunteered to return on Sunday to complete the burial preparations. Jesus’ feet were placed at the bottom of the 14-foot-long shroud and the linen was then folded over his head, taken down the front of his body, back under his feet and tied to his body with a single strip of cloth at the ankles, then looped around his knees, waist, and neck before being tied back to itself. That strip of cloth was cut from the side of the shroud and has subsequently been sewed back onto the shroud.
Consider the pain Mary felt as they rolled the stone over the entrance to the tomb.
The Shroud of Turin ©1978, Barrie M. Schwortz Collection, STERA Inc, SHROUD.COM, Used with permission
Shroud of Turin
Resurrection
- April 5, 33/Nisan 16, 3793
The body of Jesus is placed in the tomb on the evening of Good Friday. His soul descends into the realm of the dead, Sheol (limbo), to announce to the just the tidings of their redemption.
Jesus’ body was not in the tomb more than 40 hours as the Shroud shows that putrefaction had not set in. Matthew tells us Jesus died at the 9th hour on Friday (Mt 27:46) and Tradition says He rose at 3 am on Sunday (37 hours later).
At the moment of the resurrection, the earth quakes as the angel rolls back the stone. The guards flee.
The priests in the temple knew that Jesus had said He would rise on the third day. Fearing the body of Jesus would be taken, the chief priests had placed guards at the tomb. (Mt 27:62-66) When in fact Jesus rose and the guards reported it, the reaction of the priests was exactly what Jesus had said it would be: “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” (Lk 16:31)
The priest paid the guards: “Tell people: ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’” (Mt 28:13)
It is interesting that the priest remembered Jesus’ words, but the apostles and disciples didn’t. The disciples reacted with confusion and fear to seeing Jesus.
The fact of the resurrection is preserved on the shroud. The researchers that studied the shroud speculated that the image on the shroud was formed by a burst of high frequency light. In 2012, it was finally demonstrated how the image may have been formed on the shroud. 132
Vatican Insider July 4, 2012 The Holy Shroud: One Big Bang and the body was gone
Comparative tests on linen have shown that the image on the shroud will be formed by a 10-nanosecond burst of 193 nanometer radiation using 16MW/cm2/pulse with a 9Hz repetition rate. Such radiant energy produces the markings on linen that match the markings on the Shroud. That means that at the moment of resurrection there was within 10 billionths of a second, 9 pulses of radiant energy (each of 16-million watts [enough power to provide electricity to 12,000 homes but for only for 10 billionths of one second)] simultaneously radiated from every cm2 on his body as his body vacated the shroud and left it lying as it was positioned in the tomb.
The choice of wavelength, duration, and power used to test the linen was not arbitrary: it is the wavelength, duration, and power that are produced when matter and anti-matter collide. 133
The Italian physicist pointed out that Jesus’ resurrected body was physical and should obey the laws of physics. The only way in physics to explain how the body got out of the shroud is antimatter annihilation. Thus, the physicist picked the parameters for the test on the shroud.
Tradition holds that Jesus first appeared to his mother, Mary, right after the resurrection; sharing first with her the glory of the Resurrection as she had shared with him the passion and shame of the cross.
Then just before dawn, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, the wife of Chuza, and Mary the mother of James came to anoint the body of Jesus and are amazed and frightened to find the tomb open. (Mt 28:1 , Mk 16:1 , Lk 24:1 , Jn 20:1) They run to tell Peter. When Mary Magdalene returns, an angel calms her fears: "He is not here. He has risen as He said." (Mt 28:6 , Lk 24:6)
Peter and John run to the tomb. When they entered the tomb, John saw that the linen clothes (Shroud) were lying there and the linen cloth (Sudarium) lying rolled up by itself exactly as He had left them when they closed the tomb, and he believed; for as yet they did not know the scripture, that He must rise from the dead. (Jn 20:4-9) He did not yet know that the Feasts of the Lord are all prophecies that would be fulfilled by the Messiah.
Two of the disciples, Cleopas and an unnamed disciple (the tradition in the Eastern Church is that the unnamed disciple was in fact Luke) were heading home to Emmaus after celebrating Passover in Jerusalem. They were arguing about everything that had happened there, when Jesus joined them as they walked along. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
And He said to them: “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?”
And they stood still, looking sad.
One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?”
And He said to them: “What things?”
And they said to him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to the sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. But also, some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, and did not find his body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women had said; but him they did not see.”
And He said to them, “Oh foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?” (Ws 2:17-20) Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures. When Jesus explained the scriptures to Luke and Cleophas on the way to Emmaus and later that evening to the gathered apostles and disciples in Jerusalem, one of the things He surely would have pointed out, that they could not have yet understood, is that the Feasts of the Lord were all prophecies that would be fulfilled by the Messiah.
As they approached the village where they were going, Jesus acted as though He were going farther. But they urged him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.”
So, He went in to stay with them. When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread. and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and He vanished from their sight. They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”
And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem and found the apostles. There they found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them. (Lk 24:13-35)
They discovered that Jesus had also appeared to Mary Magdalene and they were saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.”
They began to relate their experiences on the road. and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.
While they were telling these things, He himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.” But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when He had said this, He showed them his hands and his feet. While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of a broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them.
Now He said to them, “These are my words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead, the third day, (Lev 23:4-14 , Hos 6:2) and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of my Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
In saying that Messiah would suffer and rise on the third day according to the scriptures, Jesus is likely referring to Leviticus 23 . Each of the Feasts of the Lord are prophetic and each has been fulfilled by Jesus. The Feast of Passover celebrates the rescue of the Israelites and the beginning of the Exodus marked by the sacrifice of a lamb to save the first born of the Israelites was fulfilled by the Messiah who was selected by the people on Lamb selection day and sacrificed on Passover marking the Exodus of Jesus from Jerusalem. The Feast of First Fruits was fulfilled by the resurrection of Jesus on the third day as testified by St. Paul in (1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 20 to 22) .
The feast of First Fruits, one of the Feasts of the Lord, is always celebrated on the 1st day of the week following Passover (Lev 23:15). First Fruits celebrates the offering of the first crops harvested to God. St. Paul says: “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead: the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man; the resurrection of the dead. comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1Cor 15:20-22) With his resurrection, Jesus fulfilled the Feast of First Fruits.
Ascension:
May 14/Iyyar 25
Jesus first ascended into heaven on the day of his Resurrection, Sunday. Jesus said to Mary Magdalene, “Don’t hold on to me, I have not yet ascended to the Father.” (Jn 20:17)
Jesus returned to earth and repeatedly appeared to the apostles and others for forty days after his Resurrection in order to prove He had truly risen from the dead. and to prepare the apostles for their ministry. He appeared to the disciples each Sunday.
Jesus instituted the sacrament of Reconciliation when he said to them, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven and whose sins you retain are retained.” (Jn 20:23)
Thomas who missed seeing Jesus on the day He rose from the dead. was with the others the following Sunday when Jesus appeared to them. Jesus invited Thomas to put his hand in Jesus’ side and his finger into the nail marks. Thomas exclaims “My Lord and my God” (Jn 20:28) , to which Jesus replied: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” ((Jn 20:29))
He commissioned the apostles to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth (Mk 16:15) and promised to be with them forever. (Mt 28:20) He will not leave them orphans, but promised to send the Holy Spirit to enlighten and strengthen them. (Lk 24:49)
Those 40 days must have been bittersweet for Mary. On the one hand, she knew the glory that awaited her son in heaven. She knew that the Ascension was a required part of our salvation, but she also knew that it meant separation from Jesus. Jesus had to leave us so that we would begin to listen and respond to the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. (Jn 16:7)
John’s gospel does not mention the Ascension, but rather ends as it began with a focus on the Divinity of Christ. “In the beginning was the Word.” At the end of John’s Gospel, John tells the story of Peter, James, John, Thomas and Nathanael who were out fishing:
Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus [twin], and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”
They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.
But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So, Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?”
They answered him, “No.”
And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.”
So, they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. Therefore, that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” So, when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards (91 meters) away, dragging the net full of fish.
When they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. Note there are only two references in the New Testament to charcoal: in Jn 18:18 where Peter warms himself before denying Jesus and here in Jn 21:9 just before Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him.
Jesus said to them, Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.”
Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, “Come have breakfast.” None of the disciples ventured to question him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread. and gave it to them, and the fish likewise (both the original fish and the fish from the catch that was also grilled). (Jn 21:2-11)
They had fished all night and caught nothing. John points out to us that the catch Jesus provided was exactly 153 fish. Jesus also had an additional fish that had already been filleted and was on the grill and that he had provided them breakfast of both the original fish in addition to some of the fish they had brought from the catch. Thus, there were 154 fish in total. Today that means nothing to us, but every Israelite knew that there were 154 sedarim in the Torah. Thus, we find reference in Talmudic literature to 154 or 175 sedarim, which is roughly the total amount of weeks in three or three-and-a-half years. That Jesus Himself provided the 154th fish points out that the number applies to Him. He is the Word of God. Jesus was showing the apostles that He is the Torah, He is the Word. John is ending the Gospel story as he had begun it, with a reference to Jesus as the Word.
In Greek there are three words for love: “agapeo” which is pure ascetical love, “phileo” which is brotherly love, and “eros” which is erotic love. Notice the words Jesus and Peter use during their exchange:
So, when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, son of John, do you love [agapeo] Me more than these?”
Peter said to him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love [phileo] You.”
Jesus said to him, “Tend my lambs.” He said to him again a second time,“Simon, son of John, do you love [agapeo] Me?”
Peter said to him, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love [phileo] You.”
Jesus said to him, “Shepherd my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love [phileo] Me?”
Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love [phileo] Me?” And he said to him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love [phileo] You.” Jesus said to him,“Tend my sheep.” (Jn 21:15-17)
Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go." Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!”
Jesus kept asking for pure love and Peter kept responding with brotherly love. Since Peter had denied Jesus three times, Jesus has Peter affirm his love for Jesus three times.
On the fortieth day after the resurrection, Jesus proceeds to Mt. Olivet, the Mount of Olives, accompanied by his Mother and the apostles and disciples. [Luke in his Gospel says that Jesus ascended from near Bethany about two miles as the crow flies from Jerusalem. (Lk 24:50) However, in Acts He indicates that Jesus ascended from the Mount of Olives. (Acts 1:12) Because Acts was written after his Gospel, I assume he is correcting something he got wrong in his Gospel just like he did with the order of the Apostles. In Acts the order is different because by the time it was written, Luke understood the relationship between James and Matthew. Extending his pierced hands over all in a last blessing, Jesus ascends into heaven. As He ascends, a cloud takes Him from their sight. (Acts 1:9-10)
An angel said to the disciples: “This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)
The disciples leave Mt. Olivet and "return to Jerusalem with great joy." (Lk 24:52)
The master had to go away on a journey. When He returns will he find that I have made a return on the talents he gave to me? (Mt 25:15-28)
Jesus said when you see the fig tree (the symbol of the Jewish political establishment, the Jewish State) bloom … This generation will not pass away before all will be accomplished. (Mt 24:32-35 , Lk 21:29-33) Israel, the fig tree, became a nation in 1948 (bloomed).
Descent of the Holy Spirit
May 24/Sivan 6The apostles are gathered in the upper room where Jesus had held the Last Supper. (Acts 2:1) They are praying with Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
A sound comes from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it fills the whole house. (Acts 2:2) The Holy Spirit descends on each of them in the form of tongues of fire. (Acts 2:3)
The sacrament of Confirmation is established as Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit is fulfilled. Filled with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety, and fear of offending the Lord (Is 11:2) ). Piety is not included in the Isaiah reference as it was considered part of fear of the Lord.
They are enlightened and strengthened to spread. the gospel. Having lost all fear of the Jewish leaders, the apostles boldly preach Christ crucified.
It was the Feast of Pentecost, a convocation, a dress rehearsal, when all Israelite men were to go to Jerusalem. There were, in Jerusalem for the convocation, devout men from every nation under heaven. (Acts 2:5)
Pentecost is the feast in remembrance of God descending on the mountain in thunder (noise) and fire to ratify the covenant with the Israelite people. (Gen 19:16-20)
The Bible reports sudden startling events during this celebration: the sound of a great rushing wind and something like flames hovering about the disciples. Just as strange, the disciples began to speak, but not in their native Aramaic or Hebrew. They spoke in languages they had not learned. They were understood by countless foreign visitors to the city. (Acts 2:6)
It was the Holy Spirit that provided the noise that caused the crowd to form in the first place. It was the Holy Spirit that prompted those people to investigate the noise. It was the Holy Spirit that enabled each man to hear what the apostles were saying in his native tongue. The Holy Spirit also opened the hearts of the people to accept the message of the crucified Christ.
The Cenacle (the room where the Last Supper was held) is in the Essene Quarter of Jerusalem. Peter didn’t go to the temple on Pentecost, he just went outside. That day Peter goes forth to preach and baptizes three thousand. (Acts 2:41) The baptisms probably took place at the entrance to the temple where there were many ‘baths’ for ritual cleaning before entering the temple.
Those three thousand were probably all Essenes. They were the devout Israelites. The New Testament doesn’t even mention the Essenes because they were “us.” The description of the life of the first Christians in Acts in which they “hold everything in common and each has what is needed” (Acts 4:32-35) is a description of the communal life of the Essenes as described by the historian Josephus. 134
Josephus Wars of the Jews Book II Chapter 8:3
The Holy Spirit comes gently and makes himself known as He approaches. The Spirit comes with the tenderness of a true friend and protector to save, to heal, to teach, to counsel, to strengthen, to console. The Spirit comes to enlighten the mind first of the one who receives him, and then, through him, the minds of others as well. 135
St. Cyril of Jerusalem Sermon on the Holy Spirit
That year the Feast of Pentecost was not a dress rehearsal. It was God the Holy Spirit descending amid noise and tongues of fire to formalize the new covenant written in our hearts! (Jer 31:33 , Heb 10:16) ) The feast of Pentecost is the birthday of the Church, for on that day the new covenant is ratified by the Holy Spirit.
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