Posted by Davis [GLamotta] on March 27, 1999 at 20:59:49 {boLUiPtahc8MR4grwGIsMW2MRXA6xmpsc}:
Remember on the school counsel slip there was a point called "repetition for emphasis"? Well that's all this is regarding the correct dating for Christ's death since the Memorial is coming up.
John 19:14 says that Jesus' trial was at Noon "but-preparation for passover." The Greek term "de" (but) is used with specific references for the times of the day to indicate the period "yet" or "just before" that period. Some interesting specific times, given by John and others using this term, therefore, are:
John 13:30 "Therefore, after he [Judas} received the morsel, he went out immediately. And it was but-night." John here is just giving the time that Judas left the Passover meal, which was just before the "night" watch which was at 9:00 p.m.
Mark 8:9 "After he rose but-early on the first day of the week he appeared first to Mary Magdalene..."
This is an excellent scripture since here "but-early" refers to just before
the "early morning watch" which began at 3:00 a.m. Thus we learn that Jesus rose before 3:00 a.m. By contrast, John 20:1 speaks of Mary Magdalene going to memorial tomb "early" while it was dark. This specifically is not "but-early"
which would be before 3:00 a.m. but simply "early" which means sometime during the early watch, which was from 3:00 to sunrise, but while it was still dark. Thus we can see how specific the use of "de" to indicate just before a certain
period really was.
Another critical reference in John is the exact time that Jesus was first taken before Pilate. If you check the scriptures you'll find it was just becoming daylight when Jesus was taken to the Sanhedrin. Likely there he was interrogated and formerly charged, but it was already past the "early morning watch" (3-6 a.m.)at this time.
John, a stickler for percise times says at 18:28 that "..they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the governor's palace. It was now but-early in the day." The text only says "it was but-early." From this text we learn that it was just before Noon that Jesus was first taken to Pilate and thus it must have taken nearly six hours of interrogation and manipulation in the Sanhedrin before he was brought before Pilate. Furthermore, is more than clear this must have been the usual time of the day, midday, which Pilate regularly dealt with the public problems. In this case, therefore, but-early which refers to just before the "early" watch, does not refer to just before 3:00 a.m. obviously, but just before the "early evening watch" which began at Noon.
Remember, the Jews considered "evening" to begin at Noon and there were three "evening" periods or watches: The early watch (Noon-3 p.m.), the middle watch (between the two evenings, 3-6 p.m.), and the "late" evening watch" which was from 6:00-9:00 p.m. Thus correctly understanding how the Jews told time in the culture in those days indicates that it wasn't even until Noon on the day Jesus was arrested that Pilate saw Jesus.
But getting back to John 19:14, John's reference to "but-preparation for passover" tells us that Jesus' trial was in the afternoon period preceding the day of "preparation for passover." The normal Jewish day ended at nightfall and thus also began at nightfall.
Thus they considered the afternoon period just before nightfall similar to what we would call our "afternoon" period. But they specifically did not use the convenient term "before night" since "night" was the common term for the "night watch" and thus "but-night" would mean just before 9:00 p.m. So they used the subsitute term for nightfall as "de-epaurion" or "before the NEXT DAY."
Of course, this was complicated for the Jews as well. That's because all their days did not begin at the same time. Their usual weekday began at nightfall and ended at nightfall. But their sabbath days were different. They were longer than the usual weekday and they began earlier at sunset. Thus the day of preparation, the day just before the sabbath day, was shorter than the usual weekday.
This could sometimes become a bit confusing if you wanted to talk about "nightfall" as the beginning of the next day on a sabbath day without referring to sunset. But an example of how this is customarily handled is found at Matthew 27:62 where it says: "The next day [but-morrow], which is after preparation..."
This really should read, "Before the next day, which was after preparation" in an attempt to reference the beginning of the normal next day at nightfall, but after sunset. After sunset is synonymous with the ending of preparation since this was a sabbath day and the sabbath day began at sunset. Thus the period of time in question is what we call "dusk"; the period after sunset, but before nightfall. It is during this period that the pharisees became alarmed at the followers of Jesus lurking around the memorial tomb where Jesus had been laid and thought that some of his disciples might try to steal the body. So they immediately went to Pilate and asked for a guard.
The way the scripture reads it seems as though this didn't take place until the "next day", that is, the next morning. But obviously, his disciples would have had all night long to steal the body. Much more consistent with the correct interpretation is that the Pharisees went to Pilate immediately as soon as they noticed the disciples around the memorial tomb, which was right at sunset, but before the "next day" officially began at nightfall.
The term "but-morrow" or "but-the next day" meaning before the next day is the syntax used by John at John 19:14 to refer to the period just before the next day which was simply specifically named, that is, "preparation for passover." This is also a special-use term since "preparation" is generally any Friday, or the day before the usual sabbath. But the Jews had other sabbaths, special sabbath days, which did not fall on the usual sabbath day, or Saturday. In these cases, they specified the exception. In this case, Passover Week had two special sabbath days: one on the 15th and one on the 21st. Thus John is making reference to the day before the 21st, which was Thursday, Nisan 20th. The trial, however, which occurred at Noon (sixth hour) "but-preparation for passover" that is, the sixth hour before preparation for passover was to begin at nightfall, thus refers to 12:00 on Wednesday, Nisan 19.
This is confirmed, by all the other scriptures.
For instance, we know that in other scriptures at the sixth hour it got dark on the day Jesus died, from the sixth hour until the ninth hour. Obviously, therefore, the Bible is speaking of two different days; of course, the trial must preceed the time when he was on the torture stake.
This always works out perfectly for Matthew 12:40 which clearly says Jesus was to be in the grave for "three days and THREE NIGHTS" and Mark 15:25 which says that Jesus was impaled at the "third hour" which is 9 o'clock (a.m. or p.m.).
Thus if Jesus' trial was on Wednesday, Nisan 19th at Noon, it is clear he was impaled that night at around 9:00 p.m. per Mark 15:25, after which he remained on the torture stake all that night until the next day, now Nisan 20th, the day of preparation before the passover sabbath day of Nisan 21st, when from the sixth until the ninth hour it became dark. Jesus died at the ninth hour and was put into the memorial tomb just before the sabbath day of Passover, the 21st, began at sunset. The following day was the usual sabbath day, or Saturday.
Thus Jesus was in the grave for three nights: Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday night, just as the Bible says. Jesus died one day before a sabbath day and rose one day after the sabbath. Only thing is, they were different sabbath days since these were two sabbath days in a row. Of course, in several places, the Bible specifically uses SABBATHS (PLURAL) to describe when Mary Magdalene first came to the grave. For instance, Luke 24:1 is translated "On the first day of the week, they went very early to the grave..." is in reference to the Greek term "one of SABBATHS" which means the day after the sabbath, only in this case, plural SABBATHS is used to reference the double-sabbath day.
Of final note, when actually referring to the day of preparation when Jesus was being laid into the memorial tomb, the Greek term "de" or "but" is not used with "preparation." Thus this term when used with certain terms in reference to the times of the day, always means "just before" or "yet" that point in time, but when it is left off, it means it is during that time. You can make several comparisons to determine this to be consistently true throughout the scriptures.
So in conclusion, after we have confirmed by Luke that Jesus sent his disciples out on the very day the lambs were sacrificed, which was Nisan 14th, and that those lambs were sacrificed AT THE TEMPLE in the afternoon from the ninth hour (which is the time Jesus died specifically), then we know that when sunset occurred, it became the sabbath day of the "first day of unfermented cakes" and that has always been the official sabbath day on which the Passover Lamb was eaten. The day the Jews left Egypt was made into a very special day, a sabbath day, and that day was not Nisan 14 but Nisan 15.
That being the case, Jesus ate that meal and was arrested on Nisan 15th, making it impossible for him to have died on Nisan 14 as the Witnesses are currently falsely teaching and which few seem to care whether or not it is of any significance. The only other possible date for Jesus' death, therefore, since he died during Passover week, was the day of preparation preceding the Passover sabbath of Nisan 21st, the 7th day of unfermented cakes. This is a Thursday and completely consistent with fulfilling Matthew 12:40 which requires Jesus to be in the grave not two nights, but three nights.
The insistence of the WBTS of maintaining this false teaching is critical proof that the GB has been thrown into spiritual darkness and does not understand these sacred secrets that are now being revealed to those who are honest, who love truth, who love the Bible, and who are "awake"!
Davis