What does communion mean and what does it have to do with crackers and grape juice? What about the Mass? We will start with the Mass.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Mass (of Christ) is the changing of the bread and wine into the literal body and blood of Christ. This is called transubstantiation and the real presence. When the priest raises up the round wafer, they say a few magical words over it in Latin (presto chango, hocus pocus) at what they call the communion table. After it is changed the priest has the people walk down the aisle to accept the eucharist (this is the origin of where accept christ comes from). I should know, I was a Roman Catholic. Any good Roman Catholic knows this. The mass is the foundation of the Roman Catholic church. This is a continual unbloody sacrifice for sin in contradiction to scripture.
Heb 10:10 – By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Heb 10:12 – But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
Heb 10:14 – For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
When they eat the body and drink the blood of Christ or of anyone for that matter, isn’t this is called cannibalism? Whether it is literal or figurative, it is still cannibalism in the eyes of God.
Gen 9:4 – But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
Lev 17:10 – And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.
11 – For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
Dt 12:16 – Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.
Acts 15:20 – But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Acts 15:29 – That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
Roman Catholicism uses Jn 6:53-55 to justify the doctrine of the mass.
Jn 6:53 – Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
54 – Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
53 – For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
There is only one problem though, when you take one portion of scripture, without defining some words, and without matching other scriptures regarding meat and without looking into the customs and manners and idioms of that day and time, you will miss the meaning of it. Regarding meat, Jesus said the following,
Jn 4:32 – But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
33 – Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?
34 – Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
The following are more scriptures,
Ps 119:103 – How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Pro 16:24 – Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
Ezk 3:3 – And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
Rev 10:9 – And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
10 – And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Jesus would not contradict the law and say, it’s ok to be cannibals now. Remember what Jesus said regarding the law?
Mt 5:17 – Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 – For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot (iota – the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which is the yod) or one tittle (keraia – grammarians employed it to describe the accents and diacritical points of Hebrew letters) shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
The next thing they didn’t do is define the word indeed, which is the NT Greek word alethos, meaning of truth. It comes from the word lanthano, meaning to hide or to conceal. When you place the alpha or what is called the alpha privative (which is the 1st letter of the Greek alphabet) in front of lanthano, it gives it an opposite meaning. Alanthano translates into alethos meaning not to hide or not to conceal. Jesus said, my flesh is meat (or food) of truth and my blood is drink of truth. To eat flesh and drink blood was an old ancient idiom meaning to partake in a death. The blade of a sword was called the mouth and was said to eat flesh and drink blood in battle.
Dt 32:42 – I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.
When we tell people the truth of God’s word, they will want to kill us, physically or figuratively.
Jn 8:40 – But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
I Jn 3:15 – Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
According to the majority of churches, communion is eating crackers and drinking grape juice and they say, Jesus said to do this in remembrance of me.
1st of all, communion is only mentioned 4 times in the Bible:
I Co 10:16 – The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
II Co 6:14 – Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
II Co 13:14 – The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
2nd of all, every time communion is mentioned, it is always the NT Greek word koinonia, meaning to fellowship, to partake or to communicate. To communicate with someone is to commune and have fellowship with one another and to partake in common things. From koinonia we get the word koinonos:
I Co 10:18 – Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers (koinonos) of the altar?
I Co 10:20 – But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship (koinonos) with devils.
II Co 1:7 – And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers (koinonos) of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.
From koinonos we get the word koinos:
Acts 2:44 – And all that believed were together, and had all things common (koinos);
Acts 4:32 – And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common (koinos).
We get the word koine, which is the Greek dialect they spoke in and which the NT was written in; it was a common street language.
3rd and last of all, Jesus never said, eat crackers and drink grape juice in remembrance of me. Koinonia is mentioned 18 times in the NT, and not once does it mean to eat crackers and drink grape juice. The majority of the churches use I Co 11:24-25 to justify their doctrine (their instruction or their teaching) of eating crackers and drinking grape juice and some commentaries will say that Jesus instituted a new thing. This is not what our Lord instructed us to do. Let us go to the scriptures:
I Co 11:24 – And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
25 – After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
Question number one should be who is talking here? We all know who this is, this is Paul talking to an immature baby church at Corinth. He was always correcting, and not putting his approval on them in this epistle. Next thing we need to understand is that Paul is quoting Jesus. Where is this being quoted from?
Lk 22:19 – And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Now in order to understand this, we must question ourselves, hmmm, what were they eating? Were they eating crackers and grape juice, were they eating bread and grape juice or eating the eucharist? What were they eating? If anyone knows about the Jewish holy days, they would know that they were eating the Passover.
Crackers and grape juice was never part of the passover. Let’s go to the context of this verse. Passover is mentioned 6 times in this chapter, let’s go to verse 1:
Lk 22:1 – Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the passover.
Lk 22:7 – Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed.
8 – And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare (hetoimazo – to put or keep in readiness) us the passover (lamb), that we may eat.
The Jews had 2 terms for Passover, they had 7 days of unleavened bread that they called the Passover feast and then they had the day that they killed the lamb. The lamb itself was called The Passover. It was The Passover lamb. If this were crackers and grape juice then we would have to kill crackers and grape juice.
Lk 22:11 – And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the Passover (or the Passover lamb) with my disciples?
Lk 22:13 – And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready (hetoimazo) the passover (lamb).
Lk 22:15 – And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover (lamb) with you before I suffer (tomorrow on what we call Friday before 6PM – The reason I say Friday is because there are some that believe that Jesus was crucified and died on Wednesday and this will be explained further in this study):
16 – For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God (or kingdom of heaven or kingdom of Israel).
Where is the kingdom of God now? Lk 17:20-21 says, it is in you.
Lk 22:17 – And he took the cup (poterion – a lot or fate), and gave thanks (he blessed it), and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:
18 – For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine (ampelos – grape vine – notice that it says fruit of the vine, not wine, as in an alcoholic beverage), until the kingdom of God shall come (in you).
19 – And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it (to break bread was a Jewish term that meant to fellowship or to partake), and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance (anamnesis – we get the word amnesia from that. It is the opposite of amnesia. It means to remember, to recollect, a memorial) of me.
20 – Likewise also the cup after supper (deipneo – this is the classical Greek word for eating a meal, generally the largest meal of the day. The Koine use includes common meals, feasts, or meals of special religious significance, such as Passover), saying, This cup (to drink of a cup was an old ancient idiom that meant to undergo a violent death – it was a symbol of death – Mt 20:22-23, 26:39, 42, Jn 18:11) is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
This is not talking about alcoholic beverages. The Union of Haggadah says, the Jews of Abyssinia celebrate the Passover for seven days, and during this time they eat only unleavened bread and do not drink any fermented drinks. God never puts his approval on drinking liquor, wine, strong drink or any fermented drink.
Pro 20:1 – Wine (yayin – fermented grape juice) is a mocker, strong drink (shekar – beer, liquor, intoxicating drink or fermented beverage) is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
Pro 23:29 – Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes (bloodshot eyes)?
30 – They that tarry long at the wine (yayin); they that go to seek mixed wine (mamsak – spiced liquor or cocktails, which are mixtures of distilled liquors with other liquids).
31 – Look not thou upon the wine (yayin) when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
32 – At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
33 – Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
34 – Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea (Ps 107:27), or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
35 – They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
Alcoholic beverages contain yeast. Yeast is the same thing as leaven. The leaven had to be taken out of the house before the Passover (Ex 13:7).
Ex 12:15 – Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread (matstsah – refers to the bread or cakes made of various flours containing no leaven – chemically speaking, leaven is a term more correctly applied to solids such as yeast. At times, a related term, ferment, is also applied, perhaps more strictly to liquids); even the first day ye shall put away leaven (se’or – due to its fermentation, leaven represents death and decay. Decaying matter was inappropriate as an offering) out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread (chametz – it refers to something leavened) from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
16 – And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.
17 – And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread (matstsah); for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.
18 – In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread (matstsah), until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.
19 – Seven days shall there be no leaven (se’or) found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened (chamets), even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.
20 – Ye shall eat nothing leavened (chamets); in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread (matstsah).
Ex 13:7 – Unleavened bread (matstsah) shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread (chametz) be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven (se’or) seen with thee in all thy quarters.
They were drinking the pure blood of the grape.
Dt 32:14 – Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.
What were they eating in Lk 22? They were eating the Passover, not crackers and grape juice. This is also mentioned three other times elsewhere in the NT:
Mt 26:2 –Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.
Mt 26:17 – Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread (Passover) the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare (hetoimazo) for thee to eat the passover (lamb)?
18 – And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.
19 – And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready (hetoimazo) the passover.
20 – Now when the even (opsios – nightfall, evening time or after 6:00PM – Num 9:1-3) was come, he sat down with the twelve.
21 – And as they did eat (the Passover was eaten at night, Ex 12:8 – They made ready the Passover that day), he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
22 – And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?
23 – And he answered and said, He that dippeth (embapto – from bapto, meaning to cover with a stain or dye) his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.
24 – The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.
25 – Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.
26 – And as they were eating (the Passover), Jesus (acting out a contract – a contract or a covenant was made when two ate together. There were three things in a covenant; 1 – a list of rules or laws that the stronger of the parties set down, 2 – a sacrifice and 3 – a feast where they broke the bread) took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat (partake); this is (esti – this bread represents) my body (soma – comes from sozo meaning saved – Jesus will save his body, his wife, the church).
27 – And he (still acting out a contract – the Jews always acted out their contracts – Ezk 4:1-8, 5:1-5, Isa 20:1-4) took the cup, and gave thanks (blessed it), and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it (all of the cup);
28 – For this (this cup) is (esti – this cup represents) my blood (this had an idiomatic meaning. The pagans actually took blood and put it into grape juice and drank it – The Blood Covenant by Henry Clay Trumbull) of the new testament (diathike – last will and testament, covenant, or contract), which is shed for many for the remission (aphesis – to pardon and release from prison – same word for forgiveness) of sins.
And again it is mentioned in Mark,
Mk 14:1 – After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death.
Mk 14:12 – And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover (the passover lamb), his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare (hetoimazo) that thou mayest eat the passover?
Mk 14:14 – And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?
15 – And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared (hetoimos): there make ready (hetoimazo) for us.
16 – And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready (hetoimazo) the passover.
17 – And in the evening (opsios – Friday, after 6:00PM) he cometh with the twelve.
18 – And as they sat and did eat (the Passover), Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth (the Passover) with me shall betray me.
19 – And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?
20 – And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth (embapto) with me in the dish.
21 – The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.
22 –And as they did eat (the Passover), Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it (to break bread meant to eat a meal. They said if you cut the bread with a knife, you severed the friendship, it had to be broken – the church, which is his body has to be broken) and gave to them, and said, Take, eat (partake): this is my body.
23 – And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks (blessed it), he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.
24 – And he said unto them, This (cup) is my blood of the new testament (diathike), which is shed for many (but not for every individual).
This is mentioned in one last place in the NT. This following chapter is Thursday night:
John 13:1 – Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
2 – And supper (deipnon) being ended (ginomai – to cause to be or come into being – some say that the Passover is over with right here, but the original text says, and supper having begun, not ended. They’re eating the Passover with the sop in verse 26. Passover cannot possibly be over in this verse. The translators messed this up), the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him;
The writers say that there was a game the Jews played with their children. After each meal they would take a part of the bread that was like a dessert to them and hide it and the children had fun finding it. This was called the afikoman. It was a little piece of bread. It was part of the Passover.
Jn 13:21 – When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
22 – Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.
23 – Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom (this was at the triclinium table, which is also called a dinner bed. To lean on one’s breast or bosom meant to turn over to speak with someone at the feast table or the agape love feast table) one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.
A Manual of Roman Antiquities says, the custom of reclining on couches (accumbendi) was first adopted by the men; but from the period of the Caesars it was allowed also to the women. The place where they supped was anciently called coenaculum, afterwards coenatio (we get the Spanish word cena, which means dinner) or triclinium, because three couches (treis klinai – 3 recliners/bends) were spread around the table for guests to recline upon. On each couch there were commonly three; boys, and young men below seventeen, sat at the foot of the couch. The guests lay with the upper part of the body reclined on the left arm, the head a little raised, the back supported by cushions; the head of the second was opposite the breast of the first, so that if he wanted to speak to him (especially if the thing was secret), he was obliged to lean upon his bosom.
24 – Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him (he is probably in front of John), that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake.
25 – He then lying on Jesus’ breast (to lean back to talk to him) saith unto him, Lord, who is it?
The image below was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci, which is theologically incorrect. We don’t need a Roman Catholic heathen giving us his theology of the last passover. He should’ve just stuck with day job, which he knows best, and leave his theology (guessing) to himself.
26 – Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop (psomion – a fragment, a bit or a morsel of bread that they used to dip into the bitter herbs), when I have dipped (bapto – cover) it. And when he had dipped (embapto) the sop (psomion), he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
When studying the Passover, always look at where Passover is mentioned. The writer of one book (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) will always have some information that another writer doesn’t, which helps to understand and clarify the Passover. When the Jews said Passover they meant 2 different things: They called the night they ate the Passover lamb (that Thursday after 6:00PM) the Passover supper, but when they said the word Passover during the days of Jesus they didn’t mean the Passover supper, they meant the feast of the Passover that began the 1st day of unleavened bread for 7 days (Nisan 15). The title for that was the Passover feast or Passover. The Passover was made ready on Thursday (before 6:00PM). They killed and ate or partook of the Passover on what they called between the evenings. The Rabbis said that it meant the time when the sun started to descend til it was dark (sometime between 6:00-7:00PM). Complete Biblical Library says that the expression between the evenings means between sunset and darkness, which is the time of the offering of the Passover sacrifice (Ex 12:6; Lev 23:5; Num 9:3, 5, 11) and the lighting of the lamps (Ex 30:8). The 1st evening was when the sun was set (Thursday, the night before), and the 2nd evening was when it became dark (Friday, the next day). These evenings were the same day on our calendar. It was always eaten in the evening (Mt 26:19-20, Mk 14:17-18).
The following day Friday (before 6:00PM) was when Jesus died (he was also killed in between the evenings) and it was a preparation day for the weekly Sabbath day (Friday before 6:00PM). Day of preparation was a term for Friday. Friday was called the preparation or the eve of the Sabbath, a feminine concept. Eve was the 1st woman.
Mt 27:62 – Now the next day (the Sabbath, the 7th day), that followed the day of the preparation (paraskeue – Friday), the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,
63 – Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.
64 – Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.
Mk 15:39 – And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.
40 – There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
41 – (Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem.
42 – And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation (paraskeue – Friday, the 6th day of the week, the Passover. What’s the day after the Passover? The 1st day of unleavened bread), that is, the day before the sabbath (prosabbaton – singular, meaning it is talking about The Sabbath, the 7th day, from Friday 6PM-Saturday 6PM. CBL says, Mark explained to his Gentile readers that the preparation day was the same as prosabbaton, the day before the sabbath. Sabbath regulations prohibited many kinds of work, so even meals that would be eaten had to be prepared on the day before a Sabbath, hence, the preparation day),
To the Jewish mind to prepare meant that this was the Day of Preparation. John Gill said that the day of preparation was the day before the Sabbath (Mk 15:42), in which they prepared everything necessary for the sabbath, and therefore was so called. McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopedia says that preparation (paraskeue) in Mk 15:42, Lk 23:54, Jn 19:42, and Mt 27:62, is doubtless the day or evening before the commencement of the Sabbath, with which, at that time, according to the Synoptical Gospels, coincided the first day of the Passover. This day was devoted to preparation for the holyday especially preparing food for the Sabbath. Mark explains the word by the day before the Sabbath (prosabbaton). Every feast, like the Sabbath, had a preparation-day before it, which is often mentioned by the Talmudists. Their days are not like our days, our days start at 12:00AM, whereas their days start at 6:00PM. This is before 6:00PM (sun down) on Thursday and they are preparing to eat the Passover. After 6:00PM is when they ate the last Passover. Preparation (paraskeue – the day on which the Jews made necessary preparation to celebrate a Sabbath or a feast) is mentioned 6 times. Gleason Leonard Archer in his book Encyclopedia of Biblical Difficulties said that the word paraskeue had already by the first century A.D. become a technical term for Friday, since every Friday was the day of preparation for Saturday, that is, the Sabbath. In Modern Greek the word for Friday is paraskeue. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) says that in NT times Friday was called the day of preparation (paraskeue) for the Sabbath (Lk 23:54).
Lk 23:50 – And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just:
51 – (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God.
52 – This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.
53 – And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.
54 – And that day was the preparation (paraskeue), and the sabbath (sabbaton – singular, meaning it was The Sabbath, on the 7th day) drew on.
Drew on is the NT Greek word epiphosko – to grow light or to shine – the Sabbath lights began to shine. It was the lamps that were lit at night, one of the 3 things that they had to do before sun down, 6:00PM Friday. They had to do 3 things before the Sabbath and they had a title for this, which was called the Erubhick. Sometimes the Jews called it Eruv, Erub, in which they had to prepare the meal, light a lamp and pay tithes (this was the whole process of the Erubhick – One must say three things in his house on Friday, when it is getting dark. Have you set aside the tithes [from the fruit, which is to be eaten on the Sabbath]? Have you put up the Erubh? and Light ye the lamp. When one is in doubt whether darkness has set in, he must not separate tithes from [fruit of which he is] certain [that tithes had not been set aside], and he shall not put vessels under process of lavation, and he shall not light a lamp anymore. But he may set aside tithes from [fruit of which he is] not certain [that tithes have been set aside], and he may put up the Erubh and also put his victuals into the stove for the purpose of keeping them warm – The Babylonian Talmud. Every Friday evening was called day of light or the eve of the sabbath.
Jn 19:14 – And it was the preparation (paraskeue) of the passover (this is not talking about the passover lamb that they just ate in chapter 13, this is talking about the whole passover feast, which is the feast of unleavened bread, which started on Nisan 15, that Saturday, on that Sabbath. 1st comes the passover, then the feast of the passover for 7 days – John 13-21 is Thursday through Sunday), and about the sixth hour (12PM): and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!
15 – But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
16 – Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.
John Gill said, the preparation or as the Syriac version reads; or the night of the sixth day: as the Persic version renders it, Friday night. John Lightfoot said, You will ask, whether any day going before the sabbath was called the preparation, among the Hebrews, indeed, it is commonly said the eve of the sabbath. But be it granted; whence is it called the preparation? Either that they prepared themselves for the sabbath; or rather, that they prepared provisions to be eaten on the sabbath; and that by the law, On the sixth day they shall prepare. Whatsoever ye will bake, bake today; and whatsoever ye will seethe, seethe today, Ex 16:5, 23.
John 19:31 – The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation (paraskeue – Friday before 6:00PM), that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
John 19:42 – There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation (paraskeue – Friday before 6:00PM) day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.
When was the 1st mention of preparation?
Ex 16:1 – And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.
2 – And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
3 – And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
4 – Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
5 – And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day (Friday) they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.
The night they ate the Passover and the day Jesus died are one and the same day on a Jewish calendar. Their day began at 6:00PM and ended the next day 6:00PM (they get this from Gen 1:5).
Gen 1:5 – And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Their daytime was divided into hours.
Jn 11:9 – Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.
Their night was divided into watches.
Mk 13:35 – Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
The even watch was from 6:00PM-9:00PM, the midnight watch was from 9:00PM-12:00AM, the cockcrow watch was from 12:00AM-3:00AM – Peter denied him 3 times at midnight hour, which is the 1st cockcrow and at the end of the cockcrow watch – and the morning watch from 3:00AM-6:00AM – the Jews had 3 watches, but they used the 4 Roman watches. The 1st hour of the day was 6:00AM. Jesus was on the cross from the 6th-9th hour (12:00PM-3:00PM our time) on Friday.
Mk 15:25 – And it was the third hour (9:00AM), and they crucified him.
Mk 15:33 – And when the sixth hour (12:00PM) was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour (3:00PM).
34 – And at the ninth hour (3:00PM) Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
35 – And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias.
36 – And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down.
37 – And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
38 – And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
39 – And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.
40 – There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
41 – (Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem.
42 – And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,
They had to get him into the grave before 6:00PM Friday, because of the Sabbath law.
Dt 21:22 – And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:
23 – His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
Jn 19:30 – When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
31 – The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
When a holy day (we get the word holiday from holy day) fell on the Sabbath day it was called a high day (Jn 19:31) it was a double Sabbath. As a matter of fact all feast days were high days. That’s the day the Passover feast (Nisan 15) began. That Friday before 6:00PM (Nisan 14) was a dual preparation day and that Saturday was a dual Sabbath. Friday was the day of preparation for the weekly Sabbath. The farthest they could travel was a Sabbath day’s journey (Acts 1:12 – that was from the farthest encampment in Israel to the temple. It was 3 lengths of a stadia, we get our word stadium or it was 2000 cubits. A cubit is about a foot and a half).
The 1st Passover was in Ex 12, let’s go there:
Ex 12:1 – And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
2 – This month (Nisan – in their Ecclesiastical calendar – containing our part of March and part of April) shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
3 – Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month (the 1st month – Nisan 10) they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
4 – And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.
5 – Your lamb shall be without blemish (Lev 22:19-25), a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
6 – And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it (Lk 22:7 – kill the Passover lamb – not crackers and grape juice) in the evening (Mt 26:19-20, Mk 14:17-18).
In the OT the priests had to examine the lambs they were going to sacrifice at the temple to make sure there were no spots nor blemishes. In this case the head of the household acted as the priest, since this is before the Levitical law and the Levitical priesthood. Henry Clay Trumbull’s The Threshold Covenant says, it is obvious that houses preceded temples, and that the house-father was the earliest priest. Sacrifices for the family were, therefore, within or at the entrance of the family domicile. They had to keep the lamb for 4 days from Nisan 10 (v3) til Nisan 14. John Gill says, “it is remarkable, that on this very day, the tenth of Nisan, four days before the Passover, and so as many days before his sufferings and death, he made his entry into Jerusalem, near to which he was to be offered up (Jn 12:1, 12)”. Is this a coincidence or the sovereignty of God?
Jn 12:1 – Then Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany (bethania – house of dates, the fruit of the palm tree), where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
We have a dilemma here. Why? Because, if this is 6 days before the Passover (Nisan 14 on that Thursday), this means it would fall on the Sabbath. Now we know that Jesus would not break the law of the Sabbath. So, let’s try to figure this out. This could be one of two things, either this is talking about the Feast of the Passover, which is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which starts on Nisan 15 or that Bethany is so close to Jerusalem, that one could travel on the Sabbath, which is called a Sabbath day’s journey. Here is where we put our thinking caps on. Let’s rule out the Feast of unleavened bread for argument sake, scripture would have said it was the feast, which starts on Nisan 15, which would have put Jesus travelling on the 1st day of the week, which is our day Sunday. This is pretty safe to say, but if it was on the Sabbath, then we need to find out where Bethany is located. This is why it is good to know bible maps and their distances. Scripture does not mention cities because it just wants to. God put it there for a reason, question it and study it. Where is Bethany?
Mk 11:1 – And when they came nigh (near) to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples,
Jn 11:18 – Now Bethany was nigh (near) unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs (stadion – our word stadium) off:
So Bethany is near Jerusalem, but how near is it? Is it near enough to consider it a Sabbath day’s journey?
Acts 1:12 – Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day’s journey.
So, if Jesus walked on the Sabbath, it was done within a Sabbath day’s journey, which means He did not break the law. Going back to Ex 12:6, it says, and ye shall keep it (the Passover lamb from v3 on Nisan 10) up until the fourteenth day of the same month… Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a young colt of an ass on Nisan 10, which is on the 1st day of the week, Sunday.
Jn 12:12 – On the next day (Nisan 10 – in v1 it says, 6 days before the Passover, which is the Sabbath – the next day would be Sunday or the first day of the week) much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
13 – Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Mt 21:1 – And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,
2 – Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.
3 – And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.
4 – All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 – Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
6 – And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,
7 – And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.
8 – And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.
9 – And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
10 – And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
Mk 11:1 – And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples,
2 – And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him.
3 – And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.
4 – And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him.
5 – And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt?
6 – And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.
7 – And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him.
8 – And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way.
9 – And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:
10 – Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.
11 – And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.
Lk 19:28 – And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.
29 – And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,
30 – Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither.
31 – And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him.
32 – And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them.
33 – And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt?
34 – And they said, The Lord hath need of him.
35 – And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon.
36 – And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way.
37 – And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;
38 – Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
Jn 12:12 – On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
13 – Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.
14 – And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written,
15 – Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt.
Zec 9:9 – Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Four Days later he dies on Nisan 14 as the Passover lamb. This is a picture of Ex 12:6. Some will say that Jesus died on Wednesday. And this is where we will begin explaining the Wednesday or Friday crucifixion situation. They typically get this from Mt 12.
Mt 12:40 – For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Mt 27:62 – Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,
63 – Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.
Mk 8:31 – And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
In the English language and 20th century thought, this would appear to be a full 72 hours. If these phrases “three days and three nights” or “after three days” or anything similar, are mentioned somewhere else other than the gospels, should we take a look at those also or just disregard it? Let’s take a look.
Esther 4:16 – Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
17 – So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.
Esther 5:1 – Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.
Gen 7:12 – And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
Gen 7:17 – And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.
I Sam 30:12 – And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights.
13 – And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick.
Jonah 1:17 – Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
II Ch 10:3 – And they sent and called him. So Jeroboam and all Israel came and spake to Rehoboam, saying,
4 – Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.
5 – And he said unto them, Come again unto me after three days. And the people departed.
II Ch 10:12 – So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come again to me on the third day.
I K 12:5 – And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.
I K 12:12 – So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day.
Dt 14:28 – At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
Dt 26:12 – When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;
A Summary of Biblical Antiquities by John Williamson Nevin says, in counting time, the Jews were accustomed to reckon any part of a certain period for the whole. Thus, in Scripture we sometimes find a part of a year counted as if it were a whole one, and so also a part of a day. Thus a child was said to be circumcised when it was eight days old, though according to the law this was to take place upon the eighth day.
Gen 17:12 – And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
Lev 12:3 – And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
Lk 1:59 – And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.
Lk 2:21 – And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Gal 3:4 – Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
5 – Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
A Summary of Biblical Antiquities by John Williamson Nevin says, if a child was born in the last hour of the day, that hour was counted as a whole day, and his circumcision might take place any time upon the eighth day from that. It is in this way we are to reckon the time when we are told that our Lord rose three days after his death and that he was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Mk 8:31, Mt 12:40). He was crucified on the afternoon of Friday, which was therefore reckoned the first day of his death; Saturday, during all of which he lay in the sepulchre, was the second: when the first day of the week commenced, on the evening of Saturday, he was still under the power of death, and did not break its bands till about sunrise on Sunday morning; so that it was the third day when he rose. Thus, according to the Jewish way of counting, he was in the sepulchre three days. McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopedia says, the Hebrews had no word expressly answering to the Greek word nuchthemeron (II Co 11:25), or natural day of twenty-four hours, an idea which they expressed by the phrases a night and a day or a day and a night. Thus Daniel 8:14, Unto two thousand and three hundred evening mornings (i.e. days, as it is in our translation), then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. Thus, also, what is called forty days and forty nights in Genesis 7:12, is simply forty days in v 17; wherefore, as it is common in general computations to ascribe a whole day to what takes up only a part of it, when this was done in the Jewish language it was necessary to mention both day and night; hence a part of three days was called by them three days and three nights. Complete Biblical Library says, “The use of nux (as in nux and themeron = nuchthemeron) in the expression three days and three nights should not be taken literally, for on the third day a man said he had not eaten for three days and three nights (I Sam 30:12, 13). The statement may be understood as a pleonastic idiom meaning three days. The idiom is common in the Bible (see especially Mt 12:40; cf. 17:23). There are several significant thirds in the NT. Most significant are the 15 references to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus on the third day, 13 of these in the Synoptic Gospels. Such usage seems always to be calculated from the present perspective of the speaker, so the third day means the day after tomorrow (Num 7:24; Lk 13:32, today, and tomorrow, and the third day). The use of the idiom three days and three nights does not contradict this (Esther 4:16; 5:1)”. To the Jewish mind a part of the day would be the whole day. A part of the body would be a whole body. The term all hands on deck, what does that mean? Does it mean only hands come up on the deck? No, it means the whole body. If I hang out with another believer for a few hours, I would say I hung out with brother so and so yesterday. What does that mean? Does it mean that I hung out with him the whole day? The Jews had the same thinking. A part of something was the whole. It’s ok for us to do it, but it is not ok for the Bible to do it? The Jews had a term for a part being a whole, and they called it Synechdoche. The following question is not a trick question, is Jesus the Passover Lamb? If Jesus is the Passover Lamb and he is (I Co 5:7, Isa 53:7, Jn 1:29, I Pet 1:18-19, Rev 5:7-9, 12), then we must consider the following verses, which we already went through, but we will view it again.
Ex 12:3 – Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
Ex 12:6 – And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
The lamb had to be kept from the 10th until the 14th of Nisan. Now, if Jesus died on a Wednesday, count four days before this and what do you come up with? Saturday, right? Saturday was the Sabbath, the day of rest for man and animals. Would Jesus ride on an animal on the Sabbath? Would Jesus allow the people to pick up palm branches on the Sabbath? He and the people would have been breaking the law if he had died on Wednesday.
Dt 5:14 – But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
Num 15:32 – And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks (or what about palm branches?) upon the Sabbath day (look what happened to him in v36).
Going back to Ex 12:6, where it says, and ye shall keep it (“it” is the Passover lamb from v3 on Nisan 10) up until the fourteenth day of the same month (Nisan). When the priests examined the lambs they had to thumb through the entire body of the lamb because they had to make sure it was without blemish, having no spots nor wrinkle and if they find nothing wrong with it, they would declare and say, we find no fault in him. These same words were the words that Pilate used after examining Jesus.
Lk 23:4 – Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man.
Lk 23:14 – Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him:
Jn 18:38 – Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.
Jn 19:4 – Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.
Jn 19:6 – When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.
God put these words in his mouth from eternity (Isa 46:10, Eccl 3:14-15). This is called the Sovereignty of God. Pilate was a type of priest and offered him for sacrifice. Ex 12:6 also says, and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. Who killed Jesus?
Mt 20:18 – Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
19 – And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.
Mk 15:11 – But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.
12 – And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews?
13 – And they cried out again, Crucify him.
14 – Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.
15 – And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.
Lk 23:20 – Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them.
21 – But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him.
22 – And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go.
23 – And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed.
Jn 19:6 – When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.
Jn 19:14 – And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!
15 – But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
16 – Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.
Acts 2:22 – Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
23 – Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
Acts 4:26 – The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
27 – For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
28 – For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before (pro’orizo – the Greek word for predestinate) to be done.
The Father predestined the death of Jesus.
Isa 53:10 – Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
Rom 8:32 – He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
I Jn 4:10 – Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Mt 16:21 – From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Mt 17:23 – And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.
Jn 2:19 – Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
If Jesus were in the earth 72 hours, then when would he have resurrected? Sometime after 72 hours, right? Which would make it the 4th day, or the 2nd day of the week, Monday. Jesus died sometime before 6:00PM Friday and arose sometime on Sunday, making it the 3rd day.
Lk 24:1 – Now upon the first day of the week (Sunday), very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
2 – And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.
3 – And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 – And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
5 – And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
6 – He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
7 – Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
Lk 24:13 – And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
14 – And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
15 – And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.
16 – But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
17 – And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?
18 – And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?
19 – And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:
20 – And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.
21 – But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day (Sunday) is the third day since these things were done.
Let’s continue with Ex 12.
7 – And they shall take of the blood (of the Passover lamb), and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
Henry Clay Trumbull’s The Threshold Covenant says, the primitive altar of the family would seem to have been the threshold, or door-sill, or entranceway of the home dwelling-place. This is indicated by surviving customs in the East and elsewhere among primitive peoples and by the earliest historic records of the human race. Philo Judaeus, out of his Egyptian Jewish experiences, describing the Jewish Passover festival, speaks of it as the feast diabateria, which the Jews called paskha, Diabateria are offerings before crossing a border, or threshold sacrifices. Later Jewish traditions and customs point to the meaning of the original Passover rite as a crossing over the threshold of the Hebrew homes by Jehovah, and not of his passing by his people in order to their sparing. A custom by which a Hebrew slave became one of the family in a Hebrew household, through having his ear bored with an awl at the door-post of the house, and thereby blood staining the doorway, is connected with the Passover rite by the rabbis.
8 – And they shall eat the flesh (of the Passover lamb) in that night (Nisan 14 – Lev 23:5, Num 9:1-5, 28:16, Ezk 45:21), roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
9 – Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.
10 – And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
11 – And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded (they wore them as pants or shorts), your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste (when they were free men they ate lying down on the triclinium table/dinner bed): it is the LORD’S passover (pecach – to pass over, to cross over or spring over).
12 – For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.
13 – And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over (or cross over or pass through your threshold) you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
The Threshold Covenant says, obviously the figure here employed is of a sovereign accompanied by his executioner, a familiar figure in the ancient East. When he comes to a house marked by tokens of the welcoming covenant, the sovereign will covenant-cross that threshold, and enter the home as a guest, or as a member of the family; but where no such preparation has been made for him, his executioner will enter on his mission of judgment.
14 – And this day (of Passover) shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. (The Passover is a perpetual covenant, it is forever)
God said that the Passover shall be a memorial. Memorial is the OT Hebrew word zikrown, meaning to mark or remember. It comes from zakar meaning to remember. What was it Jesus said to do in Lk 22 and I Co 11? Did he not say, Do this in remembrance of me? Do what? The Passover. The Passover is a perpetual covenant, which is now spiritual.
15 – Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread (matstsah – from Nisan 14-21); even the first day ye (Nisan 14) shall put away leaven (se’or – leaven is a type of sin) out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread (chamets) from the first day (Nisan 14) until the seventh day (Nisan 21), that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
Jesus told the apostles to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Mt 16:5 – And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.
6 – Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
7 – And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.
8 – Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
9 – Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
10 – Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
11 – How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?
12 – Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
In the NT this is what we are to cleanse our house from (Heb 3:6), from false doctrine. This is the real leaven in the NT. False doctrine is sin and a little false doctrine spreads and corrupts the whole lump (I Co 5:6, Gal 5:9). Let’s continue with Ex 12.
16 – And in the first day (Nisan 14) there shall be an holy convocation (miqra – called out – in the NT it is the word church or ekklesia meaning the called out), and in the seventh day (Nisan 21) there shall be an holy convocation (miqra) to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.
17 –And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread (matstsah); for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.
18 – In the first month (Nisan), on the fourteenth day of the month (Nisan 14) at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread (matstsah), until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.
19 – Seven days (Nisan 14-21) shall there be no leaven (se’or) found in your houses (whose house are we? – Heb 3:6, II Jn 10-11): for whosoever eateth that which is leavened (chamets), even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.
20 – Ye shall eat nothing leavened (chametz); in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread (matstsah).
21 – Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover (pecach).
22 – And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop (‘ezowb – this aromatic plant is a type of mint. It contains a volatile oil as a purifying agent), and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
The Threshold Covenant says, it is strange that the Hebrew word for threshold (saph) in this narrative is translated bason in our English Bible. It is because of this that the identity of the Passover sacrifice with the primitive Threshold Covenant is so generally lost sight of. This word saph occurs many times in the OT text, and in nine cases out of ten it is translated threshold, or door, or door-post, or the like. It would seem that it should be so translated in this instance. In some cases where saph is translated bason, or cup, the term threshold would be more appropriate, as when included in an enumeration of the temple furniture. Bronze and silver thresholds were often mentioned in the furniture of Babylonian and Assyrian temples; and they might well have had mention among the Hebrews. It is possible, however, that there was a cavity, as a blood receptacle in the threshold of houses or temples where sacrifices were so frequent; and this would account for the use of the word saph as bason, even where it referred to the threshold of the door. Rabbi Ishmael, a Talmudist, in explaining the passage descriptive of the institution of the Passover in Egypt, says, one dug a hole in the earthen threshold, and slaughtered into that, for saph signifies here nothing else than threshold.
23 – For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over (pacach) the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.
24 – And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.
25 – And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.
26 – And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
27 – That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’S passover (pecach), who passed over (pacach) the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.
28 – And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
29 – And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.
30 – And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
31 – And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said.
32 – Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.
33 – And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.
34 – And the people took their dough before it was leavened (chamets), their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.
35 – And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:
36 – And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.
37 – And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.
38 – And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.
39 – And they baked unleavened (matstsah) cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened (chamets); because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.
40 – Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
41 – And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.
42 – It is a night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.
43 – And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover (pecach): There shall no stranger eat thereof:
44 – But every man’s servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof (Judas Iscariot did not eat of the last Passover, he was not circumcised in ear and heart).
45 – A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof.
46 – In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.
This was fulfilled in Jesus.
Jn 19:32 – Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him.
33 – But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:
34 – But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
35 – And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.
36 – For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.
Ps 22:14 – I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
Ps 34:20 – He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
The Passover was an ordinance, which was a ritual from the OT, which Jesus told us Do this in remembrance of me, but we are to do this spiritually and this is where the churches miss it. The rituals were blotted out:
Eph 2:15 – Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Col 2:14 – Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross (he nailed the ordinances to the cross. When two contracting Jews wanted to do away with a contract, they had to have the existing contract and the new contract and they had to have two or more witnesses before them while this was being performed. After the new contract was agreed upon, then the old contract or the old covenant was nailed to a wood post);
15 – And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly (nailing it on the cross), triumphing over them in it.
16 – Let no man therefore judge you in meat (the dietary law), or in drink (the drink offerings), or in respect of an holyday (the Passover was a holy day), or of the new moon (every month in the beginning of the month of their Ecclesiastical calendar they blew trumpets), or of the sabbath days:
17 – Which are a shadow of things to come (the Passover was a shadow); but the body is of Christ.
A sister chapter to this is II Co 3 –
II Co 3:1 – Do we begin again to commend ourselves? (When a man commends himself he is wicked) or need we, as some others, epistles (an epistle was a letter that was carried by an apostle) of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? (We don’t need a letter there commending you)
2 – Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: (Our lives are read of men, seeing Christ in us, in our walk daily)
3 – Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written (eggrapho – to engrave – it is perfect tense, passive and a participle – an example of a perfect tense is when Jesus said, it is finished, speaking of the atonement of all believers of all time – it was done in eternity, but it is being performed in time – the law of God is being written daily in our hearts – it is not something that is written all in one shot when you are spiritually birthed (new birth) and boom you know the whole Bible now – that is not how it works) not with ink, but with the Spirit (the truth) of the living God; not in tables of stone (Ex 31:18, Dt 4:13, 9:10), but in fleshy tables of the heart (Ezk 36:26, Heb 8:10, 10:16, Rom 5:5).
4 – And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
5 – Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency (hikanotes – ability or competence) is of God;
6 – Who also hath made us able (hikanoo – fit, able, competent or worthy) ministers (diakonos – it was a household slave that didn’t get paid. He washed feet and waited on tables serving food. We get our word deacon. We are deacons and we serve legal food to sheep) of the New Testament (diatheke – contract or last will and testament); not of the letter (gramma – writing – letter of the law written with ink), but of the spirit (of the law): for the letter (of the law written with ink – the rituals) killeth, but the spirit (of the law) giveth life (zoopoieo – to make alive).
7 – But if the ministration (diakonia) of death (the letter, the rituals), written and engraven in stones (tables of stones), was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away (katargeo – same word as I Co 13:8, 10 – the letter or the rituals or the performance of the law is done away with, not the law itself):
8 – How shall not the ministration (diakonia) of the spirit (the very image or the spiritual doesn’t vary from the shadow, the literal) be rather glorious?
9 – For if the ministration (diakonia) of condemnation (katakrisis – to condemn someone – what condemns us is the rituals of the law) be glory, much more doth the ministration (diakonia) of righteousness exceed in glory.
10 – For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. (By reason of the real thing, the spiritual)
11 – For if that (the rituals of the law) which is done away (katargeo) was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious (The spiritual).
12 – Seeing then that we have such hope (of the spiritual), we use great (polus – much, often, many or plenteous) plainness (parhesia – same word used in Jn 10:24, 11:14 – it means out spoken, to be blunt, frankness – has the idea of not beating around the bush, not going around in circles – Col 4:6) of speech:
13 – And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished (katargeo – Eph 2:15, Col 2:14): (this happened in Ex 34:33)
14 – But their minds were blinded (and so is anyone else who can’t see the spiritual): for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away (katargeo) in Christ.
15 – But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. (They cannot see the spiritual)
16 – Nevertheless when it (when we) shall turn (repent) to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
17 – Now the Lord is that Spirit (the truth): and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (but not to use this liberty freely to sin or cause some other believer to stumble).
18 – But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit (the truth) of the Lord.
The Passover is not done away with, only the rituals or the performance of it is. We keep the spiritual Passover. God said he changes not in Mal 3:6 and that he is the same yesterday today and forever in Heb 13:8. Change is the Hebrew word shanah meaning to mutate or to duplicate. God does not mutate the Passover of the OT into crackers and grape juice in the NT. God does not duplicate the Passover and have two meanings for the Passover in the NT. There is only one Passover and it is not crackers and grape juice. The Passover of the OT is the same Passover of the NT, it’s just spiritual now and it always has been. There were 4 things at the Passover:
1 – A Passover lamb without blemish
2 – Unleavened bread
3 – 4 cups – the 3rd cup was called the cup of blessing
4 – Bitterherbs, which was called wormwood
Now the Passover is spiritual and Jesus is the Passover lamb:
I Co 5:7 – Purge out therefore the old leaven (the old man), that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened (new man). For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:
Now we are the bread:
I Co 10:17 – For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.
I Co 5:6 – Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
7 – Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
8 – Therefore let us keep the feast (of the Passover), not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
3 – The 3rd cup of the 4 cups was called the cup of blessing, which Jesus gave thanks for:
I Co 10:16 – The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion (the fellowship) of the blood (the cup equals the blood baptism) of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion (the fellowship) of the body (the bread equals the body, which is the church – Col 1:18, 24, Eph 1:22-23) of Christ?
The origin of the Four Cups dates back to rabbinical traditions in the Jerusalem Talmud (Pesachim 10:1). Although it is not in the Bible and it was a Rabbinical tradition, Jesus accepted this tradition.
Bitter herbs was something the Jews called wormwood. They said that wormwood was some great ordeal in their lives or fiery trials, or the tribulations. The bitter herbs (in the dish) is what the sop (the morsel of bread) was covered in (Jn 13:26):
Jn 13:26 – Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
Jesus acted this out as he broke the bread and took the sop (Mt 26:26-28), which is a piece of bread, which is his body, the church and covered or baptized it in the cup of bitter herbs, which is a death (self denial, daily cross) and the fiery trials (the narrow way, the true baptism) which is to try us (I Pet 4:12) and conform us to his image (Rom 8:29).
Let’s go back to I Co 11:
I Co 11:17 – Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.
18 – For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.
19 – For there must be also heresies (hairesis – a choosing for oneself, a taking for oneself – doing things one’s own way) among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
20 – When ye come together (on the 1st day of the week, Sunday) therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper (not to eat the last Passover. The original text says, it is not of the Lord a supper to eat. They had an agape love feast. They gathered together on the 1st day of the week and gathered together the poor and took an offering for them and gave them some money to live on and food to eat).
21 – For in eating (of the agape love feast) every one taketh before other his own supper: and one (of the poor) is hungry, and another is drunken.
22 – What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in (before coming to the agape love feast)? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not (the poor)? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.
23 – For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night (Thursday) in which he was betrayed took bread (eating and drinking and separating):
24 – And when he had given thanks, he brake it (the church must be broken), and said, Take, eat (partake – it didn’t necessarily mean to eat literal food – Jn 4:31-34): this (the bread) is my body (the church), which is broken for you: this do (partake in the church) in remembrance of me.
25 – After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup (this death) is the new testament in my blood (the cup or death equals blood baptism): this do ye (do what? die), as oft as ye drink it (the cup or the death – go through the blood baptism), in remembrance of me.
26 – For as often as ye eat this bread (partake in the church), and drink this cup (go through the blood baptism), ye do shew (a Passover term – one of the titles for the Passover is hagadah meaning to shew forth) the Lord’s death (in you) till he come. (This is the daily Passover)
27 –Wherefore whosoever shall eat (partake) this bread (the body, the church), and drink this cup (death) of the Lord, unworthily (a Passover term – it meant if you touched or came near a dead body you could not partake in the Passover – Num 9:1-13 – they covered these dead bodies before the 3 annual feasts in Ex 23:14-17, 34:18-23, Dt 16:16 so that the Jews of the diaspora or the dispersed could see these bodies from afar off and not go near these dead unclean bodies on their way to Jerusalem. They were covered in white limestone, which was called whited sepulchers – Jesus marked out the dead bodies we were to separate from in Mt 23:27), shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 – But let a man examine (dokimazo – to try or test in fire) himself, and so let him eat (partake) of that bread (the church), and drink of that cup (death).
29 – For he that eateth (spiritually) and drinketh (spiritually) unworthily (not separating from false teachers and their doctrines), eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning (another Passover term – it was talking about the manna – man pronounced mawn in the Hebrew, meaning what is it – Ex 16:10-16 – they couldn’t discern the bread) the Lord’s body (the church, the bread).
30 – For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
31 – For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
32 – But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord (Heb 12:5-8), that we should not be condemned with the world.
33 – Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat (at the agape feast), tarry (ekdechomai – wait for the poor to get there) one for another.
34 – And if any man hunger (other than the poor), let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.
The historians (Backhouse and Tylor, Schaff Herzog, Williston Walker, McClintock and Strong among others) say that this agape love feast came about in 158 A.D. during the persecution of the Ceasers on the church. They had to gather in caves, catacombs tunnels under Rome, where they would bury a lot of Christians in the early church. They would bring a little flask of grape juice and a little piece of bread. This broke off of the agape love feast. This became part of the liturgy or ritual at the end of the 2nd century, but the crackers and grape juice didn’t come off of the Passover, it came off of the agape love feast when they met on the 1st day of the week. Some church historians say don’t do it, but the others will not tell you not to do it but they will tell you where it came from. The reason they met on the 1st day of the week was because Jesus resurrected on that day. Not because they changed the sabbath as some suppose.
This is the daily Passover yesterday, now and forever. Crackers and grape juice, the mass and what they term as communion is false doctrine. Selah