By: Jim Josephson
Introduction
In his book, The Real Jesus, Garner Ted Armstrong painted a vivid and comprehensive picture of the events, which occurred on the day Jesus Christ died, the 14th day of the first month (Nisan or Abib) of the Jewish/Hebrew calendar. That day is called the preparation day in the New Testament.
As the New Testament clearly speaks, Jesus Christ died at the 9th hour (corresponding to three o’clock in the afternoon) on the preparation day. The 9th hour of the 14th day of the first month was the time of day at which the Passover Lamb was sacrificed in the Temple at Jerusalem.
Regarding the very hour of Christ’s death, Mr. Armstrong wrote, “If this temporal “coincidence” between the sacrifice of the Passover lamb and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is striking, its spiritual implications are absolutely overwhelming.”
Regarding the Old Testament Passover, the Lord’s Supper and the death of Jesus Christ, the Intercontinental Church of God teaches that:
- The Old Testament Passover Lamb (Exodus 12:6) was sacrificed in the evening (specifically beyn ha arbayim - between the evenings) of the 14th day of the first month, toward the end of the day. Moses and the Children of Israel then ate the Passover lamb meal during the night of, the beginning of the 15th day of the first month, which is the First Day of Unleavened Bread.
- Jesus Christ did not eat the Old Testament Passover meal on the night he was betrayed (I Corinthians 11:23), the beginning of the 14th day of the first month, in the upper room with His disciples. Rather Jesus Christ ate a supper with His disciples; a meal called the Lord’s Supper (I Corinthians 11:20). Although made ready in a Passover setting (all the leavened bread having been removed from the Upper Room) the supper that Christ and the disciples ate before He introduced the foot-washing and the New Covenant, occurred some 20 hours before the Passover lamb (as specified in Exodus 12:6 and Leviticus 23:5) was sacrificed.
- Jesus Christ died on the 14th day of the first month, at the same time of day that the High Priest was sacrificing the Passover lamb in the Temple that year. Jesus Christ died beyn ha arbayim of the 14th day of the first month, as the law required, and the “spiritual implications are absolutely overwhelming.”
As the Passover Lamb (Leviticus 23:5 and Exodus 12:6 – called the LORD’s Passover) was sacrificed on the 14th day of the first month, beyn ha arbayim, Christ also died, on the 14th day of the first month, beyn ha arbayim. The Apostles, along with the 1st Century Church of God, understood this truth, allowing that Paul could confidently write: Jesus Christ our Passover (lamb implied), is sacrificed for us (I Corinthians 5:7).
The transference of symbolism from a physical lamb to the actual Son of God, the true Lamb of God, was complete at that exact moment in history. History and the Scriptures provide ample and evidential proof to this fact. The timing of Christ’s death was necessary, as His death was properly planned, predetermined, and foreordained to occur simultaneously with the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb of Judah that year.
In simplistic terms, the Intercontinental Church of God teaches that the Passover Lamb was sacrificed toward the end of the 14th day and not at the beginning of the 14th day. Consequently, the meal Jesus Christ ate with his disciples on the night He was betrayed (at the beginning of the 14th) was not the Statutory (Exodus 12) Passover meal, for the Statutory Passover meal was never consumed at the beginning of the 14th.
Not intentionally but by reason of the truth maintained, the Intercontinental Church of God presents a conundrum in the minds of most other Churches of God, by teaching the truth that Jesus Christ did not eat the Old Testament Passover Meal on the night He was betrayed. Why does the Intercontinental Church of God teach this? What justification does it have to teach such?
How is it that the Intercontinental Church of God teaches that the Passover lamb was sacrificed toward the end of the 14th day of the first month, as the 14th day was nearing an end?
How is it that the Intercontinental Church of God teaches that the Passover meal was consumed on the night of the First Day of Unleavened Bread, the beginning of the 15th day of the first month?
This study will clarify and will provide ample Scriptural evidence explaining why the Intercontinental Church of God is correct in teaching these truths. We will let the very Word of God teach us and define its own terms.
NOTE: The rest of the article is available as a PDF download. Click on the "PDF Download" link at the top of the page. The rest of the article will discuss the following topics.
- Part I: According to the Scriptures, when does the day end?
- Part II: Concerning the Sequence of Events as Recorded in Exodus 12
- Part III: The Events of the Passover as recorded in the New Testament and the Time of Christ’s Death – What it reveals!
