Panoramic View of Old City Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives

Good day, beloved,

Sorry I’m running late this week! My family is running me this week. 🙂 Joshua had an medical test this morning and now I have some time and quiet. 🙂 My family is walking through the Holy Week. And we are using Grapevine Studies as well as Ray van der Laan’s Death and Resurrection of the Messiah. So wonderful! I get so excited. And then I am working on Esther too and the Bible is coming together for me, beloved. I get so excited for you! The Bible can do the same for you. Studying the timeline of the Bible, the context, the Hebrew, the Greek, ooh!

I want to take my time today on the “time”line of Jesus from the Passover meal until His death. I’m thinking I’ll just used Scripture reference links. If you wish to look them up, please bless yourself with the knowledge of His Word. 🙂

First off let’s begin with…when was Passover (when did Jesus die…)?

Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan, which typically falls in March or April of the Gregorian calendar. Passover is a spring festival, so the 14th day of Nisan begins on the night of a full moon after the northern vernal equinox.To ensure that Passover did not start before spring, the tradition in ancient Israel held that the first day of Nisan would not start until the barley was ripe, being the test for the onset of spring. If the barley was not ripe, or various other phenomena indicated that spring was not yet imminent, an intercalary month (Adar II) would be added. However, since at least the 4th century, the date has been fixed mathematically.

And just so we are all on the same page, the Passover is celebrated because…

In the narrative of the Exodus, the Bible tells that God helped theChildren of Israel escape slavery in Egypt by inflicting ten plagues upon the Egyptians before the Pharaoh would release his Israelite slaves; the tenth and worst of the plagues was the slaughter of the first-born. The Israelites were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a spring lamb and, upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord knew to pass overthese homes, hence the name of the holiday.

So let’s begin:

1. Passover began at sundown. This was the commandment from the Lord.  (Exodus 12:18 ) So, when Jesus”…had told [the disciples]; and they prepared the Passover.¹⁷And when it was evening, He came with the Twelve [apostles]. (Okay, so maybe a little Scripture..)

2. Passover would have taken three to four hours, given all that our Precious Lord taught. Seeing as sundown in Israel would be around 7pm, Jesus would have walked them through the Seder.  Mark 14: 16-25 Anyone planning on reading that through with their family tonight or tomorrow?? Please do! We will be doing the Seder meal tomorrow. 🙂

3. He prayed for His beloved disciples. He prayed for us. Oh, beloved, read this! John 17

4. He washed their feet. He walked them through His last hours (they didn’t understand.) He named His betrayer (they didn’t understand.) He told them they would fall away (they said they wouldn’t.)

5. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Mark 14:26

A panoramic of the entire Mount of Olives (Har Hazeiythim) taken from the East Gate of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Israel

Now, best of all guesses here, 🙂 it would have been 11 or 12pm. Best scenario. So we give the disciples a bad rap here as when they got the garden they fell asleep…okay, I have to go to church. I’m going to stop for today. 🙂 I’ll get up early and go at it tomorrow. 🙂 Love you guys. 🙂