PROBLEMS WITH PA SSION WEEK

Transcription

1 PROBLEMS WITH PA SSION WEEK There is no set of events more important in e history of is Ear an ose involving e dea and resurrection of Jesus. The Messianic prophecies of e Holy Scriptures and e sacrificial system of e Hebrew people pointed forward to e great sacrifice which Jesus made for all humanity at e cross. The story of redemption is e story of Jesus life and it is told most forcefully and clearly by e events at surrounded e sacrifice of e sinless One. More an at any oer time, e character of Jesus was revealed rough ese events. Alough He is e Creator of e Universe and e King of kings, He humbly submitted to e scourge of His enemies ereby demonstrating e great love He has even for ose who rebel against Him. At no time has e Universe ever seen such a demonstration of unselfish love as at e cross of Jesus. Not only are e events immediately surrounding e crucifixion, dea, and resurrection of Jesus of utmost importance for a proper understanding of e power and character of God and His great love for His fallen creatures, certain events at led up to Passion Week also have an important bearing on e conflict between Jesus and e Jewish rulers. All of ese events taken togeer serve as e strongest evidence of Jesus mission in revealing e character of God to us and e on-looking Universe. We do well to study and contemplate ese events oroughly and often as ey reveal to us e nature of God s character. It is only rough a careful study of ese events at we learn of e great treasures of Passion Week. The landmark events of Passion Week are well known: e triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, e crucifixion on Good Friday, and e resurrection on Easter Sunday morning. There are many passages in scripture wi bits of information at serve to support ese events. But ere are two pieces of e puzzle at just don t fit e traditional teaching: e sign of e prophet Jonah (Matew 12:39-40) and e six days before Passover at John says Jesus arrived in Beany followed directly by e dinner at Simon s home at evening and e next day by e triumphal entry (John 12:1-12). Alough Christian tradition places e triumphal entry on e first day of e week, ere is noing in scripture at tells us directly and explicitly on what day of e week e triumphal entry actually occurred. A brief review of ese issues will expose e enormous problems for e traditional teaching regarding two of e ree landmark events of Passion Week. Jesus said He would be ree days and ree nights in e heart of e Ear just as Jonah was ree days and ree nights in e belly of e fish. It doesn t matter what logic one uses to try to understand e amount of time Jesus was in e tomb, a Friday afternoon rough Sunday morning time period simply does not include ree days and ree nights. We can rationalize at ree days and ree nights should really mean just ree days, but at isn t what Jesus said. We can argue at e Jews counted days by e meod of inclusive reckoning, where any part of e day counts for an entire day, reasoning at so long as any part of e day is included, e entire day and night must be considered included. But at meod of counting is easily discredited by scripture. Some oer line of reasoning might be created to support e traditional teaching of Passion Week. Regardless of any of is, e ree days and ree nights of e sign of Jonah simply is not fulfilled by e traditional teaching. The conclusion can be made from is at, according to e traditional view of Holy Week, eier Jesus was an incompetent prophet who didn t understand what

2 Problems wi Passion Week - 2 was about to happen to Him or He was a quickwitted, clever deceiver. The second issue is at Jesus arrived in Beany six days before Passover, which causes a different kind of serious problem for e traditional teaching of e events of Passion Week. If we presume, as e traditional view does, at Jesus arrived in Beany on e weekly Sabba, had e feast at Simon s house at evening on what we call Saturday night, followed by e triumphal entry e next day on Palm Sunday, en counting forward six days from His arrival in Beany brings us to e six day of e week Friday for Passover. If Passover was on e six day of e week at year, en e preparation day for Passover would be e fif day of e week and not e six day of e week. The immediate conclusion is at Jesus was not crucified on Good Friday, but on Good Thursday. In order for Jesus to rise on Sunday morning, He would en be resting in e tomb before sunset on Thursday, and would spend all day Friday and all day Sabba in e tomb, and be resurrected on e first day of e week. According to e meod of counting by inclusive reckoning, Jesus would be resurrected on e four day, not e ird day. If Palm Sunday really is e day of e triumphal entry, en Passion Week should include Good Thursday, not Good Friday. This certainly doesn t match e traditional teaching regarding e day of His dea. Conversely, if one presumes at e Passover coincided wi e weekly Sabba at year, as e traditional view does, en counting backwards e six days before Passover brings one to Sunday as e day Jesus arrived in Beany. That night, now e second day of e week, would be e time for e dinner at Simon s house, followed by e triumphal entry e next day still e second day of e week, on what we call Monday. This would give us Palm Monday, not Palm Sunday. This certainly doesn t match e traditional teaching regarding e feast at Simon s and e triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Indeed, e traditional teaching of e events of Passion Week has some serious problems. Which ever anchor point one wishes to cling to makes no difference, John s statement leaves us one day short of e required number of days for e traditional teaching to be supported. In fact, when every aspect of e story of Passion Week as described in Holy Scripture is taken into account, e traditional teaching has impossibly serious defects. We are forced to recognize e possibility at ere was no such ing as Palm Sunday or Good Friday. The reason for e tortured traditional teaching of Passion Week is at, at some time in e past, in an effort to reconcile Christian teachings and practices wi e more popular pagan teachings and practices, religious leaders made slight, but significant, alterations to e story so at e traditions of e story we understand today are somewhat different from e story told by e writers of scripture. We know from history at such compromises were made. Beginning in e early part of e second century, or perhaps even earlier, e church at Rome switched from celebrating e day of e LORD s resurrection in connection wi Passover to celebrating it in connection wi e pagan festival of Easter. The controversy between e churches in Asia and e church at Rome and ose at followed her lead lasted until e fif century when e practice of keeping e LORD s festivals virtually died. Part of e controversy is evidenced by e visit Polycarp, e bishop of Smyrna, made to Anicetus, e bishop of Rome, in A.D. 162 to discuss e Paschal controversy. Polycarp and oers in e East always kept e feast on e 14 of Nisan no matter on what day of e week it fell, while in Rome it was always observed on Sunday, and e day of e LORD s dea on Friday. Noing was resolved by eir meeting as Anicetus did not wish to offend Polycarp who had been a disciple of John, who was a disciple of Jesus Himself, and who celebrated Passover wi Him. In 190, Victor became e bishop of Rome and subsequently, in a letter to Polycrates, e bishop of Smyrna, demanded at e churches in Asia stop observing Passover and begin celebrating Easter, or be excommunicated. The churches in Asia at had been nurtured by Paul, John, and oer apostles, alough only a small minority when compared wi e many churches under e leadership of Rome, continued to observe e sacred festivals of e LORD for many years and suffered persecution because of it. Celebration of e LORD s festivals in e Eastern churches was eventually extinguished by civil legislation at provided punishment by exile or dea. The last such law was issued in 432. The History of e Church, Eusebius, pp ; Caolic

3 Problems wi Passion Week - 3 Encyclopedia.com, Anicetus; Orodox Church in America [ Sermons on e Twelve Festivals, The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop, pp Bible students should not be surprised to find at various time elements important in scripture have been compromised by popular religions. The LORD gave Daniel a vision, recorded in Daniel 7, of a terrible beast and a Little Horn who spoke proud and blasphemous ings against e Most High, mistreated His faiful people, and ought to change times and laws. For is, e Little Horn is condemned to dea in e day of judgment and God s people are vindicated. This appears to be e same Little Horn in Daniel 8:24 who Daniel is certain is successful in whatever it does. John tells us in Revelation 13:3 at e whole world follows e beast in wonder. This seems to be e beast upon whom e Little Horn resides. The Little Horn s desire to change times and laws encompasses God s entire system of worship. Daniel 7 is in at part of e Book of Daniel written in Aramaic, and verse 25 is e passage at tells us e Little Horn intends to change times and laws. The Aramaic word here for times is = zemnim, which means appointed times or appointed seasons or sacred festival seasons. This is e Aramaic equivalent of e Hebrew word = moedim, which encompasses e entire system of worship wi all e LORD s sacred festivals, as well as any oer appointment times God might have. The fundamental meaning for bo e Aramaic zemnim and e Hebrew moedim is e appointment times. This raises several questions related to e events of Passion Week which occurs during e time of Passover and e Feast of Unleavened Bread. Several events of is festival season were required to be done on dates set certain by e LORD rough Moses. See Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23. The paschal lamb was selected on e 10 of e mon, it was slain and its body roasted on e 14 of e mon, e Passover meal was eaten on e 15 of e mon, and e day of first fruits was celebrated on e day after e Sabba at fell wiin is festival. This is e pattern of practice e LORD instructed His people to follow for all time to come and it is e pattern of practice we can expect to find in e record of e gospels. These dates are part of e appointment times of e LORD and we should expect at ey would play an important role in e events of Passion Week. On ree separate occasions Jesus told His disciples at He must go to Jerusalem to die and at ree days later he would rise again. Matew 16:21; 17:22; 20:17-19; Mark 8:31; 9:30-32; 10:32-34; Luke 9:22-27; 9:43b-45; 18:31-34; John 11:25. In addition to ese, ere is e more specific statement regarding e sign of Jonah at He would be ree days and ree nights in e heart of e Ear. Based on ese prophetic statements, ere are four questions at set e stage for is study. First, considering e predictions in ese statements, did Jesus have an appointment time wi dea? Certainly. Second, did He have an appointment time for e resurrection? Surely. Third, did Jesus specify e amount of time at would transpire between ese two events? Positively. And four, does e Little Horn have any interest in deceiving people regarding e time of ese events? Absolutely. By changing e way we interpret a few words in scripture, e story of Passion Week has been made e foundation for establishing a totally different system of worship contrary to God s instructions to His people on how He wants His people to worship Him. The weekly day of worship was changed from e LORD s Sabba to Sunday, e spurious day of worship promoted by e ancient pagan religions of Ashtore, Baal, Mira, Ra, and oers. The Little Horn power has also sought to abolish as merely ceremonial all e festivals of e LORD, which He declared to be holy. Leviticus 23:7, 8, 20, 21, 24, 27, 35, 36. Indeed, e Little Horn has been very successful in all it has done to alter and/or abolish e LORD s system of worship. The importance of is type of study cannot be underestimated. The investigation of tru, especially e tru about God and His system of worship, is always wor e time and effort invested. The doctrines we embrace are to be based on e most sound evidence and reasoning, and are always to be subject to investigation. Those who teach scripture are to be vigorous in e presentation of e tru to ose who will listen. However, we are not to believe at our understanding of scripture is complete or at our doctrines will never need refinement or correction. Ellen White wrote about it is way:

4 Problems wi Passion Week - 4 Investigation of Doctrine. There is no excuse for anyone in taking e position at ere is no more tru to be revealed, and at all our expositions of Scripture are wiout an error. The fact at certain doctrines have been held as tru for many years by our people, is not a proof at our ideas are infallible. Age will not make error into tru, and tru can afford to be fair. No true doctrine will lose anying by close investigation. Counsels to Writers and Editors, page 35. [Emphasis added.] Agitate, agitate, agitate! The subjects which we present to e world must be to us a living reality. It is important at in defending e doctrines which we consider fundamental articles of fai, we should never allow ourselves to employ arguments at are not wholly sound. These may avail to silence an opposer, but ey do not honor e tru. We should present sound arguments, at will not only silence our opponents, but will bear e closest and most searching scrutiny... Counsels to Writers and Editors, page 40. Wiin e Seven-day Adventist Church, no one has written more about church doctrine an Ellen White. Yet she indicates in ese statements at even her own teachings must be subject to investigation and may need to be refined by future study. The Holy Spirit did not stop working on e hearts and minds of men and women to uncover new gems of light and develop a more complete understanding of God after e dea of Ellen White. Ellen White appears to accept e ree days and ree nights as a literal time period. Alough published in several different sources, she has made only two statements regarding Jonah's time in e fish and only one of ose two statements says anying regarding Jesus' time in e tomb relative to Jonah's experience. In neier statement does she attempt to explain away e words of Jesus wi respect to e literal meaning of ree days and ree nights eier for Jonah's time in e belly of e fish or for Jesus' time in e heart of e Ear. Here are her words: Now e Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in e belly of e fish ree days and ree nights. Prophets and Kings, page 268. And He sighed deeply in His spirit, and sai, Why do is generation seek after a sign? There shall no sign be given unto it, but e sign of e prophet Jonas. As Jonah was ree days and ree nights in e belly of e whale, Christ was to be e same time in e heart of e ear. Desire of Ages, page 406. Her words here are an exact echo of e words spoken by Jesus to ose who doubted at He was working wi e Spirit of God. Throughout e record of scripture, ere are only ree anchor points at serve as e foundation of an accurate understanding of e time elements of e events of Passion Week: (1) e time of e resurrection, (2) e leng of time Jesus rested in e tomb, and (3) e time of Jesus arrival in Beany before e dinner at Simon s house and e triumphal entry at followed e next day. Naturally, is study relates all e events of Passion Week to ese ree anchor points. The first event can be established by a review of e stories of e women and disciples finding e tomb of Jesus empty. This e only anchor point at can be established totally independently of any oer parts of e story. The second time element is established in relation to e event of e resurrection and is dependent on first determinating when e resurrection took place. The determination of e amount of time Jesus rested in e tomb will also establish e day on which Passover was celebrated, and from is e ird anchor point of when Jesus arrived in Beany can be established. From is date, e dinner at Simon s house followed e next day by e triumphal entry can is established. This study will address e time issues of Passion Week in is order. This study seeks to follow e evidence in scripture regarding e time each of ese events took place. It does not seek to exonerate e traditional teaching of Palm Sunday, Good Friday, or e Easter Sunday morning sunrise resurrection. The traditions of Passion Week are not more important an e record of scripture regarding e events of at period. This study will address each of e ree anchor points of Passion Week and show at each of e ree landmark teachings of e traditional view is contrary to e story as told in all of scripture. This introduction would not be complete wiout

5 Problems wi Passion Week - 5 providing a sense of e importance of is study. There are at least eight reasons why is study and its conclusions are important. Some of ese conclusions may be startling as ey are profoundly contrary to e commonly held view of ese events. First on e list of my concerns is biblical accuracy. The traditional view at Jesus was in e tomb from Friday evening until Sunday morning is contrary to e words of Jesus regarding how long He would be in e heart of e Ear. When confronted by e scribes and Pharisees for a sign at He has been sent by e Faer, Jesus cites e sign of Jonah, and e time element to which He directed eir attention was e ree days and ree nights at Jonah was in e belly of e fish. Why did Jesus say just as Jonah... if it was not just at same time period of ree days and ree nights at He wanted em to find as e evidence at He was sent from heaven? Jesus pointed em to is very time period as e only piece of future evidence at He had been sent from God. By teaching a time period different from at taught by Jesus, is prophecy of Jesus is made to appear to be unfulfilled and Jesus is made to appear to be incompetent or a liar by modern Christians. The format of a Friday crucifixion Sunday morning resurrection is contrary to at least six (6) Bible passages: Matew 12:38-40; 16:4; 27:63; Mark 10:34; Luke 11:29-30; & 24:21. Teaching at which is contrary to scripture is wrong. Second, Jesus declared at e sign we could count on as e deciding factor at He was sent by e Faer would be e sign of Jonah, and He specified at He would be in e heart of e Ear ree days and ree nights. Teaching at Jesus was resurrected before e completion of ree days and ree nights is teaching at e sign Jesus said we could count on was never fulfilled, us we can logically and properly conclude from Jesus' own declaration at He is not e Christ, e Messiah, and is not divine. Teaching e Friday crucifixion Sunday morning resurrection format teaches at e sign of His divine appointment was not fulfilled. If e sign didn't happen as He said it would, en Jesus is a fraud. Three of e gospel writers (Matew, Mark, and Luke) testify at Jesus was resurrected after ree days had passed. In scripture, an accusation was considered established upon e witness or testimony of two or more individuals. (See Numbers 35:30, Deuteronomy 17:6, 19:15, John 8:17, and 2 Corinians 13:1.) Here we have e testimony of ree gospel writers at Jesus was resurrected after ree days. I will show at at least 16 of e 21 verses where e day of e resurrection is associated wi e ird day can and have been translated to be after ree days. Third, Jesus gave e unbelieving scribes and Pharisees e sign so at ey would know when He died and was resurrected at He could accurately tell e future. They all understood at only God's anointed could tell e future. By fulfilling e sign of Jonah (ree days and ree nights in e heart of e Ear), Jesus proved at He could foretell e future and be e spokesperson for e Faer. Teaching a Friday crucifixion Sunday morning resurrection format teaches at Jesus word about Himself is not reliable and His teaching might even be a misrepresentation of tru as e prophecy He said would be e sign did not come true. It raises questions by implication at if Jesus was not correct in is teaching, ere might be oer teachings about which He was mistaken. I'm not willing to say at Jesus made mistakes in His ministry. Four, Jesus stated at everying He taught He was directed to teach by e Faer. John 12: The Faer is witness to e teaching of Jesus, and e Faer has directed us to listen to Him (Matew 17:2-5, Mark 9:2-8, and Luke 9:28-36). As already mentioned, scripture requires at two witnesses are necessary to validate a claim. Here we have Jesus and e Faer in agreement about e teaching of Jesus and we are instructed to listen to Him. Moreover, e Faer s testimony regarding Jesus is stronger an e testimony of any number of human witnesses. 1 John 5:9. Did e Faer make a mistake in directing Jesus to cite e "ree days and ree nights" of Jonah as e time period He would be in e tomb? Or did Jesus misunderstand e Faer regarding which story to cite and/or e actual time period involved? The failure to count a full ree days and ree nights for is time in e tomb is not only a show of disrespect to Jesus for what He said about Himself, but is also a show of disrespect to e Faer for is as well. What does it say about us if we attempt to edit e meaning of e words of Jesus especially for someing so important as e sign Jesus pointed to as e evidence at He has been sent

6 Problems wi Passion Week - 6 from e Faer? Fif, when Lazarus died, Jesus said He was glad He was not ere because now God's glory could be revealed. The pagan religions and Greek philosophy promoted e belief at e spirit and body were separable so at when a person died, e spirit would hang around e body for ree days after which it would depart for e house of Sheol. This teaching had made considerable inroads into Jewish teaching and Jesus made sure to wait more an e ree days before resurrecting Lazarus so no one, Jew or Gentile, could say at Lazarus wasn't really dead before Jesus resurrected him. The same principle holds true here at Jesus dea. Jesus wants to be e Savior of all mankind, not just e Jews. The Jews had no problem accepting His dea on e cross when Pilate ordered e soldier to shove a spear in His side and blood and water spilled out and ere was no quiver in His body. They had enough evidence at He was dead. At e request of e Jewish leaders, Pilate had auorized at 100 Roman soldiers be stationed around e burial site to ensure at e disciples wouldn t steal His body away and claim at He had risen just as He had predicted. The Roman soldiers were assigned to e tomb for ree days and were expected to forfeit eir lives if ey did not complete eir assignment. They could verify e leng of time Jesus was in e tomb. But after e resurrection, when e soldiers were scampering to tell Pilate at ey had been overpowered by e angels, ey were intercepted by e Jewish rulers and bribed into silence. The intention of e rulers was at e resurrection story would never be told. Despite eir intentions and e bribes, e story of e Roman soldiers has been told. Hearing e resurrection story in its context helps to confirm at all e events foretold by Jesus have come true just as He said ey would. The Gentile population who were not near Jerusalem at e time of His crucifixion would have questions about wheer He was really dead, at is, was He really in e grave for e required ree full days so at ere would be no question at His spirit had really departed. On e cross Jesus said, Faer, into y hands I commend my spirit. Luke 23:46. The Jews knew His spirit had departed and ere are few people alive today who would seriously question His dea. But Jesus made reference to e sign of Jonah because it would answer e questions raised by Gentiles in foreign lands. The story of e Roman soldiers at e tomb helps to confirm e time of ese events. Wiout Jesus being in e heart of e Ear ree days and ree nights, e pagans could dismiss Jesus as a Jewish poster boy wiout relevancy to e rest of mankind. By spending ree full days in e Ear before His resurrection, Jesus proved at He was e Savior of all mankind. Six, if Jesus was crucified on Friday in agreement wi e traditional view, en e day following His crucifixion would be e weekly Sabba in addition to being e first Sabba of e Feast of Unleavened Bread, and us, e Sabba of Passover. All e gospel writers agree at Jesus participated in e triumphal entry a few days before His crucifixion, but only John specifies at Jesus arrived in Beany six days before Passover. If e Sabba of Passover was on e weekly Sabba at year, en six days prior to is would be e first day of e week on what we call Sunday. One s first impression might be to conclude at is fits e time element for e triumphal entry, but on closer examination it must be noticed at John is explicit in verse 12 at e triumphal entry occurred on e day after His arrival in Beany six days before Passover. Thus, if Jesus arrived in Beany six days before Passover, en e triumphal entry occurred five days before Passover. If He arrived in Beany on e first day of e week, en e triumphal entry had to be on e second day of e week on what we call Monday. For ose who believe in a Friday crucifixion, e day for e triumphal entry should properly be called Palm Monday as it is clear at, as a literal, historical, or biblical event, Palm Sunday never occurred and is a very clever my. On e oer hand, if Palm Sunday is e accepted anchor point, en his arrival was at least one day before at event, and counting forward six days places Passover on Friday and e preparation day for Passover, e day of His crucifixion, on Thursday. In is pattern Jesus would already be in e grave for e entire six day of e week and ere could be no such ing as e arrest, trial, crucifixion, and dea on Good Friday. As a literal, historical, or biblical event, Good Friday never occurred and is a very clever my.

7 Problems wi Passion Week - 7 Seven, if you were in Satan s place and you had just lost e contest wi Jesus at e resurrection from e grave before e on-looking Universe, what would be your next best move? Wouldn t it be to distort e story and its record? By distorting e story, important eological doctrines are prevented from being taught in e context of e most powerful demonstration e Universe could possibly see. From Satan s perspective, wouldn't you want Jesus followers to teach ings about Him at were historically and factually wrong? It would be all e more persuasive if e ing His followers taught wrong was e sign at Jesus said His doubters could rely on as e primary evidence at He was heaven sent. Why should we not consider e truncated version of Jesus time in e tomb from Friday evening to Sunday morning to be Satan s spin on e most important sequence of events in e history of e Universe and one fulfillment of e prophecy of e Little Horn s deception? While victory over Jesus can never belong to Satan, he can deceive many by changing e story so at some important trus are not taught and Jesus is made to look like e one who is less an completely competent and truful. Eigh, by distorting e story, ese events are used as e basis for a new system of worship at is contrary to e system of worship God instructed His followers to observe. The traditional teaching of Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and e resurrection on Easter Sunday morning did not develop by accident. Someone at war wi Jesus and e Faer has crafted is pattern of observance. The teaching of Palm Sunday as e day of e triumphal entry and Easter Sunday morning as e day of His resurrection serve e purpose of attempting to establish e first day of e week as e new day of worship. Bo are contrary to scripture. Worship on Sunday follows e traditions of several ancient pagan religions and, once is is realized, adopting or maintaining is practice in one s religious life constitutes a rejection of e leadership of e LORD. It must be noted at e proponents of e traditional view rely on eories to support eir position and do not rely only on scripture as e basis of eir teaching. The prophecy Jesus made at He would be ree days and ree nights in e grave is tortured to mean at He was in e grave for 36 hours only half e time He specified. Likewise e record in John regarding e six days before Passover is simply ignored. Accepting eier of ese scriptures as actual events important to e complete story of Passion Week destroys e traditions of e traditional view. When little bits of tru are deliberately and cleverly compromised, e new system of worship appears to many to be completely acceptable. It is my belief at we should be exonerating e testimony of Jesus raer an e distortions and deceptions of e Adversary. Copyright 2005 Gerald Brown