Modern astronomy is able to trace the phases of the moon and the positions of the sun, moon and stars, going back thousands of years with great accuracy, and all Christian scholars agree that the crucifixion of Jesus occurred somewhere between A.D 26 and A.D 36.
Most modern Christian scholars settle for either A.D 30 or A.D 33, and modern astronomy also gives us only two possible dates during this period:
Between A.D 26 and A.D 36, a full moon occurred on:
- April 7th, A.D 30 | 15 Nisan (biblical calendar); and on
- April 3rd, A.D 33 | 14 Nisan.
Nisan 15th was the first day of Unleavened Bread in A.D 30 (7 April A.D 30).
In the West, the next day / date begins immediately after midnight, but in Israel, the next day / date always begins a lot earlier, i.e immediately after twilight, at nightfall. This is the way it has been since Genesis 1:5.
So immediately after sunset / twilight on the 14th Nisan (when it becomes dark), the 15th Nisan begins.
The first few hours of the 15th of Nisan, (after it had become dark on the 14th Nisan) - was the evening that the Jews ate the Passover lamb, which had been slaughtered at twilight on the 14th of Nisan.
In the days of Jesus, this entire period (including the 7-day feast) was called "Passover"
Let's see if we can trace this in the law, and in the gospels:-
Exodus 12:5-6
Your lamb must be perfect, a male, one year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You must care for it until the fourteenth day of this month,
and then the whole community of Israel will kill it around sundown.
Leviticus 23:4-7
"'These are the LORD's appointed times, holy assemblies, which you must proclaim at their appointed time.
In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, is a Passover offering to the LORD.
Then on the fifteenth day of the same month will be the festival of unleavened bread to the LORD; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day there will be a holy assembly for you; you must not do any regular work.
Today this first calendar month in the biblical year is known as "Nisan" (it was first known as abib, or aviv).
Luke 22
1 And the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, drew near.
2 And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.
3 And Satan entered into Judas, surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the Twelve.
4 And going, he talked with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.
7 And the day of the Unleavened Bread came, when the Passover must be killed.
8 And He sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat.
9 And they said to Him. Where do You desire that we prepare?
Mark 14:12-13 tells us,
"And the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the passover, His disciples said to Him, Where do You desire that we go and prepare that You may eat the passover? And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, Go into the city, and there you shall meet a man bearing a pitcher of water. Follow him."
Matthew 26:17 tells us,
17 And on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, Where do You desire that we prepare for You to eat the Passover?
The first day of Unleavened Bread is the 15th of Nisan (always). The Passover meal is eaten on the 15th of Nisan, immediately after nightfall of the 14th of Nisan.
Note: Jesus did not take the flesh of the Passover lamb that had been slaughtered and slice it up, sharing it with His disciples, saying, "Take, eat. This is (represents) my body". Jesus did not say that. Instead, we are told:
"As they were eating, Jesus took (the unleavened) bread and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is My body.
And He took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink all of it. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (Matthew 26:26-28).
The flesh of the Passover lamb represents the sacrifice of the lamb whose blood was shed to save Israel from the death of the firstborn in Egypt.
Jesus is the firstborn of God. He gave His own body and shed His own blood of the New Covenant to save Israel and the whole world from our sins. The unleavened bread eaten at the Passover meal on the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread (15-21 Nisan) represents His body. His blood is the blood of the New Covenant.
NOW LET'S TRACE IT IN JOHN'S GOSPEL:
1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was (who had died, whom He raised from the dead).
2 Then they made a supper there for Him. And Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those reclining with Him.
12 On the next day, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, a great crowd who had come to the Feast
13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him. And they cried, Hosanna! "Blessed is the King of Israel who comes in the name of the Lord!"
14 And finding an ass colt, Jesus sat on it; as it is written, 15 "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King comes sitting on the foal of an ass."
John 13
1 And before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come when He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own in the world, He loved them to the end.
2 And when supper had ended, the Devil now having put into the heart of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon to betray Him.
John tells us further down below in the same chapter which supper he is talking about:
18 I do not speak of you all; I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture might be fulfilled, "He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me."
19 From now I tell you before it comes, so that when it happens you may believe that I AM.
25 And lying on Jesus' breast, he said to him, Lord, who is it?
26 Jesus answered, It is he to whom I shall give the morsel when I have dipped it. And dipping the morsel, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
27 And after the morsel, then Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to him, What you do, do quickly.
28 But no one reclining knew for what reason He spoke this to him.
29 For some thought, because Judas had the moneybag, that Jesus had said to him, Buy what we have need of for the feast; or that he should give something to the poor.
30 He then, having received the morsel, went out immediately. And it was night.
.. And when supper had ended, the Devil now having put into the heart of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon to betray Him (John 13:2).
31 Then when he had left, Jesus said, Now the Son of man is glorified, and God is glorified in him.
32 If God is glorified in Him, God shall also glorify Him in Himself, and shall immediately glorify Him.
Then, from John Chapter 13 through 16, Jesus is giving his disciples final instructions, and final teaching. Then, in Chapter 16, we read that He says,
John 16
32 Behold, the hour comes, yea, has now come, that you will be scattered, each man to his own things, and you will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
John 17
1 Jesus spoke these words and lifted up His eyes to Heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son so that Your Son also may glorify You.
John 18
1 Having spoken these words, Jesus went out with His disciples over the winter stream Kidron, where there was a garden. He and His disciples entered into it.
2 And Judas who betrayed Him also knew the place. For Jesus oftentimes went there with His disciples.
3 Then Judas, having received a band and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.
4 Then Jesus, knowing all things that were coming upon Him, went out and said to them, Whom do you seek?
5 They answered Him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I AM! And Judas who betrayed Him also stood with them.
These things occurred after the last Passover meal that Jesus ate with His disciples, the same night. He ate the Passover after the lamb had been slaughtered (at twilight | nightfall on 14 Nisan, as the law required), and as was the practice of the Jews.
The first hours after nightfall was 15 Nisan.
John 18
26 One of the servants of the high priest, being kinsman to him whose ear Peter cut off, said, Did I not see you in the garden with him?
27 Peter then denied again. And immediately a cock crowed.
What time does a cock crow, more or less?
28 Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the praetorium. And it was early. And they did not go into the praetorium, that they should not be defiled, and that they might eat the Passover.
(Luke 22)
1 And the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, drew near.
2 And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.
John 18
29 Then Pilate went out to them and said, What charge do you bring against this man?
30 They answered and said to him, If he were not an evildoer, then we would not have delivered him up to you.
38 Pilate said to Him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, I find no fault in him.
39 But you have a custom that I should release one to you at the Passover. Then do you desire that I release to you the king of the Jews?
40 Then they all cried again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas! But Barabbas was a robber.
John 19
13 Then when Pilate heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat at a place called the Pavement (but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha).
14 And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, Behold your king!
John 19
30 Then when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, It is finished! And He bowed His head and gave up the spirit.
31 Then the Jews, because it was Preparation, begged Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away, so that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the sabbath. For that sabbath was a high day.
It was the preparation for the feast of Unleavened Bread, which was considered part of, and called the Passover, and the first day of this feast was a sabbath:
Leviticus 23
6 Then on the fifteenth day of the same month will be the festival of unleavened bread to the LORD; seven days you must eat unleavened bread.
7 On the first day there will be a holy assembly for you; you must not do any regular work.
So as we can see, John's gospel completely agrees with the synoptic gospel accounts: Jesus ate the Passover meal with His disciples on the night of 14/15 Nisan. He had already been betrayed by Judas, and was arrested after the meal.
Hours later He was tried, sentenced, and crucified. He died, and His body was laid in a tomb.
All this took place on 15 Nisan, i.e April 7th, A.D 30.
The first Day of Unleavened Bread was a sabbath. If this fell on a Friday, the next day was the weekly sabbath - two sabbaths in a row. The women who went to embalm His body waited until the day after the weekly sabbath, but when they arrived, the tomb was empty. He had risen!
--- end of page ---