The Lord�s Supper
For many years, theologians have argued back and forth about the proper time for keeping the Passover. For almost2000 years, this argument has gone on; it was started by the clergy of the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church and the Roman branch of the Catholic Church. The controversy originated with a sector of theologians who never were part of God�s True Church.
The basic argument swirled around whether the Passover should be kept at the beginning of the 14th or at the end of the 14th of Abib. Even in modern times, the controversy is carried on by ministers claiming that somehow the Jews became confused over the years. The official line by some is that the Jews became confused and moved the Passover from the beginning of the 14th to the end of the 14th. They further used the argument that Christ, in order to set things right, celebrated the Passover at the proper time. He did, indeed, eat the meal at the beginning of the 14th day of the first month. The question is, How Does this change the Passover Time?
It is important to note that this controversy was started by non-church members and later was carried on by Protestant theologians, i.e., Adam Clark and other Bible commentary authors. Adam Clark, like all recognized Biblical scholars; it must be pointed out, was not a believer in Sabbath-keeping or most of what we believe to be the teachings and doctrines of God�s Church.
The Scriptures Reveal The First Passover recorded in Exodus 11 and 12. God instructed Moses to pass the word on to the Israelites and give Pharaoh one final warning before this last plague which became known as the Passover.
�And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.� (Exodus 11:1)
Moses instructed the people to do several things before this final, last plague. This plague would cause Israel to be Thrust out of the land by Pharaoh himself. Moses was instructed to tell the people the following:
�Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of god. And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh�s servants, and in the sight of the people.� (Exodus 11:2-3)
No doubt, many were still alive who had known Moses 40 years before when he had been in line to rule Egypt. Moses� exploits were recorded in Egyptian historical archives which proclaimed him a mighty warrior and conqueror for Pharaoh. Moses was looked upon by Pharaoh at earlier times as one of his own sons. Moses may well have been in line to become Pharaoh. His feats were so great that he was destined to receive a position, at least as important as what Joseph had years before.
Even those who did not know of Moses� past were awed at the display of power this man had received from God. His fame was known throughout the land because of the many plagues which came upon Egypt at the word of Moses.
The events leading up to the Ousting of the Children of Israel from Egypt took many days as each plague was unleashed upon the Egyptians. The superstitious, religious background of the Egyptians, no doubt, caused them to look upon Moses as some sort of god and Aaron as his priest. This is evident from the statement God made to Moses:
�And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.� (Exodus 7:1)
When God talked to Moses in the desert, At The Burning Bush, even before Moses went back to Egypt, God reveled to him exactly what He was going to do and how He would bring upon the Egyptians plagues which would cause Pharaoh to thrust Israel out of Egypt. God told Moses that, until the last plague, Pharaoh would not release the Children of Israel. God told Moses:
�But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I (God)may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the Children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.� (Exodus 7:4-5)
The first chapters of Exodus reveal the plagues God wrought upon the land of Egypt. These plagues were designed not only to break the back of the Egyptian nation, but they were also designed to destroy, before the Egyptians� eyes, their own gods.
God used the symbols of the Egyptian gods against them and turned them into plagues against the Egyptians. An example of this is in Exodus 15:15-17:
�Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river�s brink against he come; and the rod which was turned into a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand. And thou shalt say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear. Thus saith the Lord, In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the Waters Which Are In The River, And They Shall Be Turned To Blood.�
�But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I (God)may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the Children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.� (Exodus 7:4-5)
The Nile River was worshiped by all Egyptians as a life-giving force for their land. The Nile River was a type of god to the Egyptians. God intended to destroy the god of this River by turning the water into blood and destroying its life before Pharaoh and the Egyptians. These plagues continued one after another for many days until the last plague spoken of in Exodus 11 and 12.
God tells Moses to instruct the Children of Israel and to warn Pharaoh about this last plague:
�And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About Midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: And all the firstborn of the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill and all the first born of the Beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.� (Exodus 11:4-6)
At this point, God separates the Children of Israel from the impending death of the firstborn that all Egyptians would face on this night.
�But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.� (Exodus 11:7)
As Moses was relating this to pharaoh, no doubt Pharaoh looked at him with some curiosity and disbelief. But then Moses Makes A Final Exclamation To Pharaoh:
�And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger.� (Exodus 11:8)
After he left, God reminded Moses that Pharaoh would not listen:
�And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.� (Exodus 9)
This is the reason that Pharaoh�s heart was hardened, so that God�s wonders would be known throughout all Egypt and the entire world.
�And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the Lord hardened Pharaoh�s heart, so that he would not let the Children of Israel go out of his land.� (Exodus 11:10)
In Exodus 12:2:
�This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.�
This means that the first day and the first month of God�s calendar were revealed to the Children of Israel. God then begins to instruct the Children of Israel in several things they are to do in preparation for the first Passover.
�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 fathers, a lamb for an house.� (Exodus 12:3)
God instructs the Children of Israel what to do on the 10th day of the first month, which is four days before the Passover; according to God�s command, in Exodus 12, on the 10th day,
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year.� (Exodus 12:5)
Moses also instructed the Children of Israel to spoil the Egyptians before the first Passover. He told the Children of Israel to go to the Egyptians on this 14th day before the death angel came through Egypt that night and Moses said:
�Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold. And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh�s servants, and in the sight of the people. And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt.� (Exodus 11:2-4)
Please note that Moses instructed the Children of Israel to spoil the Egyptians on the daytime portion of the 14th which preceded the midnight death angel Passover which was on the night time portion of the 15th day of the month. MANY CONFUSE THE TIME OF THE SPOILING OF THE EGYPTIANS because of the appearance to two verses in Exodus 12:35-36:
�And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the dame month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.�
Many Bibles have a marginal rendering of this �in the evening� phrase as being translated �between the two evenings.� However, according to the Hebrew Interlinear Bible, the proper translation is, �twixt the evenings.��Twixt� can mean between.
Accepting this translation, we can clearly understand what God is talking about using the phrase �between the two evenings.� The controversy arises when men try to plug in their own definition of �between the two evenings.� Many theologians have defined what they thought �between the two evenings� meant.
Adam Clark states that the Jews had two interpretations of �between the two evenings.� He says that one group believed that the time between the two evenings was that time from12:01 Noon until Sunset. He pointed out that another sect of the Jews believed that it was from the time just before sunset until the stars appeared. Others have been more specific, saying it was 20 minutes before sunset until 20 minutes after sunset. This would be the time we commonly call twilight or dusk.
In searching the Bible, the scriptures nowhere reveal a definition of �between the two evenings� as those traditions held by the Jews and other Biblical scholars. When the church establishes teachings and DOCTRINES SOLELY BASED UPON THE WRITINGS OF MEN WHO ARE UNCONVERTED, it becomes a very risky business and subject to fallacy. Since this controversy has raged on for many years, we must conclude it is suspect.
The best source is always the Bible itself. In this case, we will let God explain what He meant by �between the two evenings.� You will search the Bible in vain to find any statement which indicates that a day has two evenings as described by the Jewish traditions mentioned above. First how does God define a 24-hour time period?
�And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.� (Genesis 1:3-5)
Now God defines what these two periods of a 24-day will be called.
�And the evening (night time portion) and morning (daytime portion) were the first day.�
God made no mention of two mornings or two evenings when He described the 24-hour time period.
The Jews took it upon themselves to add these definitions for their own purposes. The Talmud is just such a collection of Jewish �do�s and don�t� and their own vain imaginations about the scriptures, and blasphemies against Christ.
The phrase, �between the two evenings� is so simple to understand that even a grade-school student can comprehend it. ANY DAY SET APART BY THE BEGINNING AND THE ENDING SUNSETS. The evening sunsets begins the new day and the evening sunset ends the old day. Therefore, each day is set aside �between the two evenings.�
The 14th day of the first month begins at the evening sunset immediately after (THE ENDING OF) the 13th day and ends at the evening sunset IMMEDIATELY AFTER the 14th day; thus THE 14TH DAY IS �BETWEEN THE TWO EVENINGS.� If we were to instruct someone to see us anytime during the fourteenth day of the month, that would be anytime between sunset ending the 13th day and sunset ending the 14th day, would it not?
God�s instructions to the Israelites was just that simple and they clearly understood what He meant.
�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 (between the evenings).�
(Exodus 12:6)
Many people try to say, that means you keep it up until just before the fourteenth day, but, they say, you don�t really kept it into the fourteenth day. If we were to tell someone to drive their car from point �A� until they reached New York City, would they stop short of New York City, if they followed the instructions? Well, of course, they would travel all the way into New York City.
That was their destination. The same thing applies here when God says to keep the lamb up until the 14th day. God meant for the lamb to be kept up from the 10th day, through the 11th day, the 12th day, the 13th day and until the 14th day of the first month, between the two evenings. God instructed the children of Israel to kill that lamb anytime during the 24-hour period of the 14th day which was set aside by the evening beginning the day and the evening ending the day.
There are still some people who question whether or not the lamb is to be killed on the 14th Day or on the afternoon of the 13th Day. The Bible gives us further proof on exactly what day the lamb is to be killed. Notice in 2 Chronicles 35:1-7:
�Moreover Josiah kept a Passover unto the Lord in Jerusalem: AND THEY KILLED THE PASSOVER ON THE FOURTEENTH DAY OF THE FIRST MONTH...SO KILL THE PASSOVER, AND SANCTIFY YOURSELVES, AND PREPARE YOUR BRETHREN, that they may do according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses...So the service WAS PREPARED and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their courses, according to the king�s commandment...And afterward they made ready for themselves, and for the priests: because the PRIESTS THE SONS OF AARON WERE BUSIED IN OFFERING OF BURNT OFFERINGS AND THE FAT UNTIL NIGHT...SO ALL THE SERVICE OF THE LORD WAS PREPARED THE SAME DAY, TO KEEP THE PASSOVER and to offer burnt offerings upon the altar of the Lord, according to the commandment of king Josiah.�
Please notice that the above scriptures were speaking of the PREPARATION. When is the Preparation Day? The 14th Day is the Preparation Day for the Passover.
Also notice, when the scripture is talking about keeping the second Passover, when Hezekiah was king, they also killed the Passover on the 14th day of the second month.
�Then they killed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the SECOND month: and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought in the burnt offerings into the house of the Lord.� (2 Chronicles 30:15)
When one compares 2 Chronicles 35:1 and 2 Chronicles 30:15 with Exodus 12:6 and Leviticus 23:5, there can be no mistake that the lamb was to be killed between the two evenings on the 14th day of the first month. Those who teach that the lamb was to be killed at the end of the day on the 13th of the first month are in TOTAL ERROR.
The next question is, How do we know that He did not just mean the evening of the fourteenth day, or the night time portion of the fourteenth? In the same context as instructing the children of Israel when to do something, we find in Leviticus 23, God is instruction the specific time when to begin the Fast known as the Day of Atonement (You will also notice that nothing is mentioned about a Kol Nidre prayer, which is the relieving of all oaths, promises and etc., from that day to the next day of atonement, which is the Jewish tradition)
�It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.� (Leviticus 23:32)
In this case, God is clearly referring to the end of the 9th and calling it the evening which ends the 9th day. The scripture clearly teaches that the fast day is not starting the evening portion that begins the 9th, but at the evening portion which ends the 9th. The fast day is not the 9th day, but the 10th day, as clearly defined by Leviticus 23:27:
�Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you...�
God is clearly showing that the fast begins at the end of the ninth day at evening time when the sun sets and it lasts until the sunset evening time the tenth day.
This phrase God used in Leviticus 23:32: �From even unto even� is exactly the same concept as �between the two evenings� in Exodus 12:6.
���������������������������� Segments of Passover
The next area which confuses people has to do with their lack of understanding of the different aspects of the Passover. When seeking the definition for �Passover,� it includes all of the events of the Passover Season:
1). Selecting of the lamb on the 10th day (Lamb Selection)
2). Killing the lamb on the 14th day (Victim Sacrifice)
3). Putting the blood of the lamb upon the doorposts on the 14th (Blood Saves)
4). Eating the lamb in a joyous festival meal of release on the 15th (Eating the Lamb)
5). Seven Days of Unleavened Bread from the 15th to 21st.
����������������������������� Selection of the Lamb
The Passover season actually began on the 10th day of the first month when Israel was instructed to select a male lamb of the first year without any blemish and to pen up the lamb for the next four days.
�Speak into all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb...� (Verse 5) �Your lamb shall be without blemish ...� (Exodus 12:3)
The head of the family was instructed to meticulously select a very special lamb which was to become the victim for the sacrifice. No doubt the family viewed this victim lamb for the next four days; during those four days, they realized that the lamb was to be killed by the father of the family as their Passover. The Passover activities, therefore, actually began on the tenth day of the first month of each year.
THE LAMB WAS SYMBOLIC OF JESUS CHRIST, who was without blemish and was selected by God to be slain before the foundation of the world. Just as the lamb was presented to the family , so was Christ presented to Jerusalem on the 10th day of the month. Christ rode into Jerusalem on a young ass to be presented to the people on the 10th day of the first month. This corresponds to the lamb being set aside to become the victim for the sacrifice held on the afternoon of the 14th day of the first month.
Christ, in carrying on the transfer of the victim lamb to Himself, came to Jerusalem to be presented to the people to become their Lamb Sacrifice.
�And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, 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. And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.� (Matthew 20:17-19)
To prove that Christ was set aside and presented to the people on the 10th day of the first month, just as the lamb was set aside on the 10th day, we read in John 12:1:
�Then Jesus SIX DAYS BEFORE THE PASSOVER came to Bethany...�
REMEMBER, THE PASSOVER DAY WAS THE 15th DAY OF THE FIRST MONTH; THEREFORE SIX DAYS PRIOR TO THE PASSOVER WOULD HAVE PLACED THIS ON THE NINTH DAY OF THE FIRST MONTH.�����
�On the next day (10th day of the first month) much people that were come to the feast, when they hard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem 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. And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon...�
In keeping with His assigned task of becoming the Passover Lamb, CHRIST TOO WAS SET ASIDE ON THE 10th DAY in the same way that the priest set aside the ceremonial lamb to be prepared for killing. Christ, from the very beginning of the Passover season until He was offered as the first of the first fruits, completed the transition from the four-legged lamb to Himself, the Lamb of God.
Victim Sacrifice: During the �Victim Sacrifice� phase, the family would deal with this lamb that was set aside for four days. The victim was killed in a sacrificial ceremony. This clearly corresponds to Christ, the Lamb of God, being murdered in order to Redeem us to Him.
Christ was without blemish, just as the small male four-legged lamb was in the ancient times. This was the �victim sacrifice� phase of the Passover. WITHOUT THIS PHASE, NO ISRAELITE COULD BE SAVED. Symbolically, the lamb of ancient Israel was pointing to the very Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who was victimized and sacrificed on our behalf.
Christ was killed between the two evenings on the 14th day of the first month. He was hanged on the stake at about 9:00 A.M., and died at about 3:00 P.M., between the two evenings that set aside the 14th day of the first month.
�For Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that yo should follow his steps.� (1 Peter 2:21)
It is most remarkable the simplicity with which the Gospel writers recorded the crucifixion. Without a doubt there was no form of execution more torturous and cruel than crucifixion. The intense pain and agony was enough to drive some victims insane. Yet, when the inspired writers came to this point, they simply recorded the facts:
�When they came to the place that is called The Skull, there thy crucified him.� (Luke 23:33; Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:22, 24; John 19:17)
When Peter instructed us to follow in the steps of Yeashua, we are not to understand that he meant for each of us to get ourselves crucified. Indeed, there have been plenty of martyrs who have been put to cruel torture and death for their faith, and many are being persecuted even as you read this. But for all of us who are privileged to continue to live an serve the Lord, there is still an example in Christ�s death that we are commanded to follow.
The writer of Hebrews instructs us to look to Yeashua,
�who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.� (Hebrews 12:2)
This is the secret of what it means to follow in the steps of Yeashua: �despising the shame.�
Yeashua was sensitive, perhaps more so than any one else. The cross was humiliating, reserved for the dregs of humanity, and those dying on one were considered guilty of gross evil. Yeashua was treated with contempt, scourged, and hung on the cross nude. Yet He accepted it without complaint, and endured the shame willingly and with serenity, thus �despising the shame.� In the words of St. Philip of Neri, we are to �despise the fact that we are despised.�
Could this be what Yeashua had in mind when He said�If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me?� (Luke 9:23) Unfortunately something has happened to that cross. As A.W. Tozer has written;
�There has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences, fundamental.�
The new cross demands no self-denial, no abnegation of the old life, and no difficult or unpleasant demands. �Sinners are told only to say a little prayer and ask Yeashua into their hearts. There is no shame involved, for the modern church, obsessed with �growth,� gladly promotes whatever the sin-sick world will embrace.
The cross did not modify one�s life. It ended it. It didn�t make the world easier to live in or make a man more acceptable to the world. It severed one from the world completely.
Christ did not come to bring peace on earth, He came only to divide it.
�Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division.� (Luke 12:51)
To take up the cross means to die to the world. Paul wrote;
�Know you not, that so many of us were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?� (Romans 6:3)
He then added;
�that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin,� and �reckon yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus.� (Romans 6:6, 11)
But, oh how we hate to lose the world�s approval, the world�s honor, and the esteem of the world. How hard to bear the shame when we are labeled as religious fanatics, neo-Nazis, racists, or accused of being judgmental, or intolerant because we take Yeashua seriously and uphold His commands.
The modern Judeo-Christian church, instead of �despising the shame,� avoids it by making the Gospel acceptable to the media, to the celebrities, to the managers of education, to the government and to the anti-Christ Jews.�
It is easier to be politically correct and remain silent than to suffer the shame of the crowd by letting them know you are a follower of the one who died as a criminal on the despicable cross. What enthusiasm is shown for the athletes in the arena, and what silence is heard from the same people when the name of Yeashua is mentioned.
When Yeashua said that one should count the cost of following Him, He was challenging us to take the cross seriously The issue of the cross was life or death. Today, to follow Yeashua could certainly lead to death or worse, in America BECAUSE OF THE LIES AND JEWISH FABLES BROUGHT INTO THE CHRISTIAN WORLD BY THE TRAITORS, RELIGIOUS HUCKSTERS, FALSE TEACHING JUDEO-CHRISTIAN CLERGY AND TEACHERS.
It was God�s solution to the problem affecting every Israelites, that the wages of sin is death. When Yeashua went to the cross He was performing the one act that would make it possible for every believing Israelite to be free of sin and its penalty and receive life and immortality. He was doing his Father�s will, and, in view of that, the pain, the shame, and the disgrace of being seen as a vile criminal didn�t matter.
The enemies of Yeashua thunder their blasphemies into every ear while Christians are shamed into silence, persuaded by the secular world to believe that the principles of Yeashua are not to be applied or even mentioned in the market place or in the political world. But what is a witness if he/she is to be confined to certain designated and shielded areas of life?
Crucifixion carried such a stigma of shame that the apostle Paul correctly wrote:
�But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block (a sandal) and unto the Greeks foolishness.� (Is Corinthians 1:23)
He declared;
�Is am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation, to the Jew (this should have been rendered Judean) first, and also to the Greek.� (Romans 1:16)
Like his Savior, se despised the shame and broadcasted the message though it made him hated by his former colleagues and an enemy of the state. How shocked he would be at the apathy that permeates today�s churches, including the Judeo-Christian clergy.
Our present society is ordered and dominated by atheistic humanism, yet it is generally called a �Christian Civilization.� What is appalling is that most Christians seem to think that when they are accepted by this society it is a mark of success, and that to be rejected by it is a sign of failure. What they fail to realize is that things designed by and for fallen man are the very things that stand in the way of fellowship with God. Yeashua gave us the example of one who willingly rejected man�s simple obedience to the Father.
�These things Is command you (Israelites), that ye (Israelites)� love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but BECAUSE YE ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, BUT I HAVE CHOSEN YOU OUT OF THE WORLD, THEREFORE THE WORLD HATETH YOU.� (John 15:17-19)
Therefore, it is foolish to wish to be accepted by the world, for it will never accept you; it did not accept Christ and since you are a servant of His then it will never accept you. And the Jews will make sure of that.
This was a lesson that the mother of James and John had yet to learn, when she asked of Yeashua that her sons be given high places or honor. In our day, she would want her sons to have authority in some denominational hierarchy, and wear titles of Ravened, or Doctor, or Senior Minister, or at least Pastor. But the apostles settled for no titles at all; just Peter, Paul, James, etc. It is easy to forget that Yeashua said,
�That which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.� (Luke 16:15)
On the night before the crucifixion, the disciples sang a hymn in the upper room and then went out to the mount of Olives.
�Then said Jesus unto them, All of you shall be offended in me this night.� (Matthew 26:31)
Peter answered,
�Even if I must die with you, yet I will not deny you.�
The other disciples agreed. (Matthew 26:35) But is was only a brief time until the officials came to take Yeashua and all the disciples left him and fled.� Peter followed at a distance, but finally denied Him.
It is easy enough to sing, �In the �Cross of Christ Is �Glory,� when that cross is a beautiful polished emblem that decorates the pulpit, pews, and lapels. But it was not in the upper room that they disciples were put to the test, it was when they had to face the world, and they were not ready to despise the shame to which Yeashua was subjected.
The offense and scandal of the cross happens at the point where we come into conflict with the fashion of the world, at the time when the stark sinfulness of man is brought into bold relief by the message and commands of the Son of God.
Then here come the officials, the corrupt law-makers and the lawyers that uphold their decisions, the media puppets, the religious hierarchy; all the witch doctors of law and religion with the support of the people who despise what they call �religious extremists.�
Yeashua is no less despised by the world today than He was on that day 2000 years ago. To follow His example is to force the issue that all people, everywhere, including social and religious leaders, are worthy of judgment and death.
The Hebrews write tells us to:
�Run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has set down at the right hand of the throne of God.� (Hebrews 12:1-2)
Despising the shame, He did the Father�s will, endured the cross, and won the victory over sin and death, for which God exalted Him to be Lord. of heaven and earth.
Yeashua endured the cross, with the joy of knowing that He would be raised from death to immortality. The same glorious hope of RESURRECTION TO ETERNAL LIFE IS PROMISED TO EVERY ISRAELITE BELIEVER WHO FOLLOWS HIM IN FAITH!
Some have stated that the Jews were in error as to when they kept the Passover and that Jesus was clearing it up when He ate it with His disciples the night of His arrest. If the Jews were in error when they were celebrating the Passover, one must ask this question: WOULD GOD HAVE EVER BEEN A PARTY TO THEIR ERROR?
If the ceremonial sacrifice was at the wrong time, then why would God have allowed Christ to have been sacrificed at the same time? The answer is, God was not in error, nor were the Jews as to when they sacrificed the ceremonial lamb. Christ�s sacrifice is for His Israel people alone, not for the Jews and not for the world.
God chose to have Christ replace the �Victim� lamb at precisely the right time between the two evenings of the 14th day. It was Christ who established the eating of time of the Lord�s Supper at the BEGINNING OF THE 14th.
This phase has to do with �taking the blood of the lamb and painting it on the doorposts� and then eating the flesh of the lamb. GOD SHOWS IN HIS SUBSTITUTION OF JESUS CHRIST FOR THE FOUR-LEGGED ANIMAL OF ANCIENT ISRAEL THAT WE ARE TO DO EXACTLY THE SAME THING BETWEEN THE TWO EVENINGS ON THE 14TH DAY OF THE FIRST MONTH.
The difference is that we symbolically splash the blood of Christ over our doorposts (our minds and hearts) when we drink the wine and eat God�s lamb, Jesus Christ, in the form of the unleavened bread. We do this in the ceremony at the beginning of the 14th named �The Lord�s Supper� by the apostle Paul.
The Gentile (with a study of the word gentile we know that this means Israelite) church at Corinth had lost sight of the memorial of the �Victim Sacrifice� and, like many today, tried to turn the �Lord�s Supper� into a festive, full-meal occasion. Paul said to the Corinthians,
�When you come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord�s supper.� (1 Corinthians 11:20)
What Paul is saying here is that they had failed to understand the truth of the Lord�s Supper and that they were apparently confusing the Lord�s Supper with the Passover meal.
Paul goes on to state;
�For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this (the unleavened bread) is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.�� (1 Corinthians 11:23-25)
Verse 26 is where Paul clearly shows that this is the memorial to the�Victim Sacrifice� portion of the Passover season, which we have come to know as the Lord�s Supper.
�For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord�s death till he come.� (1 Corinthians 11:26)
BY EATING AND DRINKING THE LORD�S SUPER, YOU ARE SYMBOLICALLY PLACING THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB OF GOD UPON THE DOORPOSTS OF YOUR HEART and you are eating His body in the form of the broken, unleavened bread. This act, of course, occurs in the beginning of the 14th day of the first month.
The next segment of the Passover season is the festival portion. The festival begins with a joyous evening meal which coincides with the Passover meal described in Exodus 12. The beginning of this festival (The Night to be Much Remembered) is designed to remind us that we have been released from sin and the death angel has passed over us because of the Victim�s Sacrifice. Christ changed the symbols of the Victim Sacrifice from a four-legged lamb to Himself.
The Night to be Much Remembered is the Passover. Of course, God wanted Israel never to forget the night in which He passed over them and, by extension, offered us salvation from the grips of the death angel. No wonder GOD COMMANDED THAT WE MUCH OBSERVE THIS TIME OF REMEMBRANCE THROUGHOUT ALL OF OUR GENERATIONS.
In the recent past, due to the controversy over the 14th and 15th tie period, the church has failed to give the proper recognition and importance to the Night to be Much Remembered. However, the church has always kept the Night to be Much Remembered at the ending of the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth eating a joyous complete meal to begin the festival of Unleavened Bread. This meal is the beginning of the festival to commemorate the release from bondage of our forefathers and our release from the bondage of sin and certain death.
Truly, it is a Night to be much Observed throughout all of our generations, as is commanded by God in Exodus 12:14:
�And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep ti a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, (means the evening that ends the fourteenth day) ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.�
This means seven (7) days which begin at evening ending the 14th day to the evening ending the 21st day. The Night to be Much Remembered can now be understood; IT IS THE NIGHT TO REMEMBER THE PASSOVER OF THE DEATH ANGEL AND THE PROPER TIME TO EAT THE PASSOVER FESTIVAL MEAL. It was on this selfsame night which God caused the Children of Israel to be thrust out of Egypt. (Exodus 12:42) (Taken, in part, from The Lord�s Supper and the New Testament Passover, by Pastor John A. Pinkston, The Congregation of God Seventh Day, Kennesaw Georgia, P.O. Box 2345, Kennesaw, Georgia 30144; Phone (770) 427-4189, web address: www.watchamerica.com)