| Christian Life and Doctrine | February 1978 |
The Type of the Passover
“And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.” —Exodus 12:14
THE days preceding the Passover night, during which time the nine plagues were brought upon Egypt, were filled with high hopes and then bitter disappointment for the Israelites, as Pharaoh’s heart was hardened against them each time. But the tenth plague, the Lord promised, would bring their release from captivity. “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.”—Exod. 11:1
The instructions that God gave to Moses and Aaron to be delivered to the people are contained in Exodus 12:2-14. “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 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 house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: and if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 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. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper doorpost of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.”
Christians the world over recognize that this historic event in the lives of the Israelites was a picture foreshadowing the death of Jesus and what the merit of his sacrificed life would accomplish on behalf of the church and the world of mankind. It is a great uplift to our faith, also, to note how God some 1,500 years before the fulfillment of the type arranged the circumstances of this event in history to picture the facts of the reality. The purpose of our study is to examine the type and the antitype from this standpoint.
The first point that comes to our attention is that, because of its importance, the Israelites were to start counting time with the month of Nisan, the month of the Passover. Then, in verse 3, they were instructed to select a lamb on the 10th day of Nisan. This lamb was to be without spot or blemish. This was in harmony with the requirements regarding sacrifices to be made under the Law Covenant which was subsequently made with the nation of Israel.
Then we note that after keeping the Iamb five days they were to slay it on the 14th day of Nisan in the evening. The Israelites’ day started at sundown and lasted twenty-four hours, until the next sundown, or approximately from 6:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. Evening is the Hebrew word ehreb, which means dusk or sundown, or approximately 6:00 p.m. A glance at the chart in the addendum will clarify the way that the days were counted. You will see on the chart that the lamb was selected on the 10th of Nisan and slain on the 14th. It was the custom of the time for Israel and all Eastern people to count any part of a natural day of twenty-four hours for the whole day. Therefore, the lamb being selected on the 10th, that day would be counted for the whole day, and the same would apply to the 14th, making a total of five days—according to their reckoning—that the lamb was held before it was slain.
The 6th verse of Exodus 12 states that the lamb was slain on the 14th day of the same month in the evening. This means that the Passover lamb was slain at approximately 6:00 p.m. on that day. Then the blood was sprinkled on the two side posts and upon the upper doorpost of the houses. Each household then prepared the lamb and roasted it with fire.
We are told in verse 12 that the death angel passed through the land this night, that is, the same night that the lamb was slain and roasted with fire. The Lord promised that the death angel would pass over the houses on which the blood had been sprinkled and that the firstborn of those houses were to be spared. But in all the other households in Egypt, including Pharaoh’s, the firstborn would die. Verse 29 (also 11:4) sets the time of the death angel’s visit at midnight. It follows then that after the lamb was slain at 6:00 p.m. it was prepared and roasted, and probably ready to be eaten by 10:00 p.m. The meal could have lasted until the early morning hours.
By the early morning hours, however, the Egyptians had become fully aware of what had happened to them. In verses 30, 31 we are told: “And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel.”
But the children of Israel did not leave at once. During the day from about 6:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. (this is still the 14th of Nisan), the Israelites were busy packing their belongings and making arrangements to leave. They also followed the instructions of Moses (vss. 35,36). “And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.”
By the end of the day (the 14th of Nisan) the children of Israel were ready to leave Egypt, and after dusk on the 15th of Nisan they departed from the face of Pharaoh. We read in Numbers 33:3, “And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the Passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.”
The Apostle Paul connects Jesus with the fulfillment of the typical picture of the Passover Iamb. In I Corinthians 5:7 he states: “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.”
There are many scriptures that describe Jesus as a lamb. One of the reasons was because of his submissiveness. For example, in Isaiah 53:7 he is described as a lamb brought to the slaughter. In I Peter 1:18-20 we read: “Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things … but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.” The Apostle Paul describes Jesus as holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.—Heb. 7:26
Near the end of the three and one-half years of his ministry Jesus performed the wonderful miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. And it was this miracle that hardened the determination of the scribes and Pharisees to put Jesus to death. Our Lord, knowing of this, walked no more openly. But as the Passover drew near, and realizing that his time was at hand, he went to Bethany to the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. This, according to John 12:1, was six days before the Passover, and in harmony with the Jewish custom of counting, this was the 9th of Nisan.
While he was resting in the home of Lazarus, an interesting incident occurred that revealed the fact that Jesus knew he was about to die as the antitypical Passover Lamb. John 12:3 reads, “Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.” Judas was highly critical of this demonstration of love, but Jesus said, “Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.” (vs. 7) Jesus in his foreknowledge knew that after his crucifixion his body would not be anointed. (see Luke 23:55,56; 24:1-3)
In verses 12 and 13 we read: “On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard 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.”
The next day was the 10th of Nisan, five days before the Passover. Jesus presented himself as the Deliverer and Savior of the children of Israel. This was in fulfillment of the selection of the Passover lamb on the 10th of Nisan in the type. The Prophet Zechariah also prophesied of this event in chapter 9, verse 9.
The scribes and Pharisees were distressed by this massive demonstration by the people, and in Luke 19:39,40 we read: “And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” The stones would cry out because the prophecies and types and shadows concerning our Lord had to be fulfilled according to God’s Word.
The five days before the Passover were busy days in the life of our Lord. Many of his most meaningful and profitable lessons were expounded during this time. But as these days drew to a close it was time to make ready the Passover that was to be kept on the 14th of Nisan. Since Jesus was under the law, it was incumbent upon him to keep the Passover exactly as God had instructed the Israelites to keep it in Egypt, and not as the Jews of his day were prone to do, for they had introduced variations for their own convenience.
For example, in Matthew 26:17 we read: “Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the Passover?” The Passover was not the first day of the feast of unleavened bread. According to Leviticus 23:6 the feast of unleavened bread was to start on the 15th of Nisan and was to last seven days.
In a footnote to Matthew 26:17 in the Diaglott translation there is given an explanation of this discrepancy. It reads as follows: “The Passover feast began yearly on the fourteenth day of the first moon in the Jewish month Nisan, and it lasted only one day; but it was immediately followed by the days of unleavened bread, which were seven. So that the whole lasted eight days, and all the eight days are sometimes called the feast of the Passover, and sometimes the feast (or days) of unleavened bread.” (see Luke 22:1,7) The Jews had become so insensitive to the real meaning of the Passover that it was relegated to a day of “preparation” for the Sabbath and the seven days of the feast that was to follow. (see Matthew 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:14,31)
So, as instructed by our Lord in Matthew 26:17-19, the disciples made arrangements for the Passover supper. And as stated in verse 20, “Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.” According to the Jewish method of reckoning days, this was the beginning of the 14th day of Nisan. In Luke 22:14,15 the account reads: “And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”
It would seem proper that, in accord with the correct observance of the Passover, the lamb was slain shortly after 6:00 p.m. on the 14th of Nisan, that by 10:00 p.m. the lamb was roasted, and that they sat down to the feast together. By midnight the feast was ended, and they sang a hymn and went out to the mount of Olives.—Matthew 26:30
Jesus then saith unto them: “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”—vss. 38,39
The Apostle Paul described this most trying experience of our Lord in Hebrews 5:7: “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save him from death [deliver him out of death, Diaglott], and was heard in that he feared [for his devotion, Diaglott].” Jesus knew that his purpose in coming to earth was to die in order to take Adam’s place in death. So the thought of the prayer of Jesus could not have been to save him from death but rather that, after he had passed into death, the Heavenly Father would resurrect him from the condition of death. He was concerned about the ultimate success of his mission to provide the means of blessing all the families of the earth. This objective could not be fulfilled by a dead Christ.
But Jesus received assurance of his faithfulness, and from that moment there was no hesitation, but complete submission to the experiences permitted by the Heavenly Father.
According to the time element provided to us later, it seems reasonable that about 3:00 a.m. Judas came to the garden with a multitude who had swords and staves, Jesus was betrayed and bound and delivered to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and elders were assembled. (Matt. 26:48-57) Here Jesus was given a mock trial, derided, and abused.
In Matthew 27:1, 2 we read: “When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: and when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.” It seems reasonable that “morning” was about 6:00 a.m. Then followed the trial before Pilate, the abuse at the hands of the soldiers, and afterward they led him away to crucify him.—vss. 25-35
In Mark the 15th chapter we find the time element delineated with respect to our Lord’s crucifixion and death on the Passover, the 14th of Nisan. Verse 25 states, “And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.” The third hour, according to the method of reckoning time that was then in common usage, was 9:00 a.m. Then in verse 33 we read, “And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.” The sixth hour was 12:00 noon.
The Luke account adds, “And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.” (Luke 23:44,45) Apparently God thus demonstrated his displeasure. We believe also that the rending of the veil pictured that access to the holy things would become the privilege of all those running for the high calling.
In Mark 15:34 we read, “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, … My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” And then in verse 37, “And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the spirit.” The Apostle John adds this interesting statement: “Jesus knowing that all things had already been finished, that the scripture might be fully accomplished, says: ‘I thirst.’ … Then a sponge full of vinegar, having been attached to a hyssop stalk, they brought to his mouth. When therefore, Jesus took the vinegar, he said, ‘It has been finished!’ And inclining his head, he expired.” (John 19:28-30, Diaglott). Thus Jesus died on the Passover day at the ninth hour, which is 3:00 p.m.
The Jewish sabbath is on Saturday and the next day was the sabbath day. Since the new day, the 15th of Nisan, began at 6:00 p.m., the Jews were concerned because the law required that the body of one hanged on a tree for any sin worthy of death should not remain all night upon the tree but should be buried that day. (Deut. 21:22,23) But on this occasion it was imperative that the body be taken down from the tree because the next day was the sabbath, and since the 15th of Nisan was also the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, this particular sabbath was a great one, or a high day.
We read in John 19:31,33: “Then the Jews, (that the bodies might not remain upon the cross during the sabbath, since it was the preparation [Passover]; for the day of that sabbath was a great one;) asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and they might be taken away. … But having come to Jesus, when they saw that he had already died, they did not break his legs.” (Diaglott) This was a marvelous fulfillment of the type and prophecies concerning Jesus.—Exod. 12:46; Num. 9:12
We continue the account from Luke the 23rd chapter: “And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counselor; and he was a good man, and a just. … This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. And that day was the preparation [Passover], and the sabbath drew on. And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment. Now upon the first day of the week [which was Sunday], very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. … And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.” (vss. 50-56; 24:1,3) Thus was fulfilled the statement of Jesus that the anointing by Mary six days before the Passover was unto his burying.
From the account given it is evident that our Lord was in the grave parts of three days and nights and was resurrected early on the third day. He was in the grave part of the 14th, all of the 15th, and part of the 16th of Nisan.
Because it was necessary for Jesus to keep this last Passover feast, picturing the actual fulfillment of the type, it was not possible for him to die at the same time as the typical Passover lamb, at even on the 14th of Nisan. But since from God’s standpoint this celebration ended the type and a new celebration was instituted by our Lord—one that would memorialize his death—it was possible for him to die at any time on the 14th of Nisan and still fulfill the type. This event of the last Passover supper was the point of transition between two arrangements—the one to close forever, the new to continue until the establishment of the kingdom.
Jesus expressed his feelings concerning this occasion in Luke 22:15,16: “And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer: for I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” We believe that Jesus fully realized that, as in the typical arrangement, his blood would be used first to release the antitypical firstborns, or the church of the Gospel Age, from adamic condemnation and death. And, because of this release, they could be used in a special way by the Heavenly Father. And, secondly, because of the release of the firstborns, the whole world of mankind will be delivered from condemnation and death, as pictured by Israel’s deliverance from the oppressive and evil rule of Pharaoh in Egypt.
These wonderful things pictured so beautifully in the Passover type will, as stated by our Lord, have their ultimate fulfillment in the kingdom of God.
We read in the Scriptures that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (John 3:16,17) These are comforting words, and when we reflect upon them in conjunction with the marvelous foreknowledge of the Heavenly Father demonstrated in the arrangement of the circumstances of the type and then, 1,500 years later, in the arrangement of the circumstances of the reality to fulfill the type, we are overwhelmed by this demonstration of wisdom and power. And we are thankful for the assurance that we find here of the ultimate fulfillment of the promise that he will bless all the families of the earth.
Addendum
We feel that additional information would be valuable in clarifying certain points. It did not seem practical to include this information in the body of the article.
The Day of Preparation
The day of preparation was officially the day preceding the sabbath and was the time when the Jews made preparation for the celebration of the sabbath. Usually the preparation started about 3:00 p.m., but as was the custom of the Jews, a part of the day was counted for the whole twenty-four hours. In this instance the Passover and the day of preparation fell on the same day, a Friday. The sabbath, according to Jewish custom, was Saturday.
John 19:14
There is a seeming discrepancy in the time element surrounding the crucifixion as recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and that of John 19:14. It was the custom of the time to divide the hours of the day into twelve and to divide the hours of the night the same way. The first hour of the day was an hour after the sun rose, the third hour was about 9:00 a.m., and the sixth hour was noon, the ninth hour 3:00 p.m. and the twelfth hour was when the sun set, or approximately 6:00 p.m. The Gospel writers, except John, adhered to this practice. The Apostle John seems to have reckoned the hours as we do, not only in this particular scripture, but in others as well. The sixth hour referred to in this instance, therefore, was about 6:00 a.m. This brings this element of time more into harmony with the other gospels.
High Day, John 19:31
The Greek word for the preparation, here and other places, is parasceve. In verse 14 it is parasceve of the pash; that is, the day before the paschal sabbath. The eve of every sabbath was called the parasceve, or day of preparation. But this was the eve of a high sabbath, viz., that which fell in the paschal week. In Leviticus 23:5-7 we read: “In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord’s Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.”
Therefore the sabbath following the Passover was a great one because it was not only the sabbath, but also the first day of the feast of unleavened bread.
Three Days and Three Nights—Matthew 12:39,40
“But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
This text has troubled many expositors and many brethren as well. Some teach that in order to bring together the three days and three nights during which our Lord was in the grave, he must have died either on Wednesday or Thursday. But to take such a stand it is necessary to discard the fact that Jesus fulfilled the type by dying on the 14th of Nisan, the Passover.
The three days and three nights must be interpreted according to Hebrew usage. It was customary with Eastern nations to reckon any part of a natural day of twenty-four hours for the whole day. Accordingly, they used to say a thing was done after three or seven days, if it was done on the third or seventh day from that last mentioned. Instances of this may be seen in I Kings 20:29; II Chronicles 10:5,12, and in many other places. And, as the Hebrews had no word exactly corresponding to the Greek to signify a natural day of twenty-four hours, they used night and day or day and night for it. (see Esther 4:16; 5:1; Gen. 7:4,12; Exod. 24:18; 34:18) Reference: Benson Commentary, Vol. 1, page 115.
We therefore conclude that Jesus was not in the grave for three full days and three full nights, but rather parts of three days and nights.
The internal evidence also supports this conclusion. In Mark 16:2 we read, “And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.” The first day of the week is Sunday, according to Jewish reckoning, and when the women arrived Jesus had already been resurrected. So he had been in the grave part of this day from 6:00 p.m. until the early morning. This was the 16th of Nisan.
The day prior to this was the sabbath, or the 15th of Nisan. Jesus was in the grave all of this day, twenty-four hours, from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The day prior to the sabbath was Friday, the 14th of Nisan, or the Passover. Jesus died on the cross the ninth hour, or approximately 3:00 p.m., and was buried in the tomb by Joseph of Arimathaea before the end of that day, or 6:00 p.m. Jesus was therefore in the grave a part of the 14th of Nisan.
In summary, therefore, Jesus was in the grave for parts of three days and nights according to Hebrew reckoning. This conclusion is verified also by the statement recorded in Luke 24:21, “And beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done.” That was on the first day of the week. Reckoning back. Saturday would be the second day, and Friday the first day, the day on which Christ died.