Coming together for a meal to remember a special lamb

Tonight we come together for remembering what Jesus has done for each of us.

During Jesus’s last days on earth, he new calamity was approaching. First he wanted to start the Festival of unleavened bread with his closest friends. He was very well aware of the meaning of that remembrance day every Jew had to ‘celebrate’. It was a God given festival he also wanted to keep with his closest friends.therefore he came together to have that evening meal with his apostles and the ones dear to his heart. Though for him it was not only to remember bloodshed of the lambs in Egypt and the passover of the messengers of God so that the People of God could leave Egypt and in this way could leave slavery from man behind.

Now Jesus wanted to get his friends to know his end was near, but that he would offer himself as a fresh lamb for God, giving his body, his flesh and blood, to sign a New Covenant with God.

Tonight we think of that Last Supper and read in the Scriptures what went on later in the night and the next hours when the sun had come up and before it became dark again.

We shall come to read what happened in the upper room and how Jesus took the bread and wine as symbols for his bloodshed a few hours later.

We shall also come to read what happened in the garden of olives and see what an agony went on in Jesus heart. The fear in him was great, and therefore he asked God to release him from the great tragedy that was in his path. But, he had sufficient faith to finish the prayer with,

“not my will, but yours”,

trusting God with his eternal fate.

We are expected to have Jesus type of faith, trusting God even unto death, this is how we save our eternal life. If we love our physical life too much, being afraid to die, then we risk losing our eternal life. We must learn to trust God completely, knowing he chooses when we slip into the beyond.

Jesus as a man of flesh and blood could really die. God is the only One Who cannot die. But Jesus like us was a mortal who had to trust the promise of God. Doing God His Will, he gave himself as a ransom for our sins. He died at the stake and was put in a grave. But we shall read also how after three days in hell (the grave) Jesus was taken out of the dead, as an example for what can happen also to us.

All those events we shall remember tonight, are of such importance that they may be part of the most important days of our Christian church year.

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Additional reading

1. Actions to be a reflection of openness of heart
2. Solution for Willing hearts filled with gifts
3. Commentary on Parashat Tazria
4. 9 Adar and bickering or loving followers of the Torah preparing for Pesach
5. Purification and perfection
6. Shabbat HaGadol in preparation for Pesach
7. Symptom of tzara’at a white spot on the flesh
8. Search for any remnant of chametz
9. Thinking about fear for the Loving God and an Invitation for 14 Nisan
10. A meal as a mitzvah so that every generation would remember
11. Torah Portion – Pesach B
12. Observance of a day to Remember
13. Celebrations pointing to events of ultimate meaning
14. This day shall be unto you for a memorial and you shall keep it a feast to the Most High God
15. Able to celebrate the Passover in all of its prophetic fulfilment
16. A great evening and special days to look forward in 2019
17. Most important day in Christian year
18. Lost senses or a clear focus on the one at the stake
19. Worthy partakers of the body of Christ
20. 1691 years ago on June the 20th in 325
21. Peter Cottontail and a Bunny laying Eastereggs

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Further related

1. April 18, 2019 Maundy Thursday-The Lord of Life, Given for Us -Luke 22:7-23
2. Maundy Thursday
3. Maundy Thursday – Breaking the New Commandment
4. Bridget of Kildare: “Thy most worthy Passion”
5. Last Day on Earth
6. INRI Appam
7. Christ-Defining Moment (Sermon)
8. 14. Nisan Abendmahl Gedächtnismahl Todestag Jesus Christus
9. The Date of Christ’s Dead; Catholics Got It Right?
10. The Silence of the Tomb

Most important weekend of the year 2016

Assembled together on the night before he died, Jeshua and his disciples and closest friends came together in an upper room to celebrate the Passover meal.  They recalled the great story of deliverance: how the people of Israel had been freed from bondage and slavery by God’s power through the prophet Moses.  They remembered how the blood of the lamb marked the lintel and doorposts so that the Angel of Death would pass by the people as it brought devastation to the land of Egypt.  They ate the unleavened bread, mindful that the Israelites were in such a hurry to depart Egypt that their own bread had not yet risen.

That night the 14th of Nisan is one Jesus wanted to be remembered for an other occasion as well. Not only had his followers to remember the deliverance of God’s Chosen People, the Israelites, but now their rabbi had opened they way for others than Jews.

By his own example the sent one from God showed how his followers had to become servants for God and for the People of God. Like Jesus had called for people to follow him, the apostles had to come to do so too. They too had to become as humble as Christ was. As a sign of humbleness Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. The work which is reserved for servants Jesus did and he also asked them to do the same for one another.  There is no ambiguity in this moment, no chance to say it is merely a symbol.  Christ shows them what to do and tells them to do it (John 13:1-15); the path that leads to freedom from sin and death is marked by our care for our brothers and sisters.  Simply put, our lives are meant to be offered for others – giving ourselves in service.

In the end, in life which passes so quickly and everything is vanity (like Solomon writes in today’s reading – Ecclesiastes 1) everything turns around “Giving and Receiving”.  We all have received the Grace of God by the sent one from God, who is the son of man and the son of God, who gave his life for our sins.

Like Jesus offered himself as a lamb of God to have his blood as a signpost to deliver us from the punishment of death, we too should offer our lives as we are strengthened by the Messiah and are giving life-spirit by the blood of Christ, being partakers in the Body of Christ.

Thanks to the ransom offer brought by Jesus God blesses us with the gift of life and faith so that we in turn might be a gift to those around us.

As God commanded to remember the night the firstborns of Israel where saved so also Jesus asked his followers to remember the day he gave his body and poured out his blood for the salvation of mankind.

Long before the Mosaic Law covenant was altered, Jehovah foretold through the prophet Jeremiah that He would make with the nation of Israel “a new covenant.”

32 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their forefathers on the day I took hold of their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt,+ ‘my covenant that they broke,+ although I was their true master,’* declares Jehovah.”

33 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares Jehovah. “I will put my law within them,+ and in their heart I will write it.+ And I will become their God, and they will become my people.”+(Jeremiah 31:32, 33)

Stained glass image of the Lamb of God (Agnus Dei) with a Christian banner. photo by John Workman in St. Ignatius church in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Throughout history we have seen how God made Himself a people. For a very long time it was for the People of Israel that there was a covenant on which they could count. One of the regulations or demands was to remember how the exodus from Egypt was made possible. That putting of blood at the doorposts could also considered as a signature of choosing for God, which made it possible to be passed over for damnation or destruction. After that event there was still a need of offers to be brought to the temple or synagogue. But on the 14th of Nisan Jesus spoke about an other offer which would not have to be repeated any more and which would be sufficient for all times. though that offer would not take away the remembrance of the liberation marks.

Jesus came to institute and Evening Meal on Nisan 14, 33 C.E. Speaking of the cup of wine, he told his 11 faithful apostles:

“This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured out in your behalf.” (Luke 22:20)

Matthew’s account quotes Jesus as saying regarding the wine:

“This means my ‘blood of the covenant,’ which is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins.” (Matt. 26:27, 28)

Jesus’ shed blood validates the new covenant. That blood also makes possible the forgiveness of sins once and for all time.

A few years later the apostle Paul would remind the new followers

14 Therefore, my beloved ones, flee from idolatry.+ 15 I speak as to men with discernment; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of the Christ?+ The loaf that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of the Christ?+ 17 Because there is one loaf, we, although many, are one body,+ for we are all partaking of that one loaf. (1 Corinthians 10: 16-17)

On that special intimate night rabbi Jeshua had taken the bread and the wine.

26 As they continued eating, Jesus took a loaf, and after saying a blessing, he broke it,+ and giving it to the disciples, he said: “Take, eat. This means my body.”+(Matthew 26:26)

19 Also, he took a loaf,+ gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, saying: “This means my body,+ which is to be given in your behalf.+ Keep doing this in remembrance of me.”+(Luke 22:19)

Notice how Jesus says

Keep doing this in remembrance of me.

The blood+ of the covenant,+ which is to be poured out in behalf of many+ for forgiveness of sins + should, like the blood of the lambs for the liberation of the Jews from the Egyptian slavery, be contributed to the heathen or pagan people who are willing to come under the blood of Christ, whitewashed from sin. But they should remember it and come together, more than once in a year, because Jesus asks it to do it often and whenever we do it to do it in remembrance of him.

23 For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night+ on which he was going to be betrayed took a loaf, 24 and after giving thanks, he broke it and said: “This means my body,+ which is in your behalf. Keep doing this in remembrance of me.”+ 25 He did the same with the cup+ also, after they had the evening meal, saying: “This cup means the new covenant+ by virtue of my blood.+ Keep doing this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”+  (1 Chorinthians 11: 23-26)

For that reason we should come together today and remember the Exodus out of Egypt, out of slavery of the worldly work, but also the exodus from the slavery of sin and death.

14 “‘This day will serve as a memorial for you, and you must celebrate it as a festival to Jehovah throughout your generations. As a lasting statute, you should celebrate it.(Exodus 12:14)

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Please read also the related articles concerning this special weekend, 14 Nisan and following days:

1. 1 -15 Nisan
2. Yom Hey, Eve of Passover and liberation of many people
3. This day shall be unto you for a memorial and you shall keep it a feast to the Most High God
4. 14-15 Nisan and Easter
5. Days of Nisan, Pesach, Pasach, Pascha and Easter
6. Getting out of the dark corners of this world
7. A Holy week in remembrance of the Blood of life
8. Around the feast of Unleavened Bread
9. The son of David and the first day of the feast of unleavened bread
10. Day of remembrance coming near
11. A new exodus and offering of a Lamb
12. Observance of a day to Remember
13. Jesus memorial
14. Holidays, holy days and traditions
15. Seven Bible Feasts of JHWH
16. White Privilege Conference (WPC) wanting to keep the press out for obvious reasons
17. First month of the year and predictions
18. Entrance of a king to question our position #2 Who do we want to see and to be
19. Death of Christ on the day of preparation
20. A Great Gift commemorated
21. Shabbat Pesach service reading 1/2
22. Passover and Liberation Theology
23. Seven days of Passover
24. Kingdom Visions of Rainbowed angel, Lamb in Mount Zion
25. Kingdom Visions of God’s judgements and Marriage of the Lamb
26. The Song of The Lamb #2 Sevens
27. The Song of The Lamb #7 Revelation 15
28. Why we do not keep to a Sabbath or a Sunday or Lord’s Day #3 Days to be kept holy or set apart
29. Easter holiday, fun and rejoicing
30. Like grasshoppers
31. Peter Cottontail and a Bunny laying Eastereggs
32. Who Would You Rather Listen To?
33. Focus on outward appearances
34. After darkness a moment of life renewal
35. Deliverance and establishment of a theocracy

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Related articles

• An Easter Encouragement
• BEHOLD the Lamb of God – prayer for all pagan nations – prayer for The Jewish Nation
• Editorial: Faith
• When’s Easter?
• The Last Supper was a Passover meal
• God will provide the Lamb.
• Good Friday 3 April AD 33 – Lunar and Solar Eclipses as Christ died on the Cross
• Good Friday
• We are called to a radical obedience
• Passover Tradition

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We wish you a nice memorial day and a holy Pesach

Johannes de Doper wijst Christus aan als het Lam Gods. Ca. 1500-1510 – Saint John the Baptist Pointing Out Christ as the Lamb of God Philadelphia Museum of Art – Master of the Saint John Altarpiece

The Anointed One and the first day of No Fermentation

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Then, when he went to Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples, ‘Who are people saying the Son of Man is?’  And they replied, ‘Some say you’re John the Baptist, others EliJah, and still others say you are JeremiAh or one of the Prophets.’  And he asked, ‘But, who do you say that I am?’  And Simon Peter answered: ‘You’re the Anointed; the Son of the Living God.’  Then Jesus said to him, ‘You are blest, Simon, son of JonAh, because this wasn’t shown to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in the heavens.  ‘I also tell you this: You are Rock (Peter); but I will build my congregation on this bedrock so that the gates of the place of the dead won’t overpower it.  I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in the heavens. And whatever you set free on the earth will be set free in the heavens.’  Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he is the Anointed One.  And that’s when Jesus (the Anointed) started showing his disciples that he would have to go to JeruSalem and suffer many things at [the hands of] the elders, Chief Priests, and scribes. Then he would be killed, but [he would be] raised on the third day.
(Matthew 16:13-21 2001)Then, starting on the road to JeruSalem, Jesus took the twelve disciples off privately and explained this to them:  ‘Look, we’re going up to JeruSalem where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the Chief Priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death.  Then they will hand him over to the ethnics, who will make fun of him, whip him, and impale him. But on the third day, he will be raised!’
(Matthew 20:17-19 2001)Well, when they got close to JeruSalem and arrived at BethPhage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples ahead,  telling them, ‘Go to the village, the one that’s across from us, and you will immediately find a burro that’s tied with its colt. Untie them and bring them to me.  And if anyone says anything, just tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will immediately send them with you.’  The reason why this happened is so the thing spoken through the Prophet might be fulfilled, ‘Tell this to the daughter of Zion:
Look! Your King is coming to you!
[He’s] gentle and comes riding the colt of a burro;
The son of an animal that labors.’  So, the disciples went and did just as Jesus told them.  They brought the burro and its colt, put a robe [over its’ back], and he sat on it.  And as most of the crowd spread their robes on the road, others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then, part of the crowd walked ahead of him, and the rest who followed behind were shouting: ‘[God] save the Son of David! Praise the one who comes in Jehovah’s Name… may [God] in the highest places save him!’  Well, when he entered JeruSalem, the whole city was stirred up [as people asked], ‘Who is this?’  But the crowd [that was with Jesus] answered, ‘He’s Jesus, the Prophet from NazarEth of GaliLee!’
(Matthew 21:1-11 2001)Now, when Jesus had finished saying all these things, he told his disciples:  ‘You know that the Passover will be here in just two days, and the Son of Man is going to be betrayed and hung on a pole.’  Then the Chief Priests and the peoples’ elders gathered in the courtyard of the High Priest (who was called CaiAphas)  to discuss sneaky ways to grab Jesus and kill him.  However, they decided not [to do it] at the festival, because that would have created a commotion among the people.
(Matthew 26:1-5 2001)

It was on the first day of No Fermentation that the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?’  And he said: ‘Go into the city to (a certain person), and tell him that the Teacher says, My appointed time is near, so I will celebrate the Passover with my disciples in your home.’  Then the disciples did just as Jesus ordered and got things ready for the Passover.  It was that evening, while [Jesus] was reclining at the table  eating with the twelve disciples, that he said: ‘I tell you the truth; One of you will betray me.’  And deeply saddened at this, they all asked him, ‘Lord, it isn’t me, is it?’  And he answered, ‘One who has dipped his hand in this bowl with me will betray me.  Indeed, the Son of Man will go, just as it was written about him. But woe to the one through whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for him if he had never been born!’  Then Judas (the one who was about to betray him) asked, ‘That isn’t what I am, is it Rabbi?’ And [Jesus] replied, ‘You said it yourself.’  Then, as they ate, Jesus took a loaf, and after giving thanks, broke it and gave it to the disciples saying: ‘Take some and eat it, because this is my body.’  He also took a cup [of wine], and after giving thanks, gave it to them saying, ‘All of you drink from it,  because this is my blood of the New Sacred Agreement, which will be poured out for many to forgive [their] sins.  But I tell you that I definitely won’t drink of this product of the vine anymore, until that day when I will drink it new with you in the Kingdom of my Father.’  Finally, after singing songs of praise, they went out to the Mount of Olives.  [It was there that] Jesus said to them: ‘All of you will be stumbled [by what will happen to] me tonight, because it’s written: I will beat the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.  But after I wake up, I will go ahead of you into GaliLee.’  However, Peter said to him: ‘Although all the others may be stumbled, I’ll never be trapped!’  Then Jesus said: ‘I tell you the truth; Before a rooster crows tonight, you will have denied knowing me three times.’  But Peter said: ‘Even if I have to die with you, I’ll never deny knowing you!’ And all the other disciples said the same thing.  Then Jesus went with them to the spot called GethSemane (the Oil Press), and he told his disciples: ‘Sit here while I go over there to pray.’
(Matthew 26:17-36 2001)

Now, when you meet together in one place, it isn’t to eat the Lord’s Supper,  for, you’re all [bringing] your own meals to eat before you partake. So, who knows who’s still hungry and who’s already had too much to drink?  Don’t you have homes where you can eat and drink? Or do you condemn the congregation of God and shame those who are poor? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? In this, I don’t praise you.  I received this from the Lord and I’ve also shared it with you… that the Lord Jesus (on the very night that he was going to be handed over) took a loaf,  and after giving thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body [which is given] for you. Keep on doing this in memory of me.’  And after supper, he did the same thing with the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new Sacred Agreement of my blood. Keep on doing this… and as often as you drink it, think of me.’  So, as often as you eat the loaf and drink from the cup, you keep proclaiming the death of the Lord until he arrives.  But whoever eats the loaf and drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily, will be held responsible to the Lord’s body and blood.  So, each man should prove what he is first; then he can eat from the loaf and drink from the cup.  For, those who eat and drink, eat and drink judgment on themselves if they don’t judge [the worthiness of] their bodies.  That’s why many of you are weak and unhealthy, and quite a few are asleep!  However, if we would judge ourselves, we wouldn’t have to be judged.  Yet, when we are judged, we have to be disciplined by the Lord, so we aren’t condemned along with the world.  So, my brothers; When you come together to eat, wait for each other!  And if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so you don’t meet for judgment. As for the rest of the matters; I’ll straighten them out when I get there.
(1 Corinthians 11:20-34 2001)

Last Supper – Embroidery ca 1890 by Amandus Vaandel

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Please do find to read:

1. 1 -15 Nisan
2. Deliverance and establishement of a theocracy
3. Day of remembrance coming near
4. 14 Nisan a day to remember #1 Inception
5. 14 Nisan a day to remember #2 Time of Jesus
6. 14 Nisan a day to remember #3 Before the Passover-feast
7. 14 Nisan a day to remember #4 A Lamb slain
8. 14 Nisan a day to remember #5 The Day to celebrate
9. Around the feast of Unleavened Bread
10. High Holidays not only for Israel
11. Observance of a day to Remember
12. Festival of Freedom and persecutions

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Related articles

• Jesus is anointed (myeverydaygod.com)
  Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was, the one Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for Him there; Martha was serving them, and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. Then Mary took a pound of fragrant oil—pure and expensive nard—anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped His feet with her hair. So the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
• Jesus celebrates Passover (myeverydaygod.com)
  Tonight we spread a blanket on the floor, cut a slab of homemade bread, poured a glass of juice and celebrated Communion.My husband Matt took the bread and blessed it. He broke off pieces that he gave to each of us. We talked about what the bread symbolized, Jesus’s broken body, and how when we eat it, we must remember and thank God for His amazing sacrifice for us.
• Carissimi; Sunday’s Mass: Palm Sunday (frjeromeosjv.wordpress.com)
  Palm Sunday would be in any case a great and holy day, as it commemorates the last triumph of Our Lord Jesus Christ on earth and opens the Holy Week.
• Feet and Bread (bongodogblog.com)
  Holy week? I haven’t been digging any holes lately.
• “The Bible” Mini-Series recap Ep.8 Betrayal (outersparkle.com)
  In the week before Passover, Jerusalem is full of pilgrims, celebrating the Israelites’ liberation from slavery in Egypt. The desire for freedom from their oppressors, the Romans, burns strong. Now, Jesus makes his entrance riding on a donkey – a declaration that he is the Messiah. The crowd rejoices. But High Priest Caiaphas recoils in horror – any unrest and Pilate will shut down the Temple. Now, Jesus confounds all in a protest against hypocrisy by turning on the money- changers in the Temple.
• New Palm Sunday Narrative W/imagery on Audio (toolsforspirituallivingbarbarahsblog.com)
  The Anointing at Bethany is one of the examples FutureChurch gives of gospels that focus on women moved out of their chronological order to a weekday, when most of a church’s congregation is not present.  As a result, the role of women in church history is marginalized, and  efforts to regain equality between women and men in church leadership is resisted to the highest levels.
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  As you read about The Anointing At Bethany notice how it illustrates Jesus’ support of women disciples’ desire to learn about God; how the story contrasts the concern of Mary for Jesus with those of Judas for money.
• Tree of Jesus Life, the Suffering Christ, Passion Week (jharbin77.wordpress.com)
  ‘Behold your King is coming to you,
  Gentle, and mounted on a donkey,
  Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
• The Lord has Need of Them – remix (mrbnd.wordpress.com)
  So, a few decades ago there was a popular hymn in church. It actually dates back to the late 1800′s. it was called “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder.” It actually carries a fine message.
• The Gospel of Luke – The Time of Testing (friarmusings.wordpress.com)
  Throughout Luke, Jesus is portrayed as entering prayer before key moment – and this holds true here also.
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  After the Passover feast, Jesus and his disciples go “to the Mount of Olives” (22:39). Luke situates this dramatic prayer of Jesus on that mountain where Judaism expected the end of the world to take place.  Luke has streamlined and simplified Mark’s account of the agony in the garden. The scene is focused on Jesus and not the disciples (as Luke does not include Jesus’ repeated trips back to the apostles).
• Palm Sunday (pastorjohnkeller.org)
  Are you a follower who shouts Hosanna or a stone-cold skeptic that keeps your mouth shut? Or a stone that longs to sing?

14 Nisan a day to remember #5 The Day to celebrate

God’s Passover is to be held on the fourteenth day of the first month

The Bible tells us that Passover is always on Nisan 14. Numbers 28:16-17 says: “In the first month on the 14th day of the month is Adonai’s Pesach (Passover). On the 15th day of the month is to be a feast.” The Scriptures verify this several times. On the 14th, as Jehovah instructed, His people were to slaughter the lamb toward twilight/dusk toward the evening and eat it “that same night” – because the 15th was to be a feast.

The Jews’ Passover, by James Tissot (1836–1902) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So on the night when the 14th Nisan begins we as believers come together to commemorate the last moments of the life of Jesus Christ. The days afterwards we can gather with family and friends and celebrate the liberation of God’s people. When it is still day light it would be still the 14th of Nisan but as soon the sun goes under the 15th of Nisan begins and the evening meal can be taken full of joy, because the people who could leave Egypt was the way to the Land of God for the Jews. And the death of Christ was the liberation of all people so that everybody could receive the opportunity to come closer to God and would be able to enter the Kingdom of God.

We should always remember that Jesus himself said to the apostles, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;” (Luke 22:15 NAS) Jeshua died on the first evening of Passover, and Passover seders are to be held on the evening (sunset) of Nisan 14th, for the 15th (which starts immediately after sunset) is to be a feast (Numbers 28:16-17).

As such we are happy to invite everybody to gather with those who believe in Christ his death and resurrection for becoming our mediator between God and man and would like to find them in prayer and worship on 14 Nisan at the memorial table.

“”For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite [you.]” (Exodus 12:23 NAS)

“”You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed.” (Exodus 23:15 NAS)

“”You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt.” (Exodus 34:18 NAS)

“3  “You shall not eat leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat with it unleavened bread, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), in order that you may remember all the days of your life the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. 4  “For seven days no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory, and none of the flesh which you sacrifice on the evening of the first day shall remain overnight until morning. 5  “You are not allowed to sacrifice the Passover in any of your towns which the LORD your God is giving you; 6  but at the place where the LORD your God chooses to establish His name, you shall sacrifice the Passover in the evening at sunset, at the time that you came out of Egypt. 7  “And you shall cook and eat it in the place which the LORD your God chooses. And in the morning you are to return to your tents. 8  “Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD your God; you shall do no work on it.” (Deuteronomy 16:3-8 NAS)

2013 Confusion or controversy

This year there were many controversies on which day to hold the Memorial Meal. We take the gospel of John in consideration where is spoken of the 14th of Nisan as “the preparation of the Passover.” The next morning, after the final supper Jeshua had with his disciples, after the Jews had apprehended Jeshua and interrogated him, early that morning, they led him to the hall of judgement be judged by Pontius Pilate, Roman governor. The Jews themselves, however, would not go into the Roman judgement hall, “lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the Passover” (John 18:28). Clearly Passover had not yet come. So for sure the 14 Nisan or our Memorial Meal service would have to take place one evening before the night the Jews would take their Pesach seder.

According to certain Jewish groups Erev Pesach (‘Eve of Passover’) – First Seder would be on Monday March 25, 14 Nissan, 5773.
The Torah (Exodus 12:15, as per Talmud, Pesachim 5a) sets midday of Nissan 14—for 2013 on Monday March 25^th –as the deadline for the destruction and/or removal of all leavened foods (“chametz”) from their possession in preparation for the festival of Passover, which begins that evening at nightfall. In practice, Torah law mandates that we desist from eating chametz two hours before midday, and that no leaven remain in our possession an hour before midday. These are not clock hours but “proportional hours”, defined by Jewish law as a 12th part of the time between sunrise and sunset.
When the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem, the Passover offering was brought there on the afternoon of Nissan 14 which would mean on the afternoon Tuesday 26. That day it is commemorated by the Jews their recitation of the “Order of the Passover Offering” in the afternoon of Tuesday 26 March, by the “shankbone” placed on the seder plate this evening, and the afikoman — a portion of matzah eaten in its stead at the end of the seder meal.

The Jewish calendar date begins at sundown of the night beforehand. Thus all holiday observances begin at sundown on the secular dates listed, with the following day being the first full day of the holiday. (Thus, the first Passover seder is held on the evening of the first date listed.) Jewish calendar dates conclude at nightfall.

The first two days of Passover (from sundown of the first date listed, until nightfall two days later) are full-fledged, no-work-allowed holiday days. The subsequent four days are Chol Hamoed, when work is allowed, albeit with restrictions. Chol Hamoed is followed by another two full holiday days.

According Chabad the holiday of Pesach, or Passover, falling on the Hebrew calendar dates of Nissan 15-22.

Here are coinciding secular dates for the upcoming years:

2013:   March 25-April 2

First Seder – Night of Monday, March 25, 2013
First Day – Tuesday March 26, 2013
Second Seder – Night of Tuesday March 26, 2013
Second Day – Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Seventh Day – Monday, April 1, 2013
Eighth Day – Tuesday, April 2, 2013

2014:   April 14-22

2015:   April 3-11

2016:   April 22-30

2017:   April 10-18

According to The Premier Kosher Information Source on the Internet Passover begins with the first Seder on the eve of the 15^th day of Nisan, corresponding (according to them) to Monday evening, March 25, 2013, and ends outside of Israel at the conclusion of the 22^nd day of Nisan, corresponding to Tuesday evening, April 2, 2013.

Festive Seder table with wine, matza and Seder plate. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

According to us we have to take in account the difference of timing of the East (Jerusalem), Europe and the United States (even there the East and West coast).

For 2013 we had New Moon on March the 11^th and Full Moon on March 27, so 14 Nisan should be on the evening of 26 March this year.

Therefore we kindly invite you to join us on Tuesday night for the Memorial of Jesus’ death, the Pesach or Lamb of God. On that evening we shall meet to commemorate the greatest man on earth and we shall examine what makes Jesus—and his sacrifice—so vitally important.

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Preceding articles: 14 Nisan a day to remember #4 A Lamb slain

14 Nisan a day to remember #3 Before the Passover-feast

14 Nisan a day to remember #2 Time of Jesus

14 Nisan a day to remember #1 Inception

Dutch version / Nederlandse versie: 14 Nisan een dag om te herinneren #5 De te vieren dag

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Please do find also other related articles:

Articles on 14 Nisan and Pesach/Pascha:

1. 1 -15 Nisan
2. Day of remembrance coming near
3. Around the feast of Unleavened Bread
4. Pesach
5. Korban Pesach
6. Seven days of Passover
7. Day of remembrance coming near
8. Observance of a day to Remember
9. Jesus memorial
10. Bread and Wine
11. Deliverance and establishement of a theocracy
12. High Holidays not only for Israel
13. Festival of Freedom and persecutions

About Jesus his death:

1. About a man who changed history of humankind
2. How is it that Christ pleased God so perfectly?
3. God showing how far He is willing to go to save His children
4. Grace and beloved by God
5. The meek one riding on an ass
6. Why did Jesus have to die on the cross?
7. A new exodus and offering of a Lamb
8. Ransom for all
9. Swedish theologian finds historical proof Jesus did not die on a cross
10. Impaled until death overtook him
11. The day Jesus died
12. Jesus three days in hell
13. The redemption of man by Christ Jesus
14. The one who makes us well and gives life

About Easter:

1. Peter Cottontail and a Bunny laying Eastereggs
2. Altered to fit a Trinity
3. Jesus is risen
4. Risen With Him
5. Christ has indeed been raised from the dead
6. A season of gifts
7. Wishing lanterns and Christmas

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Related articles

• How long was Jesus in the grave? (wnd.com)
  For centuries, Christians have observed the crucifixion of Jesus as being on Friday afternoon and the resurrection at dawn the following Sunday. This is only a period of about  40 hours and certainly does not fit Jesus’ prediction of three days and three nights?
  “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a whale, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth,”  Matthew 12:40. The problem is neither with Jesus’ prediction nor with the Bible. The problem is with our tradition that misses a very important fact of the events of that week in Jesus’ ministry. The Bible tells us that Jesus was crucified on the Day of Preparation for the Passover Sabbath (Mark 15:42, Luke 23:54, John 19:14, 31). The Hebrew calendar begins each day at the evening twilight of the previous day. For example, the Jewish Friday begins at what would be the beginning of Thursday evening on our calendars. The Day of Preparation for Passover was always the 14^th of the Hebrew month Abib (also known as Nisan). Passover began that evening, the 15^th.

• Preparations for the Passover Meal – Luke 22: 7-13 (shalommysticwind.wordpress.com)
  The synoptic want to emphasize the Passover significance of the Last Supper and therefore they date it to the night of 14^th or 15^th of Nisan when the Jews celebrate their Passover Meal. Here the Last Supper is presented as Jesus’ own Passover, the new Passover Meal of his own body and blood. In gospel of John, however, the death of Jesus is connected with the Passover and not the Last Supper. Jesus the Lamb of God is sacrificed on the Cross at a time when the Passover lambs are slaughtered in preparation for the Passover Meal.

• Passover and the Feast of First Fruits (thebereanstand.wordpress.com)
  At the end of this month Christians around the world will be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the week before Jews will be observing the Passover. What most Christians do not know is that these two “Holy-days” are related to each other. The story of the preparations for the Passover Meal is itself introductory to the account of the Last Supper in Luke 22: 14-23.
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  The parallel passages in Matthew 26: 17-19 and Mark 14: 12-16 also present Jesus’ meal with his disciples as a Passover Meal held on the 14^th or 15^th night of Nisan. The same night Jesus was arrested and the following day, namely, on 15^th of Nisan he was crucified. It is also interesting to note that the three synoptic evangelists explicitly mention that day as the day of preparation, that is, the day before a Sabbath (cf. Mk 15: 42; Mt 27: 62; Lk 23; 54-56). The fourth evangelist (John) is also in agreement with the synoptic on this point.

• Our Passover Lamb (eternalchrist.wordpress.com)
  What does it mean that Christ is the fulfillment of the Law and prophets?One of the ways we can see this is by examining the Feasts ofIsrael. YHWH established appointed times that the nation of Israel wouldmeet with Him in worship and thanksgiving. There were three feasts in the Spring (Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits); one in the Summer (Pentecost); and three in the Fall (Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacle).
  Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of these feasts, or appointed times.

• Faith Without Obidience (ioan17.wordpress.com)
   Special care was to be taken of this lamb until the 14th of the month, the Passover, when the lamb would be slaughtered at twilight.  On the original Passover, the blood of the  lamb was smeared on the doorposts of every Hebrew home to distinguish them from the Egyptians and to protect them from the destroyer.

• Happy Passover 2013 (/aksyrin.wordpress.com)
  Much of the symbolism of Jesus’ last Passover week is lost to us because we are unaware of the customs of the time.
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  The day Jesus was crucified was the day of the Passover celebration and the day that the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed. For the previous 1,200 years, the priest would blow the shophar (ram’s horn) at 3:00 p.m. – the moment the lamb was sacrificed, and all the people would pause to contemplate the sacrifice for sins on behalf of the people of Israel.At 3:00, when Jesus was being crucified, He said, “It is finished” – at the moment that the Passover lamb was sacrificed and the shophar was blown from the Temple. The sacrifice of the lamb of God was fulfilled at the hour that the symbolic animal sacrifice usually took place. At the same time, the veil of the Temple (a three-inch thick, several  story high cloth that demarked the Holy of Holies) tore from top to bottom – representing a removal of the separation between God and man. Fifty days later, on the  anniversary of the giving of the law (Pentecost), God left the earthly temple to inhabit those who call on the name of Jesus through His Holy Spirit.
• The Lamb of God (calvinistview.com)
  One source tells us that around the time of Christ, 256,000 lambs were slain in Jerusalem for just one Passover. According to ancient Jewish law, there were ten people required for every one lamb. So that puts the population in Jerusalem for Passover at roughly 2.5 million people plus!

• The Passover Lamb has Gone Missing (waynehilsden.com)
  After sunset we join Jews around the world in a “seder” meal.
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  The lamb has gone missing. Yet the lamb of God was essential to Israel‘s redemption. As followers of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah we behold with the Jewish prophet John “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).  And we celebrate Passover knowing that Jesus is the reason for the season. In the words of Rabbi Saul/Paul, “For indeed Messiah, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.” (1 Corinthians 5:7)