countdown to Sinai

Goshen To Canaan

Goshen to Gaza is only 210 kilometers, and it is easy traveling. Abraham probably traveled this route when he went down to Egypt. Even though the Philistines lived in heavily fortified cities, and were great warriors, God could have delivered them into the hands of Israel, if that were His will. But He planned for them to go to Sinai, and receive the law, and be tested in their faith. And a trip that might have taken fifteen days turned into forty years. But Israel gave us a lot of stories along the way that can teach us about faith and loyalty.

Exo 13:17  When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, "Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt." 

13:18  But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. 

13:19  Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here." 

13:20  And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. 

13:21  And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 

13:22  The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

Six hundred thousand men of fighting age, and a host of women and children, with animals, marched day and night leaving Egypt. Their first stop may have been on the sixth day after leaving Egypt, the commanded day of rest, the end of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Exo 12:15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 

12:16 On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. 

12:17 And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. 

12:18 In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 

12:19 For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. 

12:20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread."

Traveling six days, they came to this large Wadi, with thousands of palms and trees that would have provided for construction of booths, and for feeding the animals.

Succoth Camp

Moses gives a listing of the camps along the way in Numbers,  

Num 33:3  They set out from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the day after the Passover, the people of Israel went out triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians, 

33:4 while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had struck down among them. On their gods also the LORD executed judgments. 

33:5 So the people of Israel set out from Rameses and camped at Succoth.

Rameses To Succoth, Six Days

Palms For Shelter, Succoth

Lev 23:40  And you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. 

23:41  You shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 

23:42  You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 

23:43  that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God." 

Num 33:6  And they set out from Succoth and camped at Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. 

33:7  And they set out from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which is east of Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol. 

Wilderness Toward The Red Sea

The word translated wilderness means a relatively flat area where one would drive their animals. The wilderness toward the Red Sea is 15 kilometers wide, ample room for Israel to march out in a wide formation, driving their animals, and carrying their possessions on donkeys and ox carts. They marched out in battle formation, spread out, and they marched day and night. They stopped to rest when the pillar of fire and pillar of cloud stopped. The wilderness route ended at the Red Sea where the mountains came down to the sea, making it impossible to continue in that direction. This was where Israel seemed to be trapped, and waited for the following Egyptian army.

End Of Red Sea Wilderness

Israel Camped By The Sea

Israel Camped Between Migdol And Baal-zephon

Looking west from Mount Tiran

Symbols Formed By Stones 
Likely From Demolished Baal Altar

Red Sea Crossing

Num 33:8  And they set out from before Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and they went a three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah. 


Exo 15:22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water.
15:23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.
15:24 And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"
15:25 And he cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them,
15:26 saying, "If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer."

Three Days to Marah

The Egyptian army had been destroyed, so perhaps the travel was less hurried now. The way was smooth and sandy, but water was a problem. 

Marah, Bitter Water

A fresh water aquifer runs from the mountains under the desert sands and forms a pool larger than a football field, six meters above sea level. 

Water for two million+ people, and their animals

The water was bitter, probably from the minerals in the soil through which the water had traveled. God made the water sweet after Moses threw a log into the waters.

Marah to Elim

Num 33:9  And they set out from Marah and came to Elim; at Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there. 

Exo 15:27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.

Elim (Palm Trees)

Num 33:10 And they set out from Elim and camped by the Red Sea.

From Elim to the Red Sea Camp

As Israel traveled from Elim to the camp by the Red Sea, there were frequent Wadis entering the wilderness of Sur from the high mountains to the north. It was springtime, and water was likely still running in some of the stream beds.

Palm Trees are Evidence of Water

Num 33:11  And they set out from the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Sin. 

Red Sea to Wilderness of  Sin

Thirty days from Goshen to the wilderness of Sin. Now the traveling gets tougher, from Sea Level up to the wilderness of Sin at 1050 meters elevation. When Israel reaches the Wilderness of Sin, they are in the region where Moses spent forty years. God is still leading the way forward, but Moses knows the way, and must feel somewhat at home. Thirty days after leaving Egypt, Moses is on home turf.  There are trees growing in the Wadi along this route, and likely springs that are still running from the winter rains.

Exo 16:1  They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt.

There are only four camps between here and Mt. Sinai.  
Num 33:12  And they set out from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. 
33:13  And they set out from Dophkah and camped at Alush.

33:14  And they set out from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink. 
33:15  And they set out from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai.

Wilderness of Sin to Rephidim

Exo 17:1  All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 
17:2  Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." And Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?" 
17:3  But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?" 
17:4  So Moses cried to the LORD, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me." 
17:5  And the LORD said to Moses, "Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 
17:6  Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink." And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 
17:7  And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?" 

God provided water for two million people when Moses struck the rock at Horeb. This rock represents Yeshua the Messiah, who gives life to all who come to Him.

1Co 10:1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,  10:2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 
10:3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 
10:4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.

Water for Two Million at Horeb

Please notice the large area between Rephidim and Mt. Sinai, where the battle with Amalek likely occurred. This is the wilderness of Sinai, from where Moses approached the mountain on the western edge of the wilderness and saw the burning bush.

Exo 3:1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. Exo 3:2 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 
3:3 And Moses said, "I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned." 
3:4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."


Exo 19:1  On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 
Exo 19:2  They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, 

Battle With Amalek

Exo 17:8  Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 
17:9  So Moses said to Joshua, "Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand." 
17:10  So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 
17:11  Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 
17:12  But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 
17:13  And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. 
17:14  Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."

Mt. Sinai in Arabia

The bible is not just a collection of laws and facts about what we are to know and do, so much as it is a collection of stories about how God works out His will over time in ways that challenge our imaginations. When we see all the story lines coming together, we know that we are on the right track. Know the stories, and you will see the picture. It is what it is.

Goshen to Sinai

The concepts presented in Countdown To Sinai are my own, the result of my faith in the truth of the Bible, and my gift of observation and vision, with my openness to being led by the Spirit of God. I just followed the story while looking down from above, thanks to Google Earth. The view over Mt. Sinai and the wilderness of Sinai is low resolution, and it will be good to have a high resolution view of this area. Why is Saudi Arabia protective of this area?

The location of Mt. Sinai is not a salvation issue, as one can have faith in Jesus the Christ without knowing anything about Mt. Sinai. However, the record of how YHWH brought Israel out of Egypt, and established Israel in Canaan, builds our faith in the One who sees, and the One who provides.

My hope is that seeing the reality of how things on the ground are in agreement with the stories of the Bible will increase our faith.

Randolph Gonce

April 23, 2013

countdown to calvary

Jesus At Bethany

Joh 12:1  Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 
Joh 12:2  So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 
Joh 12:3  Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.  ESV

It is six days before Passover, on Saturday,  the day before the triumphal entry into Jerusalem; the ninth day of the first month, and in six days will be the evening that begins Passover.  Count 1.  Saturday, 2. Sunday, 3. Monday, 4. Tuesday, 5. Wednesday, 6. Thursday. Thursday at noon Jesus will be crucified. 

Triumphal Entry

Joh 12:12  The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 

Joh 12:13  So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!" 

Joh 12:14  And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, 

Joh 12:15  "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!" 

Joh 12:16  His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. ESV

Jesus Cleanses The Temple

Sunday, tenth day of the first month, is the day that the Passover Lamb is to be selected. The rulers of the Temple decide to kill Jesus.
Exo 12:1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 
Exo 12:2 "This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 
Exo 12:3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. ESV

Rulers Decide To Kill Jesus

Mat 26:3  Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 

Mat 26:4  and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. 

Mat 26:5  But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people."  ESV

Monday and Tuesday, 11th and 12th days of the first month, Jesus  teaches, travels back to Bethany at night. Wednesday night, just after sundown, they gather in the upper room for the Zadok priest sanctioned Passover meal, with bread representing the lamb. This is the 15th of the first month by the Essene Jubilee calendar, the 14th by the official calendar.

Mat 26:26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my body."Mat 26:27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you,

Mat 26:28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Mat 26:29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." ESV

Jesus Washes Disciples Feet

Joh 13:3  Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 

Joh 13:4  rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 

Joh 13:5  Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 

Joh 13:6  He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" 

Joh 13:7  Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand."

Joh 13:8  Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me."

Joh 13:9  Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" 

Arrest In Garden

Joh 18:1  When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 

Joh 18:2  Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. 

Joh 18:3  So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 

Joh 18:4  Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, "Whom do you seek?"

Joh 18:5  They answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am he." Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 

Joh 18:6  When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground. 

Joh 18:7  So he asked them again, "Whom do you seek?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." 

Joh 18:8  Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go." ESV

The fourteenth day of the first month, by the official Jewish Calendar, Wednesday night, Jesus is taken captive. From here begins the series of hearings and trials before various officials, leading up to the decision to crucify Jesus, delivered by Pilate on Thursday morning, the fourteenth of the first month, the day of preparation for the Passover. The fourteenth is the day that the Passover Lamb is to be slain in mid afternoon. The fifteenth, the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, is a special Sabbath, with all the rules of the seventh day Sabbath rest.

Joh 19:13 So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. 

Joh 19:14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, "Behold your King!" 

Joh 19:15 They cried out, "Away with him, away with him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar." 

Joh 19:16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.

Friday, the fifteenth of the first month of the official Jewish calendar, is a High Sabbath, so the body of Jesus was taken down from the cross and buried about sundown Thursday, with the Passover beginning at evening, when the first stars appear at sunset. 

Jesus' body was in the tomb for  consecutive Sabbath days, Friday and Saturday, and was raised the third day. God arranged two days of rest during His Son's burial. This demonstrates power beyond comprehension, and love beyond understanding.

Jesus, Our Passover Lamb

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRqYdJCC1uM

Ram Provided By God

Gen 22:7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" 
Gen 22:8 Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together. 
Gen 22:9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 
Gen 22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 
Gen 22:11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 
Gen 22:12 He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." 
Gen 22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 
Gen 22:14 So Abraham called the name of that place, "The LORD will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided." ESV

Aplying Blood Of The Passover Lamb

Exo 12:2  "This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 
Exo 12:3  Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. 
Exo 12:4  And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 
Exo 12:5  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 
Exo 12:6  and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. 
Exo 12:7  "Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 
Exo 12:8  They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. ESV

Jesus Is Our Passover Lamb

1Co 5:7  Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 
1Co 5:8  Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. ESV

All who come to Jesus in obedient faith receive the grace of salvation purchased by His death on the cross, through the new birth. 


1Pe 1:14  As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 
1Pe 1:15  but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 
1Pe 1:16  since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." 
1Pe 1:17  And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 
1Pe 1:18  knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 
1Pe 1:19  but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 
1Pe 1:20  He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 
1Pe 1:21  who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 
1Pe 1:22  Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 
1Pe 1:23  since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 
1Pe 1:24  for "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 
1Pe 1:25  but the word of the Lord remains forever." And this word is the good news that was preached to you. ESV

Baptism Pictures The Death Of Jesus

Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 
Rom 6:2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 
Rom 6:3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 
Rom 6:4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 
Rom 6:5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 
Rom 6:6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 
Rom 6:7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 
Rom 6:8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.  ESV

Yes, Jesus is the Passover Lamb, providing salvation to all who are in the house sprinkled with the blood of the Lamb. The house sprinkled with the blood of the Passover Lamb is the Body of Christ, God's House, built up of living stones, God's people. God adds to His people all who put on Jesus through obedient faith. 

Act 2:41  So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 

Act 2:42  And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 

Act 2:43  And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 

Act 2:44  And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 

Act 2:45  And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 

Act 2:46  And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 

Act 2:47  praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

The Trials of Jesus

Jesus Arrested in Gethsemane

Luk 22:54  Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, and Peter was following at a distance.

 Jesus Taken To Caiaphas

Luk 22:63  Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him.
Luk 22:64  They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, "Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?"
Luk 22:65  And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him.
Luk 22:66  When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said,
Luk 22:67  "If you are the Christ, tell us." But he said to them, "If I tell you, you will not believe,
Luk 22:68  and if I ask you, you will not answer.
Luk 22:69  But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God."
Luk 22:70  So they all said, "Are you the Son of God, then?" And he said to them, "You say that I am."
Luk 22:71  Then they said, "What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips."

Luk 23:1  Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate.
Luk 23:2  And they began to accuse him, saying, "We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king."
Luk 23:3  And Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" And he answered him, "You have said so."
Luk 23:4  Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, "I find no guilt in this man."
Luk 23:5  But they were urgent, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place."
Luk 23:6  When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean.
Luk 23:7  And when he learned that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time.

Jesus Before Pilate

Luk 23:8  When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him.
Luk 23:9  So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer.
Luk 23:10  The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him.
Luk 23:11  And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate.

 

Jesus Appears Before King Herod

Luk 23:12  And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.
Luk 23:13  Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people,

Jesus Before The Sanhedrin Second Time

Luk 23:14  and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him.
Luk 23:15  Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him.
Luk 23:16  I will therefore punish and release him."

Scourging Of Jesus

Luk 23:18  But they all cried out together, "Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas"—
Luk 23:19  a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder.
Luk 23:20  Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus,
Luk 23:21  but they kept shouting, "Crucify, crucify him!"
Luk 23:22  A third time he said to them, "Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him."
Luk 23:23  But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed.
Luk 23:24  So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted.


Luk 23:25  He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will.

Jesus was taken captive on Wednesday night, in the Garden of Gethsemane, and He is crucified on Thursday at noon, and dies at mid afternoon on Nisan 14th, by the official calendar, the time that the Passover Lamb was killed. 

When we see themes coming together into a perfect picture, we can be convinced of the wisdom and power of God, who planned these things before creation, yet allows the free will of mankind to work as these things come to fruition. His power is beyond comprehension. 

Bible Calendar

http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Calendar/calendar.html

In The Beginning

Creation began without a time clock. A time of darkness, followed by a time of light, were the first day. 

Gen 1:1  In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 

Gen 1:2  The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 

Gen 1:3  And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 

Gen 1:4  And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 

Gen 1:5  God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Fourth Day Sun and Stars

Gen 1:14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, Gen 1:15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. 
Gen 1:16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 
Gen 1:17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 
Gen 1:18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 
Gen 1:19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

The timepiece was set up on the fourth day, with the creation of the sun, moon, and stars. The movements of these bodies are the observable clock of the universe. Movement of  the earth around the sun marks the year, and can be divided into months by the observation of the moon and stars. The lunar movement is secondary, and interacts with  the movement of the earth around the sun and the rotation of the earth on its axis. The phases of the moon  may be interrelated with the solar calendar, but the solar calendar is exact and observable without inter-calculation. From a fixed line of sight on earth observations of the stars at a set time of day would establish the time of year, and it helps if you live under clear skies in the desert. One year is the complete rotation of the earth around the sun.   

First Stars At Evening

A convenient time for observing stars at a fixed time relative to the earth's rotation around the sun is just after sundown when the first stars appear. Distant stable star clusters which had been charted by Babylonian Astronomers would identify the time of the year. The daily and monthly relationship to that observation were fixed by various calendars. Apparently the Jews used the Canaanite Calendar for some time, before adopting the Babylonian Calendar after the Babylonian Captivity, and latter adopted the Jewish Calendar based upon the solar lunar cycle, with provisions for adjustments of the calendar based upon visual sightings, with sightings authenticated by the Sanhedrin.

Moses recorded the timing of the Passover observance in Exodus. 

Exo 12:1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, Exo 12:2 "This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 
Exo 12:3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. 
Exo 12:4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 
Exo 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 
Exo 12:6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.Exo 12:7 "Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 
Exo 12:8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 
Exo 12:9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 
Exo 12:10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.

Various calendars seem to have been used by the Jews over time. There were two established systems of determining the calendar for feast days in Jerusalem during Jesus' time. The Sadducees and Pharisees, who controlled the Temple worship by appointment by the Romans, used the solar lunar calendar based upon lunar sightings, with the first month of the year beginning with the first new moon in the spring solar quarter. 

The Essenes community apparently used a calendar that always had the four major Jewish feast days coming on Wednesday, which began on our Tuesday evening at twilight.  Jesus and the disciples apparently observed the Essenes Passover, in which the bread was substituted for the lamb, in an upper room in the Essenes quarter of Jerusalem, on Wednesday after sundown. 

 

Lord's Supper

Many questions arise about why Jesus would have observed the Passover in the Essenes community. Perhaps Jesus had connections with the Essenes by virtue of John the Baptist, who is believed to have been connected with the Essenes order. The Essenes apparently considered themselves to be the legitimate heirs of the the Temple worship order that was assigned to the descendants of Zadok. 

Perhaps Jesus was referring to the Essenes Passover calendar when He said on Monday, Mat 26:2  "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."

A key part of the arrangement for the supper was that the disciples were to contact a man carrying a vessel of water, and ask him to arrange the room for the Passover.  Matthew, Mark and Luke all mention this man who carried the jar of water.  Perhaps this account is given to connect the upper room of the Passover with the Essene Quarter in Jerusalem.  An Essene carrying water would enter the city through the Essene gate, directly into the Essene quarter, so that the water would not be contaminated by contact with unclean persons.

  

Sill Of Gate To Essene Quarter, Mt. Zion

Michael D. McKinney/Centuryone

http://members.bib-arch.org/bswb_graphics/BSBA/23/03/BSBA230302500L.jpg

Jesus chose the place to observe the Passover meal with His disciples, as we see clearly from the account in Matthew.

Mat 26:17 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?" Mat 26:18 He said, "Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, 'The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.'"
Mat 26:19 And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. 
Mat 26:20 When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve.

Jesus instructs the disciples to follow the man carrying the water, and to enter where he goes, and to say that "The Teacher" says, where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples? The Essene quarter on Mt. Zion is likely the place this could have happened. Where else would people have been observing the Passover on Wednesday night?

Mar 14:1 It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, Mar 14:12 And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, "Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?" 
Mar 14:13 And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him,
Mar 14:14 and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?'
Mar 14:15 And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us."
Mar 14:16 And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

Luke repeats Mark's story.

Luk 22:7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 

Luk 22:8 So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it."
Luk 22:9 They said to him, "Where will you have us prepare it?" 
Luk 22:10 He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters
Luk 22:11 and tell the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?'
Luk 22:12 And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there."
Luk 22:13 And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. ESV

Jesus and his disciples likely ate the Passover Meal in the Essene Quarter of Jerusalem, on the Priestly day of the Passover Day of Preparation, which was always on the 4th day of the week, by the Solar calendar observed by the Essenes. They claimed to be the legitimate heirs of the High Priesthood given by David to Zadok. Just after sundown on Wednesday Jesus and his disciples ate the supper, using the bread as a substitute for the Lamb, as was the custom of the Essenes. 

Jesus did not take a piece of lamb and divide it among the disciples, but he broke the loaf, representing His body, the eternally planned Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Thus He was able to partake with His disciples of the traditional Passover meal of the Essene on Wednesday evening, and yet be offered as the Passover Lamb on Thursday afternoon, Nissan 14, as observed by the official rulers of Israel, who arranged to have Jesus crucified by their authority and by their calendar. 

Participation in the Essene Passover celebration would have some implications about the proper timing of the Passover, but would not be an approval of all that the community taught. Jesus and the disciples communicated with all people, and especially with sinners, because Jesus came to earth to save sinners.

The bible is not just a collection of laws and facts about what we are to know and do, so much as it is a collection of stories about how God works out His will over time in ways that challenge our imaginations. When we see all the story lines coming together, we know that we are on the right track.  Know the stories, and you will see the picture. It is what it is.

 

Upper Room