The timetable of Jesus’ crucifixion when compared with the Passover celebration is just incredible. According to the Torah, at the time of Passover a number of events had to take place in a specific order and at specific times.
1. The Passover lamb had to be selected on a specific day.
Exodus 12 instructs that the Passover lamb be chosen on the tenth day of the first month. By the time of Jesus, only lambs from Bethlehem were considered eligible to serve as Passover lambs. So the lamb born in Bethlehem was chosen and brought into Jerusalem from the east (down the Mount of Olives) and entered the city through the sheep gate.
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On the tenth day of the first month Jesus, the Lamb born in Bethlehem, came down the Mount of Olives and entered Jerusalem. (This is called His “triumphal entry”!) As He entered, the people waved palm branches and shouted, “Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord! Save us, son of David!” (Matt. 21:9, my paraphrase). By mass acclamation Jesus was designated Israel’s Messiah! The crowds had chosen their Passover Lamb.
2. The lamb then had to be examined.
The Torah instructed that once the lamb was chosen, it had to be carefully examined for blemishes. Only a perfect, spotless, unblemished lamb would suffice for the Passover.
After arriving in Jerusalem, Jesus went to the temple to teach. While there, He was approached by the Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, and teachers of the Law. Each group posed difficult questions, trying to trap Him. (See Luke 19:47–48.) Essentially, they were looking for any blemish that might disqualify Him as Messiah. But no one could find fault with Him. He was without blemish.
3. The leaven (impurity) must be cast out.
The Torah instructs that before the feast, all leaven (impurity) must be cast out of every Israelite home. Each mother took a candle and searched out impurity, removing it from her house. This regulation is still observed today. Passover is a time to cleanse every house. Every observant Jewish family carefully cleans their house before Passover. Every trace of impurity is removed.
After Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, He entered the temple and cast out the moneychangers (Matt. 21:12–13). He was following the biblical instruction to prepare for Passover by cleansing His Father’s house.
4. The lamb was taken to the altar for public display.
On the morning of the fourteenth day of the first month, when all has been set in order, the lamb is led out to the altar. At 9:00 a.m., the lamb is bound to the altar and put on public display for all to see!
On the morning of the fourteenth day of the first month, when all had been fulfilled, Jesus was led out to Calvary. At 9:00 a.m., just as the lamb was being bound to the altar, Jesus was nailed to the cross and put on public display at Calvary!
5. The lamb was slain at a specific time.
At exactly 3:00 p.m. the high priest ascended the altar. As another priest blew a shofar on the temple wall, the high priest cut the throat of the sacrificial lamb and declared, “It is finished!” At 3:00 p.m. on that High Holy Day, at the moment the Passover lamb was being killed, Jesus cried with a loud voice, “It is finished,” and gave up His Spirit! In Greek the term translated “It is finished” means “The debt has been paid in full!” God came! Jesus became the Passover for the world! It’s no wonder John the Baptist introduced Jesus by saying, “Behold, the Lamb!” (John 1:29, NASB). It’s no wonder Paul wrote, “Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed” (1 Cor. 5:7). Passover is Jesus!
To read more from Chuck Pierce’s The Passover Prophecies, visit this link.
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Chuck D. Pierce is president of Glory of Zion International Ministries.
If Jesus were three days and three nights in the tomb, He had to be buried on Thursday. Some say that this Easter was a very high or special occasion, and it started one day before usual. That explains it very well. But few people comment on this.