Dav 50: Leviticus 22-23

Tuesday, February 23

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus%2022-23&version=NIV

Believing the Traditions of Men over God’s Word
Not me! I would never do that! Hmm let’s see about that

Okay, I’ll admit today’s lesson is not my teaching style but I wanted to take this route to show the details of God’s word. I also wanted to show the link between the Old Testament and New Testament and how our studies here in Leviticus can give us insight into some common traditions of men we might be holding onto. God gave us His Word and it is very meticulous. Even some major obvious beliefs Christians hold to may not be founded upon God’s Word. We can believe things just because of traditions of men or because we were taught wrong. As people who study God’s Word, you might think, “Not me!!” Well, let’s read on.

The most fundamental and central doctrine for us Christians is the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. If any doctrine we should have figured out, it is this one. Yet let me ask you a question. On which day of the week did Jesus die? Was it good Friday as most Christians believe?

Like I said, this devotional is not my teaching style but I wanted to point out something out of Lev 23 and how it holds the answer to this question. Most of us assume Jesus died on Friday. Yet Jesus said He would be in the grave 3 days and 3 nights.

Matt 12:40 "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

So why do we believe Jesus died on Friday? Because it says in the scriptures the Romans were going to break Jesus’ legs so they could bury him before the Sabbath which was getting ready to start at 6:00 pm. The Jewish Sabbath is Saturday so naturally, he died on Friday afternoon?

John 19:31 Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

But for Jesus to stay in the grave 3 days and 3 nights as he told us, he had to die on Thursday afternoon. Remember the Jewish days go from 6:00 pm to 6:00 p.m.

Here is an outline of 3 days and 3 nights

Day 1 Thursday 3:00 pm Jesus dies and is buried before 6:00 pm

Night 1 Thursday Night

Day 2 Friday day

Night 2 Friday night

Day 3 Saturday day

Night 3 Saturday night

Jesus is resurrected before sunrise on Sunday morning

John 20:1 On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

Jesus being resurrected before sunrise fits perfectly his other statement:

Mark 8:31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

So what about Jesus dying the day before the Sabbath? Lev. 23:7 holds the key to this dilemma.

Lev 23:5-7 5 'On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD'S Passover. 6 'And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 7 'On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.

Bear with me, remember Jesus died on Passover, the 14th of Nisan on the Jewish calendar. Then the 15th day is the Jewish Feast called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This is a Holy Convocation or Holy Sabbath.

Now go back and reread John 19:31 and you will see the work High Day.. This means Friday was a high day or Holy Convocation ie the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This Holy Convocation is a day of rest per Lev. 23:7 or a Sabbath.

John 19:31 Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

We had two days of rest or Sabbaths back to back. Thursday was Passover and Friday was a High Sabbath or Holy Convocation and then Saturday was the regular Sabbath.

If you ever use a harmony of the gospels (a book that aligns in chronological order the four gospels side by side) when you get to the last week they have to skip a day (Usually Wednesday) so they can have Jesus die on Friday. See example here: http://www.dokimos.org/mmlj/ (scroll down to Passion Week or look in your favorite Study Bible)

Having said all this, my point is not to have people celebrate Jesus’ death on Thursday. I’ll go on celebrating Good Friday like I do Dec. 25th for his birth. The whole point of today's lesson is I want all of us to realize how easy it is for us to believe as truth the traditions of men. We just assume and take it for granted without checking it out in God’s Word. It becomes gospel fact in our mind when in reality it might not be supported by God’s Word at all.

If we are holding to traditions of men on something like this then maybe we could be holding to some other traditions of men on some other issues? This is one reason why we are studying God’s Word! As we read on, we might be surprised on some of the things we are holding onto. To me, its not about which day Jesus died but what sayest the Word of God! We need to cling to what the Word of God says even when it comes against some of our own thoughts and ideas.

Submitted by Kirby Wiseman