Page 85 - Life of Christ - textbook (3)

before it was fully light (John 20:1). That makes three days and three nights in the tomb, just as Jesus
told us.

With all of that said, it must be noted that the day of the week that Jesus was crucified is not something
we know from Scripture. We can only conjecture. If God wanted us to know whether it was
Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, it would have been clearly stated.

What we do know is that it occurred on Passover as a model of the sacrifice of the perfect Lamb, that He
was buried on the Feast of Unleavened Bread (signifying that sin had been removed), and that He rose
again on the Feast of First Fruits, since He is the First Fruit of the resurrection. It is fine to hold a
personal view, but unwise to become dogmatic about it. We should celebrate the cross and the
resurrection every day, not just once a year on Easter.

The Last Supper and the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:7-13, Mark 14:12-16, and Matthew
26:17-19; Matthew 26:20-35, Mark 14:17-26, Luke 22:14-38, John 13; 1 ; Mark 14:27-
31 and John 15; Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-42, Luke 22:39-46; John 18:2-12, Matthew
26:47-56, Mark 14:43-52 and Luke 22:47-53)

Jesus and the 12 departed for the High Feast of Unleavened Bread in late afternoon. In anticipation of
that feast, Jesus dispatched Peter and John to take the lamb to the temple for slaughter, then to go to a
prearranged place to make preparation for the feast. All was done according to the specific
prescriptions of the Torah.

At the Passover meal, during which time Jesus
washed the feet of the disciples, Jesus
announced that the betrayer was with Him at
the table. The twelve began to question who
that might be. Jesus replied that the betrayer
would be the one whom He will give a morsel
of the meal. Jesus then gave Judas the
morsel. His soul must have been smitten by
Jesus’ act of kindness. Jesus probably
whispered something to Him. The other
disciples really did not think much of the
conversation between the two, because Judas
has been keeping the money bag. He was, in
a sense, the treasurer of the group. Perhaps,
in their mind, Jesus was instructing him to
make a purchase or give some money to
The Garden of Gethsemane – Olive Trees needy people. Judas left the group unnoticed.

Next, Jesus took bread and wine and instructed the remaining disciples to remember Him. In I
Corinthians 11:23-26 Paul states that he did this “while He was being betrayed…” which tells us that
Judas was off to fetch the arresting force while Jesus remained in the upper room introducing the eleven
to the “Lord’s Supper”. Jesus then began to address the eleven concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus arose, to everyone’s surprise, and led them out of the room, down and across the Kidron Valley to
a special garden that He frequented often: Gethsemane.

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