The Biblical Spring Feasts in the Light of Jesus

The Biblical Spring Feasts in the Light of Jesus, Article by Dr. Martin Zahn

1 Introduction

The Passover and the Day of Firstfruits as well as the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) were given new meaning through Jesus in the year of his death. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus was crucified on the day when the Passover lambs were slaughtered (Nisan 14), and according to the other Gospels one calendar day later (Nisan 15). We explain in detail that the Gospels do not contradict each other, but complement each other in a wonderful way by showing different perspectives. Jesus ate the Passover meal and died at the hour when the other Passover lambs were being sacrificed.

There are many Passover customs that point prophetically to Jesus. In this article we will only look at the time-related aspects and point out their significance. To this end, we briefly explain the timeline of the Passover feast as given by Moses in the following section. We then highlight the analogies between the Passover and Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and his crucifixion. The resurrection of Jesus was on the Day of Firstfruits, because he is the first to rise from the dead. And the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) took on a new meaning when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit. We provide the dates for these biblical feasts for the year 2024 before concluding with a brief summary.

The Bible quotations are taken from the English Standard Version (ESV) translation unless noted otherwise. Others: New International Version (NIV), New International Reader’s Version (NIRV), King James Version (KJV). All notes on the Greek are taken from Bible Hub.

2 The Passover Ordinance

The Passover is also known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Lk 22:1). It was to take place in the first month of each year (Ex 12:2; Lev 23:5). The first month was initially called “Abib” (ESV, KJV) or “Aviv” (NIV, NIRV) (Ex 13:4; Ex 23:15; Ex 34:18; Deut 16:1). The name “Nisan” was later used in reference to the Babylonian calendar (Neh 2:1; Est 3:7).

By the way, the first day of the seventh month is celebrated as New Year’s Day, the so-called Rosh HaShanah (literally “head of the year”). In the Bible, this day is not called New Year’s Day, but the Feast of Trumpets (Lev 23:24; Num 29:1). Celebrating the New Year in fall can be understood as follows: The biblical day begins and ends at sunset. However, the hours of the day are not counted from sunset, but from sunrise. The first hour of the day begins early in the morning at sunrise, the seventh begins at noon when the sun is at its highest point and the twelfth hour ends at sunset. Similarly, the year begins in fall (corresponding to sunset), followed by winter (corresponding to night) and the first month begins in spring (corresponding to the first hour).

On the 10^th day of the first month, a lamb without blemish should be taken for each family (Ex 12:2‑5). It was then sacrificed on the 14^th day at twilight, in Hebrew it is written more specifically that it should be killed between or in the midst of the two evenings (Ex 12:6). To understand this unusual timing, let us have a look at some background information: The hours of a day are divided into two periods: The morning period spans the first six hours and the evening period the other six, i.e. the time from the seventh to the twelfth hour. The time between the two evenings is the middle between the beginning of the evening period of the day and the evening itself, i.e. towards the end of the ninth hour.^[1] Eddie Chumney: Die sieben Feste des Messias, media!worldwidewings, 2011, page 37

In the evening the lamb was eaten with bitter herbs (Ex 12:8), on the so-called Seder evening. The Hebrew word “Seder” means “order”, because the procedure of this festive meal is regulated by many rituals.

From the 15^th to the 21^st of the month it was forbidden to eat leavened bread, and on both the 15^th and the 21^st one was not allowed to work and a holy assembly had to be held (Ex 12:15‑18; Lev 23:6‑8).

First Month (Nisan)
10	11	12	13	14 Seder	15 Passover I	16 Passover II	17 Passover III	18 Passover IV	19 Passover V	20 Passover VI	21 Passover VII
Take lamb				Sacrifice lamb	Not to eat leavened bread and to rest on the first and seventh day
Ex 12²… It shall be the first month of the year for you. ³… on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses… ⁵Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old…				Ex 12⁶and 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.	Ex 12¹⁵Seven 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. ¹⁶On 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… ¹⁸In 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.
				Lev 23⁵In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the Lord’s Passover.	Lev 23⁶And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. ⁷On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. ⁸But you shall present a food offering to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.

3 The Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and his Crucifixion

In the following subsection, we will first present the chronological sequence of events as described in the Gospel of John. We will then look at the other Gospels before clarifying the presumed contradiction regarding the date of Jesus’ death.

3.1 The Events according to the Gospel of John

“Six days before the Passover” Jesus came to Bethany (Jn 12:1). Does “Passover” (Greek “pascha”) refer to the day on which the lambs were slaughtered, or to the days that followed on which no leavened bread was allowed to be eaten? To answer this question, let us consider that Jesus was crucified on the “day of Preparation of the Passover” (Jn 19:14). A preparation day is the day immediately before a non-working day, i.e. the day on which arrangements are made for the feast day. The “day of Preparation of the Passover” is therefore Nisan 14, because work was not allowed on Nisan 15. Thus, “Passover” refers to the first day of rest of the Passover feast, i.e. Nisan 15 (“Passover I”). Since Jesus came to Bethany six days earlier, it must have been on Nisan 9.

The next day Jesus was coming to Jerusalem (Jn 12:12‑15), that is, on the very day on which the Passover lambs were taken, namely Nisan 10.

Before the Passover, Jesus ate dinner with his disciples (Jn 13:1‑2). On this occasion he washed their feet (Jn 13:3‑12), he identified his betrayer Judas (Jn 13:21‑26) and he explained various things to his disciples (Jn 13:31 to Jn 14:31). That same evening Jesus taught several more things and said the High Priestly Prayer (Jn 15:1 to Jn 17:26). Then he was arrested (Jn 18:12) and questioned by the high priest Caiaphas (Jn 18:19‑24).

Early in the morning, Jesus was led to the governor’s headquarters. The Jews themselves did not enter that place, “so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover” (Jn 18:28). The discussions with Pilate took place on the “day of Preparation of the Passover” (Jn 19:14), i.e. Nisan 14. Jesus was crucified and buried on this day of preparation for a Sabbath that was a “high day” (Jn 19:31). The “high day” was the first day of unleavened bread (“Passover I”), which fell on the weekly Sabbath, as we will see later.

It is interesting that the Gospel according to John does not say that Jesus ate the Passover meal, and there is also no reference to the institution of the Lord’s Supper. This is logical because the Passover lambs had to be slaughtered on Nisan 14, while Jesus was being crucified. Accordingly, no Passover meal should have been eaten the day before.

First Month (Nisan)
9	10	11	12	13	14 Seder	15 Passover I
	Take lamb				Sacrifice lamb
Jn 12¹ Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.	Jn 12¹² The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. ¹³So 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!” ¹⁴And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, ¹⁵ “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”			Jn 13¹ Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. ²During supper…	Jn 18²⁸ Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor’s headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover… Jn 19¹⁴ Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour… ¹⁸There they crucified him… ³¹Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would 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… ⁴²So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

3.2 The Events according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke

The Gospel according to Mark contains most of the details about the timeline. Jesus entered Jerusalem and returned to Bethany at evening (Mk 11:11). The following day he left it again (Mk 11:12) and went to the temple in Jerusalem (Mk 11:15). Jesus taught there and towards evening he left the city (Mk 11:19). The next morning, he went back to the temple in Jerusalem (Mk 11:20+27), where they tried to trap him in his talk (Mk 12:13; Mt 22:15; Lk 20:20). Jesus was therefore tested to see whether he was really without guilt and without sin, just as the Passover lambs were examined from Nisan 10 to 14 to see whether they were really without blemish.

Jesus then went to the Mount of Olives (Mk 13:3; Mt 24:3). And that was “two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread” (Mk 14:1). As explained above, the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on Nisan 15. Thus, it took place on Nisan 13. Matthew mentioned in his Gospel that Jesus said on this occasion on the Mount of Olives that the Passover was in two days (Greek “pascha”) and that he would then be delivered up to be crucified (Mt 26:2).

Then came the “first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb” (Mk 14:12). This translation is somewhat misleading, because one might think that the “first day of Unleavened Bread” could refer to Nisan 15. The Greek adjective “protos”, translated here as “first”, also means “most important” or “before”. John the Baptist used it in this sense when he said that Jesus had been before him (Jn 1:15+30). So this refers to the most important day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is the day before when the lambs were sacrificed, i.e. Nisan 14.

On that day Jesus had the Passover lamb prepared for himself and his disciples and they ate it in the evening, instituting the Lord’s Supper (Mk 14:22‑25; Mt 26:26‑28; Lk 22:19‑20). During the night, Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mk 14:43‑46; Mt 26:50; Lk 22:47‑54).

Early in the morning, Jesus was interrogated by the whole council (Mk 14:53‑64; Mt 26:57‑66; Lk 22:66‑71). Then they handed him over to Pilate (Mk 15:1; Mt 27:1‑2; Lk 23:1), who had him crucified at the third hour (Mk 15:25). From the sixth to the ninth hour there was darkness and then Jesus died (Mk 15:33‑37; Mt 27:45‑50; Lk 23:44‑46). And that was exactly at the time when the other Passover lambs were slaughtered at the nineth hour (as explained above).

Jesus was laid in the tomb in the evening, on the “day of Preparation” (Mk 15:42; Lk 23:54). This preparation day refers to the preparation day for the weekly Sabbath, because the preparation day for the Passover had already been one day earlier. Thus, we can conclude that Jesus died on the sixth day of the week. Consequently, he entered Jerusalem on the second day of the week, i.e. not on Palm Sunday but on Monday.

The following table shows the chronological sequence. In blue are the dates according to the three Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. These are the dates according to Jesus’ understanding, because, for example, he called the evening meal before his crucifixion “Passover” (Lk 22:15), and this shows that for Jesus it must have been the evening of Nisan 14.

According to this, Jesus was crucified on Nisan 15, but on Nisan 14 according to the Gospel of John, as we have seen above (shown here in black again). We will explain the reason for this in the following section.

	First Month (Nisan)
Council:	10	11	12	13	14 Seder
	Take lamb				Sacrifice lamb
Weekday:	2	3	4	5	6
Jesus:	11	12	13	14 Seder	15 Passover I
	Mk 11¹¹And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.	Mk 11¹²On the following day, when they came from Bethany… ¹⁵And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple… ¹⁹And when evening came they went out of the city.	Mk 11²⁰As they passed by in the morning… ²⁷And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple… Mk 12¹³And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk… Mk 13³And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple… Mk 14¹It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread…	Mk 14¹²And 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?”… ¹⁶And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. ¹⁷And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. ¹⁸And as they were reclining at table and eating… ²²… he took bread… and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” ²³And he took a cup… ²⁴And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many…”	Mk 15¹… it was morning… ²⁵And it was the third hour when they crucified him… ³³And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. ³⁴And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice… ³⁷And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last… ⁴²And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath,
	Mt 21¹⁰And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up…		Mt 22¹⁵… the Pharisees… plotted how to entangle him in his words… Mt 24³As he sat on the Mount of Olives… Mt 26²“You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”	Mt 26¹⁷Now 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?” ¹⁸He 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.’” ¹⁹And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.	Mt 27⁴⁶And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”… ⁵⁰And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
	Lk 19²⁸… he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem…		Lk 20²⁰So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor.	Lk 22⁷Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed… ¹³… they prepared the Passover… ¹⁴And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. ¹⁵And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer…”	Lk 23⁴⁴It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour… ⁴⁶Then Jesus… breathed his last… ⁵⁴It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.

3.3 Was Jesus crucified on Nisan 14 or 15?

The astonishing answer is: Jesus was crucified on both Nisan 14 and 15, both of which are correct. But before I confuse you even more, let me give you some background on the biblical calendar before I explain the answer in detail.

A biblical month is a lunar month. In the middle of the month there is a full moon and towards the end of the month the moon is not visible at all. The moon then appears again in the evening twilight. If the new moon is seen in the evening, then the next day is the new moon day and therefore the first day of the next month, the so-called Rosh Chodesh (literally “head of the month”).

The people kept watch in the evening and then reported to the council the next morning when they had seen the new moon. It was then up to the council to proclaim the new month according to the testimony of the witnesses. However, if the month already lasted 30 days, the next day was declared the first day of the next month even if the new moon had not yet been seen due to the clouds. It could also happen that for several months it was so cloudy that it was impossible to see the new moon. This could have meant that there could have been many consecutive months with 30 days and then the new moon could have been seen already on the 28^th day, for example. To avoid this, the council could declare the new month after 29 days in such cases, even though the new moon had not yet been seen. This means that a month always has 29 or 30 days, because in average the phases of the moon are 29.53 days long.

Most years have 12 months and every two to three years there is a leap year, which is 13 months long. (The solar year, which is 365.25 days long, has 12.37 moon phases (365.25 : 29.53 = 12.37). A year with 12 months is therefore 0.37 moon phases shorter, which causes a leap year every 2.7 years (1 : 0.37 = 2.7). This ensures that the first month of Nisan is always in spring.)

Not all Jews agreed with the council’s decisions, and also today not all follow the calendar as published by the rabbis in Israel. At least since the fourth century, it has been customary to shift the start of the month if necessary, so that in particular the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) does not fall on a Friday or Sunday. This is because several Jews want to avoid having to observe two consecutive days of rest, whereas others strictly follow the astronomical dates.

Regarding leap years, there is a rule that over a period of 19 years, the 3^rd, 6^th, 8^th, 11^th, 14^th, 17^th and 19^th year should be a leap year. On the other hand, there are Jews who only decide towards the end of the year in spring whether the current year is a leap year or not, depending on how far the grain in Israel has already ripened.

John, the author of the Gospel, wrote that the members of the council did not want to enter the governor’s headquarters so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover (Jn 18:28). This shows that for the council and therefore also for the general population of the Jews it was on Nisan 14. John agreed with this and called this day “the day of Preparation of the Passover” (Jn 19:14). Consequently, he did not speak of Jesus’ Passover meal as such, but as a “supper” (Jn 13:2). This also explains how he could write that some of the disciples would have thought that it could have been possible for Judas to buy something (Jn 13:29), because it would have been impossible to buy anything on the evening of a Passover meal.

John apparently had no knowledge that Jesus was celebrating the Passover with his disciples. This is astonishing because he describes the events of this evening in great detail in five chapters, beginning with the washing of the feet (Jn 13:1-17) and ending with Jesus’ high priestly prayer (Jn 17). John also had very profound revelations, for example that Jesus is the Word (Jn 1:1). Further, he explained the Lord’s Supper in that Jesus’ body and blood are to be eaten and drunk (Jn 6:32‑59). Additionally, we find the seven “I am” words in this Gospel (Jn 6:35; Jn 8:12; Jn 10:9; Jn 10:11; Jn 11:25; Jn 14:6; Jn 15:1). This shows that even if we have very profound revelations from God in some areas, this is still only a partial revelation and that our brothers and sisters have knowledge of other valuable things. For we only know in part (1Cor 13:9).

Matthew, Mark and Luke followed a different chronology. For them, Jesus’ sermon on the Mount of Olives was two days before the Passover, i.e. on Nisan 13, which was two days after the entry into Jerusalem according to Mark’s detailed chronological documentation. They also wrote that the day before Jesus’ crucifixion was the day for the killing of the lambs, i.e. Nisan 14. By doing so, they followed Jesus’ understanding, for he himself spoke of the Passover meal. So we cannot follow the theory that Jesus celebrated something similar with his disciples the day before the actual Passover meal so that his disciples could then celebrate the Passover meal with their families the following day.

For Jesus, the month had begun one day earlier than for the others. Jesus certainly ate the Passover meal on the evening of Nisan 14, otherwise he would have violated the Mosaic Law and would have sinned. It was certainly easy for our heavenly Father to show Jesus the new moon one day earlier. It is also plausible that Jesus did not agree with the council’s decision for another reason. For it is possible that the council was well aware of the appearance of the new moon, but set the beginning of the month one day later so that the first day of rest of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (“Passover I”) would not fall on the sixth day of the week, but on the weekly Sabbath, in order to avoid having to keep two days of rest back-to-back.

God arranged it in such a way that the council declared the beginning of the month one day later than Jesus. This made it possible for Jesus to celebrate the Passover meal with his disciples what he earnestly desired (Lk 22:15) and also to institute the Lord’s Supper, before he was crucified as our Passover lamb, precisely at the time when the Jews were sacrificing their Passover lambs.

Let’s come back to the question of whether Jesus was crucified on Nisan 14 or 15. According to the calendar of the council, he was crucified on Nisan 14 and according to Jesus’ reckoning on Nisan 15. It was the same day.

4 The Resurrection of Jesus

Jesus was laid in the tomb on the day of Preparation for the weekly Sabbath, i.e. the sixth day of the week, as we explained above.

The women who prepared spices and ointments rested on the Sabbath before returning to the tomb on the first day of the week (Lk 23:55 to Lk 24:1). When the Sabbath was over, women also bought fragrant spices and came to the tomb on the first day of the week (Mk 16:1‑2). The word “Sabbath” is used here in both sentences in the singular. There has thus only been one day of rest since the laying in the tomb.

Jesus was dead for three days (Mt 12:40; Mt 26:61; Mt 27:40+63; Mk 8:31; Mk 15:29; Jn 2:19‑20) and he rose again on the third day (Mt 16:21; Mt 17:23; Mt 20:19; Mt 27:64; Mk 9:31; Mk 10:34; Lk 9:22; Lk 18:33; Lk 24:7+46; Acts 10:40; 1Cor 15:4). If there had been two consecutive days of rest, so if the weekly Sabbath had been one day later, then Jesus would have been dead longer. When doing the math, remember that according to the biblical counting method, parts of days are counted in full. The first day of death is therefore the sixth day of the week (Friday), Jesus lay in the tomb on the seventh day, the Sabbath (Saturday), before he rose from the dead on the first day of the week (Sunday). He was therefore dead for three days and rose from the dead on the third day. The same counting method was used when Queen Esther fasted for three days and then went to the king on the third day (Est 4:15 to Est 5:1).

	First Month (Nisan)
Council:	10	11	12	13	14 Seder	15 Passover I	16 Passover II
Weekday:	2	3	4	5	6	7 Sabbath	1
	Entry into Jerusalem				Crucifixion		Mt 28¹Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb… ⁵But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶He is not here, for he has risen, as he said…”
							Mk 16¹When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. ²And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb… ⁶… Jesus… has risen…
							Lk 24¹But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared… ⁶He is not here, but has risen!…
							Jn 20¹⁹On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

5 The Day of Firstfruits

Immediately after the Passover rules, the Book of Leviticus provides instructions for the offering of the firstfruits. This sacrifice was to be offered by the priest on the day after the Sabbath (Lev 23:10‑11). This refers to the Sabbath during the Feast of Passover. If the firstfruits had been offered on a later Sabbath, it would have been necessary to return to the temple in Jerusalem, because sacrifices could only be made there. People would therefore have had to travel to the temple four times a year and not just three times, as it was commanded, because they had to come to the temple for the Passover anyway (Deut 16:16).

On this very day, when the firstfruits were offered, Jesus rose from the dead. This is certainly no coincidence, because Jesus is the first to rise from the dead and Christians who have died will be raised from the dead when Jesus returns (Acts 26:23; 1Cor 15:20‑23).

	First Month (Nisan)
Council:	14 Seder	15 Passover I	16 Passover II
Weekday:	6	7 Sabbath	1
	Crucifixion		Resurrection
			Lev 23¹⁰Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, ¹¹and he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.
			Acts 26²³that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.
			1Cor 15²⁰But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. ²²For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

6 The Ascension of Jesus and the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost)

Jesus appeared to his disciples over a period of 40 days after his resurrection and then ascended to heaven (Acts 1:3‑9). This was on the fifth day of the week (Thursday) and depending on whether the first month had 29 or 30 days, Jesus’ ascension was on the 25^th or 26^th of the second month, which is called “Ziv” in the Bible (1Kgs 6:1) and “Iyar” by the Israelites today.

Immediately after the regulations for offering the firstfruits, the Book of Leviticus provides instructions for the Feast of Weeks (Lev 23:15‑21). This feast was to take place seven weeks after the Day of Firstfruits and again on the first day of the week, that is on the 50^th day after the offering of the firstfruits. When counting the 50 days, the first Sabbath is included again, the Day of Firstfruits. The English word “Pentecost” is derived from the Greek word “pentēkostḗ”, which means “fiftieth”. Depending on the length of the previous two months, the feast of Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection was on the 5^th, 6^th or 7^th of the third month, which is called “Sivan” (Est 8:9). On Pentecost after Jesus’ ascension, the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1‑4).

	First Month (Nisan)				Second Month (Iyar)		Third Month (Sivan)
Council:	14 Seder	15 Passover I	16 Passover II	…	25 or 26	…	5, 6 or 7
Weekday:	6	7 Sabbath	1	…	5	…	1
	Crucifixion		Resurrection		Acts 1³He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God… ⁹And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.		Acts 2¹When the day of Pentecost arrived… ³And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
			Day of Firstfruits				Lev 23¹⁵You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering. ¹⁶You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the Lord… ²¹… You shall hold a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work…

7 The Dates in the Year 2024

According to the astronomical data, the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) this year is on Sunday, October 13, as this is on the 10^th day of the seventh biblical month (Lev 23:26‑32). As mentioned above, the beginning of the month is sometimes shifted slightly in the Jewish calendar that is commonly used today. This avoids a constellation in which, as in this year, the Day of Atonement falls on the day before or after the weekly Sabbath, so that two days of rest do not have to be observed back-to-back without interruption. So the first question is whether to follow the astronomical data or the declarations of the rabbis in Israel.

Jesus determined the beginning of the month according to his observation, i.e. according to the astronomical dates, and did not follow the council. Because I follow Jesus, I also follow the astronomical dates, so that in the following table there is a deviation of one day from the Israelite calendar. In black and blue are again the dates according to the calendar of the council and Jesus, respectively. I have noted the third day after the crucifixion as the day of Jesus’ resurrection and the 40^th day after as Ascension Day. This day of the resurrection is before the Day of Firstfruits. Remember that Jesus rose from the dead on the Day of Firstfruits, because in the year of Jesus’ crucifixion both dates fell on the same day.

Which days should be celebrated on the occasions of the crucifixion and the resurrection? For example, there are three days that could be celebrated as the Day of Resurrection, namely April 25, April 26 and April 28, the Day of Firstfruits, and if you do not strictly follow the astronomical data, but the Israelite calendar, then there are even other dates. I think it is a good idea to simply celebrate the biblical feasts, in particular the days of rest which are Passover I and VII as well as the weekly Sabbaths – remembering every day what Jesus has accomplished for us.

Many Christians today celebrate Easter from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday. This custom goes back to the time of Emperor Constantine I, when the date for Easter was set differently from the date for Passover. So Easter is celebrated instead of Passover. This is comparable to Sunday being celebrated today instead of the biblical day of rest, the Sabbath. I discuss this in more detail in the section “How about celebrating the Sunday as the Sabbath?” in my article “What commandments should Christians keep?” The issues outlined there apply accordingly.

First Month
(Nisan)

Second Month
(Iyar)

Third Month
(Sivan)

14
Seder

15
Passover
I

16
Passover
II

17
Passover
III

18
Passover
IV

19
Passover
V

20
Passover
VI

21
Passover
VII

…

Fr
19
Apr

Sa
20
Apr

Su
21
Apr

Mo
22
Apr

Tu
23
Apr

We
24
Apr

Th
25
Apr

Fr
26
Apr

Sa
27
Apr

Su
28
Apr

Mo
29
Apr

Tu
30
Apr

…

Mo
3
Jun

Tu
4
Jun

…

Su
16
Jun

Entry into Jerusalem

last Passover meal

Crucifixion

Resurrection

Day of Firstfruits

Ascension

Pentecost

Entry into Jerusalem

last Passover meal

Crucifixion

Resurrection

Day of Firstfruits

Ascension

Pentecost

8 Summary

The following table summarizes the analogies between God’s spring feasts and Jesus’ ministry.

Take Passover lamb	Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem
Sacrifice Passover lamb	Jesus’ death
Day of Firstfruits	Jesus’ resurrection, he is the first to rise from the dead
Feast of Weeks (Pentecost)	The disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit

It is remarkable how wonderfully God has arranged all this. It rarely happens that the Day of Firstfruits is the third day after the day on which the Passover lambs had to be sacrificed. But God arranged it that way for the year in which Jesus died, our Passover lamb. And in his wisdom, he also arranged the feasts and directed the events in such a way that Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples and instituted the Lord’s Supper, and yet died at the very hour when the other Jews were sacrificing their Passover lambs.

According to the Gospel of John, Jesus was crucified on Nisan 14 and according to the other Gospels on Nisan 15. But this is not a contradiction, because according to the calendar of the council the crucifixion took place on Nisan 14 and according to Jesus’ reckoning it was already Nisan 15, because the month began for Jesus one day earlier. It is not important whether this was because God had shown him the new moon one evening earlier than the others, or whether there was another reason why Jesus did not follow the declaration of the council. It is possible that the council had delayed the beginning of the month by one day in order to avoid two days of rest in a row.