Three days and Passover dates confusion... let's clear this up

TWO Questions come up in calendar confusion related to Passover. Let's get these sorted and remember what the holiday is all about. And what Christians can learn from this Jewish holiday. But first, what day was it?

Passover is the holiday that celebrates 'once we were slaves, now we are free.' Deliverance after hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt. God rescued the Jewish people and set a date, 14 Nisan, for us to remember the anniversary under a full moon each year.

Christians also have a day in this season related to Holy Week, the time of the death and resurrection of the Saviour Yeshua/ Jesus. 

There is some overlap and then of course, some real questions. Here are two of them asked, and hopefully answered for you.

QUESTION 1:        3 Days and 3 Nights in the grave

People often ask, “If Jesus said he would be in the ground three days and three nights… how does this work if Good Friday was when he was killed and buried to Easter Sunday when he arose?” That’s more like 36 hours.

Here’s the key:
The Bible uses Jewish time reckoning, not modern Western precision. This is not a Swiss watch.
In Jewish thinking, “Passover” can mean more than one thing.

1. The meal itself (the Seder, 15th of Nisan evening) 

1. The lamb sacrifice (14th of Nisan daytime) 

1. The entire festival week (Passover + Unleavened Bread)

the Passover lambs were being sacrificed. Different calendars; one fulfillment.

In Jewish thinking, any part of a day counts as a whole day. So look at the timeline: Jesus is buried on Friday before sunset — that’s Day 1 which includes Thursday night. He is in the tomb on Saturday, the Sabbath — that’s Day 2 which includes Friday night. And He rises early on Sunday — that’s Day 3 which includes Saturday night.
So Friday, Saturday, Sunday… three days.

Now what about “three days and three nights”? Two answers. 1) As I showed you just now, Friday daytime IS part of the same day as Thursday night. And similarly, Saturday day is Friday night. And Sunday day is Saturday night. Three days: Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Three nights, Thursday to Saturday.

But I prefer unpacking this in a 2^nd way. Why? Since this phrase is a Hebraic expression—a common Jewish way of saying a period spanning three days, not necessarily 72 hours. In fact, no matter what day you start with (and some start with Wednesday, you will never get 72 hours on the dot. He died in the afternoon, and he arose early in the morning. 

But the Hebraic expression is not about 72 hours. It’s a common Jewish way of saying a period spanning three days. Esther fasts and leads the people to fast for “three days, night and day” → yet goes in on the third day (not after 72 hours) (Chapter 4, verse 16)

The Bible itself says repeatedly…He would rise “on the third day.” so there’s no contradiction. It’s not about counting hours—it’s about understanding how Jewish people counted time. And when you do…Friday to Sunday fits perfectly. Sometimes the answer isn’t changing the Bible— it’s understanding the culture in which it was written.
 
Question 2… Was the Last Supper a Passover meal? 

People often notice something in the Gospels that seems to be a contradiction, but it isn’t. Let me explain. Matthew, Mark, and Luke say the Last Supper took place on Passover. And many believers see similarities between the Jewish Passover seder and the Last Supper.

But the apostle John seems to say Jesus died before Passover. So which is it? Who is right? Or can both of them be accurate?

Here’s the key:
The Synoptic Gospels are focusing on the meal, that is, Jesus eating Passover with His disciples. But John is focusing on the timing of the sacrifice. In fact, in John’s Gospel, Jesus is crucified at the very time the Passover lambs are being slaughtered in the Temple.

That’s not a contradiction—that’s theology. Jesus didn’t just celebrate Passover. He became the Passover Lamb. It’s very possible that Jesus followed a Galilean reckoning of Passover, celebrating it with His disciples—while the Temple in Jerusalem followed a different schedule, so that when Jesus died, the official Passover lambs were being sacrificed.

Jesus kept the meal… and became the Lamb.

How do we explain the different timings of Passover in the Gospels? 

Here’s a possibility many people don’t know:
In the first century, not everyone kept the calendar exactly the same way. Jesus and His disciples were from up north in Galilee, while the Temple authorities were in Jerusalem. Some scholars believe Galileans may have reckoned the day differently, thus allowing them to celebrate Passover a little earlier.

That means Jesus could eat a true Passover meal, the seder, with his disciples, and then, the next day which was the same Hebrew calendar date, as the official lambs were being sacrificed in the Temple, Jesus is on the cross. So again, not a contradiction, but a convergence. He keeps the Passover meal, and then he becomes the Passover Lamb. Different calendars, one perfect fulfilment.

Wait; were there actually different calendars in Jesus’ day?
The answer is yes. In the first century, not all Jewish groups followed the same calendar. For example, the community at Qumran—the Dead Sea Scrolls group—used a solar calendar, not the lunar one used in Jerusalem.

That meant their festivals—like Passover—could fall on completely different days. Other groups, including those connected to the Temple, followed the official lunar calendar. So when we read the Gospels, we’re stepping into a world where more than one way of counting time existed.

That helps explain how Jesus could share a Passover meal, and still be crucified at the very time
Because no matter the calendar—Yeshua is the Lamb. History may have had multiple calendars…but God had one perfect timing.

What's that smudge on your face?

 

When Traditions Look Strange

Not long ago, someone unfamiliar with high church liturgical practice was walking down a city footpath and noticed something odd. Dozens of people had dark smudges on their foreheads. No one seemed embarrassed. No one was trying to wipe it off. They simply went about their day — catching buses, ordering coffee, heading to work — marked.

To the uninformed observer it looked strange. Was it dirt? A protest? Some kind of public statement?

Of course, it was Ash Wednesday — a solemn beginning to Lent. The ashes symbolize mortality and repentance: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” What looked unusual was, in fact, a centuries-old act of humility.

I read about a flight attendant aboard a long-haul 747 who grew concerned when she saw a man standing near his seat wrapping leather straps tightly around his arm and forehead. The black box positioned above his brow looked foreign and alarming. She moved quickly to intervene.

But the passenger was an Orthodox Jew praying the morning prayers, fulfilling Deuteronomy 6:8: “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.” The leather straps were tefillin, not something dangerous — but something sacred.

In both cases, devotion looked strange to the outsider.

And that raises an important question:
What do we do when someone else’s tradition makes us uncomfortable?

The Double-Edged Nature of Tradition

The word tradition can make some Christians nervous. After all, Jesus rebuked religious leaders for elevating tradition above Scripture. “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3)

Tradition becomes dangerous when it replaces God’s Word, burdens consciences beyond what He requires, or fosters pride. But Scripture does not reject tradition outright. Paul writes:

“Stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught.” (2 Thessalonians 2:15)

Traditions can preserve memory. They can embody theology. They can train the heart. They can pass faith from one generation to the next.

Ashes speak of repentance.
Tefillin represent covenant faithfulness. Passover preaches redemption. Communion preaches remembrance. Tradition itself is not the enemy. The misuse of tradition is.

Why We Misjudge What We Don’t Understand

When we see something unfamiliar in a religious setting, our instinct is often suspicion.

We protect what feels normal to us. We question what feels foreign. We sometimes judge what we don’t comprehend. Yet much of what looks strange is simply someone else expressing devotion within their own inherited story.

To a first-century Roman observer, baptism would have looked odd. To a pagan neighbour, the Lord’s Supper may have seemed bizarre. To a secular modern eye, fasting looks extreme. Devotion, especially embodied devotion, rarely looks ordinary to outsiders.

The problem is not that traditions exist. The problem is how we respond to traditions that are not our own.

Romans 14: A Theology of Mutual Respect

Romans 14 is one of the most liberating chapters in the New Testament when it comes to differing traditions among sincere believers. Paul addresses disputes over food and special days — matters that stirred strong emotions in the early church.

He wrote, “The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him.” (Romans 14:3)

Notice the two dangers: Contempt and judgment.

Contempt says, “You’re foolish.”
Judgment says, “You’re wrong.”

Paul dismantles both by reminding us: “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” (14:4) That sentence alone could heal many church divisions.

The issue is not whether we would choose the same practice. The issue is whether the person is acting for the Lord. Paul continues: “One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.” (14:5)

And then the key principle: “He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord… he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.” (14:6)

Motivation matters. Gratitude matters. Lordship matters.

Two Takeaways

1. Learn to Appreciate the Traditions of “the Other”

Before dismissing a practice, ask:

• What story is this telling?
• What Scripture stands behind it?
• What spiritual discipline is it forming?
• What memory is it preserving?

We do not have to adopt every tradition to respect it. Appreciation is not the same as participation. Ashes may not be your practice — but they proclaim repentance.
Tefillin may not be your custom — but they proclaim embodied Scripture. Humility begins with curiosity.

2. Embrace the Spirit of Romans 14

Paul grounds everything in the Lordship of Messiah: “If we live, we live for the Lord; or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” (14:8) And again, “For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.” (14:9)

Traditions are secondary.
Lordship is primary.

If someone is acting from sincere conviction, giving thanks to God, and seeking to honor Him, we step carefully before criticizing. We are not the Holy Spirit for other believers.

A Final Thought

To the passerby, ashes look like dirt. To the anxious stewardess, tefillin look alarming. But to the worshipper, they are acts of devotion.

Perhaps the next time we encounter a tradition that feels unfamiliar, we might pause before reacting. We might remember Romans 14. And we might ask ourselves: Is this person doing this for the Lord?

If so, humility — not judgment — is the proper response.

 

 

Day 5 Holy Week 2025. What is Maundy Thursday and what is Passover?

Arrest, trial, illegal yet, Passover

The results are in, or are they?

It was last Monday night, 4 November, my birthday. The Kansas City Chiefs football team was playing at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The rain had been falling in Kansas City all day. I had flown that morning from Sydney, and now, on arrival in England, I began to spend time with some of the other folks at the conference we were attending. Seventy Jews for Jesus leaders had gathered from around the globe. 

Actually,
I had left over 30 hours before. The double flights (one to California and the other to London) take about 24 hours in the air alone. 30 hours includes counting travel to and from the airport and layover time. Imagine the normal jet lag which hits most folks who fly 16,000 km. I’m a normal guy, so a bit of jet lag makes sense. 

My usual style of beating that jet lag includes a lot of walking or even exercise during the daytime on arrival. This allows the sun’s rays to shine on my arms’ skin, and the resultant natural melatonin released causes an adjustment in my body clock.  

But this is England in November, and the amount of sunshine was a bit limited. Combine that with the delight I had in seeing so many of my colleagues with whom I had not spent time in months caused its own energy to be released. No real sunshine. No real melatonin. No conquest of jet lag. 

The Chiefs’ game was to air at London time 1:15 AM on Tuesday the 5^th, and any person who wanted to be alert and participate in the conference which was scheduled to begin at 9:00 AM on the 5^th would hope for some good sleep. But I couldn’t wait for the results in the morning. After all, I’m a fan, and a fan must wear the team’s colours and cheer the team to victory in the moment, live. 

Tuesday the 5^th of November saw a substantial election take place in the US. As an American citizen who had voted by mail weeks before and who cared much about the campaign and its results, I wanted to know who won in local and national contests. The conference was terrific, and the time with colleagues was rich, but at 9:00 PM I had to go to bed. Tiredness won. I would have to see the results on waking that Wednesday morning. Perhaps it was the jet lag or maybe the energy of wanting to know the winners, but about 2 AM I awoke and thought I should check my computer for any updates. Needless to say, that was a mistake. The news was full of some states’ results. That caused me to sit up and watch for more. I couldn’t wait. The results were coming in; I wanted the play-by-play. And about 5 AM I lay back down. 

Not wanting to miss out. 

Sense and sensibility didn’t win on either overnight. Sleep is a natural and normal part of an animal’s day, and I finally caught up on my normal sleep the night of the 6^th. 

Oh, the Chiefs won their football match in overtime, no doubt caused in part by my horizontal cheering.

But now you might be wondering why I’m sharing these two episodes of not wanting to miss out with you.

Let me take you back further than last Monday. To a Friday about 2,000 years ago. It was in Jerusalem. A group of Jewish men and women were almost in shock. Their candidate for rank had lost. He was their hero, their leader, their teacher. Many fancied him to be the messiah, and messiah meant something different then. The shock that  hit these close followers of his took place just after a final meal together the night before. It was an annual feast, the feast of Passover. The whole Jewish world made pilgrimage to Jerusalem for this event, some stayed on for 7 full weeks for the next holiday. The city was abuzz with multilayers of activity. Lambs bought and sold, slaughtered and eaten. 

The folks who had that meal with their guy were surprised in just a short time. They left the upper room where they had celebrated Passover, and went to a nearby garden. It was there their guy (his name was Yeshua) was arrested. What? What did he do wrong? 

They were disoriented and surprised and angry. One of the followers (later they call them disciples or even apostles) named Peter took a sword and whacked the ear of the servant of the high priest. Yeshua, even during his troubles, reached out and put the ear back on Malchus’ head, healing him at once. Who does that?

The disciples were in shock; their guy was taken into custody. What did they do? They hid and stayed in hiding for days. Yeshua was given a death sentence. Wait a minute! Messiahs don’t lose; they don’t die, at least not before taking out Rome or whoever is ruining our Jewish lives.

 The trial took place after the arrest. They declared him worthy of death and the sentence was issued. A man named Simon carried the execution wood for Yeshua. The Romans put nails in Yeshua’s wrists to secure him to the pole, between two other criminals. He died. They all three died. And were buried.

That must be the end of the story. Who would wait for any further results then? That’s the end. No more hope. No more wishing. It’s over. 

The executioners put a big stone in front of the cave in which Yeshua was buried. They sealed it with a caulk agent and set two Roman military guards to ensure no one disturbed the burial site. 

The results were in. Hopelessness. Failure. Dejection. Again our religion failed us. 

Then Saturday and then Sunday and some women went back to the tomb hoping to freshen up the area with spices. They ran back to the gathering of the followers and told what they had seen. Peter and John ran to the tomb and found it just as the women had reported, but they didn’t find Yeshua. More disorientation, and now what?

Just hours later Yeshua himself appeared with the followers back in the upper room where they had hidden themselves. He presented himself alive; he ate with them; he showed them his hands and feet; they knew it was he! Alive!

Now, new results were in. The play-by-play was being rewritten right before their eyes. Now a brand new overtime began! 

A New Episode. A New Life. If you receive it. 

 

Easter and Passover: fit together

 

HOW EASTER AND PASSOVER FIT TOGETHER

A Messianic Jew explains

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BOB MENDELSOHN | APRIL 3RD, 2023 09:58 AM 

This year the Easter season overlaps with the Jewish holiday of Passover. For a Messianic Jew, that means a time of extra celebration!

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Passover is the annual holiday when Jews remember the Exodus of their people from slavery in Egypt. This year it begins before sundown on Wednesday, 5 April and ends after nightfall on 13 April.

So why celebrate Passover when you believe in the resurrected Jesus Christ as Messiah, who rescued us from slavery once and for all? Well, for Jewish people this holiday, originally titled “The Lord’s Passover”, is a key part of our identity. Wishing a Jewish person a “Happy Passover” is tantamount to affirming that they are Jews. And giving your Jewish mate a Passover gift would let them know that being Jewish is not a sin from which they need to repent, but rather a great privilege. After all, the message of the gospel was first given to Jewish people.

Why celebrate Passover?

I’m 71 years old and have celebrated Passover throughout my whole life. I grew up in Kansas City in the middle of the USA and have lived the past 25 years in Sydney. It hasn’t mattered where I was living or visiting, Passover is the most celebrated Jewish holiday for me and my family.

It’s not about the food, although it is abundant, and for many, it’s not about the religious ceremony. It’s not the over-sweet Passover wine or the longer-than-necessary prayers and reading of the script. What happens during the holiday is the release of a sort-of homing device, such as happens in New South Wales during March as the Rugby League season begins. It’s similar to hearing the sounds of your national anthem being played while someone you don’t know is standing on the dais during the Olympics. There’s a feeling we call ‘hamishe’ in Yiddish – a feeling of home. That sentiment which drove Odysseus until he reached home and E.T. to ‘phone home’ is the hamishe feeling.

What happens during the holiday is the release of a sort-of homing device.

And that’s what I feel as I approach the holiday again. My parents have been gone for 18 years; my brother died years ago. So Passover is an important way to fulfil my desire to live in hamishe reality. The songs don’t change from year to year. The food tastes the same; the jokes – we could finish each other’s stories before they start. We are home again.

These days tradition is much more important to most Jewish people than the Scriptures. Most Jewish people would not seriously knock back the constitutional reality of what Moses or Isaiah wrote. In fact, most Jewish people today would say that the Scriptures are relevant, even though they would not consider them authoritative or inerrant. They think the Bible is a good story, and the Exodus from Egypt was significant. And that forms the basis of the continuing Passover celebrations.

The shortcomings of Passover

Most of my people would have some argument with the actual biblical story. They might disclaim the possibility of the ten plagues, saying Moses got lucky or knew the secrets of Egyptian folklore. They would say things like, “the parting of the Red Sea didn’t actually happen. One, it wasn’t the Red Sea at all, and then secondly, the rendering of the movies like the one with Christian Bale (Exodus: Gods and Kings, 2014) where his feet were soaking wet, was more in line with reality” or “Miracles are not part of the normal Jewish conversation; Moses and the Red Sea just couldn’t have happened.”

Only by living in his promises and in relation to the Almighty and Yeshua the Messiah will Jewish people find the best hamishe feeling ever.

But that dismissal of the ongoing possibilities of a God-who-overrides is what has caused my people to miss so much in history. Abraham’s wife Sarah laughed in disbelief when the angel communicated about God overriding her 90-year-old body’s limitations. Moses dismissed his own allegiance of faith in striking a rock instead of speaking to it, as God had instructed. His lack of faith prevented his entry into the Promised Land. Saul let his own cleverness override God in sparing Agag and the best of the conquered treasure, while disobeying the clear command to rid Israel of the Amalekites. God wanted to override the situations of the people; those who trusted him would live in his pleasure. And continue to celebrate the God of history and the God of the Exodus. The God who overrides. He’s the God of the super-natural (extra-ordinary: above the normal).

Only by living in his promises and in relation to the Almighty and Yeshua the Messiah will Jewish people find the best hamishe feeling ever.

The need for Easter

The stories of Passover and its Christian counterpart, The Passion/Resurrection Day, teach us much more. Passover features the stories of God sparing the Jewish firstborns in Egypt and bringing his people out of slavery. They are God-who-overrides. This being is reflected in the deliverance Yeshua (Jesus) offers to all who put their trust in him. He died at the hands of the Romans and his execution was permanent. They buried him. He was a goner. And yet, he arose from the dead. That’s extra-ordinary! That’s the God-who-overrides. We are delivered by Yeshua from sin and death. Egypt then represents our bondage, our inability to find eternity, our failures to find grace and mercy to help in times of need.

Thus, if we trust Messiah Yeshua, we are set free from the bondage (Romans 8:2, 8:21) of our personal Egypt and brought into the light of the Kingdom (Colossians 1:13) of God’s beloved Son. The new covenant is better than the old covenant on so many levels: a better name, a better priesthood, better blood, better conditions, better promises, and on and on. Leaving Egypt was awesome. Crossing the Red Sea was God’s power-made-manifest to the Hebrews.

Bob and Patty Mendelsohn

Then God led the Jewish people to the Promised Land and we experienced his hand in all our ways. We found ‘home’ and that hamishe feeling. Only by living in his promises and in relation to the Almighty and Yeshua the Messiah will Jewish people find the best hamishe feeling ever. It’s not the four cups of wine; it’s not grandmother’s matzo ball soup. It’s in finding our Elder Brother, Messiah Yeshua of whom the prophets wrote that we find home.

Easter is a Jewish story – the crucified Messiah, the Son of God, the (Passover) Lamb of God, who dies on Passover, is buried and rises from the dead on the Jewish holiday of First Fruits (Exodus 34, Leviticus 23, 1 Corinthians 15). It’s the story of redemption from something far worse than Egyptian slavery. We are saved from sin and death. And translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. Hallelujah, what a Saviour!