The Memorial Supper – Questions of Interest
QUESTION 1. Since Bible Students link the celebration of the Memorial to the Passover observance and use the Jewish calendar to determine the date for the 14th of Nisan, why does our Memorial occur consistently two days before the Passover? (Using the 1996 calendar to illustrate this point, Thursday, April 4 is listed as the Passover day, but our Memorial will be held on Tuesday evening, April 2.)
There is a very simple explanation for our practice, which becomes evident upon reflection. The term “Passover” is appropriately used to describe the events of either the 14th day of Nisan on which the lamb was originally slain or the 15th day of Nisan on which the feast was held. In modern times, the lamb is no longer slaughtered by the Jews, so that less emphasis is placed upon the 14th day and the current Jewish calendar does not give it any significance. It is the 15th day which is now exclusively emphasized, commemorating the feast and the exodus from the land of Egypt. This explains why the calendar marks only the 15th day of Nisan as the “Passover.”
Hence, whatever day the calendar identifies as the “Passover,” that day is the 15th of Nisan (the major portion of the day, but not its actual beginning). The previous day would be the 14th of Nisan, and our Memorial celebration would begin on the evening of the day preceding that. Returning to our example, if Thursday, April 4 is listed as the Jewish Passover, then that would be
Nisan 15. The previous day, Wednesday, April 3, would be the 14th of Nisan and our Memorial would commence on the evening prior to this, after 6 o’clock on Tuesday, April 2, the evening (beginning) of the 14th day according to Jewish reckoning. (The Jewish day, it is to be remembered, commences from 6:00 p.m. in the evening, instead of from midnight.)
Thus it is quite correct and consistent with the Jewish calendar for our Memorial celebration to fall two days prior to the Passover.
QUESTION 2. Did our Lord’s death on the cross occur at the full of the moon, and if so, what is the spiritual significance of this?
Many scholars are now agreed that Jesus expired on the cross about 3:00 p.m. on Friday, April 3, 33 AD (Julian calendar). According to astronomical calculations, the moon became full shortly after this occurrence, precisely at 5:23 p.m. Jerusalem mean time.1 As pointed out by Pastor C.T. Russell, the moon being full and starting to wane shortly after our Lord’s death carried great significance in picturing God’s dealings with the nation of Israel.2
The moon appears to be a symbol of that nation and the Law Covenant God made with her. The 12 and sometimes 13 lunations could represent the various Jewish tribes. The fullness of the moon at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion would thus represent the fullness of God’s favor to Israel at that point in her history. Her Messiah had appeared; the “Royal Majesty of the Heavens” was in her midst.
But Israel was not ready to receive her Messiah at his first advent and as a nation rejected him outright. Then followed the waning of the moon, illustrating that the divine favor toward Israel would gradually decline for a season and mark a period of national judgment. The sentence had already been rendered just days earlier, “Behold! Your house is left unto you desolate!” (Matthew 23:37, 38) Many Bible students have identified this period of judgment with the prophecy of the “Jewish Double” the punishment aspect of which extended for 1,845 years from 33 AD to 1878 AD, the year of the first permanent Jewish settlement in Palestine.3 Since that time, God’s hand has again been manifested upon Israel in a remarkable way and the waxing of His favor continues, preparatory to the leading role marked out for that nation during the Kingdom period.
QUESTION 3. Shouldn’t the occurrence of the full moon dictate the proper date for the celebration of the Memorial Supper, especially in view of the significance of Jesus’ death occurring at that time? (Most Bible Student celebrations of the Memorial seem to take place a day or two before the full of the moon.)
The full of the moon occurred shortly after our Lord’s death (at 5:23 p.m. on Friday, which was almost into the beginning of Nisan 15 at 6:00 p.m.). Hence, in 33 AD the full of the moon occurred almost a full day after the Memorial celebration. Therefore, if our modern observance of the Memorial falls a day before the calendar indicates the moon to be full, that would be entirely consistent with what occurred in our Lord’s day. However, because of a considerable variation in the moon’s orbit, we should not expect this pattern to repeat each year. It turns out that the moon’s waxing period varies from 13.9 days to 15.5 days, averaging 14.7 days to reach maximum fullness. The moon is regularly full on the 15th of Nisan but occasionally will be full on either the 14th or 16th day. Hence we should not normally expect to find the moon full on the night (beginning) of the 14th of Nisan at our Memorial time, but at least one night later. For example, in the year 1991 our Memorial was celebrated on Thursday evening, March 28, after 6:00 p.m., which was the beginning of Nisan 14. The moon did not become full until 11:17 p.m. on Friday, March 29, when the 15th of Nisan had already begun. Since it had only taken 13.96 days to become full that year, clearly even on a short orbit maximum fullness may occur on the 15th day (rather than the 14th); on average it will be on the 15th day and on a long orbit it may occur on the 16th of Nisan. The table below lists specific comparisons for the years 33 AD (Julian calendar, Jerusalem mean time) and 1991 AD (Gregorian calendar, Pacific standard time):
QUESTION 4. On the occasion of our Lord’s death on the cross, was there also an eclipse of the moon as well as it being full? If so, what would this illustrate and does it have a bearing on establishing the date of our Lord’s crucifixion?
Astronomical calculations show that not only did the moon begin to wane, but that there was also an eclipse of the moon on the evening of Jesus’ crucifixion. In the city of Jerusalem it was a partial eclipse, from moonrise on Friday, April 3, 33 AD, at 6:18 p.m. to 6:37 p.m. (19 minutes altogether). About an hour earlier at 5:23 p.m. (Jerusalem time), the moon both began to wane and reached the peak of its eclipse (40% total), several thousand miles to the east of Jerusalem over New Guinea.6
An eclipse would be a much more dramatic, sudden event than merely the waning of the moon. We think it signaled the abrupt end of the Law arrangement which God had established with Israel. (Colossians 2:13, 14) Further, it seemed to dramatize that nation’s being cast off from the position of chief favor and eligibility to the high calling. Henceforth, the call would go out predominantly to the Gentiles. (Acts 15:7-9, Romans 11:17)
This did not mean that Israel would be forever alienated from God, as already touched upon in Question 2, but merely that a turning point in His dealings with that nation had been reached. (Romans 11:1, 2; Psalms 89:30-35)
In addition, the fact that an eclipse of the moon did occur at Passover time in 33 AD further corroborates the occurrence of the crucifixion in that year. In the range of years from 26 to 36 AD, only in two years – 31 and 33 AD – did an eclipse of the moon occur during the early spring of the year. This was on April 25, 31 AD, and on April 3, 33 AD, respectively. But in the year 31 AD the eclipse occurred on a Wednesday, which means that to consider that year as a possible date for the crucifixion the eclipse would have occurred two days before that event.7 (All of the gospel accounts agree that Jesus died a few hours before the start of the Jewish Sabbath – night fall on a Friday.) Hence, 31 AD is ruled out as a possible year for the crucifixion, since the eclipse of the moon did not coincide with the day of Jesus’ death. Using this data as a criterion, only 33 AD remains as a viable year for the crucifixion, with the eclipse of the moon coinciding precisely with Jesus’ death on the cross.
QUESTION 5. Why does the date for our Memorial never fall on Monday, Wednesday, or Saturday?
If the Jewish calendar is used as the basis for computing our Memorial dates, it will be found that there are certain regulations which govern the days that the Passover Feast (Nisan 15) may not be held. This is necessary because of the fixed relationship between the first (or feast) day of Passover (Nisan 15) and the first day of the new year that follows (Tishri 1), amounting to exactly 163 days. This in turn affects the days on which Yom Kippur (Tishri 10) and Hoshana Rabba (Tishri 21) occur: it is necessary that the first holiday never fall on the day preceding or following a regular Saturday Sabbath (which would result in two consecutive days of complete rest and interfere with meal preparations); and that the second holiday never fall on a Saturday (which would violate the Sabbath because of the physical activity connected with the Hoshana ritual).
To satisfy these special holiday requirements, the calendar is regulated so that the feast day of Passover (Nisan 15) never occurs on Wednesday, Friday, or Monday.8 This being so, it becomes evident that Nisan 13 cannot fall on Monday, Wednesday, or Saturday. Hence our Memorial service, which is held on the calendar day marked Nisan 13 (and which becomes Nisan 14 after 6:00 p.m.), never occurs on these days.
– Charles Redeker
1 See H.H. Goldstine, New and Full Moons 1001 BC to AD 1651 , 1973 edition, p. 87, corrected to Jerusalem mean time.
2 See C.T. Russell, The New Creation (Volume 6 of the Scripture Studies series), p. 481. (F481)
3 For a detailed explanation of this prophecy, see C.T. Russell, The Time Is At Hand (Volume 2 of the Scripture Studies series), pp. 209-232. (B209-B232)
4 H.H. Goldstine, loc. cit., p. 87, corrected to Jerusalem mean time.
5 Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, California, information, telephone (213) 664-1181.
6 J.K. Fotheringham, “The Evidence of Astronomy and Technical Chronology for the Date of the Crucifixion” Journal of Theological Studies, XXXV (1934), pp. 146-162. (The occurrence of the moon’s reaching its full and being eclipsed at the exact same instant in time – 5:23 p.m. – is a necessary coincidence, since the moon can only be eclipsed at the time it is full.)
7 Cj. Humphreys and WG. Waddington, “Dating the Crucifixion,” Nature, Vol. 306, Dec. 1983, p. 745; and J.K. Fotheringham, loc. cit.
8 G. Zinberg, Jewish Calendar Mystery Dispelled, pp. 41-42.