The Memorial Supper – When is it Properly Observed?
Among Bible Student groups, there is general agreement that the celebration of the Lord’s Supper should be carried out on an annual basis, as a remembrance of the fulfillment of the Paschal sacrifice. The term “Memorial” Supper has been adopted as a reminder that the primary emphasis of the occasion is to commemorate the death of Christ as the atoning sacrifice on behalf of all mankind. There is also general agreement that the proper date for holding this very special ceremony is on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, which occurs in the spring time. It was on this date that the Passover lambs were slain in the type and it was on this day, according to John’s Gospel, that our Lord Jesus died as the antitypical “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
BASIS OF DATE DETERMINATION
But a problem that arises in this connection is the correct determination of the date on which Nisan 14 falls in our own era. Differing methods of calculation yield dates which can vary by as much as a month from each other, resulting in Memorial celebrations that are held at different times by various groups of the brethren, instead of upon one uniformly established date. It is to address this perplexing question that this aspect of the study is now directed.
There are three approaches that commend themselves in considering how to properly ascertain the dates for Nisan 14. The first is to determine if the Bible itself spells out such a procedure. The second, to discover if there are reliable, non-biblical sources that indicate how the date was established in ancient times. And the third, to determine whether the authority for setting such dates should be considered to rest in Jewish hands, whereby the standard Jewish calendar settings could simply be accepted as being conclusive.
Pursuing these approaches, we find first that the Bible itself is silent as to the exact procedure used in ancient times to establish the date of Nisan 14. The Bible, of course, highlights the special significance that was attached to the month of Nisan: it was the first month of the religious year and it marked the occurrence of the Passover celebration, the most important of all the annual feasts of the Israelites. Nevertheless, since the Scriptures do not detail how the beginning of the Hebrew year was reckoned, it is necessary to consult other historical sources for this information. Subsequently we shall see how the Bible provides related insights that can be correlated with these sources to give an overall perspective of this subject.
THE ANCIENT CUSTOM
Going on to non-biblical sources, we find the Hebrew Mishna much concerned with matters of the calendar and its reckoning. It specifies that the earliest custom was to begin the month Nisan with the first appearance of the new moon nearest the spring equinox. This was determined by visual sighting or, in the event of a cloud cover, by calculation. The responsibility for announcing the beginning of Nisan eventually fell upon three members of the Sanhedrin, the seventy-man ruling council of the Jews, in Jerusalem. These three members were the president of the council (who was the high priest) and two others to assist him. Sometimes witnesses were used to confirm the exact time of the sightings. For most years in the calendar cycle, this method sufficed and would have been simple enough, were it not for one major complication.
Starting with the first harvest in the land of Canaan, God instructed the Israelites to offer the firstfruits of the grain in a special wave offering before the Lord. This was to be carried out, according to Leviticus 23:9-11, on the “morrow after the sabbath This sabbath day was interpreted by the Pharisees and orthodox Jews to be the one occasioned by the 15th day of Nisan, the feast day of the Passover, rather than the regular weekly sabbath. The “morrow after the sabbath” therefore would become the 16th day of Nisan. Thus the Passover festival became inseparably linked together with the wave offering of the firstfruits – a seasonal agricultural ceremony. (just in passing, it may be mentioned here that Bible students recognize in this ceremony a very exacting type of the resurrection of our Lord, which also took place on the 16th day of Nisan many years later in 33 AD. See R5191.)
The grain used for this ceremony was the barley crop, since it was the first to appear and began to ripen toward the end of March and the early part of April. This was the normal harvesting schedule, which fit in nicely with the requirement that the firstfruits of the crop be waved before the Lord on the 16th day of Nisan. But occasionally there was a problem if the warm weather of spring was delayed and the Passover season fell before the barley crops were ripe. In such years, unless an adjustment could be made to delay the Passover, there would not be any ripe grain with which to offer the firstfruits.
To eliminate such a possibility, the Jewish authorities rendered a preliminary judgment regarding the state of the spring season. If necessary, a 13th month called V-Adar would be interposed immediately before Nisan, which had the effect of postponing the Passover for a month, and ensuring that the crops would be ripe. Obviously, without such a ruling body to render this judgment, the smooth functioning of the Passover and related wave offering ceremony could not have been carried out successfully.
In contrast to this, a practice in current use by some of the brethren is the attempt to establish the Nisan 14 date by a straight astronomical calculation, based solely on the new moon nearest the spring equinox. This is featured as the “true biblical” method, as opposed to the “Jewish” method just enumerated. Since there is no provision for adjusting the date if its falls early in the season, such a practice obviously does not coincide with the ancient custom. Further, it can hardly be considered as the true biblical method, since the appearance of the new moon in relation to the spring equinox is nowhere mentioned in the sacred records, as already shown.
On the other hand, the Scriptures do specifically mention the waving of the firstfruits of the crops in connection with the Passover ceremony. This tie-in is actually the only direct scriptural basis for confirming the season of the year, since the spring equinox is not referenced. To ignore the tie-in with the first grain harvest would seem to do violence with the original requirement, which, as previously stated, becomes significant as a type of Christ’s resurrection. Its omission would seem to seriously undermine the scriptural support for the timing of the Passover celebration.
VALUE OF JEWISH CALENDAR
Here is where the Jewish calendar makes a notable contribution. It is so constructed that on those years when the Passover would have fallen sufficiently early in the season to necessitate rendering a judgment as to the state of the crops, the festival is automatically delayed by the intercalation of the month of V-Adar. Thus, the calendar does away with the need for human judgment on the lateness of the season, and standardizes all the dates according to fixed rules.
The Jewish calendar in use today is termed “modern” to distinguish it from the “ancient” calendar which goes back to early Old Testament times. But the “modern” Jewish calendar was already in use in early centuries of the Christian era. Originally the rules governing its calculation were kept secret to maintain the dependency of scattered tribes upon the ruling hierarchy. But in 359 AD the rules were finally published by Rabbi Hillel II and made available to all Jews in the dispersion. This made it possible for the calendar to be calculated centuries in advance and eliminated all confusion regarding occurrences of the holy days.
This is precisely why we believe it is still useful for Bible students today to base the calculation of the Memorial date upon the Jewish calendar. It comes closest to approximating the ancient Jewish custom. Its use is certainly advantageous in arriving at a uniform date and eliminates the need for independent calculations. And it is universally available. But all this leads to one final question, which is really the focal point of the present discussion: Would it be proper for us as Christians to accept the Jewish calendar in fixing our Memorial dates?
In seeking guidance in any matter, it is always well to look to the example and teaching of our Lord. In this instance, we believe his words and actions provide a direct answer to our inquiry. Jesus made it quite clear that he was willing to accept the interpretations of those who sat in Moses’ seat when such did not conflict with truth or principle. Of the Scribes and Pharisees he specifically said, “Whatsoever therefore they bid you observe, that observe and do.”1 (Matt. 23:2,3)
The arrangements and adjustments of the Jewish calendar, particularly as they governed the religious festivities of the people, properly fell under the jurisdiction of these leaders. Jesus was quite content to accept their rulings on such matters. Hence it would seem reasonable that an acceptance of the dates produced by the Jewish calendar for the Passover-Memorial service in our day would be expressing an attitude similar to that of our Lord: not one of subservience, but of recognition of the convenience and utility of the arrangement, all under the providences of our God.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
It seems fitting here to be reminded of the scriptural admonition, “Let every man be persuaded in his own mind.” How desirable and advantageous it would be if all who appreciate the Memorial could agree on a single date for its proper observance. Nevertheless, in those years when it is difficult for the brethren to do so, we believe that the heart attitude for those partaking of the emblems is by far the most important consideration. The oneness of spirit of all the members of the body, their entering into the Memorial season by a thorough searching of their own hearts and evaluating their relationship with the Lord, and the feeding by faith upon the spiritual truths represented in this most solemn ritual, surely supersede the choosing of the date.
– Charles Redeker
1 They were not, however, to follow their example in hypocrisy and religious show.
OBSERVING THE MEMORIAL – WHEN?
“Our Lord, of course, was equally particular respecting the fourteenth day of the month as the proper time for the celebration–that all Israel might celebrate appropriately on the same day. But as for the proper beginning of the dating there was evidently less particularity. The Jewish method of reckoning, based upon the phases of the moon, was necessarily different from ours, and it was therefore very much less easy to determine an exact beginning for their month. Especially was this the case when the spring equinox had a bearing upon the matter, and when, as was the case with the Jews, another type demands that the Passover should come at the time of the harvest.
“All who have knowledge on the subject will admit that it would be practically impossible to fix dates for the beginning of the Jewish year by lunar time, in harmony with the harvest season, without there being room for dispute and difference of opinion. From our Lord’s standpoint all that was settled for the people by the decision of the Scribes, whose business it was to fix a date as the beginning of the new year, and the fourteenth day of that year became the established date for the Memorial. In other words, whether the Scribes fixed a date earlier or a date later would not have particularly mattered; the object was to have a uniform date and to recognize the fourteenth day of the first month at even.
“So the matter remains today. We do not understand that any stress or hair-splitting is necessary in the ascertainment of the particular counting of the first day of the first month, Jewish time, but that there is appropriateness associated with a general commemoration upon the same day after sundown, a concensus of judgment as to which day shall be observed as the fourteenth of Nisan being all that is necessary and proper.
“. . . We have pointed out that this is one of the years in which the definite fixing of the first day of Nisan, the first day of the new moon after the spring equinox, seems to be difficult. We attach no importance to this, however, and have recommended the keeping of the Memorial on Sunday night, April 8. This is in harmony with the Jewish observance, and tallies with the fact that the full of the moon occurs on April 9, corresponding to Nisan 15. The important features to be remembered are: (1) that it be in the spring of the year, approximately at the Passover season; (2) that the date be uniformly observed; (3) that it be observed in the evening, to correspond with the original institution in Egypt and with our Lord’s subsequent Memorial institution.”
– Charles T. Russell (R3750)
A FEW CONTEMPORARY MEMORIAL DATES1
(Based on Nisan 13)2
