By Johann Peter Lange
Edited by Rev. Marcus Dods
THE HISTORICAL DELINEATION OF THE LIFE OF JESUS.
THE FINAL SURRENDER OF CHRIST TO THE MESSIANIC ENTHUSIASM OF HIS PEOPLE.
SECTION II chronological data That Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday is an incontestable fact, confirmed as well by the Evangelists as by the Apostolic Church (compare Luk 24:1). Equally certain is it, that on the third day previously, viz., on a Friday, He was crucified (Luk 24:21). The Synoptists were entirely agreed in pointing out this day at the first day of the Passover (Mat 26:2; Mar 14:1; Luk 23:54). Of late, however, there have been attempts to show that John has contradicted this testimony. It is maintained that, according to John, Christ must have been crucified on the day before the Passover. But such assertions depend upon the erroneous explanations of many expressions of John, and might now be considered as set aside.1 Nay, if the expressions of John be pondered in their full significance, he will be found to have declared more accurately than the rest of the Evangelists, that Jesus was crucified on a Friday,2 and that it was on the first day of the Passover (viz., on the 15th Nisan3). According to the determination of the general chronology of the life of Jesus, which we adopt,4 Jesus was crucified in the year 783 after the building of Rome (or in the year 30 of our era). The first Passover-day of this year was a Friday.5
According to the statement of
John, Jesus came six days before
the Passover to Bethany. As the
Passover began on the evening of
the 14th Nisan, this statement
points back to the 9th Nisan, to
the Friday evening which
preceded the last Sabbath before
the feast. Probably on the
Friday evening Jesus came with
his followers into the region
near the Mount of Olives. The
desire to reach the
neighbourhood of the holy city
before the Sabbath had probably
furnished the inducement to
travel the wearisome journey
from Jericho through the desert
as soon as the first morning
hours of the day were past. The
company dispersed on the Mount
of Olives for the observance of
the peaceful Sabbath-rest in
their huts and tents; but Jesus
had taken up His abode with His
friends in Bethany.
The Sabbath was spent in
tranquillity; but after sunset,
or after the end of the Sabbath,
His friends made ready for Him a
feast in the house of Simon the
leper. This is the same feast of
which the disciples speak for
the first time subsequently,
because they wish to refer to it
as the occasion of the treachery
of Judas, to which they come
later in the narrative.6
On the day after, scil., on the
Sunday before the Good Friday,
occurred the triumphal entry of
Jesus into Jerusalem, the
so-called palm-procession (Joh
12:12).
Between that Palm Sunday, which
might be called the typical
Easter-day, and the actual
Easter-day, or the real festal
day of the palms of victory,
every individual event of the
last days of the life and the
death of Jesus falls in
consecutive order.7 The
principal circumstance of the
following day, or the Monday,
was the purification of the
temple by Jesus once more, after
he had cursed the fig-tree,
which He had found without fruit
on the road from Bethany to the
city. In that purification He,
as it were, made the temple
itself the subject of His
miracles of healing, among the
children’s shouts of hosanna,
and the hostilities of the high
priests and scribes. Thus this
day represents the culminating
point of His theocratic ministry
in the ancient Israel, in the
very centre of the Old Testament
institutions (comp. Mar
11:12-19).
On the other hand, on the
Tuesday, occurs in that very
temple the public separation
between Jesus and the Jewish
hierarchy. The observation of
the disciples that the fig-tree
which Jesus had cursed on the
road-side, was withered away,
most significantly leads up to
this result. The first division
of the transactions of Jesus
with His enemies, consists in
His repulse of their request
that He should declare in what
power or in what name He did His
works, after they had refused to
declare the prophetic dignity of
John, with which His own
historic acknowledgment was
associated. In connection with
this repulse He puts forth the
parables, in which He vividly
describes to them their offence
against the Messiah. The second
division of these transactions
is seen in the victory of Christ
over the temptations with which
the several parties of His
antagonists ranged themselves
against Him, with a malicious
pretence of homage. The third
division comprises the
denunciation of woe upon the
Pharisees and scribes, and His
formal departure from the temple
itself, after He had there for
the last time uttered His
approval of the gift of the
widow’s mite (Mat 24:1; Mar
13:1; Joh 12:37).
On the evening of the same day,8
He is seated once more with
several disciples on the Mount
of Olives, over against the
mount of the temple. He looks
towards the temple, and predicts
to them its downfall,—the
judgment upon Jerusalem, and the
judgment upon the world,—whilst
in Jerusalem the high council is
holding the session in which His
death is resolved on. The time
of this is strictly determined
by the announcement of Jesus, in
the midst of His disciples, that
after two days would be the
Passover (Mat 26:1-2; Mar 14:1).
Jesus spends the Wednesday in a
consecrated retirement, to which
the Evangelist John clearly
refers (12:36). Probably the
Lord availed Himself of this
retreat to prepare His larger
band of disciples for His
departure.
As the Thursday was the first
day of unleavened bread, or the
day of preparation for the
feast, Jesus sent two of His
disciples, Peter and John, in
advance to the city with the
charge to make ready the
Passover. In the evening He
followed them with the rest of
the disciples, and sat down in
their company to the celebration
of the meal. This celebration
found its highest development in
the foot-washing and in the
institution of the holy
communion; and it was concluded
with the deep and consolatory
words of Jesus (Mat 26:17; Mark
12; Luk 12:7; John 13-17).
Then came the great Friday, the
day of Jesus’ death (Joh 18:19).
The peaceful Sabbath, or
Saturday, closes the holy week,
as the day of Jesus’ rest in the
grave, which concludes the week
of sorrow, and precedes the
morning of the resurrection.
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Notes In this portion of the evangelic history it is more difficult to distribute the historical material in John than that in the Synoptists, with any degree of precision. Wieseler postpones the events which are related by Joh 12:20-43, to the Tuesday, with reference to ch. 12:36. First of all, we may perhaps assume that ver. 37 begins a statement, which may be considered as the retrospect of the Evangelist upon the public appearance of Jesus among the people, which now was over. In that case the close of the 36th verse need not compel us to suppose that all that preceded, from ver. 20, is to be referred to the last day of His public ministry. The character of the closing transactions of Jesus with His enemies on the Tuesday, seems, moreover, to point to other situations besides that related by John, ver. 20. The announcement of the Greeks to the Lord belongs, perhaps, to the culminating point of His ministry among the people on the Monday; so also do His calm and solemn discourses with the people. The notice, moreover, of the peevish speech of the Pharisees points to that, ver. 19,-a moment which seems to correspond with the reproaches which the Pharisees, according to the Synoptists, uttered against the Lord on the Monday that He allowed Himself to be hailed by the hosannas of the children.
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1) Vol. i. p. 162. Wieseler, 333. Ebrard, das Evangelium Johannes, p. 42 2) Wieseler, p. 335. Ebrard, das Evang. Joh. 43. 3) The expression, πρὸ δὲ τῆς ἑορτῆς, John xiii. 1, plainly indicates the last transition from the eve of the festival to the festival itself, the time towards six o clock on the evening of the 14th Nisan. It is apt to be forgotten that the preparations for the Passover, part of which was the slaughter of the lamb, fell on the 14th Nisan, whilst the Easter supper, which was partaken after sundown, belonged to the next day, the 15th Nisan. Then it is to be observed, that on the day of the crucifixion, Pilate said to the Jews that it was the custom, ἐν τῷ πάσχα, to release to them a prisoner, and that he offered at that time, sell., during the Passover, to release to them Jesus, who was bound. 4) Above, vol. i. p. 342. 5) Wieseler, 176 6) Compare above, vol. ii, p. 207. Wieseler, 391. 7) In the determination of the order we follow Wieseler s careful investigation. 8) It may be doubted whether we are not to reckon the two days in such a way that this scene might occur on the Wednesday morning. But the Evangelists connect it very closely with the departure of Jesus from the temple ; and Luke relates it, before he concludes his narrative of the appearance of Jesus in the temple, with a general retrospect (xxi. 37, 38). Moreover, according to John, it must be assumed that Jesus had once again for a short time withdrawn into absolute concealment.
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