his disciples and to encourage them with words of kindness and love. John, chapters 14, 15, 16 and 17. The objector may quote the following: "And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you that I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God." Luke 22: 15, 16. What was this passover? It was the passover he was to administer to his disciples, the passover of the Lamb of God, of which the paschal lamb was a type, for we read: "And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you." Luke 22: 19, 20. This was the passover he had such great desire to institute before he suffered. After his instructions, he and the disciples went to the garden of Gethsemane. John 18: 1. He knew that his hour was come. He knew that on the morrow the paschal lamb would be slain; he knew that lamb was a type of himself, and that he himself was the Lamb of God slain from before the foundation of the world. The paschal lamb had been separated from the flocks on the tenth day of the first month (Nisan) or second of April. (Smith's Dictionary of the Bible.) Jesus also was separated on the same day when he rode into Jerusalem amid the shouts of the people, "Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord." John 12: 13. As he was thus chosen and honored on the same day, so also would he be crucified on the same day that the paschal lamb was to be slain. Judas, with a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came to the garden late in the night, with lanterns torches and weapons. Although they there witnessed the power of God, which should have been a warning to them, they nevertheless took Jesus, bound him and led him away to Annas, who in turn sent him to Caiaphas. "Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of Judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. Pilate then went out unto them and said, What accusation bring ye against this man?" The accusers of Jesus did not go into the judgment hall lest they should be defiled and would not be able to partake of the passover, and therefore Pilate went out unto them to hear their charges. This is ample evidence that the time for the eating of the passover had not yet arrived. As Jesus did not partake of any food with his disciples from the time he was betrayed in the garden, it is evident that he had not eaten of the passover. That his betrayal occurred before the passover supper had been eaten, is also proven by the following statement: "Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barrabas. Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barrabas, or Jesus which is called Christ? They said, Barrabas." Matt. 27: 15-17, 21. As the prisoner had not yet been released, (Matt. 27: 26; Mark 15: 15; Luke 23: 25,) the feast of the passover must still have been in the future. But if still further proof is wanted, the following passage referring to the very hour in which Christ was taken to Golgotha and crucified, should be final: "And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour; and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your king." John 19: 14. * * * Having proven that Jesus did not partake of the passover supper, and that he was crucified prior thereto, the next question is, When did the passover begin? "In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's passover." Lev. 23: 5. It was on the morning of this day, Thursday, with us as with the Jews, that Jesus appeared before Pilate, but the passover did not begin until even, at six, which hour marked the commencement of the Jewish Friday, though to us still Thursday. That it began on the evening of the day he was crucified is evident from the following passage: "The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day), besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away." John 19:31. The objector may say that it was on the preparation of the Sabbath, and as the Jewish Sabbath was held on Saturday, the crucifixion must have been held on Friday. No, for if that were true, the day of the passover and the Sabbath must have occurred on the same day. John says, "for that sabbath was an high day." Bearing in mind that Jesus was crucified on the preparation of the passover, let us read: And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings. These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein."Lev. 23: 1-8. "And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you."-Exodus 12: 16. From this we may understand why John calls it an high day, that is the day following the passover, because the same law was given to be observed on this day as on the regular Sabbaths, no matter on which day of the week this should occur, and those holy convocations were to be Sabbaths of rest unto the people. Here is also another evidence that it was not on the day after, but prior to, the passover that our Savior was slain. It would be unreasonable also, to suppose that the Jews, so strict to observe their Sabbaths and holy convocations, would desecrate it by holding court and condemning and even executing three prisoners in public on this holy day. Chambers' Encyclopedia, under the head of "Sabbath," declares that no case where life or death were involved could be tried in a court on a Friday. Such were the customs of the Jews. The chief priests did not want to take Jesus at the feast day lest there should be an uproar among the people; hence, Judas took opportunity to betray him before the passover. Thus Christ was crucified on Thursday. That day ended at six in the evening, when Friday, the passover day, began. At that time Christ had given up the ghost, had been taken down from the cross, and the body given to Joseph of Arimathæa for interment. His body lay in the tomb from Thursday evening, or the beginning of the Jewish Friday, until Sunday morning, three days and three nights, and he arose from the tomb on the third day, Sunday. That Sunday was the third day, may be gathered from the account given in Luke 24: 13-21, of Jesus appearing unto two disciples, who inform him of all that has happened, concluding with these words: "And beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done." Again: If Sunday was the third day since these things were done, Saturday must have been the second day, and Friday the first day since these things were done. In other words they were done on the Thursday. In conclusion may be cited the evidence contained in the Book of Mormon. Samuel, the Lamanite prophet, prophesied: "And behold, again another sign I give unto you; yea, a sign of his death; * behold, in that day that he shall suffer death, the sun shall be darkened and refuse to give his light unto you; and also the moon, and the stars; and there shall be no light upon the face of this land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space of three days, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead."— Helaman 14: 14, 20. The fulfillment of this prophecy is recorded as follows: * * and it "And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch, that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen, could feel the vapor of darkness; came to pass that it did last for the space of three days, that there was no light seen."-III Nephi 8: 20, 23. And it came to pass that thus did the three days pass away. And it was in the morning, and the darkness dispersed from off the face of the land."-III Nephi 10: 9. IN THE STILLNESS. BY LEWIS STEWART. Silent now the voice of gladness, Shrined in caskets from the vast, Silent, sacred, holy chambers. Now the wish, the fret, the worry As these forms, in shrouds enroll'd; Sad, I listen in the stillness For a voice, so sweet, so dear; Voice of music, voice of angel That enchants the spirit's ear: Tones of love so gently spoken, Melodies so heavenly rare, That no mortal ever hears them, Save as echoes of his prayer. Now the heav'n-born presence thrills me; |