-Passover:
The name given to the chief of the three great historical annual festivals
of the ancient Israel. It was kept in remembrance of the Lord's passing
over the houses of the Israelites (Exodus 12:13) when the first born of
all the Egyptians were destroyed. It is called also the "feast of unleavened
bread" (Exodus 23:15; Mark 14:1; Acts 12:3), because during its celebration
no leavened bread was to be eaten or even kept in the household (Exodus
12:15). The word afterwards came to denote the lamb that was slain at the
feast:.Mark 14:12-14;
1Corinthians. 5:7.
A detailed account of the institution of this feast
is given in Exodus 12th and 13th chapters. It was afterwards incorporated
in the ceremonial law (Leviticus 23:4-8) as one of the great festivals
of the nation. In after times many changes seem to have taken place as
to the mode of its celebration as compared with its first celebration (compare
Deuteronomy 16:2,5,6; 2Chronicles 30:16; Leviticus 23:10-14; Numbers 9:10,11;
28:16-24). Again, the use of wine (Luke 22:17,20), of sauce with the bitter
herbs (John 13:26) and the service of praise were introduced.
There is recorded only one celebration of this
feast between the Exodus and the entrance into Canaan, namely, that mentioned
in Numbers 9:5 (see Josiah in Easton's Bible Dictionary). It was
primarily a commemorative ordinance, reminding the children of Israel of
their deliverance out of Egypt; but it was, no doubt, also a type of the
great deliverance wrought by the Messiah for all his people from the doom
of death on account of sin and from the bondage of sin itself, a worse
than Egyptian bondage:
1Corinthians. 5:7; John
1:29; 19:32-36; 1Peter 1:19; Galatians 4:4,5.
The appearance of Jerusalem on the occasion of
the Passover in the time of our Lord is thus fittingly described: "The
city itself and the neighbourhood became more and more crowded as the feast
approached, the narrow streets and dark arched bazaars showing the same
throng of men of all nations as when Jesus had first visited Jerusalem
as a boy. Even the temple offered a strange sight at this season, for in
parts of the outer courts a wide space was covered with pens for sheep,
goats and cattle to be used for offerings. Sellers shouted the merits of
their beasts, sheep bleated, oxen lowed (made the characteristic sound
of a cow). Sellers of doves also had a place set apart for them. Potters
offered a choice from huge stacks of clay dishes and ovens for roasting
and eating the Passover lamb. Booths for wine, oil, salt and all else needed
for sacrifices invited customers.
Persons going to and from the city shortened their
journey by crossing the temple grounds, often carrying burdens...Stalls
to change foreign money into the shekel of the temple, which alone could
be paid to the priests, were numerous, the whole confusion making the sanctuary
like a noisy market" (Geikie's Life of Christ).
-patriarch:
This name is generally applied to the progenitors
of families or "heads of the fathers" (Joshua
14:1) mentioned in Scripture and they are spoken of as antediluvian
(time from from Adam to Noah) and post diluvian (after the
flood from Noah to Jacob) patriarchs. But the expression "the patriarch,"
by way of eminence
is applied to the twelve sons of Jacob, or to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The
Book of Genesis places before us patriarchal longevity into the
hundreds of years.
-Pharisees/Sadducees:
The Pharisees were proof that knowledge without a motivation to use it
to benefit others is worthless:.1Corinthians
13:1 "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have
not charity.(means
'love'), I am become as sounding brass,
or a tinkling cymbal."
The word 'Pharisee' in the original means 'separatists'.
The first mention of them is in a description by Josephus.(the
great historian) of the three sects or schools into which the Jews were
divided (B.C.E. 145). The
other two sects were the Essenes
and the Sadducees. Many Pharisees were lawyers,
doctors and scribes who took pride in their
self love:.Matthew
3:7,9.
In the time of Jesus they were the popular party:.John
7:43-48.
They
thought that they were extremely accurate and yet minute
in all matters appertaining
to the Old Testament law, but were only accurate in punctilious
matters (Matthew 23:23-28) to
do with the soon to be abolished ancient Mosaic
Law (the law the Infinite One gave Moses for ancient Israel until Christ
would come on the scene). To this ancient law, they added their own fabricated
ways. They knew absolutely nothing of the
real living available to all through Jesus Christ. They woefully
misunderstood why Jesus came to Earth.
They were knowledgeable in the letter, but woefully
ignorant when it came to the greater spiritual meaning of things:.Matthew
23:1-3; 2Corinthians 3:6.
They knew nothing correct about a changed heart (Romans
2:29; 7:6; 2Corinthians
3:6) necessary to have a relationship
with God. They knew nothing about the grace of God, and how
that grace encompasses all.
They were frequently rebuked by Jesus:.Matthew
23:27,29; Luke 11:39,47. They
were so steeped in their selfish concerns they hadn't the least inkling
of honesty and love in them.
The Pharisees and their ilk.(even
today) often tried to entangle Jesus in His talk:.Matthew
22:15,34,35. The Pharisees proved that there is no limit to ignorance
lying within the pompously
educated. And it was even true of their forerunners way back further in
Daniel's time, corrupt men who just looked for something together.(a
conspiracy).to
undermine another that they may have been jealous of:.Daniel
3:8-12; Daniel 6:11-15. And
an example of 'you reap
what you sow', of what happened to these conspirators:.Daniel
6:24. And another couple of examples of 'you reap
what you sow'.-.Jezebel,
and.Delilah).
Instead of letting their light shine,
they
spent their time trying to put out the lights of others.
On the first notice of them in the New Testament
(Matthew 3:7), they are ranked by Jesus
with the Sadducees as a."generation
of vipers". They were noted for their
self
righteousness and their pride:.Matthew
9:11; Luke 7:39; 18:11,12.
From the very beginning of Jesus' ministry the
Pharisees showed themselves bitter and persistent enemies. They could not
bear his doctrines, as Jesus taught the Mosaic Law as it was intended and
not as the Pharisees
had learned it, with many traditions added having the effect of making
them feel superior to others:.Romans
3:19. They sought by every means to destroy Jesus' influence among
the people.
The origin of the Jewish sect called
Sadducees
cannot definitely be traced. It was probably the outcome of the influence
of Grecian customs and philosophy during the period of Greek domination.
The first time they are met with is in connection
with John the Baptist's
ministry:.Matthew
3:1-3.(see a Bible Dictionary, available
in one of the free
computer Bible programs, for more on him). They came out to him when
on the banks of the Jordan, and he said.......continues