{"id":11980,"date":"2010-03-26T10:36:16","date_gmt":"2010-03-26T15:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/?p=11980"},"modified":"2010-03-26T10:36:16","modified_gmt":"2010-03-26T15:36:16","slug":"holy-week-preliminaries-chronology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2010\/03\/holy-week-preliminaries-chronology\/","title":{"rendered":"Holy Week Preliminaries: Chronology"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For most  traditional  Christians, the basic chronology of Jesus\u2019 last week is fairly clear: he  entered  Jerusalem on Palm Sunday; taught and prophesied for two or more days;  held the  Last Supper and was arrested on Thursday evening; died on Good Friday;  and rose  from the dead the morning of Easter Sunday.\u00a0 To make a devotional study  of the  Savior\u2019s Final Week simpler, in past years posts and in <a href=\"http:\/\/lds.org\/Static%20Files\/PDF\/Magazines\/Ensign\/English\/2009\/EN_2009_04_12___04204_000_012.pdf\">last year\u2019s <em>Ensign<\/em> article<\/a>,<a href=\"http:\/\/hccl.byu.edu\/faculty\/HuntsmanE\/Seasonal-eh\/Easter\/Easter%20Chronology.htm#_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> I have avoided detailed chronological discussions.\u00a0 Here, however, I  want to  provide interested parties with more background to the issues involved  in this  study, after which I will endorse a basically traditional chronology for   devotional purposes.<\/p>\n<p>The only securely  established  day is the day of the resurrection, which is explicitly identified as  \u201cthe first  day of the week\u201d (Mark 16:2; parallels Matt 28:1 and Luke 24:1; John  20:1).\u00a0 The  gospel of Mark, widely assumed to be the earliest of the written gospel  accounts, provides relative time markers, which, calculating back from  the  resurrection on the first day of the week, place Jesus\u2019 triumphal entry  on the  previous Sunday.<a href=\"http:\/\/hccl.byu.edu\/faculty\/HuntsmanE\/Seasonal-eh\/Easter\/Easter%20Chronology.htm#_ftn2\">[2]<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sunday: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAnd when they came nigh unto Jerusalem\u201d (11:1)<\/li>\n<li>Monday:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAnd on the morrow, when they were come back from   \tBethany\u201d (11:12)<\/li>\n<li>Tuesday:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAnd in the morning, as they passed by, they saw  the  \tfig tree\u201d (11:20)<\/li>\n<li>Wednesday:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAfter two days was the feast of the Passover\u201d  (14:1)<\/li>\n<li>Thursday:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAnd the first day of unleavened bread, when  they  \tkilled the Passover\u201d (14:12)<\/li>\n<li>Friday:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAnd straightway in the morning\u201d (15:1)<\/li>\n<li>Saturday\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0the \u201cSabbath\u2019\u201d (15:42; 16:1; more below)<\/li>\n<li>Sunday: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cand very early in the morning the first day of  the  \tweek\u201d (16:2)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In reality establishing  a  secure chronology is a little more complex.\u00a0 Other day markers beyond  resurrection on Sunday morning, such as Passover and the Sabbath, are  not as  clear as they might at first appear.\u00a0 As will be discussed later in some  detail  on Thursday, while the Synoptics make the Last Supper a Passover meal,  traditionally placed on Thursday, John suggests that Passover began the  evening <em>after<\/em> Jesus was crucified.\u00a0 Likewise, Mark\u2019s references to the  Passover  are sometimes obscure.\u00a0 Should the \u201ctwo days before the Passover\u201d (14:1)  be  counted inclusively or exclusively?\u00a0 The day that the Passover lamb was  killed  (14:12) was in fact before the Passover, which was also the first day of  the  feast of unleavened bread.<\/p>\n<p>Also, while it is true  that  Luke 23:53 says that \u201cthe Sabbath drew on\u201d at sunset after Jesus was  buried,  John and Mark present potentially conflicting data.\u00a0 John 19:31 refers  to the  Sabbath as a high day, connecting it with the \u201cpreparation day\u201d of the  Passover  (see also 19:42), suggesting that perhaps it was a festal sabbath and  not  necessarily the weekly Sabbath (contra the explanatory LDS KJV note for  19:31c,  it is just as likely that the \u201chigh day\u201d <em>was <\/em>the Passover and not  the day  after the Passover meal).\u00a0 Mark 15:42 also speaks of a preparation day  in  connection with Jesus\u2019 death, which was \u201cthe day before the Sabbath.\u201d\u00a0  The Greek  here is unclear on whether the day before the Sabbath was the day on  which Jesus  had just died or whether it was the day which, in accordance with Jewish   tradition, had just begun with sunset.<\/p>\n<p>This ambiguity has led  some to  propose that Jesus actually died on a Thursday, sundown Thursday to  sundown  Friday being a festal Sabbath, the first day of Passover, and sundown  Friday to  sundown Saturday being the weekly Sabbath.\u00a0 This proposal is attractive  to some,  particularly to a few in evangelical circles, because it preserves more  completely Jesus&#8217; prophecy of being in the tomb for three days and three  nights  (Matt 12:40) better than the standard explanation that Jesus\u2019 body was  in the  tomb for parts of three different days.\u00a0 While this chronology may be  attractive  to some Latter-day Saints because of its apparent correlation with the  Book of  Mormon\u2019s account of three days of darkness (Helaman 14:20, 27 and 3  Nephi  8:19\u201323), early Christian tradition nevertheless placed Jesus\u2019 death on  Friday  from a very early time.<\/p>\n<p>These rather complex  chronological discussions are matters of detailed study or a scholarly  investigation, not of a devotional (and hopefully inspirational),  approach to the  Easter season.\u00a0 I mention them only because the symbolic potential of  the events  of the last week is sometimes greater if one is not too rigidly attached  to a  specific chronology.\u00a0 However, in order to foster greater solidarity  with other  Christians who are observing Holy Week, and for purely practical reasons  of  convenience, my approach to the week before Easter this year follows a  more-or-less traditional sequence of events.\u00a0 Links are provided for  each day\u2019s  page on my Easter website:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/hccl.byu.edu\/faculty\/HuntsmanE\/Seasonal-eh\/Easter\/Easter%20Chronology.htm#The_Symbolism_of_Jesus_as_Anointed_King_and_Priest\">Friday  or  \tSaturday<\/a>: The Anointing in John<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/hccl.byu.edu\/faculty\/HuntsmanE\/Seasonal-eh\/Easter\/Easter%20Chronology.htm#Palm_Sunday\">Palm  Sunday<\/a>: The Triumphal Entry; the Cleansing  \tof the Temple (Matt and Luke)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/hccl.byu.edu\/faculty\/HuntsmanE\/Seasonal-eh\/Easter\/Easter%20Chronology.htm#Monday\">Monday<\/a>:  Cursing off the fig Tree; Cleansing of the Temple (Mark); Teachings in the Temple  \t(focusing on the rejection of Old Israel)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/hccl.byu.edu\/faculty\/HuntsmanE\/Seasonal-eh\/Easter\/Easter%20Chronology.htm#Tuesday_\">Tuesday<\/a>:  Lessons from the Fig Tree; More Teachings in the Temple  \t(focusing on the questioning of Jesus); the Olivet  \tDiscourse<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/hccl.byu.edu\/faculty\/HuntsmanE\/Seasonal-eh\/Easter\/Easter%20Chronology.htm#Wednesday\">\u201cSpy\u201d  Wednesday<\/a>: The Anointing in Mark and Matthew;  \tJudas agrees to betray Jesus<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/hccl.byu.edu\/faculty\/HuntsmanE\/Seasonal-eh\/Easter\/Easter%20Chronology.htm#Maundy_Thursday\">Maundy  Thursday<\/a>: The Last Supper; Gethsemane;  \tBetrayal and Arrest; Jesus before the Jewish Authorities<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/hccl.byu.edu\/faculty\/HuntsmanE\/Seasonal-eh\/Easter\/Easter%20Chronology.htm#Good_Friday\">Good  Friday<\/a>: Jesus in the Hands of the Romans;  \tthe Crucifixion; the Burial<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/hccl.byu.edu\/faculty\/HuntsmanE\/Seasonal-eh\/Easter\/Easter%20Chronology.htm#Saturday_\">Saturday<\/a>:  Jesus in the Spirit World<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/hccl.byu.edu\/faculty\/HuntsmanE\/Seasonal-eh\/Easter\/Easter%20Chronology.htm#Easter_Sunday\">Easter  Sunday<\/a>: The Resurrection<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Two final notes.\u00a0  First, most  treatments of the anointing of Jesus assume that the versions portrayed  in John  12:1\u20138 on the one hand and in Mark 14:2\u20139 (par Matt 26:6\u201313) on the  other  represent the same event.\u00a0 I feel, however, that the details are  different  enough that they warrant separate treatment.\u00a0 Even if historically there  was  only one anointing, the fact that John places it <em>before<\/em> the  Triumphal  Entry and Mark and Matthew place it <em>after<\/em> the Olivet Discourse, <a href=\"http:\/\/hccl.byu.edu\/faculty\/HuntsmanE\/Seasonal-eh\/Easter\/Easter%20Chronology.htm#_ftn3\"> [3]<\/a> suggests that the evangelists were using its symbolism to stress  different  theological and symbolic points (see The Symbolism of Jesus as Anointed  King and  Priest in tomorrow&#8217;s post).<\/p>\n<p>Second, many Latter-day Saint harmonies  of the final week list \u201cNo Events Recorded\u201d for Wednesday,<a href=\"http:\/\/hccl.byu.edu\/faculty\/HuntsmanE\/Seasonal-eh\/Easter\/Easter%20Chronology.htm#_ftn4\">[4]<\/a> but  the sequence in Mark strongly suggests that the plot to kill Jesus, the  unnamed  woman\u2019s anointing of Jesus, and Judas\u2019 decision to betray Jesus happened  on this  day. \u00a0This is also in accordance with Christian tradition, which has  since the  Medieval period referred to Wednesday as \u201cSpy Wednesday\u201d because of  Judas\u2019  actions.<\/p>\n<hr size=\"1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/hccl.byu.edu\/faculty\/HuntsmanE\/Seasonal-eh\/Easter\/Easter%20Chronology.htm#_ftnref1\"> [1]<\/a>Eric  \tD. Huntsman, \u201cReflections on the Savior\u2019s Last Week,\u201d <em>Ensign<\/em>,  Apr  \t2009, 52\u201360.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/hccl.byu.edu\/faculty\/HuntsmanE\/Seasonal-eh\/Easter\/Easter%20Chronology.htm#_ftnref2\"> [2]<\/a> See Marcus Borg and john Dominic Crossan, <em>The Last Week: A  Day-by-Day  \tAccount of Jesus\u2019 Final Week in Jerusalem<\/em> (San Francisco: Harper  \tCollins, 2006), ix\u2013xi.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/hccl.byu.edu\/faculty\/HuntsmanE\/Seasonal-eh\/Easter\/Easter%20Chronology.htm#_ftnref3\"> [3]<\/a> Compare this with the traditional harmonization of the Cleansing of the   \tTemple, which John places at the beginning of Jesus\u2019 ministry and all  three  \tSynoptics place at the end.\u00a0 Even if one assumes that there was only  one  \tcleansing, most recognize that John and the Synoptics provide different   \temphases about the nature of Jesus\u2019 public career and the timing and  nature  \tof the opposition that it inspired.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/hccl.byu.edu\/faculty\/HuntsmanE\/Seasonal-eh\/Easter\/Easter%20Chronology.htm#_ftnref4\"> [4]<\/a>See  \tPresident J. Reuben Clark, Jr. <em> Our   \tLord of the Gospels: A Harmony of the<\/em> Gospels (Salt Lake City: Deseret  Book,  \t1957), which was, in turn, based upon late nineteenth century  Protestant  \tcommentaries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For most traditional Christians, the basic chronology of Jesus\u2019 last week is fairly clear: he entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday; taught and prophesied for two or more days; held the Last Supper and was arrested on Thursday evening; died on Good Friday; and rose from the dead the morning of Easter Sunday.\u00a0 To make a devotional study of the Savior\u2019s Final Week simpler, in past years posts and in last year\u2019s Ensign article,[1] I have avoided detailed chronological discussions.\u00a0 Here, however, I want to provide interested parties with more background to the issues involved in this study, after which I will endorse a basically traditional chronology for devotional purposes. The only securely established day is the day of the resurrection, which is explicitly identified as \u201cthe first day of the week\u201d (Mark 16:2; parallels Matt 28:1 and Luke 24:1; John 20:1).\u00a0 The gospel of Mark, widely assumed to be the earliest of the written gospel accounts, provides relative time markers, which, calculating back from the resurrection on the first day of the week, place Jesus\u2019 triumphal entry on the previous Sunday.[2] Sunday: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAnd when they came nigh unto Jerusalem\u201d (11:1) Monday:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAnd on the morrow, when they were come back from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-corn"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11980"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11983,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11980\/revisions\/11983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}