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“Seventy weeks have been determined concerning your people and your holy city to put an end to rebellion, to bring sin to completion, to atone for iniquity, to bring in perpetual righteousness, to seal up the prophetic vision, and to anoint a Most Holy Place…”
Daniel 9:24
If I asked you, “how long was the Messiah’s Ministry?” many of you would answer “three and a half years”. You would give this answer because it’s what you believe… because it’s what you’ve been taught.
Now let me ask you; what if it isn’t true?
Some would protest even the question, let alone the exercise of exploring its answer. Some simply because it contradicts what they’ve been taught and/ or believe, while for those who’ve actually done the math, because they see it in scripture;
(Now the Jewish Feast of the Passover was near.)
John 6:4
If you’re not familiar with the issue may be asking why a single passage of scripture is being called into question. The reason is because this is the only passage within all of scripture that would cause one to conclude that the Messiah’s ministry was three and a half years.
No – really.
First, let’s tackle the low hanging fruit… Passover is not a “Jewish” Feast, it is an Appointed Time of God. I want to be clear, I’m not splitting hairs here, I’m rightly dividing the word and giving all credence to the very words the Almighty Creator of the Universe actually spoke out loud:
The Lord spoke to Moses: “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘These are the Lord’s appointed times which you must proclaim as holy assemblies—my appointed times.”
Leviticus 23:1 – 2
Personally, I find it highly suspect that John, a Jew would feel the need to describe Passover as a “Jewish” feast, particularly when it has no bearing on the context of the events being relayed… but I digress. I’ve indicated previously that the ramifications of how we reckon time with regards to scripture are profound and this issue is no exception by any means.
I don’t make a habit of posting videos, but the following does such a thorough job of explaining the issue that I see no reason to transcribe what is discussed – and I’d literally just be transcribing. Note that this is taken from a presentation given at the annual Passover gathering hosted by A Rood Awakening International in 2019. It is part of a series which was broadcast on Shabbat Night Live during the month of August.
Just to summarize and make sure we’re all on the same page; every Gospel chronologically details the period of Yeshua’s (Jesus’) ministry, from his Baptism through His crucifixion and resurrection as being a little over one year. The exception to this is the Gospel of John and only because of John 6:4. Without this verse, all four Gospel fall into complete chronological agreement.
That of course, in and of itself, is not sufficient reason to claim that John 6:4 is erroneous and deserves to be expunged from our text. All we’ve done to this point is examine the issue and, more specifically, illustrated why it’s an issue – and believe me, it is an issue.
Because we don’t have the original manuscripts, it can be difficult to discern what they originally contained. If there are additions and scribal/ copyist errors, these would be propagated in the absence of an authoritative source. To combat this and return to original content, we have a few tools available.
The first of these is what we call “textual criticism”. This is the practice of comparing manuscripts against one another and making note of where they differ. If, for example, one copy of a manuscript says something one way, but others render the text differently, the difference is noted and investigated. Generally, the older the text, the more authoritative it is deemed to be, but this is not always the case.
The second tool we have at our disposal are critical commentaries of the texts. Throughout the ages, many believers have penned expositions and commentaries on the manuscripts available to them in their time. These can be very valuable. When compared against modern texts, they can reveal what content was, or wasn’t present within the manuscript the author is commenting on. This, second video focuses upon such writings.
A lot to think about right?
Understanding the timing and chronology of the events in scripture is critical to understanding the scriptures themselves. Think about the cited passage from Daniel, does the idea of Yeshua having a 70 week ministry change the way you view that passage? Even if you don’t agree with the information put forth here, it’s likely crossed your mind.
Until next time…
שלום עליכם – Shalom Aleichem – Peace Be Upon You