KEEPING TRACK OF TIME
Rob Briggs – Chaplain, Logan United Christian Soccer Club (08-03-21)
Why is it so important to us to remember the significant dates in our life? The experiences we have lived through, the happy times and maybe some of the events that caused us some pain. I suppose for me it helps to be able to learn lessons of what to do to cope with similar situations in the future. But the happy times are the best, like birthdays, weddings and all those family events.
Do you keep a diary or a little black book with those all-important dates listed in its pages? I know that my diary has become so important to me in recent years, as the family grows, keeping track of all those birthdays is made so easy when you can refer to accurate records.
Of course, we would not be able to have such records if there was no calendar to reference the passing of time. I find it interesting that different cultures have, over time, used many different calendars. The list is extensive, but I am sure you are familiar with some of the more well-known ones like the ‘Babylonia and Persian’, the ‘Ancient Greek’ and the ‘Julian’. I noticed with interest that the Romans at one point had a calendar with an eight-day week. Something I am sure many of us with such busy lives could find advantageous. But alas, that is not a practical solution to that problem.
A large number of calendars were based on the Babylonian Calendar, this includes the Hebrew calendar. The Jewish people even today use two calendars. One to keep up with the modern secular world and one to remind them of the important dates and to celebrate their Holy Days. Of course, that calendar is based on the rotation of the moon. The new moon indicating the transition from one month to the next, making it a Lunar calendar.
There are many references to specific dates in scriptures but one in particular that I find extremely interesting is mentioned in Genesis 8:4
And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
The Seventh month in the Jewish Calendar is the month of Nisan. The seventeenth is the third day of the Jewish Passover celebration commemorating the Exodus out of slavery.
And the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth day of this month they shall take for themselves every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house. . . And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month, and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses wherein they shall eat it.
And thus shall ye eat it: with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste; it is the Lord’S Passover.
That date comes into play again in the New Testament. I am sure you will not be surprised when I say that when Jesus rode on that donkey into Jerusalem His stated purpose was to celebrate the Passover.
And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said unto His disciples know that after two days is the Feast of the Passover, and the Son of Man is betrayed to be crucified.”
The chief priests and elders were already meeting conspiring to arrest Jesus and kill Him but they cautioned “Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.”
That feast day was the celebration of Passover (Spanning seven days from the15th of Nisan to the 21st.), So we see that Christ was crucified the day before Passover, and I seem to remember that it is recorded that He rose on the third day, the Seventeenth of Nisan.
I cannot believe that it is a coincidence that all those events happened on the same date separated by many many years. The Ark coming to rest on the Seventeenth, a new beginning in Noah. Moses leading the Jewish people out of slavery, a new beginning in Moses and Christ the Messiah rising from the dead on the Seventeenth, a new beginning in Christ. Of course, it is no coincidence, the Holy Spirit is at work carrying out Gods plan for His people and has been doing so ever since the Creation.
Our Easter Celebration this year begins on the last two days of the Jewish Passover, the 2nd. and 3rd of April. Easter for us is a celebration of Christ’s resurrection and the price He paid to cleanse us of our wrong doings. A gift of Grace that promises us everlasting life in the presence of the Father for Eternity. As there is no end to Eternity there will be no need to ‘keep track of time’ then.
Let us join together this Easter in worship, giving thanks to Jesus Christ for that gift of love, freely given for us all. It is my fervent prayer that we all experience that touch of the Holy Spirit this Easter and recognize His sovereignty over every aspect of our lives. May you all have a new beginning in Christ this Easter.
Praise The Lord for He is risen; Christ is risen indeed.
God Bless you all
Rob (Bob) Briggs LUCSC Chaplain
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