Articles and Notes
Counting to Pentecost When Passover Falls on the Sabbath
By
Art Braidic
and
Terry Moore
Ten to eleven times a century, the Passover falls on the same day as a Sabbath. When this rare event takes place, the “morrow after the Sabbath” is the First Day of Unleavened Bread, and therefore the last holy day also falls on a Sabbath. In such a case, there is no weekly Sabbath that falls between the two high holy days. How then should we begin the count to Pentecost when this occurs?
There are some Churches of God that believe when the Passover occurs on a Sabbath the count must start on the day following the last holy day. The Eternal Church of God does not agree with this method for several reasons.
First, when this issue came up in 1974, Mr. Armstrong ruled on it with the council of elders, much like the council in Acts 15. At this time, the judgment was that the Scriptures require us to count from the day after the weekly Sabbath. Thus, we are to count from the Sunday that falls within the Days of Unleavened Bread. Notice that this is exactly what the Scriptures command:
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it… And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD (Leviticus 23:10-16).
Because the Biblical command is to count from the "morrow after the Sabbath," the Scriptures tell us that the target day for considering the count is Sunday not the Sabbath itself. Those who choose to count from the Sunday after the Last Day of Unleavened Bread do so because they focus on the weekly Sabbath that usually occurs between the high holy days during the Feast. The Sabbath becomes their determining factor instead of the day the Bible focuses on, "the morrow after," or Sunday. However, the day that is of importance for beginning the count is actually the day the sheaf is waved. It is the first Sunday after the Feast of Unleavened Bread has begun.
A second point is that we must also consider that the Passover is a part of these holy days. It is included in the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Notice the following quote from F.F. Bruce.
In general, the Jewish calendar in NT times (at least before AD 70) followed the Sadducean reckoning, since it was by that reckoning that the Temple services were regulated. Thus the day of Pentecost was reckoned as the fiftieth day after the presentation of the first harvested sheaf of barley, i.e., the fiftieth day (inclusive) from the first Sunday after Passover (cf. Lv. 23:15f.); hence it always fell on a Sunday, as it does in the Christian calendar (Article Pentecost, P. 225).
In this article, Bruce points out that it was the first Sunday after Passover that began the count. This should be obvious to us because the Days of Unleavened Bread are also called the Passover in Scripture, and therefore, the Passover is also included as a part of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Notice the following examples:
Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover (Luke 22:1).
Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? (Matthew 26:17)
In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten (Ezekiel 45:21).
Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the LORD thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to place his name there. Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction… (Deuteronomy 16:2-3).
The Passover is considered one of the Days of Unleavened Bread. Therefore, we are to include the Passover as an intrinsic part of counting during these days. This means that we are to begin our count from the morrow after the Sabbath that falls between Passover and the Last Day of Unleavened Bread. We are not to count outside of these days.
A third point is that the count has historically been the Sunday that fell during the Days of Unleavened Bread—never after the days had ended. Both the Sadducees and Pharisees have always understood that the day of counting fell DURING the Days of Unleavened Bread—not afterward. For example, consider that if we used the Last Day of Unleavened Bread, to determine our count, Wave Sheaf Sunday, as commanded in Lev. 23, would have to occur after the Days of Unleavened Bread had ended. The Jews and all Biblical Encyclopedias, Dictionaries and Commentaries say this never occurred.
A fourth reason why we begin the count on the First Day of Unleavened Bread when the Passover falls on the Sabbath is that this is completely in harmony with the sequence of events that accurately pictures the plan of God. Consider the symbolism of God’s holy days. The Passover pictures the sacrifice of Christ. The wave sheaf plays a vital role in this aspect of God’s plan as it pictures Christ ascending to be accepted by the Father, and serving as our High Priest. By His ascension, He also lives in us through the power of the Holy Spirit, helping us to put the sin out of our lives. Then, during the Days of Unleavened Bread, we put leaven out of our lives seven days—picturing putting sin out over an entire lifetime.
Thus, the wave sheaf must occur before the Days of Unleavened Bread have ended. If, as some observe, it were to occur after the Last Day of Unleavened Bread, the symbolism would not make sense. Such a scenario would picture us accepting Christ as our sacrifice, putting away sin throughout our lives, and then Christ would be raised and accepted by the Father as our High priest to help us put sin out. When starting the count after the last holy day, the wave sheaf would then occur after the days of Unleavened Bread have ended, and this puts the symbolism in disorder.
A final reason not to count outside the holy days is that Christ's resurrection took place on the Sabbath. Therefore, His ascension to the Father, which is what the Wave Sheaf represents, actually fell on a Sunday during the Days of Unleavened Bread. This is a divine example that the wave sheaf must fall before the Last Day of Unleavened Bread. Therefore, our count to Pentecost must always begin on that wave sheaf day, and this day will always occur on the “morrow after the Sabbath” that falls within the parameters of the Feast of Unleavened Bread which includes the Passover.