Tag Archives: Bethany

Shabbat Shalom!

None of the four gospels mentions the weekly Sabbath before the crucifixion. It fits the timeline to place the clearing of the temple on the Sabbath for the following reasons. Traditional understanding places the crucifixion on Friday (hence, Good Friday), but John (12:1) states that six days before the Passover (which would make it the Sabbath), Yeshua and His disciples traveled to Bethany. That was after their stay in Jericho. The distance between the two is roughly 15 miles, too far for travel on the Sabbath. (cf. Acts 1:12, a Sabbath day’s journey from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, a distance of fewer than two miles.) Also, a meal was given upon their arrival in Bethany. While it is not forbidden to entertain guests and relax with friends on the Sabbath, Leviticus 23:3 says that no work is to be done. This includes preparing food. When God sent manna, He instructed them to gather twice as much as they needed on the sixth day and prepare it to be kept for the Sabbath (Exodus 16:21-26). No gathering or cooking was to be done on the day of rest. So, unless Mary, Martha, and the others in Bethany knew that Yeshua and His disciples were coming on the Sabbath, they wouldn’t have been able to cook anything by the Sabbath command. So, it seems unlikely that they traveled to Bethany on the Sabbath. The NIV Study Bible places their arrival on Friday and then says there is no mention of the Sabbath in the account, but concludes that Yeshua observed the Sabbath at Lazarus’ house and then journeyed to Jerusalem for the Triumphal Entry the next day on Sunday. There are two problems with this rendition. First, if the crucifixion were on Good Friday, the arrival in Bethany on the previous Friday would be seven days before Passover, not six as recorded in John. Secondly, John 12:12 says it was the next day that Yeshua rode the donkey into Jerusalem. If the arrival in Bethany were on Friday, the Triumphal Entry would have to be Saturday, not Sunday. The timing doesn’t fit. It’s more plausible for the Triumphal Entry to be on Friday, leaving the clearing of the temple on the Sabbath. Having said all that, let’s begin.