Year A 2022 Advent 1

 

Today we begin the season of advent. The first candle is the candle of prophecy.

The scripture reading today from Matthew is about prophecy.

Preceding to what we read today, the disciples were showing the Lord how beautiful the temple was and Jesus said that there will be a day when the stones of the temple will not be left one upon another. The next question was when would this be?

Jesus then begins to explain several things that would happen that would be the beginning of this time.

As He comes to the end of His discussion, we read the scriptures for today.

Even though Jesus was mentioning things that would be happening that would mark the beginning of these days, the details are not really that specific but we can gain an idea about what will be going on.

In the text today, Jesus gives us some insight about what society will be like before the coming of the Son of Man.

From what Jesus says here and what we talked about the church in Thessalonica enduring persecutions just as the entire early church experienced, one might argue that this has all happened.

That is what the false teachers were telling the Thessalonians. Paul wrote his second letter to say it had not happened.

We have the same questions today. We would like to know when the Lord is coming back.

As we think about Advent and the first coming of Jesus, no one knew when this was going to happen. There is no record in the Old Testament of anyone asking when this was going to happen. They just believed in the promise. They prophesied that it was going to happen. But they never seemed to wonder about when it was going to happen, they just knew that it would because they fully trusted the Lord and His Word.

Mt 24:36 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

In Acts the disciples ask Jesus again about His kingdom…

Ac 1:6 So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

So, who knows when this is going to happen? Only God the Father. God the Son and the angels do not know.

We have had many people in our recent history that have predicted the coming of the Lord and have put dates attached to it.

Dates that have come and gone.

Since the early first century until 1997, there have been at least 40 times where people have expected the Lord’s return at a specific time and for some a specific place.

The Jehovah Witnesses predicted eight different dates between 1874 and 1984.

The idea is not for us to know or discern the day of the Lord’s coming, the idea is for us to live anticipating His coming and making changes to our life because of this knowledge.

So, let’s look at what Jesus said it would be like just before his coming.

Jesus gives us three examples of what it will be like.

The first is the flood…

 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;

Many time we take this as a lifestyle of wining and dining, entertainment, and loose living in marriage.

Ge 6:3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."

Ge 6:5 The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.

Before the flood the Lord had set a timetable. Yet, Noah and the others were not aware of this.

Some of us may wonder how bad was it for the flood to the be the answer. And that may be the case.

We might wonder how bad does it have to get before there is judgement again.

But do we really want judgement? Why? Have we been so mistreated that we want God’s justice?

I say today, to our shame, that Christians are no different than the world around us.

We are not being persecuted because we are a Christian. We have not lost a job because we became a Christian. Our family is not being discriminated against because we are a Christian.

Why do we want the Lord to come and judge?

But on the other hand, are not these regular everyday events that each of us partake in?

I like to eat and drink. I like being married. I like my children being married.

Is there anything wrong with these events in life?

Think about that for minute…

If you want to have kids, then the model is to get married. If you want grandkids, the model is to give away your children in marriage.

If you want to live, the model is to eat and drink.

The problem is the next statement about these people going about living their everyday lives…

 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.

This is a sad statement about these people before the flood.

They knew nothing about what would happen…

How did they not know?

Had they not heard Noah preaching?

Had they not seen how Noah lived?

Had they not noticed him building an ark?

One commentator said it this way…

People are so busy working ("grinding at the mill") and/or entertaining themselves ("eating and drinking" or perhaps better "wining and dining") that they think preachers like me who preach "repent, judgment is coming" are as crazy as an old man building an ark in the middle of the desert for 120 years.

Another commentator said it this way…

What kept the people from listening to Noah's message and obeying? The common interests of life—eating, drinking, marrying, giving in marriage. They lost the best by living for the good.

They were consumed in their everyday life, without any thought of God and His involvement in their life, or any responsibility to include God in their life.

These verses are a warning never to become so immersed in time that we forget eternity, never to let our concern with worldly affairs, however necessary, completely distract us from remembering that there is a God, that the issues of life and death are in His hands,

Are we there yet? Are you there yet?

What will it take for us to be serious about our relationship with God?

Again, do people know that we are a Christian or that we go to church on Sunday?

But do we go to church on Sunday? I mean I work all week, I take care of my family, I fix things around the house, etc. I need some time for myself.

Yet we cannot give the Lord His due and come to worship Him for one hour during the week.

Yet we cannot give the Lord His due and read the letter He wrote to us.

Yet we cannot give the Lord His due and spend some time talking with Him

What kind of relationship would you have with your parents or your kids if the only time they had a conversation with you is when they wanted something or needed you to fix something?

Sorry I got a little sidetracked…

Where were we?

Jesus says…

 39 That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

The second example Jesus gives. Is the example of working…

We have already mentioned it in one of the commentator’s comments about this passage.

 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.

 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

Have you ever defined work as a grind? Here we have two women at the grind. 😊 Two men working in the field.

Again, these are things that we all do. We work. Work is not wrong. When God created Adam, he was given work to do. After the fall his work became harder.

I like to work. My bills seem to expect it.

But am I consumed with work to neglect the more important things?

We hear a lot today about making time for the important things like family (marrying and giving in marriage) or enjoying life (eating and drinking), but there seems to be little thought about eternity.

The rich man in Luke 12 …

Lu 12:19 “And I'll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’ But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you.’”

Consumed with the things of this life and living the good life without any concern for eternity.

Heb 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,

Let’s take another little sidetrack here about these verses. Since this discussion of Jesus is about prophecy and the first Sunday of advent is about prophecy, let’s take a minute to look at some prophecy.

There are many discussions about these verses and who and when this event will happen.

I have created a visual to help us understand what is going on and when this is taking place.

From the time of Jesus’ death and resurrection and then His ascension we have the church age or the current days or last days.

There are some who take these verses as referring to the next event we are anticipating as Christians, the rapture.

This is when, as Paul explains, the trumpet of the Lord will sound and the dead in Christ will rise, and we which are alive will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air…

Following the rapture is the time of tribulation. The events that happen here are explained in Revelation chapters 6 – 19.

At the end of the tribulation, the Lord will come to the earth again in what we call the second coming of Christ. Christ will actually touch the earth again and the battle of Armageddon will happen.

After this will be the 1000 year reign of Christ. We call this the Millennium.

This is exactly how I see the timeline of scripture taking place.

You might disagree and that is okay at some point. The United Methodist Church disagrees, I see no other explanation that aligns with scripture and my belief about who God is.

I believe these scriptures about one being taken and another left happens at the second coming of Christ.

This is a time of judgement. The one taken has been killed. The one left, I believe, will go into the 1000 year kingdom.

If this was not a bad time, then why would Jesus in other places in scripture tell people that when this stuff happens do not go back and get your stuff but run to the hills. It will be bad for those who are pregnant or nursing.

During the tribulation on earth, those of us who have been taken in the rapture, will be attending the marriage supper of the Lamb and the judgement seat of Christ. We will get to be with Jesus, but we will also give an account of every idle word spoken and every action taken. Are we being idle in our Christian life?

I know that is a lot to take in, but may the Lord give you understanding.

Now where were we?

What is Jesus’ admonition at this point in His discussion?

 42 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

Just like the people were not aware of when the flood was coming. They had no concern for it because they were consumed with life, the people consumed with working without any regard to what was coming next.

We do not know and cannot know when the Lord is coming back.

What impact does this knowledge have on our lives? John says that it should cause us to live pure lives.

Jesus gives us His third example…

 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.

If the owner had known, he would have prepared himself to protect his property.

 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

There are two challenges in this passage that relate to you and me just as it related to those who heard Jesus speak these words.

The first is to keep watch verse 42

The second is you also must be ready verse 44

Because of the uncertainty of the time of the second coming. Jesus told five parables to enforce the point of this exhortation immediately following this discussion about the future.

(1) the Master of the House (Matt 24:43-44), (2) the Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant (Matt 24:45-51), (3) the Ten Virgins (Matt 25:1-13), (4) the Talents (Matt 25:14-30), (5) the Sheep and the Goats (Matt 25:31-46).

The point Jesus makes is His return will come in a time when people are focused on temporal issues. They think of the mundane things of life while ignoring the warnings of God as well as His promises through the Gospel.

So, there is much more we could glean from this passage. At the beginning I stated that this discourse from Jesus was in response to a question about the future. When would things happen?

The season of advent is also about prophecy. The birth of Jesus had been prophesied to be on God’s agenda.

No one knew when it would happen until Mary was told that she was to bring forth a son who would be the promised Messiah. At that point the coming of Jesus would be nine to ten months away.

As I mentioned there seemed to be no questioning of this event happening.

Today, we look back over two thousand years, and we know that this event happened.

I recently created this meme and posted it to Facebook. I do not have a wide influence on Facebook

 All of these quote “religious” leaders are dead, and their teachings were not written by them or those who were eyewitnesses of their life. But by traditions handed down.

The stories of Jesus we have in the New Testament in particular were written by the power of the Holy Spirit through actual eyewitnesses of the life of Jesus. The other quote “religious” leader’s teaching are accepted, and many follow them, but the teachings of Jesus are disputed.

I will let you come to your own conclusion as to why that might be.

So, as we think about Advent and this first week being about prophecy, we can be assured that God will still fulfill His word.

As Paul wrote in Galatians, that in the fulness of time. God chose the time for His Son to come to the earth the first time to be our Savior. God will choose the time in the future to send His Son to come and take His family out of this world in the rapture and then to send Him back to the earth to bring judgement.

This should bring us great comfort. God is in control. God has a timetable for His purpose.

As a follower of Christ, we have hope that the Lord will one day come and take us to be with Him and we will be like Him.

This hope should lead us to keep watch and to be ready. Not to be idle and consumed by everyday life. Does not mean that we should not participate in life. That is what some in Thessalonica were doing. We do need to work, we do need to eat and drink, we do need to grow our families through marriage, but never forget that you will live forever somewhere.

Jesus said…

Mt 6:19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

If we knew when the Lord was going to come back, what would our response be?

Would we live more faithfully? Would we give more? Would we pray more? Would we get together in worship more? Would we do more to tell others?

Let us not procrastinate or it will be too late.

The warnings are sounding! Are we watching and ready?

We do not know when the Lord is coming back and so we should be doing these things so that we are ready when He comes.

Let us keep watch. Let us be ready.

 

 

Are we near the end?

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Luke 21:5 ¶ When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said,

These country Galileans undoubtedly regarded the magnificent Temple complex with a sense of awe and reverence, marveling especially at the massive size of the stones described by Josephus as "built of stones that were white and strong: and each of their length was twenty-five cubits; their height was eight, and their breadth about twelve." The Herodian Temple Complex covered approximately 1/6 of the old city of Jerusalem.

6 "As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down." 7 They asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?"

v 6 About to take place… wouldn’t we all like to know when things are going to happen? What is going to happen just before the temple is destroyed? I want to know just enough ahead of time to get out. Let me know just ahead of when the stock market is going to crash.

8 And he said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and, 'The time is near!' Do not go after them. 9 "When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately."

v 9 for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.

What things? Here is Christ or there He is…Wars, insurrections

10 Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11 there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.

Other signs or things that must take place first

12 "But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.

v 12 But before all this occurs…

Are we near the end?  We hear of wars and insurrections, we hear of earthquakes, famines, plagues. Dreadful portents: portents = 1: something that foreshadows a coming event: OMEN, SIGN. 2: prophetic indication or significance

v 12 But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.

Because of the name of Christ: Are we being arrested? Are we being persecuted?  Are we being placed into prisons?  Are we brought before the authorities?

Last Sunday was the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.  Are there people being persecuted because of the name of Christ in the world?  Yes!

We might say, see it is happening.  But is it happening to us?

Do you want to know what I think? Of course, you do. 😊

I believe that Christianity worldwide will come under this persecution.  I believe America will cease to exist as a nation as we know it today. You think it is bad now? It going to get worse.

Matt 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Mark 13:8 these are the beginnings of sorrows.

“sorrows” – Greek “odin” (o deen’) a pang or throe, especially of childbirth:--pain, sorrow, travail.

First, “beginning” implies that patterns of war, famine, and earthquakes do have some connection with the end. But they do not necessarily indicate that the end is near. Adding to this concept is the idea of “birth pains,” which begin sometime before an actual birth. 

Second, birth is one of the most painful experiences in a woman’s life. Jesus, choice of word picture indicates that, when the end does come, it will be very painful for all of humanity. These sorrows are continually experienced in history. But as is true with the birth process, the pains will increase in frequency and intensity until the actual birth.  It will become more painful for all of humanity until Jesus returns in his power and glory. 

Third, birth is one of the most joyously fulfilling experiences of a woman’s life, bringing about the emergence of something precious, beautiful, and highly valued. Jesus’ word picture looked beyond God’s judgment to the emergence of the fully realized kingdom with Christ in his glory.

So, what is my response?

13 This will give you an opportunity to testify. 14 So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; 15 for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. 

We will have an opportunity to witness to our faith in Jesus. How many of us witness now in this environment of non-persecution? In a time of persecution, the real believers will be separated from the non-believers.

v 9 says do not be terrified.

v 13 do not worry about preparing your defense.

I will give you words and wisdom

James 1:5 If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.

And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matt 28:20

16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17 You will be hated by all because of my name. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your endurance you will gain your souls.

17 you will be hated by all because of my name

18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your endurance you will gain your souls.

There are some difficult days ahead. I know we think the days are difficult now.

1 Peter 4:12 ¶ Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. 16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. 17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

But as believers we have hope.  We start the advent season here in a couple of weeks.  The first candle is the candle of hope.

Another word I like for hope is resiliency. As believers we know that things are better for us in the future.  Because of Christ’s birth, death and resurrection we have the hope of living with Him.  How we get to that place might be a little uncomfortable.  

2 Peter 3:8 ¶ But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.

Someone once did some calculating and concluded that a lifespan of 80 years is about 2 hours in length if compared to a thousand years are as one day. I can deal with many things for just a couple of hours. Kind of like waiting at the DMV.

The point is we have hope.  If you are not a believer, you do not have hope.  There is no future with Christ for you.  There is opportunity to change this.  Today is the day of salvation.  

Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

I think Peter sums it up quite well.

1 Peter 1:3 ¶ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 ¶ Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

May today we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: that we have a hope because of the name of Christ; we can endure until the end because of the name of Christ.

Scripture is from the NRSV.

Am I an egg or a potato?

Have you ever heard or read these sayings? 

The same sun that melts butter hardens clay.

The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It’s about what you’re made of, not the circumstances. –Anonymous

You see them in memes on Facebook from time to time.  You can search Google and get many different interpretations of what these mean for you or me.

Here is one that I thought of the other day.  I did not find it on Google, so I will claim its originality. :) 

The same breath that puts out the candle fuels the campfire.

When you do read what people write about these sayings, it is primarily about what I am.  I am to change my attitude towards the situation I am to create a different result.  I do not disagree with these interpretations.  I do believe that your attitude is the only thing you can control in any particular situation.

However, I would like to give you a little different take on these.

Without the sun melting the butter it would be difficult to spread it on my toast without ripping the toast to pieces.  We never say we like cold hard butter on our bread or cinnamon roll.  Without the sun hardening the clay, I could not have that mug to drink my coffee or a plate to hold my toast or cinnamon roll.

Without the boiling water making the egg hard and the potato soft, I could not enjoy potato salad, or mashed potatoes or deviled eggs.

Without the breath to put out the candle, I could not celebrate my birthday or other special events.  Without the breath blown on the fire to start a campfire, I could not enjoy a s’mores.

The point is who am I?  What was I created to become?  I have no control of what I am made of.  Was I created an egg or a potato?  If I was created an egg, then boiling water is going to make me into a different kind of egg.  I did not change into something else. 

What is my purpose?  The circumstances that we encounter are designed to mold us into that purpose.  Was I destined to me a hard-boiled egg?  My attitude will not change that.

We are always encouraged to find your purpose.  I believe that each person has a purpose for living.  The challenge is do we like what our purpose is?

As a follower of Christ, I seek to be molded into His image. What does this image look like?  It looks like whatever He has planned (purposed) for my life.  He wanted me to be a hard-boiled egg.  He brought circumstances into my life to bring me to that point.  My attitude should be one of gratefulness that He has made me into what He wanted me to be.  Not, I wish I was a potato.

Do we know when Jesus died?

Jesus was CRUCIFIED on Wednesday, the Bible Tells Me so:

Most of the professed Christians in the world believe Jesus was crucified on Friday.  They say "Good Friday" is the day to celebrate His sacrificial death.  However there are some Christians who believe the crucifixion had to be earlier, perhaps on Thursday or even Wednesday.  They point to ten or eleven Scriptures in the New Testament, which specifically say Christ would be in the grave for three days.  In particular, they cite the words of Christ: "So shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth"(Matthew 12:40).  Also, a statement by Christ that it would be AFTER three days He would rise again.  "And be killed, and after three days rise again" (Mark 8:31).

POSITIVE STATEMENTS:

Now I find in the Bible positive statements which specifically tell us exactly on what day of the week Christ was crucified.  Let me show you what I have discovered - something most people do not know.

In John 12:1 we are told that: "Jesus, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was."  Note the specific statement: it was six days before the Passover.  We are not told which day of the week this was, but it was SIX DAYS before the Passover.

Then John reveals exactly what day it was when Jesus arrived in Bethany, for in John 12:12-14 we read: "On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him."  Remember, it was the next day after Jesus came to Bethany, and of course this "day after" was the day of the Triumphal Entry which took place on the first day of the week, which we now call Palm Sunday.  So we can establish the fact that Jesus arrived in Bethany the day before Palm Sunday, which would be the seventh day, or the Sabbath - our Saturday.  Recall that this day on which He came to Bethany was "six days before the Passover."

Now all we must do is count six days from that Saturday, and we will find exactly what day of the week the Passover came that year.  So let us do it: Jewish Month of Nisan (April)

COUNT SIX DAYS FROM SATURDAY
FIRST DAY	Saturday	Jew's Sabbath
SECOND DAY	Sunday	Jew's First Day Palm Sunday
THIRD DAY	Monday	Jew's Second Day
FOURTH DAY	Tuesday	Jew's Third Day
FIFTH DAY	Wednesday	Jew's Fourth Day- Preparation Day- Passover Lamb Slain
SIXTH DAY	Thursday	Passover Extra Sabbath Christ in Tomb One Night and Day
SEVENTH DAY	Friday	Jew's Sixth Day Christ in Tomb Second Night and Day
EIGHTH DAY	Saturday	Jew's Sabbath Seventh Day Christ in Tomb Third Night and Day
NINTH DAY	Sunday	Jew's First day of the Week Resurrection Day

So here we have positive and specific information, direct from the Scriptures, as to exactly which day of the week the Passover came in the year of the crucifixion of our Lord.  It was on Thursday.  But you say: "Then why are you saying Christ died on Wednesday?"

THE DAY OF CHRIST'S DEATH

If the Passover came on Thursday that year (as it did in the years 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2009), then our Lord must have been crucified on Wednesday, because God commanded that the Passover Lamb must be killed on the afternoon of the day before the Passover (Exodus 12:6). At the time of Christ, this was still the pattern for the Passover feast.  The day before the Passover, which was called "the Day of Preparation," or "the Day of Unleavened Bread" was the day on which the Passover Lamb was to be killed, as Luke tells us.  "Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed" (Luke 22:7).  If the Passover came on Thursday that year, then that "day of unleavened bread or of preparation" would be on Wednesday.

Now when was Jesus sent to the Cross by Pilate?

On what day and hour did He die?

John tells us specifically the very day and hour.  "And it was the Preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour; and he (Pilate) said unto the Jews, Behold your King!  (John 19:15, 16).  When John said, "it was the preparation" he meant it was the day of preparation.  When he said "sixth hour" he meant it was about noon (12:00 o'clock).

Thus we have discovered in the Scriptures the exact day and hour when Christ was sent to the Cross.  It was on Wednesday, the day before the Passover, at noontime. His death then occurred at the ninth hour, three hours later, when the Passover Lambs were slain for the feast.  In our time this would be at three o'clock in the afternoon.

So I believe I can say like Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar: "The thing is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure" (Daniel 2:45).