This Sunday is Easter, and in light of this coming Holiday, I want to try to tell you something about it that you may have never known. That’s a pretty big lift, but I’m going to try anyway. Get ready, because this one might blow your socks off.

We know that Jesus is the Passover lamb, right? Right. He was sacrificed, he spent three days in the tomb, and he rose on the third day. He is the Passover lamb because by his blood, the angel of death does not come to God’s people. Right, we get it. We get it.

However, I’m here to tell you that you probably don’t get it, at least not as much as you think you get it.

How Long Was Jesus In the Grave?

To show you that you might not get something, let’s talk about that “three days in the tomb.” People often get confused about Easter and the “three days” which Jesus spent in the grave, because in our modern parlance, we take “three days” to mean “72 hours.” But when we read the story, it seems that Jesus was dead from mid-afternoon on Friday to early morning on Sunday. That’s less than 48 hours.

However, don’t be guilty of chronological snobbery. That way of telling time was not normal back then. Another way to express that thought is that seeing “three days” as equivalent to “72 hours” has not been the normal way to count time for about 5,800 out of the past 6,000 years. It wasn’t even possible to count time like that until sufficient clocks were made in the 1700s to break everything down by the hour and minute. The normal way to count time was much simpler. Jesus died, as we read, at about 3:00pm:

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. (Matthew 27:45-46)

The way that ancients broke up the day was to take “sunrise to sunset” and divide it into twelve hours. The “eleventh hour” is the time right before sunset. As I can figure out on time and date dot com, Jerusalem’s sunrise at the beginning of the month of April is at 6:25am and sunset is 7:00pm. Divided by twelve, that comes pretty close to 1 sixty-minute-period per “rule-of-thumb” ancient hour. Therefore, Jesus died at around 3:00pm.

That means that Jesus was dead on Friday. We also know they quickly placed him in the grave because of the approaching Sabbath:

Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. (John 19:41-42)

So Jesus was dead on Friday, dead on Saturday, and dead on part of Sunday before he rose. That’s three days.

He was in the tomb on Friday, in the tomb on Saturday, and in the tomb on Sunday before he rose. That’s three days.

The Significance and Problem of “Three Days and Three Nights”

But have you ever wondered why it was supposed to be “three days”? What’s so important about these three days? Why not make it one day? Why not make it a week? Something to notice is that Jesus always made a BIG point about the fact that he would be dead for THREE days:

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19)

for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” (Mark 9:31)

Why is that? Well, there’s “The sign of Jonah” you may say. That’s a good answer, because Jesus gives that explanation himself:

When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. (Luke 11:29-30)

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:38-40)

Sweet. That makes sense. Three days in the tomb just like three days and nights like Jonah.

But wait a minute…. ….Jesus said “Three days and three nights,” but he was only in the tomb for TWO nights. What’s up with that?

Demon-Fish-Dragon-Spirits

Here’s where things get weird. Look at PRECISELY what Jesus says:

For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40)

For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. (Luke 11:30)

The word Jesus uses to describe the “great fish” is the Greek word κῆτος (kétos). In contrast, the type of things that you catch on a fishing line or in a net is the Greek word ἰχθύς (ichthus). Jesus in not describing a normal fish. Instead, the word refers to “a sea-monster, whale, huge fish.” That word kétos is the same word the Septuagint uses to translate the Hebrew words דָּ֣ג (dag) and גָּד֔וֹל (gadol) that are used in Jonah. That “dag-gadol” is what swallowed Jonah. That verse is here:

And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. (Jonah 1:17)

With this in mind, I want you to realize something about that “fish” that Jonah and Jesus keep referencing:

IT’S NOT A NORMAL FISH

Here’s a link to a podcast by Michael Heiser, who shows that the “great fish” has serious parallels to the “chaos dragon” of many Mesopotamian mythologies. Additionally, here’s a link to an article that talks about ancient Babylonian concepts of “dragons” that are referenced in the Hebrew scriptures, including Jonah. And if that doesn’t convince you, let me just point to the following story that you can find in 1 Samuel:

When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. (1 Samuel 5:1-5)

That Canaanite deity that they worshiped is named “Dagon.” The Hebrew is דָּגוֹן (Dagon), and it is pronounced daw-gohn. Kind of sounds like “dag-gadol,” am I right? You don’t think that the Canaanites just RANDOMLY worshipped a “great fish,” do you?

Do we have any other aquatic or dragon-like creatures in the Bible that could “very coincidentally” correlate with this object of “Dagon” worship? You bet we do:

“If they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down. If they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, from there I will search them out and take them; and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them. (Amos 9:2-3)

“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord?
Can you put a rope in his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook?
Will he make many pleas to you? Will he speak to you soft words?
Will he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant forever?
Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you put him on a leash for your girls?
Will traders bargain over him? Will they divide him up among the merchants?
Can you fill his skin with harpoons or his head with fishing spears?
Lay your hands on him; remember the battle-you will not do it again!
Behold, the hope of a man is false; he is laid low even at the sight of him.
No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is he who can stand before me?
Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. (Job 41:1-11)

What is this “serpent” that supposedly lives at “the bottom of the sea”? What is this “Leviathan” that has a “tongue” and a “jaw” and “skin” and a “head” and is capable of giving a “battle”?

I don’t know, but I can tell you one thing: Just like the “dag-gadol” in Jonah, it ain’t no ordinary fish.

The Meaning of Jonah

Here’s the funny thing about the book of Jonah. it is NOT a normal book of prophesy. To prove it, just go read the first few verses of every minor prophet, and see if you can spot the difference. In pretty much every other minor prophet, it follows a similar pattern. You get a time-stamp of when the word of the Lord came to the prophet, and then the book is the message that the prophet was told to deliver. The message that is to be delivered is usually in a lyrical or poetic form, and it is often quite confusing to the average reader. That’s why sermons and sunday-school lessons usually avoid books like “Habakkuk” and Zechariah” and “Obadiah” and stuff.

The book of Jonah, however, is SIGNIFICANTLY different. The “message” for Jonah to deliver is literally one sentence long:

“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” (Jonah 1:2)

Then the message gets updated:

“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” (Jonah 3:2)

When Jonah delivers the message, it is even shorter:

Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4)

You see, every other book of the minor prophets is the work OF a historical person delivering a message. However, the book of Jonah is not a book OF the prophet Jonah. Instead, it is a book ABOUT a prophet named Jonah who absolutely stinks at his job. This is why we always share the story of Jonah to kids in Sunday school. It’s a STORY.

It’s a story that acts as a parable, with each part representing something very real. It is not a book of “history” like the books of Kings, Chronicles, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Esther, Samuel, and others. However, “Nineveh” is a real place and “Jonah” was a real prophet (See 2 Kings 14:25), which is where it gets confusing. Instead, it’s something like a cross between “historical fiction” and “a parable.” Look at this Bible Project Youtube Video on Jonah if you want some help on that one.

The Identity of the “Great Fish” of the Sign of Jonah

So if Jonah is a parable, and everything stands for something, what is the “great fish”? Here’s where things get much weirder. The “great fish” is the same thing that is referenced in Amos and in Job and which was worshipped by the Canaanites by the name of “Dagon.”

THE DAG-GADOL IS A SPIRITUAL BEING.

Whooooa! What? This fish-like god in Ashdod, that is called “Leviathan” in Job, and is described as a “serpent” in Amos, is a SPIRITUAL BEING? Wouldn’t we need some biblical evidence before we accept such a claim? Is there ANY evidence for some “Leviathan” creature that is a “Snake” and an object of worship in competition with Yahaweh, like we read about Dagan? You bet we do:

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea. (Revelation 12:7-17)

Now this is a famously confusing passage, but even so, we can pick up on some things quite easily. We can recognize that “the serpent’ and “the dragon” are synonymous in this passage. We should also note that this “serpent/dragon” is specifically named “the devil and Satan.”

We should note that “the dragon” has “angels.” We should note that the archangel Michael does war against the dragon, who is thrown down to earth. We should also remember what Jesus himself said about “Satan” and what he witnessed with his own eyes:

And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” (Luke 10:18)

So, with that background, let’s give a reasonable single answer to the following questions: Who is the Leviathan? Who is the dragon? Who is the serpent? What were the Canaanites of Ashdod worshipping? What does the “great fish” in Jonah represent?

SATAN, WHO IS A DRAGON.

It’s all the same spiritual being. These are all different descriptions and/or manifestations of a very real spiritual being who exists on Earth, but not in Heaven. After all, you didn’t think it was just RANDOM that every culture all across the world has “dragons” in their mythologies (but no kangaroos), even though “dragons” don’t exist (but kangaroos do).

So, let’s remember that Jonah was swallowed up BY SATAN in the story. And “just as Jonah was swallowed by the κῆτος (kétos), so Jesus is going to spend three days AND THREE NIGHTS in the heart of the Earth. Let’s unpack this.

Who Is the Bad-Guy in the Story of the Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus?

While Jesus died in the afternoon of Good Friday, let’s remember when he was arrested, and WHO made it happen:

After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. (John 13:21-28)

Now, I know that’s a little weird, but if you go to the Greek, that phrase “Satan entered into him” actually means… …that Satan entered into Judas Iscariot before he went out to betray Jesus.

Because remember, Jesus specifically notes that Satan was hanging around, looking for someone to devour:

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.” (Luke 22:31-34)

Remember that there were TWO people who denied Jesus that night. Peter had a very, VERY close call. It’s no wonder that he later said:

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:6-11)

The reason Peter was able to write that is because IT LITERALLY HAPPENED TO HIM both before and after the crucifixion.

The Meaning of “Three Days and Three Nights in the Belly of the Fish”

Jesus describes the significance of the sign of Jonah in this way:

For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40)

And when we understand the “great fish” to be SATAN HIMSELF, we need to count the number of day’s we’re talking about.

Jesus was arrested on the night before Good Friday. He was given mock trials before Caiaphas, Herod, and Pilate. He was crucified around 9:00am. He died around 3:00pm. He was buried before 7:00pm. He was dead and in the tomb on Saturday and Saturday night. He was also in the tomb for a little while on Sunday.

That’s three nights, and three days that he was “swallowed” by Satan. That’s how Jesus is counting.

Three Days and Three Nights, The Passover, and the Exodus

Remember at the beginning of this post, we made a point about Jesus being the Passover lamb? Yes. He was, and there is some significance to that which I haven’t shared yet. If you’d like to do some background reading, I encourage you to look at this post on “The Parting of the Red Sea and the Waters Above the Firmament.” The summary of it is that the parting of the Red Sea is not merely a wonder that God did. It is a metaphor for YOUR DEATH, and your PASSAGE INTO HEAVEN, whose border is the “waters above the firmament,” represented by the Red Sea.

Passover Correlation 1

But let’s do something more. Let’s remember what actually STARTS the Passover holiday as instituted by God:

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. (Exodus 12:1-3)

Guess what, guys? That “tenth day of the month” corresponds with something in the Passion week.

JESUS’S TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM IS THE SAME DAY THAT THE PEOPLE WERE COMMANDED TO TAKE A LAMB FOR THE HOUSEHOLD.

If we know that Jesus was born on a Friday, after a passover, this gives us some clues. The Passover is on the 14th of Nisan/Abib:

Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. (Exodus 12:5-6)

Therefore, we know that Thursday is Passover and the 14th of Nisan, we can count back to Wednesday (13), Tuesday (12), Monday (11), and Sunday (10).

Passover Correlation 2

And it is at midnight between the 14th and 15th of Nisan/Abib that the following happens:

At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. (Exodus 12:29)

That happened on the night between the 14th and 15th of Nisan. During Passion week, this is between Thursday and Friday. Well, guess what happened 1500 years later:

When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” (John 18:1-9)

But here’s the crazy part. We know from the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, that Jesus went away to pray in Gethsemane three different times, and this took a long time. We know it took a long time because, after the FIRST time Jesus comes back, he says the following:

And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? (Matthew 26:40)

Notice what this means when it comes to the killing of the passover lambs in 1446 BC and the betrayal of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane on April 2, 33 AD.

AT THE SAME TIME OF NIGHT AND THE SAME DATE OF THE CALENDAR AS THE TENTH PLAGUE OF THE EXODUS, JESUS BY HIS POWER MADE SURE THAT ONLY HE AND NOT THE DISCIPLES WOULD BE ARRESTED

And remember who is the one doing the arresting, too. Yes, there are soliders involved, but the spiritual being behind all this is Satan.

Passover Correlation 3

But look what happens next in the Exodus:

Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out. (Exodus 13:3-4)

This would be the 15th of Nisan/Abib. This corresponds to Good Friday. Then we read about how the Israelites go out of Egypt, but they take a strange path to the shore of the Red Sea:

“Then the Lord said to Moses: Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea.” (Exodus 14:1-2)

This would be the 16th of Nisan/Abib. This corresponds to Saturday in the Passion Week.

After this happens, we read the following about crossing the Red Sea. We see it happens at night and takes all night to cross:

Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses. (Exodus 14:19-31)

But do you see what this means? When the people of Israel had safely passed to the other side of the Red Sea, when Pharaoh, his horses and chariots, and all of the enemies of God’s people were swallowed up by the Sea, it was the early morning of the 17th of Nisan/Abib. This corresponds to early in the morning on Sunday of Passion Week.

THE DESTRUCTION OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMY IN THE EXODUS CORRESPONDS TO EXACTLY THE SAME DATE AND TIME IN THE HEBREW CALENDAR WHEN JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD.

Passover Correlation 4

There is one more event that happen in the Exodus that corresponds to something that happened in the Passion week. It is the song of Moses:

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,

“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
    the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my song,
    and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
    my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a man of war;
    the Lord is his name.

“Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea,
    and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
The floods covered them;
    they went down into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,
    your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;
    you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.
At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;
    the floods stood up in a heap;
    the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,
    I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
    I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’
You blew with your wind; the sea covered them;
    they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
    Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
    awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
You stretched out your right hand;
    the earth swallowed them.

“You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed;
    you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.
The peoples have heard; they tremble;
    pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed;
    trembling seizes the leaders of Moab;
    all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
Terror and dread fall upon them;
    because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone,
till your people, O Lord, pass by,
    till the people pass by whom you have purchased.
You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain,
    the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode,
    the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.
The Lord will reign forever and ever.”

For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. (Exodus 15:1-19)

That is cool, but what does it have to do with Passion week? How does this correspond to something during Easter? Well, take a look. In Luke, it gives the story of the disciples finding the empty tomb, and then it says this:

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. . . . And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24:13-15, 25-27)

THIS HAPPENED ON EXACTLY THE SAME DATE ON THE HEBREW CALENDAR WHEN MOSES SANG THE PRAISES OF HOW THE LORD WAS VICTORIOUS OVER HIS ENEMIES.

Just as Moses sang of all that God had done for Israel, Jesus did the same. He began with Moses and the Prophets, and interpreted the Scriptures concerning himself.

CONCLUSION

By the plan of the Lord, Moses plundered the Egyptians, saved the people of Israel, brought the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt and up to Mount Sinai, and destroyed the power of a mighty warrior-king of the ancient world.

By the plan of God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son took possession of the entire world, saved the Church of his elect, and brought them out of the bondage of sin and Death world and into the heavenly places, and destroyed a mighty demon-dragon of the heavenly places.

That’s because Jesus is the better Moses.

Christ is Risen! I hope I was able to show you something about Easter that you did not know before!