On the surface it seems a trivial matter since the verse contains no doctrine. However it has HUGE ramifications!!! This one verse detrimines a three and a half year ministry of Jesus rather than a year and a half by adding a third "Passover". The early Church writings point to a year and a half. Eusebius is the first to claim three and a half years.
1) A 1 1/2 year ministry is fairly easily mapped out chronologically when and where Jesus taught what. A 3 1/2 year ministry is about impossible because not much lines up between the four Gospels.
2) Why would Jesus feed bread right before Passover when everyone is getting rid of their bread?
3) Why isn't Jesus going to Jerusalem for Passover? This is a mandatory feast for Jewish men.
4) If it is a Passover, then according to the feast days, feeding the 5000 is the only thing recorded for a whole year of Jesus' ministry.
5) A 1 1/2 year ministry gives us an "acceptable year of the LORD" as Jesus read from the Scroll.
Now the problem I'm currently having with this hypothesis is a couple of Gospels mention green grass. Passover is in Spring therefore the green grass supports the time being Passover. Unless.....why mention green grass if the grass is green everywhere? Maybe it was mentioned specifically because most places at that time of year didn't have green grass? IDK, the search continues......
Yes, probably the best place to start would be the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament 27th edition. Look at the critical apparatus. Check out Manuscript P66.
But I need to ad that some minor and later mss do not contain Jn6:4 but it’s well known that hundreds of earlier manuscripts and their families contain the verse.
I'm not sure the NU will help much with the possibility of such an early addition to the Text. Church fathers on the other hand, way before Eusebius write Jesus' ministry was just over a year long. We would need the critical apparatus show the inclusion of "Passover" before Eusebius. Even then all it would prove is Eusebius isn't the one who added it. So far he is the best suspect if it was added.
(I'm not convinced either way, just researching possibilities. I'll have to check out the earliest manuscripts)
I’m not sure what your argument favoring Eusebius as a suspect of the inclusion would look like since the manuscripts containing the Jn 6:4 passage existed long before Eusebius took his first breath.
In addition, not all the church fathers accepted the one year theory. For example, Irenaeus, in Adversus Haereses ii.22.5-6, disputed Gnostic Valentinus’ one year theory by appealing to the Gospel of John’s number of Passovers.
Doing some research. "IF" P66 is dated early then "Passover" existed in John 6:4, If dated late; there is no extant witness to "Passover" in John 6:4 before Eusebius. Therefore nothing is solved. The NU does comment "Passover" is missing from acopuple of minuscules. I suppose if there was an easy solution there wouldn't be debate on the matter.
**DOES GOD'S WORD SHOW THAT THE COMING OR BAPTISM WAS EXACTLY 3 1/2 YEARS or 1278 DAYS BEFORE HIS RESURRECTION DAY??
**ON WHAT DAY DID JESUS BECOME OUR PASSOVER LAMB ON PASSOVER DAY?? AND ON WHAT DAY WAS THE RESURRECTION DAY OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST**??
**DOES BIBLE CHRONOLGY SHOW THAT THE 30th BIRTHDAY OF JESUS WAS ON NOVEMBER 14TH AD 29**??
Numbers 28:16: “On the 14th day of the **FIRST MONTH** the Lord’s Passover is to be held.” Exodus 12:6,7,12,13: “Take care of them {The Passover Lambs} until the 14th day of the month when all the people of Israel must slaughter them {See Lev 23:5} at Twilight {Just after sundown to nightfall on Passover Day! 1 Cor 5:7: “For Christ our PASSOVER LAMB has been sacrificed.” Whereas the Jews {who were following the evil Babylonian moon calendar} held their Passover on the 15th of Nisan {Which always occurs on the night of a full moon} and observed the Passover on the WRONG DAY as per John 18:28: “Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman Governor {Pilate}. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; for they wanted to be able to eat the PASSOVER!!” Which would have been the day “AFTER” Jesus correctly held the Passover on the 14th of ABIB {*THE FIRST BIBLE MONTH*} which God had commanded. So we can assume that the month of ABIB is different from the Babylonian moon month of Nisan and therefore has nothing to do with the moon.
When does the **FIRST MONTH** of the Bible Year called ABIB begin?? Many Bible scholars believe that it always begins of the first day of SPRING or sundown March 20th to sundown March 21st for ABIB is the Hebrew word for SPRING!!! And so the 14th {*7+7*} Day of ABIB can also be translated the 14th {*7+7*} day of SPRING!!
All encyclopedias state that Augustus Caesar died on August 19, AD 14 and therefore *EVERYONE AGREES that the 15th year of the reign of his successor, Tiberius Caesar, would have been from August 19, AD 28 to August 19, AD 29.
Luke 3:1,2: “In the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar… the Word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” EVERYONE WHO AGREES that the Bible is the inspired Word of God agrees that John began his ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar which was definitely from August 19, AD 28 to August 19, AD 29!! Now we know from Luke 3:1-3 above that John the Baptist began his ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius which most likely began on his 30th birthday according to OT Law {As per I Chron 23:3}. And we know from Luke 1:35-37 that John was 5 to 6 months older than Jesus. Luke 3:23: “Now Jesus Himself was as thirty years old when He began His ministry.”
So if Jesus began His ministry on His 30th human birthday {As per OT Law} on November 14th, AD 29 then John would have began his ministry 5 to 6 months earlier about May 14th to June 14th, AD 29 which would be in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar since the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar was completed on August 19th AD 29 which was exactly 15 years after the death of Augustus Caesar on August 19th, AD 14. November 14th, AD 28 to April 5th, AD 32 doesn't work since John would have then began his ministry about May 14th to June 14th AD 28 which would have been in the 14th instead of the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar!!
The 30th birthday of Jesus was most likely on November 14th, AD 29 since He would have been baptized or Anointed 40 days earlier on October 5th, AD 29 and since the Resurrection Day of our Lord Jesus was exactly 3 1/2 years which is 1278 days after His Anointing on October 5th, AD 29; or on April 5th, AD 33; which completed the first half of the last 7 years which is 1278 days, of the 70 7's in Daniel 9:27a when the Anointed One gave us a New Covenant and put an end to all sacrifices for sin in the middle of the last 7 or 3 1/2 years which is exactly 1278 days after the anointing of the Anointed One.
Daniel 9:24: 70 7's have been decreed to anoint the most Holy One {After 69 7's or October 5th AD 29}} and to atone for wickedness {After 69 1/2 7's or 1278 days after the anointing of Jesus on April 5th AD 33. Then Jesus began His ministry 40 days after His Anointing on October 5th AD 29, which would have been on His 30th Birthday on November 14th, AD 29!
Daniel 9:27: He {The Anointed One} will confirm a Covenant for one seven. In the middle of the seven {After 3 1/2 years or 1278 days}He will put an end to all sacrifice and offering. {And after a long pause} He will set up an abomination of desolation {666} {For 3 1/2 years or 1278 days which was reduced to 1260 days} until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. {On the Last Day of the 70 7's as per Revelation 19:20 and 2 Thess 2:8}
If you go to the Internet under {timeanddate.com/calendar} you will be able to find the calendar for the month of April, AD 33 in Israel {Backspace and remove 2011 and type in 33 and scroll to Israel}. You will observe that April 2nd, AD 33 was on a Thursday and that April 5th, AD 33 was on a Sunday. So it is quite probable that Jesus held the Passover right after Sundown on April 2nd, AD 33; was crucified and became our **PASSOVER LAMB** on Friday, April 3rd, AD 33; and then was raised to life on Sunday, April 5th, AD 33. Then the 14th day of the first Bible month of ABIB or PASSOVER DAY is always from sundown, April 2nd to sundown, April 3rd and would have begun on the 14th day after the first day of spring which is always sundown March 20th to sundown March 21st {The first day of Spring and ABIB}.
The first day of ABIB is always from sundown, March 20th, AD 33 to sundown March 21st, AD 33 and then the 14th day of ABIB or **PASSOVER DAY** would have been from sundown, April 2nd, AD 33 to sundown, April 3rd, AD 33. Jesus was our Passover Lamb {I Cor 5:7} on Passover Day! And so our Lord’s Resurrection Day is always on the **16TH OF ABIB**; which is always on **APRIL 5TH** each and every year!!
Jesus was crucified on **PASSOVER DAY** on Friday, April 3rd, AD 33; and then was raised to life just after sunrise on Sunday, April 5th, AD 33. Then the 14th day of the first Bible month of ABIB or PASSOVER DAY would have begun on the 14th day after sundown March 20th to sundown, March 21st AD 33 {The first day of Spring}. If the first day of ABIB was from sundown, March 20th, AD 33 to sundown March 21st, AD 33 then the 14th day of ABIB or Passover Day would have been from sundown, April 2nd, AD 33 to sundown, April 3rd, AD 33.
Jesus was our **PASSOVER LAMB** {I Cor 5:7} on **PASSOVER DAY** which is always the **14TH OF ABIB** And so our Lord’s Resurrection Day is always on the **16TH OF ABIB**; which is always on **APRIL 5TH** each and every year!! And the Resurrection of Jesus has to be on the first day of the Bible week as per Luke 24:1 or on a Sunday. And **APRIL 5TH, AD 33** is also on a **SUNDAY** which only happens every **7** YEARS!!
Prophetic, there are a number of mistakes that I neither have the time or energy to correct. The most grievous is thinking Roman Calendar days always occur on the same day of the year. Hint: 'think leap year'.
However you are right on at least one thing: Jesus was killed on Passover. And I'll add he was raised on the Jewish Feast of First Fruits, and after counting the Omer the Holy Spirit was given on the Jewish Feast of Shavuot - satisfying the Spring Feasts. The Fall Feasts are yet to be fulfilled, but you can read about them in Revelation.
