The Birth, Death, and Resurrection of the Messiah

PRESENTING THE CASE FOR WHEN JESUS CHRIST (YAHUSHUA THE MESSIAH) WAS BORN AND RESURRECTED

1.       YHWH is the ELOHIM of the Hebrews - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Exodus 7:15-16)

2.       Jesus has assured salvation for all nations, tongues, and tribes. (Romans 1:16, 

 Revelation 7:9)

3.       Jesus was a Hebrew (Luke 1:32-33, Luke 3:23-38, Hebrews 7:14)

4.       Jesus kept the Sabbath and the Biblical Feast Days (Leviticus 23, Luke 2:41-42)

5.       Jesus is the fulfillment of all the Feast Days (1 Cor 5:7, Matt 2:27-28, Hebrews 9)

6.       All Nations will have to keep the Feast of Tabernacles (Zechariah 14:16-17)

The Feast of Tabernacles is the celebration of the Birth of Jesus Christ, as well as the future Marriage Feast of the Lamb. (Revelation 19:7-9). Jesus could not have been born during the winter month of December for a couple of reasons:

#1 Weather

Luke 2:8 provides some clues that help us understand the geographical setting of the visit of the shepherds at Jesus’ birth and the time of year of Jesus’ birth:

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. (NIV, emphasis added)

Shepherds would not have been outdoors, through the night, with their sheep, during the winter months. That was the rainy season, and would have been the time when crops would be growing in the fields.

(See Chart Below)

#2 The Timing of Elisabeth and Mary’s Pregnancies

Luke 1:5, KJV - There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

Zecharias was of the tribe of Levi, so he was a priest. He was assigned priestly duties during the course of Abia, which would have occurred in the Fourth Month of the Hebrew Calendar. We find this priestly responsibility in 1 Chronicles 23:3-6 and 1 Chronicles 24.

The Passover usually came around the end of March or the beginning of April by our modern calendars. So, the eighth course of "Abia," would have been expected to occur around the end of July (from mid-month to its end). It would have been after this that Zacharias returned home, and if conception happened shortly thereafter, John could be expected roughly nine months later, around March/April of the following year.

Elisabeth and Mary’s pregnancies are clearly defined as being 6 months apart. Mary’s pregnancy was 6 months behind her cousin Elisabeth. Since John was born in March/April, which is the first Hebrew Month Abib, this would mean that Jesus was born 6 months later in September/October, which would be Tishri, the Seventh Month on the Hebrew Calendar.

When we look at the precepts in the Old Testament, to support the claim that Jesus was born on the First Day of the Feast of Tabernacles, we find several indicators to support this claim:


Leviticus 23:34, 39 KJV - 34 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month [shall be] the feast of tabernacles [for] seven days unto the LORD. ... 39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day [shall be] a sabbath, and on the eighth day [shall be] a sabbath.


1.       Leviticus 12:2-3 “Say to the Israelites, ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be unclean for seven days, as she is during the days of her menstruation. 3 And on the eighth day the flesh of the boy’s foreskin is to be circumcised. 4 The woman shall continue in purification from her bleeding for thirty-three days.

a.       Luke 1:57-60 When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they rejoiced with her. 59 On the eighth day, when they came to circumcise the child, they were going to name him after his father Zechariah. 60 But his mother replied, “No! He shall be called John.”

b.       Luke 2:21-23 KJV - 21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. 22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present [him] to the Lord; 23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) (33 days)

c.       Luke 3:21-23 KJV - 21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, 22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. 23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age…

d.       Jesus’ Public Ministry was about 3 ½ years long (see link below) He was 33 yrs old.

 i.      There was a Passover in Jerusalem at the start of his public ministry (John 2:13, 23).

 ii.     There was a Passover in Galilee midway through his public ministry (John 6:4).

 iii.    There was a final Passover in Jerusalem at the end of his public ministry, that is, the 

time of his crucifixion (John 11:55; 12:1)


Jesus is the Most High YHWH in the Flesh

In Exodus 24 -26, we come across a scene in which the glory of the Most High God (YHWH or YAH for short) abode upon Mount Sinai, and during a period of 40 days and 40 nights he gave Moses instruction to speak unto the children of Israel to make offerings unto him and to build a sanctuary/tabernacle for the glory of the Most High YAH to dwell among them.

When we read the New Testament, we learn that Jesus is the tabernacle that “tabernacled” with us. The Hebrew word for Tabernacle is Mishkan (Strong’s H4908), which literally means “a dwelling place”. The Tabernacle was a temporary place for the glory of YHWH to dwell in. Let’s take a look at some scripture that describes Jesus as the Tabernacle of YHWH:

Matthew 1:23 NKJV - 23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." (EL short for ELOHIM translates to God in English)

Colossians 1:15 - He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God (ELOHIM), who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of ELOHIM in the face of Jesus Christ (JESUS the Messiah).

The Body is a Tabernacle/Temple/Sanctuary of God

John 2:2-23 Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.” 20“This temple took forty-six years to build,” the Jews replied, “and You are going to raise it up in three days?” 21But Jesus was speaking about the temple of His body.

1 Corinthians 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;


The Day of First Fruits is the True Day of Christ’s Resurrection

In 1 Corinthians 15:4, Paul writes that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures. Yet, what Old Testament text predicted a third day resurrection?  Well, by calling Christ’s resurrection a firstfruit, Paul echoes Leviticus 23.

Leviticus 23:9–14 (ESV): 9 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, 11 and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD. 13 And the grain offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, a food offering to the LORD with a pleasing aroma, and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a fourth of a hin. 14 And you shall eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

You can see how Leviticus 23:9-14 is an Old Testament text that pointed to Jesus’s resurrection on the third day.

Jesus was betrayed and arrested on the first day. The second day, the sixteenth of Abib, was a high Sabbath, meaning the weekly Sabbath aligned with the Holy Convocation of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Then, on the sixteenth, the day of firstfruits, the women ran to the tomb and found it empty.

This means that the 16th of Abib is both the Day of Resurrection and the Day of Firstfruits. Just as YAH linked the death of Jesus to the fulfillment of Passover, he also tied his resurrection to the fulfillment of the day of firstfruits. Our Lord’s resurrection is both an event of history and the fulfillment of one of the Old Testament’s ancient promises.