This week we deal with the end of Jesus’ forty days on earth. The Ascension is a very important part of the Easter story. Without the Ascension the Holy Spirit could not come. Day Six is what I think may have happened when Jesus went to go take His victors seat next to the Father.
The time period of Passover to Pentecost (Counting the Omer) is, was, and will be an important event in the history of the Jews but also for Christians! It defined the start of the Jewish calendar and propelled them as a group to gain the “Promised Land.” Jesus’ life and ministry were to fulfill the “type and shadow” of Passover and the meeting of God in the desert. The work of salvation had to be finished at Passover! Jesus, however, had other tasks to accomplish: send the Holy Spirit and birth His Church!
In Jesus’ life, there are four recorded Passovers in the Gospels. John, in his Gospel, used the term “Passover” the most and records three of the four Feast. Luke talks about two of 
them and Mark and Matthew cover the last one where He was offered up as our sacrifice. The four recorded Passovers and Counting of the Omers are:
One thing that all four of these Passovers have in common is that Jesus returns to Galilee.
This week there are “second” chances that we are looking at.
Lord of the Sabbath
In Matthew 12:8, Mark 2: 28, and Luke 6:5 is the story of the disciples harvesting and eating grain on the Sabbath. Jesus’ replied to those complaining, “The Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Then not much more is said about this passage/idea. In John’s story of the crucifixion that statement is made very clear!
John’s Gospel has the most references to Passover, especially the three that Jesus spent with His disciples, but the last one, John 12 -20, will be our focus for this blog.
So why does this make Jesus Lord of the Sabbath? Is our communion really the same as the Passover sharing of wine and bread? Is Easter and Passover the same thing?
I will answer these questions this way: Jesus and the disciples broke tradition and ate the “Passover Meal” and shared communion twenty-four hours to soon. So even though these things happen around Passover they did not happen ON Passover! Jesus did something new but He had to so that He could fulfill the requirementsof Passover. It is probable that He died just as the lambs were being killed in the Temple for the Passover meal.
I see this as Jesus doing what had to be done to fulfill all things of the Law! I am not sure that for us it should cause a major change in traditions, but it does show that Jesus is Lord over the Sabbath and all of our holidays.
SECOND THOUGHT – Did the disciples understand what was happening when they ate early? If they did were they questioning Jesus as to why?
pic : http://clipart.christiansunite.com/1395312061/Communion Clipart/Communion005.jpg
The reflections in this fourth week of Counting the Omer is focused on what I think Jesus was doing during His last forty days before the Ascension. Jesus was finishing the ground work for the Church.
Jesus opened and closed His earthly ministry with forty day periods; the first was to ready Him for ministry, the second was to ready His disciples.
Mark's Bible Study 