Nisan 15: The Lamb Rests on the High Sabbath — Fulfillment of Unleavened Bread Begins
As the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins, Yeshua’s sinless body lies in the tomb. The Lamb rests, prophecy unfolds, and the countdown to Firstfruits begins.
This is part of a 13 part series click here to start at the beginning.
Nisan 15 – The Lamb Rests on the High Sabbath
Unleavened Bread begins. Yeshua’s body lies in the tomb. Prophecy unfolds in stillness.
(Wednesday evening to Thursday evening)
As the sun set on Nisan 14 and twilight marked the beginning of Nisan 15, the cries of “Crucify Him” gave way to a city settling into the rhythms of Yahweh’s appointed times.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread had begun — a High Sabbath, on which no ordinary work was to be done. For most, it was a time of remembrance. But just outside the city walls, something greater was being fulfilled.
The Lamb at Rest
In a tomb carved from rock, the body of Yeshua of Nazareth lay sealed behind a great stone. Wrapped in linen and spices, He had been buried in haste by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus before sundown.
The Lamb who had been:
Chosen on Nisan 10 (Exodus 12:3),
Inspected for four days,
Slain on Nisan 14 (Exodus 12:6)
…was now resting on the Sabbath, in perfect fulfillment of Torah.
This was not symbolic. It was prophetic precision.
Unleavened Bread in Fullness
The Feast of Unleavened Bread commemorated the night Israel fled Egypt in haste, taking dough with no time to rise. In obedience, the people were commanded to remove all leaven — a symbol of sin and impurity — from their homes (Exodus 12:15–17; 1 Corinthians 5:6–8).
But now, the true Unleavened Bread — pure, sinless, and uncorrupted — lay silent in the earth. The feast was no longer just a shadow. It was substance.
“I am the bread of life… whoever comes to Me will never go hungry.”
— John 6:35
Yeshua, the Bread of Heaven, had been broken. The old leaven — the sin of humanity — was being cast out. A new covenant had been initiated.
The Women Watch and Wait
The women from Galilee — Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Joseph, and others — had followed Him all the way to the tomb. They saw where He was laid and planned to return after the Sabbath to anoint His body with spices (Luke 23:55–56).
But on this day, they rested. In obedience. In grief. In love. As the world turned in ignorance, they waited for the time to honor the One they believed to be lost.
Stillness That Speaks
No miracles are recorded. No teachings given. No crowds gathered.
But heaven was not silent.
In the unseen realm, prophecy was fulfilling itself. The Lamb was resting, but redemption was advancing.
The first of three days and three nights in the grave had now passed — just as Yeshua had foretold:
“For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth.”
— Matthew 12:40
The countdown had begun — not just to resurrection, but to the Feast of Firstfruits.
What Nisan 15 Fulfilled
Feast of Unleavened Bread began — high Sabbath rest (Leviticus 23:6–7)
Yeshua’s body lay in the tomb — the Unleavened Bread hidden in the earth
The first day and night in the grave (Matthew 12:40)
No corruption — fulfilling Psalm 16:10:
“You will not allow your Holy One to see decay.”