Since the Jewish calendar date of Nisan 14 falls on Tuesday 23 April 2024, why are Jehovah's Witnesses holding their Memorial on Sunday 24 March 2024?
The Jehovah's Witnesses have the practice of celebrating the Memorial of Christ's Death on the 14th of Nisan which corresponds with the Jewish Passover at the time of Jesus.
The pattern established by Jesus helps determine not only the frequency but also the date and time of the Memorial. He introduced the observance after sundown on Nisan 14, 33 C.E., according to the Bible’s lunar calendar. (Matthew 26:18-20, 26) We continue to observe the Memorial on this date each year, following the practice of early Christians. d
Although Nisan 14, 33 C.E. was a Friday, the anniversary of that date might fall on a different day of the week each year. We determine the date that Nisan 14 falls each year using the same method as was used in the time of Jesus, rather than applying the method used for the modern Jewish calendar. (1)
(1) Footnote: The modern Jewish calendar determines the beginning of the month of Nisan by the astronomical new moon, but that technique was not used in the first century. Instead, the month began when the new moon was first visible in Jerusalem, which can be a day or more after the moment of the astronomical new moon. This difference is one reason why the date on which Jehovah’s Witnesses observe the Memorial does not always coincide with the date used by modern Jews for the Passover.
"Jehovah's Witnesses commemorate Christ's death as a ransom or "propitiatory sacrifice" by observing the Lord's Evening Meal, or Memorial. They celebrate it once per year, noting that it was instituted on the Passover, an annual festival. They observe it on Nisan 14 according to the ancient Jewish luni-solar calendar. Jehovah's Witnesses are taught that this is the only celebration the Bible commands Christians to observe."
The year 2024 poses a unique set of circumstances as to why the Jewish community has decided to defer the celebration of their Pesach to such a late date this year. The Jewish Passover is to be commemorated on April 22, 2024 starting at sundown!
The Jewish calendar follows a lunar cycle calendar, which comprises of some 354/355 days. Since the lunar calendar is about 11 days shorter than a 365-day solar calendar, it is necessary to added an extra month every so many years to realign the two calendars! This is what is happening this year.
The Jehovah's Witnesses have apparently decided to keep the first possibility of celebrating the Commemoration of Christ's Death on the first possibility after the first full moon after the spring equinox (March 20/21), which falls on March 24 this year.
Nevertheless there are some communities that feel that the Jewish community should have chosen another year than 2024 to add the extra month than 2024 to realign their calendar and moving their Pesach to such a late date.
The year 2024 is not the only year that the Jehovah’s Witnesses have seen this calendar divergence in relationship to this situation: This has happened as recently as 2016!
In 2016, Nisan 14 (Passover) can fall on March 22, the first opportunity for the 14th day of a Biblical month to occur after the equinox. But the Jewish calendar sets Nisan 14 at April 22nd. Why? Because the Jewish year 5776 (the spring months of 2016 fall within the Jewish year 5776) happens to be the 19th year of the 19-year calendar cycle and is then, by Judaic definition, a leap year (the 13th month must be added). This forces the first month to begin one month later than it normally would. Unfortunately, their calendar leap year tradition is so rigid that they fail to follow what we agree is the correct interpretation of the scriptures listed above, that God gave them, which strongly imply that the Passover must be kept at the first opportunity on or after the spring equinox. - Why the Jewish Calendar will be Incorrect in 2016