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Should Christians Celebrate the Passover?

Writer's picture: Kristi BrownKristi Brown

Updated: Apr 9, 2020

Are you celebrating Passover?

 

"But if anyone who is ceremonially clean and not on a journey fails to celebrate the Passover, they must be cut off from their people for not presenting the Lord's offering at the appointed time. They will bear the consequences of their sin." (Numbers 9:13)

 

Most Christians DO NOT celebrate the Passover! This is mainly because they believe that it belongs to a Jewish or Old Testament tradition, and is therefore unnecessary to continue. What's mostly important about this celebration, is to remember that Jesus was like the Passover lamb. In order to understand this better, you must first understand the meaning behind the celebration of Passover.

 

What is Passover?


The celebration of the Passover is in remembrance of the time when the Lord moved through Egypt destroying the firstborn of all animals and people (Exodus: 11 & 12).


The Israelites were slaves in Egypt for hundreds of years under the rule of idol worshipping Pharaohs. Because of this, God later chose a prophet named Moses to lead the people to the Holy Land.

 

Moses the "greatest" Prophet


Moses was originally born the son of Levites that were slaves in Egypt. At that time, the Pharaoh of Egypt worried that he and his people would soon be outnumbered, so he then commanded that all of the male Israelite children be executed. After hearing word of this, Moses' mother (Jochebed) placed him in a basket, and sent him floating down the Nile River. He drifted safely and was directed to the house of the Pharaoh's daughter. She discovered him in the basket and decided to keep him. He was then named Moses and his origin remained a secret until later in his life. (Exodus 2:1-10)


Moses grew up as a prince in Egypt and spent the first 40 years of his life residing there. His mother taught him about God for 12 years (the age he became the prince, and then later, he was taught by the Pharaoh all of the skills needed to rule in Egypt (Acts 7:22). When he was around 40 years old, he saw one of his own people beaten and decided to take matters into his own hands. Moses killed the Egyptian and because of his impulsive act had to flee from the Pharaoh and Egypt.


He then spent the next 40 years working as a Shepard for Jethro in Midian. By working with his sheep day in and out, Moses began to learn about patience and trust, which was taught to him by the Lord. He then, as the Bible says, became the meekest person on earth (Numbers 12:3).


Moses soon wedded Zipporah (Jethro's daughter) and together they had 2 sons. When he was 80 years old, God told him to return to Egypt and that he would free the Hebrews from slavery. God gave him specific instructions on what to do and say, and to His every command, Moses obeyed. God told him ahead of time that the Pharaoh wasn't going to easily let the people go at first, so He would then send 10 plagues. After all of these plagues, he was told that the Pharaoh would then finally tell Moses to take the Israelites out of Egypt.

 

The 10 plagues sent by God


  1. Blood - The waters in Egypt were turned to blood (Exodus 7:17-18)

  2. Frogs - The frogs infested every inch of land (Exodus 8:1-4)

  3. Lice/Gnats - He made the dust of the land lice (Exodus 8:16-17)

  4. Wild Animals - Hoards of wild animals roving all over (Exodus 8:20-32)

  5. Pestilence - The pests killed the Egyptian's livestock (Exodus 9:1-3)

  6. Boils - Men and animals were all stricken with boils (Exodus 9:8-9)

  7. Storms of Hail & Fire - Worst storm since Egypt became a nation (Exodus 9:13-24)

  8. Locusts - Devoured what was left after the hail storm (Exodus 10:3-6)

  9. Darkness for 3 Days - It was a darkness that can be felt (Exodus 10:21-23)

  10. Death of Firstborn - All firstborn males and animals (Exodus 11:4-6)

 

Freedom!


Before the final plague, God commands Moses to tell the Israelites to mark a lamb's blood above their doors in order that Yahweh (God) will pass over them. This is where we now get the term Passover from because God kept his word and passed over all of the marked houses, sparing the firstborns. It required a great deal of faith and courage for the children of Israel to carry out the command of sacraficing the lamb because it was, to the ancient Egyptians, a sacred animal. Only through faith the children of Israel eagerly and fearlessly carried out all that God had ordered. After the final plague was finished, the Pharaoh told the Israelites to leave, taking whatever they want, and asked Moses to bless him in the name of the Lord.


Upon leaving Egypt the Israelites; passed through the Red Sea, were given Manna to eat and water to drink, were reminded of the laws on Mt. Sinai, and saw many other manifestations, proving that it was God who was leading them. After all that God had done, upon their arrival to the Land of Canaan, the Israelites still didn't trust Him. Because of their distrust towards God, they were forced to spend 40 years in the wilderness before they trusted God enough to actually do what He told them to do.


At one point near the end of the 40 years of wondering, the Israelites had run out of water. God instructed Moses to speak to a specific rock and said that if he did it would bring him water (Numbers 20:2). He instead struck the rock twice out of anger, called the people rebels, and said "shall (WE) bring forth water", implying that it was the work of Moses and Aaron rather than of God. Because of this, Moses was not allowed to enter the Holy Land (Deuteronomy 32:51-52). God invited Moses up to Mount Nebo where He showed His beloved prophet the Promised Land, but He didn't let him enter. Moses was promised that his descendents would inherit this land but that he would never cross over into it. He soon after died at Moab and the Lord said that Moses' failure at the rock did not negate or break his relationship with God.

 

Celebrate Passover as a Christian


Passover customs at the time of Christ included formal temple ceremonies as well as a meal. The "Last Supper" is in fact a Passover meal & celebration. Jesus says that He has desired to eat this Passover with His disciples before His "suffering" in (Luke 22:14-16). It was on that night that Jesus introduced us to the blood & body of Christ in the form of communion. This opened up a whole new dimension for Christians.


The very first Jews were indeed Christian and that is where many of our beliefs are based and shared. Therefore, I think that it is very important to not only celebrate the Passover, but to also celebrate the 6 other festivals which include; the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6), First Fruits (Leviticus 23:10), Feast of Weeks or Pentecost (Leviticus 23:16), Feast of Trumpets (Leviticus 23:24), Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16, 23:26-32), & Feast of Tabernacles or Booths (Leviticus 23:34).


So in conclusion, if you are a Christian that plans on celebrating the Passover today, here are a few things that you can do...


  1. Watch the Ten Commandments - This movie just aired on ABC a couple of nights ago, and can now be streamed on demand. You may also be able to find a copy of it on YouTube BUT, be warned, it is over 3 hours long so plan some time out specifically for this movie. It was made on October 5th, 1956 and is in English. Very good movie I highly recommend!

  2. Place a stuffed/ceramic lamb on your table - This way you can look at it in remembrance of how God led his people out of slavery in Egypt and also symbolic to the death and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.

  3. Paint your front doorframe RED - You can do this with washable paint to make the process easier, or you can simply just place a red ribbon across. This signifies the blood that was shed so that God knew who to pass over.

  4. Prepare a seder meal - You can dress in bathrobes or shawls with sandles and imitate the first Passover feast celebrated by the Israelites. You can serve unleavened (no yeast) bread (RECIPE ON NEXT POST) or even just pita bread, hard-boiled eggs, a piece of parsley for each person, lamb or chicken for the meat, and grape juice or wine.

  5. Go to a Jewish temple near you - If you can't find one in your town, there are plenty of online sites that live-stream Jewish services like YouTube, especially now when we are all quarentined due to the CoronaVirus.

 

TODAY (April 8th, 2020) - after nightfall celebrate the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This celebration will last for 7 days. This is the first Seder (retelling of a story of the Passover).

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