Passover for Christians

According to the Book of Exodus, God commanded Moses to tell the Israelites to mark a lamb’s blood above their doors so that the Angel of Death would pass over them: they would not be touched by the tenth Plague of Egypt, the death of the firstborn. After this Plague, Pharaoh ordered the Israelites to leave, taking whatever they wanted, and asked Moses to bless him in the name of God. The passage goes on to state that the Passover sacrifice recalls the time when God “passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt”. [1]

Passover, also called Pesach in Biblical Hebrew: חַג הַפֶּסַח‎, is sometimes referred to as a “Pilgrimage of the Passing Over” because in ancient Hebraic custom everyone would travel to the place of the Tabernacle to be together for the week of observance. This was the first of seven festivals (of which 3 are pilgrimages) and the main gathering of Hebrew people choosing to leave their place in the world and come back into “complete” 24/7 followship of believers before the LORD, reminding them of whose they are and why they were created. Pesach starts on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, which is considered the first month of the Hebrew year. The Rabbinical Jewish calendar is adjusted to align with the solar calendar in such a way that 15 Nisan always coincides with Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday. The Hebrew day starts and ends at sunset, so the holiday starts at sunset the day before. For example, in 2024, 15 Nisan coincides with Tuesday, April 23. Therefore, Pesach starts at sundown on Monday, April 22. Today as I write this, it is the first biblical “day” of Passover.

There are numerous special “feasts” in the Torah that God commands the people of Israel to keep. Each of the feasts encapsulate some of the most significant moments in Israel’s history. In this sense, the Biblical feast of Passover serves as the earliest and most evident example. Whenever God says, “Keep this feast as a memorial for you and your generations” (Exod 12:14), it is because the events signified are integral to Israel’s communal story and identity. [2] Perhaps we should still be keeping the feasts!

Pesach or Passover can also refer to the Passover sacrifice, the paschal lamb that was offered when the Temple in Jerusalem stood; to the Passover Seder, the ritual meal on Passover night; or to the week-long Feast of Unleavened Bread. One of the Biblically-ordained three Pilgrimage Festivals, Passover is celebrated for seven days in Israel and eight days in the diaspora due to the principle of the yom tov sheni shel galuyot “the second festival day in the Diaspora”. In the Bible, the seven-day holiday is known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread. [3]

The book of Acts shows how Jewish believers in Jesus continued to observe Passover in the years following the ascension but with the conviction that there was another meaning hidden in the feast, as the Apostle Paul writes, “Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed” (1 Cor 5:7). After the Romans destroyed the Second Temple in 70 C.E., a series of Jewish insurrections led to the eventual dispersion of all Jews from Jerusalem in 135 C.E. A series of historical events took place for many years and by the eighth century the name “Easter” was introduced, appearing in the writings of Bede, a Northumbrian monk who wrote the Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Before this time, the Latin name had been Pascha, borrowed from the Greek Pascha (πάσχα), which itself stems from the Hebrew, Pesach (פסח). The Greek Orthodox Church still uses the name Pascha today, but “Easter” has become the preferred English term. In modern parlance, Easter and Passover represent two entirely separate holidays and faith traditions, despite their shared origins. As I have shared before, the specific celebration of Easter has some dark roots. (This is worth a read if you haven’t read it before.)

To be clear the Passover celebration in the Old Testament and much of the more modern aspects of what traditional Jews celebrate as Passover differ significantly. In other words, traditions observed during a modern-day Seder have their origins in later times and do not necessarily reflect the kind of Passover Jesus would have been familiar with. In fact, there is a longstanding debate whether the Last Supper itself was even a Passover meal (like the Synoptics say) or if it took place the evening before Passover (like the Gospel of John says). There are valid theories explaining how to reconcile the two accounts based upon the alternative dates that various sects used which I get into in the article previously mentioned, but the point is that the Gospels themselves contribute to our uncertainty regarding the type of Passover Jesus observed.

The feast of Passover today involves the eating of unleavened bread, bitter herbs, the recounting of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, and a host of other Jewish traditions which have developed over the centuries. Easter, on the other hand, recounts the story of Jesus’ resurrection, which Christians do not always relate to the Passover story. Sometimes the practice of Communion (also called the Lord’s Supper) is connected to Passover, because it was likely during Passover that Jesus raised the cup and broke the bread saying, “Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Cor 11:23-25), but it is rare that the story of Israel’s exodus is ever discussed during Communion. When Christians collapse both Easter and Communion into Passover, they lose a proper honoring of the uniqueness of all three events, and they also commit the historical error of assuming the Passover Jesus observed is identical to the Passover the Jewish community observes today. [4]

The sacrificial lamb of Passover becomes a key portion of the gospel narrative. You may never have realized that this element of Passover goes back to Abraham, the bazaar story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice His son. The purpose of this post isn’t to break down every part or idea related to Passover, but I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that Abraham is the archetype of faith in the Bible. The man with more faith than anyone. When reading this story, we have to keep in mind that this is a real story but also serves as a recursive narrative pointing to Christ. It is in many ways a foreshadow of the unfathomable love that God has for us. Those familiar with the story will remember that God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, and Abraham went willingly—but Isaac lived. When Abraham lowered the knife, he was able to breathe again. God had provided a sacrifice which in turn offered a “new” life based on covenant living in and through God.

Today, we can breathe in that same peace that Abraham had. Our word for peace, shalom, can also mean “completeness.” [5] Is it possible that God always knew He would be the One to complete what Abraham started on the mountain by the giving of His own Son? Jesus, the one who died and was resurrected—completes this story.

Should a Christian celebrate Passover or Easter? Well, a traditional Jewish Passover takes on some post post-Biblical ideology that may confuse, and Easter is wrapped up in all kinds of pagan problems. The best answer is always to stay Biblical. Jews for Jesus says this well, we can celebrate the stories of what God has given us. In the same way that God completed the rescue work of Passover, we can complete our act of setting the table by bringing the one element that only we can bring. It’s the same element our ancestors learned in the desert and the same element Abraham brought up the mountain: an active trust in the God of Covenant relationship with us.

When my family invites Jesus to our Passover table, we have faith that he will come in and dine with us (Revelation 3:20). As we set our tables with each element and remember their meanings this Passover, may God help us with the final element of trust. That trust may be the key to true shalom, a shalom that will last long after your Passover feast has ended. [6]

Passover and Easter can remind us of whose we are and the coming out of the World back to being given completely to the ways of the LORD. I encourage you and your family to embrace the discussion and fellowship of the story of the Passover and the Lamb that brings life.