On the night of April 18, this year, or (Nisan 14), many of God’s people and certainly not the majority, will come together to commemorate what Jesus did nearly two thousand years ago. It was not to celebrate Easter, which came more than a hundred-years later, but Jesus came together with His disciples for the ‘New Testament Passover.’
No animals were sacrificed; rather Jesus introduced new symbols to this rather solemn occasion, and told us to continue to do this in remembrance of Him. It was to be a memorial (once per year) of His death “till He comes.”
The Apostle Paul spells it out clearly what we ought to be doing when we come together on this night. 1 Cor. 11: 23, “ For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink (my emphasis) it, in remembrance of me.26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he comes.”
What God’s people will be doing is not a man made edict or celebration on a date decided by a ruler or emperor. Jesus was the one who decided this and he instructed it must be done “till He comes.” Notice what Paul said what he received from the LORD, he is passing onto us to do. Jesus’ command was for us to do this in remembrance of Him.
This was, and is, a significant event. Why? We have been commanded to observe His death when He gave His life as a ransom for all our sins. He didn’t tell us to celebrate His birth, but His death. Easter’s attempt to recognize what happened to Him during that time, and the reasons for it, has been lost in pagan rooted celebrations, done at the wrong time, and miss totally why ‘Christ is our Passover.” The imagery of an innocent Lamb that went to the slaughter, has been hijacked by bunnies and eggs- all symbols taken from pagan fertility festivals.
1 Cor. 5:7 tells us “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” The Holy Bible calls Christ our Passover. Where does Easter fit into this truth? Look at the next verse, “8 Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
What is this feast? Easter? Not at all! It is referring to one of God’s annual biblical feast days found in Lev. 23, which most Christians have turned their backs on, calling them “Jewish,” and instead embracing the non-biblical “Easter.” The Days (feast) of Unleavened Bread comes right after Passover and pictures a time when symbolically, Christians try to put sin out of our lives and become “unleavened.” Leaven in the Bible signifies sin, therefore, as Paul instructed we must put away, “the leaven of malice and wickedness,” and keep the feast “with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” That represents who Jesus really is as our Passover because He committed no sin.
On that night we will wash one another’s feet as Jesus did. John 13:13, “ Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. 16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. 17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.”
Jesus did a humble act and demonstrated to us how we should be a people of humility, serving one another and being an example to others. What is important is the examples Jesus left for us to follow. Not what men dream up or instituted off their own accord and brand them as holy. Only God determines what is holy.
If we think this ritual is insignificant and no longer relevant and Easter is more for the Christian, while Passover is for Jews, we better think again! Jesus says He’s looking forward to this occasion when he establishes His Kingdom on earth. Matt. 26:29, “But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
As we take the cup to drink, which represents His shed blood, and as we eat of the bread to represent His broken body, let us all look forward to that time, as He does, when we will be with our God to drink it anew in the Kingdom of God. For more on this subject, download FREE, our booklets, CHRIST OUR PASSOVER and HOW WAS PASSOVER REPLACED BY EASTER.
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