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VBVMI Staff
Let's dig in to the passovers in the bible:
Passover began when God sent the final plague upon Egypt, i.e. the death of every firstborn male. To spare the Israelites, God instructed them to sacrifice a spotless lamb, apply its blood on the doorposts, and stay inside. When the Lord saw the blood, He would “pass over” that house, sparing those inside from judgment. This marked the beginning of Israel’s freedom from Pharaoh and slavery.
Furthermore, God commanded the Israelites to observe Passover every year as a memorial of His faithfulness:
In the man Jesus Christ we find complete fulfillment of Passover, whom the New Testament calls our Passover Lamb:
Just as the lamb’s blood spared Israel from death, Jesus’ blood spares believers from the wrath of God. His crucifixion occurred during Passover, linking His sacrifice directly to the original event:
Passover was to be celebrated on the 14th day of the first month (Nisan), with a meal that included unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and a lamb, each element symbolizing aspects of the Exodus.
Passover was not a command given to the Gentiles, and therefore, we are not obligated to observe the ongoing Passover Seder meal, traditionally held in April. Instead, the Law, including Passover, was given specifically to the Israelites as a unified covenant composed of 613 commandments, and Scripture consistently presents the Law as a complete, indivisible whole. Perhaps the clearest explanation of this principle comes from Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum of Ariel Ministries when he teaches:
A Christian can’t pick a few elements from the Law (e.g., the Ten Commandments) and place them in a special category apart from the rest of the Mosaic Law, especially if our purpose in doing so is an attempt to preserve them alongside the Law of Christ. Rather, the Mosaic Law is an all or nothing proposition: either a man lives under the Law of Moses and keeps all 613 laws, or he lives by faith and dispenses with the Mosaic Law entirely in favor of the newer, better law of Christ.
Today, a Christian's passover is found in Jesus Christ and are free from the Law. Jesus is both our justification and our sanctification. Thankfully God provided a better way to pleasing him: faith in Christ and reliance on the Holy Spirit means through faith in Him we have established or upheld the Law seen in Romans 3:
The principle reason that the New Covenant is called “good news” is because of how it addresses all the weaknesses and deficiencies of the Old Covenant, namely the Feasts and Holy Days. Among its many improvements, the New Covenant we have in Christ provides a means of living a holy life, where before the Law was powerless to accomplish the same as seen in Hebrews 7:
Rather than attempting to keep a set of laws, Holy days or commands written on stone, which neither adjust nor grow to address our changing circumstances, Christians are to be guided by the Spirit indwelling us:
In submitting to the Spirit, we are living according to the Law of Christ. Walking according to the Spirit is now the law guiding all believers, and it’s the only law we need.
On the other hand, a Christian is free to observe the Passover, as long as their personal conviction doesn't get put on those around them. In other words, observing the Passover doesn't make a "better Christian."
You may find the following articles on our website helpful in addressing your question:
How many passovers were there the week Jesus died?
Three Separate Passovers Recorded in John
Is a Christian Under the Law of Moses
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org