Why don't Christians celebrate the Passover (without the lamb sacrifice because Jesus did it once and for all) like the Messianic Jews do?
a. From our Subscribers b. From our Messianic friends
INTRODUCTION: According to the Scripture, Passover means commemoration,
celebration unto the LORD a lasting ordinance. Jesus was lamp of God. There was
no need for another sacrifice again! Passover in today's context means setting
apart of animate or inanimate, holy as unto the Lord. In today's contemporary
Christian life, the word Passover is not very common. What has replaced
Passover, I believe is the observance of the Lord 's Supper. I will try to
explain this according to the scripture. The Passover is being observed today,
but in a different way, which I believe is biblical. You will enjoy this as you
read along.
THE LORD'S SUPPER This is an ordinance that the Lord Jesus observed with his
disciples as contained in Luke 22:7-19. It was to replace the killing of sheep,
goat, animals and all that. Jesus was making the disciples to understand the
purpose of his death and resurrection, which supersedes any killings and
sacrifices. Notice that when the Lord was having the Lord's super with the
disciples (who later became apostles) Judas was there. At the table where the
ordinance was taking place, Judas was revealed. The revelation of Judas on the
table of the Lord's Supper is an indication that it was a Passover indeed for
nothing unclean would hold where the Lord is. There was a revelation of who
Judas was. Whereas Judas ought to have done something about it but because it
had been predestined that someone was to betray the Lord, nothing happened;
hence Judas Iscariot hardened his heart to betray the Lord. Make sure that the
counsel of the enemy does not hold in your life. The enemy does not want anyone
in the Kingdom, you only need to make up your mind that you are Heaven bound and
nothing prevents you from getting to the Kingdom. Not even the love of money or
craving for positions that are temporal! The devil has so much to tantalize
human beings with. You just make up your mind that you would not be deceived.
The money Judas took from the enemy of righteousness, the Pharisees, he never
lived to spend a penny out of it! For how long would you allow the devil to
deceive you? Where are you compromising your faith? Where are you denying the
Lord? At work, in your family or business? You must say NO to the Devil and YES
to JESUS today. Take a stand for the Lord today and decide to confess him
everywhere and you will find rest for your soul. Judas denied the Lord. He even
sold him out to the enemy. But thanks are to God who made the King of glory to
die and resurrected according to the Scripture. If Jesus had not died, there
would not have been hope for you and I. His death released unto us victory over
the devil, because he held captivity captive in the grave and gave gifts unto
men. Healing and deliverance have become our inheritance by virtue of the fact
that Jesus died. Eternal life has become our inheritance because Jesus Christ
died and resurrected the third day - Hallelujah!
THE PASSOVER BY REVELATION I Corinthians 11:23-33 "For I received from the Lord
what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took
bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body,
which is for you; do this in remembrance of me". In the same way, after supper
he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, do this
whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread and
drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes. Therefore, whoever
eats this bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be
guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine
himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats
and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on
himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have
fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come und4er judgment.
When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be
condemned with the world. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat,
wait for each other. If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when
you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give
further directions. I want you to notice some things from the above passage that
should be observed when we are observing the ordinance of the Passover:
(a) A man must be born again - John 3:1-21, Acts 3:19
(b) You must know what you are doing as a Christian - living a holy life -
Hebrews 12:14
(c) Observance of the Lord's Supper is not for trivializations (joke with). It
is done in sincerity not in deceit of the heart.
(d) It is not for children. Notice let a man examine himself. Can children
examine themselves? Do they understand what salvation is?
(e) The observance of it keeps in your remembrance the Lord's death and
resurrection, which is the basis of our faith. It keep the Church together in
unity. Love is proclaimed by the observance
Friend, you will agree with me that what we observe today is even far better
than what the past and present Jews were partaking of. It is an ordinance. Done
by Jesus and revealed to Paul for us to continue to do until he comes.
I have witnessed a place where the Lord's Supper was taken worthily and healing
was the result. I know of a sister who had an issue of blood for many months who
after the Lord's Supper in one of our services had healing. The fountain of her
blood stopped after observing the Lord's Supper. I also know of a sister after
taking part in the Lord's supper was blessed of the womb after many year of
bareness.
Conversely, I have also heard of a place where cult members who took the Lord's
Supper unworthily died after taking it in the church! The Lord that answers by
fire is our God! He is a God of justice and also that of judgment.
Are you born again? If so thanks be to God. If not please consider today where
you will spend your eternity? Lord's supper without Christ as your personal
savior and Lord is damnation to yourself!
Rev Debo Adeyemo
____________________________________________________
As is written in Smith's Bible Dictionary as to the Passover, "This feast was
instituted by God to commemorate the deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian
bondage and the sparing of their firstborn when the destroying angel smote the
first-born of the Egyptians. The deliverance from Egypt was regarded as the
starting-point of the Hebrew nation. The Israelites were then raised from the
condition of bondmen under a foreign tyrant to that of a free people owing
allegiance to no one but Jehovah. The prophet in a later age spoke of the event
as a creation and a redemption of the nation. God declares himself to be "the
Creator of Israel." The Exodus was thus looked upon as the birth of the nation;
the Passover was its annual birthday feast. It was the yearly memorial of the
dedication of the people to him who had saved their first-born from the
destroyer, in order that they might be made holy to himself." (Exodus 12)
Under Judaism, God gave the Israelites further instructions as to the Passover
feast (Leviticus 23:5; Numbers 28:16-25, Deuteronomy 16:1-8), however, it's
important to understand that Christianity is not a continuation of Judaism. When
the apostle Peter gave his confession of Christ Jesus as the Christ (Messiah),
the Son of the living God, Jesus replied by saying," Blessed art thou, Simon
Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which
is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock
I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
(Matthew 16:17-18) The founder of the Christian Church is Christ Jesus (the
Church is the Bride of Christ) and that believers are not required to observe
the Passover is seen in the decision of the Council in Jerusalem spoken of in
the New Testament book of Acts, (Acts 15:1-29).
Jim Futral http://www.biblepath.com
(Answers to questions from a Biblical perspective)
____________________________________________________
Christians celebrate the new Passover, as instituted by Jesus on the Thursday
night before He was crucified. He is the type, the Old Testament rituals were
the anti type, to point forward to the coming Messiah.
The foot washing ceremony that Jesus instituted in John 13:14,15 before
partaking of the Lord's Supper was to prepare our hearts and put all wrongs
right before we partake of the sacred service. The disciples shared the
unleavened bread. Jesus is the Bread of Life and the unleavened bread was cooked
without yeast which is fermentation ,a type of sin, Jesus was the Spotless Lamb
of God, without sin. Jesus said this is My Body it was broken for you. They
shared the cup of the fruit of the vine, Luke 22:18 unfermented grape juice,
alcohol is fermentation again a type of sin, Jesus said this is My Blood which
was shed for you, for the remission of sins.
He said in Luke 22: 16,18 He would not partake of it again until we are reunited
with Him in His Kingdom. In verse 19 He commanded "Do this in remembrance of
Me!" Jesus is the Passover Lamb. John 1:36 The former ceremonies were a shadow
of the true, now that the Saviour has come, He died once for all ,and the Old
Testament Feasts and Ceremonial Sabbaths were done away with at the Cross,He
died at the exact moment that the Priest was to slay the Passover Lamb and when
God the Father tore the thick curtain from top to bottom, Luke 23:45 ;Mark 15:38
He showed the world that His Presence had left the Temple forever and the
rituals pointing to the Messiah had ended.
Noeline Cutts
____________________________________________________
The best way to answer this question is to look at what the Passover symbolizes, Christ's sacrifice, and who the Passover prefigures, but isn't actually observed under, the New Covenant.
Please read Exodus 12:1-28. God gives the Israelites directions on observing the Passover. At the first Passover, the firstborn of the Israelites were spared from death by following God's commandments. However, it is quite clear that this is directed to the Jews: Exodus 12:3 "Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house" (KJV) In fact, it is later stated that non-Jews (except for slaves owned by the Israelites) are not allowed to eat the Passover meal. (Exodus 12:43-45)
The prophet Jeremiah speaks of a new covenant: Jeremiah 31:31 "Behold, the days come saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD" (KJV)
Jesus' death on the cross did away with animal sacrifices and their related rituals once and for all: Hebrews 10:9 "Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 10 By the which will we are sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering, oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12 But this man, after he had offered up one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (KJV)
Most Christians do regularly commemorate Jesus' sacrifice by observing the Eucharist (also known as communion, the Lord's Supper, or the Mass. For more on this, please see Matthew 17:20-29; Mark 14:17-25; Luke 22:15-20; Acts 2:42-46; and I Corinthians 11:23-34)
One of the things I believe sums this up the best is this canticle (hymn),
taken from I Corinthians 5:7-8; Romans 6:9-11; and I Corinthians 15:20-22:
Alleluia. Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us, therefore let us keep the
feast. Not with the old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and
wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Alleluia.
Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more, death hath no more dominion
over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once; but in that he liveth, he
liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin,
but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Alleluia. Christ is risen from
the dead, and became the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came
death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die,
even so in Christ shall all be made alive. Alleluia.
In His love from your sister in Christ,
AJ Demers
____________________________________________________
To all
Some Christians do celebrate Passover combined with Easter, usually on the
Thursday night before Easter, with a meal and service combining both Jewish and
Christian/messianic beliefs.
For the last few years we have been very fortunate that Passover has combined
with Easter. This year it will be different. However, in Exodus, there was
permission given to celebrate Passover a month later for various reasons, e.g.
uncleanliness, family death etc. Therefore, because are free to worship the Lord
in any seemly and orderly manner, I will have no problem with our church
celebrating Passover on the Thursday before Easter. In so doing, we are trying
to educate our people within our own culture as well.
to any Jewish people, absolutely no disrespect is intended. during our Easter
remembrance services, we merely follow the chronology of the gospels.
Hoping this is helpful
Best wishes Carin
b. Answers from our Messianic Friends:
Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) spoke of the kingdom of God as being
composed of treasures new and old. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the
Passover story where there are spiritual treasures both in the New Covenant and
the Old Covenant.
The story of Passover begins four hundred years before the actual events took
place. The Lord had prophesied to Abraham that his descendants would be in exile
for four hundred years; after that God had promised to redeem His people and
bring them back to the Promised Land.
At the appointed time, God raised up Moses to deliver the Jewish People out of
Egypt. Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he refused to let the Jewish People
leave, thereby setting the stage for a showdown with the God of Israel. Even
after Egypt was hit with nine devastating plagues, Pharaoh still refused to let
the Jewish People go. God had one more plague left which would reveal both His
judgment and His mercy at the same time.
God would bring judgment against all the firstborn in the land of Egypt; all of
them would die, including Pharaoh's firstborn child. However, God would redeem
the firstborn among the Jewish People in a very special way. Every family was
instructed to take a lamb on the tenth day of the month and keep it until the
fourteenth day of the month. At twilight on the fourteenth, they were to kill
the lamb and spread the blood of that lamb on the doorposts and on the lintel of
their house. The reason is given in Exodus 12:13: "Now the blood shall be a sign
for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood I will pass over
you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of
Egypt."
At midnight all the firstborn of Egypt died, all those who had not placed the
blood of the lamb upon their door as the Lord had said. This last plague moved
Pharaoh to finally release the Jewish People from the harsh bondage and slavery
he had imposed upon them. The people of Israel left Egypt in such haste that
their bread did not have time to rise in their ovens; thus they took unleavened
bread with them.
These momentous events are commemorated yearly during the feast of Passover by
the Jewish People. This feast represents the birth of the nation of Israel
through redemption by the blood of the Passover lamb. God's plan for the Jewish
People was truly progressing.
Fifteen hundred years later, God marvelously fulfilled Passover, which impacted
the entire world. Now was the time for the promised Messiah to be revealed and
to give His life for the eternal redemption of both the nation of Israel as well
as every other tongue, tribe and nation.
Upon seeing Yeshua, the prophet Yohanan, (John the Baptist), cried out, "Behold!
The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). Which lamb
was he referring to? The very one which the Jewish People commemorate each and
every year during Passover -- the lamb whose blood was applied to the door and
the lintel of their houses in Egypt. This was the lamb whose blood caused God's
judgment of death to "pass over" their firstborn child.
It is amazing that Yeshua was put to death during Passover in direct fulfillment
of the ancient Jewish feast inaugurated fifteen hundred years earlier. As we
apply His shed blood to our hearts and lives, God's eternal judgment of death
most certainly "passes over" us! The apostle Peter confirms that we were
redeemed, "with the precious blood of Messiah, as of a lamb without blemish and
without spot" (1Peter 1:19).
To establish the veracity of these claims beyond any shadow of a doubt, God
raised Yeshua from the dead during Passover as the First fruits of all who would
believe and follow Him.
For believers in Yeshua, both Jew and Gentile, Passover is a treasure, new and
old. It reveals God's faithful love for His Covenant People Israel. He promised
to redeem us and He did. He promised to send the Messiah and He did. It also
reveals God's faithful love for the world. God had promised that through
Abraham's seed, (The Messiah) all the nations of the world would be blessed. He
who promised proved faithful so that, "the blessing of Abraham might come upon
the Gentiles in Messiah Yeshua…" (Gal.3: 14). Truly, Yeshua, the Passover Lamb
is a Treasure to us all!
Messianic Rabbi Jeffrey Forman
Friend of Answers2Prayer
____________________________________________________
Christians do in fact, celebrate the Passover in a fashion. Every time they
partake of the L-rd’s table, they are “doing this in remembrance of the One who
instructed us to do so at Passover. But as far as actually doing so each year,
at its appointed time, Christians have, for 1700 years, been excluded from this
most important Feast of the L-rd. Why? Because of the poor decisions of men who
have tried, in ancient times and who continue to this day to separate the Body
of Messiah from the people from whom He came! Constantine and the Nicean Council
made all practices of Judaism against the laws of Christian government and this
horrible practice has separated the Church from G-d ever since. Leviticus 23
clearly details each of the Feasts of the L-rd and G-d calls them “My appointed
times” not Jewish holidays! He goes on the declare that “His people” shall keep
them throughout all generations. The Church very much declares itself to be the
people of G-d, and well they may be, yet they have abandoned His teaching in
this and so many other areas that His name is profaned.
Why don’t Christians celebrate the Passover? For the same reason that they do
not keep the Sabbath holy and do not submit to the instruction of the L-rd in so
many other areas. The eyes of the Church have been blinded by so many teachers
who are more concerned with adding to “their” numbers than in holiness and
obedience.
Please let me know how I may serve you in any way in regards to the word of the
L-rd. I have, for 2 decades, helped Christians see the New Testament through
Jewish eyes and the Old Testament as instruction to the Church.
Keep praying.
Marty Marty@messianicmessages.com
____________________________________________________
Christians don't celebrate the Passover because according to Exodus 12:14 the Lord told the people of Israel to commemorate this day for the generations to come- a lasting ordinance. It's also when God declares himself to be the Lord of the Israelites and He will take the Israelites as His own people. Christians ( gentiles don't need to celebrate it because even though they have been grafted into the vine by faith God still holds the Jewish people as His own. It's good for Christians to know about the Passover and to know where Jesus brought the communion from. That is what Christians should commemorate as an everlasting covenant. A new covenant in His blood, to drink it in remembrance of Him. 1Corinthians 11:23-25 Jesus and the disciples celebrated the Passover because they were Jews and that's something very important that churches forget to think about.
Vicky Sedaca Faircloth office@imja.com
____________________________________________________
My answer may be different from others you will receive. It is true that most
(not all) Christians do not celebrate Passover. However, if you look closely,
you will find that they do observe a portion of the Passover that was instituted
by Yeshua. It is usually called Communion or the Lord's Supper (also called the
Mass in Roman Catholocism and the Eucharist in several faiths). Observance of
Passover within traditional Judaism includes the same elements (wine and matzah)
and were historically a part of the observances of the disciples, though today
that derivation is obscured.
It is also true that there is no Temple and therefore no sanctioned place where
the Passover lamb could be sacrificed. But I would repeat that this does not
keep either the Jewish or Christian practices from continuing. The Jewish
observance replaces the lamb with the middle matzah, called the Afikomen, a
Greek word which can be translated "that which comes after" or "he who comes."
Typically, rabbinic authorities say it means dessert, but that can only be by
implication and does not adequately explain why there is a Greek term in a
Jewish service. Christians, on the other hand, memorialize the same lamb
sacrifice through the bread and wine. According to Paul (1 Corinthians 11:26),
"you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes."
Now to get to my answer. That is, there is no reason for Christians to avoid
celebration of the Passover for several reasons; all related. Passover is a
commemoration of the deliverance of Israel from bondage in Egypt more than 3000
years ago. If God had not delivered Israel; we would not have the Torah, the
five books of Moses, to guide and teach us of God's justice and mercy; we would
not have the prophets to show us the roadmarks of God's plan for the redemption
of the world; we would not have the Psalms and other writings to exhort and
encourage us; and we would not have the writings of the New Testament to give us
the Good News that the Messiah has come.
It is true that God could have chosen another people, perhaps even more faithful
than Israel. It is true that God could have used other people to give us His
words of wisdom and to tell of His love for us. It is even true that He could
have chosen another people through whom He could have sent a Messiah as
sacrifice in atonement for our sins. But then, we would not have a God whom we
could trust to keep His word, and we would have no hope because we would be
trusting in a promise that could be broken.
In conclusion, Christians should WANT to celebrate Passover because:
1. We should all rejoice that God delivered Israel from captivity.
2. The Passover seder is a remembrance of the Last Supper of our Messiah.
3. We give thanks to God that as He was true to His word with Israel, so, too,
is the certainty of His being true and faithful with all those who put their
trust in Him.
1 Corinthians 5:8 Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor
with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of
sincerity and truth.
In His Shalom, David A. Fleischer Rabbi, Congregation B'nai B'rit HaMashiach San
Francisco, CA www.bbhm.org
BBHM1@aol.com
____________________________________________________
The premise of your question is that Christians do not celebrate the
Passover. That is not uniformly true, since these days more and more Christian
Churches are recognizing the prophetic significance of Passover as pointing to
Messiah Yeshua (Jesus). Here is the historic development of why the original
Church celebrated Passover, and why the practice declined and more recently is
being revived.
As you know, the original Passover in Egypt was not a celebration -- it was a
blood sacrifice. It was the means by which their first-born sons were spared by
the Angel of Death, and Israel was released to leave Egypt. When the
Commandments were given to Moses at Sinai, God included a commandment to the
Israelites (and to all circumcised Gentiles within the household of an
Israelite) to keep the Passover as an annual commemoration of God's goodness in
delivering Israel from slavery. A sacrificed lamb was part of the keeping of
this commandment and, in my opinion, was a prophetic sacrifice shadowing the
future Lamb of God who would sacrifice himself for the sins of all mankind.
The fulfillment came many years later when Yeshua (an Israelite) chose a
Passover feast (Seder) to give unique meaning to the unleavened bread (matzah)
and the wine that were naturally on the Passover table. At one point in the
seder he picked up the bread, blessed it, and said it was his body broken
for us, and invited his disciples to eat it in remembrance of him. Then he
picked up the cup, blessed it, and said that it was his blood -- blood of the
New Covenant -- poured out for the remission of sin. That too was a prophetic
act, since Yeshua had not yet been sacrificed, and there is no indication that
his disciples understood what he was talking about. The fulfillment of course
came when Yeshua was crucified and was resurrected.
After Yeshua's death and resurrection, his disciples, at first all Jews, spread
out to preach the Gospel of Yeshua. Some of the disciples went primarily to
places where there were Jews and others went to where there were primarily
Gentiles. Many Jews and non-Jews believed and experienced spiritual rebirth as
part of the New Covenant prophesied by Jeremiah. In those days (First Century
and part of the Second) the non-Jewish believers in Yeshua whom we now call
Christians (back then they were known by a variety of names) considered
themselves a sect of Judaism, and they considered themselves to be grafted into
a kind of Commonwealth of Israel, except that they were not circumcised (See
Romans). This was not only a spiritual reality, it was also safe, since Rome
sought to persecute and destroy most religious movements, but Judaism was an
exception in that it had a favored and protected status. So back then,
non-Jewish believers (Christians) did celebrate the Passover exactly as did the
Jews (the eastern churches called the feast pascha.
All this began to change with the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., and
culminating with the reign of the emperor Constantine. He instituted a severe
persecution of the Jews (many of whom were by this time scattered), and began to
nurture the Gentiles who proclaimed belief in Jesus but disclaimed their roots
in Judaism. So, at that point, it became highly dangerous to be considered a
sect of Judaism, and the Gentiles began to shed their outward Jewish practices.
As the Roman Church moved toward Nicea, it and the eastern churches gradually
gave up the Sabbath, stopped keeping the annual feasts, emphasized eating foods
forbidden to Jews, and stopped keeping Passover in the traditional Jewish way,
opting instead to retain the tradition of the bread and wine that they called
the Eucharist and that we call the Lord's Supper.
The Christian Church's practice of remaining separate from its Jewish roots
continued until fairly recently when God began to place on the hearts of an
increasing number of Christians, renewed understanding of their roots in Judaism
and their grafted-in status. As a result, more and more churches each year are
adopting Jewish practices long abandoned, including the keeping of Passover, the
Feast of Tabernacles and, to a lesser degree, the Sabbath.
I hope this explanation helps.
Shalom,
Michael Rudolph mrudolph@pressroom.com
Pastor, Ahavat Yeshua Congregation
____________________________________________________
As a happy and thankful part of the body of Messiah and as a Messianic
believer, I'd like to answer the question about why Christians don't celebrate
Passover like Messianic believers do.
I believe it is mostly just tradition and ignorance.
The first is that just what Paul (or Rav Shaul) warned about has happened. He
tells Gentile believers in Romans to see to it that they do not become arrogant
and puffed up and forget that Israel is the root that supports them. That is
just what happened back a few hundred years after Yeshua died and was
resurrected. Some Gentile leaders in the Body of Messiah did not understand or
value the gift God gave us in our older brother, Israel, and they distanced
themselves from the blessing G-d intended of a clear portrayal of Himself to
Israel. The result was a Messiah that was unrecognizable as a Jewish person to
the rest of Israel, and to the Church at large as well (as well as the pogroms
and Crusades and a host of other evils.) The Church leaders rejected Jewish
believers in Messiah, telling them that they had to worship on Sunday and eat
pork or they weren't real believers. Imagine telling any of Yeshua's (Jesus')
disciples that they must stop being Jewish in order to follow the Jewish
Messiah! Yet that is what the church did. As a result, we lost much of the
blessing and understanding of the treasures that God wanted for us.
Secondly, some Church leaders taught that two-thirds of the Bible is
inapplicable to us and can be ignored. Yeshua said, though, that He didn't come
to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. There has been a big misunderstanding of
what "being under the Law" means, so that enjoying the good things God meant for
us in His commands is not easily accessible to much of the church world.
For example, all the Feasts of the Lord that Leviticus details and that Jewish
tradition celebrates are all rich in symbolism and pictures of Messiah. Each
feast is about God's faithfulness and about Who Messiah is. but because the
Church world has been cut off from her Jewish roots, the joys and beauties God
intended for us in celebrating His feasts are not done by many in His extended
house.
So, the joys and beauties God intended for us in celebrating His feasts are not
done by many in His extended house . However, many many Christians are now
learning about the Jewish roots of their faith and learning about the invitation
God continues to give to come to His party and eat as His table. A good book
that your readers might enjoy as a beginner's guide to understanding and
enjoying the Feasts of the Lord is Barney Kasdan's God's Appointed Times: A
Practical Guide to Understanding and Celebrating the Biblical Holidays.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1880226545/ref=pd_bxgy_text_1/104-7925213-9836751?v=glance&s=books
God is doing a miracle in our days. He is turning the hearts of the Jewish
people to Messiah, as He promised. He is also turning the hearts of the Church
to love and appreciate the Jewish people unconditionally, helping us welcome and
appreciate the apple of His eye. There is so much in the Bible that enriches our
love and understanding of Him when we accept all of His word and allow it to
benefit us. One of those benefits is enjoying Him in the Feasts He invites us
to. :) Come and see. :)
Love in Messiah,
Pam Carnie
pcarnie@academicplanet.com
____________________________________________________
That is a very good and legitimate question. My answer is that all Christians
should be celebrating Passover. Jesus was not called the Easter Bunny but He was
and is the Passover Lamb of God. He celebrated Passover and if He did shouldn't
all of His followers. He said in Matthew that He did not come to destroy the Law
or the Prophets but He came to fulfill. When something is fulfilled or filled
full it isn't thrown out.
All the Feasts belong to the Lord in Lev. 23 it says these are My feasts says
the Lord.
The word Easter is found in only one bible version and that is King James. It is
found in Acts 12:4 and if you look up the word Easter in the concordance you
will see the word Pascha and that is Greek for Passover. So, we find the word
Easter only once and only in one bible and it is a mistranslation of the word
passover...(a demonic diabolic scheme)
The word Passover is found around 50 times in the Older Covenant and almost 30
times in the New Covenant. That is about 80 times. When God mentions something
80 times I believe it is an important topic. Of course it is because that is
when the Messiah of Israel and Savior of the world was crucified and fulfilled
that very feast of the Lord. There are two other feasts he fulfilled during
Passover week. He fulfilled the Feast of unleavened bread and the Feast of first
fruits.The whole week is so powerful in it's prophetic understanding.
Christians have been robbed of their heritage.
All the Feasts of the Lord should be celebrated by Christians and should be
celebrated with Messianic Jews. This why we have a big Passover Seder
celebration every year for all of God's kids both Jew and Gentile together as
One New Man!
Blessings to you, Rabbi Barry oh-yah@juno.com
____________________________________________________
Shalom,
Sure, I will be able to help out. According to good Church history books, the
Church DID celebrate the Passover at the same time as the Jewish people, that
is, until Constantine forbade it. The Western Church stopped celebrating it some
time before the Eastern Church did. One of Constantine's most significant
changes wasn't the cessation of the Passover celebration - it was the official
change of the Sabbath from the biblical one (Friday, sundow to Saturday sundown)
to Sunday. The reason for these changes in the Church was a prevailing anti-semitism
that began to emerge after the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. After that
time, and especially after the Bar Kochbah rebellion of 135 C.E., the Church,
now dominated by non-Jews sought to remove the Jewishness from the Church.
Hope this helps. Some good books: THE CHURCH AND THE JEWS, The Biblical
Relatonship, by Danie Gruber copyright 1991, General Council of the Assemblies
of God; another one: EErdman's Handbook to the History o Christianity, copyright
1977, Wm. B. Eerdman's Publishing Co., and Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History,
copyright 1989, Baker Book House.
Shalom,
Rabbi Bruce R. Booker brucebooker@msn.com
____________________________________________________
Below is a brief article that I wrote for our congregation that explains why
we celebrate Passover each year and not Easter. The most obvious reason is that
Yeshua (Jesus) celebrated Passover not Easter. His Talmidim (Taught Ones)
followed His example. Rav Shaul (Rabbi Paul) did as well as he states in 1 Cor.
11:1, "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Messiah (Christ). In
reference to keeping the Passover, Paul states in 1 Cor. 5:7-8, "...For even
Messiah our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the Feast..."
Colossians 2:17 states that the Passover and other Festivals are a "a shadow of
things to come" and will teach us about Yeshua's second coming. During the
observance of the Passover Seder there are both elements that remind us about
Yeshua's first coming as a Lamb, as well as His second coming as King.
Not all Messianics use a lamb during their Passover Seder. At our congregation,
we see that Yeshua used Matzah (unleaven bread) to represent the lamb sacrifice,
His sacrifice.
Most Christians are ignorant concerning church history and continue to follow
"bad traditions" taught by the church. Yeshua considered a "bad tradition" one
that "transgress the commandment of God." Clearly, if we replace the observance
of Passover with the tradition of Easter, we are teaching people to transgress
the commandment to "keep the Feast." This may seem strong but it is my
understanding of Scripture.
In Yeshua, Richard
bailey331@earthlink.net
PASSOVER VS EASTER
Introduction:
Each spring, millions of people around the world observe 2 special (but
separate) religious observances known as Easter and Passover. Often questions
are asked such as: What do they have in common? Why aren’t they observed at the
same time? This pamphlet will attempt to answer these questions.
Historical Overview of Passover:
Easter and Passover are historically connected to each other via the early
churches of Rome, Judea and of Asia Minor. For 1400 years Passover (Pesach) was
observed by the nation of Israel as commanded by G-d in Exodus 12:14. It
commemorated the Exodus (lead by Moses) out of Egypt. However, with the coming
of Y-shua HaMashiach (Jesus the Christ) and His followers, the Passover festival
took on a different dimension of understanding. According to Y-shua’s teachings
(Matt 26, Luke 22) and of those of His followers, such as Rav Shaul (Apostle
Paul), elements of the Passover pointed to Y-shua’s mission of leading others
from the bondage of sin (1 Cor 5:7).
For approximately 100 years after His ascension, Y-shua’s followers (both Jew
and Non-Jew), which constituted the early church, continued to observe Passover;
looking back at Israel’s redemption and how it fore-shadowed their own.
Bar Kochba Revolt:
In the year 132 A.D. a dramatic event occurred that changed the practices and
theological orientation of the early church. This event was the second Jewish
revolt (which failed) led by Bar Kochba against the Roman occupation of Judea.
As a result of this revolt, the Romans took stern measures to suppress the
Jewish people and their religious practices. An edict was given to prohibit all
Jewish people from entering Jerusalem for 100 years.
Paganism Infiltrates Church Doctrine:
This dramatically changed the ethnic composition of the early church leadership,
which at that time was profoundly Jewish. As a result, many pagan (non
biblical/heathen) religious practices became a part of the early church’s
theology. In addition, anything “Jewish” was done away with or altered because
of pressure from Rome. Not conforming to these measures meant certain
persecution or death.
An example of this was when two early church fathers, Polycarp and Polycrates,
disciples of the Apostles John and Phillip, refused to change observance from
the Scriptural Passover day (Nisan 14) to the Roman instituted Easter-Sunday.
They were excommunicated as heretics.
By the middle of the fourth century, most churches had already transferred their
celebration of the L-rd’s Passover to the Sunday after the Jewish feast. But
certain churches in Asian Minor held to the Biblical date, Nisan 14, for which
they were denounced as “judaizing.” The Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, decreed
that all churches should observe the feast together on Sunday. Constantine, the
Emperor at that time, stated, “Let us then have nothing in common with the
detestable Jewish crowd.”
Sadly, the same attitude is still present in the majority of Christianity today.
But the observance of Passover by believers in Y-shua continues to grow;
especially among those of us involved in Messianic Judaism. Of course, Jews who
do not recognize Y-shua as Messiah, continue to keep the traditional Passover as
taught in the book of Exodus.
Easter Traditions:
One example of pagan infiltration into the church’s theology and practice is
today’s Easter traditions.
For instance, “hot cross buns” of Good Friday and the dyed eggs of Easter Sunday
once figured into Chaldean idol worship. The “buns” (Boun) were used in the
worship of the queen of heaven, Astarte, the fertility goddess, as early as the
days of Cecrops, the founder of Athens, that is, 1500 years before the Christian
era.
Offered to the gods, these sacred cakes or Bouns were believed to be the ones
mentioned in the book of Jeremiah 7:18 “The children gather wood, the fathers
kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of
heaven.” Of course, today these are not offered but are eaten on the festival of
Easter.
As for eggs, they were sacred emblems of the ancient Druids, the Hindoo, the
Japanese, the Chinese, and were used in religious rites of the Egyptians and the
Greeks for mystic purposes in their temples. The Persians and Egyptians colored
eggs and ate them during their new year’s celebration at the spring equinox.
Pagan festivals celebrating spring included fire and “sunrise” celebrations long
before the Christian era. Both later became part of Easter celebrations. The
“Easter Bunny” is associated with fertility.
Conclusions:
Knowing the above information, we must ask ourselves this question, “Is it
important to G-d which days we celebrate and how we celebrate them?” The Torah
(Lev. 18:30, Deut. 12:31) admonishes those who worship the G-d of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob not to follow the practices of the nations. We are also told
not to follow the ways of the world for the L-rd is a jealous G-d (Exodus 20:5).
In I Cor. 10:14-22, Paul talking to the believers in Corinth stated, “Therefore,
my dear friends, flee from idolatry...” In fact, the whole message Paul is
conveying in this chapter is not to mix Passover with the feasts of idols
(demons).
Scripture instructs us to keep Passover in the same manner as Y-shua and Paul
did. Paul states in I Cor. 11:1, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of
Messiah.”
We must remember that G-d is holy, and we are to love Him with our whole heart;
letting Him be glorified in all aspects of our lives. 1 Peter 1:15-16 states,
“But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is
written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy!’”
References:
Seven Festivals of The Messiah, E. Chumney
Yeshua-The Guide to the Real Jesus and the Original Church, Dr. Ron Moseley
The Two Babylons, Rev. Alexander Hislop
From Sabbath to Sunday, Samuele Bacchiocchi
Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 16
The NIV Study Bible, Zondervan
The New Book of Knowledge, Vol
____________________________________________________
There are many reasons for this that have to do with the history of the
Church, but I would like to focus on a point that I believe most have
overlooked. In this day, many Believers are beginning to celebrate the Passover.
They are awakening to the truth of their Hebraic roots. However, people often
make a mistake in encouraging Christians to celebrate Passover by saying they
should celebrate Passover instead of the Resurrection. "Instead of" is key to
what I want to say, so please keep that point in mind. Also, please do not think
I am upholding anything that has to do with paganism. While we all need to turn
from the pagan practices that have crept into the Christian celebration of the
Resurrection, we need to celebrate the Resurrection because it is the
fulfillment of the often overlooked feast of First Fruits. Passover commemorates
the death of the lamb. All who know the Lamb of God need to understand and
commemorate this important feast, because the Lamb, Messiah Yeshua, died in our
place. But we should not learn to celebrate Passover at the expense of
remembering Messiah Yeshua's Resurrection. Perhaps some unknowingly resist the
move to celebrate the Passover because it is so often mistakenly tied to leaving
behind the glorious truth of the Resurrection. As we begin to return to our
Hebraic Roots, and to celebrate the feasts of Israel, let us not forget that
little known yet all-important feast that is First Fruits. Not only did the Lamb
die in our place, He was raised from the dead and that is our hope! Let us cling
to it. For more information please see my book, Israel's Feasts and their
Fullness http://www.mim.net/Store/Books/IsraelsFeasts.shtml
Shalom in Yeshua, Batya Wootten batya@mim.net
www.messianicisrael.com
____________________________________________________
This question is too good. I have no idea why Christians do not celebrate Passover. I as a Jewish believer celebrate it. My wife as a "Christian" celebratetes it. Everyone I know in the Hebraic Community I am part of celebrates it. I believe the only answer I can give is that it is from a lack of reading and understanding the Word of God that a Christian does not celebrate the Passover. Shalom,
Nathan nathan@mjmi.org
____________________________________________________
It is funny how little of our
Christian history we actually know! Most of us who are raised in Sunday School
can tell the stories, in detail, of Noah, Abraham, Joseph and his multi-colored
coat, the crossing of the Red Sea, David & Goliath, the 3 Hebrew children, Jonah
and the whale, etc. without once thinking of the fact that all these stories are
Jewish history.
Jesus was a Jew that knew every one of these stories, but he knew them as the
life of His ancestors and ultimately his way of life. The Jews passed these
stories down from generation to generation because God told them to. Ex.
12:25-28; Deut. 4:10; Deut. 6:7; & Ps. 132:12 We don't see them from that
perspective because we haven't been taught the Christian stories of those who
made Christian history for the past 2000 years. We, as Christians, have lost our
heritage because we have not passed our Christian heritage down to our children
from generation to generation.
Without the 'Jewish history stories' (like Passover), all we have is a new
religion that was started 2000 years ago. Jesus was and is the Jewish Messiah
and the Jewish Passover story is THE most important story of all. It tells of
why and how we are 'redeemed'!
Jesus celebrated passover every year of His life (John 13:1-17 and it is
recorded in all the other gospels). The Messianic Jews (Christian is a Greek
term applied much later), celebrated Passover and all the God given festivals
long after the ressurection. If you knew the history of Chritianity for the past
2000 years - you would know why most Christians no longer celebrate Passover and
all the other festivals. All our history (good and bad) is found in any
Encyclopedia.
We believe it is important to know Jewish history, because it is our Messiah's
heritage. If we are grafted in (Rom. 11), then it is our heritage also. But, if
you stop at the end of Paul's letters - you will loose the last 2000 years of
our heritage. Believe me - it is not as good as the first 2000 years. As a
Messianic believer, I want to know where I have come from and why my Messiah did
the things He did. Why He lived the life He lived and why He died the death He
had to die.
We celebrate Passover every year along with all the other 'Appointed Times'
because the God of Jesus Christ told us to. (Leviticus chapter 23) When we do
what He has told us to do - it tells us who He is!
John 14:15 - If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:21 - He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that
loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love
him, and will manifest myself to him.
John 15:10 - If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I
have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
1John 5:2 - By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God,
and keep his commandments.
1John 5:3 - For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his
commandments are not grievous.
2John 1:6 - And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the
commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
Tell me - What bible and what commandments did John have when he wrote these
scriptures??? He has commanded us to participate in Passover.
I have tried to keep this to a minimum, but as this is a loaded question - the
full answer would take pages. I only hope this helps and does not discourage.
Mark Smith
Mark Smith maintains the largest directory of Messianic web sites on the
internet. He has been a Worship Leader in several churches for the past 25 years
and has written 12 books on prayer. He and his wife, Donna, minister God's word
in Spirit and Truth to all those who seek a true relaitionship with the One True
God af Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
producer@terraworld.net
http://www.messianicdirectory.com
http://www.messianicmarketplace.com
http://www.talmidimpublishing.com
____________________________________________________
This is a good question and one that I think requires a fairly exhaustive
answer. It seems that today there are many Christians that are asking this same
thing. There are many people that are starting to question the holy days that
God set up.
Background: The question asked is; Why don't Christians celebrate the Passover?
It begins around 325 AD when Emperor Constantine charged the Council of Nicea to
convene. Constantine had allegedly became a Christian while out fighting a
battle. It's said that he saw a cross in the sky and this is how he knew that
God was the true God and made Christianity / Catholocism the official Roman
religion. In a political move, he married paganism and Christianity together.
The two main Christian holidays, Christmas and Easter, had been taken from pagan
holidays, Saturnalia and Ishtar (Easter). New names were given to the characters
of the stories and now we have Christian holidays. This was done so that both
the pagans under his rule and the Christains would follow under his lead.
The Biblical Answer: Today the Feasts are recognized as the "Jewish Holidays".
But infact, if you look into the Torah (5 books of Moses) you'll find something
different.
"Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, [Concerning] the feasts
of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim [to be] holy convocations, [even] these
[are] my feasts" (Lev. 23:2)
Take notice that these are not Jewish feasts. They are the Feasts of the LORD.
In other places he commands that these be done forever. Without going into why
it's not only Israel that should keep these feasts, I'd like to take you to the
New Testament.
"Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are
unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 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." (1
Corinthians 5:7-8)
Notice that Paul, talking to the Corinthians (Gentiles), states that Yeshua is
our passove lamb. He then goes on to say "Therefore let us keep the feast".....
Not, if you decide to keep the feast, or remember when the Jews are keeping the
feast. We, including Gentile Christians, are to keep the feast but keep in mind
that the leaven represents sin. And that through Messiah we have the
opportuntity to see his example of a totally unleavened life. We're to keep it
with Him in mind. As Messiah stated at the last Seder, when you do this, do it
in remembrance of me. When we do what? He lifted the afikomen (unleavened bread
that would be broken, wrapped in linen and hidden and revealed again) up and
blessed it. He told us, when we keep this passover seder, do it in rememberance
of Him. Not only in rememberance of what God did for us as we came out of Egypt,
but also what God did for us when he sent his Messiah.
Should Christians keep the Passover? Yes, in my opinion, and as it seems, in the
opinion of Paul as well. These Feasts are not Jewish Feasts per se. They are
God's feasts and he's given them to us to be a reminder of things past as well
as Messianic prophecy. Only the Spring and the Summer feasts have been
fulfilled. We're still awaiting the secong coming of Messiah which will fulfill
the three Fall feasts, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Feast of
Tabernacles.
In Conclusion: As stated earlier, Constantine later decreed this to be unlawful.
Instead they were supposed to convert over to these other holidays. It was so
much that those who refused to reject the things of God would be killed. There
were many that died at the hands of the Romans for this very thing. You can do a
study on who he was and what he did as the Emperor of Rome. I encourage you to
keep the Passover this year. Learn what it's about, and why God said to do it in
the first place. Unfortunately I can't write the book needed to explain this one
subject.
Thank you for your question and may the Peace of God live within you,
The Lord bless you and keep you, Michael Castro
kehilathamishpacha@alaska.com
____________________________________________________
As a happy and thankful part of the body of Messiah and as a Messianic
believer, I'd like to answer the question about why Christians don't celebrate
Passover like Messianic believers do.
I believe it is mostly just tradition and ignorance.
The first is that just what Paul (or Rav Shaul) warned about has happened. He
tells Gentile believers in Romans to see to it that they do not become arrogant
and puffed up and forget that Israel is the root that supports them. That is
just what happened back a few hundred years after Yeshua died and was
resurrected. Some Gentile leaders in the Body of Messiah did not understand or
value the gift God gave us in our older brother, Israel, and they distanced
themselves from the blessing G-d intended of a clear portrayal of Himself to
Israel. The result was a Messiah that was unrecognizable as a Jewish person to
the rest of Israel, and to the Church at large as well (as well as the pogroms
and Crusades and a host of other evils.) The Church leaders rejected Jewish
believers in Messiah, telling them that they had to worship on Sunday and eat
pork or they weren't real believers. Imagine telling any of Yeshua's (Jesus')
disciples that they must stop being Jewish in order to follow the Jewish
Messiah! Yet that is what the church did. As a result, we lost much of the
blessing and understanding of the treasures that God wanted for us.
Secondly, some Church leaders taught that two-thirds of the Bible is
inapplicable to us and can be ignored. Yeshua said, though, that He didn't come
to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. There has been a big misunderstanding of
what "being under the Law" means, so that enjoying the good things God meant for
us in His commands is not easily accessible to much of the church world.
For example, all the Feasts of the Lord that Leviticus details and that Jewish
tradition celebrates are all rich in symbolism and pictures of Messiah. Each
feast is about God's faithfulness and about Who Messiah is. but because the
Church world has been cut off from her Jewish roots, the joys and beauties God
intended for us in celebrating His feasts are not done by many in His extended
house.
So, the joys and beauties God intended for us in celebrating His feasts are not
done by many in His extended house . However, many many Christians are now
learning about the Jewish roots of their faith and learning about the invitation
God continues to give to come to His party and eat as His table. A good book
that your readers might enjoy as a beginner's guide to understanding and
enjoying the Feasts of the Lord is Barney Kasdan's God's Appointed Times: A
Practical Guide to Understanding and Celebrating the Biblical Holidays.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1880226545/ref=pd_bxgy_text_1/104-7925213-9836751?v=glance&s=books
God is doing a miracle in our days. He is turning the hearts of the Jewish
people to Messiah, as He promised. He is also turning the hearts of the Church
to love and appreciate the Jewish people unconditionally, helping us welcome and
appreciate the apple of His eye. There is so much in the Bible that enriches our
love and understanding of Him when we accept all of His word and allow it to
benefit us. One of those benefits is enjoying Him in the Feasts He invites us
to. Come and see.
Love in Messiah,
P. J.
____________________________________________________
The answer to your question goes to thought and teaching. It appears that the
vast majority of the church knows little or nothing about the Passover, other
Feasts, or the Jewish Roots of their faith. First, we must understand that the
Passover is a Feast of G~D, not a Jewish Feast. It is not a "jew thing" , it is
a "G~D thing". Shemos/Exodus 12:14 gives us the command for the Feast. It
states, "This day shall become a rememberance for you and you shall celebrate it
as a Festival for HaShem (G~D); for your generations, as an eternal decree shall
you celebrate it." So we now have a problem. What does HaShem mean when He says
eternal? If eternal simply means until the day of Messiah, then we have a new
definition which needs to be carried out in the New Testament. I for one will
stick with the traditional definition.
The next problem would be found in Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:17. Y'shua (Jesus)states
that, "Don't think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have
come not to abolish, but to complete. (18) Yes indeed! I tell you that until
heaven and earth pass away, not so much as one yud or single stroke of a pen
will pass from the Torah--not until everything that must happen has happened."
This tells us that the instructions found in Torah are as valid today as when
they were placed in the heart and hand of Moses.
Now we get to the "last supper". Matthew 28:29 states, "I tell you, I will not
drink this fruit of the vine again, until the day I drink new wine with you in
My Father's Kingdom." This "last supper" was the Passover Seder meal. In Exodus
we are told Passover is eternal. It is so important to HaShem, that it is even
celebrated in heaven! Thus it goes on from year to year forever!
The bottom line is this: If Passover is dead and done away with, then HaShem
either changed His mind or lied to us. I think He is incapable of either. Thus
we do these things to honor the Father, and we now celebrate what Y'shua did for
us in our Passover celebration.
I would challenge you to go through the Torah (first 5 books of the bible) and
underline the word "everlasting", "forever", "eternal", "perpetual" each time
you find them. Then do a self-examination to see what you truly do to honor
HaShem in these "forever" commands.
Rabbi Bob Hansen GOLDAMIEAR@aol.com
____________________________________________________
To begin with, there is a false assumption. Thousands of Christians are
celebrating the Passover. They realized that they have been deprived of the full
knowledge and experience that the whole counsel of God provides for them. My
ministry has been filling this void for years.
We have a Messianic Passover Haggadah for Christians so they can experience a
Passover Seder like Yeshua did. We also have two Passover Family Packs for those
who want a fuller experience of Passover. They are available through our
website: www.messianicjewish.net ,
or by calling 1-800-410-7367.
The fact that Christians haven't historically celebrated Passover, as well as
other biblical holidays, has more to do with a misunderstanding that took place
in the first three centuries of the Church taught that the Church replaced the
Jewish people as the "chosen people."
With that concept, Christians saw no reason to reach back to contact their
Jewish roots. This error is beginning to change in this generation. We have been
privileged to help bring this about.
Barry A. Rubin president@messianicjewish.net
