The Biblical Answer

Passover is an important Jewish tradition and holiday. It commemorates how God made His angel of death pass over the Israelites in the book of Exodus, saved them from captivity, and reaffirmed His promise to His chosen people. Today, many Christians see the value in celebrating Passover for themselves.

Should Christians celebrate Passover? Yes, Christians should celebrate Passover and already do so through communion. Christians don’t have to celebrate Passover to be saved but celebrate it because it is a way to remember as a family and as the Body of Christ what Jesus has done for us.

Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.

Exodus 12:17 NIV

What the Bible Says about Passover

During the 10 plagues in Exodus, God’s angel killed all the firstborn sons in Egypt so that the Israelites could go free and begin to follow God as He lead them to the promised land.

This foreshadowed the death of God’s Son, Jesus, as He not just passed over our sins, but took them on Himself and rose again so that we could have eternal life with Him.

The apostle Paul knows about the sacrifice Jesus made and addresses the Corinthians about the Passover and how not to submit to the guilt of the law anymore, but to celebrate in freedom with sincerity and truth.

Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch-as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1 Corinthians 5:7-8 NIV

We can honor God as we celebrate, and what better way to do that than to acknowledge Jesus Christ Himself and His sacrifice for us?

Celebrate in Freedom

God doesn’t want us to feel like we have to do everything right and we certainly don’t have to follow every rule about Passover in the Old Testament.Communion

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

Luke 22:19-20 NIV

Communion is a common practice that the Body of Christ carries out together in remembrance of what Jesus accomplished for us. It is not a requirement of salvation, but instead an expression of our reverence and gratitude for God.

Celebration Time

This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.

Exodus 12:14 NIV

After God had saved Moses and the Israelites from the Egyptians, God gives them specific commands on how to carry out the preparations for the Passover and how to keep it.

God says one thing will last forever: generations will celebrate Passover as a festival for the Lord and to bring him glory.

Though we don’t have to keep to all the Old Testament laws because Jesus came to establish a new law of freedom, we can use that freedom to keep the festival of Passover and worship God.

The Importance of Passover

Christians should celebrate Passover because the Bible is clear on its importance of using celebration as a way to remember God’s goodness and praise Him for it, especially for Jesus’ sacrifice for us.

Ultimately, Jesus did it for love so that we could all celebrate together in heaven.

“When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

In heaven, we will all celebrate Passover and commemorate Jesus’ sacrifice together. That should be the hope for our families and churches as we celebrate Passover now, remembering the faithfulness, graciousness, love, and sacrifice of God.

The Gospel of John 3:16-17 says: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

Here we see it. The message of Easter is the message of God’s love for the world. And because of this enormous love, He has come to save the world. He came into the pain and, after all the heartache, the empty tomb… The Resurrection, the very center of hope, where Jesus is victoriously giving us forgiveness, a new start and victory over death. Be encouraged!

From our Hearts to yours…Happy Easter!

May Christ be truly RISEN in your hearts today!