What Does The Bible Say About Passover?
Passover is commonly a Jewish tradition that commemorates God freeing His people (the Israelites) from slavery, in Egypt. The religious festival of Passover is a seven day celebration that begins on the 14th of Nisan (which is in March or April) at sunset. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is included in the Passover festival, as well as the Seder meal. During this time, people who celebrate Passover will rejoice over the Israelites being delivered from the hands of Pharaoh.
Now, Passover can be celebrated to commemorate the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The blood of the Passover lamb was a representation for the coming of and sacrifice of Jesus. Jesus Christ is the Passover Lamb (Exodus 12:21, 1 Corinthians 5:7).
Should Christians Celebrate Passover?
Jesus Himself celebrated Passover before He was brought to trial, beaten, crucified and resurrected. He broke bread with His disciples and said that it was His body, which He gave up for us, and took wine and said that it represented His blood of the new testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins (Matthew 26:26-28).
As Jesus is the Passover Lamb, it is therefore something that we, as Christians should commemorate each year. We are reminded of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us, the sufferings that He endured, and the death that He overcame, when He was nailed to the cross at Calvary. Our sins were nailed to the cross, too.
How Do You Celebrate Passover?
You can celebrate this time by following the instructions of the Lord’s Supper as written in 1 Corinthians 11:23-34.
For many Christians who celebrate Passover, they begin the service by explaining the meaning of Passover and why it is celebrated. Then, they wash the feet of the congregation (John 13). Next, there is the unleavened bread, and wine, representing the body and blood of our Lord and Savior (which is often known as communion). Each Church member is given some bread, and wine.
When you participate in celebrating Passover, you are reminded of all that Jesus has done for you, and why He died for you. You get to reflect upon the free gift that God has given you, through accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior (Acts 4:10-12; Romans 8:32). The free gift of salvation; eternal life in Heaven with Him (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 6:23).
What About Easter?
Me, personally, I do not celebrate Easter because it is not based upon the Bible. The original concept behind Easter is Pagan.
Easter (“Ishtar”, “Astarte” or “ashtaroth”) is a pagan religious holiday that has nothing to do with Jesus. Ashtaroth (means ‘queen of heaven’) is one of the names for the Babylonian goddess, Semeramis. The pagan festival of ‘Easter’ was introduced into Western religion, as an attempt to intertwine pagan festivals with Christianity.
The pagan symbols associated with Easter were also adopted by the Catholic Church, many many years after Christ ascended into Heaven. For example, the ishtar eggs has nothing to do with the resurrection of Jesus. Eggs were dipped in the blood of infants at the altar of Ishtar (the fertility goddess). Furthermore, in Jeremiah 7:18, it explains this pagan tradition that many would celebrate as a means to worship their false gods.
We, as Christians, are commanded to worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). It is a dishonor to God to participate in these pagan traditions/rituals.
This doesn’t mean that we reject the resurrection of Jesus. Without it, there would be no salvation from sin. We should oppose any pagan, religious, man-made traditions and doctrines and only follow God and His Word. That is why I spoke about Passover and why Christians should celebrate it, because we can see that the foundation for it is Biblical.
I hope that what I have to share encourages you during this time and has helped you better understand what Passover is, why Christians should celebrate it and the differences between Passover and Easter.
Don’t forget to subscribe to my FREE resources library! I just added a new resource which is a 40 Day Bible reading plan for Passover.
Thanks for sharing this valuable information. I have never celebrated Passover however I’m going to take it upon myself to learn more about it now. I also have always wondered where on earth eggs came from when it comes to Easter. Thanks for sharing. Crazy to think that traditions from a pagan holiday are part of Easter. Good article.
Thank you Yolanda, and yes for sure, do some research about it all 🙂
I had no idea about the pagan beginnings of Easter! Shocking.
Yeah!
Wow I was so surprised to read that the history behind Easter is actually Pagan. I haven’t celebrated Passover before, but it’s something we could definitely start doing as a family.
I dont think many people talk about it tbh, and that is why I felt led to speak out about it.
Love this. Thank you for showing the history of Easter and the meaning behind so much of the tradition.
Thank you! And of course!
Thank you so much for sharing! We are Christians that don’t celebrate Passover, but I always love to hear other views on the topic. We also don’t celebrate Easter as Easter, but instead as Resurrection Sunday.
Of course! I have been the same – commemorating Resurrection Sunday!
I am glad that I read this post as, to my shame, I didn´t know much about the tradition of Passover. Thank you for the info!
Of course! Thanks for reading!
Well explained article about the Passover. I have not celebrated it myself. But now looking forward to using this time to reflect on it and commemorate Jesus sacrifice. With Easter, I was a Catholic before being born again Christian and I must say I never really thought I’d relate eggs with Easter until the family migrated to a western country.
Sounds like a good idea about celebrating Passover!! Even just looking further into it is a great idea!
Thanks for sharing. We are Christian and celebrate Passover, Good Friday, and Easter. Our Easter is a day to celebrate Resurrection Day. But, I love and appreciate hearing how others approach this holiday season. And I enjoyed reading the history your shared on Easter.
Thank you Leah!
This was a really good read. I had no idea about Passover or what it was about. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks so much!
Thank you so much for sharing about this. It’s so important!
Absolutely!
Thank you for sharing this information. I learned more about both Passover and Easter.
Oh awesome!
It is always interesting to read more about holidays and traditions.
For sure!
You know I did not know a lot of this. Thanks for sharing!
No worries, Nicole!
Very eye opening post! Thank you Sacha … ❤
Thank you Donna!!
This was very informative! Thanks for sharing!
Of course and thank you!