PASSOVER IS WHEN?
PASSOVER IS WHEN?
Guess what? Passover
is this week – beginning at sundown on Friday, April 22nd. How does that work? “Resurrection Sunday” was celebrated on March
27th!!!
Didn’t Jesus and His disciples gather for their last
PASSOVER Seder on earth the night before Jesus was crucified? Shouldn’t Easter – “Resurrection Sunday” - be
celebrated after Passover? Yes! In fact, Scripture teaches that Jesus was
crucified ON the day of Passover. Matt.
26:2 – You know that
after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be
crucified. He rose three days later.
So – what
happened this year? Have we celebrated
Jesus’ resurrection prior to observing His crucifixion?
The Jewish religious calendar is lunar with several leap
years incorporated seven times over the course of a 19-year cycle. The leap years allow for Chanukah always to
occur in the winter and for Passover always to occur in the spring. We, in the West, follow a solar
calendar.
In Leviticus 23, God set the time for the Feasts of the Lord
that He gave to Israel which vividly point to the Messiah and to God’s
timeframe for His end times plan.
Passover was the first feast. God
instructed the people to celebrate Passover on the 14th day of Nisan
(the first month on the Jewish religious calendar). God is specific; He is detailed! However, in 325 AD, at the Council of Nicaea,
under the reign of Emperor Constantine, the date to celebrate Easter was
determined: Easter was to be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first
full moon of spring (after the vernal equinox).
The “appointed times” are
the seven feasts of the Lord. Mow’ed is the Hebrew for “appointed
times”. God gave the children of Israel
seven feasts in their set seasons. Ya-ad
is the root word for feasts which means “to be set.” “Appointed times” means that these feasts are
FIXED – they are not going to change.
“Appointed times” means to MEET by appointment. What a beautiful picture of God’s heart! God is a personal God Whose desire is to meet
with man – for relationship – for communion – for fellowship – and to teach man
His plan for them individually and for the world! And, He does so through the feasts.
I am thankful that this
season, the time for presenting Passover Seders, has been essentially
extended. God has given me the privilege
of sharing Passover at churches prior to “Resurrection Sunday” as well as
throughout April and into May – at churches and also among Jewish people who do
not yet know Him. Many Jewish people who
have not placed their trust in Jesus know nothing about the Passover lambs that
we read of in Exodus 12! Exodus is part
of the Torah that is in the Tanakh, the Hebrew Scriptures. The focus during a typical Jewish Passover
Seder among Jewish people who have not come to faith in Jesus is NOT on the
Passover lamb. The focus appears to be
on the matzah!? What a joy to share
Exodus 12 with our Jewish friends and acquaintances. Exodus 12 highlights the blood of the
Passover lambs – the blood applied to the lintel and doorposts of homes obeying
God’s instructions at that first Passover – the blood that provided deliverance
for the children of Israel – the blood that kept the firstborn in the homes
with the blood applied on the lintel and doorposts from death. God’s deliverance of the children of Israel
from bondage to slavery in Egypt at that first Passover was through the blood
of the Passover lambs – looking forward to His provision of deliverance from
bondage to sin through the blood of the perfect Passover Lamb, Jesus. Should God give you opportunities to share
this truth with a Jewish person, expect to see raised eyebrows and hear
questions. Be prepared! But then, we always need to be prepared!
What adventures God gives
us! All glory to HIM!
Cathy
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