What is Passover?

Over the weekend, Passover was celebrated around the world. What is Passover and what is its significance to Christians?

Passover commemorates when the Israelites smeared lamb’s blood on their doorposts to protect their first born from the final plague that struck Pharoah and all of the Egyptians.

In Exodus 12, God instructs the Israelites to obtain a perfect male lamb with no defects and slaughter it at twilight on the 14th day of the month of Nisan. Then the Israelites were to take some of the blood and put it on the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs that night. God states in verse 10 that this is the Lord’s Passover. We continue in verses 12-14,

[12] “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. [13] The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. [14] “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."

The next day, the Israelites escaped the bondage of Egypt and packed unleavened bread for their journey. This special season foreshadowed the sacrifice of our perfect Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ, who died for all mankind, freeing us from the bondage of sin and death. We read in John 13:1,

"It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father."

Just as the Israelite’s firstborn were protected by the blood of a sacrificed lamb, we are protected by the sacrificial blood of Christ as we read in John 3:16,

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

And Jesus tells us in John 10:28,

"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand."

The day of Passover is just the beginning of a series of special days appointed by God. The Days of Unleavened Bread, which immediately follows Passover, reminds us to put sin out of our lives as Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 5:7-8,

“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”

On the Sunday after Passover, the Israelites celebrated the firstfruit of their harvest. This foreshadows Christ’s Sunday resurrection as he was the firstfruit of all mankind to be resurrected, overcoming death. As we read in I Corinthians 15:20,

“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

God provided the exact days to commemorate the sacrifice of Jesus and his resurrection, so why does the biblical Passover season and Easter not land on the same days?

This is due to the use of different calendars and traditions. The date of Passover is based upon the Hebrew Calendar instituted in the bible...while Easter is based upon the Gregorian Calendar which was instituted by a Pope in 1582.

In addition, Passover has a fixed date of Nisan 14th while Easter has a movable date which means it can occur anywhere between March 22nd and April 25th depending on the date of the first full moon after the spring equinox.

Most Christians commemorate His death on Good Friday and His resurrection on Easter day...and that is okay. The actual date that we commemorate these events is not important.

What is important is that we continually remember the great sacrifice made by our perfect Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ. And that we continually strive to put sin out of our lives as we are new in Christ. And that we continually praise God for giving His one and only Son, demonstrating His everlasting love, mercy and forgiveness to each and every one of us.
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