Passover is a beautiful holiday that, like all of the Biblical holidays, I feel gets overlooked by many of today's believers. So I have come up with 6 reasons why I think every believer in Jesus should celebrate Passover.
1) It's Biblical
There are 7 holidays that God specifically tells us to celebrate (check out Leviticus 23) in the Bible, and Passover is the first one. No matter where you stand on the whole Torah/Old Testament/Covenant to-keep-or-not-to-keep controversy, it is still clear that these holy days belong to no one but God Himself. He created them as yearly reminders of who He is, what He's done, and what He will do. Celebrating these holidays that God custom made for us can draw us close to Him and show us aspects of His character that we may otherwise overlook.
2) It's Mindblowing
Every year as my family celebrates Passover, it seems like I have some new revelation or realization that just blows me away. In our home, we do a semi-traditional Passover Seder (order of the service/dinner) that uses many Biblically based traditions that the Jewish people have been using for centuries. Every year I am just floored by how much I see Jesus in these Jewish traditions! And every year I discover a little more of the deep intricacy of the whole Passover story and how God designed it so that Jesus would fit the bill perfectly when the time came for Him to be our Passover sacrifice. It's something that you think you already know until you really start learning about it.
3) The Feast of Unleavened Bread
Many people think that Passover and Unleavened Bread are one and the same, but this is not true. If you've heard anyone say anything about "Passover week," then they were mistaken because Passover isn't even really a full day. The Passover occurs "between the evenings" (between sundown and complete darkness) on the 14th day of Aviv (the first month on the Hebrew calendar). Unleavened bread is actually a separate holiday that starts on the next day, although we do start eating unleavened bread at Passover. The Feast of Unleavened Bread ties right into Passover, especially for believers in Jesus. Right after we celebrate not only God bringing His people out of bondage in Egypt, but also Him later bringing His people out of the bondage of sin through Jesus' sacrifice, we then celebrate 7 days of abstaining from leaven and cleansing our bodies and homes of it, symbolically cleansing our lives of sin. Not only are we reminded that, because of Jesus, we can do this cleansing, we are also reminded that we have to do our part in turning from our sins in order to receive complete cleansing from them.
4) First Fruits
Passover is when we celebrate the death and sacrifice of Jesus, and First Fruits (a holiday that happens during the Feast of Unleavened Bread when the first fruits of the barley would be presented/given to God at the Tabernacle/Temple, and also when we start counting the omer -- 50 days until Shavuot/Pentecost) is when we celebrate Him rising from the dead, therefore becoming the first fruits of the resurrected. First Fruits is celebrated on the day after the Sabbath (7th day of the week; a day of rest) after Unleavened Bread starts, so it's not always on the same day of the month, although it is always on the same day of the week every year. In the year that Jesus was crucified on Passover, First Fruits fell on the 17th day of Aviv, which just happened to be the day that Jesus rose from the dead! Coincidence? I think not.
Most Christians celebrate this without realizing on Easter or Resurrection Sunday. Jesus' death is kind of celebrated on Good Friday, and sometimes Passover is celebrated or looked at on Maundy Thursday, which is great. I think everyone should celebrate all of it! If you celebrate Passover before First Fruits/Easter/Resurrection Sunday, then the latter holds so much more significance and is so much more sacred.
5) God Told Us To
We are told several times throughout the Torah (first 5 books of the Bible, also known as the Pentateuch and/or God's instructions for how we should live our lives) that we are to celebrate Passover from generation to generation forever. And that was back when it was only to commemorate Him leading His people out of Egypt. How much more should we keep it now that we are also celebrating His Son dying a horrible and undeserved death to free us from the bondage of sin?
6) Coconut Macaroons
Okay, homemade coconut macaroons have got to be one of my favorite things to eat (and I make pretty good ones, if I do say so myself), but it's not just the macaroons that make Passover great, it's more the principle of them (and if you're allergic to coconut, I'm deeply sorry for your loss). In case you're wondering, coconut macaroons are somewhat of a Passover tradition, since they're unleavened cookies, and we don't eat leavened things on Passover. It's kind of hard to do desserts on Passover since most desserts have some sort of leaven in them, so coconut macaroons are quite popular (probably because they're so yummy!). Anyway, back to the point. Every Passover is so special and unique, such an enriching and powerful experience, that, like the macaroons, I long for it and look forward to it every year. It's hard for me to imagine why anyone would not want to celebrate it, because I always get so much out of it. It's definitely a time to draw near to our Creator and Savior, and in my opinion, it's something that everyone who believes in Jesus should do.
If you want to try celebrating is for yourself or with your family, I can point you to two Jesus centered haggadahs (orders of service to walk you through it) put together by friends of mine.
Our Passover Lamb: A Christian Haggadah is available on Amazon Prime for only $3.99, and
Broken for You is available for free download as an ebook, and is also available on Amazon Prime for $6.50 for a hard copy.
