Why Would a Christian Celebrate Passover?

 

Have you ever received an awkward "Happy Easter" in response to "Happy Passover"? It makes me wonder if  people connect the two or if they think the Passover has nothing to do with the Resurrection. It has everything to do with the Resurrection.

Jesus is the prophesied Messiah of the Jews. 

We read about Him in Isaiah 53:

But he was pierced for our transgressions;

    he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

    and with his wounds we are healed. 

Isaiah 53:5

Jesus speaking to the Woman at the Well:

You worship what you do not know;  

we worship what we know,  

for salvation is from the Jews.  

John 4:22

The Last Supper was a Passover Seder. Why is this important? Because of Who Jesus is. He is the Passover lamb, the sacrifice for our sins. Some people think that's where the story ends, that God has replaced the Jewish people with the Gentiles because they did not recognize their Messiah when He came. 

But remember God's character. 

Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no 

compassion on the son of her womb? 

Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. 

Isaiah 49:15

Does God forget? Does He break promises?

Why is tonight different from all other nights?

This is a question asked at the Passover Seder. The answer? Because we were slaves, but now we are free. If you saw Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ," you may remember this scene well. It took my breath away.

So here I am with a simple plate painted in a language I don't speak, an outsider, grafted in. He tells me I am not an outsider. Here we sit together at my table. I once was a slave but now I am free. That is what I celebrate. 

It's Almost Passover

 

And when the hour came, he reclined at 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 tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”  

Luke 22:14-20

This Passover

Behold! The Lamb of God 

who takes away the sin of the world!

John 1:29

Jesus and Passover

Luke 22:7-16

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”

“Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.

He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 

He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.”

They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, 

“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”

Passover Seder

Luke 22:7-16

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread 

on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 

Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, 

“Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”

“Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.

He replied, 

“As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.”

They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. 

So they prepared the Passover.

When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 

And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again 

until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”

Easter Passover What.

Acts 12:4 King James Version (KJV)

And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. 

 

Acts 12:4 English Standard Version (ESV)

And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people.

Why?
 

A friend pointed this out to me several years ago. I'd never noticed it before. Strange. I assumed it was a purely Anti-Semitic move, but maybe there is another explanation, some line of reasoning. Why was the word Easter used in one translation and the word Passover used in another? I am hopeful that the correction in later translations indicates a change in attitudes toward the Jewish people. 

 

What do you think?