Question: I do have a question. Easter is approaching, and so is Passover. How does one justify keeping Easter and not Passover, when one is commanded and one is no where in the Bible (except when it is a blatant mistranslation).

Easter does not only have pagan roots, but it also is based on faulty reasoning that Christ was raised on Sunday. Keeping this day is contrary to the first commandment. Sunday was originally set aside to worship a Roman god. It goes against the precedent set by God when he told the Israelites not to have anything to do with the Canaanites religion when they entered into the promised land. Sunday worship is also stated as worshipping God in vain since it is a human tradition (Mark 7:6-9).

On the other hand you’ve got Passover, which is one of the most important, if not most important day we can keep to honor God and Jesus Christ. In Old Testament times, Passover was the day that the lamb was slaughtered so that it’s blood could be put on the doorposts and the death angel would pass by. That was the first Passover. Skip a few years and you have Christ, the ‘lamb of God’ being crucified on Passover many years later. (This isn’t widely believed in mainstream Christianity because most people overlook the fact that there were two Sabbaths the week Christ was crucified, and when it says ‘it was the preparation day of the Sabbath’ it was talking about the annual Sabbath of the first day of unleavened bread, which came on Thursday that specific week.

The day that comes before unleavened bread on a Wednesday that year is Passover, which is not called an annual Sabbath.

In Daniel 9:27, when Daniel is speaking of Jesus who was to come later, he says that he (Jesus) will be cut down in the midst of the week (Wednesday), and in the year Christ was crucified, Passover was on a Wednesday. Coincidence – I think not!

Skip three days and three nights from Wednesday evening and the resurrection was on Saturday evening. (Yes, I know John 20, Luke 24, Matthew 28 and Mark 16 all seem to say that he was risen on Sunday morning, but notice all these verses state it in the past tense because he had already risen the evening before). For further proof that the crucifixion was on Passover and the resurrection was on Saturday, check out an early Worldwide publication, "The Resurrection was not on Sunday".

Jesus was sacrificed for the forgiveness of our sins, just like the lamb was formally sacrificed on Passover for sins. Because Jesus was crucified we do not have to do the whole sacrificial lamb thing.

In Exodus 12:14, It is said, "And this day (Passover) shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever." Notice it says, forever – not forever or until best offer. Christ never once endorsed Easter, but did celebrate Passover and we are supposed to follow his life as an example.

Okay – so here’s the thing – the New Testament does not only not do away with the Passover, but it adds a whole new meaning to it. When Easter and Passover are weighed against each other, which one comes out as the true day God wants us to keep and which one comes out as a counterfeit? The answer is pretty clear, but if you can show me a different answer then I would love to hear it. Thanks again.

P.S. Sorry everything is misspelled and all the confusion, it’s really late/early here.

Ryan

Answer: Several issues here, Ryan. First you seem to indicate that observing the Lord’s supper, taking communion, the body and blood of Jesus, is biblically appropriate, but the celebration of his resurrection is not.

Passover is not the Lord’s supper – when Jesus observed "Passover" with his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion, he changed the elements of the Passover as it was observed under the old covenant. Passover today is observed as a seder, not as the Lord’s supper. Passover is not commanded for Christians, but taking of the body and blood of Jesus is.

There are many holidays and observances that have pagan roots, having pagan roots proves nothing. Do pagans (who are by definition those who do not believe in and worship the one true God) worship the one true God at Easter and Christmas? No, for they are pagans – they believe in many gods, and do not worship the one true God.

Whether Jesus was raised on Sunday is a matter of debate – and the length of time that he was in the grave is not the object of celebrating his resurrection. That he was raised from the grave is the sign that he was and is Messiah – not the accurate computation of how long he was in the grave.

If it is correct to interpret the first commandment as a prohibition against naming days after pagan gods, then Christians should not meet on any day of the week for religious services, for all days of our week are named after pagan gods, including Saturn-day.

Moreover, the first commandment is important, for it says that there is one true God, not two, not three, not billions. Only one. That’s it.

The Canaanites did not worship, or look forward to the lamb of God, born of the virgin Mary, raised the third day. The Israelites were told not to have anything to do with the Canaanites, but no where do we read that Christians are not to have anything to do with other Christians, or historic Orthodox Christianity.

The passage in Mark that you cite as proof against Sunday observance has nothing to do with days that were adopted by Christians to honor the birth and the resurrection of Jesus Christ – the passage speaks to the Do’s and Don’ts the Talmud the Jews had written, that was in addition to what God had commanded for them, the Jews, under the old covenant.

In actual fact, while you state that Passover is important to keep, the most important thing (if we should even try to establish priorities) to celebrate is that "He is Risen". If you read 1 Corinthians 15 you will see that the resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith, and that if he is not risen our faith and our preaching is in vain.

Christ the Lamb of God is very much accepted, worshipped, and revered by "mainstream" Christianity – if you have been told otherwise, then the person who told you does not know what Christians do and what Christianity teaches.

The chronology you propose is questionable, for it is based on the assumption that we can calculate back from our day to the year in which Jesus was crucified and that the calendar has never changed. Big problem! The calendar has changed. In fact, the Hebrew calendar has changed. The chief priests and rabbis have actually changed dates of holy days based upon visual reckoning – and while that has not happened often, it has happened. Only once is all it takes for your assumption to be wrong – that we can actually determine the day of the week and how the Hebrew calendar coincided with it during the year that Christ was crucified.

And the interesting thing is that your calculations would only work (if the calendar has never changed or has never been altered, which is an incorrect assumption) in the year 31 AD but the vast majority of Christians believe that 30 is a more likely year.

You are depending upon a literal reading of the 70 weeks prophecy – favored by

Adventists since the 1850’s or so. There are other possible ways to understand Daniel 9.

Even if you or others can prove to someone’s satisfaction that Jesus rose from the dead on Saturday evening, that’s a big "so-what" for me. What does that prove? That I should not celebrate my Lord’s resurrection? That instead of having a service on Sunday morning we should have one Saturday night? In all of the years that I have known those who desperately try to prove that Jesus was not resurrected on Sunday morning, and try to prove that he was resurrected on Saturday evening, I do not know a single person who actually celebrated the resurrection at that time.

That is – what’s the point? It would seem like those who want Jesus to be resurrected on Saturday evening do not want anyone to celebrate his resurrection at all – on Saturday night or Sunday morning! And can we be Christians, believers, without celebrating the fact that the tomb is empty and that he is alive?

The New Testament has a great deal to say about the meaning of the cross, and the New Testament suggests it has much more meaning for Christians than simply releasing us from the sacrificial system of ancient Israel. The books of Hebrews, Romans, Galatians, and Colossians are quite specific about this topic – not to mention many other passages.

If you are going to make a point, then you must be consistent. There are a number of observances, and days, that the old covenant commands "forever" – you might make a study of it. If you take the view that the cross had nothing to do with "forever" as it is used in the covenant with the Israelites, then you cannot pick and choose. You will have to do and observe all of the "forevers" – and please, make a study of it. Do not simply accept the "forever’s" that someone has pointed out to you (remember Mark 7:6-9) but find out all of the "forevers." One of them has to do with a day that was kept on the day after the Sabbath – something about the firstfruits (compare 1 Cor. 15:20-23). What was that all about? And why do those that I know of who want to obey old covenant holy days not keep that one – which is commanded forever as well? Please check Leviticus 23:9-14.

Let me challenge your presupposition. Then you better not go to any service that calls itself a church, but you may only go to temple and synagogue, for Jesus never went to a church. You must also keep the Feast of Lights – Hanukah. You must be circumcised, for Jesus was. In fact, you must be a Jew, for Jesus was – He was not a part of the body of Christ in his human life, as the birthday of the church was on Pentecost, Acts 2, after his death and resurrection.

Further, Jesus changed the Passover from what it was to the Lord’s supper.

Ryan, sorry, but I had to challenge some of your logic and presuppositions in order to answer you. I hope some of this helps. If you have further questions, please let me know. May God bless you.

In Christ,

Greg Albrecht