Although Passover is usually understood as a Jewish holy day, it’s also a holy day for Christians. Why? Because anyone who confesses with their mouths and believes in their hearts that Jesus Christ is Lord (Romans 10:9-10), testifies that they too have been “passed over” from death to life by the shed blood of the last and perfect Lamb; Jesus the Christ.
On this day, many Jews will gather together to commemorate the day God Almighty released their people from the bondage of slavery through His servant Moses with the final and last plague He wrought upon the Egyptians: death of the firstborn.
“Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household...and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it...It is the LORD’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.”~Exodus 12:3, 6-7, 11c-13
What God proclaimed in the Old Testament through His servant Moses, was a foreshadowing of what He was going to to with His First born, Christ our Lord. God struck the firstborn of Egypt because of their sins. Then God struck His own First born, not for His sins (for He had none[2 Cor 5:21]), but the Father struck the Son as a propitiation for our sins. Because Jesus Christ offered Himself as the last and perfect Passover Lamb, there’s no longer a need for anyone to perform religious rituals for the forgiveness of sins; only faith in the Son of God alone can save anyone and guarantee everlasting life.
“He [Christ] entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”~Hebrews 9:12-14
Steven Ger, Founder and Director of Sojourner Ministries is a Jewish Christian who’s passionate about exploring the Jewish heart of Christianity—which is Jesus. Steven believes Passover is vital to Christianity because “It testifies to the universal hope and freedom found only in Jesus Christ; providing conclusive proof that God actively intervenes on behalf of His people. But most importantly, Passover was important to Jesus, so it should be important to everyone who professes Christ.”
To learn how to celebrate Passover as a Christian, you can contact Steven at Sojourner Ministries (located in Dallas, Texas) or visit: The Christian Resource Institute.
