I suspect that many people that are reading this blog article are a bit like myself and have not spent a whole lifetime celebrating all of the Biblical feasts as our Jewish brethren have.
If you are a bit fuzzy regarding these festivals and how to celebrate them and what they should mean to every believer, no matter what label you place on yourself...then read on....as you are about to have an introduction to the Feast of Passover or as they call it in Hebrew, "PESACH".
The first things that you should know about Pesach or Passover is that it is:
1. Biblically and God-ordained
2. All feasts are connected. Each one plays a unique role in the overall picture of salvation and redemption.
In this article, we will briefly go over these points.
Less than ten years ago, I didn't think much about the feasts and how valuable they are to ALL believers. Sure, I'd heard about them and thought they were a wonderful thing; but I was never taught enough to give them more than just a passing thought.
I remember going to one feast as a child and it made such an impact on me. But because it was not spoken about much in our household, I too had the true meaning hidden from me.
Having celebrated it last year for the first time, I now more fully understand the obligation we actually have as followers of the Messiah to join our Jewish brethren in commemorating this beautiful festival with so much meaning even to us in this day and age.
As I said before, this feast is commanded and you can read the Scriptures which mention it in: Exodus 12:21-28, Leviticus 23:4-8, and it's even alluded to by Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:7.
For us to accept that we do have an obligation to celebrate the feasts, then to learn how to is not a path to be taken lightly. We must approach it carefully and thoughtfully, because it represents a paradigm shift in how we express our faith.
They shouldn't be used as a fad or a ploy to get believers to come to our churches or synagogues. We must do the feasts for the right reasons and we shouldn't disrupt our families or be judgmental to our brethren that are not celebrating them.
So, in order to not be overwhelmed with beginning the process, a good place to start is by looking at the well-established Jewish Traditions because they have been passed down over many centuries and each thing has been well- thought out and discussed time and time again over the ages.
We are free to start here and adopt, modify, add our own new traditions as the Holy Spirit leads and He may even inspire us to do new things. I know for myself last year, I read about the traditions and did research to come up with what I wanted to add that had special meaning to me.
The key here is to understand the proper meanings of God's intended purpose for each of His appointed feasts while avoiding using symbols and icons that are pagan in origin so as not to mix the Holy with the profane (Lev. 10:10).
As we begin to learn about these festivals...also called moadim (meaning appointed times) in the Holy Scriptures, I want to point out that while we can reasonably question the many Rabbinical laws and traditions we cannot question the legitimacy of the festivals.
Not only are they found in the Old Testament, but most of the time that Yeshua was either in or on His way to Jerusalem it was for the purpose of His personal participation of the feasts.
Yes, you read correctly, the observance of every single one of the biblical feasts was validated by our Messiah in the New Testament. Since He made every single one valid, we should follow in His footsteps if only for that reason alone!
Now that we have established that they are biblically and God-ordained, let's briefly discuss the significance and prophetic meaning of Passover. Passover is the first of the three Spring Festivals and is based on the Hebrew Lunar calendar. The prophetic meaning of Passover or Pesach is REDEMPTION. Our Messiah is our Passover Lamb. He was slain for us and His blood atones for our sins.
As I was thinking about this last night, I had a wondrous epiphany. Another amazing reason to celebrate this festival begins with knowing that Israel is a type and shadow. Passover is to not only remember the great deliverance of God's chosen people, but to also be grateful for His redemption from us being delivered from our own Egypt.
We were all once slaves to sin and darkness and now have been purchased by His precious Blood. We have been brought back from death to life. If that is not a cause for celebration, I don't know what is! HalleluYah! We have passed over from death to life! Let us thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! (Ps. 107:8).