Truth Be Told

One thing that can be confusing is this Christian society are the holidays that are observed. There is a holiday that is celebrated that marks the very center of their belief system, the death of Jesus, who died, so that they may be saved from eternal separation from God, this holiday, according to them, is Easter.

Easter was celebrated last month, so you may be wondering why I'm bringing it up now. Easter is a tradition, adopted by Christians that celebrates this theme with colored eggs, pastel colors and bunnies. However, there has always been confusion by many, even Christians, of how all of these elements represent their belief. I'm bringing up this holiday in light of another approaching holiday called Passover or Pesach. The truth is the Passover explains the central belief of true Christianity, not Easter.

Pesach - The True Christian Holiday

Understanding Passover can help understand the purpose of Christ's death. I truly believe that if the original day of Passover was not altered by Roman Catholics after the establishment of Church by Jesus, many, especially, modern day Christians ,would be able to understand, grow and represent Jesus in way that stood for all that He died for. This, issue, like many other issues, I question about Christianity today, is another reason why, I am uncomfortable applying the name to myself. Before I can move on, it is vital to understand that Jews and TRUE Christianity have a direct, in separable link towards one another. As I mentioned in my last post, Jesus was Jewish, as were the original Christians. After a period of time, Christianity included and grew a large body of gentile believers, another name for, non-Jewish Believers, as more Jews chose not to accept Christ as the promised Messiah of prophecy. Christ was prophesied to the Jews for hundreds of centuries prior as the coming Messiah, a promised deliverer of the Jews. These prophecies can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible. The story of Moses, leading God's people out of Egypt, incorporates the very first Passover. This story is ripe with symbolism and the prophecy of Jesus, the Messiah, who DID come in POWER, with GRACE and SALVATION.

Passover - The Christian Story of Salvation

I will briefly sum up the story of the first Passover, that explains the purpose of Jesus' death and the connection between Jesus in the New Testament (Son of God, born in the flesh, virgin) and the Promised Deliverer/ Messiah of the Old Testament. I encourage you to validate what I'm saying here, by reading it for yourself. You can find the origin of the story of Moses starting in the book of Exodus. The origin of Passover can be found in the 12th chapter of Exodus. The story of Moses and the exodus is a fairly popular Bible story, if you are not familiar with it, I suggest that you read the story from the beginning. You should read from the beginning even if you believe you are familiar with it. It is easy to miss vital concepts because you've heard the story from someone else. Many years after Joseph had died ( Genesis 37) the people he brought to Egypt to escape the famine had grew to astounding numbers that threatened the present Pharaoh who did not know the works Joseph did to save Egypt from famine. In his fear of being overtaken by the Jews, he enslaved them to hard, punishing labor. The Jews cried out to God in their time of hardship, and God heard their prayers. He promised a deliverer from the cruelty that they were experiencing. That deliverer was Moses. When Moses accepted his call from God to lead the Jews out of Egypt, he first had to deal with the Pharaoh who continually refused to let the Jews go. God had sent many plagues as punishment and encouragement to the Pharaoh to free the Jews. The last plague, after numerous chances God gave the Pharaoh, was death to all the firstborn of every family of every age, as well as the firstborn of every animal. To protect the Jews from this plague, God had commanded that a lamb be killed to His specifications and it's blood placed on the door posts on the house of every Jew. In this act death passed over the Jews.

"For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.

And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.

And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?

That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped." Exodus 12:23-27

Pesach and the Last supper - a fulfillment of a promised messiah

The Jews were literal saved by the blood of a lamb during the first Passover.

Jesus is the symbolic lamb of the Passover.

"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." -- John 1:29

In which death, eternal separation from God, passes over all who accept His blood-shed sacrifice on the cross.

Jesus, the Passover Lamb, was preparing for His own sacrifice during His last supper.

"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…Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes" (Luke 22:15-18)

Author's Note:

Please read the article, A Jewish Believer's Passover, by Mitch Glaser. This Article is located on the Jews for Jesus web site. This site can explain much more in depth the concepts and symbolism conveyed in the Passover. My desire and goal with this post is to inspire interest in the truth, and eliminate what has been so falsely promoted about Christ. I realize that this post does not do the subject of the Passover justice, consider it a "stepping stone" on your quest for clarity.

May God bless you and to all who believe in the saving power of the blood of Christ, HAPPY PASSOVER!

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" - - John 3:16

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