In this article I will be looking at the Passover month using the scriptures…
The topics I’ll be discussing today are, the Passover & Unleavened bread celebration, how to keep Passover, the Messiah as the Passover lamb & Passover versus Easter…
This Passover bible study will take you through what the scriptures say, so that you get a proper understanding of what Passover really is, away from traditions or man-made ideas…
If you recall this is something the Most High and the Messiah warn us against, i.e. the traditions of men superseding the commandments of the Most High. (Matthew 15:1-9)
What Is The Passover Month & Unleavened Bread Celebration?
Passover in the Hebrew is the Hebrew word Pasach.
3957. pascha pas’-khah of Chaldee origin (compare 6453); the Passover (the meal, the day, the festival or the special sacrifices connected with it):–Easter, Passover.
The biblical Passover starts on the 14th day of the first month at evening of the Hebrew month. The Hebrew month is during the spring time, according to the scriptures the 1st month of the year according to the Most High starts at the beginning of Spring.
This makes a lot of sense when we think about it? The Most High created the world with order and it’s during the Spring time that the plants get the conditions they need to grow.
The Unleavened bread celebration is a continuation of the Passover. It starts on the 15th day of the first month, it lasts for 7 days. It is a 7 day celebration and the 1st & 7th day are rest days. This means no tradition work is to be on these two days. The Most High only allowed for the preparation of food to eat on those days.
So the Passover month is the 1st Month of the year.
What Is Passover?
The Passover story commemorates a time when the Most high killed the first born children of the Egyptians as well as the first born animals. But he spared the lives of the Israelite’s children.
Exodus 12:26-27
26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
27 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.
This was the 10th plague written of in the Bible…
Exodus 12:12-13
12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.
13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
The Passover Meaning In The Bible
So you see here, during the celebration, the Israelite’s had to kill a lamb which could be either a goat or sheep.
They then had to use the blood of the lamb and strike it on the two side doorposts and the top of the door.
The killing of the lamb was seen as an offering to the Most high to spare the first born child of Israel’s children.
The eating of unleavened bread signified the obedience to the most high. leavened bread is bread that contains yeast or raising agents that make the bread rise when cooked.
In Matthew 16:6-12
6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.
8 Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
9 Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
10 Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
11 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?
12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
The Messiah likens leavened bread to the false doctrine of the scribes and pharisees.
This briefly answers the question of what significance does the passover have in the new testament? Without this new testament scripture (Matthew 16:6-12) the meaning of unleavened bread would have been lost.
Passover month is the first month of the year, which is springtime, on the 14th day at evening, (so if you ever asked, what time does Passover start? the answer is in the evening just before the 15 day) the lamb was to be taken on the 10th day of the first month.
Exodus 12:3
3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
After eating the Passover on the 14th day the Passover schedule continues with unleavened bread being eaten for 7 days from the 15 day to the 21 day.
Exodus 12:14-15
14 And this day 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 for ever.
15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
Now you know what Passover is and its meaning let’s continue…
How To keep Passover
As mentioned previously, a lamb was taken on the 10th month, depending on the size of each family the lamb could be shared between families amongst the Israelites.
It was to be the best lamb and a male of the first year.
Exodus 12:5
5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
The Preparation Of The Passover
Exodus 12:8-9
8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.
The Passover lamb is to be
Eaten at night,
Roasted not fried or boiled and
Eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
Exodus 12:46
46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.
The bones of the lamb were also no to be broken! This symbolise the Messiah as the Passover lamb (John 1:29) when he was crucified, because none of his bones were broken (John 19:31-34, John 19:36) fulfilling prophecy (Psalm 34:20).
What Is The Passover Meal?
The Most high told the Israelites to specifically roast the lamb and not to boil it.
The lamb is to be prepared with bitter herbs and unleavened bread and eaten in the evening on the 14th day, anything left over was to be burned with fire and none of it left until the morning.
The eating of the lamb and unleavened bread is in the first day of the unleavened bread festival, the Fifteenth day because the Hebrew Day starts in the evening.
When we look at the Leviticus 23:32 for the Day of Atonement this is explained…
32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
It shows that a day is classified from evening on one day to evening, the next day, the day of atonement being a one day fast.
Let’s look at the next topic…
The Messiah As The Passover Lamb
First, let’s read what the Messiah came to do, to give us understanding of how the Passover applies to us today.
It reads…
Matthew 5:17
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
so you see here that the messiah came to fulfill the laws and not to do away with them. This fulfillment can be found In
Daniel 9:27
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Here we see that the messiah became the final sacrifice for sins. This can also be found in the book of Hebrews.
You can read Hebrews 10:4-10 here:
4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
This brings us to the present day, which shows us there’s no longer any need to sacrifice a lamb when keeping the Passover, the is the spiritual meaning of Passover.
It doesn’t mean that we don’t celebrate Passover though. We should celebrate this Day as well as keep the 7 day feast of unleavened bread. The Messiah celebrated Passover in the New testament as the example of what we should follow.
Matthew 26:17
17 Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?
the Messiah lays out the significance of the Passover today.
Matthew 26:26
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
Two Spiritual Meanings Of Passover Today
1. The unleavened bread signifies the body of the Messiah, which basically means when we eat the unleavened bread, we should be reminded to keep the commandments that the messiah came to uphold, as well as sacrifice him self for.
In John Chapter 15:14-15, it reads…
John 15:14-15
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
2. The second revelation that the Messiah instituted is that we drink wine during the Passover, which symbolizes the covering of our sins by the Messiah, because he was the last eternal sacrifice for Israel and the nations that believe in him.
Matthew 26:27-29
27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.
The Bitter herbs were eaten to remind Israel of the bitter treatment that they experienced in Egypt for the 400 years before the Exodus of the Passover.
When we read Matthew we also see that Passover in the New testament was also a time of song and celebration.
Matthew 26:30
30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
here we’re told that the disciples sung during the Passover.
It’s also good to see that this was a time of celebration even though the Messiah was to be crucified after eating the Passover.
When we look at:
Daniel 9:27
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
It tells us exactly when the Messiah would be crucified, here it tells us that the Messiah would be crucified in the middle of the week, which today would be Wednesday.
The term used in the scripture is midst (middle), which means middle.
In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 it tells us that the Messiah rose again on the third day and when we count the days, that would be Thursday, Friday, and Saturday Sabbath day).
1 Corinthians 15:3-4
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
When the women came who had prepared spices to lay on the Messiah’s grave early in the morning on the first day of the week, which is Sunday, they found that the Messiah had resurrected, proving that he was resurrected before Sunday.
Now we understand the messiah as the Passover lamb.
What Is The Message Of The Second Passover (Pasach Sheni)?
If you haven’t heard of the “Second Passover”, this will be news to you, but there is a second Passover.
Numbers 9:5-12
5 And they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel.
6 And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day:
7 And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the Lord in his appointed season among the children of Israel?
8 And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the Lord will command concerning you.
9 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
10 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the Lord.
11 The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
12 They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it.
In the example that we see in the scriptures the men that the Most High made an exception for were unclean because they had come into contact with a dead body.
The Law states that if you touch a dead body you are unclean (spiritually) for 7 days.
Numbers 19:11
11 He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.
During uncleanness anything that is touched also becomes unclean, so taking part would mean you would make others spiritually unclean too.
We know that Passover now represents the Messiah’s sacrifice and forgiveness of our sins, so it’s fitting that we see the Most High granting a “second” chance.
This can be seen as representing the Most High’s mercy on us, especially as most of us that have recieved the faith have been ignorant of the Laws of the Most High.
The “Second Passover”, can be seen as a representation of a second chance. But of course we should all be partakers in the first Passover.
The second Passover is not an excuse to skip the first Passover.
Let’s look at the last topic…
Passover Versus Easter
Many Christians celebrate Easter today, but this has no biblical validity. The term Easter is only found one time in the scriptures in the updated King James Version Bible.
William Tyndale in 1535, used the term “Easter” in place of “Passover”, even though he knew Passover to be the more accurate interpretation. His reason for using Easter is very likely because the anglo-saxons celebrated a spring goddess around the same time.
When you read..
Acts 12:4
4 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.
we see the word Easter, but when we look at the concordance, we see that the word here was the Hebrew word Pasach, which is Passover.
How Are Easter And Passover Different
There are obvious differences between Easter and Passover. This should be important to every believer. As explained above:
“Easter” in the bible should be “Passover”
Messiah before Passover said he would Resurrect in 3 days & 3 Nights, From Easter Friday to Easter Sunday you can’t achieve this.
Easter eggs and Easter bunnies have no place in the Passover celebration.
Easter is the Worship of a pagan god, Passover is in remembrance of the Messiahs sacrifice and Most High’s mercy for Israel’s sins & the worlds.
So you can see the difference between Passover and Easter above, as believers we are warned that we are to have nothing to do with other worships (1 Corinthians 10:21, “Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils…”).
It’s our responsibility to follow the scriptures and ignore pagan worships and traditions.
The Seder Meal?
One of the Jewish traditions is the Seder meal. Seder in Hebrew means “order” or “arrangement”, so this Passover meal is about the order of the food that is eaten during the Passover.
The Seder meal is based on Exodus 8:13, which is where the most high commands Israel to tell their children about the events during Passover, when the exodus out of Egypt was performed.
This command was given so that Israel would remember the mercy that the most high had on them during this time.
The Seder meal is usually performed on the first two nights of the Passover/Unleavened Bread Celebration.
The order of the Seder Passover is found in the Haggadah, which is an ancient Jewish texts dedicated to the Passover.
It is said that reading the Haggadah is a fulfilment of the Commandments which is the word “Mitzvah” in Hebrew, but if this was so, the scriptures themselves would have the haggadah text within them, which cannot be found anywhere within the text.
This Seder Passover ordered meal take its origin from Talmudic traditions, which is something the Messiah warned against (Matthew 15:1-9).
Although those who take part in the Seder Passover Meal may do it innocently, it should be noted that this is an unbiblical practice as no where in the scriptures was it ever commanded to read from the Haggadah.
The scriptures them self have all the information we need. Giving credence to an outside source just makes the worship of the Most High feel exclusive to Jewish people, which it is not.
As a follower of the scriptures and the most high this is not a meal that you should take part in.
The Scriptures provided in this article give all the information that you need in order to keep the Passover meals. There is no need for an instruction from an outside source (the Haggadah).
The Most High already commands us to tell our children about the events of Passover (Exodus 8:13), he also sets out the foods that should be eaten during Passover (Exodus 12:8-9). As Believers this is what we should follow.
Conclusion
Now you have a true understanding of the Passover celebration, which has been hijacked today and is called Easter.
If you’re a true believer the Passover should hold great significance because it’s a time to celebrate and remember the Messiah’s victory over death as well as the blood that he shed to cover our sins. The reason the Most High accepts us when we repent from our sins.
We should remember what the Messiah said…
John 14:6
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
meaning it’s impossible to keep an Easter celebration, which is commemorating an Easter goddess and claim to be following the Bible.
Now, this has been made clear to you as a true believer, you need to swap your Easter eggs and Easter bunnies with unleavened bread and wine.
The unleavened bread representing the body of the Messiah, and keeping the commandments and the wine, his sacrifice for our sins as well as victory over death.
Revelation 1:18, it reads:
18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
The Messiah tells us that he was crucified and now is alive and holds the keys to hell and death. So let us choose life and follow the Messiah
Shalom & share this with someone that needs it…