How Christians Can Celebrate Passover

Passover occurs on the eve of the 19th of April this year (some may consider the first night the 20th). There is a big Passover dinner and reading of the story of Passover, called a "seder" held in Jewish homes. Some Christian churches have started bringing rabbis or Messianic ("Jewish believer") rabbis in to help them celebrate this night. It is what Jesus was doing at the last supper.

PESACH - (pronounced Pay'sock or Pay'soch - put your tongue at the roof of your mouth and exhale for the "ch" sound! )

Passover takes place in the Jewish calendar month of "Nissan" - yes, spelled and pronounced just like the automobile! Some readers may be aware that the Jewish calendar does not agree with the Gregorian (or Roman) calendar the western world follows. Although the dates of Jewish holidays do not change from year to year on the Jewish calendar, the Jewish year is not the same length as a solar year. So Passover could land in March or April, and generally close to Easter (for full information on the Jewish Calendar, see Table IV at back of book).

Any person from a Jewish family - or any Christian who has read Exodus 12 - will know the story of the very first Passover, and importance of the lamb's blood. When Pharaoh would not release the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, even after God inflicted nine plagues on the Egyptian people, God commanded Moses to have all Jews paint the blood of a perfect lamb on their doorposts.

This was so their first-born children wouldn't be slain along with the Egyptian first borns in the tenth and final plague. The Lord would pass over the Jewish households. How exciting! Because of the blood of a little, pure lamb, we escaped the wrath of God that fell on Pharaoh's people and his own family for their disobedience to the message Moses carried from God! The Israelites were now free to leave their bondage to Pharaoh and start a new life!