John 2:13 To Passover Or Not

 John 2:13

It was almost time for the Passover Festival, so Jesus went to Jerusalem.

In my early youth, until I was about 9 or 10, my parents took me to the Worldwide Church of God, and I learned some biblical truths from it. They were a seventh-day Sabbath-keeping church, and they also honored the feast days in the Old Testament. They also preached the truth about the state of the dead and the Biblical clean diet, but they did not honor any traditional pagan holidays such as Christmas, Easter, or Halloween. I remember when the feast of Tabernacle, most members had to travel to a location and week-long worship in an arena. Keeping the Passover was like Hebrew Jews, a requirement for them to travel to Jerusalem so that they could congregate in the holy temple. Passover is an annual feast to remember where death creeps through Egypt. It passed through God’s would spare Israelite sons, but killed the Egyptians’ first-born sons. So devastated by his oldest son’s death, Pharaoh, set free the Hebrew slaves. So, God asks His people to remember when His power gave them freedom. 

Leviticus 23:5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the Lord’s Passover. 6 Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work. 8 But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.'” 9 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and you gather its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. 11 He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord for you to be accepted; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 Now on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect as a burnt offering to the Lord.

Most Jews honor the Passover and some Christians do likewise. Animal sacrifice does not happen anymore for assorted reasons. One because it is illegal, even in Israel, and second, there is no temple in Jerusalem. Jesus is the King of the Jews; He is also the Holy Lamb of God. As the Lamb of God, His death freed people from the wages of sin, and His resurrection passes them over to eternal life. But Jesus is King of the Jews, and He is also the Lamb of God. Animal sacrifice was always meaningless, but the death of God’s only begotten Son was His meaningful plan from the beginning. Am I Jewish, or Christian, those who read my blogs might ask, I answer I am His bondservant?

Jeremiah 7:21 This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, says: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat flesh. ²² For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them on the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. ²³ But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you shall walk entirely in the way which I command you, so that it may go well for you.’

The word of God teaches the sacrifice His desires are surrendering to our will to obey His voice. I have family and friends, even enemies that celebrate Christmas and Easter, but keeping His word they do not. Jesus traveled to Jerusalem to honor the Passover feast, but we do not have to travel to celebrate Jesus, the Lamb of God. We only must believe Jesus is the Son of God, and you are I and will pass over death, receiving everlasting life. God bless you, Jesus the Passover Lamb loves you, and so do I. His bondservant, Samuel Jerry Head. 

Numbers 9:14 And if a stranger resides among you and celebrates the Passover to the Lord, according to the statute of the Passover and its ordinance, so he shall celebrate it; you shall have the same statute, both for the stranger and for the native of the land.'”  

Hebrews 13:15 Through Him, then, let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips praising His name. 16 And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.