Immediately after posting the article “2023.04.02 About Pesach {Passover} and Yahooshua” Angelo sent me the following link on WhatsApp. Having read it I decided it was worth sharing.
From Curt Landry Ministries -- Passover: An Ordinance We’ve Ignored
https://www.curtlandry.com/passover-ordinance-ignored/
Passover: An Ordinance We’ve Ignored
by Curt Landry Ministries
The origins of the Passover ordinance are found in the book of Exodus. This first Passover was on the night of the tenth and final plague that God released upon Egypt as part of His plan to free His people from slavery.
The Passover ordinance was intended to be everlasting. It was to be remembered and observed from generation to generation.
“Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.”
—Exodus 12:13-14
Was the Passover Ordinance Observed in the First Century Church?
Yes.
For the first few centuries after Jesus’ death, Jewish and Gentile Believers fellowshipped together. All those who believed in Jesus, Jew and Gentile, observed Shabbat from Friday at sunset to Saturday’s sunset.
They observed God’s holidays—holy days or Feasts of the Lord—such as the Passover ordinance, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. They observed these days, not legalistically, but because they knew that their God does not change. They understood that when the Word mentioned “everlasting ordinance,” that’s what God meant.
Furthermore, there are specific blessings that come with observing the days set in place by God; from remembering His goodness to reminding us of the need to repent. They were designed to celebrate the joy of being in His covenant.
Yet, religious spirits mixed with Hellenistic and pagan cultures over time. The minds and hearts of those who had earthly power began to separate God’s people, resisting the Scriptures Paul referenced in Ephesians 2 as Jew and Gentile being One New Man in Christ.
What Happens When We Honor the Passover Ordinance?
Covenant promises are set in place.
God told Aaron and Moses why and how to observe Passover. He also informed them of the benefits and blessings that came with the observance.
Passover is referred to as a Feast of the Lord. This means that God invites His people to place their feet beneath His table in obedience and, because of His generous nature, He releases blessings.
To receive the covenant blessings, His people must show up. God said Passover was a memorial, a remembrance throughout the generations. The Passover ordinance is a decree made by God that is everlasting.
The Passover Ordinance is a Decree
We know that God’s Word creates something from nothing. His Word must come to pass (see Isaiah 55:11). And we know that God is not a man that He should lie. He is unchanging. (See Numbers 23:19; Malachi 3:6; and Hebrews 13:8.)
A decree is an official order issued by a legal authority. Therefore, when God’s Word decrees the Passover ordinance to be everlasting, what then can we conclude? That it must be remembered from generation to generation.
God did not merely create Passover to protect His people from the death of their firstborn; he created it as a process, a tool, and even a series of blessings for them—and us, as His grafted-in people.
Jesus is our Messiah, God incarnate. He observed the times and seasons set by the Father. Through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension to Heaven, Jesus brought Jew and Gentile together, creating One New Man (Ephesians 2:15).
As Gentiles, our hearts have been circumcised by the blood of Jesus, cleansing us from all unrighteousness. We are credited as righteous by our faith in Jesus (see Romans 4:1-8).
However, due to the fact that God does not lie, He did not invalidate His words, which include laws and ordinances. So then, why has the Passover ordinance been ignored by many in the Church?
Why Has the Passover Ordinance Been Ignored?
Sadly, leaders rose up in the Church during the fourth century and established rules and regulations to separate the Church from her roots. They wanted to erase the connection between the Jewish Jesus and Christianity. The result was a separation from blessings and an emergence of replacement theology.
This portrayed God’s love as inconsistent and no longer for the Jews, thus making Him a liar.
Hellenistic and pagan cultures started to infiltrate the Church, replacing her foundational roots with cheap imitations and alternatives.