The Passover
The World Mission Society Church of God celebrates the seven feasts of God (Lev 23), including the Passover. Although the observance of the Passover is not common practice in Christianity, it is one of the most important teachings Jesus Christ left us to lead us to eternal life.
The Origin of the Passover
The celebration of the Passover originated during the time of the Exodus, when God freed His people from slavery in Egypt.
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. . . . The animals you choose must be a year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. . . . This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD’s Passover.”
Exodus 12:1-11
For the first celebration of the Passover, God gave clear instructions to His people letting them know exactly when and how to celebrate it. God also made it clear that the Passover was a command belonging to God. As such, all the people of God at that time had to observe it. And because all the people of the community of Israel followed God’s instructions and celebrated the Lord’s Passover, they were greatly blessed.
This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.
Revelation 14:12
Since God’s people are those who keep His commands, even we, who live in this age, must celebrate the Lord’s Passover to be considered part of the people of God. This is why God said that the Passover was a celebration to last from generation to generation.
“This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the LORD. This is a law for all time.”
Exodus 12:14 (NLT)
Therefore, whether at the time of the Exodus, the time of Jesus or even our time, the people of God must celebrate the Passover as a special festival to the Lord.
Jesus Celebrated the Passover
Two thousand years ago, even Jesus Christ celebrated the Passover, setting an example for us, Christians living today, to follow.
On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” So, the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
Matthew 26:17-19
Just as God commanded the Israelites to prepare to celebrate the Passover before He led them out of Egypt, Jesus Christ directed His disciples to prepare to celebrate the Passover with Him before His crucifixion.
He [Jesus] took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.”
Luke 22:19 (NLT)
Jesus did not celebrate the Passover with everyone but only with His disciples. And He made it clear to them that the New Covenant Passover was an agreement made between God and God’s people. And while the Old Testament Passover was celebrated with animal sacrifices, Jesus established the New Covenant Passover eating bread and wine, which become His body and blood. In other words, Jesus sacrificed His body and blood so that we could receive it through the Passover. Through His sacrifice contained in the New Covenant Passover, we receive the greatest blessing.
So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day.”
John 6:53 (NLT)
Jesus promised to give us His flesh and blood through the Passover in order to give us eternal life. Without celebrating the Passover and eating Jesus Christ’s flesh and drinking His blood, we cannot have eternal life. This is why the Passover belongs only to God—because it is God’s own flesh and blood. The Passover does not belong to any particular religious group or denomination but it belongs to God. And as the people of God who want to enter the kingdom of heaven, we must follow God’s command of observing the New Covenant Passover.
Church of God Celebrates the Passover
Though the teaching of the New Covenant Passover was lost in history, the Bible prophesied that God would restore the Passover again so that the people living in our age could have eternal life. The World Mission Society Church of God has the Passover as its core teaching. Just as God commanded, the Church of God celebrates the New Covenant Passover every year without fail, in the same manner that Jesus Christ celebrated it with His disciples 2,000 years ago. All 2.7 million members of the Church of God delight in receiving God’s flesh and blood through the Passover and look forward to its promise of eternal life. Please visit your local Church of God and learn more about the New Covenant Passover that enables us to live forever in the glorious kingdom of heaven.