WHAT IS THE CORRECT DATE TO KEEP THE PASSOVER?

DID CHRIST CHANGE THE DATES OR ONLY THE SYMBOLS?

SHOULD WE KEEP THE PASSOVER THE SAME TIME AS THE OLD TESTAMENT WHICH WAS ORDAINED FOREVER?

HAS THE NEW TESTAMENT STATED WHICH DAY SHOULD BE KEPT?

WHEN DO WE SHOW THE LORDS DEATH TILL HE COMES?

The seven days of Unleavened Bread are also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

2Ch 30:21  So the children of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing to the LORD, accompanied by loud instruments.

Ezr 6:22  And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for the LORD made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

The Passover meal is also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Luk 22:1  Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.

This feast was eaten on the 15th.

Lev 23:6  And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; seven days you must eat unleavened bread.

Num 28:17  And on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast; unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days.

The following pages confirm that the Old Testament Passover was killed or prepared on the 14th and eaten on the 15th.

The only question is, did Jesus change the date when He ate the Passover on the night of the 14th? He ate it one day early because He had to be sacrificed at the same time that the Passover lambs were being sacrificed on the afternoon of the 14th.

Christ could not eat it on the 15th because He knew He would die at the time the Passover lambs were being sacrificed which occurred on the afternoon of the 14th.

Did Christ change the dates?

The following scriptures give the answer.

Exo 12:14  ‘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.

Exo 12:17  So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance.

This day {15th} is to be kept forever.

Exo 12:24  And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever.

To be observed by the Israelites in their generations.

Exo 12:42  It is a night of solemn observance to the LORD for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the LORD, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.

Remember this day.

Exo 13:3  And Moses said to the people: “Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.

To be kept in its season from year to year.

Exo 13:10  You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.

Deu 16:3  You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.

The Old Testament Passover was ordained forever. There is no mention of Jesus changing the dates, only the symbols.

Jesus kept the Passover at the start of the 14th. Jesus died in the afternoon of the 14th. The Passover lamb was killed in the afternoon of the 14th. The symbols of Christ’s body are to be eaten the approximate same time as the lamb was eaten. Jesus was dead when we are to take the symbols of the Passover.

The New Testament tells us when the Passover is to be kept. The day Jesus died was the preparation of the Passover.

Joh 19:14  Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”

On the day that Christ was crucified the Jews were going to keep the Passover that night. They had not taken the Passover the night before.

Joh 18:28  Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.

When do we show the Lord’s death till He comes?

The Passover is a memorial of Christ’s death, it must be taken on the night after His death. This is what the scriptures state.

1Co 11:26  For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

Read that scripture again, you can’t keep a memorial of something BEFORE the event occurred.

The above scriptures tell us when to keep the Passover. It is after sunset on the night of Christ’s death. Christ died on the day before the 1st day of Unleavened Bread.

The Passover is to be taken that night after sundown at the start of the 1st day of Unleavened Bread. This is when the Passover was eaten in Old Testament times and it is when we are told by scripture to keep it today. Once again we state you cannot keep a memorial before the event.

In Old Testament times they killed the lambs before sunset on the end of the 14th.

They ate the lambs after sunset on the start of the 15th which is the 1st day of Unleavened Bread.

In the New Testament Christ died before sunset on the end of the 14th.

We eat the bread and drink the wine after sunset on the start of the 15th which is the 1st day of Unleavened Bread as a memorial of Christ’s death.

Read this plain and simple truth until you understand it.

The day Christ died was also the preparation day.

Joh 19:30  So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

Joh 19:31  Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

Joh 19:42  So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.

The Passover is eaten in the Holy Day.

1Co 5:7  Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

The Passover lamb pointed to Christ’s sacrifice. Christ knew His time had come. He kept the Passover a day early because He had to be sacrificed at the same time the lambs were sacrificed for the Passover. He changed the symbols. He did not change the day. The original date was ordained forever.

Joh 6:4  Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.

The Passover is called a feast of the Jews.

Joh 7:2  Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.

Both these feasts are God’s, not only Jews. Read these verses carefully.

Joh 2:13  Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Passover of the Jews.

Joh 2:23  Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.

Jesus attended the Jews Passover in the feast day. This is the date of God’s Passover which was ordained forever. The lamb was sacrificed on the 14th. The 14th is the preparation day and also the Passover day. The lamb or the Passover meal is eaten after sunset on the start of the 15th. This is the start of the 1st day of Unleavened Bread.

The following scriptures can be a little difficult to understand so notice the explanation.

Mat 26:17  Now on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

The word first in the above verse means before. So it should read before the feast of Unleavened Bread.

Mar 14:12  Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?”

The word first in the above verse means before.

Luk 22:7  Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.

The word day can mean period of time.

There is no confliction in God’s word, the Passover date has not changed, only the symbols.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread starts on the beginning of the 15th. The feast pictures putting sin out of our lives.

During this time we remember how God delivered the Israelites from Egypt, the death of Christ and how He paid the penalty for our sins. We focus on trying to live our lives the way Christ lived His life. We try very hard to put sin out of our lives.

Christ’s death was for our physical healing as well as our spiritual cleansing.

Notice this scripture and let’s really look at what healing is mentioned.

Wounded for our transgressions: This includes rebellion against true religion or worshipping God incorrectly.

Bruised for our iniquities: This includes moral faults.

The chastisement of our peace was upon Him: correction of our peace.

By His stripes we are healed: because of His flogging we can be healed physically.

Isa 53:5  But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

Christ’s death covered many things, all of them for us.

Let us now look at the last day of Unleavened Bread.

Once the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, they travelled three days into the wilderness and came to Marah.

As explained in our article The Parting of the Red Sea, this is where the Israelites kept the last day of Unleavened Bread.

Notice this scripture for what occurred on that day.

Exo 15:23  Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.

Exo 15:24  And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”

Exo 15:25  So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them,

Exo 15:26  and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”

Here we see plainly that the Israelites were given a statute and an ordinance and they were proved there.

God reminds them that He is the God that heals them.

This was the last day of Unleavened Bread. This healing ties in with Christ’s sacrifice as mentioned above.

Unfortunately, the Israelites rejected God the Father, the fountain of living waters, here at Marah.

This very sad event is covered in the article the Days of Unleavened Bread.