Paul Instructed God-Fearers to “Keep the Feast” of Passover

One important rule of biblical hermeneutics is to interpret Scripture within the “unity of Scripture.” If we separate a word or verse from its context; we could misinterpret the application for which God intended it to be used. This is extremely important when understanding Paul’s direction to God Fearers for keeping biblical commandments like Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. His foundational position would be based upon Leviticus 23. Paul would only be an advocate for God’s special days listed in the Torah (Law).

According to one source, Paul quotes or paraphrases the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) as many as 84 times in his letter to the assembly at Rome. Paul was a Pharisee of the strictest sect. He understood God’s Torah as the basis for everything that he taught. He knew how important it was to guard its accuracy.

In their article, “The Old Testament in Paul,” Bible.org states,

• “Paul quotes from the Torah (first five books of the Old Testament) 45 times. The prophets are quoted 53 times, with Isaiah taking the lead at 36 times. Psalms are quoted 23 times. And other books are cited 10 times. It is clear Paul liked Isaiah with its many promises of Jews and Gentiles being forged into one family, and he liked the Psalms for Jesus the Messiah and the doctrine of forgiveness, but he also liked the Torah.”

“Precedent” is also another rule of biblical hermeneutics that we need to consider when obtaining Paul’s direction in his letters. As we will see, Paul directed God-Fearers to observe Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Keep in mind that these days were established by GOD for Himself and they belong to Him. In Lev 23:4-8:

• "'These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times on the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord's Passover. 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. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it. But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.'"

We will see these two “feasts of the Lord” used together because they are connected. Passover is the day God commanded Israel to prepare the Passover meal (Ex 12) for consumption on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Passover points to the Messiah who would die on a future Passover and fulfill what was written about Him in Isaiah 53. Yeshua became the Passover Lamb that died so all who believe in Him and follow Him would receive eternal life (John 3:16). The first day of Unleavened Bread commemorates Israel’s leaving Egypt and represents the removal of leaven (sin) from our homes and from our lives.

PASSOVER AND FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD

The clearest direction that we find from Paul on observing Passover is in 1 Corinthians 5, where he is addressing sexual immorality within the assembly at Corinth. Paul uses “leaven” symbolically as “sin” since they were preparing to observe Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In verse 8, he states:

• “Therefore, purge out the old leaven [sin], that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Messiah, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (NKJV)

A Messianic Jewish translation of this verse:

• “Get rid of the old hametz [leaven], so that you can be a new batch of dough, because in reality you are unleavened. For our Pesach lamb, the Messiah, has been sacrificed. So, let us celebrate the Seder not with leftover hametz, the hametz of wickedness and evil, but with the matzah of purity and truth.” (The Complete Jewish Bible)

What is “truth” to Paul? Of course, it is the Torah.

• Ps 119:142, states, “Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And Your Law is truth.”

• John 17:17, Yeshua speaking, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your Word is truth.”

Paul also addresses another situation in the assembly of Corinth about “mixing” the Passover meal with the ways of the pagans, which will provoke God. In 1 Cor 10:16-22, he states:

• “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Messiah? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Messiah? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?”

We can see from Paul's statement here, he would not advocate mixing God’s days and ways with pagan special days and practices.

Paul continues in 1 Cor 11:20-34 addressing how the assembly was to correctly keep the Passover:

• "Therefore, when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you. For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body….”

LORD’S SUPPER = PASSOVER MEAL (SEDER)

We now need to apply another important principal of biblical hermeneutics called historical context. We know that the “Lord’s Supper,” as translated here, is actually the Passover meal, which was prepared on the 14th day of the 1st biblical month and eaten on the 15th. The Greek word “Deipnon,” translated “Supper” means a “formal meal usually held in the evening.” This would describe a Passover Seder, which was eaten in the evening, at the beginning the 15th of the month, which is the 1st day of Unleavened Bread. Remember, God’s days begin in the evening, right after sundown, not at midnight.

WE CANNOT CELEBRATE PASSOVER WHENEVER WE WANT

Paul’s use of the phrases “as often as you drink” and “as often as you eat this bread,” applies to PASSOVER, which only occurs once a year. Paul would NOT have instituted a new commandment saying that you can observe Passover whenever you feel like it. Catholicism and Christianity have interpreted this to mean daily, weekly, monthly, annually, or whichever day they chose. This practice not only takes away from the Biblical commandment to keep the Passover, but it brings in a mixture of paganism with the worship of God. A short explanation of “Easter” traditions and pagan worship at the spring equinox are explained below.

FOUR CUPS OF WINE – NOT A COMMUNION CUP

There are at least four cups of wine consumed during a Jewish Passover Seder. Contrary to what some teach, Messiah and Paul used “real” wine, not grape juice. We see the mention of two cups in Luke 22 when Yeshua had His Passover meal with His taught ones, and most likely had four cups. There was a blessing said prior to drinking each cup and these were named:

• Cup of Sanctification (setting apart the time and meal)

• Cup of Wrath (deliverance from God’s wrath/plagues)

• Cup of Redemption (Paul calls this cup “cup of blessing”)

• Cup of Praise (post meal)

Here are the verses in Luke 22:7-20 where Messiah mentions two of these cups:

• “Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. And He sent Peter and John, saying, 'Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."… for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.' And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' Likewise, He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.'"

Messiah Yeshua’s example is to keep this commandment of His Father at Passover. Paul tells the assembly at Corinth, in 1 Cor 11:1:

• “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Messiah.”

In summary, Paul would not teach others to avoid God’s Passover or His other days listed in the Torah. Paul would want ALL God-Fearers in ALL assemblies, scattered among the nations, to also imitate Messiah Yeshua by remembering Yeshua when they keep the Passover. This is a direct commandment of Yeshua!

MORE EVIDENCE THAT PAUL KEPT GOD’S CALENDAR

One of Paul’s journeys is marked by the Feast of Unleavened Bread in Acts 20:6,

• “But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days joined them at Troas, where we stayed seven days.”

Paul mentions the Feast of Pentecost (Shavuot) in Acts 20:16 and 1 Cor 16:8:

• “For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the Day of Pentecost.”

• “But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost.”

As well, Paul gives a hint in 1 Thessalonians 4:15 that Messiah will come on the Feast of Trumpets:

• “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Messiah will rise first.”

• 1 Cor 15:52, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

Obviously, Paul’s mindset is focused on God’s Holy Days and how they are a shadow of things coming (Col. 2:16-16). They all point to Messiah Yeshua!

WHAT ABOUT EASTER?

Easter is a tradition of man that has evolved through time. Today, part of this tradition is designed to separate us from observing God’s commandments. History provides us with more insight of how man’s traditions replaced God’s days.

In the year 132 C.E. a dramatic event occurred that changed the practices and theological orientation of the early assemblies. This event was the 2nd Jewish revolt (which failed) led by Bar Kochba against the Roman occupation of Judea. As a result of this revolt, the Romans took measures to suppress or eliminate the Jewish people and their religious practices. An edict was given to prohibit all Jewish people from entering Jerusalem for 100 years. This dramatically changed the ethnic composition of the early congregational leadership, which at that time was profoundly Jewish. As a result, many pagan (non-biblical/heathen) religious practices became a part of their theology. In addition, anything “Jewish” was done away with or altered because of pressure from Rome. Not conforming to these measures meant certain persecution or death.

An example of this was when two early fathers of the faith, Polycarp and Polycrates, disciples of the Apostles John and Phillip, refused to change observance from the Scriptural Passover day to the Roman instituted Easter-Sunday. They were excommunicated as heretics and Polycarp was burned at the stake.

By the middle of the 4th century, most assemblies had already transferred their celebration of Passover to the Sunday after Passover. But certain assemblies in Asian Minor held to the Biblical date for which they were denounced as “judaizing.”

The Council of Nicaea in 325 C.E., decreed that all should observe the feast together on Sunday. Constantine, the Emperor at that time, stated, “Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd.”

SUMMARY

Knowing the above, we have a choice to make. Observe the meaningful days that God established in His Torah (Law) that point to Yeshua Messiah, OR continue observing man’s replacement days that were set up to separate God-Fearers from their Jewish roots.

We believe Paul promoted and taught both Jewish believers and God-Fearers from the nations, to meet together on His days; remembering Messiah in their observances. And, this is what we should be doing today.