In most places around the world, spring time brings a traditional holiday called Easter (we used to refer to it as Resurrection Day at our house).
We don't do Easter at our house, though. We celebrate Passover.
"Ok, wait...I thought Passover was for Jewish people..." you may be asking.
Well, yes it is. It's also for all "bible believing" followers of Jesus/Yahusha! Would you like to know why I believe Christian's should celebrate Passover, and more importantly, teach their children to do the same? Of course I'll tell you, I'm so glad you asked!
First off, where did Easter come from? To save you the long story, she basically came from a Nimrod...King Nimrod that is. Nimrod had a wife named Easter/Ishatar, who had a son named Tammuz. Nimrod died..and Easter had a little fun. Here's some background on that story....
“Later, when this adulterous and idolatrous woman gave birth to an illegitimate son, she claimed that this son, Tammuz by name, was Nimrod reborn.”[4] Easter/Ishatar “claimed that her son was supernaturally conceived [no human father] and that he was the promised seed, the ‘savior’”—promised by God in Genesis 3:15. “However, not only was the child worshipped, but the woman, the MOTHER, was also worshipped as much (or more) than the son!”[5]Nimrod deified as the god of the sun and father of creation. Easter became the goddess of the moon, fertility, etc." (source)
Likewise, the bunny and egg are derived from this, also. The bunny representing sex and fertility, and the egg representing the fable of how Easter was sent to earth in a giant egg. Read more about all that here.....
So, is the basis of the celebration of Easter Pagan? A resounding yes! Pagan, as in derived from non Christian/Biblical traditions...not Neo-Pagan...like associated with the occult or "WICCAN" in nature. But, Pagan non the less. What I'm trying to say is are you going to hell for hunting Easter eggs? No. That's not what sends you to hell, anyway.
But, if you know you could grow closer to God, and reveal Jesus Christ in a better way...even if it meant forgoing your currently held traditions....would you do it?
I was faced with this thought myself....and we decided we could.
Passover in a nutshell....
"After many decades of slavery to the Egyptian pharaohs, during which time the Israelites were subjected to backbreaking labor and unbearable horrors, G‑d saw the people’s distress and sent Moses to Pharaoh with a message: “Send forth My people, so that they may serve Me.” But despite numerous warnings, Pharaoh refused to heed G‑d’s command. G‑d then sent upon Egypt ten devastating plagues, afflicting them and destroying everything from their livestock to their crops.
At the stroke of midnight of 15 Nissan in the year 2448 from creation (1313 BCE), G‑d visited the last of the ten plagues on the Egyptians, killing all their firstborn. While doing so, G‑d spared the Children of Israel, “passing over” their homes—hence the name of the holiday. Pharaoh’s resistance was broken, and he virtually chased his former slaves out of the land. The Israelites left in such a hurry, in fact, that the bread they baked as provisions for the way did not have time to rise. Six hundred thousand adult males, plus many more women and children, left Egypt on that day, and began the trek to Mount Sinai and their birth as G‑d’s chosen people." (source)
In order for the plague of the first born to be "passed over", a person of the house had to kill a lamb and apply the blood over the door posts of the house. This paints a perfect picture of how Jesus, the Lamb who was slain for the world, applies to the door posts of our hearts....saving us as well.
Why wouldn't we, as Christians, want to share this beautiful picture with your family this way?!
A quick look at the Passover Sedar.....
(Note: This is not exactly the way we as a family do our Passover, but it's a great guide)
This is the sedar (order) meal:
(Note: This is not exactly the way we as a family do our Passover, but it's a great guide)
This is the sedar (order) meal:
- A blessing is said over the first of four cups of wine. (Kiddush)
- The host washes his hands.
- The middle one of three matzah – that is, unleavened bread – is broken in two. One of the broken halves is hidden until after the meal.
- The Passover story is told. (Haggadah)
- A second cup of wine.
- Everyone washes their hands.
- Bitter herbs are eaten. In Exodus 12:8 the Jews were told to eat the lamb with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs. In Hebrew the bitter herbs are called ‘maror’. They are usually grated horseradish.
- The main meal. The main course is roasted lamb.
- A blessing is said after the meal.
- The broken half of matzah, which had been hidden, is brought back to the table. It has to be found by a child. The matzah is broken into pieces and distributed. Everyone eats of the bread.
- A third cup of wine.
- A child opens the door to see if Elijah is there. The Bible says that Elijah would come and precede the Messiah.
- Psalms 113 to 118 – the ‘hallel’, the praise psalms – are sung.
- A fourth cup of wine.
Note that four cups of wine are drank
The Sader Plate.....
The Karpas (parsley and salt water) reminds us of how God brought the captives across the Red Sea to safety and made them a new nation.
The shank bone and the egg show us the free offering that Jesus gave for us, and peace. Some say the egg also represents the hardness of Pharaoh's heart and the salt represents the tears of the Hebrew people.
Bitter herbs, usually horseradish but some use rashish, green onion, or some other bitter tasting herb. This reminds us of the bitterness the Hebrews suffered at the hands of the Pharaoh, and also the "bitter cup" Jesus prayed about in the garden before His death.
The Heroseth (or Cheroseth) is a mixture of chopped fruit and spices. It represents the brick mortar used by the Hebrew slaves. This sweet mixture represents bitter toil because even harsh labor is sweetened by the promise of redemption. We know that it was through Christ's bitter suffering that the sweetness of redemption also came to us (Hebrews 2:9-10).
How does this point to Jesus?
The message of Passover, when done in light of who Jesus is, is this.....Jesus took my place.
Jesus was referred to as "The Lamb of God" many times in the bible. The sacrifice that He gave on the cross was foreseen with every old testament mention of sacrificing a lamb. Lambs were slain for the sins of each person. Jesus was slain for the sin of the world...once for all. That's why we kill a lamb and partake of it.
We were captive, like the Egyptians, and God heard our cry. He sent the deliverer. We remember this during the Passover seder.
The unleavened(yeast free-yeast represents sin) matzah represents the body of Jesus that was broken for us. Even the stripes on the matzah show the stripes Jesus took for us.
The piece that is broken and hidden, then has to be found represents the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. There are 3 matzah to represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Wine is the symbol of the blood of Jesus, and joy.
The washing of the hands show how Jesus washes us and fulfills our needs.
The four cups of wine represent four promises made to Israel:
- The first cup of wine is called the cup of sanctification. It is to commemorate the promise: “I will bring you out.”
- The second cup is called the cup of plagues – the plagues that came upon Egypt – and it relates to the second promise: “I will free you from being slaves.”
- The third cup is called the cup of redemption, where God says: “I will redeem you.”
- The fourth cup is called the cup of completion, where God says: “I will take you as my own people.”
Through Jesus, all these promises have been fulfilled!
So, in light of all that, I guess we could hunt eggs if we wanted. But if you have not incorporated the biblical Passover into your celebration, or even replaced your traditional Easter celebration all together, I highly recommend it. It brings your whole family into the place Jesus walked, talked, and had fellowship while He walked the earth. And if we allow Him, still does today.
There is so much more detail to the Passover meal. Some great resources we use are from Thriving Family, Different Spirit, Jews for Jesus, and a great book called Celebrating Biblical Feasts by Martha Zimmerman.
For great homeschool resources, visit Heart of Wisdom.
For a free printable Messianic Passover Haggadah, click here....
“Baruch ha’ba b’shem Adonai”
“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”
UPDATE: In my studies and the leading of the Holy Spirit, I have come to some new insights with this and many other things. I will post an update soon. In the mean time, here is another great resource on why we have now decided to do away with non-biblical celebrations all together:
