Each year at this time, Jews observe Passover, Christians observe Easter, and intermarried couples wrestle with what to do about both holidays, especially if they have children. Passover reminds us of the Exodus, God’s miraculous rescue of the Jews from slavery. God instructed our people to remove leaven from their homes, kill a lamb, and spread its blood on their doorposts so that He would “pass over” them during His judgment on Egypt and her gods (Exodus 12:1-28). About 1200 years after the Exodus, a second Passover miracle occurred: the death and resurrection of Messiah Yeshua, who you all know as Jesus. This amazing event, today known as Easter, marked an even greater rescue – God’s release of mankind from sin and death through Yeshua’s sacrificial atonement.
As different as these holidays may seem, Yeshua’s death and resurrection at Passover was no coincidence. His final meal before His sacrificial atonement was a Passover Seder, know to Christians as the Last Supper. This – along with prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures – is why His first followers, all Jews, recognized Him as the “Passover Lamb,” the “Messiah,” and the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”[1]
Naturally, early Jewish and Gentile believers in Yeshua observed Passover and the Resurrection as two holidays in one. They did not start a new holiday called Easter.
However, the practice changed radically in the early centuries after Yeshua. Gentile followers of Yeshua began to outnumber Jewish ones, an anti-Jewish bias arose, and Gentile leaders aggressively distanced themselves from the Jews.
The chasm widened in 325 C.E. at the Council of Nicea, which voted to separate Passover from the Resurrection. Roman Emperor Constantine gave official voice to this landmark decision, stating, “…in unanimously adopting this mode [of when to celebrate the Resurrection], we desire, dearest brethren, to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jews.”[2]
Messianic Jews were excluded from the historical meeting at Nicea, where theological decisions were made that, to this day, fundamentally influence Christianity.
The anti-Jewish, anti-Passover attitude was totally inconsistent with the life and teachings of Yeshua and His early followers. No wonder so much tension grew over the centuries between Jews and Gentile Christians.
The question remains: Can Passover and the Resurrection exist in harmony, especially among intermarried couples? The answer is “Yes, but…” Yes, they can coexist, but true harmony comes only when Jews and Gentile Christians return to the roots of their faith – the Older and Newer Covenants (Testaments).
The unity of these two holidays can be seen today at Messianic Jewish congregations throughout the world, where Messianic Jews and Gentile Christians worship in a Jewish context similar to that of Yeshua and His early followers. Together, we remember the sacrifice and resurrection of the Messiah in the God-given context of Passover.
May the coming holiday season be filled with the joy and peace of this reality.
