Jewish Festivals and Holy Days

Passover

Pesach

Hebrew Date 15–21 Nisan

Season Spring

Duration 7 days in Israel; 8 days traditionally in the Diaspora

Type Biblical Festival

Passover remembers God's deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. It is one of the most important festivals in Jewish life. The celebration looks back to the Exodus and the beginning of Israel's life as a free people.

About Passover

Passover, called Pesach in Hebrew, remembers the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The story is told in the book of Exodus.

According to Exodus 12, God was about to bring the final plague upon Egypt. Each Israelite household was told to sacrifice a lamb and place some of its blood on the doorposts of the house. The families ate the meal in readiness to leave Egypt. During the night, the firstborn of Egypt died. The Israelite households were spared.

Pharaoh finally allowed the Israelites to leave. Their departure became the great story of deliverance in the Old Testament.

Passover was not meant to be remembered only as an event of the distant past. Each generation was taught to tell the story again. Children were to learn why the festival was observed and what God had done for His people.

Passover remains one of the major celebrations of Jewish life. Its central message is one of remembrance, freedom and God's deliverance.

Origin

The origin of Passover is found in the Exodus from Egypt. The Israelites had lived under Egyptian rule and had been forced into hard labor. God called Moses to lead them out of bondage.

After a series of plagues, God announced one final judgment upon Egypt. The firstborn would die. Israelite families were instructed to prepare a lamb and mark their doorposts with its blood. They were also told how to prepare and eat the meal.

The Israelites were commanded to remember that night in future generations. The Passover observance became closely joined with the Feast of Unleavened Bread. During this period, leaven was removed and unleavened bread was eaten.

What began as the remembrance of Israel's escape from Egypt became one of the great annual festivals of the Jewish people.

Biblical Basis

The main biblical account of Passover is found in Exodus 12. God instructed the Israelites to prepare a lamb for each household. They were to eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. The blood of the lamb was placed on the doorposts of their homes.

God also commanded Israel to remember the event. Parents were to explain its meaning to their children. The story of deliverance was therefore built into the observance itself.

Later passages gave additional instructions for Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Leviticus 23 placed them among Israel's appointed festivals. Deuteronomy 16 connected Passover with worship at the place God chose for His name.

Passover also became one of Israel's three great pilgrimage festivals. In later biblical times, worshipers traveled to Jerusalem for its celebration.

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Jewish Meaning

For Jewish people, Passover is much more than the remembrance of an ancient escape from Egypt. It is a celebration of freedom and Jewish identity.

The Exodus tells of God hearing the cries of an oppressed people and bringing them out of slavery. That deliverance became one of the central memories of Israel's faith.

Passover also makes memory personal. The story is told as something that belongs to each generation. Parents teach it to their children. The Seder brings the story into the home and around the family table.

The festival also reminds Jewish people that freedom carries responsibility. Israel was freed from Pharaoh in order to become a people belonging to God.

For this reason, Passover joins memory with faith. It remembers suffering, celebrates deliverance and looks toward hope.

Jesus and the New Testament

Passover forms an important part of the New Testament setting. The Gospels show Jesus traveling to Jerusalem for Jewish festivals, including Passover.

The final week of Jesus' earthly ministry took place during the Passover season. The Synoptic Gospels describe Jesus sharing a Passover meal with His disciples before His arrest. During that meal, He took bread and wine and gave them new significance in relation to His approaching death.

The Gospel of John also places the death of Jesus in the Passover setting. John repeatedly draws the reader's attention to the festival as the crucifixion approaches.

Other New Testament writers use Passover imagery when speaking about Jesus. Paul tells the Corinthians that "Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us." The New Testament also uses themes of deliverance, sacrifice and freedom that would have been familiar to people who knew the Exodus story.

Passover therefore provides important background for understanding the final days of Jesus and the way the earliest Christians spoke about His death.

Christian Relevance

Christians do not need to turn Passover into a Christian festival in order to learn from it. Its first meaning belongs to the biblical story of Israel and to Jewish life.

Yet Christians cannot fully understand many New Testament passages without knowing that story. Jesus was Jewish. His disciples were Jewish. Passover was part of the religious world in which they lived.

The Exodus also provides language that the New Testament uses to explain salvation. Israel was delivered from bondage. Christians understand the work of Jesus as bringing a deeper deliverance from sin and death.

The Passover setting of Jesus' final days gives added meaning to the Gospel accounts. His final meal with the disciples took place in this world of remembrance and deliverance. His death was understood by early Christians through images that included sacrifice and redemption.

Learning about Passover therefore helps Christians see the New Testament in its Jewish setting. It also helps connect the story of Jesus with the larger biblical story that came before Him.

Why It Matters

Passover stands at the heart of the biblical story of Israel. It remembers the night when God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and began leading them toward the Promised Land.

Understanding Passover also helps Christians understand the New Testament. Jesus celebrated Passover. The final days before His crucifixion took place during the Passover season. New Testament writers also used Passover language when explaining the meaning of Jesus' death.

Knowing what Passover meant to the Jewish people helps us read these passages in the world in which they were first heard.