New Covenant Christians and the Observance of Passover

 

The question of whether New Covenant Christians are required to keep the Passover, in addition to the Lord’s Supper, touches upon the broader theological theme of how the Old Covenant is fulfilled through Christ in the New Covenant. This essay explores the scriptural directives and the theological underpinnings concerning the transition from Passover to the Lord’s Supper.

 

 

Fulfillment of the Passover in Christ:

Paul explicitly describes Christ as 'our Passover lamb' who has been sacrificed (1 Corinthians 5:7), signifying that the sacrificial aspects of the Passover are completed in Jesus’ atoning death. This establishes a foundational understanding that Christ’s sacrifice supersedes the old Passover ritual.

 

 

Institution of the Lord’s Supper:

During what is widely regarded as a Passover meal, Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, instructing His disciples to partake of the bread and wine in remembrance of Him (Luke 22:19-20). This new ritual was given to commemorate His death and resurrection, shifting the focus from the Exodus to the Gospel.

 

 

Transition from Old to New Covenant:

The book of Hebrews elaborates on the new and superior covenant established by Christ (Hebrews 8:6-13), describing the Old Covenant as obsolete and set aside. This transition underlines that while the Old Testament remains instructive and valuable, the ritualistic and ceremonial laws it contains do not hold the same binding authority under the New Covenant.

 

 

Continuity and Discontinuity in Biblical Commands:

While Christians are called to uphold the moral and ethical teachings found in the Old Testament, the ceremonial laws, including the Passover, are fulfilled in Christ’s ultimate sacrifice. This delineation between moral and ceremonial law is crucial for understanding Christian obligations today.

 

 

Observance in the Early Church:

The practices of the early Christian church show a clear movement away from traditional Passover observances towards a regular celebration of the Lord’s Supper. This was seen as both fulfilling and replacing the Passover with a focus on Christ’s sacrifice and ongoing spiritual presence in the lives of believers.

 

 

Conclusion:

For New Covenant Christians, the Lord’s Supper fulfills the remembrance once signified by the Passover, focusing on the sacrificial death and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ. It serves as a regular celebration of the new life and redemption achieved through Him.

 

 

 

Referenced Scriptures (LSB):

 

1 Corinthians 5:7, “Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.”

 

Luke 22:19-20, “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.”

 

Hebrews 8:6-13, “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.

 

8 For finding fault with them, He says,

“Behold, days are coming, says the Lord,

When I will complete a new covenant

With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;

 

9 Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers

In the day when I took them by the hand

To lead them out of the land of Egypt;

For they did not continue in My covenant,

And I did not care for them, says the Lord.

 

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel

After those days, says the Lord:

I will put My laws into their minds,

And upon their hearts I will write them.

And I will be their God,

And they shall be My people.

 

11 And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen,

And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’

For all will know Me,

From the least to the greatest of them.

 

12 For I will be merciful to their iniquities,

And I will remember their sins no more.”

 

13 When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.”