Thank you for taking the time to post your comments to the Messianic Ministries section of the www.LAOG.org website. We have a Messianic Ministry at the church in order to share with our congregants the importance of understanding the Jewish roots of our faith. Many Christian churches these days are becoming more aware of this importance, especially the importance of understanding the meaning of the seven feasts of the Lord, including Passover.

First of all, let me say that we, as a church, continue to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. Like most Christian churches we do have a special service [to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord from the dead] on what is commonly referred to as Easter Sunday. But in addition to that, we do teach about and celebrate the Passover as outlined by the Lord in Lev 23. We celebrate with a Passover Seder {a meal with a special order to it, including a fair amount of teaching} each year during the time of Passover. Our Seder is similar in many respects to the way Jewish people all over the world celebrate this feast. However, in most Jewish homes, the Seder naturally does not include any references to Yeshua as being the Jewish Messiah.

We therefore refer to our celebration as a Messianic Passover Seder to highlight that the meaning of Passover is centered upon Yeshua (Jesus, the Jewish Messiah) who Himself is the sacrificial Passover lamb who shed his blood on the cross for the sins of mankind. Just as the blood of a spotless lamb was placed on the door frame of each Jewish home thousands of years ago in Egypt and their first born were protected from death, so the blood of Yeshua can now be placed on the doorposts of the hearts of all who accept Him. God passes over our sins because of the blood of the Lamb, Yeshua. Several chapters in the book of John {13-17} explain how Yeshua himself celebrated the Passover with a special meal with his disciples and all that He said to them. Paul, too, refers to Yeshua as the Passover Lamb in I Cor 5:7.

The Passover has never been abolished, as it is a part of God’s Word which is eternal. It is a yearly reminder of the grace of God who loved the world so much that he sent His son to be a sacrificial Lamb for all, for ever. Gentiles have now been grafted into the Commonwealth of Israel and are spiritual descendants of Abraham. As such, we continue to abide in His word and follow the command He gave to His disciples at Passover, ‘Do this in remembrance of Me.’

Guss Wheeler