152 Nazarene Jewish Passover | nazareneisrael2house

Nazarene Jewish Passover.

Whilst still in Egypt, YHVH commanded the Israelites to observe the first Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, in the evening or the beginning part of the day at twilight. To fully understand the importance and meaning of the Passover, it is essential that we consider that very first Passover. After the death of Joseph the children of Israel became slaves in the land of Egypt. They were forced into hard labor making bricks and mortar for Pharaoh’s many building projects. They worked every day, for seven days of the week and their Egyptian taskmasters threatened and whipped anyone who fell behind in his work. Those not working on the building projects were forced to work in the fields, under the heat of the sun. Even young children were used as farm laborers to cultivate the crops of the land, or to make bricks. They worked every day, from sunrise to sunset and could not do anything about it – they were powerless and could not help themselves. But Almighty YHVH saw their plight and decided to help them through His faithful servant Moses. YHVH displayed his power to deliver the Israelites from slavery in Egypt through a series of plagues. After nine destructive plagues when Pharaoh still refused to let the Israelites go, YHVH told Moses in Exodus 11: 1, saying: “One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out from here completely.” The Egyptians would be devastated by this tenth and final plague, since YHVH would take the lives of all the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt.

In Scriptural times the firstborn son was given special treatment; a first-born son usually received a double portion of the inheritance and became the head of the family when his father died. In a monarchy like Egypt, it was his firstborn son who ascended the throne, when the Pharaoh died. The firstborn was also usually the most loved and respected in the family and it was a great tragedy for the Egyptians to lose all their first-born in a single day. Nevertheless, it will become clear later how YHVH will also resurrect the first-born of Egypt after the millennium, to become part of the second harvest of human beings into His everlasting Kingdom, as part of His plan of salvation for all mankind. Even though the last and tenth plague would be on every family living in the land of Egypt, YHVH gave the Israelites a method to escape this great tragedy in history. He instructed that each family choose a male lamb without any blemishes, under a year old, from their flock and to bring it into their homes on the tenth day of the first month. They were to kill the lamb immediately after sunset at the beginning of the fourteenth of Aviv and mark the doorposts and lintels of their homes with the blood of the lamb. They were to roast and eat the lamb inside their homes that night and be ready to depart from the land of Egypt in haste. When YHVH struck the first-born at midnight on the fourteenth day (as per Exodus 12: 29), He passed over the homes which were marked with blood on its doorposts and lintels and spared the firstborn members of the family, as recorded in Exodus 12: 13, as follows: “And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” Because the Israelites obeyed Elohim’s instructions that night, He spared their first-born children and animals from death.

At the time of the first Passover, the children of Israel did not know that the Passover sacrifice that they partook of was in fact a prototype of Yahshua’s sacrifice as the Lamb of Elohim one day in the future. We read about this from 1 Corinthians 5: 7, in this way: “Clean out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Messiah our Passover also has been sacrificed.” A second witness is recorded in 1 Peter 1: 18 – 19, as follows: “Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, (19) but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Messiah.” It is important to understand that at times the Scriptures depict Egypt as a type or symbol of sin. When we sin, we bring the death penalty upon ourselves as witnessed in the first part of Romans 6: 23, in this way: ‘For the wages of sin is death.’ However, for those who heed Elohim’s call to return to Him in repentance through Yahshua, there is the promise recorded in the second part of verse 23, as follows: ‘(but) the free gift of Elohim is eternal life in Messiah Yahshua our Master.’ Yahshua our Messiah redeemed the first-fruits of the house of Israel from the death penalty, which we earned by transgressing the teachings of Elohim, but will also do so for the rest of mankind after the Great White Throne Judgement period, during which time they will be instructed in the way of Elohim and be given their first opportunity to accept or reject the way of Elohim, as may be understood from John 1: 29, in this way: ‘The next day he (John the Immerser) saw Yahshua coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of Elohim who takes away the sin of the world!”’ Yahshua qualified to do this because He lived a sinless life as a ‘human being’ and never incurred the death penalty upon Himself, because He did not sin and as the Word of Elohim (our Creator) who became flesh, His life was more valuable than all other human lives together. He therefore paid the death penalty for all mankind. Elohim’s ultimate goal is to give eternal life to all those who obey and serve Him out of their own free will, but because we all have sinned, we brought the death penalty on ourselves. Even so, due to His love for His creation, Yahshua paid the death penalty by dying on the impalement stake in 31 CE, on our behalf. Consequently, when YHVH calls a believer and the believer decides to follow Him wholeheartedly by repenting and confessing his/her past sins to Elohim and return to full Torah obedience, the new believer should be immersed in the saving name of Yahshua and will (as a result of the laying on of hands of a teaching elder) receive a portion of the Set-apart Spirit (as recorded in Acts 2: 38 and 8: 12 - 17). At immersion, YHVH forgives us by applying Yahshua’s sacrifice to our past sins, when He becomes our personal Passover Lamb. That is why we keep the Passover at the season appointed for it, as a memorial of what YHVH has accomplished for us through Yahshua.

The Israelites were commanded to observe the Passover by killing and eating the Passover lamb (in Exodus 12), but Yahshua the Passover who specifically came to redeem the lives of first-fruit returning Israelites (including a number of real Gentiles) from the second death, replaced the lamb sacrificed at Passover when He introduced ‘new symbols’ for those observing His memorial Passover. In the evening before His death, as the 13th of Aviv came to a close between sunset and the appearance of three stars besides the evening star (at twilight), Yahshua and His disciples observed the Passover differently to what the ancient Israelites were instructed to do, but also to the way the house of Judah is currently doing in accordance with the instructions given them by the mouth of YHVH through the hand of Moses in the second part of Deuteronomy 16: 6[1]. Yahshua changed the Passover ceremony for His disciples the night before His impalement, as a pattern of how they (but also us His modern day disciples) were to observe the Passover from then on, until His return in the near future, after which the house of Israel will probably do it in unison with the house of Judah. Consequently, only returning Israelites (including a number or real Gentiles) called out of the religions of the world, who joined themselves to the covenant YHVH made with Abraham through faith in Messiah, who are circumcised in both heart (immersed) and flesh (only applicable to males) may partake of Messiah’s memorial Passover until He returns to rule the commonwealth of Israel, as the Kingdom of Elohim. They are those who repented from transgressing Elohim’s Torah teachings in the past, who accepted that Yahshua also died for their sin, and were immersed into His saving name. So, in addition to being immersed, the commandment given for the original Passover regarding males, still applies, as recorded in Exodus 12: 48, in this way: “But if a sojourns with you, and celebrates the Passover to YHVH, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near to celebrate it; and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat of it.” Nevertheless, Yahshua also introduced the foot washing ceremony as one of the new symbols for His memorial Passover, which He and His disciples kept on the night before His impalement. After taking a towel and pouring water into a basin, Yahshua washed the feet of each one of the disciples – an action which they did not understand, as it was a function normally performed by household servants (as may be seen from John 13: 4 - 7). However, Yahshua explained His actions in John 13: 13 – 17, saying: “You call me Teacher and Master; and you are right, for so I am. (14) If I then, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. (15) For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. (16) Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master; neither is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. (17) If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” Yahshua was essentially showing His disciples that He came to the earth to serve mankind and immediately after the Passover, He proved the extent of His service for this world when He gave His life to pay for the sins of all mankind. Foot washing shows an attitude of humility and service to others, which Yahshua wants every Nazarene to imitate in our lives.

Even though Unleavened Bread is not new to the original Passover, Yahshua introduced a new meaning to the Unleavened Bread eaten that evening, as we read from Matthew 26: 26, in this way: “And while they were eating, Yahshua took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’” Yahshua told His disciples that the unleavened bread which was broken, symbolized His body; before His impalement He was severely beaten and even though He was a hard working young man with a healthy body, it was a terrible beating. It was so severe that the skin on His back was torn from His bones, and many were no longer able to recognize Him, as was prophesied about Him in Isaiah 52: 14, as follows: “Just as many were astonished at you, My people, so His appearance was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men.” Most believers, who partake of Matzo crackers (Unleavened Bread) during Passover, are not always aware of the meaning of the stripes and holes on these crackers, which our Jewish brothers dutifully make prior to baking it, without knowing the true reason for doing so. We know that physical illness is usually as a result of breaking physical health laws, such as not eating balanced meals; not sleeping enough; and not getting enough exercise. It could also be as a result of eating un-kosher foods, such as lobsters and the like, which could eventually result in us getting Lupus or another incurable disease. Sickness is the penalty we pay for breaking the physical laws, just like the second death is the penalty for breaking Spiritual Laws (or Torah). Even so, it is Elohim’s intention that we live happy, abundant lives, as we see He inspired Yochanan to write in 3 John 2, saying: “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul (life) prospers.” Because of Elohim’s love for mankind, He allowed Yahshua to suffer immensely even though He did not break any physical health laws. However, He paid this penalty so that when we become ill or are involved in an accident, we may be healed, as witnessed in 1 Peter 2: 24, as follows: “And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” When we become ill, we should follow the instructions given in James 5: 14 & 15, in this way: “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the congregation, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Master; (15) and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Master will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.” So we see that part of the meaning of the Unleavened Bread that we eat at Passover, is that YHVH promises to heal us. Another

very important part of the Passover service is the wine, which is symbolic of the shed blood of Yahshua, as witnessed in Matthew 26: 27 - 28, as follows: ‘And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; (28) for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”’ According to the example that Yahshua left us, we partake of a little bit of wine after eating a small piece of unleavened bread, as a reminder of His shed blood. Yahshua’s shed blood freed us from the penalty of eternal death, because of the sins that we have committed. Even though we as Elohim’s people strive to obey the Torah, as flesh and blood humans we are not perfect yet and still sin at times. Fortunately we have Elohim’s promise, that if we repent of our sins and return to obeying Torah, He will forgive us.

There are those who agree that Yahshua was our Passover Lamb, but because He was impaled before the Jews of His day partook of the Passover, they hold that He could not partake of the Passover before He died. However, if Yahshua did not partake of the Passover before He died, He would have died for His own sin and you and I would be most miserable as the death penalty would still hang over our heads. How can I say that? Let’s turn to Numbers 9: 2 & 3 to see what Torah teaches regarding this subject, in this way: “Now, let the sons of Israel observe the Passover at its appointed time. (3) On the fourteenth day of this month at twilight, you shall observe it at its appointed time; you shall observe it according to all its statutes and according to all its ordinances.” From verse 4 on, it gives details why at times the children of Israel could not always observe the Passover at the appointed time; he/she might be on a journey or is unclean because he/she came in touch with a dead person (when a family member passed away and he/she had to bury the family member during the time of the Passover) and may therefore partake of a second Passover during the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight, as described in Numbers 9: 13, as follows: “But the man who is clean and is not on a journey, and yet neglects to observe the Passover, that person shall then be cut off from his people, for he did not present the offering of YHVH at its appointed time. That man shall bear his sin.” If Yahshua did not partake of the Passover and died only for His own sin because He neglected to observe this important ceremony, we as returning Israelites from the lost ten tribes, and indeed the whole world would have a real problem, since we would as a result still be held captive by our past sins. Nevertheless, the original Passover was kept on the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight (transliterated as ‘Bayn Ha-erbaim’ in Hebrew meaning ‘between the two evenings’ or ‘twilight time’ in English). When is twilight? Some insist that twilight or ‘between the two evenings’, means the next afternoon or evening. They therefore suppose that the original Passover was kept at the end of the fourteenth. However, we see from the Scriptures that twilight simply means in the evening, as witnessed in the first part of Exodus 16: 8, in this way: ‘And Moses said, ”This will happen when YHVH gives you meat to eat in the evening, and bread to the full in the morning.”’ Continuing in verses 12 & 13 of Exodus 16, we read: “I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am YHVH your Elohim’” (13) So it came about at evening (the beginning of the new day) that the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.’ It is therefore clear, by comparing these two sections of the Scriptures, that twilight does not mean the next evening; it is simply at the start of the day in the evening. According to Deuteronomy 16: 1 the Israelites left Egypt by night, we also read from Numbers 28: 16 & 17: “Then on the fourteenth day of the first month shall be Elohim’s Passover. (17) And on the fifteenth day of this month shall be a feast, unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days.” In addition, according to the last part of Exodus 12: 22, the Israelites were not permitted to leave their houses during the night of the fourteenth until the morning and if they left during the night of the Passover, they would have been disobedient to Elohim’s instruction. We also read from Exodus 12: 29, “Now it came about at midnight that YHVH struck all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the first-born of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the first-born of cattle.” So they could not have left during the night of the Passover, but left during the next night, in the full moon to help them on their journey.

We read from Genesis 49: 10 that rulership (as far as religious matters are concerned) would remain with Judah, until Yahshua comes to rule the commonwealth of Israel, as the Kingdom of Elohim on earth. Whilst Yahshua’s first advent was to bring a remnant of the lost ten tribes back to the covenant we made with Elohim, together with the house of Judah at Mount Sinai, His second advent is to come and rule the world from Jerusalem. We know that Yahshua kept the Passover a whole 24 hours before the Jews of His day did, at sunset on the 14th of Aviv, so that His death at three o' clock the next afternoon would coincide with the time when the Jews of His day slaughtered their Passover Lambs, before partaking of their Passover during the night they left Egypt as commanded in Deuteronomy 16. That was the only change Yahshua, who was the prophet that YHVH promised Moses that He would raise for the Israelites from among their countrymen like him, through whom YHVH would speak all that He commands them in Deuteronomy 18: 18 & 19 – Yahshua kept all the other Set-apart days of Elohim with the Jews of His day and eHh will only make any corrections to the Hebrew calendar at His return to rule, if necessary. This agrees with what our Jewish brothers believe regarding what Shiloh (a Scriptural name for the Messiah) will do when He comes. As returnees of the lost ten tribes, we keep the Passover at twilight on the fourteenth day of Aviv as a memorial to Messiah’s death, as Rav Shaul also taught us in 1 Corinthians 11: 23 – 26, saying: “For I received from the Master that which I also delivered to you: that the Master Yahshua in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; (24) and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” (25) In the same way He took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” (26) For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Master’s death until He comes.’ The Passover as a memorial to Yahshua’s death is one of the traditions in which we follow Rav Shaul, as He followed Messiah, as we read from 1 Corinthians 11: 1 & 2 (and verse 23 above), as follows: ‘Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Messiah. (2) Now I praise you because you remember me in everything, and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.’ I know there are many Messianic Jews/Israelites who disregard the foot-washing service Messiah introduced at His last Passover as superfluous and that a great deal of what Rav Shaul taught was anti-Torah and should therefore be rejected.

However, we read the warning given us by Rav Kepha regarding the validity of Rav Shaul’s teachings in 2 Peter 3: 13 – 16, saying: ‘But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. (14) Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, (15) and regard the patience of our Master to be salvation; just as also our beloved brother Shaul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, (16) as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.’ You and I may choose to disregard the traditions which Rav Shaul learnt from our Master Yahshua and taught the Nazarene Israelites to follow, but that could truly be one way in which we contradict what Yahshua taught. We read further from Mark 14: 13 & 14, ‘And He sent two of His disciples, and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him; (14) and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is My guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” From this it is clear that Yahshua fully intended to eat the Passover with His disciples. In verse 16 of Mark 14, we also see that they prepared the Passover and in verse 18 that Yahshua ate the Passover when he said: “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me – one who is eating with Me.” Continuing in verse 23 of Mark 14, we read: ‘And when He had taken a cup, and given thanks, He gave it to them; and they all drank from it.’ Brethren, whether you believe it or not, this was the Passover that Yahshua was partaking of, even though it was 24 hours prior to the Passover of the Jews. If it was the Passover, then I say to you again, if He did not partake of it, then we are all still in our sin, as we read in the last part of Numbers 9: 13 “That man shall bear his sin.” After Yahshua’s death and resurrection, His disciples continued to follow His example by keeping the Passover and all the other festivals which He kept. Rav Shaul also continued to instruct the Nazarene Jews around 55 CE about the correct way to keep the Passover, as we read from 1 Corinthians 11. The Word of YHVH clearly shows that the people of Elohim will continue to observe the Passover as an annual memorial of His death.

The timing of the Passover has been debated by Bible students for many years. The Renewed Covenant clearly places the Passover kept by Yahshua and His disciples at the beginning of the 14th of Aviv, the evening during which He was betrayed. The Rabbinic understanding where the Passover commences at the end of the 14th of Aviv, with the 15th of Aviv as the High Sabbath was also the understanding of the Pharisees and Priests at the time of Messiah. A popular theory by those who insist that Yahshua did not partake of the Passover, is that He supposedly kept a mock Passover with His disciples the evening before the actual Passover, to show them how to keep the Passover the next afternoon and in the future, as He knew that He will be the Passover Lamb the following afternoon. However, we read from the four Gospels that Yahshua and His disciples ‘kept the Passover’, ‘that we may eat it (Passover)’, and ‘prepared the Passover’. The argument that the Passover that Yahshua kept was only a practice run, or mock Passover is usually “proven” by making use of Luke 22: 15 – 18, as follows: ‘And He (Yahshua) said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; (16) for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of Elohim.” (17) And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; (18) for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the Kingdom of Elohim comes.”’ However, reading from verse 8 to verse 22, we see that Yahshua actually ate this Passover, but would not eat it again until He comes to rule the world from Jerusalem. The theory of the mock Passover is presented saying that Yahshua really wanted to keep the Passover, yet wasn’t going to be able to, because the actual Passover was only supposed to occur on the next afternoon after 3 pm. Others insist that Yahshua took a Nazirite vow and could not partake of the Passover, because he could not drink any wine. But, there is no indication in the Scriptures that Yahshua ever took a Nazirite vow, instead we read His own words in Luke 7: 33 & 34, as follows: “For John the Immerser has come eating no bread and drinking no wine; and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ (34) The Son of Man has come eating and drinking; and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man, and a drunkard, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners!’

The second reason why some say that Yahshua did not partake of the Passover is because He referred to the cup of wine as the New Covenant in His blood, and since the New Covenant will only be inaugurated when the Kingdom of Elohim comes, He will only drink it at that time. However, absolutely nothing in the Renewed Covenant supports the theory of a mock Passover. Nowhere do we find His disciples gathered together the next evening keeping the Passover. They scattered after Yahshua was arrested and did not come together again until after His resurrection. The Nazarene system of keeping the Passover season is an eight day system, having Passover occurring on the 14th and seven days of unleavened bread follows from the 15th through the 21st of Aviv. This was also how the original Passover occurred, but was changed as part of the Renewed Covenant for the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 16, before they went into the Promised Land. To show this from the Tanach, let’s examine the meaning of the text in Exodus 12: 6, in this way: ‘And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.’ Continuing in verse 14 of Exodus 12, we read: ‘Now this day will be is a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to YHVH; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance.’ Exodus 12: 6 and 14 establishes the 14th of Aviv as a memorial and a feast day to be kept throughout Israel’s generations. Continuing on in Exodus 12: 15, we read: ‘Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.’ We know that the seven day period of Unleavened Bread starts after Passover. But, for this exercise, we need to hone in on the key phrase ‘first day’. The Hebrew word which appears as ‘first’ in this verse is transliterated as ‘roshown’ and may be translated as ‘head’, ‘chief’, ‘former or before’. The Hebrew language is a contextual language with its terms relying on what surrounds them. The word ‘roshown’ is translated as ‘former’ in Numbers 6: 12 ‘and shall dedicate to YHVH his days as a Nazirite, and shall bring a male lamb a year old for a guilt offering; but the former days shall be void because his separation was defiled.’

We read from the last part of Joshua 8: 33, ‘as Moses the servant of YHVH had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. (KJV)’ However, in this case note that the New American Standard Bible reads: ‘just as Moses the servant of YHVH had given command at first to bless the people of Israel.’ In this case ‘roshown’ is translated as ‘before’ or ‘first’. In 1 Kings 13: 6, ‘roshown’ is again translated as ‘before’, in this way: ‘And the king answered and said to the man of Elohim, “Please entreat YHVH your Elohim, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” So the man of Elohim entreated YHVH, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and it became as it was before.’ The literal meaning of the Hebrew word ‘roshown’ as before is also confirmed by ancient translations such as the Septuagint (LXX) and the Peshitta Tanach. The Greek Septuagint translation has “Prote”, which essentially means the same thing as “roshown’ and the Peshitta Aramaic Tanach has “kadmaya” from the Aramaic root “k’dam” also meaning ‘before.’ All these words for ‘before’ are translated as such, when there is context to place what follows it, after what is just mentioned. For example “roshown’ is translated as ‘before’ in the phrase “first of the month” because there is nothing to place this month before. In Exodus 12: 15 – 19, the Nazarene System, is plain to see: ‘Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. (16) And on the first day you shall have a holy assembly, and another holy assembly on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them, except what must be eaten by every person, that alone may be prepared by you. (17) You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance. (18) In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. (19) ‘Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is an alien or a native of the land.’

Verse 17 confirms that the 15th day of Aviv is the first day of the seven days of Unleavened Bread, since we know from Numbers 33: 3 that the day in which Israel was brought out of Egypt was the 15th day of the first month; ‘on the next day after the Passover.’ It is clear from Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16, that there are actually eight days in which unleavened bread is eaten; from the 14th through the 21st, but that there are only seven days (15th – 21st) in which leaven is forbidden in dwellings. For clarity purposes we focus on the preposition ‘until’ in verse 18 similar to the way in which it is done in Hebrew. The transliterated Hebrew word used here is ‘ad’ which can mean ‘during, even, unto, equally with’. It is clear that the Hebrew preposition ‘ad’ may or may not include the direct object in its usage. However, ‘ad’ in these instances includes the direct object which would be the 21st. The phrase “until the twenty-first day of the month at evening” is best interpreted chronologically just as it appears; i.e. after the 21st; there is an evening at which the feast ends. This understanding is supported by Leviticus 23: 32, as follows: “It is to be a Sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your Sabbath.” Here the fast for the Day of Atonement is started after the 9th at evening, but we know that the fast is on the 10th as per Leviticus 23: 27. Therefore, the evening that follows the ninth is the evening of the 10th. The point is one of succession of chronology as it relates to the phrase “until the twenty-first day of the month at evening” – the evening referred to in Exodus 12: 18 is therefore the evening that comes after the 21st.

The key to understanding the original Passover is given in Leviticus 23: 5 – 8, in this way: ‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is Elohim’s Passover. (6) Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to YHVH for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. (7) On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work. (8) But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to YHVH. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.’ The original Passover was kept on the 14th Aviv, as may be seen from both verse 5 of Leviticus 23 and verse 6 of Exodus 12. Verse 6 of Leviticus 23, as well as verse 7 of Exodus 12, shows that the 15th of Aviv as the day on which Israel left Egypt (as per Numbers 33: 3) and that this is the day in which the seven days of unleavened bread begins, during which only unleavened bread may be found in our homes. Verse 7 and 8 of Leviticus 23 clearly show that as in Exodus 12: 16, the first and seventh days of Unleavened Bread are days on which Set-apart convocations are to be held. Interestingly enough, verse 8 of Leviticus 23 mentions seven days in which burnt offerings were to be made – the timing of which follows the day of Passover and starts on the 15th of Aviv. We’ve seen before from the Renewed Covenant that Yahshua kept the Passover the evening of the 14th of Aviv, and was impaled, and buried on the day of preparation before the High Sabbath of the 15th of Aviv, as may be read in John 19: 31. The understanding of an eight day system for the Passover and Unleavened Bread is affirmed by Josephus in a statement that he made as recorded in Jos. Antiq. 2:15:1, “…we keep a feast for eight days which is called unleavened bread.” Further details are given in a statement by Josephus at Jos. Antiq.3:10:5 “In the month of Xanthicus, which is by us called Nisan (also known as Aviv), and is the beginning of our year. On the fourteenth day of the lunar month, when the sun is in Aries, (for in this month it was that we were delivered from bondage under the Egyptians) the law ordained that we should every year slay that sacrifice which I before told you we slew when we came out of Egypt, and which was called the Passover, and so we do celebrate this Passover in companies, leaving nothing of what we sacrifice till the day following. The feast of unleavened bread succeeds that of the Passover, and falls on the fifteenth day of the month, and continues seven days, wherein they feed on unleavened bread; on every one of which days two bulls are killed, and one ram, and seven lambs. Now these lambs are entirely burnt, besides the kid of the goats which is added to all the rest, for sins; for it is intended as a feast for the priest on every one of those days. But on the second day of unleavened bread, which is the sixteenth day of the month, they first partake of the fruits of the earth, for before that day they do not touch them.” This also confirms that the Omer account starts on the 16th of Aviv when the produce of the land was eaten, as witnessed in Joshua 5: 10 - 12. I hope this makes clear why we as Nazarene Israelites keep the Passover 24 hours before our Jewish Brothers, as a once a year memorial, until He comes. Even if some don’t agree with this teaching, we need to partake of the Passover if we want to live eternally, as Yahshua taught in John 6: 58, saying: “This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate, and died, he who eats this bread shall live forever.” Think about it!

[1] Deuteronomy 16: 6, ‘You shall sacrifice the Passover in the evening at sunset, at the time that you came out of Egypt.’ This is absolutely correct for the house of Judah, since it also agrees with the timing of Yahshua’s death on the cross, when they normally kill their Passover lambs – at three o’clock in the afternoon!