The New Testament Church
Had Jesus Christ kept the Passover on the wrong day, how could He still be our Savior?
Could He be a Lamb without blemish?
Christ instructed the Apostle Paul about the symbols that had been changed on that last Passover
before His crucifixion (Matthew 26:26-30; Luke 22:15-20). Paul explained to the Corinthians that
Christ was our Passover. Notice 1 Corinthians 5:7: “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may
be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.”
Paul further explains the Passover in 1 Corinthians 11:23. “For I have received of the Lord that which
also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread.”
Paul and God’s people at that time were to eat the bread and drink the wine. When? On “the same night
in which he Christ was [betrayed]” (verse 23): the beginning part, the evening of the 14th.
Again, the time setting is the evening of the 14th—the night Jesus was betrayed by Judas.
Paul goes on to explain the changed symbols. “And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said,
Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same
manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood:
this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me” (verses 24-25).
There can be no doubt that what Paul is talking about is the Passover Christ kept with His disciples.
Paul instructed God’s Church to keep the Passover at the same time and the same way that Christ
kept it. It was to be kept in remembrance of Christ.
Now notice the next verse which makes it very plain. “For as often as ye eat this bread,
and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come” (verse 26).
Some assume that, since Christ was crucified on the afternoon of the 14th, the lamb must have been
slain in the afternoon of the 14th in the Old Testament and that the Passover meal must have been
that night on the 15th.
The night Christ was betrayed, which He plainly called the Passover, they ate the bread and drank
the wine for what? To “show the Lord’s death till he come”! Paul’s group followed that example
precisely. In the New Testament, Christ changed the symbols, not the day.
-
The Church After the Apostles
But what about after the time of Christ and the New Testament apostles?
Is there any proof that the Church after the apostles kept the Passover on the 14th?
On page 141 of Eusebius Ecclestical History, it mentions that Polycarp went to Rome to discuss
with Anicetus, the head of the Roman church, a topic concerning the day of the Passover.
Polycarp had been instructed by the apostles and had been appointed head of the Church at Smyrna
by the apostles. Eusebius writes that “he [Polycarp] always taught what he had learned from the
apostles,what the Church handed down and what is the only true doctrine.” He mentions there was
considerable discussion about the difference of opinion concerning the Passover:
“The churches of all Asia guided by a remoter tradition supposed that they ought to keep the 14th day
of the moon for the festival of the Savior’s Passover.” This was around a.d. 154, when Polycrates,
who followed Polycarp, stated, “We observe the exact day: neither adding, nor taking away.”
Notice they kept the 14th day for the Passover. So here is historical evidence that the apostles and
the New Testament Church kept the Passover on the 14th, also indicating there was still controversy
on which day to observe it, the 14th or the 15th.
Remember, the Jews kept it a day later than Christ, and later Jewish converts could have brought
this controversy into the New Testament Church when they were converted to Christianity.
-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartodecimanism
Many have heard of what is called the “quartodeciman controversy.” Quarto means four,
and deciman means ten; together that totals 14.
In the early New Testament Church, after Christ died, there arose this quartodeciman controversy.
The Christians who were keeping the 14th Passover were called into question about their beliefs.
It appears that the Jews began to make division concerning the 14th or the 15th Passover observance.
There is evidence that this movement began right after the fall of Jerusalem, and the Jews could no
longer offer a temple sacrificial lamb on the evening before the 15th because the temple had been
destroyed. The Jewish passover at that point became exclusively a 15th of Nisan Passover.
It is still that way today. the Passover Christ kept with His disciples was the 14th.
Notice again in 1 Corinthians 11:23: “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered
unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread.”
This is the day the Apostle Paul taught Christians to observe the Passover.
the night Jesus Christ observed His last Passover was on the 14th! the traditional Jewish Passover
(15th observance), is traditions of men, which are contrary to the truth of God.
The Apostle Paul in Galatians 2 soundly and publicly rebuked Peter and the other Jews for making
the Gentiles Judaize by following the tradition of the Jews in place of the teachings of God.
Jesus, without reservation, totally rejected the Jews’ religious traditions, because in holding
to their traditions, they rejected and set aside the commandments of God. (Mark 7:7-9).
The Passover only pictures the death of Christ for the remission of sins that are past (Romans 3:25).
The seven days of Unleavened Bread following Passover picture to us the complete putting away of sin
To what extent shall we put away sin? Not partially, but completely! And, as leaven is also a type of sin
(1 Corinthians 5:8)—leaven puffs up, and so does sin, and seven is God’s number symbolizing completeness
Had Jesus Christ kept the Passover on the wrong day, how could He still be our Savior?
Could He be a Lamb without blemish?
Christ instructed the Apostle Paul about the symbols that had been changed on that last Passover
before His crucifixion (Matthew 26:26-30; Luke 22:15-20). Paul explained to the Corinthians that
Christ was our Passover. Notice 1 Corinthians 5:7: “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may
be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.”
Paul further explains the Passover in 1 Corinthians 11:23. “For I have received of the Lord that which
also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread.”
Paul and God’s people at that time were to eat the bread and drink the wine. When? On “the same night
in which he Christ was [betrayed]” (verse 23): the beginning part, the evening of the 14th.
Again, the time setting is the evening of the 14th—the night Jesus was betrayed by Judas.
Paul goes on to explain the changed symbols. “And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said,
Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same
manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood:
this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me” (verses 24-25).
There can be no doubt that what Paul is talking about is the Passover Christ kept with His disciples.
Paul instructed God’s Church to keep the Passover at the same time and the same way that Christ
kept it. It was to be kept in remembrance of Christ.
Now notice the next verse which makes it very plain. “For as often as ye eat this bread,
and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come” (verse 26).
Some assume that, since Christ was crucified on the afternoon of the 14th, the lamb must have been
slain in the afternoon of the 14th in the Old Testament and that the Passover meal must have been
that night on the 15th.
The night Christ was betrayed, which He plainly called the Passover, they ate the bread and drank
the wine for what? To “show the Lord’s death till he come”! Paul’s group followed that example
precisely. In the New Testament, Christ changed the symbols, not the day.
-
The Church After the Apostles
But what about after the time of Christ and the New Testament apostles?
Is there any proof that the Church after the apostles kept the Passover on the 14th?
On page 141 of Eusebius Ecclestical History, it mentions that Polycarp went to Rome to discuss
with Anicetus, the head of the Roman church, a topic concerning the day of the Passover.
Polycarp had been instructed by the apostles and had been appointed head of the Church at Smyrna
by the apostles. Eusebius writes that “he [Polycarp] always taught what he had learned from the
apostles,what the Church handed down and what is the only true doctrine.” He mentions there was
considerable discussion about the difference of opinion concerning the Passover:
“The churches of all Asia guided by a remoter tradition supposed that they ought to keep the 14th day
of the moon for the festival of the Savior’s Passover.” This was around a.d. 154, when Polycrates,
who followed Polycarp, stated, “We observe the exact day: neither adding, nor taking away.”
Notice they kept the 14th day for the Passover. So here is historical evidence that the apostles and
the New Testament Church kept the Passover on the 14th, also indicating there was still controversy
on which day to observe it, the 14th or the 15th.
Remember, the Jews kept it a day later than Christ, and later Jewish converts could have brought
this controversy into the New Testament Church when they were converted to Christianity.
-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartodecimanism
Many have heard of what is called the “quartodeciman controversy.” Quarto means four,
and deciman means ten; together that totals 14.
In the early New Testament Church, after Christ died, there arose this quartodeciman controversy.
The Christians who were keeping the 14th Passover were called into question about their beliefs.
It appears that the Jews began to make division concerning the 14th or the 15th Passover observance.
There is evidence that this movement began right after the fall of Jerusalem, and the Jews could no
longer offer a temple sacrificial lamb on the evening before the 15th because the temple had been
destroyed. The Jewish passover at that point became exclusively a 15th of Nisan Passover.
It is still that way today. the Passover Christ kept with His disciples was the 14th.
Notice again in 1 Corinthians 11:23: “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered
unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread.”
This is the day the Apostle Paul taught Christians to observe the Passover.
the night Jesus Christ observed His last Passover was on the 14th! the traditional Jewish Passover
(15th observance), is traditions of men, which are contrary to the truth of God.
The Apostle Paul in Galatians 2 soundly and publicly rebuked Peter and the other Jews for making
the Gentiles Judaize by following the tradition of the Jews in place of the teachings of God.
Jesus, without reservation, totally rejected the Jews’ religious traditions, because in holding
to their traditions, they rejected and set aside the commandments of God. (Mark 7:7-9).
The Passover only pictures the death of Christ for the remission of sins that are past (Romans 3:25).
The seven days of Unleavened Bread following Passover picture to us the complete putting away of sin
To what extent shall we put away sin? Not partially, but completely! And, as leaven is also a type of sin
(1 Corinthians 5:8)—leaven puffs up, and so does sin, and seven is God’s number symbolizing completeness
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