Odds are pretty good that this weekend your children’s program at church is going to have a special where all the kids come out on stage waving palm fronds (actual or green construction paper) and sing a song. I know that when I was growing up, that was what happened on Palm Sunday. And it was totally adorable!
Palm Sunday is the Presentation of the Lamb. Jesus showing up to be examined as the perfect lamb for the sacrifice in a few day. Enjoy it. Savor it. He did it for you!
But I want to step back to our look into the life of Paul for a moment.
Following the two year mission trip to the region of Galatia, Paul returned to Antioch in Syria and celebrated what God had done. It was unheard of in those days. It was groundbreaking.
It was scandalous.
How dare the Gentiles get free access to God? How dare they bypass thousands of years of tradition and rules that had governed access to God? How dare they ignore the pride of position that the Jews had enjoyed for all this time?
No surprise here. It was a massive conflict that embroiled the entire church. A formal position needed to be defined, and fast, before the church tore itself into pieces.
Paul went down to Jerusalem for the debate. He told them about all the Gentile conversions and how the Spirit moved in the formation of new churches that were hybrid – mixed of Jew and Greek/Roman. It was amazing, and they were blown away by the results.
But the Jewish faction wasn’t satisfied. They couldn’t accept that the Gentiles were stepping past all the things that had been important in the past: circumcision, following the law, observing the feasts and celebrations… They said that “the Way” was grounded in Judaism, and they would accept the gentile believers if they also followed all the Jewish rules.
This debate got so out of hand that the Apostles had to come and mediate it. They listened to all the viewpoints and rendered their verdict: Jewish conversion was NOT necessary. The Spirit clearly accepted the Gentiles as they were. So if they would avoid some really offensive practices and live holy lives, they would be accepted into the fellowship.
It was a(nother) defeat for the Jewish party that Paul had been fighting with throughout his missionary trip. Christianity was a new thing, separate from historic Judaism. Gentiles were part of the family now.
I’m really excited that in the life of Paul that this story fell on this week – because I step right into the middle of the debate at this time every year when I celebrate Passover (and lead my church in the same). I often get asked why I celebrate the Passover if the Jewish rituals are no longer necessary?
Isn’t the old Jewish celebration set aside? What advantage does it offer to “go backwards” to look at that ceremony, when the empty tomb is what matters today?
To set the record straight, I see the Passover Seder as a teaching opportunity. It is not an act of obedience to a command. No, it offers a new set of eyes to look on Jesus and what He did for me.
The Passover is about a real historical event – the Exodus out of Egypt. We read about it in our Bibles. This offers a very specific perspective on that event through the eyes of the people who were redeemed by that act. You will never see the Exodus the same after you have celebrated the Passover.
The Passover is also the celebration of a triumphant act of sovereignty that God did on behalf of His people. It was so devastating that when the Israelites entered the Promised land, the Canaanite people were terrified of a God who could so utterly destroy a world power in Egypt.
What’s more, the Passover is something that Jesus did on the night that he was betrayed. If you want to know what Jesus was thinking in the hours before Judas showed up with a group of soldiers, look no farther than the Passover. This was Jesus last quiet moment with His disciples – ironically celebrating the death of a lamb that brought life to the people covered by its blood. Do you think Jesus missed the connection?
Finally, during the celebration that night, Jesus instituted the Lords Supper, or Communion. He didn’t make it up out of whole cloth. He took ancient symbols and elements and gave them new, completed meaning. For 1500 year, the jews had been telling the story of the Gospel, only they couldn’t see it. It took Jesus to put the pieces in place on that one night.
Passover is profound. I can’t make it through the ceremony without weeping for the love Jesus showed us in His sacrifice, and His knowledge of exactly what was about to happen.
This is why I celebrate Passover.
I agree with the Apostle Paul that we are not obligated to celebrate Passover. The Jewish traditions do not bind us. But in freedom we can look into it, and through it to see so much more clearly the love of God directed toward us when we were still sinners, actively rebelling against God and His perfect plan.
I wish you could come and celebrate with me this week. I wish you could see Jesus the way I see Him. I guarantee you it would stoke the fires of your love and devotion.
The best I can offer you right now is the book I wrote about Passover. It goes over everything that I do in the Passover celebration. It will put you at the table with Jesus as He celebrated with His disciples. It will give you new eyes into what He was doing and how we celebrate exactly that when we take communion.
You can get it for almost nothing at a whole bunch of online retailers here: https://books2read.com/u/3G2WL… this will let you go to your favorite retailer. Paperback options are available on Amazon.
Or you get it for even less on my website. https://www.dennis-stevenson.c… and use code resurrection22 at the checkout to get it for 99c.
I love the Resurrection. I still can’t believe that Jesus went through with it for me (and you). This wee is when the reality lands on me like a ton of bricks. I hope it has that kind of impact for you too.
Expectantly,
Dennis
