The Passover Controversy

It was the eve before Passover and Jews from all corners of Israel and beyond, arrived in Jerusalem and prepared themselves for the Passover Feast. Yeshua and the Apostles settled in to share a Messianic Seder. In Luke 22:19, Yeshua took bread, and gave thanks, then He broke it and gave it to the Apostles, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

On that night, Yeshua set the example and gave the command for His Apostles to share a Passover Seder in during each Passover Feast and to do it in memory of Him. His disciple did exactly as instructed and taught their disciples to do the same. As a matter of fact, the Apostles kept all seven of the Feats of Adonai even after the death and Resurrection of Yeshua.

Polycarp, a disciple of John, who had also known several of the original Apostles, strongly resisted the introduction of Easter in the place of Passover. He visited Rome in 154 A.D. to discuss the growing heated controversy with Anicetus, the Roman bishop.

The controversy concerning Passover continued among Christian leaders until the matter was decided at the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325, during the reign of Emperor Constantine. The bishops effectively ended the observance of Passover among Christians, replacing it with a pagan Roman holiday, Easter. But the question remains, what does the Bible say we are to do? Do we side with man made traditions or on the side of the Word of