When to Keep the Passover, According To the Truth of God

Greetings, Wayne, a servant of God, by the grace of God, teaching the truth of God under the authority of Jesus Christ to any who are willing to receive it. (Mat 13:43).

The Holy Bible contains the truth of God by the word of God (Joh 17:17); therefore, God teaches and gives understanding, wisdom, and knowledge to all who pray and seek Him with all the heart (Deu 4:29-31; Jer 29:12,13; Psa 119:2).

I will be the words in green. Purple Highlights will be key words or phrases of truth.

Passover stands as one of the most foundational moments in God’s redemptive plan, a divine appointment first revealed in the Old Testament as the peoples of Israel’s deliverance from bondage and later illuminated in the New Testament through the Messiah’s sacrificial fulfillment. Jesus delivers from bondage - sin (Joh 8:34-36), death (Joh 5:24), fear (2Ti 1:7), the dominion of darkness (Col 1:13,14), and He does so for all who call upon his name (Rom 10:12,13).

From the blood on the doorposts in Exodus 12 to the sacrificial Lamb of God revealed in the Gospels, Passover anchors God’s people in the knowledge of His salvation and the faithfulness of His new covenant through repentance and baptism. See the teachings Repentance and Baptism for more understanding.

The seven-day feast of the Passover reminds us that God's times and seasons are not optional traditions but sacred commands - set by Him, obeyed by His people, and rich with meaning for all who seek to walk in His truth. Observing these appointed times is an act of obedience, remembrance, and alignment with the very heartbeat of God’s redemptive plan.

Let us begin by confirming God's supreme authority over the Passover:

Exo 12:11 And thus shall you eat it [sacrificial lamb]; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S Passover.

It is the LORD'S Passover. Therefore, everything we need to know about the LORD'S Passover, including unleavened bread, will be commanded by God and recorded in the Holy Bible.

And truth is not always discerned from one scripture alone and often requires piecing scriptures together - here a little and there a little - until a full, undeniable picture emerges:

Isa 28:9 Whom shall He [God] teach knowledge? and whom shall He make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

There has to be a sincere desire to begin with the milk of the word and a willingness to stay upon the milk of truth in order to grow up into the solid meat of truth:

1Pe 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby:

Isa 28:10 For precept [command, principle, or general rule] must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

A precept is a simple, God‑given instruction that shows a new believer how to walk in His ways. It is a clear, foundational command that is easy to understand, practical to obey, and meant to shape daily choices as a truth‑seeker grows from the “milk of the word” toward deeper discernment. Precepts are the basic building blocks of a holy life, God saying, “This is the way - walk in it" (Isa 30:21), giving beginners solid steps of obedience they can take immediately.

God reveals truth progressively, cumulatively, and harmoniously - piece by piece, until the full picture emerges from connecting passages, linking themes, and letting scripture interpret scripture.

Let us go here a little and there a little to piece together the immutable word of God (Heb 6:18) in order to draw a sound conclusion as to which days the feast of the Passover and unleavened bread should be kept. The word Hebrew is one of the keys that unlocks the truth.

Also, it must be remembered that God ends a day and begins a new day at sunset, in the evening, or even, and ends it on the following sunset - even to even (Gen 1:5,8,13,19,23,31; Lev 23:32; Exo 12:18; Deu 16:6; Neh 13:19; Mar 1:32).

God gave His law to Moses, a Hebrew:

Exo 2:11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.

Is "the God of Israel" (Exo 5:1) recognized as the God of the Hebrews in the book of Exodus account?

Exo 9:1 Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.

Clearly, Moses and his brethren were Hebrews, the same people of God Moses led out of Egypt - the house of Jacob, also called the house of Israel (Gen 32:28):

Exo 19:3 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;

Jacob (Israel) is a descendant of Abram the Hebrew who is now referred to as Abraham:

Gen 50:24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

Jacob's name changed to Israel:

Gen 32:28 And he said, your name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince have you power with God and with men, and have prevailed.

Abram the Hebrew:

Gen 14:13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.

Abram's name changed to Abraham:

Gen 17:5 Neither shall your name any more be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made you.

1Ch 1:27 Abram; the same is Abraham.

Neh 9:7 You are the LORD God, who did choose Abram, and brought him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham;

You can read more about Abram, now called Abraham, and the blessings he received from God in the book of Genesis, chapters 12-15.

Now that we have established that Moses and the house of Israel are Hebrews (Gen 39:14,17) descended from Abraham the Hebrew, let us see what Moses was put in charge of to deliver to the house of Israel - Hebrew Israelites (Php 3:5):

Act 7:37 This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall you hear (Deu 18:15).

Deu 18:15 is an early prophecy of Jesus the Christ, the anointed of God (Act 4:27; Luk 4:18-21) raised up from the Israelite tribe of Judah (Gen 49:10). Like Moses, Jesus is also a deliverer through repentance and baptism (Act 2:38,39). See the teachings on Repentance and Baptism for further truths.

Act 7:38 This is he [Moses], that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spoke to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles [utterances] to give unto us:

In Scripture, an oracle is a direct utterance from God - a divine message entrusted to a prophet, priest, or servant to deliver faithfully. It is not guesswork, divination, or mystical riddles. It is God speaking, and His people receiving. (Rom 3:1,2,9,10; Heb 5:12-14; 1Pe 4:11).

Let us now focus our attention on the Lord Jesus Christ - the lamb of God (Joh 1:29,36; 1Co 5:7). Is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the lamb of God connected to the Hebrews - the house of Israel?

Act 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God has made that same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

Is there any chance that Jesus the Christ might have changed the dates of the Passover feast based on the law and Hebrew calendar of the Old Testament?

Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Back to the Old Testament to see what the law says:

Exo 12:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,

Exo 12:2 This month [Hebrew calendar today: Nisan] shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.

Does not a spring new year, when new plants and leaves come forth, make more sense than a fall or winter new year?

Exo 12:3 Speak you unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:

In preparation for the feast of the Passover and unleavened bread.

The called of God should understand that Jesus is a one-time sacrifice as the lamb of God, remembered with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1Co 5:8), and with the wine that represents the blood of Jesus the Christ for the remission of sins (Mat 26:27-29). And, what is of the utmost importance is the evening that we observe the Passover (Lev 23:2), the same evening that Jesus and his apostles observed (Exo 12:14; Luk 22:15; 1Co 5:7,8).

Is the Passover separate from the days of unleavened bread and therefore an eight day observance as some teach? The following verses show that the Passover is of the same seven day feast:

Deu 16:4 And there shall be no leavened bread seen with you in all your coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which you sacrificed [Passover lamb] the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.

The Passover lamb was sacrificed and consumed in the evening of the first day of the seven-day feast along with unleavened bread.

Luk 2:41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover.

Luk 22:1 Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.

Continuing with the feast of the Passover:

Exo 12:6 And you shall keep it [the chosen lamb] up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.

"In the evening" meaning, at twilight or sunset concluding the fourteenth day which ushers in the fifteenth day, which commences the feast of the Passover , which includes the days of unleavened bread, which continues seven days up to the twenty first day of Nisan at even (sunset), concluding the feast of the Passover (Exo 12:18,19).

Notice these scriptures with the phrase "in the evening" and how the context clearly shows "in the evening" concluding, or finishing a day:

Gen 8:10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;

Gen 8:11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.

1Ki 17:6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

Psa 90:6 In the morning it flourishes, and grows up; in the evening it is cut down, and withered.

Ecc 11:6 In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening withhold not your hand: for you know not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

Another point to consider: if the feast of the Passover started the evening before the fourteenth day and lasted to the twenty-first day at even, the feast would last eight days instead of seven. The feast is seven days:

Exo 12:18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even [ushering in the 15th day], you shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day [21st] of the month at even [sunset of the 21st day].

Exo 12:19 Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eats that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.

Consider this from Exo 12:19. If the Passover was to be observed as a separate day apart from the seven days of unleavened bread, would not God have said "eight days shall there be no leaven found in your houses", seeing as He commanded unleavened bread to be eaten with the Passover sacrifice?

Exo 12:8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night [in the evening after sunset], roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.

Let us now look at more scriptures that link Passover within the days of unleavened bread:

Exo 12:13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

Exo 12:14 And this day [Passover - the first day which commenced at sunset] shall be unto you for a memorial [High Holy Day]; and you shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

Exo 12:15 Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread; even the first day you shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.

Notice the word "memorial" from Exodus 12:14 and compare its same Hebrew-word use in the following verse concerning the Feast of Trumpets, another of God's commanded, holy, High Day Sabbaths:

Lev 23:24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall you have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.

In biblical language, “a memorial” (זִכָּרוֹן zikkaron) is not a mental reminder. It is a sacred observance - a commanded act of remembering that is performed at a God‑appointed time.

Would not such an extraordinary event as the Passover sacrifice be considered worthy of a memorial High Sabbath? God's word says it is, as well as the last day, the seventh day of the seven-day feast:

Exo 12:16 And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.

A holy convocation is simply a sacred assembly commanded by God, and in Leviticus 23 every one of God’s High Day Sabbaths is explicitly called a holy convocation. This means the term isn’t separate from the High Days - it defines them. See the teaching God's Holy Days.

Whether Passover and Unleavened Bread (Eze 45:21), Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, Tabernacles, or the Eighth Day, each appointed time is marked by God as a day when His people are to gather, cease from ordinary work, and meet Him according to His command. In scripture, “a holy convocation” is the very language God uses to identify His High Holy Day Sabbaths.

Exo 12:17 And you shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day [the first day, same night as the Passover sacrifice (Exo 12:41,42)] have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall you observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.

Exo 12:18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even [sunset] (Exo 12:6, Mar 14:12)], you shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day [twenty-first day] of the month at even.

God's law is clear. Here are more scriptures tying the Passover and feast of unleavened bread together into seven days:

2Ch 35:17 And the children of Israel that were present kept the Passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven days.

Eze 45:21 In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.

How very clear. At this point, we will establish a parallel of High Holy Day observance between the Exodus 12 Passover and the same Passover Jesus the Christ, the lamb of God, kept with his disciples.

Exodus 12:6 clearly shows that they were preparing, on the fourteenth day of the first month (Exo 12:2,6), for a sacrificial observance, coming up in the evening.

Notice the same preparation, during the day, for the Passover memorial observance coming up, in the evening, as Jesus spoke to his disciples:

Mat 26:17 Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where will you that we prepare for you to eat the Passover?

Mat 26:18 And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master says, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples [a holy convocation].

Mat 26:19 And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the Passover.

We see a parallel account of preparation, during the day, for the Passover meal which would begin at even, or "in the evening". Notice when the Passover meal began:

Mat 26:20 Now when the even [sunset] was come, he sat down with the twelve.

While keeping the commandment of God (Exo 12:16-18), Jesus sat down in a holy convocation with the twelve apostles to eat and observe the Passover in the evening after sunset, the same evening he introduced the bread and wine memorial of his own sacrifice coming up later that same day (Luk 22:19,20), the same evening and day - first day (Gen 1:5) his followers should be observing as a High Holy Day:

Mat 26:21 And as they did eat [the Passover], he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.

Here is another example from the book of Mark:

Mar 14:1 After two days was the feast of the Passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death.

Mar 14:12 And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover, his disciples said unto him, Where will you that we go and prepare that you may eat the Passover?

Mar 14:16 And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the Passover.

Mar 14:17 And in the evening he comes with the twelve.

Mar 14:18 And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eats with me shall betray me.

And to confirm that Jesus, the Lamb of God, knew exactly when to observe the Passover with his disciples:

Luk 22:15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer:

And, according to God's definition of a day - evening till evening - that sacrificial suffering and crucifixion came on the selfsame memorial, holy, High Sabbath Day that started the evening before - the first day of the feast of Passover and unleavened bread.

We have established two indisputable facts from Exodus 12:

1. The feast of the Passover and unleavened bread was to last seven days.

2. The feast of the Passover and unleavened bread was to end on the twenty first day of Nisan at even (Exo 12:18).

Let us now see the truth of God using His Hebrew calendar and His description of a day (even to even):

We saw that the feast of the Passover and unleavened bread preparations are made on the fourteenth day of the first month (Nisan, present Hebrew calendar). When the evening comes, it is now the fifteenth day, ushering in the feast of the Passover and unleavened bread:

To even of the fifteenth day - Day 1 Holy Convocation (Exo 12:16)

To even of the sixteenth day - Day 2

To even of the seventeenth day - Day 3

To even of the eighteenth day - Day 4

To even of the nineteenth day - Day 5

To even of the twentieth day - Day 6

To even of the twenty first day - Day 7 Holy Convocation (Exo 12:16)

Seven, twenty-four-hour days, just as God commanded.

2Ch 35:17 And the children of Israel that were present kept the Passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven days.

Today, some Jews keep the feast of the Passover for eight days, separating the Passover from the days of unleavened bread. They have been doing so since before the time of God's Christ. Even some Christians that observe the feast of the Passover and unleavened bread are doing the same. The Reform Jews, however, are keeping the feast of the Passover according to the commandment of God in Exodus 12. Notice, from ReformJudaism.org:

When does Pesach [Passover] end? Why do some calendars say it ends after seven days and others after eight? Most Reform Jewish communities celebrate Passover for seven days, but the history is complicated.

The festival calendar in the Torah is clear: Pesach begins on the 15th of Nisan and lasts for seven days, and the first and seventh days are what we would now call yom tov [holy High Day Sabbaths]. On the first night, there is a seder, with matzah, maror, and the retelling of the Exodus.

History may be complicated, yet, the law of God is not complicated (1Co 14:33). Mankind complicates it.

So regardless of how some may interpret the Bible, the "here a little, there a little" scriptures of the Holy Bible can not be broken (Joh 10:35). Exodus 12, and many other scriptures containing God's oracles, reveal the truth about when, and how long, to observe the feast of Passover and unleavened bread during the month of Nisan from the Hebrew calendar.

Psa 15:1 A Psalm of David. LORD, who shall abide in your tabernacle? who shall dwell in your holy hill?

Psa 15:2 He that walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.

God’s appointed times were never meant to be empty rituals or seasonal obligations, but living invitations into sincerity and truth. From Passover to the final Great Day, each Hebrew moed (appointed time) calls God’s people to examine their hearts, cast out the old leaven (false doctrine -Mat 16:6,12), and walk in the purity that reflects His character. See the teaching God's Holy Days for the truth about the holy days that God ordained.

These sacred holy days remind us that true worship is not measured by outward observance alone, but by the inward posture of a people who desire truth in the inward parts and who keep God's commandments out of love, not tradition. As we honour His times, we align ourselves with His overall plan, His redemption, and His refining work - becoming a people who serve Him not in pretense, but in the fullness of sincerity and truth.

Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through your truth: your word is truth.

Freely, I have received from the word of God; freely, I have given to all who would receive the truth of God.

Farewell,

Servanthood