Is there a new Passover that we have to keep?  One that is different from the feast Yah gave us?  One that is different from the feast King David, Yahoshua, the prophets, and all of Yah's righteous servants kept?  Let's go to scripture to find out.  As I stated in Part 1, there is confusion regarding Yah’s Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, etc.  The confusion consists of what is the right date (Israylites as a whole keep the Passover from Febraury until May), how to keep it, what to do when keeping it, what to drink (i.e. grape juice or wine), what to use for bitter herbs, what ingredients to use to make unleavened bread, what part of the lamb should be used (i.e. chops, shoulder, legs, half lamb, etc), and so forth.

How can this much confusion exist from something that comes from the ALL KNOWING FATHER, YAH?  Scripture says He is not the author of confusion.  Then why are His people so confused about how to keep His feast?  Where there is confusion the adversary is present.

Why Our Forefathers Kept the Celebrations in the Same Manner

Before we go deeper into our lesson, let's understand something as it relates to our present confusion.  In the ancient days, when our people observed Passover as in the days of Josiyah and king Hezekiyah, notice they were not confused about how to keep this feast.  They were not confused about what bitter herbs were.  They were not confused about what day it fell on.

And they were not confused about whether or not the feast should be kept in Jerusalem.  None of our confusion was present with them.  They didn't have computers, cell phones, the Internet, and all the communication tools we have, but the word got out to the people—WHEN, WHERE, AND HOW TO KEEP THE FEASTS—and they were on one accord.  The sole reason for this was because Yah was with them.  His hand was upon His people.  

Here are some important questions that we must ask ourselves:

• Is Yah with us today at our Passover celebrations?  If He is, which ones does He honor?

• Since all celebrations today are not conducted in Jerusalem and are without the temple and Levites, whose Passover celebration is the right one?

• Is it the ones done in February, March or April?  What about the ones in May?

• Is it the ones who eat market bought lamb or is it the ones who do not eat lamb?

• Is it the ones who use grape juice or wine?

With all these different Passovers being celebrated, which one is the correct one that we all should follow?  My people, do you see the seriousness of this?  There is so much confusion because we are doing something in a manner Yah said not to do.  

We have created our own feast days and this is something that Yah hates.

Amos 5:21 - I hate, I despise your (ISRAYL) feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

Question #2: Did Yahoshua Keep the Passover Before He was Executed?

Did Yahoshua Sanction Any of these New Celebrations?  Israylites who do not eat lamb for Passover say it is no longer a requirement because Yahoshua is the Passover lamb.  They also say on the night of his execution, he kept Passover without lamb; he used bread and wine.  So this means we, as his followers, should keep Passover in the exact same manner.  We will let scripture tell us if this is true or false.  We are dealing with what is written; not any private interpretation.

Yahoshua was killed on the 14th of Abib around the exact time the Passover lambs were being slaughtered.  Remember, the Passover is not a feast; it is not a high Sabbath day.  The Feast of Unleavened Bread, which proceeds Passover is the feast, and the first and last day of this feast is a high Sabbath.  It is on the 1st day of The Feast of Unleavened Bread that the Passover (lamb) is eaten along with the unleavened bread and bitter herbs.  With that understanding, let's see if Yahoshua ate the Passover lamb before he was executed, and whether or not he ushered in a new celebration.

Matthew 26:17 - Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Yahoshua, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?

v. 18 - And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.

v. 19 - And the disciples did as Yahoshua had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.

v. 20 - Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.

v. 26 - And as they were eating, Yahoshua took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.

v. 27 - And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

v. 28 - For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

v. 29 - But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.

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

v. 16 - For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of YAH.

v. 17 - And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:

v. 18 - For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of YAH shall come.

v. 19 - And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

v. 20 - Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

After reading these verses it would seem as if the brothers were partaking in Passover, but let's really look and see if this is true.  The key to understanding this is first, you have to know what the Passover is, which has been explained in both articles.

The Passover is the slaughtering of the lamb.

Exodus 12:21 - Then Moses called for all the elders of Israyl, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.

2nd Chronicles 35:6 - So kill the passover, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of YAH by the hand of Moses.

v. 11 - And they killed the passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hands, and the Levites flayed them.

Notice the phrase, KILL THE PASSOVER.  If Passover was the feast, how do you kill the feast?  The Passover is the lamb; the slaughtering of that lamb or goat was the Passover.  This event lasted for only a few hours.  As soon as the sun set on the 14th of Abib, the 15th began which marked the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Passover and The Feast of Unleavened Bread were so close together they were called the same feast day.  Passover never came before unleavened bread.  The slaughtered lamb or goat is to be eaten at the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

In verse 19 of Matthew 26, where it states that the disciples made ready the Passover; this only means they got the lamb ready to be slaughtered.  Notice it does not say they killed the Passover.  It does not even mention that lamb was a part of the meal the brothers were eating.

If you read the entire chapter it never says THE REQUIRED PASSOVER MEAL WAS BEING EATEN.  EVEN THE BREAD THE MESSIYAH BROKE—SCRIPTURE DOES NOT SAY IT WAS UNLEAVENED BREAD.  IT DOES NOT SAY THEY HAD BITTER HERBS.  ALL OF THOSE ARE ORDINANCES FOR THE PASSOVER MEAL.

Yahoshua lived as a man who never sinned, meaning that he never broke one of Yah's commandments or ordinances.  But if he were partaking of the Feast of Unleavened Bread without the meal Yah ordained, then he would have broken a commandment.

Yahoshua Did Not Partake in the Passover Before His Execution because He was Killed During It

In a few hours of eating the meal, he was to be offered up as the Passover (this will be explained).  The Passover had to be without spot and blemish.  Yah could not have any fault with Yahoshua before the slaughtering of the Passover.

Ask yourself this: If there was a Passover lamb present among the brothers, why didn't Yahoshua compare his body to that of the lamb?  He said the bread was his body.  He did not say the unleavened bread, but just bread.  The brothers were not partaking in the Passover.

In Luke 22, Yahoshua said in verse 15 that he desired to eat this Passover with the brethren before he suffered.  But notice what he said in verse 16, "FOR I SAY UNTO YOU, I WILL NOT ANY MORE EAT THEREOF, UNTIL IT BE FULFILLED IN THE KINGDOM OF YAH."

Some believe this is saying Yahoshua was eating the Passover and he stopped in the midst of eating and said he will not eat it any more.  No, that is not so.  Yahoshua was telling the brothers he wanted to eat the Passover (which was to take place a few hours from that time period) before he suffered.  But he could not do that because at the same time the Passover was being slaughtered, he was on the stake dying, and on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread he was in the grave.  

It would have been impossible for him to partake in the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  It was his desire to do so, but it was the will of Yah that he did not partake of the feast before he suffered.

NOTICE HE SAID HE WILL KEEP PASSOVER IN THE KINGDOM OF YAH.  INTERESTING, HUH?  WHY DID HE SAY THAT?  Because the kingdom of Yah will come and it will be in Jerusalem, which is the only place you can keep the Passover.

To further show from scripture that Yahoshua did not keep a Passover in the upper room, let's look at the book of John which shows he was killed during the Passover (the slaughtering of the lambs or goats).

John 19:14 - And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Israylites, Behold your King!

v. 15 - But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

v. 16 - Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Yahoshua, and led him away.

v. 17 - And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:

v. 18 - Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Yahoshua in the midst.

At the sixth hour of the preparation of Passover (slaughtering the lambs), Yahoshua was in the custody of Pilate about to be executed.  The Passover did not begin until after the meal with the brothers in the upper room.  Yahoshua was being put to death at the same time the Passover was being killed, which meant in a few hours the Feast of Unleavened Bread was to begin.

Yahoshua Did Not Participate in the Feast of Unleavened Bread because He was Already Buried

Many Israylites who believe Yahoshua kept Passover in the upper room put forth an argument that the Sabbath day mentioned in Mark 15 is the weekly Sabbath and not the Sabbath before the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  This erroneous notion is put forth in support of the changing the Passover doctrine.

We know the first and last days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread are Sabbaths, and we know that every 7th day of the week is the Sabbath.

During the time that Yahoshua was executed and buried there were two Sabbath days in that week—the regular weekly Sabbath and the Sabbath of the feast.  Scripture is clear and makes a distinction between the two Sabbaths.  Mark 15 says the Sabbath that came about as Yahoshua was put into the grave was a high Sabbath, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Mark 15:42 - And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,

v. 43 - Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of YAH, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Yahoshua.

v. 44 - And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.

v. 45 - And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph.

v. 46 - And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre.

The preparation day is the day before the feast when the Passover lambs are slaughtered and the leaven is removed from the dwellings.  This took place on the 14th of Abib.  As soon as the sun set on that day, the high Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread began.

Yahoshua was put into the grave before the first day of The Feast of Unleavened Bread.  He remained in the grave for three days and three nights.  The Sabbath day mentioned in Matthew 28 is described as the weekly Sabbath.  This is the Sabbath day the sisters came to the tomb of YAHOSHUA.  Scriptures make it clear that as it dawned toward the first day of the week, a distinction is made between the two Sabbaths.  One was before the day of feast preparation, and the other is the seventh-day weekly Sabbath.

The sisters did not come to the tomb until three days later, and scriptures tells us Yahoshua was gone.

Matthew 28:1 - In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

v. 2 - And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the MASTER descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

Mark 16:1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.

v. 2 - And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

Can you see that the Messiyah did not keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread before he was executed and that he did not slaughter the Passover?

The priest whom conspired to kill Yahoshua said they did not want to kill him on the day of the feast because the people would be in an uproar.

Mark 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.

v. 2 - But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people.

Mark 14:1 took place on the 13th of Abib.  In two days first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread would begin.  Always remember, Passover is not the feast.  So when they say they did not want to kill him on the day of the feast, they were speaking about the FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD.  They did not kill him on the day of this feast.  It was during the slaughtering of the lambs, which is called the Passover.  This is when he was put to death.

If he was not keeping Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the upper room, then what were they doing?  

What was the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the cup?  Yahoshua said as often as you do this, do it in remembrance of me.

I will repost those scriptures from Matthew 26, and I have some very important questions you need to ask yourself if you believe Yahoshua changed the mandate of Passover.