From Passover to Pentecost: The Story Christianity Forgot
What if the true story of Jesus was always written into the feasts of Israel?
I never meant to go looking for this.
But as I’ve been reading the Bible more seriously and studying Judaism alongside it, something hit me so hard, I can’t unsee it.
Part of the reason I walked away from the Church in 2013 wasn’t just trauma or crisis. It was the sinking feeling that I was skating the surface … missing the deeper questions I had that no one wanted to answer.
Now, almost by accident, I’ve stumbled onto one of the biggest disconnects I’ve ever seen between modern Christianity and the Bible itself.
The seven Biblical feasts (outlined right there in Leviticus) aren't random Jewish traditions. They are the entire map of Jesus’ first and second coming.
And I was never taught this.
What you’re about to read is less a polished article and more a real-time account of my mind and heart waking up.
There are 7 Biblical feasts outlined in Leviticus. Four in the spring, three in the fall.
Passover (Pesach) – Commemorates the Exodus from Egypt.
Feast of Unleavened Bread (Chag HaMatzot) – Begins the day after Passover; eat no leavened bread for seven days.
Feast of Firstfruits (Yom HaBikkurim) – Celebrates the first harvest; offering the first sheaf of barley.
Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) – 50 days after Firstfruits; celebrates the wheat harvest and the giving of the Torah at Sinai.
Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah / Rosh Hashanah) – The Jewish New Year; blowing of the shofar (ram's horn).
Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) – Holiest day; a day of fasting and repentance.
Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) – Celebrates God's provision; living in temporary shelters (sukkahs) for seven days.
The resurrection of Jesus and His second coming are all symbolically tied to these seven feasts. 😳
Let’s start with Passover.
Jesus was crucified the day after passover (on the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread).
The last supper was the Passover meal.
So I started to do some digging as to why our Christian Easter Sunday is not tied to Passover, and the answer wasn’t good news.
How is it I was never taught this?! This is tragic that we’ve gone this long with this schism.
The Eastern Orthodox tradition of Christianity dates based on the Spring Equinox + Full Moon + after Jewish Passover.
The Western tradition of Christianity dates based on the Spring Equinox + Full Moon, ignoring Passover.
Passover & Jesus Dying On The Cross
When you look at the symbolism between Passover and Jesus’ death, it makes no sense to separate the two.
Blood over the doors saved the Israelites from death.
Blood on the cross saves humanity from eternal death.
The lambs were chosen on the 10th of Nisan, inspected for blemishes for four days, and then killed at twilight on the 14th of Nisan.
Jesus entered Jerusalem on the 10th of Nisan (Palm Sunday), was "inspected" by religious leaders (questioned in the temple all week), and was crucified on the 14th … at the exact time Passover lambs were being slaughtered at the temple.
Passover celebrated freedom from slavery in Egypt.
His death accomplished freedom from slavery to sin and death.
And why haven’t we made it right? Easter should be celebrated along with Passover.
But it only gets weirder (cooler) after this.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
The Feast of Unleavened Bread started the day after Passover.
For seven days, they ate bread with no leaven (yeast). Leaven symbolized sin and corruption. The idea was: purge out all the leaven → be clean.
This is when Jesus (who is sinless) is buried. His body was the true "unleavened bread" … without corruption, without sin.
This is why we celebrate communion, and why He said “Eat this, it is my body for a new covenant.”
The Feast of Firstfruits
The Feast of Firstfruits was celebrated the Sunday after Passover.
On that day, the first sheaf of the barley harvest was offered to God as a promise of the full harvest to come.
Jesus rose from the dead on that exact day … the Feast of Firstfruits.
“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:20)
When you look at the symbolism and the rich interweaving of these feasts God commanded the Israelites to celebrate, and then see how Jesus perfectly fulfills them, it feels like an absolute travesty that Christians don’t celebrate these feasts centered around Jesus.
I’m so blown away by this, I’m considering changing the day I celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, and it seems that a Passover celebration is fitting too.
And I have no idea why we haven’t made this right again.
Once I realized this, I kept going with the feasts… and the symbolism DOESN’T STOP.
Feast of Weeks
50 days after Passover, the Feast of Weeks (Shauvot) happens. This is to celebrate the wheat harvest and the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.
This is the feast they were celebrating in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples in the upper room. 😳
At Sinai, God gave the Law (Torah) on stone tablets.
At Pentecost, God gave the Spirit to write the Law on human hearts.
The Jews were terrified of God’s fire on Mount Sinai.
Tongues of fire at Pentecost.
3000 people died when they worshipped the Golden Calf during Moses time.
3000 people became believers during Pentecost.
Again I ask… why do we Christians not celebrate this?!
This is more a rant than an educated newsletter or article, but you’re seeing in real time the awakening I’m having that as follower of Jesus, these should be holidays in my calendar too.
And when it comes to the fall feasts (Rosh - Trumpets, Yom - Atonement, Sukkot - Tabernacles)… we then launch into the 2nd coming of Jesus. For another day. But the symbolism is there and it’s so rich and crazy, it’s hard to understand how as a Bible believing Christian, I didn’t know this symbolism from the get go.
Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s perfect law.
The Bible is a cohesive story of God’s redemptive work throughout humanity.
This awakening isn’t about abandoning the Church … it’s about returning to the roots of my faith with deeper reverence and awe.
God didn’t design the feasts as irrelevant ancient history.
He wove them into the very fabric of salvation, so we could see His fingerprints on every page of the story … from Egypt to Calvary to the empty tomb to the final trumpet yet to sound.
I don’t know exactly how this changes everything yet, but I do know this:
I want my faith calendar to match God's, not man's.
Maybe it's time for more of us to ask...
What else have I missed?
I was doing some digging on the question of the date of Easter myself when I came across your article. It was definitely an interesting find and something to think about. After concluding my own research it felt right to leave a comment here of what I found. Based on my research, what you presented here isn't the full story. You're right that there was an anti-Jewish sentiment at the Council of Nicaea. But that wasn't the reason why Easter date was set up the way it was. Jews 2000 years ago were using a lunisolar calendar. According to the Torah, they had to celebrate Passover on the 14th day of Nisan. Deuteronomy 16:1 says "Observe the month of Aviv..." Aviv means ripening, so the month of Nisan began in spring. The way ancient Jews defined when that was was through agriculture. Essentially, whenever their crops started ripening. That worked well when Israel was one nation living in one place, but very impractical for Christians all over the world. Because every month in the lunisolar calendar began with a new moon, the 14th of Nisan came close to a full moon due to the 29.5 day lunar cycle. And because Jesus was resurected on a Sunday, Christians wanted to celebrate Easter on a Sunday. So the date for Easter was set to the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. Using modern calendars and not relying on an arbitrary definition of spring by looking at our crops, they simply defined spring as beginning with the equinox. If Nisan began with the equinox, the 14th of Nisan would be roughly at the first full moon. And the first Sunday after that is Easter. So they litterally tied Easter to Passover, they just translated the date of the Passover to the Julian calendar as logically as they could. The fact that this made it different than how the Jews did it was just a convenient coincidence for an anti-Jewish sentiment at the time. Anyway, this is my contribution to your article. But it made me stop and think and actually dig into this some more, so thank you for that. And God bless you! :)
Thank you, Julie. At 62, I am going through the reconstruction of my faith. I've been deeply confused and distraught over the way American Christianity has drifted over the past decade or more. Your gift for teaching and sharing is a true blessing for me. I respect your intelligence and your diligence along with your generosity.