Bruce Rubin

As a Messianic or “completed” Jew, one who has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, I am often asked “why the church does not embrace the Jewish Holidays, instead of “Christianizing” them? After all, when you take a close look, these special days, as defined by the Mosaic Law and Jewish Tradition, are all about Jesus. Over time, I have developed the following response.

During Passover and Easter, many Christian Churches all over America celebrate a Passover Seder. This time of fellowship and teaching is becoming more commonplace in the local church. This is especially joyful for me, because I consider Passover to be the primary “connection” of Judaism with Christianity. The Seder is the reenactment of the meal Israel ate as they prepared to leave Egypt, as described in the book of Exodus. The elements required by the Bible include a roasted lamb (now a shank bone), bread without yeast, bitter herbs and wine. As you may know, in the celebration of the Seder, these items symbolize more than the Law and Jewish Tradition, they clearly show “Christ in the Passover” and more Christians participate today. As a “completed” Jew, my hope is that Jews will also see the strong connection and draw the conclusion that those who trust in the blood of the lamb get redemption rather then judgment. Specific protection came then, by the blood of the lamb, which was placed on the sides and the top of the door, just as we are saved today by the bloodstained Cross of Jesus Christ.

Those Christians who study Jewish Holidays also see the connection between Yom Kippur and Atonement, the Feast of First Fruits and the Resurrection and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, in His consecration to God unto death. It may be true that the salvation significance as well as the Old Testament foreshadowing of the New Testament is not widely celebrated by the church today. However, it is nice to see tents set up on church grounds in remembrance of the Sukkoth; the time that the Chosen People dwelled in tents, during their time in the dessert, while they awaited entry into Canaan. Here we see a beautiful Old Testament type and shadow which is revealed in the New Testament; the Jews were provided a “promised land” by Jehovah God, just as we look to the Kingdom of Heaven, a place which is promised by Jesus Christ. Some churches also celebrate Purim, with children dressing up in costumes, reenacting the Story of Esther, a type of Jesus Christ, saving her people from extinction at the hand of Haman, the evil one.

With these events taking place in the church today, it is my opinion, the answer to the question whether to perfectly practice, not practice, or to “Christianize” the Jewish Holidays by the Christian Church today is summed up best by Paul, in Romans 14:5, 6, where he states that “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike” and “He who considers one day as special, does so to the Lord”. While this passage may refer more to the Sabbath, it is probably also a reference to all of the special days of the Old Testament. The message here is that all days, whether special or not special, whether sacred or not sacred, are to be celebrated by us as gifts of God and dedicated to Him through holy living and godly service.