We’re in the midst of discussing Passover and how Christianity has twisted the real meaning of this feast by teaching that the Pesach lamb slain was actually a sin sacrifice.
The church further goes on to apply the Passover lamb to the crucifixion turning Yeshua’s death into some kind of bizarre human sacrifice.
One of the major sources the church bases its interpretations on are Paul’s letters.
We’re going to take a good look at a key Pauline scripture the church uses to support their position, but before we do, let’s consider something.
Is it really reasonable to assume that a Torah observant Jewish Rabbi like Paul would really believe in something so contrary to what the Torah teaches?
The Apostle Paul would surely have known that God forbade a human being to be offered as a sacrifice and scoffed at the notion of a Passover lamb being sacrificed in order to take man’s sins away.
Well, if that’s really so, what are we to make of the following verse?
“Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover lamb is sacrificed for us…”-1 Corinthians 5:7
It seems pretty clear, doesn’t it?
It really appears as if Paul is claiming that Yeshua’s death was a human Passover sacrifice for our sins.
Well, let’s not jump to conclusions too quickly folks.
I’m going to show you how this verse is actually a perfect example of how abberant theology has been written into our English Bibles.
First, concerning the words “for us” from the phrase “sacrificed for us”, in Greek this phrase would be “EE’pair EE’Moho“.
However, these words don’t even exist in any of the earliest Greek manuscripts of this text.
That’s right!
They were added in later!
Second, let’s take a look at the Greek word that has been used for “is sacrificed”.
That word is “et’ TEE-thee“.
Here’s the thing.
This word does NOT mean “to sacrifice“.
It’s a word that just describes an action that causes the ending of a life, usually in a violent and merciless way.
The word in and of itself does NOT carry with it the purpose for which the life in question was ended, whether it be a ritual sacrifice to a god or a revenge killing or whatever.
All that verse indicates is that Messiah was killed, his life was ended, that’s it!
My point is, there is nothing to indicate that Yeshua was killed as a human sacrifice.
In light of what we’ve studied in Torah so far, ask yourself these questions?
Was Yeshua a male lamb who was one year old?
After his death, was his fat burned on the altar?
Or was his blood thrown on the altar?
Did the priests wave his right shoulder and chest before the Lord and then eat of it?
Did those who had offered up Yeshua (those who wanted him dead) did they go home with his body and feed Yeshua’s body to their families?
Finally, were the unconsumed parts of Yeshua’s body burned with fire as he was killed?
The answer to all these questions is a resounding NO!
So where in the world do we get the idea that Yeshua became a human sacrifice that atoned for sin?
According to Torah, such a theology is NOT even possible!
That’s right!
According to Torah, Yeshua COULD NOT HAVE BEEN THE LORD’S PESACH OFFERING!
Nothing and I mean NOTHING FITS!
So what are we to make of 1 Corinthians 5:7 where Paul says “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us”?
Here’s what you’ve just got to know.
If we pay close attention to where Paul made his original paragraph or thought breaks in the original Greek, we find an instant solution to this centuries old abberant Christian interpretation.
BREAKS PER THE ORIGINAL GREEK:
“Therefore, purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump’ since you truly are unleavened.” (Verse 7)
“And the truth is Passover is ours! Messiah was killed. Therefore, let us keep the feast not with old leaven nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (Verse 8)
DOCTORED UP CHRISTIAN VERSION:
“Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch-as you really are. (VERSE 7 SHOULD END HERE!!!) For Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.” (Verse 7)
“Therefore let us keep the festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (Verse 8)
Not only do most English Bibles err when it comes to making the verse breaks according to Paul’s original thoughts, but the original Greek text doesn’t even support that rendering of the doctored up Christian version in English.
Think I’m giving you a bunch of hogwash?
Here’s the original Greek transliteration:
“KAY GAR TOH PAS’KAH EE MOHN EH-TEE’THEE KREE’STOSE”
(And in truth, the festival of Passover is ours! Messiah was killed.)
Does someone want to explain to me how in the world that Greek can possibly mean “For Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed“?
Especially in light of everything we discussed!
Let’s not forget that Paul was a Jew who loved the Torah.
He would never have penned ideas that contradict the Torah in the first place.
That’s another point I wanted to make.
Whenever you come across a verse in the New Testament that seems to contradict Torah, immediately you need to question what you’re reading.
If anything contradicts Torah, it’s got to go in the trash!
Finally, note that Paul is saying in both the original Greek and the doctored up Christian version that Passover IS TO BE OBSERVED!
This is obviously quite contrary to what the church does with their pagan fertility Easter bunny celebrations.
I do not participate in any easter egg/ easter bunny celebrations. I rejoice in the fact that my Saviour Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, and nobody will be able to do or say anything that The Holy Spirit has taught me out of my KJV.
You can argue that the KJV is wrong all you want to, but it has been sufficient for over 400 years now, and God is greater than to let His church be decieved like that.
He will lead the humble into all truth. He will reduce the proud. Get rid of the old wineskin. It was built on a deception. The new wineskins will know the truth spiritually.
Christ is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29; 35), and according to John’s Gospel he was crucified on the Day of Preparation before the Passover when the lambs were being slain. (John 19:14) And the symbolism of Jesus as a completed lamb sacrifice in the Book of Revelation is numerous. Shouldn’t the descriptions of being washed in the blood of Jesus or the lamb be enough? Shouldn’t the symbolism in the Communion Passover meal be enough?
It’s clear in Codex Sinaiticus that Christ was the Passover lamb….and do they consider Isaac (the Covenant Son) who was commanded to be sacrificed as a test of Abraham’s faith? Because of his compliance, the nations were blessed. Hebrews sites this as a foreshadowing of Christ’s death and resurrection. The way they distort scripture is bewildering….or what about self sacrifice? We offer our bodies up as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) There is no greater love than one who lays down his life for his friends The Lord says. Paul described himself as a “drink offering,” and he bore the marks of Christ on his body. Christ was offered up by The Father, and compliant with His Will. Completely different dynamic from us killing humans ourselves.
What was the point of the Passover lamb? Redemption from a plague. I don’t think that it is a coincidence that the First Borns bore the plague, either. Whoever hears The Lord’s Words and does the will of His Father has passed over from death to life. (John 5:24) Very stubborn…
I don’t think Yeshua was a pesach sacrifice based on what I’ve explained in this article and the preceding article.
Watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXulj5UU00o
What do you consider TORAH?
The first five books of Moses.
This post has haunted me. Are you insinuating that Yeshua didn’t die to save us from eternal death?
Hi Becky, Sorry if this post haunted you. Of course I’m not saying that Yeshua didn’t die to save us from eternal death. All I’m really saying in this post and the post that came before is that it is WRONG to label the Passover Lamb a sin sacrifice. Remember the Passover came BEFORE the Levitical sacrificial system was ever established.
The blood of the Passover lamb marked out believers to be spared judgment. And by trusting in Yeshua’s death for us, we are marked out as being exempt from judgment.
Here’s an interesting quote to ponder:
“As a result of this principle, suffering and pain may be imposed on a tzaddik (righteous person) as an atonement for his entire generation. This tzaddik must then accept the suffering with love for the benefit of his generation, just as he accepts the suffering imposed upon him for his own sake. In doing so, he benefits his generation by atoning for it, and at the same time is himself elevated to a very great degree. For a tzaddik such as this is made into one of the leaders in the Community of the Future World, as discussed earlier.”
“The world and everything in it are in a degraded evil state, and require that God’s unfathomable wisdom bring about the numerous chains of events to achieve their rectification. Among the more important elements of this sequence is the requirement that man must be punished for his wickedness until the Attribute of Justice is satisfied. God arranged matters, however, so that select perfect individuals could rectify things for others, as discussed earlier. The Attribute of Justice therefore relates to them rather than to the rest of the world in general.”
The point is a righteous man dying for others is one thing. Making Yeshua out to be a human KORBAN (sacrifice) which is against TORAH is another thing.
People have a hard time dealing with this because of the false influences, traditions and doctrines of men, that they have been exposed to.
They blindly accept translations of scripture as faultless and the opinions of men on those scripture as correct. They fail to do their own prayer and deap study without any biast influence in a true search for truth.
Glad you across my site Eugene. Be blessed!
I’ve got to say that I currently believe that Yeshua did die as a sin sacrifice (as well as our Passover lamb). He was, and is, The Lamb of GOD who takes away the sins of the world. There is no atonement of sin without the shedding of blood!
Human child sacrifice was certainly condemned in Torah, however, I’m not so sure about willing human sacrifice. Even the fact of Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son – YHWH wouldn’t ask him to sin even if He was going to stop it in the end. Isaac truly appeared to be a willing sacrifice. In Judges, Jephthah sacrificed his daughter. This is portrayed as being a foolish vow that he made, but it isn’t actually condemned as sinful, interestingly enough.
The point is, there must be death as payment for sin.
Marcus, I understand where you’re coming from because I used to think the same way myself. However, TORAH absolutely forbids human sacrifice. While Yeshua’s death was of an atoning nature, it was NOT a human sacrifice, although it might sound like the same difference. It is the SUFFERING that Yeshua underwent that matters, NOT the sacrifice. In this sense, the Jewish sages and anti-missionaries are right on the dot. I reiterate, human sacrifice is absolutely forbidden in Torah. BUT … atonement through the suffering of a RIGHTEOUS ONE is in accord with Torah. The problem lies in Christianity’s ignorance and very distorted interpretations of the New Testament.
While I do agree with you that the Torah states that God absolutely forbids human sacrifices, which was the common practice of the surrounding nations (i.e. Canaanites), Yeshua HaMashiach’s sacrificial death did not violate this mitzvot. We forget that Yeshua was not merely human, HE was IMMANUEL, God with us. He was God incarnate. He was smitten of God and suffered for the sins of the world (Is. 53). Also, He was not offered up as a sacrifice by men but He willing laid down His life for all who believe in Him (John 10:18). The perfect Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. The idea that the Messiah would suffer is something that is completely unfathomable by our orthodox Jewish brothers and sisters, however, this is in complete accordance with the Tenach. The sacrificial blood of animals would never eternally suffice for the sins of humans. God, Himself, would take upon the sins of man and justify us before the Father.
Also, I find your observance of the feast of Pesach to be confused with the requirements of Yom Kippur. You may have a point that Christians have distorted the rich teachings of the Torah but to be fair modern Jews, orthodox Jews and Ultra Orthodox have been veiled for a time and thus distort the Torah as well. This does not mean that we as, non-Jewish believers cannot learn from them but they do not have the complete picture. While the details are very important, so too is the holistic view of scripture.
Thanks for your comment. I may lose your readership after saying this but I don’t believe Yeshua was God the Son. I believe he was the Son of God. Ontologically speaking, I don’t believe he was God with us. As the REPRESENTATIVE of God, sure he was God in human flesh. But NOT in an ontological sense. To put it simply, Yeshua is NOT God the Father. But the Son of God.
I just came across this site, and you are spot on with your assessment of scripture and dealing with the many misconceptions. The problem is the strongholds in the minds of people that they are failing to deal with, due to institutionalized religion of the many previous generations.
Just my observation
The words father and son are often taken literally but these are symbols of human relationships. God has a gender? Love is beyond biology.
What I see in Christ is how a God looks and does in human form.
Thanks
Interesting conclusion. Only one question, which greek text did you get your findings from?
The Greek text that was in an article I was reading.
Any chance of getting a link to that article or its references? Just call me a Berean 🙂
Yeah, I need to see this too
So if Yeshua is not the Passover lamb, why was He killed on Passover?
Reesa, Let me answer your question with a question. The two criminals who were crucified right alongside Yeshua. Why are they not considered Passover lambs. They were also crucified on Passover day.
Good point! I never thought of it like that! But the thieves didn’t die that day, did they? And weren’t their legs broken and Yeshua’s were not? So do you think the timing was just coincidental? Also, Yeshua went into Jerusalem on the 10th at the time they were picking their lambs for Passover. How would you handle that or is the timing not accurate?
Hi Reesa, Please check out this Youtube video dealing with this topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQKnAIsOQEs
The Rabbi of this messianic synagogue also accepts that Yeshua was the Messiah.
Yeshua was not killed ‘on’ Passover. He was killed on the day ‘before’ Passover, on the day of preparation. If you recall the Jews considered the Passover days Holy, so in order to bury Yeshua they had to remove Him from the tree ‘before’ the Holy day came, which was the next day. He died on a Tuesday, the next day (Wednesday) was a Passover Holy day, so they asked for his body to be removed because they could not do no work on a Holy day. The Jews were allowed to remove the body and the disciples placed him in a new grave close to where he was murdered in order to have him inside a grave before sunset that evening. It takes some digging and searching, and learning, but Yeshua did not die ‘on’ Passover. He died the day before. People get things mixed up. The Christians say that Yeshua died on Friday and arose again on Sunday. But no matter how many times a person can count from Friday before dark to Sunday in the early morning, one CANNOT get three days from that. I could go into great detail but people need to do the digging for themselves and finally understand and learn for themselves. I hope you do some digging and be prepared to hear the things you may not be willing to hear if you cling to the understandings of mankind’s wishful thinking. Please don’t take me wrong and think l’m being ugly, because that is not my intention. Please take time to search things for yourselves. It is so much better to find out truth than blindly agree with anything bible changers say. This young man has helped me with something that has been bothering me for a long time. I thought it was just me that thought this way. I don’t know that much about the Bible, but what I do read, I study and get proof of concept first before I believe blindly. Bless you and may the light of GOD shine on us all in truth. GOD is the GOD OF TRUTH, so that is what I choose to do… find the truth.
Hi! Yes! We already watched that but still had those questions.
Thank you. I’ve been fighting with all the contradictions for a few years now and have almost stopped reading from the Bible because of them. GOD lets me know what I need to know, and I’d rather it be that way because I trust no written word from men. The Bible has been changed so often and so drastically that I cannot trust it. It seems that those who changed the wording – did so to be able to keep GOD’s children from HIM (after all it was the ‘Roman’ catholic church that brags about having changed the word of GOD to suit themselves).. People lean upon their own understanding of GOD’s word and do not even ask for direction in their lives, and when they do ask for direction, it’s always on the condition that it doesn’t disrupt their fun, their beliefs, nor their lives in any manner. They want to believe what is popular, and what makes them happy. The second a person puts attributes to GOD, they have placed barriers upon GOD and have chosen a god other than the actual GOD. GOD said that HE was the ONLY GOD, that there were to be no other gods before HIS face. And it happens all the time. Humanity has gotten so used to worshiping their own version (or the rewritten version) of GOD that they do not (nor want to) understand that they have been wrong all along. Once a person begins to see what is happening, it gets scary to think how wrong we really were (or are still). GOD does not have anything to prove to any of us, for any reason, nor at any time. It is not possible to place attributes on the GOD I serve. Once a single attribute has been placed upon GOD, one is no longer serving the true GOD but one they have chosen to make up and live with. I won’t do that… ever again. This is why it is written to replace old leaven with new. I’ll let GOD direct my leaven. It’s been that way now for about two years, and GOD shows me more and more each day. I am thankful beyond thankful to GOD for showing me things I could never see on my own. Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, who was, and is, and will always be the one true GOD who was the first, and will be in all splendor and glory the last forever in eternity.
I enjoyed your comment. It show the start of the fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:31-34 in your life.
The ink on paper that we have and call “the word” is not the actual Word. It is at best in its current form, a reference to the Word. The actual Word of Yahuah cannot be contained on paper. That Word cannot be changed or altered in any why. The reference to his Word, can be changed and altered as we know for a fact they have done.
Having Yahuah lead and guide us through his Ruach is the only and best place to be. If the Ruach can instruct Messiah with perfect Truth, without him having gone to any school, then the same is true and possible for us today.
In the Ruach there is no effort to lie, deceive or defraud any of us.
Shalom