The Passover vs The Lords Supper and the Importance of FOOT-WASHING?

What are the differences between the Passover and the Lord's Supper? The apostle Paul referred to "the last supper" of Jesus Christ as "the Lord's supper"
(I Corinthians 11:20) in teaching Gentile Christians to observe the symbols of Christ's death.

WHEN should the Passover, or the "Lord's supper" be observed? At the beginning of the fourteenth of Nisan (Abib); coinciding with Jesus' famous last supper - or at the end of the fourteenth, on the beginning of the fifteenth, when the Jews celebrated the Passover during the time of Christ? Here is the TRUTH about the Passover and the Lord's supper from the pages of your own Bible!

(this years is April 1ST 2007 Sunday sundown)

Look for a church near you and keep the Lords Supper with Foot Washing serves!

The apostle John's lengthy account of Jesus' famous last supper is unique among the four gospels. In it, John makes it clear that the events which took place that evening were "BEFORE the feast of the Passover.''

Notice it. "Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour was come that He should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.

"And during supper, [see verse 26of John 13, where the context proves supper was not ended; see also the Critical and Experimental Commentary, The Ivan Panin Greek Numerics New Testament, the Companion Bible, Scoffield's Translation, the Revised Standard Text, The Diaglott and other sources] the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him;

"Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, [further proof that this event took place "during" the supper] and laid aside His garments; and took a towel and girded Himself.
"After that He poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples feet..." (John 13:1-5).

When it was Peter's turn, Peter balked. He challenged, "Lord dost thou wash my feet?"

Actually, the force of Peter's words would be better translated in English, "Lord - you're not going to wash MY feet" Peter was indignant that Christ should stoop to mere servant's work.

Notice Christ's answer!
"What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto Him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
"Simon Peter saith unto Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head" (John 13:3-9).

Jesus then uttered a strange statement - using metaphor to refer to Judas Iscariot, "He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit; and ye are clean, but not all. For He knew who should betray Him; therefore said He, Ye are not all clean" (John 13:10, 11).

After Christ had completed this ceremony, He left instructions for His disciples to follow.
"... Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord; and ye say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.

For I HAVE GIVEN YOU AN EXAMPLE THAT YE SHOULD DO AS I HAVE DONE TO YOU!" (John 13:12-15).

Think, for a moment! HOW MANY of this world's churches follow this humbling custom of Christ? HOW MANY are truly OBEDIENT to a specific, plain, clear, COMMAND from the One who is our LORD, and our MASTER?

HOW MANY of them zealously FOLLOW HIS EXAMPLE? Simple Salvation Church of God! ,THE CHURCH OF GOD 7th Day ,some World-Wide Churchs of God and the Intercontinental Church of God and a few other's keep this very impotent message

We do not "argue" with plain commands of Christ, we strive to OBEY them!

What about YOU?

Christ went on to say, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that is sent greater than He that sent him.
"If ye know these things, HAPPY are ye if ye DO them!" (John 13:15-17)

Jesus somberly instituted the terms and conditions of His "New Covenant" (see Jeremiah 31:31), substituting the symbolic bread and wine for the ancient paschal lamb, eaten roasted whole, with bitter herbs and unleavened bread.

Read the account! "And when the hour was come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.
"And He said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer:
"For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.
"And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:
"For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the Kingdom of God shall come.

"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.
"Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

"But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table.
"And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom He is betrayed!
"And they began to enquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing"
(Luke 22:14-23).��

You may read the parallel accounts in
Matthew 26:26-29 and Mark 14:22-25.

The Rich Meaning of Christ's Last Supper
Few have understood the truly NEW Testament character of the symbols of Christ's last supper! Thousands have assumed they are "keeping the PASSOVER," as if it is an unbroken festival, a continuous tradition, to be observed in the same way, and at the same time, down through the centuries.

Few seem to realize the Passover was dramatically altered in character following the exodus, and that it was altered again in the post-exile period. It's time Christians realized they are looking entirely to CHRIST for their salvation - that He alone can save!

Christ was pictured by the paschal lamb. For centuries, the age-old custom looked forward to the sacrifice of a Savior. Since Christ's death and resurrection, the New Testament observance of the Passover has looked back toward Christ - toward His death! He BECAME the Passover. Notice! "For even CHRIST OUR PASSOVER is sacrificed for us" (I Corinthians 5:7).

Christ has become the Passover.
He IS the Passover. Therefore, when we partake of the symbols He instituted of His broken body and shed blood, we are not keeping the Old Covenant Passover. We are IMBIBING OF THE SYMBOLS OF CHRIST'S DEATH!

Notice what He said. "Verily, verily I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die. I AM THE LIVING BREAD which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread (partake of Christ) he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world... Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

"For my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him" (John 6:44-58).

This was such a "hard saying" that many of His disciples LEFT Christ! They had never heard such language! They were offended! Christ turned to Peter and asked if he would leave also. Peter said "Lord to whom shall we go? THOU hast the words of eternal life!" (John 6:68).

When Christ changed the ancient paschal meal; when He performed a ceremony absolutely UNIQUE in all history, washing His disciples' feet, passing broken bread and wine among them, He explained this was "My blood of the NEW COVENANT, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28).

Paul explains, "And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
"In that He saith, A New Covenant, He hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away" (Hebrews 8:11-13).

Notice that Christ was becoming the mediator of the NEW TESTAMENT (New Covenant or "New Will") when He instituted the symbols of His body and blood. When we partake of this completely NEW TESTAMENT ceremony we do not look back in history beyond the time of Christ. We look to the time of HIS DEATH - NOT to the ancient exodus and the captivity in Egypt, except in interesting typology or as interesting history and background.

We are not keeping the ancient Passover or the post-exilic Passover. We are keeping a COMPLETELY NEW TESTAMENT ceremony following Christ's example, doing as He did; as He commanded.

Some few seem to believe they must be more "accurate" than Christ and believe they must observe the NEW Testament symbols of Christ's body and blood at the same moment as the Jews observed the symbols of the OLD Covenant on the fifteenth.

But Jesus Christ instituted a NEW TESTAMENT CEREMONY! He had that right He had that authority. He said, "This DO as I have done unto you!"

He said, "...drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:27.28).

The Greek word for "testament" is diatheke. It is an Old Testament word, and should always conform to Old Testament form and usage. The rendering "testament" comes from the Vulgate; testamentum, a Latin translation. Diatheke occurs in the New Testament thirty times, and is rendered "covenant" twenty times. It should better be rendered "covenant" here.

Notice Paul's statement: "But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
"Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
"For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:

"How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
"And for this cause He is the mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

"For where a testator is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
"For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
"Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.

"For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
"Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
"Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
"And almost all things are by law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:11-22).

As the Mediator of the New Covenant, Christ was referring to the cup of wine He passed among the disciples as symbolic of His blood, which was to be shed "for the sins of many."

The unleavened bread, He said, was symbolic of His body. Paul says. "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread:

"And when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, Take eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
"After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
"For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He come.

"Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
"But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
"For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
"For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep" (I Corinthians 11:23-30).

God's church has known for many centuries that the practice instituted by Jesus Christ of offering the symbols of His broken body and shed blood on the BEGINNING of the fourteenth of Nisan was to be observed!

As you have seen clearly proved, the original paschal lambs were slain "at even," or late on the fourteenth, and the actual Passover meal was not eaten until after sunset, during the nighttime part of the FIFTEENTH of Nisan!

Some few have argued that, even though Jesus Christ clearly set this example, and that His famous "last supper", took place on the fourteenth it is somehow closer to true righteousness to wait and observe the New Testament symbols at the same moment as the ancient Passover, or on the FIFTEENTH!

Church history, and centuries of church tradition, plus careful biblical scholarship all prove otherwise!
The famous "Quartodeciman controversy" which raged for centuries throughout the expanding Roman Catholic world is a major case in point. "Quartodeciman" is merely a Latin term for "FOURTEENTH!" From Carthage in North Africa to Alexandria in Egypt; from Rome to Antioch in Syria, fragmented groups of Christians continued to cling to the same customs delivered to them by Jesus Christ Himself, and by the early apostles. Successive generations clung tenaciously to the "faith once delivered to the saints," absolutely refusing to abandon the practice of observing the New Testament "Passover" (Lord's supper) on the FOURTEENTH of Nisan!

They were careful to do as Jesus did! They recognized that when their Lord and Savior commanded, "THIS DO as I have done unto you!" it represented a command. They recognized that Jesus Christ had set them an example, that they should follow in His steps.
For this reason they were called "Quartodecimans," or observers of the FOURTEENTH, not observers of the "fifteenth" or, "Quintodecimans."

We The Church of God, humbly bows before the Eternal God in heaven, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as well as the legacy of centuries of church custom, practice and tradition, and continues to faithfully observe the commemoration of Christ's death at the same moment each year when CHRIST HIMSELF observed it!

After sunset on the thirteenth, as the thirteenth of Nisan is over, and the fourteenth of Nisan is coming on, God's church gathers together in a solemn service traditionally called "The Passover," in commemoration of the events during the last supper of Jesus Christ, and in commemoration of His death.

As Jesus Christ set us an example, we humbly submit to the ancient rite of foot washing. At the conclusion of this ceremony, we solemnly partake of a broken piece of unleavened bread, and sip from a small cup of wine, reading the appropriate scriptures, enacting, in commemoration, the events of that famous night.

Even as the apostle Paul said "...the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread..." so the Church of God today continues to observe the richly significant, monumentally important tradition of the Passover on that same night!

Notice carefully that the correct understanding of the chronological events of the Passover in Egypt, and the correction of false assumptions concerning the time of the Exodus have NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO with the time on which the church has traditionally observed the New Testament Passover from antiquity!

NOTHING is changed! Custom and practice remain the same! What IS accomplished is a fuller understanding of the truth of Almighty God!

Finally, WHY do not the churches of this world OBEY the plain commands of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?

Surely there is no ceremony during the course of the year that is any more important than the PASSOVER! It is that one annual festival which symbolizes, more than any other, the very WAY TO SALVATION! Without the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ; without our deepest repentance, and the acceptance of

Christ's shed blood to atone for our own sins, we cannot be saved!
By our reaffirmation of our acceptance of His broken body and shed blood year by year, we continually resubstantiate and reconfirm our faith in Jesus Christ, and in Him ALONE for salvation! If you truly expect to enter into the soon-coming, glorious kingdom of Almighty God; if you hope to be one of those who will live and reign with Christ for one thousand years on this earth (Revelation 20:4; 5:10) then you need to KEEP THE PASSOVER year by year.
April 1 st 2007 sunset this year!

See the full explanation of the passover here with article in full By Garner Ted Armstrong "The Passover -
Is it for Christians?"

http://www.garnertedarmstrong.ws/pubs/PassoverIsItForChristians.htm