Today is Good Friday, the day of Jesus’s crucifixion. This year it’s also the day that Jewish people celebrate Purim, the commemoration of the deliverance of the Jewish people from genocide at the hand of a Persian official named Haman. The fact that the two holidays coincide is appropriate since Esther risked her life to deliver her people from their enemies, and Jesus gave his life to rescue us from Our Enemy.
This year Passover, however, the Jewish holiday that most closely relates to the holiday Christians are celebrating this weekend, isn’t until late April. I have never understood why Passover and Easter week don’t always come at the same time. Here’s an explanation—but I still don’t understand. If that’s not confusing enough, Orthodox Christians use different rules for determining the date of Easter, and one of the rules is that “Easter shall never precede or coincide with Jewish Passover, but must always follow it.”
Right.
Nevertheless, Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples on Thursday evening before he was crucified on Friday. And the Bible says that He became our Passover sacrifice, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Because of His blood shed for our sin, death and Satan no longer have lordship over those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Hallelujah! It truly is a good Friday.