What does the Bible say?
Answer:
When we examine the BibleThe books (Greek, "biblia" ) that are acknowledged as canonical (authoritative) by the early Christian Church. It includes both the books of the ancient Hebrew prophets and those of the apostolic witnesses to Jesus Christ. we find that observing this important festival was for those who had entered into a covenant relationship with God. Under the Old Covenant, the symbol of having entered into this solemn agreement with God was circumcision of the males. Baby boys were circumcised when they were eight days old and thus, the entire family (assuming all the males over eight days of age were circumcised) was eligible to partake of the Passover—a festival that pointed toward Christ's coming crucifixion (1 Corinthians 5:7). If a new family wanted to observe this festival, their males had to first be circumcised (Exodus 12:48).
Under the New Covenant, Paul taught that "circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal" (Romans 2:29, Revised Standard Version). Under the New Covenant, entering into a covenant relationship with God occurs when a person's heart is convicted to repent of his or her sins and he or she is baptized and receives the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:37-38). When we receive God's Holy Spirit via this process, we then "belong" to God (Romans 8:9, RSV) —we have entered into a covenant relationship with Him.
When young people mature and undergo heartfelt repentance and baptism, they enter into a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ and are then ready to observe the Passover—an annual reminder of this covenant (Matthew 26:26-28). If you are a young person not yet baptized, why not ask a minister if you can come watch the Passover service (without participating) to learn more about this solemn observance?
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