Also, the Day of Atonement is an annual ritual, but Passover was a one-time feat of God that provided permanent deliverance. The Passover feast was a celebration and commemoration.
God constantly alludes to the Passover event in the OT ("I am the Lord your God which brought you out of Egypt"). Our focus should be so often brought to the work of Christ on the cross.
Seeing as Jesus fulfilled the whole law, we don't want to overstate one part of it
I enjoyed the article. I've always felt there was room both for a sort of penal substitution theory along with Christus Victor. One being a means to the end or the other. Sort of He paid the price so that we could share in His victory.
This is great! I'd love to trade thoughts on the Christological fulfillments of the other Levitical holy days. I grew up observing them, and I'm planning a piece about it over at my publication.
that's awesome Joel! Yes would love to hear more. I have some thoughts about the implications of the Holy Spirit coming at Pentecost and all the connections there, but never wrote them up. Beyond that haven't thought a whole lot about other Levitical holy days. Look forward to reading your piece!
I’ve talked to a few people about this idea. None of them had ever heard of Holy Saturday or the harrowing of hell. It’s bizarre to me that that has been completely erased from Easter in evangelical circles.
Huh wow. Yeah it's right there in the Apostle's Creed, "he descended into hell." I will say it wasn't really explained in my evangelical church, but conceptually it always made sense
I think if you approach it from a PSA lens, Christ is going to hell as punishment, so the idea of preaching to the dead is incompatible. So holy Saturday makes no sense in that framework and would need to be erased? That’s the best I can make sense of it.
mmmm yeah true...In my mind even from PSA point of view, Christ bore the punishment which includes hell, right? But the preaching to the dead part would seem somewhat extraneous then. It'd be interesting to try to locate exactly when in history Holy Saturday disappeared from western evangelicals' understanding of Easter.
Yesssss!!! I love how you outline the meaning each festival and feast holds and what Jesus’ death then would signify. We have been celebrating the feasts and festivals in conjunction with the Church calendar both enrich the other!
Amy-Jill “AJ” Levine, a Jewish scholar of the New Testament and author of The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus, sits down with Zac and Ashley at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, an Anglican Cathedral in New York City. It’s a dynamic interfaith conversation in an ecumenical setting, and AJ helps break open Jesus’ Jewish identity and context for the hosts.
Thank you for this essay! Two books that speak about the death and resurrection of Christ along similar thoughts are “Lamb of the Free: Recovering the Varied Sacrificial Understandings of Jesus's Death” by Andrew Remington Rillera and “Rethinking the Atonement” by David M. Moffitt.
Joe I wanted to thank you again for the Rec of “lamb of the free”. I bought it and have been loving it however I had a question- it’s a brand new title (published 2024 I think)—how had you heard about it already? Is this a subject you follow closely?
Hi Andrew, I'm glad you liked it! I was studying the atonement in Hebrews and mainly reading David M. Moffitt. I cannot recall how I stumbled upon Lamb of the Free but it must have come up in one of the articles I was reading. I do follow it this topic closely, especially through the lens of Paul within Judaism line of thought.
oh sweet! Thank you--I had wondered if there were theologians who had written about this, but I couldn't put the right string of words together in Google to filter them. I'll check these out!
Well done! Loved every minute of the read. Shows a lot of holistic Biblical consistency with that stance: Christ's sacrifice was about the deliverance from death, sin, and the overcoming of the evil one. I'm considering the Jewish roots of Christianity, and the rest of the New Testament (Revelation prominently comes to mind).
One of the many reasons I love that Orthodox Christians still call Easter “Pascha”!
Also, the Day of Atonement is an annual ritual, but Passover was a one-time feat of God that provided permanent deliverance. The Passover feast was a celebration and commemoration.
God constantly alludes to the Passover event in the OT ("I am the Lord your God which brought you out of Egypt"). Our focus should be so often brought to the work of Christ on the cross.
Seeing as Jesus fulfilled the whole law, we don't want to overstate one part of it
Great points!
"How Jesus fulfills all the feasts of Jehovah" could be a great essay... or book!
I enjoyed the article. I've always felt there was room both for a sort of penal substitution theory along with Christus Victor. One being a means to the end or the other. Sort of He paid the price so that we could share in His victory.
This is great! I'd love to trade thoughts on the Christological fulfillments of the other Levitical holy days. I grew up observing them, and I'm planning a piece about it over at my publication.
that's awesome Joel! Yes would love to hear more. I have some thoughts about the implications of the Holy Spirit coming at Pentecost and all the connections there, but never wrote them up. Beyond that haven't thought a whole lot about other Levitical holy days. Look forward to reading your piece!
I’ve talked to a few people about this idea. None of them had ever heard of Holy Saturday or the harrowing of hell. It’s bizarre to me that that has been completely erased from Easter in evangelical circles.
Huh wow. Yeah it's right there in the Apostle's Creed, "he descended into hell." I will say it wasn't really explained in my evangelical church, but conceptually it always made sense
I think if you approach it from a PSA lens, Christ is going to hell as punishment, so the idea of preaching to the dead is incompatible. So holy Saturday makes no sense in that framework and would need to be erased? That’s the best I can make sense of it.
mmmm yeah true...In my mind even from PSA point of view, Christ bore the punishment which includes hell, right? But the preaching to the dead part would seem somewhat extraneous then. It'd be interesting to try to locate exactly when in history Holy Saturday disappeared from western evangelicals' understanding of Easter.
Yeah it would be. It’s now my favorite part of Easter because it has redefined the meaning of it so much for me.
Yesssss!!! I love how you outline the meaning each festival and feast holds and what Jesus’ death then would signify. We have been celebrating the feasts and festivals in conjunction with the Church calendar both enrich the other!
really great interview related to this.
Understanding the Jewish Jesus
Amy-Jill “AJ” Levine, a Jewish scholar of the New Testament and author of The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus, sits down with Zac and Ashley at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, an Anglican Cathedral in New York City. It’s a dynamic interfaith conversation in an ecumenical setting, and AJ helps break open Jesus’ Jewish identity and context for the hosts.
https://pca.st/kl8wq4ty
Thank you for this essay! Two books that speak about the death and resurrection of Christ along similar thoughts are “Lamb of the Free: Recovering the Varied Sacrificial Understandings of Jesus's Death” by Andrew Remington Rillera and “Rethinking the Atonement” by David M. Moffitt.
Joe I wanted to thank you again for the Rec of “lamb of the free”. I bought it and have been loving it however I had a question- it’s a brand new title (published 2024 I think)—how had you heard about it already? Is this a subject you follow closely?
Hi Andrew, I'm glad you liked it! I was studying the atonement in Hebrews and mainly reading David M. Moffitt. I cannot recall how I stumbled upon Lamb of the Free but it must have come up in one of the articles I was reading. I do follow it this topic closely, especially through the lens of Paul within Judaism line of thought.
oh sweet! Thank you--I had wondered if there were theologians who had written about this, but I couldn't put the right string of words together in Google to filter them. I'll check these out!
Beautiful, hallelujah! Christ is our victory.
Well done! Loved every minute of the read. Shows a lot of holistic Biblical consistency with that stance: Christ's sacrifice was about the deliverance from death, sin, and the overcoming of the evil one. I'm considering the Jewish roots of Christianity, and the rest of the New Testament (Revelation prominently comes to mind).
Thank you! And yes, I agree. Once one’s eyes are opened to these themes they become apparent everywhere in scripture
Really good stuff here. Thank you
Did more babies die at Passover than Jesus?
Very nice. Thank you.