Q: Were the Sabbath and the Passover abolished after the cross? Should we still keep them?
A: When people think of the law, they think it’s something that only applies to the Old Testament and that no law needs to be observed in the New Testament. But the Bible explains that as Christians we should keep the New Covenant. The Bible testifies about two laws: the law of Moses and the law of Christ. The law of Moses is the law that was given by God through Moses. And the law of Christ refers to the New Covenant established by Jesus Christ (1Co 9:20–21). Jesus never said that He came to abolish the law, but rather to fulfill it.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
So, the law of Christ is the fulfillment of the law of Moses. As Christians, we should keep the law of Christ that Jesus established.
What’s the difference between the two laws? The regulations like the Sabbath and the Passover never disappeared. The only thing that has changed is the way they are kept. Instead of keeping the Sabbath day by sacrificing lambs, we now worship in spirit and in truth (Jn 4:23–24). For the Passover, Jesus Christ became the reality of the Passover lamb (1Co 5:7). So now, we keep it with bread and wine that represent His body and blood. In summary, Christians must keep the law, but how we keep the law in the New Testament has changed according to Christ’s teachings (Heb 7:12).
