God instructs Israel to observe the Passover. Non-Israelites are to abstain from observing Passover unless they become circumcised (i.e. legal citizens of Israel). Why? God has set national Israel apart as His own national people. There is a certain inherent danger in Judiazing or Hebrew Roots movements which cause Gentiles to break some laws by forcing them or making them feel as if they must observe the feasts. Here, we have explicit instruction not to observe Passover if we are not Israelites.
Passover represents Israel’s deliverance from captivity in Egypt. Jesus will later appropriate the meal to represent deliverance from sin and death. He will instruct His disciples, who give the meal to Gentiles (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:23-29). With the grafting in of the Gentiles, the meal was made available in Christ. Yet, we are still warned not to partake of the meal in an unworthy manner (1 Corinthians 11:27). In both instances, the danger is not in observing the meal but in having not been delivered. Gentiles don’t celebrate the breadth of Passover because our people were not delivered from slavery in Egypt. Those who are still bound by their sin do not observe the eucharist because they have not been delivered from slavery in sin. Observance is a sign of having been set apart, not a legalistic way to maintain our righteousness. In both cases, the meal is an ordinance rather than a sacrament.
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