Answer: The best reason is because we want to observe the service as a Memorial of the Lord’s Death.

Good Friday and Easter Sunday developed purely out of a desire to not be like the Jews. There is no scriptural requirement or even suggestion to do so. When people use scripture to support this practice they are only reading their belief into scripture - rather then forming your beliefs from the scripture.

You would think that since there is no scriptural support for having created these days that someone who chose to do so would not be arrogant against those who did not follow their personal choice. Historically though Easter Christians killed those who kept the 14^th because they did not accept their authority. Even today many would call it heretical to keep the 14^th instead of Good Friday or Easter which is incredible considering they have ABSOLUTELY NO BIBLICAL AUTHORITY for such practice.

This time period describes the period of time to Jesus. When the Messiah came he was to be anointed as the Most Holy. He will make a new covenant (new marriage doesn’t change the moral standard of behaviour for participants - the law, but creates new vows and better promises). He was to bring reconciliation for sin and end sacrifices and offerings. He will be cut down for others and then the City of Jerusalem, including the temple, will be destroyed.

Lets look at what was changed and what it ultimately represented.

The Old Covenant symbol was circumcision. In order to become a part of Israel you had to be circumcised. Genesis 17:13-14 "He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant."

The New Covenant symbol is baptism and the laying on of hands to receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:37-39 " Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

This New Covenant was available to Jew and Gentile alike.

The Memorial Service for the Old Covenant was Passover.

Exodus 12 states to take a Lamb on the 10^th day of Abib until the 14^th day and they killed it between the two evenings and quickly put the blood on the doorposts and lintels. Then they prepared the meal and sat down to eat while the death angel came over the land and destroyed all those who weren’t covered with the blood of the Lamb. They had already plundered the Egyptians and were supposed to be sitting prepared to leave. Then Pharoah sent message to Moses that Israel was free to leave. They left quickly and there bread was not leavened. Although the night they were released was the beginning of the Days of Unleavened Bread it was not when they had final victory over Egypt. That occurred 3 nights and 3 days later, likely on the feast of first fruits, when they came up out of the sea and they noted in the morning watch that the Egyptian army was conquered.

Who participates in this Memorial Service? "And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it." The members of the Old Covenant.

There is no Sabbath to memorialize the victory through the sea only the recognition of first fruits before the beginning of harvest. A time when God began working with the nation to harvest fruit in them.

We are told in Colossians 2:16-17 "So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ." This verse often gets used to state that we don’t need the shadow because we worship Christ yet it refers still to the future and not to the past even though Christ did fulfill the verses about Him and continues to do so.

Jesus was set aside as the Messiah, the King of the Jews on the 10^th day of the month (weekly Sabbath) when He entered Jerusalem on a donkey. On the 14^th day of the month, the preparation day for the Passover when leavening must be removed and the Lamb prepared for us to be covered, Jesus began a New Covenant Memorial Service. Matthew 26:26-28 "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

What is different here? The meal wasn’t important. The Passover meal was eaten the following evening at the start of the 15^th as the Lambs would be slaughtered during the daytime hours of the 14^th. The difference is that the symbols are changed to the bread (all sacrifices offered on the altar to God with Blood were unleavened at any time of the year) and the wine. The blood that covers them is His, the blood of the Lamb. Who participated in this service but His disciples alone. When the Church began on Pentecost (Feast of Weeks) it became clear that to be considered His disciple one was to be baptised and receive the Holy Spirit.

Why is this a Memorial? 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed (the 14^th) took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you do this in remembrance of Me." In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes."

This is a memorial of what occurred to call out His Body just as the Old Covenant Passover was. It represents when we were given the victory? This occurred on the 14^th and not on the night of the 15^th like the Old Covenant Passover. The final victory over death occurred 3 nights and 3 days later - late on Saturday and was observed as the 4^th night ended - early on Sunday morning. That was the timing of the first fruits observance to begin the harvest. This is the time Jesus began to plant His church.

This is why Jesus is called "Our Passover" meaning different then the Jews a New Service yet still recognizing that He represents the Passover Lamb slain to save the Israel of God.

On that day the need for sacrifices, the earthly temple and earthly priests was eliminated and the veil separating the Holy of Holies was torn in two. Jesus was what the sacrifices represented. Jesus became our High Priest forever so that even with the temple destroyed we have never been without a sacrifice or a priest to serve before us.

Unfortunately some so called Christians want to eliminate and hide some of the meaning from God’s Holy Days and what they represent in Christ. By making or accepting changes that are not biblical.

Originally the politics behind the Nicene changes was to make: a) Rome the Centre of Christianity and to b) use the Church as a power for the Emperor and c) the Church leaders used the Emperor as a power to defeat other religions. The politics was the same as found in 1Kings 12 when Jeroboam created a feast in the Eighth month so that the northern Kingdom of Israel would not go to Jerusalem at God’s appointed feast in the Seventh month and be swayed by Judah. This early Rome Council made many unbiblical changes: Sunday worship, Christmas, Trinity and Easter. Lets take a quick look at these Sabbath changes.

The Sabbath proclaims the creation of God and the rest God has in store for mankind in a new heaven and a new earth. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath but Christians reject that.

Christmas replaced the fall Holy Days which are representative of Jesus coming in judgment and the creation of a new heaven and a new earth. We replace this with our Christmas eight day festival with Santa as the judge, Jesus as baby without strength or power and a celebration of a new year were man creates change.

Good Friday and Easter replaced New Covenant Passover. Both remember the death of Christ and His resurrection and that this makes the old covenant, temple, levitical priesthood and sacrifices obsolete. However, it hides the fact that Jesus is the Firstborn from the dead, the first fruits, and that He has pre-eminence in all things. That currently Jesus alone is the only man who has ever achieved immortality. The rest of the dead are asleep and awaiting their reward - either everlasting life or to perish. Jesus will judge because He is our Redeemer, our King, our High Priest, our Judge and our Friend. It also hides that fact that God was consistent from creation in what he predestined for man through Jesus alone.

When people generally accept these changes they begin to not use the Word of God as the Authority in their life. The Apostles stated that Jesus did not come to destroy the old testament scriptures but to fulfil them. When we observe God’s Sabbaths, the old testament scriptures become alive with Christ. They make the scriptures greater in meaning and depth and not obsolete.

The Catholic church made all these changes on one hand not to look jewish and on the other to be acceptable to sun worshippers which Constantine was partial too. They made them without ANY BIBLICAL AUTHORITY.

It is because we wish to be transformed by the Word of God rather then transforming the Word to fit our desires we keep the 14^th as the early disciples did as a Memorial (anniversary) of the Death of Jesus. Doing this enables us to love the Word of God more deeply in very many ways.