If you’re going to create a new calendar, it has to be for a momentous occasion. Think about it: Whatever date you fixate as “year zero” needs to be an event so huge and so important that every single thing after that event hinges on it.
That was the way our current calendar was developed. At the time of this writing, it is the year A.D. 2024, which in our understanding, means it has been roughly 2024 years since the time of Christ. He is the most important figure in Christianity, and since Christianity has become so ubiquitous among the nations, it is the standard measurement for most.
What most don’t know is that when Gregory “created” his calendar in 1582, he did so to fix the issue of a moving day for Easter. The Julian calendar, which was in effect in those days, was slightly off in its calculation of the solar schedule. That meant Easter was gradually moving later in the year. The Gregorian calendar introduced a leap day to address this issue.
In Exodus 12:2, God told Moses that the month for Passover was to be the “beginning of months” for them. This month is known by the Jews as Abib, but we would be most familiar with it as the month of April.
That doesn’t mean that the Jews use a different standard of measurement for their calendars than the rest of the world. Instead, God marked the beginning of their religious calendar. The religious year is bookended by feasts at the beginning (Passover, Weeks, Booths) and at the end (Atonement, Tabernacles), with a few others sprinkled in between.
It’s fitting that the Passover was to be the Jews’ new starting point for religious celebrations, since that was the feast that reminded them of their national birth. No longer were they to be slaves in Egypt, but freedmen—both legally and religiously.
The Passover was a yearly reminder of what God had done for them, what they had seen, and what they left behind. Even though it was to be a day of remembrance, it was never meant to be a day of longing for the past. Slavery was in the rear-view mirror; salvation was right in front of them.
For us today, Christ is our Passover. He may not be the beginning of any formal religious year in our lives, but the point is the same. Christ’s sacrifice is our starting point and everything develops in front of us. Instead of longing for our life of sin, look forward with hope towards our salvation.
