Who determines what is and is not a ceremonial law

Question:

As a Christian who determines what is and is not a ceremonial law, can you explain why Luke 22:8–20 is or is not considered a ceremonial law? Additionally, was a Temple necessary for the Messiah to keep the Passover and exemplify its observance?

Answer:

When someone asks whether Luke 22:8–20 is a “ceremonial law,” they are starting from a framework that Scripture never uses. The Bible does not divide the Mosaic Law into moral, civil, and ceremonial categories. Those divisions were created by theologians long after the Bible was written, and they are often used to keep parts of the law alive for Christians today. But when we rightly divide the Word of truth, we see that the Body of Christ is not under the law in any category. We are not Israel, not part of Israel’s covenants, and not governed by Israel’s feast system. Our doctrine comes from Christ through Paul, not from Israel’s Torah.

Luke 22:8–20 is not a ceremonial law. It is a historical record of Jesus, as Israel’s Messiah, keeping the Passover with His disciples under the Old Covenant. At that moment in history, the law was still in effect, the kingdom program was still being offered, and Christ was fulfilling every requirement given to Israel. Nothing in that passage is presented as a command for the Body of Christ, nor is it described as a law for Christians to follow. It is simply the Messiah keeping the law that applied to Israel before the cross. To turn that moment into a “ceremonial law” for Christians is to confuse Israel’s program with the dispensation of grace.

This also answers the question about the Temple. Under the Mosaic Law, Passover required a sacrifice offered at the place where God placed His name, which ultimately became the Temple in Jerusalem. But by the time of Christ, the Temple still stood, and the Passover lambs were being sacrificed there according to the law. Jesus did not need to personally perform the sacrifice; the priests did that as part of Israel’s system. What He did was eat the Passover meal with His disciples, exactly as the law required. Nothing in Luke 22 suggests that He was creating a new ceremony for the Church or establishing a ritual for the Body of Christ. He was simply fulfilling the law as Israel’s Messiah on the eve of His death.

For Christians today, the significance of Luke 22 is not ceremonial but redemptive. We do not keep the Passover because we are not Israel, and we do not follow ceremonial laws because we are not under the law. We live under grace, taught by the Spirit, walking in the newness of life that flows from our identity in Christ. The more we rest in that grace, the clearer the distinction becomes between Israel’s earthly program and the heavenly calling of the Body of Christ.