Written by Paul J Bucknell on March, 24, 2020
The Significance of Hebrew Feasts for the Christian with a Special Focus on the Passover
Main Point: Old Testament teachings and laws such as the Passover serve as a critical backdrop to understanding the significance of Jesus’ death on the cross as seen in the Gospel of John.
The Old Testament Origin of Passover
The Passover, as taught in the Pentateuch, has become a culture-forming cornerstone of the Israeli society even down to this day. Shortly after Jesus died as the Passover lamb, the Passover was no longer celebrated by the killing of a lamb. This pattern became solidified after the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D.
Passover and other Biblical Feasts
- Study the Passover Feast (When, who, what, why, where, etc.) (i.e., Feast of Unleavened Bread)
- Exodus 12:1-13
- Exodus 12:21-32
- Exodus 12:40-50
- Numbers 9:1-14
- Deuteronomy 16:1-8
- How many Biblical Jewish feasts are there in the Law? ___________ (Deut 16) (Be careful!)
“Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. “Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.” (Deuteronomy 16:16-17)
Significance of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Deut 16:1-8)
Although there were three times mandated for all Israelite men to celebrate in Jerusalem, there are actually seven, let me call them, holidays (holy days). In the above diagram, we see that the seven holidays were grouped in the three celebrations in Jerusalem at the temple. So, for example, in the celebration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, there was also the observance of the Passover and the Day of Firstfruits. Fifty days later came Pentecost, the Feast of Weeks. This was the reason in Acts 1-2 to find so many God-fearing internationals in Jerusalem.
- What is the significance of the three mandated feast times in Jerusalem?
- Feast of Unleavened Bread: Reconciliation=> Jesus’ first coming
- Feast of Pentecost: Empowerment=> Jesus’ Spirit coming
- Feast of Booths: Anticipation=> Jesus’ second coming
Although God mandated the men three times a year to celebrate in Jerusalem, there are actually seven festivals, or let me call them, holidays (holy days). In the above diagram, the seven holidays were grouped at the same time as the three celebrations in Jerusalem at the temple. For example, in the celebration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, there was also the observance of the Passover and the Day of Firstfruits.
Fifty days later came Pentecost, the Feast of Weeks. Acts 1-2 recorded so many God-fearing internationals present in Jerusalem because they came to celebrate the Day of Pentecost. (Even here, you can see God’s deliberate means of communicating His truths to as many people as possible.)
Three holy days were observed at this climactic week in which Jesus died. The Jews killed their Messiah on Passover Day at the time the lambs were being killed for Passover. The Feast of Unleavened Bread marks how the believers need to abstain from all forms of evil, leaven being a symbol of sin. Lastly, Jesus’ resurrection took place on the same day as the Day of Firstfruit. Jesus is Himself the firstfruits of all of God’s people who are to rise and live in God’s presence. Look below and see how the apostles referred to these feasts in those verses. The last set of holidays, set in the seventh month of Tishri of the Hebrew lunar calendar, included the Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and the Feast of the Tabernacles (Booths). Again, they celebrated together. These holidays were embedded in the Hebrew culture so to shape the mindset and lives of the Jewish people, giving them another sign fo God’s redemptive involvement in their community.
The Jews, as a whole, missed the prophetic kick-off of the unveiling of redemptive events with the first coming of the Messiah, Jesus the Christ. But though missing their Messiah, they initiated the Passover celebration with their killing of Him, the Messiah, the Lamb of God. Jesus was the Passover. The day of Firstfruit was Pentecost when the Spirit of Christ filled His people. The last set of holidays marks the return of Jesus the Messiah, precisely what Jesus predicted.
“And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Mat 24:30)
The Day of Trumpets announces the great harvest celebration associated with the Day of Judgment (i.e., the Day of Atonement). After judgment, the memorial of the wilderness journey begins and never ends. The final harvest includes God’s people gathered from all the ages. Earth’s pilgrimage is over, and they enter the eternal sabbath, the rest in heaven (Hebrews 4).