Old Testament

Leviticus 23:23-25
The Feasts of the Lord
The Memorial of Acclamation

We are given rather sparse information concerning this particular feast day. Just three verses to explain it, and not much detail is provided. It is short, concise, and will require a lot of back and forth to try to figure out what it was intended to reveal to the people of Israel.

One thing is for sure, this day – known as the Feast of Trumpets by some, Rosh Hoshanna by others – is not a picture of the rapture of the church. How do we know this? Well, are we members of the church? And are we still awaiting the rapture? Then this feast day is not a picture of the rapture.

It has become popular since the time of the early dispensationalists to state that the spring feasts of the Lord were fulfilled in Christ’s first advent, and that the fall feasts will be fulfilled in His second advent. CI Scofield, an early dispensationalist, says that this date “is a prophetical type and refers to the future regathering of long-dispersed Israel.” John Darby, of the same period, agrees with this.

This is the beginning of error. Eventually, other such error crept in, assigning this day to the rapture of the church. Along with that have come so many false teachings about this particular day that it is almost impossible to know what is true and what isn’t. People make stuff up all the time and each false teaching gets passed on so many times that eventually, it appears to be true.

The best way to correct this is to simply ignore pretty much everything that is out there about this day and start from scratch. One good starting point to correct such things it so understand that this feast is a part of the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses is fulfilled in Christ. It is, according to the book of Hebrews, annulled, set aside, and obsolete. Paul says it is nailed to the cross. A law which is all of those things is no longer in effect. We are now under a New Covenant. The old is gone.

As we are the church, and the church is still here, and as the Law of Moses is done away with, then this cannot be something future to us now. This is how heresy starts. Logically, if the feasts aren’t fulfilled, then we should be observing the feasts. Along with that then comes tithing, giving up pork, requiring circumcision, Sabbath observance, and other pick and choose items from the Law of Moses. Why heresy? Because this mindset says that Christ is not the fulfillment of the law for all who believe, and that we must continue to work deeds of the law in order to be pleasing to God. A little yeast, and the whole loaf is leavened.

Rather, the feast we will look at today is fulfilled, in Christ, and in a splendid way. This doesn’t mean the rapture won’t happen on this day. Maybe it will. But it could happen on any of the other 364 days of the year as well. We’ll leave that up to the Lord, and not attempt to usurp His right to choose, and we won’t be disobedient to His word which tells us to not bother doing so.

Text Verse: “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, ¹⁷ which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” Colossians 2:16, 17

GK Chesterton said the following about New Years –

“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective. Unless a man starts on the strange assumption that he has never existed before, it is quite certain that he will never exist afterwards. Unless a man be born again, he shall by no means enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Charlie, if we are looking at a feast which occurs in the seventh month of the year, then why are you citing something about the new year? Well, the reason is that there are several things going on in the annual cycle of Israel which need to be figured out in order to properly understand why the Lord selected the first of the seventh month to be the day of this particular feast. In the end, the term “new year” applies to it as well. We’ll see that soon enough.

As the law points us to Christ, then we need to look for Him in the things of the law, including this which is described in the Bible as Yom Teruah, or the Day of Acclamation. It was a day, according to Jewish tradition, of sounding the shophar, or ram’s horn trumpet, and rejoicing in the Lord. The only thing is, Israel wasn’t told why they were doing this. They were just told to do so.

Though only three verses, it is a rather complicated study, but it is one which will explain why the feast was given, and how it is fulfilled in Christ. Understanding this, anyone who has their mind set on a future fulfillment of this feast will probably never agree that it is fulfilled, despite what the Bible says about the law actually being done away with. I would hope this wouldn’t be the case, but time and experience have shown that minds are not easily swayed, even when things are made explicit.

As far as introductions go, we’ve gone on too long already. Let’s jump into these verses and look for Christ. He is there, ready to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Memorial of Acclamation (verses 23-25)

²³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

As with the Feast of Firstfruits, an entirely new section is introduced, implying that the feast now to be described is logically disconnected from the previous one. As the feast following this one also begins with such an introductory statement, it is a stand alone feast. This is in contradistinction to the Feast of Firstfruits and the Feast of Weeks which were united in a particular way. No independent introduction was given at the announcement of the Feast of Weeks, showing the connection between the two.

²⁴ “Speak to the children of Israel, saying:

The words of the Lord are to be transmitted to all of the people. This is a Feast of the Lord, to be observed by all to the Lord, and so Moses is directed to speak to the people concerning it. This is no different than the public proclamations made by presidents when calling for days of national fasting, holidays, etc. The Lord is their sovereign Ruler, and He is now mandating the next feast in the year to be observed. It is specified as…

^{24 (con’t)} ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month,

It is important to understand that there are two distinct calendars in the Bible. The first is the creation calendar, and the second is the redemption calendar. This same pattern of creation/redemption is seen throughout the Bible. God creates and then He redeems. The reason for giving of the Sabbath in the Ten Commandments in Exodus is based on creation, “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth…” (20:11). However, it is based on redemption in the giving of the Ten commandments in Deuteronomy, “And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm” (5:15).

The same pattern of creation and redemption is seen in Revelation when praises to God are based first on creation in Chapter 4 –

“You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created.” Revelation 4:11

They are then given based on redemption in Revelation 5 –

“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
¹⁰ And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:9, 10.

Throughout the Bible, one must properly track the calendar which is being used to avoid confusion in what is going on and when. This seventh month in the redemption calendar today is known by the Aramaic name, Tishri. However, it was originally known by its Hebrew name as Ethanim. This is recorded in 1 Kings 8:2. The name Tishri was adopted after the Babylonian exile when the names from that calendar were assimilated into the Hebrew culture.

The seventh month was originally the first month of the year based on creation, but that was changed at the time of the exodus when the Lord declared the first month to commence in the springtime in the month of Aviv (later known as Nisan). That is recorded in Exodus 12:2, and it is based on redemption.

Further, despite being the seventh month of the calendar year in Judah, it was also the first month of the royal, or civil, year in Judah, matching the creation calendar. In other words, the beginning of the reign of the kings of Judah are aligned not with the ceremonial, or redemption, year beginning in the first month of Aviv/Nisan (in the spring time), but with a royal year beginning in the seventh month of Ethanim/Tishri (in the fall time).

To more fully grasp this dating system, one can refer to the book The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings by Edwin R. Thiele. His work resolves many once-believed errors in the biblical chronology. And, as the seventh month was originally the first month since the time of creation, we can know that Adam was created at this time. Though not in the Bible, the commentary on this from Chabadba provides us invaluable insight into this –

“The 1st day of creation, on which G-d created existence, time, matter, darkness and light, was the 25th of Elul. (Rosh Hashanah, on which we mark “the beginning of Your works”, is actually the 6th day of creation, on which the world attained the potential for the realization of its purpose, with the creation of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. Rosh Hashanah is therefore the day from which the Jewish calendar begins to count the years of history; the 1st day of creation thus occurred on the 25th of Elul of what is termed -1 from creation.” Chabadba

This commentary is actually supported by an anagram which occurs between the first word in the Bible, which concerns creation, and the first day of the month of Tishri. They are both spelled with the same letters, but when rearranged the letters reflect one or the other. bereshit or “in the beginning” is simply rearranged into aleph b’tishri, or “the first of Tishri.”

Understanding that this is both the day of the creation of Adam, and the commencement of the regal, or kingly, year is important in understanding the true meaning of why the Lord chose this day for this particular feast. Three other times in Scripture, this particular day, the first of the seventh month, is mentioned. In Genesis 8:13, it is the day that the waters were dried up from the earth, and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked upon the new world. At that time it was exactly 1657 years after the creation of the world. Man had been in the world 596,520 days.

Ezra 3 mentions this same day as the day that Jeshua and Zerubbabel, after their return from Babylon, built the altar of the God of Israel and began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. And one last time this day is mentioned is in Nehemiah 8 when Ezra brought forward the Law of Moses and read it to all the people.

In these three occurrences of this month, we can see several readily apparent pictures of Christ. Noah looking upon the new world signifies new life in Christ who is our ark of safety in this life. The building of the altar and sacrificing on it signifies Christ our Altar of sacrifice, and our Sacrifice. And the reading of the Law of Moses pictures Christ, the fulfillment of the law. Each occurrence on this date points to the Person and work of Christ.

^{24 (con’t)} you shall have a sabbath-rest,

The word translated here is shabathon it is used only 11 times in the Bible, all in Exodus and Leviticus, and all but three are conjoined with the word shabath, or “sabbath.” That would then indicate a sabbath of complete rest. Because this is not conjoined with the word Sabbath, it is not a Sabbath per se, but rather simply a rest. This is explained later in this same verse. It would better be translated as a “solemn rest.”

The reason for using this word shabathon here is because the seventh month of the year, like the seventh day of the week, and the seventh year of the Sabbatical year cycle, is considered a month of resting. In other words the entire month is consecrated as a special month to the people. On the tenth day of this month is the Day of Atonement. Later in the month is the pilgrim feast of Ingathering which encompasses the feast of Sukkoth. And the 50^th year jubilees were to be proclaimed during this month as well. Everything about the seventh month has an elevated sense to it. However, unless this day fell on an actual Sabbath day, it was simply a day of rest, and not a Sabbath.

^{24 (con’t)} a memorial of blowing of trumpets,

ziqaron teruah – “memorial acclamation.” The Hebrew doesn’t say “blowing of trumpets.” It is true that this is surely what occurred, but that isn’t what is stated here. The words simply mean that the people were to raise a tumult of joy. The name of the day is actually stated in Numbers 29 where it is called Yom Teruah, or Day of Acclamation. In Job 38, the root of teruah, the word rua, is used when speaking of the angels rejoicing at creation –

“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
⁵ Who determined its measurements?
Surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
⁶ To what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
⁷ When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy? Job 38:4-7

This is the sense of the word, and of what is to occur. Teruah can be a war cry, an alarm, a shout of joy, the blast of the trumpet, and so forth. In this case, it is a memorial of acclamation. The Greek translation of the Old Testament specifically translates this as the salpiggon, or “trumpets.” This day has been variously labeled in history as the Feast of Trumpets and the Feast of the New Year. In modern Israel, the day is known as Rosh Hoshana or “Beginning of the year.”

^{24 (con’t)} a holy convocation.

miqra qodesh – “convocation holy.” The entire day was to be a day of festive occasion. As this is the first of the month, it would coincide with the New Moon celebrations which are mentioned at various times in the Bible, but this day in Leviticus, the first of the seventh month, is surely what is mentioned in Psalm 81 where the word rua is again used –

“Sing aloud to God our strength;
Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob.
² Raise a song and strike the timbrel,
The pleasant harp with the lute.
³ Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon,
At the full moon, on our solemn feast day.” Psalm 81:1-3

In this psalm, the New Moon solemn feast would be this particular feast of Leviticus 23. The full moon solemn feast would be that of the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened bread which immediately follows the Passover. It was on these holy convocations, and others like them, that the joyful shouts were to be raised.

²⁵ You shall do no customary work on it; 

kal meleket abodah lo taasu – “all work servile no shall you do.” These words show us that the translation of “Sabbath” is not correct. On a Sabbath, no work at all was to be done. However, on this day, no regular work could be done, but people could prepare food and do other things which would otherwise be forbidden on a regular Sabbath.

*^25 (fin) and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.’”

Three particular sets of offerings were actually to be made on this day. First, the regular daily morning and evening sacrifices already mandated in the law were to be made. Second, as this is the start of a new month, the offerings of Numbers 28:11-15 were to be made. And a special set of offerings were to be made for this particular feast as well. They are detailed in Numbers 29:1-6.

Shout out to the Lord! Shout with acclamation
It is He who is our King, and He who rules over us
Shout out to the Lord you holy nation
Shout out to the King, our Lord Jesus

Let the sound be loud, shout out joyfully
Let the land be filled with noise to herald the King
Don’t sit and be silent, don’t act so coyfully
Get up people, raise your voices and sing

It is He who has created, and He who has redeemed us
It is He who sits as King upon the throne of heaven
It is He who rules, even our King Jesus
So shout aloud at the beginning of month number seven

II. Fulfilled in Christ

Unlike the other feasts of Leviticus 23, this one is a bit harder to pin down what it is pointing to. It needs to be fleshed out of what is provided and pieced together. First, it is the only feast which falls on the first of the month, the time of the New Moon. This is when skies are the darkest, having no light from the moon to illuminate them, the significance of which will be seen as we continue.

Now, not to confuse you, but so you can begin to see the pattern develop, we will go to 1 Chronicles 24. This chapter tells us the order of the 24 details of priests which served at the Temple in Jerusalem. The division of Abijah was the 8^th division –

“And the scribe, Shemaiah the son of Nethanel, one of the Levites, wrote them down before the king, the leaders, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the priests and Levites, one father’s house taken for Eleazar and one for Ithamar.

⁷ Now the first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, ⁸ the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, ⁹ the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin, ¹⁰ the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah…” 1 Chronicles 24:6-10

We next go to the New Testament, to Luke 1 to see that Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, was a member of Abijah and was serving at the Temple and was given the promise of a son –

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. ⁷ But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.

⁸ So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹ Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵ For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’[b] and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

¹⁸ And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”

¹⁹ And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. ²⁰ But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

²¹ And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. ²² But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.

²³ So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. ²⁴ Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, ²⁵ “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” Luke 1:5-25

Later in Luke 1:36 we read that Mary was visited by Gabriel in the 6^th month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy –

“Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.” From this point, we can easily see when Jesus was born. It’s not a secret and its right there in black and white –

           Mar/Apr         Apr/May        May/June        Jun/July

Month Nisan             Iyar                Shivan              Tamuz

Division 1 & 2 3 & 4 5 & 6 7 & 8 Abijah

*Zechariah would have been at the temple in Jun/Jul (Tamuz)
*Add 6 months until Gabriel spoke to Mary – Dec/Jan (Adar)
*Add 9 months until Christ the Lord was born – Sep/Oct (Tishri)

We have to make an obvious assumption here, that Zechariah got his wife pregnant rather quickly. But that is hardly an assumption at all. First, he couldn’t speak until the child was born, something that may have made Elizabeth rather happy, but which he would want corrected right away. Secondly, if they had been hoping for a child for so long, they would have wasted no time in fulfilling this prophecy. The assumptions are obvious. Further Luke continues with the timeline in an uninterrupted fashion, asking us to look at the dates based on the other time frames he provided in a united fashion – a very important point to consider.

Based on the Bible evidence, we see that Christ Jesus was born between September and October which corresponds with the Hebrew month of Tishri. From here we can determine that Jesus was born on the first of Tishri. We can do this in several ways.

First, we look to 1 Corinthians 15 to see a pattern based on the tradition showing that Adam was created on the first day of Tishri, the 6^th day of creation. It would follow reasonably that Jesus, the “second Adam,” was born on the same day 4000 years later, thereby completing a biblical pattern. 1 Corinthians 15:45-48 tells us Jesus is the last Adam –

“And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

⁴⁶ However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. ⁴⁸ As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly.”

When Adam was created, the Lord who created him became, in effect, his King at that moment. That He is the King is reflected then in the 47^th Psalm –

“God has gone up with a shout,
The Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
⁶ Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
⁷ For God is the King of all the earth;
Sing praises with understanding.” Psalm 47:5-7

However, there is also the truth that man would turn from his King. This was known to God before He created the world. Both Peter, and John in Revelation, state this unambigulously. Speaking of Christ Jesus, Peter says –

“He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you ²¹ who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” 1 Peter 1:20, 21

And so, in order to redeem man, God sent forth Christ into the world, using the same pattern as is found throughout Scripture – creation and then redemption. He created Adam on the first of Tishri, and He sent the Redeemer on that same day. It was the first of the month of the creation calendar, and the first of the seventh month on the redemption calendar. And, as I said, this is the only feast designated specifically as occurring on the New Moon which is the first day of the month. It is the darkest day of the month, and thus the best day for the “glory of the Lord” to be highlighted –

“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.” Luke 2:8, 9

In 1 Kings 1:34 it is seen that the shofar, the ram’s horn trumpet, is blown at the coronation of the king, in that case it was Solomon. As this was the case at coronation, it then becomes obvious why the Lord mandated this feast on this particular day. It is the day when all of Israel would be joyously shouting with acclamation, and blowing shofars throughout the land. On this day, the King of the Universe was being born among men. Little did they know that they were heralding in the true, great King of Israel – Jesus Christ.

The patterns are simply too rich, too many, and too well orchestrated to be by mere chance. Again, in Numbers 23:21 we read these words –

“He has not observed iniquity in Jacob,
Nor has He seen wickedness in Israel.
The Lord his God is with him,
And the shout of a King is among them.” Numbers 23:21

There the term for “shout of a King” is “teruat melekh.” It is the same word, teruah, used here in Leviticus to signify this particular day in the redemptive calendar. This was certainly fulfilled in the shouting of the heavenly host at the birth of the great King, Jesus! And again, Psalm 47, a psalm read on this same day each year in Israel, it says the following –

“Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
² For the Lord Most High is awesome;
He is a great King over all the earth.” Psalm 47:1, 2

Once again, the idea of rua or shouting to the King, is identified with this day. Three verses later, the psalm then says –

“God has gone up with a shout,
The Lord with the sound of a trumpet.” Psalm 47:5

There the teruah, or shout of acclamation, is combined with the sound of the shofar, all pointing to this one particular day in history when Christ was born and the King of the universe was made manifest among us.

As a marvelous pattern of creation followed by redemption, we have seen that Christ was born on the same day that Adam was created, on the first day of the first month of the creation calendar. This is the first day of the seventh month of the redemption calendar. But did anything happen in the Bible on the first day of the first month of the redemption calendar? The answer is that Exodus 40:17 says, “And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up.”

The tabernacle, every detail of which points to Christ and His ministry, was erected on the first day of the first month of the redemption calendar. Thus we again have, as has been seen many times in Scripture, the pattern of creation being followed by redemption. The Creator is our Redeemer.

The King has come, shout aloud and rejoice
He has come to redeem fallen man
Let your shouts be heard, even with a resounding voice
Blow the trumpets aloud; as hard as you can

He has come! The King of the ages is here
We gather around Him, He the King of the Jews
Yes, all people come, see the sight, draw near
And then go forth and spread the glorious news

The Baby born in a manger is the King of Israel
This Child laying helplessly shall rule all the world
It is the most marvelous news, go forth to all and tell
Spread the word, and may joy from the heart now be unfurled

III. The Significance of Christmas

When you ask a Korean person how old they are, they will give you an answer which doesn’t fit with what we understand as age. The reason why is they consider their age from conception, not from birth out of the womb. Until you get this, it is often hard to grasp why what they tell you at one time doesn’t seem to match with what you find out at other times. At least the Koreans get the idea of sanctity of life within the womb, even if democrats don’t.

Understanding that Christ, the second Adam, and the King of the universe, was born on this feast day, there is one more point which obviously needs to be addressed. If Jesus was born on the first of Tishri as the Bible shows, then what on earth are we celebrating on 25 December? Over the years, people have said this was a Catholic attempt to align the holiday with a pagan festival to accommodate their older beliefs as they became Christianized.

Whether this occurred or not has nothing to do with Jesus. The eqinoxes and solstices were created by God, and they reflect what God is doing in the world of creation and redemption. If this has been misused by other religions, it doesn’t change the true intent for when these things occur. The significance of 25 December is far more beautiful than a crude attempt by the Catholics to harmonize pagan beliefs with those of Christianity.

The human gestation period is approximately 270 days. It does vary, but this is right at the average. If you go back 270 days from the first of Tishri you will quite often come up to 25 December.

What this means, is that Christ was conceived on this day, approximately 270 days before His birth into the world. And so, what is probably the true celebration on this day is not the birth of Jesus from the womb. What we’ve been celebrating is the birth of Jesus in the womb, when God united with human flesh.

Understanding that, 8 times in the past 117 years, both Christmas and Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights, have occurred at the same time – 24/25 December. This is the same day as the Feast of Dedication mentioned in John 10:22. In John’s writings, He cites Jesus’ words concerning His fulfillment of this festival –

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12

And again –

That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. John 1:9, 10

As incredible as it might seem, Jesus was probably conceived on the Festival of Lights, or Hanukkah, and He was certainly born on Yom Teruah. The prophetic patterns of the Bible completely and amazingly support the wonderful fulfillment of the Feasts of the Lord in Jesus!

There is no reason to look for a future fulfillment of this particular feast. It is fulfilled in Christ. And there is no reason to look for a different time of birth for Christ as some have recently done, placing it during the spring time. Incorrect! The Bible has carefully recorded special circumstances which occurred in one particular line of priests, that of Abijah for a reason. It then carefully and methodically gives exactly the other time frames necessary to pinpoint the time of year Christ was born. It also gives numerous patterns which confirm the exact date within this time of year for us to know, with all certainty, that He was born on the 1^st of Tishri.

None of this is by chance. Rather, these things are recorded because God is alerting us to the fact that Jesus is the Christ anticipated in all of these redemptive pictures, and that He is the fulfillment of them all. As this is so, then He is obviously asking us to follow through with what the Bible says is necessary for our lives concerning Christ.

It says that He is God’s gift to the world, and that all who believe in Him will be saved. It says that He is the only path to salvation, and that no one can come to the Father but through Him. It even says that He is the one and only Mediator between God and men. In other words, God doesn’t hear the prayers of anyone, except those who come to Him through Jesus.

If you have never accepted Jesus, but think you are right with God, you are wholly mistaken. Think it through, look at what God has done in Christ, and call out to Him for salvation. This is your obligation. God has done all the work. Now He asks you to simply believe that, and by faith receive what He has done. And it is glorious.

He was born on the darkest night of the month, the night of the New Moon. On that night, God’s glory lit up the heavens – it was a picture of the true Light, entering into the spiritual darkness of the world. And then He died just before the start of the brightest night of the month, the night of the full moon. Again, a spiritual picture was given to us – our Hope is not extinguished by darkness. As it says in John 1:5 –

“And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”

Let us remember this and carry with us the true Light always. May the Light of Christ shine upon you now and forever. May it be so!

Closing Verse: Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” Luke 2:10-12

Next Week: Leviticus 23:26-32 Sins can’t be forgiven by paying off God, even with your very last cent (The Feasts of the Lord, The Day of Atonement) (41^st Leviticus Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if you have a lifetime of sin heaped up behind you, He can wash it away and purify you completely and wholly. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Coming of the Second Adam

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying
These are the words He was then relaying

“Speak to the children of Israel, saying:
‘In the seventh month, as to you I attest
On the first day of the month
You shall have a sabbath-rest

A memorial of blowing of trumpets is what you shall do
A holy convocation; observe this day as I instruct to you 

You shall do no customary work on it according to this word
And you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord

Lord, You planned it all, and then laid it out
In feasts for Israel to observe each year
To leave us with certainty; without a doubt
Seeing their fulfillment in Christ; it all becomes clear

It is true with the Day of Acclamation, we now know
We see that the angels praised God on that marvelous day
When Christ came into the world, there was a heavenly show
While the trumpets of Israel were blowing away

Thank You, O God, for the giving of Your Son
Thank You, O God, for the coming of our King
We praise You for the marvelous things You have done
And to You, forever, we shall shout aloud and sing

Hallelujah and Amen…

Leviticus 23:15-22
The Feasts of the Lord
Weeks

Though disputed by some, for all intents and purposes, the Church Age began on the day of Pentecost in the year AD32, 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Today we’re going to look at the significance of this occurrence, how it was prefigured in the Old Testament, and how it is fulfilled in the New. We’ll also look at its significance in our own lives.

Before we do, there’s something we should understood concerning the giving of the Spirit – and that is to be derived from a proper interpretation of the Bible. There are a million things to know about interpreting the Bible, but I will give you a few simple rules to get you started. I bring them up from time to time in Bible studies and today’s sermon is a great day to bring them up again. When you’re evaluating verses, you should constantly ask yourself the first two rules, and make sure you carefully apply the third –

1) Is this Prescriptive – does it actually prescribe something for me? 2) Is this Descriptive – does it merely describe something to me. And, 3) What is the context of what I am reading or studying.

Let’s review – prescriptive, descriptive, and context, context, context! Context is king, and we simply cannot rip verses out of context without producing a pretext. It is certainly the greatest source of error in Christianity. Most error comes from using a passage which only describes something as if it was prescribing something. This type of error covers most of the bad doctrine that revolves around what happened at Pentecost and how we are to apply it in our lives now.

To help you get this right, I’ll give you an actual example to consider. Before we got into today’s sermon, I read you Leviticus 23:15-22. For you as a Christian, are those passages Prescriptive or Descriptive? In other words, do they prescribe something for us to do, or do they merely describe something for us to read and contemplate?

If you said they prescribe something for us to do, you have mishandled Scripture. You have reinserted the law which is fulfilled and obsolete. It is annulled in Christ. Further, if you say we are to observe this feast, then you must observe it as it is written. But nobody can do so, and nobody does do so. It is pick and choose theology, and it is a very poor handling of Scripture.

Today we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This is something that happened one time, at one location, and for a specific reason. It is a non-repeatable event. Yes, the Holy Spirit also came upon on those in Samaria in Acts 8 and on the house of Cornelius in Acts 10 – but neither occurred on Pentecost, and both were in the presence of Peter to demonstrate that all (Jew, Samaritan, and Gentile) are accepted by God through faith in Christ. After these occurrences, something different now happens.

The Holy Spirit still fills believers today, but according to Paul’s writings, which are prescriptive, He comes at the moment we profess faith in Jesus. The Spirit now baptizes and fills the believer in all His fullness at that moment. We cannot “get” more of the Spirit, but the Spirit can get more of us as we submit to Him.

Improperly applying Pentecost to our own conversion has led people to bark like dogs, lie on the ground and kick around like children, act in ways that would even embarrass animals, and has – and I mean this sincerely – brought great discredit upon the name of Jesus and the glorious work of the Holy Spirit in the world.

If you’re into theatrical Christianity, you should know that it is an insult to the beauty and majesty of the Person of our Lord, Jesus. So please remember and consider always these rules – Prescriptive, Descriptive, and Context, Context, Context – to the glory of the Lord who called you into His wonderful kingdom.

Text Verse: “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, ¹⁷ which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” Colossians 2:16, 17

Our verses today have all kinds of wonderful things tucked away in them, or they point to all kinds of wonderful things elsewhere in Scripture. And every verse is there leading us to the Person and work of Christ. Pentecost was a one-time event, but it has a continuing application even today. Every time a person comes to Christ, the results of that first Pentecost are realized in that person.

He is sealed with the Spirit, and his eternal destiny goes from one of separation from God to one of adoption into the family of God. It is true for both Jew and Gentile, and it is a one-time non-repeatable event. One is sealed upon belief, and that seal is, according to Paul, a guarantee of our future redemption.

There is eternal salvation in Christ, and it is based on mere faith in what He has done. The things He has done are recorded in the Old Testament in anticipation of His coming, and they are recorded in the gospels, Acts, and the epistles to show that His coming was fully effective in accomplishing those things and reconciling us to God. These are the wonderful truths which are found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Count Fifty Days (verses 15-22)

¹⁵ ‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering:

The “day after the Sabbath” is speaking of the Sabbath mentioned in verse 11 in the explanation of the Feast of Firstfruits. As we saw, that pictured Christ’s resurrection on the Sunday (the first day of the week) after the Sabbath. The waving of the sheaf of the wave offering looked forward to the presentation of Christ Jesus alive and well before the Father. It is from this starting point that a set counting was to take place.

Unlike the previous feast, the Feast of Firstfruits, no new introductory statement is made here. In verse 9 it said, “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying.” That showed a completely different thought was being introduced into the scheduling of the feast, and that the Feast of Firstfruits was a separate thought than that of Passover.

The reason for this was to avoid the mistake in thinking that the Sabbath referred to in verse 11 is the same as the holy convocation of verse 8. It is an error very common among scholars, and one which has led to a very confused understanding of the timing of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. All we can go by is what Scripture gives us. Despite the fact that Jewish tradition aligns with the specific timing of Jesus’ resurrection on the year He rose, it also had to align with the Sabbath of the week, something that would not happen if the Passover occurred on any day but a Friday. The details are significant, and tradition cannot override Scripture.

Now, without a new introductory statement, we can see that the Feast of Firstfruits and the Feast of Weeks are united in their timing. Though no specific date was given for the Feast of Firstfruits, a specific date for the Feast of Weeks is given, and is based on the Feast of Firstfruits, whenever that would occur each year. These keys are given for us to unlock the specifics of Scripture. When ignored, the doors we pass through are unscriptural ones.

It should be noted now that, in a similar manner to Passover and Unleavened Bread, this is the only other coupling of feasts in Leviticus 23. All others are introduced with introductory thoughts except these. The Feast of Firstfruits leads naturally and directly into that of Weeks. One points to the next like an arrow heading toward a target. From the resurrection, a counting will now begin…

^{15 (con’t)} seven Sabbaths shall be completed.

sheva shabbatot, or “seven Sabbaths,” is forty-nine days. It is an ancient trick, not using fingers to figure this out. If we know the result, and memorize the tables, we can do it in our heads. Seven times seven is forty-nine. Works every time!

The word “Sabbaths” here signifies “weeks.” It is a synecdoche where the unit stands for the whole. This will be seen in the words of the next verse, and as is seen in Deuteronomy 16:9. Further, this explains the same term used in the New Testament. Though in Greek, in Matthew 28:1, it says –

“Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.”

It is from the day after a Sabbath day, and to a day after a Sabbath day. It is pointing to a day during that week which is a particularly chosen day. Thus, we derive from this the name of the feast. It is “The Feast of Weeks.” We are being directed to a particular day during a particular week as is seen next…

¹⁶ Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath;

A period of seven weeks would bring us to about early June on our calendar. The Hebrew says, ha’shabat ha’shevyit, or the Sabbath the seventh. There is a definite article in front of Sabbath to ensure that the mistake is not made that this is merely a period of weeks, but a period of weeks which ends on a Sabbath day. It is the day after this Sabbath that the attention is now being directed.

Despite the name “Weeks,” the feast actually is more commonly known from the Greek translation of the Old Testament of this verse. One was to count the seven weeks, but more exactingly, it was to be fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath, on whatever day that Sabbath was. The Greek translation translates the words, “fifty days” as Penteconta. In the New Testament, it is called, Pentékosté, or Pentecost. On this day, the people (the verb is plural) are required to do something particular…

^{16 (con’t)} then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.

v’hiqravtem minkhah khadasah la’Yehovah – “And you shall offer grain-offering new to Yehovah.” This is a new grain offering of the wheat-harvest which stands distinct from the omer, or sheaf, of the barley harvest which was presented at Firstfruits. Thus, this feast is described as “the Feast of Harvest” in Exodus 23:16. In Exodus 32:22 & Deuteronomy 16:10, it is specifically called the Feast of Weeks, and in Numbers 28:26, it is called “the Day the Firstfruits.”

The word “new” here is khadash. It has been used but once so far in the Bible. It means fresh, or new thing. It comes from the verb khadash which signifies to renew or repair. This new grain offering is then described next…

¹⁷ You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah.

From the people’s dwelling places, they were to bring two wave loaves. This is not to be assumed, as John Calvin and some others state, that every house was to bring two loves. Rather, two loaves total are brought, but they were to be made out of daily household food, and not prepared from wheat solely used for sacred purposes. In other words, it is the common which is being highlighted here.

The word “wave” is tenuphah. It is means to offer in a waving motion. It comes from the word nuph which was seen in verse 11, which means “to quiver.” The waving would be to vibrate up and down, or to rock to and fro. These two loaves were to be of two tenths, meaning two omers, of an ephah.

^{17 (con’t)} They shall be of fine flour;

The tenths were to be soleth, or processed grain; thus fine flour.

^{17 (con’t)} they shall be baked with leaven.

This is the second of only two times in the Bible where an offering was to be made to the Lord with khamets, or yeast. The other time is that of the thanksgiving peace-offering found in Leviticus 7:13. Yeast, or leaven, in the Bible pictures sin. It is what causes bread to puff up, and sin is what causes man to puff up. The addition of yeast also causes corruption and putrefaction to occur, the same is true with sin in man. So why was leaven added to the thanksgiving offering, and why is it added to this one? They are, after all, to be presented to the Lord.

Well, as I know you remember the details of the thanksgiving offering perfectly, I don’t need to explain it, but for those who may not have heard that sermon, the reason for offering leaven was that it was an acknowledgment that the Lord accepts such an offering despite man’s sin-nature. The Lord will not turn away an offering of thanks, even from a fallen, sin-filled man. Now, for the second and last time in the Bible, an offering with leaven is brought before the Lord. Therefore, this must have something to do with sin in man as well.

That is the pictorial meaning, and it will be explained more later, but for the feast itself, it may also have been to teach the people a lesson about the Lord’s blessing. At the Passover, no yeast was added. The reason is specifically stated that the people departed in haste, and didn’t have time to leaven their bread. Here, the people are not in haste, but in rest. Their harvest is ended, and they are having a feast before the Lord in relaxed gratitude for what He has provided.

^{17 (con’t)} They are the firstfruits to the Lord.

The word here for “firstfruits” is bikkurim. It is not the same as the word translated as firstfruits in the Feast of Firstfruits in verses 9-14. There the word was reshith. This word comes from bakar, meaning properly, “to burst the womb.” Thus, firstborn. And therefore, bikkurim would be the hasty fruits, or those which ripen first. They stand for the whole of the crop which follows.

What is to be understood here is that the wheat harvest by this time is almost completed, and therefore, the presentation of these loaves, though at the end of the harvest cycle, are representative of the entire harvest cycle. This day of Pentecost is a day representative of the whole harvest.

¹⁸ And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams.

For this same feast, instead of one young bull and two rams, Numbers 28 says “two young bulls and one ram.” No explanation for the change is given. Because of this, some scholars see that error has crept into the text. That is not likely with something so obvious. Especially when this feast was celebrated year by year. What this means is that these offerings were distinct from those in Numbers. The ones here belong to the loaves. The ones in Numbers are for the day of the feast itself. Thus, there is a total of these special offerings on this day of fourteen lambs, three young bulls, and three rams. The reason for giving these numbers separately, was because in Numbers the feast was observed as required, but only after they entered the land of promise would the offerings mandated here be made, because they accompany that which came from the produce of the ground.

For the offering with the loaves, there are first seven kebes, or lambs. The word comes from an unused root meaning to dominate. These are bene shanah, or sons of the first year, implying innocence. And they are to be without blemish. Also, there was one par ben baqar, or “bull, son of oxen.” The word comes from parar, meaning to defeat. Baqar means to seek out. Also, there were to be two rams. The Hebrew is ayil, which indicates strength.

^{18 (con’t)} They shall be as a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings,

These animals were to be offered as burnt offerings to the Lord. Along with them were to be the standard grain and drink offerings explained in previous sermons. All of those details point to Christ and His work.

^{18 (con’t)} an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord.

Together, the sum of these offerings were to be raised up to the Lord as a reakh nikhoakh la’Yehovah, or a sweet aroma to the Lord. The word reakh comes from ruakh, which gives the sense of acceptance. The Lord smells and is pleased. The word nikhokh gives the sense of that which is quieting, or tranquilizing. It comes from nuakh, meaning “to rest.”

¹⁹ Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering,

Along with the burnt offerings was to be a saiyr izzim, or “kid of the goats.” This was for a sin offering. The sayir was also the sin offering of the people on the Day of Atonement. The word izzim is derived from azaz, meaning “to prevail.”

^{19 (con’t)} and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering.

These two lambs are the same animals as the seven lambs of the burnt offering of verse 18. They are to be made a part of the peace offering as next described…

²⁰ The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs.

These two lambs were to be waved before the Lord together at the same time as the leavened loaves of bread which were offered as firstfruits. The symbolism here is marvelous to contemplate.

^{20 (con’t)} They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest.

Both the waved lambs, and the leavened bread of the firstfruits were considered qodesh la’Yehovah, or “Holy to the Lord,” and they were reserved for the consumption of the priest alone. The word “priest” is singular. Normally only the breast and shoulder of the peace offerings was for the priests, and the offeror would receive back the rest to eat. It was thus a mutual sharing of a meal. However, in this case, the lambs were on behalf of the entire congregation, and so the lambs were deemed as Holy to the Lord and consumed wholly by the priest.

As a point of clarity, the NKJV, following the KJV, is punctuated incorrectly. The entire verse should read, “And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the Lord; with the two lambs they shall be holy to the Lord for the priest.” Otherwise, the verse is obscure and makes no sense.

²¹ And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you.

To proclaim a holy convocation means to initiate the day with trumpet blasts. This is recorded in Numbers 10:10. Although the trumpets have not yet been made, when they are, this is one of the specific purposes for them. As it says there, sounding the trumpets in this manner is to “be a memorial for you before your God.” On this particular day, there was to be more than just a gathering of the people, but like the first and last day of Unleavened Bread, it was to be a holy convocation. This is then described with the words…

^{21 (con’t)} You shall do no customary work on it.

kal meleket abodah lo taasu – “all work regular no shall you do.” Regular work was not to be conducted on this day. However, this is not a Sabbath. It is rather a day, on which according to Exodus 12:16, food could be prepared. Other Sabbath regulations would likewise not be enforced. Instead, it would be like one of our holidays.

^{21 (con’t)} It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

The words khuqat olam, or statue forever, signify “to the vanishing point.” They do not mean that we still must observe this feast. What it means is that until it was fulfilled in Christ, it was to be observed year by year. All Israel was to observe this feast at its appointed time.

²² ‘When you reap the harvest of your land,

Affixed to the end of the feast is this seemingly unrelated verse. It appears to have nothing to do with the feast at all, and it is a repeat of Leviticus 19:9. It seems superfluous and cumbersomely placed here, and yet it is perfectly placed and a remarkable verse, both in the Hebrew wording, and in what it is pointing to.

u-b’qusrekem eth qetsir artsekem – and in your reaping harvest of your land. The verb for “when you reap” is 2^nd person plural as is its corresponding noun, “your land.” The words are spoken to all of Israel. There is a time when they would reap their land’s harvest. It is this time which is being highlighted.

^{22 (con’t)} you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap,

Listen carefully and see if you can hear what is odd in these words – lo tekaleh peat sakdekha b’qusrekha. Anyone? Really odd. Isn’t it! “No shall you make clean riddance of the edges of your field when you reap.” For only the second and last time in the chapter, words in this verse suddenly become second person, singular. “No shall you make clean riddance (meaning “you singular”) of the edges (of) your field (singular) when you reap (singular). The only other verse where this happens was verse 3 when speaking of working six days. “Six days you shall do work,” second person, singular. And it continues…

^{22 (con’t)} nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest.

v’leqet qetsirekha lo telaqet – “and the gleaning (of) your harvest (singular) no shall you gather” (singular).

^{22 (con’t)} You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger:

l’ani v’lager taazov otam – “to the poor, and to the stranger you shall leave (singular) them (plural, speaking of the things defined).” This is the last time in the entire chapter that it speaks in the singular. The Lord goes from speaking to all the people in the beginning clause, to just one in the middle, and then He will close speaking to all. What is going on here? We’ll try to figure it out before we finish. But for now, it is a reminder to the people that there is to be mercy upon the poor and the stranger. As Matthew Henry says, “Those who are truly sensible of the mercy they received from God, will show mercy to the poor without grudging.” See the book of Ruth for this law being practiced.

*^22 (fin) I am the Lord your God.’”

ani Yehovah elohekem – “I am Yehovah your God.” The noun “your God” is plural. The Lord is speaking to all Israel. And so ends the instruction for the conduct of the feast. It is with this word of declaration that they have been instructed by Yehovah.

II. Fulfilled in Christ

The first thing that we need to get, is that there is a parallel to the timing of the first Passover to the giving of the Law of Moses and with the day of Firstfruits (meaning the resurrection of Christ) and the day of Pentecost. Each was an interval of fifty days.

The Lord told Moses on the 48th day after their departure from Egypt that He would appear to the people “on the third day.” Thus, He would appear to them on the 50th day. As the Lord appeared to the people on the 50^th day and gave them the law, so the Holy Spirit came down upon the people in Jerusalem 50 days after Christ’s resurrection. That is recorded in Acts 2 –

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. ² And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:1-4

In type then, the giving of the law prefigures the giving of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost because of the 50-day interval. As there was no Feast of Firstfruits at the time of the exodus, the feast is counted from the first day after the Passover rather than from date set here in Leviticus. Both events are preceded by a fifty-day period of learning from the Lord and anticipating a meeting with Him. This is why the calendar day for the Feast of Firstfruits is not given. It is based on a Sabbath, whenever that Sabbath would occur. What is important is the 50-day interval.

It is on this day that a new grain offering was to be made. As I said, the word “new” is khadash. It means fresh, or new thing. It comes from the verb khadash which signifies to renew or repair. It is on this day that the spiritual reconnection to God, which was lost at the fall of man, was to be repaired. Signified by this grain offering.

From this grain offering, gathered from the common stores of the people, two loaves of bread, with leaven, were to be presented to the Lord as a wave offering. The word “wave” signifies to move back and forth, coming from a word meaning to quiver. This root was the same used to describe Christ’s resurrection in the Feast of Firstfruits. As He became vibrant and alive again, we are spritiually made vibrant because of His work. It is the rebirth through the work of the Spirit. Paul explains this in Ephesians 2:4-6 –

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…

They were to be two loaves of fine flour, signifying that they are pure. And yet, they were to be baked with leaven. That there were two of them signifies a contrast. In the Bible, this is what the number two signifies – a contrast, and yet a confirmation of something. There is day and there is night. They contrast, and yet they confirm the duration of a day. There is the Old Testament and there is the New. They contrast, and yet they confirm the totality of the word of God. There is Jesus – divine and human. They contrast, and yet the confirm that He is the God-Man.

In this, the two loaves are filled with yeast, and yet they are fine flour – and there are two of them. Fine flour signifies purity; grain which is processed and acceptable. Yeast signifies sin. The loaves are the redeemed of the Lord, deemed as pure, and yet still bearing sin. And more, they reflect Jew and Gentile being presented as acceptable to Him, signified by the sealing of the Spirit. This is actually seen in the writings of Paul. He twice mentions people as being firstfruits of an area known as Achaia. The first is Romans 16:5; the second is 1 Corinthians 16:15 –

“Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia to Christ.”

“I urge you, brethren—you know the household of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia…”

Epaenetus is a Jew. The name is the same as the Hebrew Judah or “praise.” And so it is believed he used his Hebrew name among the Hebrews and his Greek name among the Greeks as often happened in those days. Stephanas was a Gentile.

More interestingly, the name Achaia where both were from has the same general meaning as the Hebrew name of Egypt. Egypt or mitsrayim is a plural word which means “double distress.” Achaia means “grief.” These are called the Firstfruits of Grief. They are a picture of the first redeemed out of the world of grief, just as Israel was redeemed out of Egypt, or double distress.

These then show the fulfillment of the two loaves of bread with yeast being presented to the Lord at this feast, Jew and Gentile. Returning the firstfruits to the Lord is a picture of the firstfruits of the redeemed being noted as such in the New Testament. As the Day of Pentecost stands for the entire church age, these two are noted out of Jew and Gentile as examples of all who would likewise be a part of this great harvest. As it said in verse 17, “They are firstfruits to the Lord.”

The seven lambs of the first year for the burnt offering picture Christ. Seven is the number of spiritual perfection, emblematic of His spiritually perfect work. The first year signifies innocence, just as Christ was innocent. The lamb or kebes means “to dominate.” Through His innocence He dominated over sin and destroyed it.

Along with that was a par ben baqar, or “bull, son of oxen.” Par comes from parar, meaning to defeat. Baqar comes from a word meaning to inquire or seek out. Christ defeated the devil, seeking out those He would redeem, just as the Lord is said to seek out His sheep in Ezekiel 34.

The two ayil, or rams, indicating strength, shows that Christ’s strength was expended for both Jew and Gentile. They reflect the total commitment of Christ who offered all of His natural strength to His Father. He is fully sufficient to redeem all. These were returned to the Lord as a burnt offering.

After this came the grain and drink offerings. They have been fully explained in past sermons, and so suffice it to say that every detail of them points to the finished work of Christ. In short, as a refresher concerning the drink offering, it is poured out in its entirety to the Lord. No part of it was drank by the priests or the people, signifying that the people were partially excluded from the full blessings of the Lord while still under the Law of Moses. This is what Jesus was referring to in Matthew –

“Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” Matthew 9:17

Jesus was speaking of the law and grace. The new wine is the new dispensation of grace to come. The old wine was the dispensation of the law. If one were to introduce the new concept into the old, it would not work because the two were incompatible. Putting new wine in new wineskins is emblematic of putting new doctrine into renewed minds. Only in Christ does man truly enter into God’s victory and rest. It is a rest guaranteed by the sealing of the Spirit on Pentecost, and for each believer since that first day.

All of these offerings were considered a reakh nikhoakh la’Yehovah, or a sweet aroma to the Lord. As I said reakh comes from ruakh, which gives the sense of acceptance. The word nikhokh gives the sense of that which is quieting, or tranquilizing. It comes from nuakh, meaning “to rest.” Through the work of Christ, we are accepted, and the anger of the Lord is quieted. Now we enter His rest because of the work of Christ, who is our Rest.

Next described are the sin and peace offerings. The sin offering here is the saiyr izzim, or “kid of the goats.” As I said, this is the same as is seen on the Day of Atonement. Rather than a specific sin, this is a general sin offering for the people. It again pictures Christ. Sayir is the hairy goat. Hair signifies awareness. It is an offering for the awareness of sin. Izzim is derived from azaz, meaning “to prevail.” Those with an awareness of sin prevail over it in Christ.

After that came the two lambs of the peace-offering. They were waved with the two loves of bread. The loaves, picturing both Jew and Gentile sinners sealed with the Spirit of God, and the lambs picturing the innocent Christ who dominated over sin on their behalf – meaning both Jew and Gentile – are waved as one before the Lord. Together, not separately, they are made a peace offering. It is because of Christ that the one offering of both is termed qodesh la’Yehovah, or “Holy to the Lord.”

This holy offering was reserved for consumption by the priest alone. That is why the word “priest” is singular here. It is an indication of the priesthood of believers. We have only one Mediator between God and man, and that is Christ Jesus, and there is no mediator between Christ and man. The symbolism of the Old shows us the folly of the supposed mediatorial priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church. Christ is our Priest, and together with Him we are made a peace offering to God.

It was after noting these final offerings that the people were told this was a holy convocation on which they were not to work. Such a holy convocation is a reminder that Christ has done the work, and that we enjoy the benefits of it. The preparing of food, which is allowed, can be equated with our spiritual growth, but all forms of works meriting salvation are accomplished solely by the Lord

With this, the rites of the Feast of Weeks were completed, but then came that obscure verse, repeated from Leviticus 19:9. Both of them bear the same odd pattern of being addressed in the plural and then moving to the singular.

It cannot be an error. The Hebrew is so obvious that anyone reading it would immediately see the change. And yet, other than one off-handed remark by one scholar that notes it is in the 2^nd person singular, the matter is completely ignored.

But ignoring this leaves out any possibility of solving the enigma. What is happening here is that the Lord is speaking to the entire congregation. Imagine Him waving His hand over all of them and saying, “I want all of you to do this when you reap the harvest of the Land.” And then with the same breath, He stops, points at one person, and says, “You shall not make clean riddance of the edges of your field when you reap. And neither shall you gather any gleaning of your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and the stranger.” And then He waves His hand to the entire congregation again and says, “I am the Lord your God.”

It is obvious to Israel that these words are intended for all at all times, but it is equally obvious that He is singling out a specific instance, in conjunction with the Feast of Weeks, and saying, “I am giving You alone specific instructions.”

As this feast is pointing to the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and as this feast represents the entire church age, and all who are included in it, then this must be referring to leaving something behind after the church age. The Lord is directing Christ concerning what is to be done at the rapture. The answer is found in Revelation 7.

At some point, after the rapture, there will be 144,000 Jews who will be sealed with the seal of the living God. It is they who will evangelize those left behind who will come looking for what is left over after the harvest is complete. They are the poor and the strangers who have come to glean from the merciful God who has instructed His Son to leave behind a blessing for them.

The natural question then is, “Because this is yet future, doesn’t this mean that this portion of the Law is not yet fulfilled?” The answer is “No.” The Feast is fulfilled in the giving of the Spirit, not in the rapture of the church and what comes after it. Those are merely a part of the feast, just as each new believer in Christ is. There is one fulfillment through Christ’s work, and there is the continuing application of that fulfillment, just as there is one day of birth, but many birthdays.

This is why James, writing to the Jews of the end times, says to them, “Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (1:18). They will be their own kind of firstfruits, being a part of this feast, and yet a separate and distinct part nonetheless. It is also why the book of Revelation uses the same term for them in verse 14:4 –

“These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.”

The feast continues though the feast is fulfilled. What we have seen is the truth that the law has been completed by Christ, and that He is the fulfillment of it on our behalf. We can either trust in Him, and in His finished work for us, or we can trust in the law to save us. To show us the severity of the choice, there is another pattern that goes along with the previous one of the fifty days leading up to the giving of the law, and the fifty days leading up to Pentecost.

At the time of the giving of the law, the people of Israel rejected the Lord and built a golden calf, bowing down and worshiping it. At that time, Exodus 32:28 tells us that about three thousand of the people fell before the Lord for their violation of the law.

However, at the time of the giving of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, it says, “those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” Paul then provides us an explanation of this in 2 Corinthians 3:6. There he says that the letter, meaning the law, kills, but the Spirit gives life. There is a complete contrast to the two. It is the continuous lesson of the Bible. We can work our way towards God and be found guilty before the Lord, receiving our just condemnation. Or, we can trust in Christ, be granted His Spirit, and be saved. The choice is clearly laid out for us, and it is left up to us to decide which we will pursue.

This is why we don’t observe these ancient feasts anymore. They are fulfilled by Him. We are merely participants in this great unfolding drama of His beautiful work. Remember our text verse for today – “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, ¹⁷ which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.”

These feasts of the Lord are given to show us Christ and His work on our behalf. In Him we live in the substance, not the shadow. If you are trying to find God’s favor through shadowy rituals, obsolete dietary laws, and spending your Saturday as the Jews of old did (and failed by the way), then you have put up a wall – a giganticus maximus wall – between you and God. Tear it down, and pass freely and without hindrance into the arms of Christ by receiving His completed work as your own.

Closing Verse: “For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. ²³ Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. ²⁴ For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” Romans 8:22-25

Next Week: Leviticus 23:23-25 Lots of shouting on this day in Israel the nation… (The Feasts of the Lord, The Memorial of Acclamation) (40^th Leviticus Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if you have a lifetime of sin heaped up behind you, He can wash it away and purify you completely and wholly. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Giving of the Spirit

‘And you shall count for yourselves
From the day after the Sabbath, the day when death is defeated
From the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering:
Seven Sabbaths shall be completed 

Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath
———-According to this word
Then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord

You shall bring from your dwellings
Two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah, according to this word
They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven
They are the firstfruits to the Lord

And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs
Of the first year without blemish, one young bull, and two rams

They shall be as a burnt offering to the Lord
With their grain offering and their drink offerings
An offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord
Such shall be these profferings

Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats
As a sin offering, so you shall do
And two male lambs of the first year
As a sacrifice of a peace offering, as I instruct to you

The priest shall wave them with the bread
Of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the Lord
With the two lambs as I have said
They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest, according to this word

And you shall proclaim on the same day
That it is a holy convocation to you, without alterations
You shall do no customary work on it
It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations

‘When you reap the harvest of your land
You shall not wholly reap the corners, so I attest
Of your field when you reap
Nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest

You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger
I am the Lord your God, your feast-day Arranger

And so we thank You Lord Jesus, for having fulfilled this feast
You poured out your Spirit on the sons of men
Upon Jew and Gentile, and upon the greatest and the least
All who call on You, are at that moment born again

The Spirit is given; a divine guarantee
We have the surety of God, upon us sealed
Eternal salvation is granted; from condemnation we are free
Marvelous salvation; we are brought in as crops from the field

Thank You, O glorious God, for this that You have done for us
To give us new life, You sent Your only begotten; our Lord Jesus

Hallelujah and Amen…

Leviticus 23:9-14
The Feasts of the Lord
 Firstfruits

Today we turn to the Feast of Firstfruits. It is a small number of verses, but it points to the second half of the greatest event in all of human history. As it is a part of the Law of Moses, we know that it is fulfilled, and all sound Christian scholars will admit this. It is one of the spring feasts of the Lord, and the agreement is that all of the spring feasts are fulfilled, completely and entirely, in Christ’s first advent.

The disagreement on the feasts of the Lord in relation to fulfillment doesn’t arrive until we come to the fall feasts – known to most as Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles. It is best to not get too ahead of oneself in analyzing the Bible for others, because whatever I say would then fill the hearer’s mind with presuppositions about what is being said when we finally arrive at whatever passage I previously referred to.

However, in the case of the feasts of the Lord, there should be no problem with coming to the fall feasts with a presupposition that they are already fulfilled. And so, as I have done several times already, especially when we looked at the Day of Atonement passage of Leviticus 16, I would like to again remind you that the Law of Moses is fulfilled in Christ. This is made explicit time and time again in the New Testament.

As the feasts of the Lord, both spring and fall, are a part of the Law of Moses, then they – by default – must be fulfilled. If they are not, then Christ… didn’t fulfill the law. If so, then it is not fulfilled. And if this is so, then Christ is not the end of the law for all who believe. And if this is so, what are we doing in church? If the law is not fulfilled in Christ, then we of all men are the most pitiable.

But such is not the case. We are not to be pitied, but emulated! We have a hope which is grounded in the truth of God as is revealed in the Person and work of Jesus Christ! We have the hope of glory, and we have the assurance of salvation. Praise God for what He has done in Jesus!

Text Verse: “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, ¹⁷ which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” Colossians 2:16, 17

Paul tells us there that the feasts of the Lord are mere shadows of the true Substance which is found in the Person and work of Christ. Isaiah wrote of what was coming in Christ, including a hint at what would be fulfilled concerning the Feast of Firstfruits. The shadow would find its substance. Here is what he says –

“After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light and be satisfied. My righteous servant will justify many by the knowledge of himself; and he will bear their iniquities.” Isaiah 53:11 (World English Bible)

For this verse, I switched from the usual preaching Bible that I use, the NKJV, to the World English Bible. The NKJV, like the older KJV, is based upon a source text which dropped out some rather important information. The oldest copy of that text, the Masoretic Text, comes more than 1000 years after the work of Christ, and it was a text maintained by the Jews.

There are several places where it is rather apparent these Masoretes purposefully manipulated the text to hide something wonderful; to hide Christ. Isaiah 53:11 is one of those passages. Mark that down and go compare the incorrect reading of the KJV to what is corrected by modern Bibles. And how do we know the correction is correct? Because in 1947, a group of documents was found in Qumran, Israel which predate the coming of Christ. Included in these documents, now known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, was the Great Isaiah scroll. In Isaiah 53:11, lo and behold, the words which match the Septuagint, another copy of the Old Testament, written in Greek, and also which predates the coming of Christ, says the same thing – “After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light and be satisfied.”

The direct object in both the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint is the word “light.” Something magnificent, symbolized by the word “light,” would happen to the Servant after the suffering of His soul. It is in this, and not the suffering, in which satisfaction would come. The suffering would lead to the light. What was Isaiah saying? He was saying the same thing that the Bible has said from the very beginning. It is something which is said again, in a different way, in today’s verses.

What are we to see in these six verses of Leviticus 23? Something wonderful. Something filled with hope for fallen man. Something directly from the mind of God which points to the future work of Christ Jesus. This is what we are to see. These things are all to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. That Which Is First (verses 9-14)

⁹ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

The words given here are here are identical to verse 1, and they have not been spoken since verse 1. In other words, there was the mandated weekly Sabbath which was considered its own feast. Then there was the introduction of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. But both of these fell under the original introduction of verse 1. Now a new introduction is given. Why would this be?

The answer is found in what the following verses proclaim. As we saw, the Sabbath, the Passover, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread had already been proclaimed to the people of Israel. They were simply re-explained to the people here in Chapter 23, and defined as feasts of the Lord.

What will now be proclaimed is not only a new feast of the Lord, not specifically mandated before, but it is also a feast which could not be observed during their time in the wilderness. The Sabbath, Passover, and Unleavened Bread were feasts to be held anywhere at any time. Such was not the case for Firstfruits. Israel was on the way to Canaan. Their expected arrival was yet ahead. That their time in the wilderness would last 40 years was merely a result of coming disobedience.

Had that not occurred, they would have gone into Canaan in a very short amount of time, and the very next year at approximately this same time, they would be observing their first year of these feasts. This was the intent, but it would not actually happen for a full 40 years. Despite this, it is a feast for those dwelling in the land, when the ground was set to produce its spring harvest.

¹⁰ “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land

ki tabo-u el ha’arets – There is assurance in these words. “When come you into the land” signifies arrival – sure and guaranteed. For Israel, this was their immediate expectation. For them, there was expected to be a short time of preparation, and then they would boldly march in and receive their inheritance.

That the amount of time until their arrival would extend beyond the lives of almost every adult in the camp is of no matter to the Lord. He has said it would come to pass, and so it shall. If a time of refinement, chastisement, and learning was necessary for these people before they entered, so be it. But enter they would.

^{10 (con’t)} which I give to you,

asher ani noten lakem – The implication here is that this is the Lord’s land. One cannot bestow what he does not possess. Further, as the owner, giving it to Israel signifies that it is Israel’s inheritance. Conditions for dwelling in the land accompany the grant, and if those conditions are not met, the negative results are also stated. But the land is for Israel. When they are obedient, the land is theirs, and they may dwell in it. When they are disobedient, the land is theirs, and they may not dwell in it. But it is the Lord’s land, set apart for Israel. When Israel is in the land, they were to observe this feast to the Lord.

As a point of note, this is the third of only four times in the book of Leviticus that a command is given in a prospective manner. It is something expected only in the future, when the people have arrived in their promised inheritance.

The four times this type of command are given are found in Leviticus 14:34 when speaking of the Lord putting a leprous plague in a house. Again in Leviticus 19:23 when the people enter the land and plant fruit trees, they were to be considered as uncircumcised for three years. Then this note in Leviticus 23 concerning this Feast of Firstfruits. Finally, in Leviticus 25:2 will come the mandate of the seventh-year Sabbath of the land.

^{10 (con’t)} and reap its harvest,

u-qetsartem eth qetsiyrah – “And shall reap the harvest.” As Israel was to be an agrarian society, their lives would be centered on the annual cycle of planting and harvesting. The Lord is anticipating this and directing them according to such a schedule. At the time of reaping, the feast of the Lord would be celebrated.

The word “reap” here is qatsar. It means to cut down. It can be used figuratively in the sense of being discouraged, mourning, being troubled and so on. At a harvest, one may mourn the labor, but it is a mourning which leads to joy. That which results from the labors is what one actually anticipates.

The word harvest, qatsiyr, is derived from qatsar. It is that which grows, and which is to be reaped. Even more, what is later stated about this reaping, is that it is the very beginning of the harvest. In Deuteronomy 16, while explaining terms of the Feast of Weeks, the next feast to be celebrated after Firstfruits, we will read this –

“You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain.” Deuteronomy 16:9

This then is the very commencement of the harvest; the first of that which is reaped.

^{10 (con’t)} then you shall bring a sheaf

Here, the word translated as “sheaf” is omer. It is a word which carries two distinct meanings. The first is a specific dry measure of something. In this case, it would be grain. If this is the intent, then it is the same measure as the amount of Manna which was stored up in the golden pot which was recorded in Exodus 16. An omer is one-tenth of the standard measure known as an ephah.

The second meaning of omer is simply a sheaf. This is the meaning which is found in Deuteronomy 24:19, and also in Ruth 2:7. There are good scholarly commentaries which favor either meaning of the word. Jewish commentaries state that this is a set measure. Flavius Josephus agrees, saying it is a measure which has been dried, beaten, and had the barley purged from the bran.

Because of the symbolism being pictured, I would personally agree with the translation which says “sheaf.” It is a single sheaf, cut down – the first of the harvest. But more, this is barley, not wheat. Barley is the first crop to ripen each year.

Barley is the crop of the poor people, being a lesser grain than wheat. It is known as the crop of hairy ears because of its hairy appearance. The word “barley” in Hebrew is seorah which is closely related to the word se-ar or hair.

Hair in the Bible indicates an awareness of things, especially that of sin. The goat for example, which is used in Leviticus for the sin offering, is known as sair. We have an awareness of sin in the hairy goat sin offering. In Numbers there is a type of person known as a Nazirite. This is someone who made a vow or was consecrated to the Lord.

During the time of that vow, they were never to cut their hair. Samson was a Nazirite from birth as were Samuel and John the Baptist. Paul took a Nazirite vow in Acts. The hair on their head was a reminder of their state, just as the hairy goat is a reminder of sin. It is man’s place to be aware.

^{10 (con’t)} of the firstfruits of your harvest

The word translated as “firstfruits” is reshith. It means, “the beginning,” “the first,” “the chief,” “the finest,” etc. It is the first word used in Scripture, b’reshith, or “In the beginning.” It comes from the same root as rosh, which is the first in time, place, order, or rank. It is the principle thing. In this verse, the term reshith, or “firstfruits” is singular.

^{10 (con’t)} to the priest

el ha’kohen – “unto the priest.” It is to the priest ministering before the Lord that this beginning offering was to be brought.

¹¹ He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord,

Without being argumentative, whether set dry measure, or whether sheaf (but we shall go with sheaf), the priest was to take the omer and wave it before the Lord. The Lord was to personally see the waving of this sheaf; it was to be waved there in His presence.

The word translated as “wave,” nuph, gives the sense of “to quiver.” Thus it means to vibrate up and down or to rock to and fro. To get the idea of what the priest does, the word means elsewhere “to wave,” “to beckon,” “to sprinkle,” “to rub,” “to saw,” and so on. Each of these implies motion and vibrancy.

^{11 (con’t)} to be accepted on your behalf;

The words here are more appropriately translated as, “so that you may be accepted.” The offering was made not for the offering to be accepted, but for the acceptance of those offering. The word “your” is plural, speaking of all of the people of the land.

^{11 (con’t)} on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.

One of the greatest divisions of interpretation of this entire feast is answering the question, “What Sabbath is being referred to here?” The answer was a dividing line between the Sadducees and the Pharisees of the Second Temple times. The vast majority of commentators agree with the Pharisees and say it is referring not to the weekly Sabbath, but to the first day of the holy convocation which follows immediately after Passover.

In other words, the Passover began, as verse 5 states, “On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight.” The next day, the first day of Unleavened Bread, or the fifteenth day of the month, was a holy convocation where no regular work was to be done. Thus, the day after this supposed “Sabbath” would be the 16^th, and it would be on this day that the offering was to be presented.

This is incorrect for several reasons:

1) The feast now being looked at began with its introductory words, “And the Lord spoke to Moses saying.” There is thus no scriptural reason for tying the two feasts together in this way. Any such alignment would be incidental, not purposeful.

2) The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is not a Sabbath (oops), nor is ever termed as such. It is a “holy convocation.” No work of any kind was to be conducted on a Sabbath. However, the preparation of food, something not allowed on a Sabbath, was allowed on this day according to Exodus 12:16 (oops). Further,

3) all yeast was to be removed from the house on this same day, another work which would not be authorized on a Sabbath (oops).

4) If the day now in question was a weekly Sabbath, following the holy convocation, which would occur every seventh year or so, then the people – if not priests – bringing this sheaf to the temple on that weekly Sabbath day, would be a violation of that Sabbath which was now being observed. But Leviticus 23:3 was specifically placed first in order of the feasts to show that no feast celebration was to interfere with the regular weekly Sabbath. But this would have to be the case if the Sabbath referred to in this verse was the holy convocation referred to in the previous feast (one more oops).

I’m sad, you see
For the Pharisee
Because he failed to exegete carefully
He did contemplate his Scripture improperly

The correct answer is that this is a weekly Sabbath which would fall into the time of the harvest season when the first grain became ripe, whenever that occurred. As the Passover is during this season, it would more often than not occur on the day after whatever weekly Sabbath occurred during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Why is this so important to understand? It is because when this is taken incorrectly, as has been done continuously by modern scholars, it causes the timeline of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection to be improperly manipulated. It introduces a false reading of Scripture, and thus a false rendering of the Passion week timeline. It may seem like hair-splitting to worry about this, but the timeline of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection is so carefully detailed by the Lord, that He really wants us to not botch it up when we look at it. This is certain.

¹² And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year,

On the same day as the waving of the sheaf, a kebes, or male lamb of the first year was to be offered. The first time the kebes was mentioned was in the initial instructions for the Passover found in Exodus 12:5. The word comes from an unused root meaning, “to dominate.” It is a ram just old enough to butt. Being in its first year implies innocence. But there is more…

^{12 (con’t)} without blemish,

There was to be no defect. It was to be perfect in all ways.

^{12 (con’t)} as a burnt offering to the Lord.

A burnt offering is one which signifies a life dedicated wholly to the Lord. The entire animal is burnt up as a sweet smelling aroma to Yehovah.

¹³ Its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour

Along with the lamb was to be a grain offering of solet, or fine flour. This is from an unused root meaning to strip; flour, as chipped off; and thus fine. It is generally considered, even when not specifically stated, that wheat was the flour used in such an offering. It would be the best of things offered to the greatest of Beings, meaning the Creator.

Normally, a grain offering along with an animal would be one-tenth of an ephah of flour, but this one requires two. The reason is probably because it being a harvest feast, it implies greater liberality in the anticipation of a great harvest ahead. One tenth would be the regular offering, the second would be in anticipation of the plenty which lay ahead. Along with any grain offering, frankincense was also offered, though not stated here.

^{13 (con’t)}  mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the Lord, for a sweet aroma;

The grain offering was to be balal, or mixed, with oil. When it was properly prepared, it was to be made an offering by fire to the Lord, as it says, for a sweet aroma.

^{13 (con’t)} and its drink offering shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin.

The only three times that nesek, or drink offerings, are mentioned in Leviticus are here in this chapter. This is the first of them. The word means “cover.” The idea is that when the drink offering is poured out, it will cover that onto which it is poured. The fourth part of wine was the standard amount of the drink offering (Exodus 29:40). As this is not the time of the vintage harvest, the same amount as normal was offered.

¹⁴ You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God;

The prohibition against partaking of any of the produce of the field is given. Not until the firstfruits is offered were any of these things to be eaten by the people, implying from the new harvest. Qali, or parched grain, is introduced here. It is rather rare, being seen only six times in the Bible. It is roasted grain. Along with bread, no parched grain, or fresh grain was to be eaten until the rite was accomplished.

*^14 (fin) it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

The words here are all-encompassing, but they must be taken in context of the greater biblical themes. Khuqat olam, or statute forever, does not mean “forever to eternity.” Olam simply signifies, “to the vanishing point.” This was to be a statute forever, until the symbolism was fulfilled in Christ. “Throughout all your generations” means that it was to be continuous and without interruption. “All your dwellings” means that it applies to all Israel without exception. This is, after all, a Feast of the Lord. It was an annual anticipatory look to the time when Christ would come and fulfill it. At that time, the shadow would become substance.

A Sheaf of grain brought to the Lord
It was the first cut down in the field
Our duty in presenting it, we have not ignored
Now it is hoped that our land will greatly yield

When presented, the Sheaf is waved, vibrant and alive
The Lord has accepted it, as the best of the field
The harvest will be abundant; we shall surely thrive
Yes it is hoped that our land will greatly yield

This Sheaf surely represents all that will follow it
There will be the most magnificent harvest from the field
All will be like the First, not a stalk unfit
Surely because of the Firstfruits our land will greatly yield

II. Fulfilled in Christ

As was noted, this was a feast only intended to be observed by Israel in the land which the Lord gave to His people. So much for people observing it today. It doesn’t apply, nor can this precept be met by the people of the church. It is absurd to even consider mandating the observance of this feast during the Gentile-led church age.

The omer, or sheaf, was to be the first ripe grain of the harvest. However, the term reshith, indicates more than simply the first, but the best, the preeminent, the head. The word is singular. One sheaf is presented. Each of these concepts speaks of Christ. He is the one, preeminent, first, and best.

As we saw, though not specifically stated, this sheaf is of the barley crop. It is the crop of the poor. Paul points us to the significance of this in 2 Corinthians 8 –

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9

Further, it is the crop of hairy ears, signifying a likeness to sinful man. This is reflected in Paul’s words of Romans 8 –

“For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:3, 4

This grain is cut down, or harvested, and then presented to the Lord. As I noted, it was to be waved by the priest before the Lord. The grain which had been cut down is caused to move, vibrancy is seen, and the semblance of life is found in it. It is the priest who conducts this. Thus, we have a picture of Christ our true High Priest causing this preeminent sheaf to be vibrant before the Lord. It is the resurrection, where life reanimates that which was cut down. To see the fulfilled symbolism of this, we need go no further than 1 Corinthians 15 –

“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” 1 Corinthians 15:20

Christ was dead, He was cut down, but he was brought back from the dead, having arisen, filled with vibrancy before the Lord. As there is but one sheaf, it signifies that Christ is the one and only Representative of, or means of, future resurrection. He is the one and only Mediator; the one and only example for emulation.

And yet, a sheaf is composed of many stalks, and so this indicates the fullness of the work which He accomplished. Every aspect of Christ the Man was cut down and buried, but in His resurrection, all of who He is was resurrected.

But in this verse, Paul shows us that this is not the end of the story. He uses the term aparché, or firstfruits, which is also a singular noun. He is the first, but Paul continues by saying, “of those who have fallen asleep.”

This is why the Hebrew of verse 11 says, “so that you may be accepted.” It is in the plural, speaking of those who are accepted because of the Firstfruits, Christ. It is Christ’s resurrection that then justifies us, and thus guarantees our resurrection as well. This is seen first in Paul’s words of Romans 4 –

“It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵ who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.” Romans 4:24, 25

Christ died for our sins, seen in His atoning death, and He was raised for our justification. Once justified, Paul continues to explain what will occur because of this. Again to 1 Corinthians 15 –

“For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. ²³ But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.” 1 Corinthians 15:21-23

After noting what was to be done, the words then tell when it was to be done. It was to be on the day after the Sabbath. I went into painful detail explaining why the term “the Sabbath” means a weekly Sabbath and nothing else. It does not in any way point to the holy convocation of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The reason this is important, as I said, is because of the timeline of Christ’s Passion. In Luke 23 we read the following –

“Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. ⁵⁴ That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.” Luke 23:53, 54

No doubt that this is speaking of a Sabbath, not a convocation. The term Sabbath is specific. However, John says the following –

“Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.” John 19:31

The reason why this was a “high day” was because the holy convocation and the regular Sabbath occurred on the same day, not because the holy convocation is a Sabbath day. As I said, any such alignment would be incidental, not purposeful. And this was correct for about 1500 years. Anytime the two lined up, it was an incidental occurrence. However, for it to be lined up when Christ would suffer and die was purposeful. It was God’s intent that Christ would die on a Friday and raise on a Sunday. The types and pictures found in the Old Testament which He fulfills are many. In the end, God’s divine selection caused that particular Sabbath to be a high day in order to accomplish this.

Next we were instructed on the burnt offering, a kebes, or lamb. The word signifies “to dominate.” It is Christ who dominates all, verified by the resurrection. He has gained the victory over death, as Paul says again from 1 Corinthians 15 –

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

⁵⁵ “O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?” 1 Corinthians 15:54, 55

There, Paul is writing of our victory over death, but it is a victory only made possible because of Christ’s victory first. As the firstfruits; so with the entire harvest. This lamb was to be of the first year, signifying innocence. It is the innocence of Christ who is without sin. And it was to be without blemish. Peter explains the fulfillment in Christ –

“…knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” 1 Peter 1:18, 19

This lamb was to be a burnt offering to the Lord. As we have seen, the burnt offering is as a life dedicated wholly to God. Such is the life of Christ. It is a perfect representation of what He has done. Following the mandate for the lamb came that of the grain offering. The solet, or fine flour is is a picture of Christ, the first and finest grain of wheat, as He alluded to Himself in John 12:24 –

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”

It is a fitting emblem of Christ who is the Bread of life, and the One who thus provides everlasting life to those who partake of Him. Thus the offering is an acknowledgment of this to God. That there were two tenths instead of one speaks of the abundance of the harvest to come. It would not be just a single portion, but it is a double portion which is anticipated.

This grain offering was to be balal, or mixed, with oil. Oil is typical of the Spirit. It is a picture of Christ, the Bread of life, completely infused with the Spirit of God. And as is the Firstfruits, so shall be the whole of the abundant harvest to come. This entire offering was to be an offering made by fire to the Lord, for a sweet aroma. This is explained by Paul in Ephesians 5 –

“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. ² And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” Ephesians 5:1, 2

As it can be inferred, the double portion of the grain offering points to the fullness of the grain harvest, which includes us. It should be noted that the grain which is offered came from God, but it has been modified by man in the grinding process. Thus a type of work is involved in the picture. It is a confession that the works we do are to be performed in Christ, and are due only to Him.

And finally came the drink offering. The drink offering is of yayin, or wine. In the Bible, wine symbolizes the merging together of cultural expressions into a result. The thing that ought to happen can happen, symbolized by wine. In the case of a drink offering, it signifies rest and celebration.

A drink offering is one only offered in the Land of Promise, a land of defeated enemies. Thus it is a land of rest. Only when rest is provided, would the Lord accept the wine libations. All during the time of the wilderness wanderings, they were not offered.

Further, a drink offering is poured out in its entirety to the Lord, even in the land of Israel. No part of it was drank by the priests or people. This signifies that the people were partially excluded from the full blessings of the Lord while still under the Law of Moses. This is what Jesus was referring to in Matthew –

“Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” Matthew 9:17

Jesus was speaking of the law and grace. The new wine is the new dispensation of grace to come. The old wine was the dispensation of the law. If one were to introduce the new concept into the old, it would not work because the two were incompatible. Only if one put the new wine in the new wineskins, and received the new wine, would the mind be changed. Only in Christ does man truly enter into the God’s victory and rest. This is why Paul could say in Philippians 2 –

“Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. ¹⁸ For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.” Philippians 2:17, 18

Paul’s labors in the vineyard anticipated his victory and rest in Christ. This is made all the more evident in his words to Timothy –

“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:6-8

These things that we can claim now are because of what Christ has done. We have the victory and we rest because He first obtained it for us. This is the lesson of the Feast of Firstfruits. He, our Lord Jesus, is holy, and therefore we who are in Him are deemed as such as well. Again, to Paul in Romans 11 –

“For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.” Romans 11:16

In summary, the Feast of Firstfruits is a picture of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is explicit in the New Testament, but it will be seen more fully when we next look at the Feast of Weeks. That feast is based on the dating of the Feast of Firstfruits that we looked at today. On a given day, but not on a set day according to the Hebrew calendar, Christ rose from the dead. From that momentous event, however, a specific event would occur fifty days later. Stay tuned for those exciting details.

Until then, let’s close with the thought that Paul says “Christ rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” He didn’t rise on the fourth day, He rose on the third day. Scripture testified to this occurrence coming, and Scripture is fulfilled exactly as it said this would occur. This is the most reliable, and testified to occurrence in antiquity. No other event has such a vast and overwhelming body of evidence to support it. And more, no event has such a vast and overwhelming body of evidence to say, “It is coming.”

Both before and after the event, Scripture and history testify to the resurrection of Christ. The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ is the most singular event in all human history, and it makes possible the absolute surety that those who receive Him will likewise be resurrected. It is the hope of the redeemed, and it is founded on the solid ground of God’s infallible word. Concerning the Feast of Firstfruits, in Christ we proclaim, “Feast fulfilled.” If you haven’t yet called on Christ, it is high time that you do. Eternity awaits, we will all spend it somewhere, and for those who know Christ, it will be in a land of wonder and delight. For the rest, not so much. Settle your eternity today!

Closing Verse: He is risen! Mark 16:6

Next Week: Leviticus 23:15-22 Great stuff in these verses when for Christ one seeks… (The Feasts of the Lord, Weeks) (39^th Leviticus Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if you have a lifetime of sin heaped up behind you, He can wash it away and purify you completely and wholly. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

Christ, the Firstfruits

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying
These are the words He was then relaying 

Speak to the children of Israel, and to them say:
All the things I relay to you today

‘When you come into the land which I give to you
And reap its harvest; that which the land has increased
Then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits
Of your harvest to the priest 

He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord
To be accepted on your behalf; so to you I submit
On the day after the Sabbath
The priest shall wave it 

And you shall offer on that day
When you wave the sheaf, so hear My word
A male lamb of the first year, without blemish
As a burnt offering to the Lord 

Its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah
Of fine flour mixed with oil, so I say
An offering made by fire to the Lord
For a sweet aroma; so it shall be this way

And its drink offering of wine shall be
One-fourth of a hin to offer it correctly

You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain
Nor fresh grain until the same day
That you have brought an offering to your God
To these instructions careful heed you shall pay

It shall be a statute forever, as instructed by Me
Throughout your generations in all your dwellings it shall be

Firstfruits to the Lord, is Christ Jesus
He was crucified and buried for our sins
But He was raised for the justification of us
Yes, through the Lord, the victory He wins

And so, O God, we sing out great praises to You
Because of Christ Jesus and the work He wrought
Through Him, marvelous things You did do
And through His work we stand perfect, without spot

Hallelujah to You, yes, again we say it from the heart!
Hallelujah to You, for Christ who to us eternal life does impart!

Hallelujah and Amen…

Leviticus 23:4-8
The Feasts of the Lord
Passover & Unleavened Bread

With the weekly Sabbath explained last week, today we begin the annual feasts of the Lord. The first two of them, Passover and Unleavened Bread, have already been explained rather thoroughly in past Exodus sermons. However, the Lord is restating them now as Feasts of the Lord because He wanted Israel to carefully observe them, each year, at set times.

They were to be annual pictures of Christ to come. If they paid attention to the symbolism of the Bible, and grasped what various things picture, they would then be able to more readily understand the evident nature of Christ’s fulfillment of each of them. They would also then know what was expected of them after He completed His work.

Unfortunately, Israel as a whole missed it. A certain portion of them got it, but the vast majority didn’t. For the most part, even Christians don’t really get it either. There are a lot more people in today’s world than in years past who are going back and looking more carefully at the Old Testament and seeing how it points to Christ. This is a good thing.

And yet at the same time, there are a lot of supposed Christians who are not only going back and looking at the Old Testament, they are unfortunately sticking to it as a means to an end. Instead of looking at how it points to Christ, they have taken and started applying these things to themselves.

It has become a viral infection within the church. Instead of seeing the annual feasts of the Lord as remarkable markers of Israel’s history which were to lead them to recognize their Messiah when He came, they instead find them to be observances which will hopefully lead them to a closer relationship with the Lord of the Old Testament. As wacky as that sounds, that is what is going on. It happened to me this week after giving the Sabbath sermon. Emails came flooding in, mis-citing and abusing Scripture, in order to show we are still under the law (Matthew 5:17-20).

People need to realize that the Lord, Yehovah of the Old is the Lord, Jesus of the New. These annual feasts were given to show us what He would do for us, and thus how we were to then live for Him. They are mere shadows of spiritual truths which pointed to the reality found in Christ Jesus.

Text Verse:  “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, ¹⁷ which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” Colossians 2:16, 17

The substance is of Christ. The feasts of Israel were shadows, not reality. In Christ we have the substance, and in Christ we are to dwell. The tragedy of law-observance in today’s world is all the more heartbreaking when one considers that all it takes is a minor amount of study to realize that Christ is the end of these things; He is the fulfillment of them.

If I were to take you outside and offer you a table full of gold and other riches, or let you take the shadow in its place, which would you go for? The fool would go for the shadow, and he would end up with nothing. One cannot take a shadow. In the end, he is left completely empty handed.

On the other hand, the wise person, (which I know you all fit that category), would take the table full of riches. And guess what! In taking the substance, you get the shadow too. You get it all. But please, leave me the table, that was not a part of my offer to you. Go buy your own table with all that gold.

All kidding aside, the person who is caught up in law observance is the fool who gets nothing. Even the shadow he thinks he possesses will be taken from him.

For the truly wise person, grab the substance! Take hold of Christ Jesus, and rejoice in His work, accomplished for us, and then live for Him as you are shown how to do. It’s all to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Passover (verses 4 & 5)

⁴ ‘These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations

Although not word for word, this is practically a repeat of verse 2. There the Lord said, “The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.” Because this is now repeated, it is generally assumed by some that the Sabbath isn’t actually a feast of the Lord. This is incorrect. It is a feast of the Lord, one which is weekly in nature. These are annual, and are thus set apart from the weekly Sabbath.

Further, by designating the Sabbath first and separately, the intent was to ensure that an annual feast was not to override, or nullify, the weekly Sabbath. They were to be held concurrently if they fell to the same day, but the Sabbath requirement was not to be ignored. With that understanding, the repetition concerning the feasts of the Lord now is given to enumerate the annual feasts in their order.

Although a bit confusing, the calendar to be used is the Redemption Calendar mandated by the Lord in Exodus 12. Until that time, the beginning of the annual calendar was in the seventh month, originally known in Hebrew as Ethanim, a word meaning something like “permanent flowings.”

After the Babylonian exile, the name of the month took on the Aramaic name of Tishri. This word, Tishri, comes from an Akkadian word, tasritu, meaning “beginning.” This could rightly be called the Creation Calendar as it was used since the time of creation. However, Tishri would become the seventh month in the newly established Redemption Calendar. This Redemption Calendar was first mandated in the Book of Redemption, Exodus. There in Exodus 12 it says –

“Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, ^2 ‘This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.’” Exodus 12:1, 2

The name of this newly established first month was Aviv, meaning ear, especially green ears of grain. Later, after the Babylonian exile, the name of the month would be changed to the Aramaic name, Nisan. In Assyrian, the word means “beginning.” Thus it is a new beginning after the first. The calendar change itself is giving us insights into God’s new beginnings in Christ.

This pattern of creation followed by redemption is seen throughout the Bible. It is seen in the calendars used. Also, in the giving of the Ten Commandments, they were relayed to the people first based on creation in the Decalogue of Exodus 20. However, it is based on redemption in the Decalogue of Deuteronomy 5.

All the way at the end of the Bible in Revelation, the praising of God for His marvelous works is first given based on His creative efforts, and then it is based on His redemptive efforts. We are being shown spiritual truths in how God lays out His word, and His plans. The Feasts of the Lord, therefore, will contain such spiritual truths. God is the Creator, and He is also the Redeemer. His feasts will show us the redemptive process of man through pictures of the coming Christ.

^4 (con’t) which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.

In the annual calendar, the arrival of each feast was proclaimed at its time appointed by the Lord. This was done with trumpet blasts, heralding in the start of the feast day.

It is to be noted now that although all of the feasts are appointed by the Lord in anticipation of the their fulfillment in Christ Jesus, not all of them are actually fulfilled on a specific day. For example, no specific calendar day is given for the feast of Firstfruits. The feast of Weeks is based on the feast of Firstfruits, whenever that would occur, fifty days later would come Weeks. No calendar day is specified for either in Scripture.

The feast of Yom Kippur is specified for the 10^th day of the 7^th month, but it was literally fulfilled on the same day as the Passover when Christ died as both our Passover Lamb, and our Atoning Sacrifice. The calendar was set for Israel to demonstrate a logical order in which redemptive acts take place, but that order is actually realized solely in the now-fulfilled work of Christ.

These feasts can logically be ordered, not according to the calendar year, but on what they have accomplished through the life and ministry of Christ Jesus. A breakdown of this would be –

A. Yom Teruah (Day of Acclamation) – Birth of Christ into humanity: a redemptive act tied to the beginning of the Creation calendar.

B. Pesakh (Passover) – Redemption: a one-time redemptive act based on the perfect life of Christ, summed up in His birth through crucifixion.

B. Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) – Atonement: a one-time redemptive act based on the perfect life of Christ, summed up in His birth through crucifixion.

A. Bikurim (Firstfruits) – Resurrection: Birth of Christ from the dead: a one-time redemptive act on a date determined by the Lord.

C. Ha’Matsot (Unleavened Bread) – Sanctification: a redemptive act, ongoing for God’s people; those who are “in Christ.”

D. Shavuoth (Weeks) – God indwelling man: made available because of the crucifixion and resurrection. A one-time redemptive act on a date determined by the timing of the resurrection.

D. Sukkoth (Tabernacles) – God dwelling with man: proven by the resurrection. The feast sums up the purpose of all redemptive acts of the Lord. It is ongoing for God’s people, even to eternity.

⁵ On the fourteenth day of the first month

The day mandated here was first determined in Exodus 12:6, but it must be taken in the proper context of Exodus 12. There it said –

“Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. ⁴ And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. ⁵ Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. ⁶ Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month.’” Exodus 12:3-6

When the Lord spoke those words to Israel, it was the very first time that the term edah, or congregation, was used. That word comes from another word yaad which means “to appoint” or “to meet.” They were first called at the time of the Exodus to be a congregation of people involved in a united act according to the commandment of God.

The Passover as a feast of the Lord is based on that original Passover held at the time of the Exodus from the bondage of Egypt. It was that redemptive act which was to now be celebrated annually on the same day of the original occurrence. But that was merely a picture of the coming work of Christ, delivering humanity from the bondage of sin under the devil’s yoke.

On the tenth day of the month, the people were told to take a lamb according to the house of the father. That means appropriate to the size of the house. The word “lamb” used there was seh and it simply means one of the flock, either a goat or a lamb. They were to take such an animal, without blemish, and keep it until the fourteenth of the month.

Everything about the Passover was given in anticipation of Christ Jesus. In that original Passover, the lamb was a sacrifice which would, because of its nourishment, carry the people through the exodus of their redemption from Egypt. Jesus is called the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world in John 1:29.

His life, because of its nourishment, carries the believer through the exodus of our redemption from the world of sin and death, which Egypt pictures. Paul, in the New Testament, explicitly calls Jesus our Passover offering in 1 Corinthians 5:7 –

“Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”

That the lamb was to be without blemish is seen realized in Christ’s perfect life. In Luke 23, after his interrogation concerning the Lord, Pilate declared Jesus without fault –

“So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, ‘I find no fault in this Man.’” Luke 23:4

In Hebrews 7:26, we also read this about Jesus –

“For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners…” Hebrews 7:26

And Peter, writing to the Jews of the dispersion, refers directly to the Passover for his description of Jesus –

“…knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” 1 Peter 1:18, 19

No defect was to be seen in the Passover lambs because they were to picture to the world the perfect, undefiled, and spotless Lamb of God. As we read, the selected animal was further specified as “a male of the first year.” This requirement was given to the Hebrews as a note concerning the lamb standing in place of the firstborn. In the plague upon Egypt, all the firstborn were to die, but for those of Israel, the firstborn was to be redeemed through the death of the lamb. Thus it is an act of substitution. The mandate also looked ahead to Christ.

In the first year, an animal is considered more perfect in terms of innocence, and yet it is in the midst of life. Later in Exodus, it was prescribed that such offerings came after the eighth day of their life. This is the same day that a baby is circumcised.

Therefore the chosen animals picture the innocent Christ in the midst of life. Not a baby in Bethlehem, and not an old man in Nazareth, but a male in Jerusalem in the midst of His life, and yet endowed with innocence. It was He who was to be made an Offering of redemption. He was born without original sin, lived without any sort of committed transgression, and was humble, pure, undefiled, and harmless. Christ is the epitome of what we would think of in such an innocent animal, and He is what the Passover animal was to prefigure.

Along with being of the first year, one more aspect of the animal was noted. It could be either from the sheep or the goats. Both animals are used as sacrifices in the Bible for various reasons. The exception which allowed for either a sheep or a goat was probably given to allow the poorer people to buy a less valuable goat instead of a sheep. The smell of the goat offering is not as sweet as a lamb, but it was acceptable as a sin offering. It was a picture of Christ. As Paul in 2 Corinthians 5, says –

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

The Lamb, having the finer smell, also pictures Christ as Paul’s words of Ephesians 5 state –

“And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” Ephesians 5:2

The lamb was generally considered the more likely choice at the Passover and among the people, but either animal ultimately pictured Christ. Thus the Lord allowed either for the feast. And so, understanding these previously provided guidelines which were given to Israel, it is on the fourteenth day of the first month that the Passover would begin. As it next says…

^5 (con’t) at twilight 

The Hebrew here says ben ha’arbayim – “between the evenings.” It seems like a perplexing phrase, but it is one which accounts for biblical time. In the Bible, a day is divided into “evening” and “morning.” Thus there are actually two evenings to be reckoned. The first began after twelve and went through until sunset.

The second evening began at sunset and continued till night, meaning the whole time of twilight. This would therefore be between twelve o’clock and the termination of twilight. Between the evenings then is a phrase which allows the three o’clock sacrifices at the temple to be considered as the evening sacrifice even though to us it would otherwise be considered an afternoon sacrifice. This is the same time-frame that Christ died on the cross, which is recorded in the gospels as three o’clock in the afternoon.

The term, ben ha’arbayim, or “between the evenings” is used 11 times in the Bible. Each time it details the work of Christ; the time of day when He died on the cross. Later in Scripture, this term would eventually become known as the time of the “evening offering,” or simply “the sacrifice.” This is found, for example, in the great challenge between the 450 prophets of Baal and Elijah –

“And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, ‘Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. ³⁷ Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.’” 1 Kings 18:36, 37

This time became so important to the Jews, that even during exile when the sacrifices had stopped being made, those who were observant still used that time of day to make a sacrifice of prayer, petition, and praise to God. This is seen in Daniel 9:20, 21 –

“Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God, ²¹ yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.”

^5 (con’t) is the Lord’s Passover.

pesakh l’Yehovah – “Passover to Yehovah.” I must note now that only the first Passover, when leaving Egypt, required several things which were never required again. One of them was the selecting of the animal on the tenth day of the month. Nothing is said about that later in Scripture. However, that specified period was given for a specific reason. It was to show that Christ would someday come and be crucified on a Friday. Despite many incorrect challenges to this throughout the years, the Bible bears witness that Christ died on a Friday, the 14^th day of the month.

From selection to slaughter is a period of five days. If one selects an animal on the tenth day and sacrifices it in the evening of the fourteenth day, it is a total of five days. The animal of that original Passover was to be kept during that period, and until the time of the Passover. The reason for the Lord mandating this was not that the family could observe it for defects as is so often claimed.

Rather, it was selected because it had no defects. Animals with defects were noted and disregarded at the selection of the animal. The reason for this advanced time was to ensure that everyone had an animal ready for the Passover.

The instructions were probably given to the people before the plague of darkness came upon the land. That plague lasted three full days. Therefore, the selection five days earlier was necessary. However, in picture that five-day period anticipated Christ’s final week, from the evening of Palm Sunday until the evening of the Passover, a time-frame which the four gospels record as being five full days. In Mark 11:11 it says –

“And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.” Mark 11:11

If one counts five evenings from Sunday evening, they will come to Friday evening. Sunday evening to Monday evening is one. Monday to Tuesday is two. Tuesday to Wednesday is three. Wednesday to Thursday is four. And Thursday to Friday is five. If anyone is interested in a detailed breakdown of the four gospels showing exactly this, all they need to do is go to the written update

of this sermon at the Superior Word website and I will include it at the end of the sermon.

The key to understanding the timeline for Christ’s day of crucifixion is the term “Preparation Day” which is included in all four gospels. If one follows the timeline and notes that term, they can see the perfection of how the timeline given back in Exodus is realized in the harmoniously recorded gospels. There are four aspects of the original Passover that were only required that one time, but which were never repeated again –

1) Eating of the Passover in Goshen.
2) Selecting the lamb on the tenth day.
3) Striking the blood of the lamb on the lintels of the houses.
4) Eating the lamb in haste.

These were one-time events which succeeding generations did not have levied upon them. Thus, the original Passover alone serves as the necessary picture of the greater work of Christ. As an annual feast of the Lord, it was both commemorative of what occurred in delivery from Egypt, and that delivery from Egypt was in anticipation of the full and final delivery of man from the bondage of sin and the yoke of the devil.

A Lamb, spotless, and pure – without any defect
Will be sacrificed in my place
And looking at that Lamb, I can certainly detect
The greatest love and grace… this I see looking upon His face

Oh! That I could refrain and not see Him die
Oh! If there could be any other way
How could this Lamb go through with it for one such as I?
Oh God! This perfect Lamb alone my sin-debt can pay

Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Behold the sinless One, there on Calvary’s tree
He has prevailed and the path to heaven has been unfurled
The Lamb of God who died for sinners like you and me

II. The Feast of Unleavened Bread (verses 6-8)

Like the instructions for the Passover, an analysis of the Feast of Unleavened Bread would be incomplete without referring to the original mandate for the feast in Exodus 12 –

“Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. ¹⁶ On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you. ¹⁷ So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. ¹⁸ In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. ¹⁹ For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. ²⁰ You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.” Exodus 12:15-20

⁶ And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord;

The day after the Passover, a new feast is introduced, to which the Passover is joined. However, the word “feast” here is not the same as that used in verses 2 or 4. That was moed, this is khag. It is not good when translations fail to make a distinction between these completely different words. The moed of the previous verses should be translated as “appointed times.” The word khag can then rightly be translated as “feast.”

The word khag comes from khagag, which in turn, indicates “to move in a circle” or specifically “to march in a sacred procession.” From there you have the implication of being giddy; to celebrate, dance, and feast. It is to be a time of worship, celebration, and sacrifice. It is a pilgrim feast.

The word is based on the same root as the name of the prophet Haggai and it is also connected to the Arabic word for hajj, which muslims perform when they make a trek to Mecca to worship their false god. If you look at photos of their hajj, you will see them going in a circle as they move towards the idol of their false god, a black stone called the al-Ḥajar al-Aswad; the Black Stone. This is the general idea of the khagag. One moves in a circle in a sacred procession; thus celebrating, dancing, and feasting.

This and the final feast, Sukkoth, are the only two of Leviticus 23 which use the term khag. They are also both set off as more than single days, but rather each encompasses an entire week. However, as we will see later in Scripture, the Feast of Weeks will also be a part of a khag, or pilgrim feast, as well.

Although the Passover and Unleavened bread are both annual feasts of the Lord, and even though they eventually will became united in terminology, the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a separate and distinct celebration with its own picture and fulfillment in Christ and in His church.

As the Passover is on the 14th of the month, this feast immediately follows from the 15th to the 21st day of the month. Every year at this time, it was to be the standard observance of the people. The 15^th of the month would be the time of the full moon.

^6 (con’t) seven days you must eat unleavened bread.

Exodus 12:15 says the same thing as here, but it further said that on the first day of the feast, they were to remove all leaven from their houses. Whatever day of the week the 15th fell on, they were required to do this, and they were to keep it out for a full week. During this time, they were to eat unleavened bread.

The reason for this at the Exodus was that it pictured the complete removal of the yeast of Egypt from their bread. In the Bible, bread is the fundamental means of sustaining the body – even a symbol of life itself. If one didn’t remove the yeast of Egypt, it showed that they longed after that which Egypt provided.

In essence, they had failed to separate themselves from the life they were called to leave. The removal of Egyptian yeast thus symbolized their new life, being purified from their old means of sustaining life. This was to be commemorated year by year, eating unleavened bread as a memorial to their redemption.

In general, yeast can be considered in two ways. First it causes fermentation, and thus corruption. But it also causes the bread to rise, thus picturing pride, which itself is a form of corruption. The remembrance of the feast is given to remind them of having been severed from the wicked practices of Egypt.

However, the type is given for us to see the Anti-type, Jesus, and His perfection. It is also to remind us of our obligation to act in a pure and undefiled manner. This is explicitly stated by Paul in 1 Corinthians 5. The Corinthians were having issues with immorality in the church and Paul wrote to them words of correction. In them he identifies both Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread –

“Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? ⁷ Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. ⁸ Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” 1 Corinthians 5:6-8

We have been called out of “spiritual Egypt,” meaning the fallen world. If we don’t remove the yeast of Egypt, meaning the old immoral ways of the world, it shows that we still long after that which the world provides rather than what Christ has granted. As always, every word we are seeing in the Old Testament is pointing to a much larger picture of redemptive history.

In the words of this verse, we are given a positive command, “seven days you must eat unleavened bread.” This is explicit. For seven days, unleavened bread was to be eaten. It doesn’t say “You may not eat bread with leaven for seven days.” Instead it says, “seven days you must eat unleavened bread.”

It is not a negative command, which means that they could abstain from any bread as long as they didn’t partake in leavened bread. Instead it is a positive command. They were to eat unleavened bread during the entire feast. This goes in picture to what was just cited from Paul in 1 Corinthians, “let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”

Not only are we to not partake of sin, but we are to actively live our lives in “sincerity and truth.” It is not that we can abstain from the whole if we abstain from one; it is that we are to abstain from one while partaking in the other. And this is a most important point. What has become fashionable with Judaizers and the Hebrew Roots movement, is to cite those verses from Paul as an indication that we are still required to observe the feasts of Leviticus 23.

He is not at all saying this. He is taking those feasts, and spiritualizing them into our new life in Christ. We are no more required to observe the Leviticus 23 feasts, than we are required to go to Jerusalem to do so, and while there be required to perform the necessary sacrifices attached to the feasts. Don’t get duped into believing what those heretics pass on. In Christ we are deemed as sinless, and we are asked to act in accord with that. That is the substance over the shadow. That is the gold on the table.

⁷ On the first day you shall have a holy convocation;

miqra qodesh, or “convocation holy,” is called for on the 15th of the month. It was to be a gathering of the people for sacrifice, prayer, and fellowship. It may also have included instruction as well. As I said earlier, these convocations were called by the blowing of silver trumpets which were directed by the Lord to be made for this purpose. That is recorded in Numbers 10:10 –

“Also in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be a memorial for you before your God: I am the Lord your God.”

^7 (con’t) you shall do no customary work on it.

meleket abodah, or “work servile,” means employment or other regular work. This then is not a Sabbath observance which forbid work of any kind, including cooking meals. In Exodus 12:16 it was explicitly noted that food could be prepared on this particular day of convocation. Thus it was not a Sabbath. Why is this important to know? It is because it once again identifies what is correct concerning the death of Christ. The gospels precisely state that the day following Christ’s crucifixion was a Sabbath, not a convocation. In Luke 23, this is recorded –

“Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. ⁵⁴ That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.

⁵⁵ And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. ⁵⁶ Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.” Luke 23:53-56

Therefore, understanding the terminology here and in that of the gospels, we can know, along with other assurances, that Christ’s cross occurred on a Friday, not a Wednesday or a Thursday.

⁸ But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven days.

The specific offerings to be made to the Lord are not detailed until Numbers 28. They will include two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year. Each was to be without blemish. Along with those, a specified grain offering was to be made. Further, a goat for a sin offering was to be made. This same offering was to be made on each day of the feast, along with the regular daily offerings of the priests.

*^{8  (fin)} The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.’”

The seventh day of the feast would be the 21^st of the month. A second miqra qodesh, or “convocation holy” was to be held on this day. However, in Exodus 13:6, this seventh day was specifically identified as its own khag, or feast, to the Lord. Israel was to not merely abstain from work, but they were to actively celebrate the work of the Lord. The entire week was to be a feast, but the seventh day was to be a feast unto itself as a festive termination to the entire feast.

Concerning the Exodus account, some Christian scholars attempt to align the resurrection of Christ with the day that Israel was conducted through the Red Sea. However, this would not align with the table of stops recorded in Numbers 33. The Jewish calendar reckons this seventh day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread as that day. Accordingly, the final day of the Feast would be the day they passed through the waters of the Red Sea. This is correct, and there is a reason for this.

The two holy convocations bracket the feast. One occurs on the first day of the feast and one on the seventh. They stand as representative of the entire period of the feast. But this feast that Israel celebrated is only a picture of our time in Christ in this earthly life, from the day of our adoption until the day we go home to glory, pictured by passing through the Red Sea.

Just as the Red Sea stood before Israel, there is an impossible gulf for us to cross over. And yet the Lord has made that way possible. He has taken the natural and combined it with the miraculous in order to allow His redeemed to cross over to safety on the other shore where our heavenly home awaits. This is the symbolism we are to see in the observance of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

We are redeemed by Christ through His cross, pictured by the Passover. We then enter into our Christian life, pictured by the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. At the end, we are conducted home through that once impossible-to-pass-through gulf, pictured by that final, joyous, feast day.

By the 21^st day of the month, the full moon of the first day of the feast became a waning moon. The darkness would have been more pronounced, just as it is in our deaths, but there was still a brighter light to lead us. It is Christ in us, the hope of glory. The path for our full and complete redemption has been paved through that impossible gulf where every drop of water will be removed for our passage. There will be guaranteed safety as we pass through into His glory.

Either death or rapture is coming. The Lord is carefully watching over His flock until that day. When the time of our calling arrives, the infinite gulf will be parted. We, His redeemed, will pass through with ease and safety. This is all pictured in the annual celebration of Israel in the conjoined feasts of the Lord – Passover and Unleavened Bread. Concerning both the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, in Christ we proclaim, “Feasts fulfilled.”

Closing Verse: “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” Galatians 5:9

Next Week: Luke 1:35 Announcing history’s greatest event! (The Son of the Highest and of a Maidservant) (Christmas Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if you have a lifetime of sin heaped up behind you, He can wash it away and purify you completely and wholly. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

Passover and Unleavened Bread

‘These are the feasts of the Lord
Holy convocations which you shall proclaim
At their appointed times
Each year it shall be the same

On the fourteenth day
Of the first month at twilight
Is the Lord’s Passover
A time when the moon is full and burning bright

And on the fifteenth day
Of the same month, pay heed to what is said
Is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord
Seven days you must eat unleavened bread

On the first day
You shall have a holy convocation
You shall do no customary work on it
So it shall be for the entire nation 

But you shall offer an offering
Made by fire to the Lord for seven days, so to you I submit
The seventh day shall be a holy convocation
You shall do no customary work on it

The Passover is fulfilled as says 1 Corinthians 5:7
And for this we are ever grateful to the Lord
It is through His cross that we can return to heaven
So we are assured in Your word

And the feast of Unleavened Bread
It is fulfilled as well in Christ Jesus
To Him we now live in it, as the word has said
Great things, O God, You have done for us!

Hallelujah to You, O God, great things You have done!
Hallelujah to You, O God, for the giving of Jesus Your Son!

Hallelujah and Amen…

———————————————————————–

Timeline of Christ’s Passion Week –

Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on Sunday, 6 April 0032. This is based on dating from the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 and the exemplary work of Sir Robert Anderson.

However, people will still try to find a reason why the crucifixion wasn’t on Friday, 11 April 0032. There are a couple reasons why this is disputed, each which certainly results from misunderstanding of biblical terminology. The first is a fear that what’s stated in Matthew 12:40 would mean an error in what Jesus said. The second results from a perceived conflict between the gospel accounts in Matthew, Mark, and Luke and that of John.

In the first disputed reason, Jesus is quoted by Matthew as saying, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Matthew 12:40

The resurrection certainly occurred on a Sunday and only the most extreme cases dispute this – and they do it without justification. Some folks fear that because He rose on a Sunday and it was “3 days and 3 nights” that Jesus was in the tomb then it was either Wednesday or Thursday that He must have gone to the cross. It’s important to note that this verse is from Matthew and is directed to the Jewish people – Jesus as King. Hebrew idioms would have been understood and not needed any clarification or verbal amending. To the audience Matthew was writing to any part of a day is considered to be inclusive of the whole day. It’s no different than terminology we use today. If I arrive in Florida on a plane at 11:30pm on 11 April, during a later conversation I would still say I was in Florida on that day. The biblical pattern of “evening and morning” being a day goes back to the first chapter of the Bible and includes an entire day – regardless of what part of a day one is referring to.

The same verse, as recorded in Luke says, “As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.” Luke 11:29, 20 In this instance, Luke was not writing to only Jewish people, but predominately to non-Jewish people – Jesus as the Son of Man. Therefore, the terminology is amended to avoid confusion. This occurs many times in the gospels and therefore the addressees (or the background of the writers themselves) need to be identified to understand proper terminology.

The second issue to be resolved is that some scholars claim that John “appears” to place the crucifixion on a different date than the other writers. Because of this, an attempt to insert some second type of Passover meal is made. This supposedly helps the Bible out of an apparent problem. However, no such meal is identified in the Bible – at any time. Nor is it necessary to make something erroneous like this up. The Bible identifies the timing of the entire Passion Week, dispelling the problem. The terminology for “Preparation Day” used in all four gospel accounts absolutely clears this up and will be noted below.

Here’s what you need to know:

Paul plainly states that the Feast of Firstfruits is a picture of the resurrection:

“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” 1 Corinthians 15:20

The feast of Firstfruits was a Sunday according to Leviticus 23:15 – “From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks.” Note: the Sabbath is a Saturday. We don’t need to go any further there to know this is correct and that Christ rose on a Sunday.

Here is the math from the gospel accounts. It’s all there in black and white and very easy to look up –

**“Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.” John 12:1 This would have been a Sabbath day (Saturday.)

**“The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.” John 12:12 This would have been 5 days before the Passover, meaning Sunday (Palm Sunday) as the Passover would have started Thursday night at sundown and run until Friday night at sundown (remember biblical days start at sundown).

The account couldn’t be clearer that the next day after the Passover was a Sabbath. This is indicated several times. Some people have attempted to use the terminology in John (it was a “high day” or a “special Sabbath”) to indicate that it could have been a day other than a Saturday. Special Sabbaths are specified in Leviticus and don’t necessarily fall on Saturdays. However, the term “Sabbath” as used in the other gospel accounts is indicating a Saturday. There is no indication, anywhere, that there were two Sabbaths in a row on this particular week. In fact, such an analysis does an injustice to the reading of the text. Therefore, the special Sabbath occurred on a regular Sabbath day (Saturday).

From this we can give the entire week’s schedule (refer to the cited verses in your own Bible to familiarize yourself with what’s being said) –

Sabbath 6 before // John 12:1 – …six days before the Passover.  Bethany/Lazarus.

Sunday 5 before // John 12:12 & Mark 11:10 – The next day…  Palm Sunday/Riding the donkey.

Monday 4 before //  Mark 11:12 Now on the next day… Jesus cursed the fig tree.

Tuesday 3 before //  Mark 11:20 Now in the morning… The withered fig is identified.

Wednesday 2 before // The gospels are silent on what occurred on this day.

Thursday 1 before – Passover starts at Sundown //Mark 14:1 After two days it was the Passover… (this is the first timing mentioned since Mark 11:20 which was Tuesday).

–

Note:  Pay special attention to the fact that in the following accounts Mark is using Jewish time (sunset to sunset and John is using Roman time) –

Mark 14:12 – “Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread when they killed the Passover Lamb.” 

John 13:1 – “Now before the Feast of the Passover….”  Meal, Washing of Feet, Gethsemane. 

***Christ crucified this same 24 hour period, but it was obviously after the final night at Gethsemane and then the illegal trial.  Mark is speaking of this event from sundown, John is speaking of it on Roman time (this is obvious because they use different terminology for the same meal where Judas left to betray the Lord… can’t miss this point and get it right.)

6 days before – Saturday

5 days before – Sunday

4 days before – Monday

3 days before – Tuesday

2 days before – Wednesday

1 day before – Thursday

The Day – Friday

The problem with people believing that John was speaking of a different day (as mentioned above) is that they miss the fact that the terminology for the day is different based on the author. To clear up any misunderstanding between the synoptic gospels and the Gospel of John, one needs only to compare the uses for the term “Preparation Day.” Once one does this, there are no discrepancies in the accounts –

Matthew 27:62 – “The next day, the one after the Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate.” This was the day after the crucifixion. Matthew says it is the day “after Preparation Day.”

Mark 15:42 – “It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached…” This is the day of the crucifixion. Mark says “It was Preparation Day.”

Luke 23:5 – “It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.” This is the day of the crucifixion. Luke says “It was Preparation Day.”

John 19:14 – “Now it was Preparation Day of the Passover.” This is the day of the crucifixion. John says “It was Preparation Day.”

Based on the biblical evidence, there is

1. No discrepancy between any of the accounts.

2. Jesus was crucified on a Friday.

3. Jesus rose on a Sunday.

As a final note, the Bible says 13 times that He was raised “on” the third day. This is mentioned by Jesus himself as well as the apostles. Therefore, it must have been Friday that Christ was crucified.

——————————————————————–

Please don’t believe (as some have claimed) that Christ rode the donkey into Jerusalem on a Saturday instead of a Sunday. This would have been the Sabbath. If He did, He would have violated the law –

“Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.” Deuteronomy 5:12-14

There is no need to make the assertion it was a Saturday unless you simply wanted to finagle the dating. There is also no biblical provision for an exemption to the commandment prohibiting working a donkey. As stated above, the work of Sir Robert Anderson in the 1800s clearly demonstrates that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on 6 April 0032. This can be validated in other ways and is the correct year and month for the Lord’s crucifixion.

The biblical evidence is quite clear and without ambiguity or total uncertainty…Jesus Christ was crucified as the Passover Lamb on Friday, 11 April 0032 and was resurrected to eternal life on Sunday 13 April 0032.

He now offers eternal life to all who call on Him by faith. Have you accepted His offer of peace?

Leviticus 23:1-3
The Feasts of the Lord
The Sabbath

We enter today into the Feasts of the Lord. There are varying views on these Feasts, but in a quick categorical outline, we can identify a few major ones. The first is that these feasts are “for Israel.” Some even call them “The Feasts of Israel” or the “Jewish Feasts.” Type either into your search bar and this will come up immediately. This is wrong from the outset as will be explained, but simply stated, Scripture calls them “Feasts of the Lord.” We are to go no further.

A second view is that these feasts are divided up into “spring feasts,” and “fall feasts,” and that these divisions are then given in relation to Christ’s two advents. In other words, He fulfilled the first four feasts in His first advent, and He will fulfill the last three in His second advent. This is problematic for several reasons.

First, there are actually eight feasts, not seven. The first is a weekly feast throughout the year, and the other seven are annual feasts. Secondly, He fulfilled all, not half of them in His first advent. I would say that this makes that view rather problematic.

Another view is that the spring feasts are fulfilled in His first coming, and the fall feasts are too, but they have a future application in His second advent which pertains to the nation of Israel alone. This is problematic because it then makes these, by default, Feasts of Israel, which is something that those who hold to this view explicitly state. They equivocate on the naming of the feasts in order to justify this unjustifiable stand.

What is true and correct, is that all eight feasts are Feasts of the Lord, and they are fulfilled in the work of Christ. They are a part of the law of Moses, a law which is explicitly stated to be fulfilled by Christ in the epistles, and which is recorded numerous times in the word of God. And not only is the law fulfilled, it is 1) obsolete; 2) annulled; 3) set aside; 4) nailed to the cross. These terms are all explicitly stated in the New Testament. The law is done. It is true that Israel is given seven more years under the law to accomplish certain things according to Daniel 9, but these things are in relation to Christ’s finished work of the law, not in acceptable observance of a now-obsolete law.

To say that Christ has yet to fulfill the three fall feasts, is to say that Christ did not fulfill the law. If Christ did not fulfill the law, then Christ is not the end of the law for all who believe. If the law is not fulfilled, then the law is still in effect for all people. When it says in Romans that there is “now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,” we can be assured that this is in error because the law brings wrath, and it brings condemnation. If Christ didn’t fulfill the law, He is not the Messiah, we are not “in Christ,” because we have put our hope in someone who is not Christ, and the law, in its entirety, is still binding on us today.

This doesn’t just mean the parts that we want to observe, like maybe the Sabbath or not eating pork (ewww bacon!), but all of the law. It means that we are condemned for wearing clothes made of two different materials. We are condemned when we fail to tithe (give, give, give!). We are condemned when we harvest anything in the seventh year of the Sabbath-year cycle. We are condemned if we don’t have tassels on the four corners of our garments… Shall I go on? Remember what James says, if we keep the entire law, and yet stumble in one point, we are guilty of it all. If Christ didn’t fulfill the law, including the feasts, we stand – condemned.

Text Verse: “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, ¹⁷ which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” Colossians 2:16, 17

I imagine you will hear this text verse for the next few weeks as we open each sermon on the Feasts of the Lord. Paul’s words about food and drink are given in relation to the dietary laws of Israel. Let no one judge you in such things. The law is dead; nailed to the cross. His words regarding a festival are “the Feasts of the Lord” found here in Leviticus 23. Let no one judge you in such things. The law is dead; nailed to the cross. His note about “sabbaths” is inclusive of the Feast of the Lord known as the Sabbath, and of all Sabbath observance. He uses the plural to cover any and all Sabbaths which are found in Israel’s yearly calendar. Let no one judge you in such things. The law is dead; nailed to the cross.

In fact, what Paul is doing in this verse is citing Hosea 2:11 concerning these same things in relation to Israel. Israel would be judged by such things, but in Christ, we are not. It’s fun for heretics to pick and choose what they will or will not do in the church, but it won’t be fun when they stand before the Lord and find that they made a mockery of His finished work by deciding that what He did wasn’t enough in their own narcissistic minds to please God. He asks us to trust in Christ, and in Christ alone. It’s not that difficult unless you just can’t stop looking in the mirror all day.

Today we will look over the Feast of the Lord known as the Sabbath. There are four major views within what we would call “Christianity” on the Sabbath. The first is that of the Seventh Day Adventists – it is a moral law of God, and it is binding. Saturday is to be a Sabbath, and it is mandatory for all “Christians.” This is something the Hebrew Roots movement also teaches.

The second is the “Christian Sabbath” view. This is where the Sabbath is changed to Sunday, and it is a mandatory day of observance. The third belongs to Luther. He says that the Sabbath was for the Jews, and it does not pertain to Christians, but rest and worship, though required, are not connected to any particular day.

The fourth view is the “Fulfilled Sabbath.” Fulfilled means… fulfilled. In Christ, we enter our rest, as the Bible states. Paul says in Romans 14, “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind” (verse 5). Obviously, taking Paul’s words cited earlier, and this verse here, along with simple Christian logic, the fulfilled view is correct. The first is heresy, and it will only bring condemnation. The second will be addressed later, but it is nonsense. The third is not found in Scripture, although it isn’t heretical or necessarily nonsense. It’s just not correct.

As far as the first, the heresy of Sabbath observance as a necessary requirement in today’s church is pitiful. All the information we need for salvation is found in Paul’s epistles. He, as the apostle to the Gentiles, defines clearly and precisely what we need to do to be saved; what we need to do in order to be pleasing to God; and how to also instruct others in meeting those same goals.

Nowhere does he say anything concerning the Sabbath, except to argue against observing it. What part of the concept of “grace” these heretics don’t understand is hard to grasp. It’s a simple word with a simple meaning, as is the concept of a gift. One does not work in order to receive a gift. And though the Sabbath is a day of not actively working, it is a day of spiritual work in order to not physically work. Our hope and our rest is in Christ alone. This is a fundamental truth which is found in sound Christian doctrine. It’s all to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Feasts of the Lord (verses 1 & 2)

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

The main addressee here, as is most commonly seen, is Moses. It is he who will receive the laws laid out here, directly from the Lord. In the preceding chapters, we have been given directions and commands concerning the holiness of the sanctuary, the holiness of the priests, the holiness of the people, the holiness of the sacrifices, and so on. All of these were in relation to the holiness of the Lord. This chapter now details the holiness of the Lord in relation to the annual calendar – times of special observances within each year.

² “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them:

The Lord’s words to Moses are directed to bene yisrael, or “the children of Israel.” The term ben literally means, “son.” However, the translation as “children” is appropriate. The reason for this is theological in nature. In the book of Galatians, Paul writes that as long as an heir is a child, he is no different than a slave. He then says in Galatians 4:3, “Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.” However, He goes on in the next verses to say, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (4, 5).

In Christ, we go from being “children,” with no true rights in the family, to becoming sons with full rights. As he says in Galatians 4:7, “Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” That alone stands as a testimony to the superiority of the New Covenant over the Old. The Old simply anticipated the New. In Christ, the Old is gone because it has been fulfilled in Him. The address now as “children” is appropriate. They will now be given instructions as children, who are required to do certain things, in anticipation of the time when these things are realized in Christ.

^2 (con’t) ‘The feasts of the Lord,

moade Yehovah – “Appointed times (of) Yehovah.” The name Yehovah, translated as “the Lord,” is used 36 times in this chapter. There then is a heavy stress on this divine name. In contrast to this, the name “Israel,” when speaking of the people of the nation, is used only seven times, and it is always in the sense of being the addressee (five times), or of the responsibilities laid upon them (two times). This is rather important to remember. These are not “Feasts of Israel,” nor is that term ever used in Scripture. When the feasts are mentioned, it is always in relation to the Lord, directly or indirectly. In using the term “Feasts of Israel,” as has become popular in modern times, it takes the focus off the Lord entirely, but it is the Lord, meaning Jesus, who has fulfilled each and every one of these feasts.

By stating they are feasts of Israel, a misguided concept of these somehow having a future fulfillment in national Israel is seen. This makes for incredibly bad theology, and it harms evangelistic efforts which otherwise might be effective. If people see the fulfillment of these feasts in their proper light, meaning in Christ Jesus, they will then be able to see their need for Christ Jesus. If Israel is the focus, this truth becomes obscured, or even eliminated.

The Hebrew word for “feast” is moed. This comes from yaad, meaning to appoint, assign, designate, etc. That in turn comes from a primitive root meaning to fix upon, as by agreement or appointment. Thus, the moed is a specific meeting in time, place, and/or appointment. Its first use in Scripture was in Genesis 1:14 when the stars were set in the heavens to be for signs and l’moadim, or “for seasons.”

Charles Benson states, “These, in our translation, are termed feasts; but the word here used, rather means solemn seasons, or meetings, and as the day of atonement was comprehended in them, which was not a feast, but a fast, they certainly are improperly termed feasts.”

If one looks at these set times in a forward-looking way, he is correct. There is as much set restriction as there is command to accomplish. One cannot work on the Sabbath. In the Feast of Weeks, the people are told to do no customary work, etc. However, if one in our dispensation looks back on what these feasts anticipated, and rightly sees their fulfillment in Christ, then they truly are “feasts” of the Lord for us to revel in. He did the work, we receive, and feast upon, the benefits of that work. Still, Benson is right. what is a more appropriate term would be “appointed times.”

^2 (con’t) which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations,

asher tiqre-u otam miqrae qodesh – “which you shall call out calling-outs holy.” The word “convocations” here is miqra. It comes from the word qara, which is also in this verse, translated as “proclaim.” Moses is instructed to “call out” the coming feasts as assemblies, thus “calling outs” or “convocations.”

^2 (con’t) these are My feasts.

eleh hem moadai – “These they, My feasts.” The term moadai, or “My feasts,” is only used here and in Ezekiel 44:24 where it is speaking of the future millennial reign of Christ where His feasts and Sabbaths will again be observed. This should in no way cause confusion with the believer in Christ in this dispensation. In the millennium, some feasts will be observed by Israel in commemoration of what Christ did. This in no way means that these are to be observed now. In fact, to mandate observance of these feasts is to set aside the grace of Christ who fulfilled them for us. Paul speaks of this in Galatians 4:9-11, where he says –

“But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? ¹⁰ You observe days and months and seasons and years. ¹¹ I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.”

It is a futile thing indeed to attempt to merit God’s favor apart from the work of Christ. To set aside what Christ has done, and to attempt to please God through observance of an appointed meeting that has met its appointed fulfillment in Jesus’ work, is to merit bringing God’s wrath down upon oneself. Let us not be so foolish as to have this attitude of ingratitude. If we believe we can attain holiness through observing these feasts, we maintain that we have not become holy through Christ. What a slap in the face of God!

Feasts to the Lord; they were accomplished as is appointed
Together we celebrate what the Lord has done
They are fulfilled in Christ, the One who was anointed
In these feasts, we see the work of God’s own Son

Our observance isn’t as the law mandated
No, our observance is in how we act toward our Lord Jesus
In Him we have our Sabbath rest; so the Bible has stated
And that is just the first of eight fulfilled by Christ for us

Each reveals something marvelous accomplished by the Lord
And so to Him, we gratefully give thanks and praise
With Him always in our thoughts, and contemplating His word
We find the fulfillment of these special, festal days

II. The Feast of the Sabbath (verse 3)

³ ‘Six days shall work be done,

sheshet yamim te-aseh melakah – “six days you shall do work.” These words are directive in nature. Therefore the week is divided into two sections, active work and active cessation from work. Man is not to be idle when he should be working, and man is not to be working when he should be at rest. What is curious is that one person is being addressed. The verb is second-person singular. This is odd because at the end of the verse, the verb will be plural.

The workweek in Israel is based on a seven-day calendar, beginning on Sunday and ending on Saturday, just as it is in the US today. Unlike our time schedule today though, each day begins at evening and goes through until the next evening. Thus Sunday, the first day of the week, begins at evening – literally sundown – on Saturday, and goes through until sundown the next day.

Things that needed to be done were to be done before the Sabbath so that no work was to be done on the Sabbath. This, however, does not mean that one must work every day. If so, for example, it would violate the other mandated feasts of the Lord. Rather, what should be done was to be done, but not on the Sabbath.

This pattern of working six days has its source in the early Genesis account. The evening/morning schedule is recorded at the end of each day of creation, beginning with Genesis 1:5. With the completion of creation on the sixth day, the record then states –

“Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. ² And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” Genesis 2:1-3

Thus, Israel was instructed to labor six days and rest on the seventh, as is next seen…

^3 (con’t) but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest,

Here the term, shabath shabathon, or “(a) resting day of solemn resting” is used. This specific term, shabath shabathon, is only used six times in Scripture. Four times it speaks of the weekly Sabbath, once for the Day of Atonement, and once concerning the year of Jubilee. The people were to rest, and they were to contemplate God and His works on their behalf.

Concerning this term, shabath, or Sabbath. It first must be understood that this is referring to Saturday. Biblically, there is no such thing as a Sunday Sabbath. To say, “Today is the Sabbath,” only means, “Today is a Saturday, and it is my day of rest.” There is no transfer of Sabbath to Sunday to be found in Scripture. That is a fallacy known as a “category mistake.”

Understanding this, the word shabath implies rest and cessation from labor. This cessation of labor for Israel merely looks forward to a different type of rest. It was a foretaste of the blessed eternal rest which man lost, but which was promised to be restored. Man was created outside of the Garden of Eden and was rested in the Garden to worship and serve His God. This was lost.

Despite this matching the pattern of creation, and despite the Lord sanctifying the seventh day as a day of rest, even from the seventh day after the creation began, there is no record of anyone observing a Sabbath, meaning a Saturday day of rest, until after the Exodus from Egypt. At the time of the giving of the manna, the Lord, through Moses, instituted the first Sabbath –

Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’” Exodus 16:23

Those who say that a Sabbath is still required today must make things up about what occurred at that time, saying that there was confusion in the elders about what to do on the Sabbath because they had this double portion on Friday and they were confused about what to do with the second portion on Saturday. Would they be allowed to violate the Sabbath to prepare it?

This is nonsense. Nothing in Scripture indicates that the Sabbath existed at all until that point in history. Not a single verse outside of Genesis 2:3 hints at it. Further, the text itself later disproves it. Secondly, Genesis 2:3 only became a written fact at the giving of the law through Moses, and more, it was only written after the account concerning the manna in Exodus. Genesis 2:3 simply describes the fact that God sanctified the seventh day, but it goes no further than that.

There is nothing prescriptive added to the general statement which was made in Genesis. Thirdly, the reason is given for the Sabbath in the presentation of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 and in Deuteronomy 5, but the reason given for it is different in both. In Exodus 20 it is based on Creation, “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth” (20:11). But in Deuteronomy 5, it is based on Redemption, “And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day” (5:15).

Despite this, the two are tied together. Israel was already redeemed at the giving of the law at Sinai. Therefore, as a sign of God’s rest following His creative efforts, which had subsequently been lost in the Garden of Eden, the redeemed of Israel were given the Sabbath.

Thus there is no contradiction between Exodus and Deuteronomy. One acts leads to another. The fallen world could not be redeemed unless it had first been created. Everything is looking forward to God’s rest; a rest which can only be found in Christ. As the law could only bring a curse, then the Sabbath was only a shadow, looking forward to Christ’s fulfillment of it.

At the time after the Exodus, the Sabbath was uniquely revealed to Israel. It was at the time of their organization as a nation to show that the Lord is Creator and Redeemer. Until that point, there was no need to mandate the Sabbath to the world. And further, the words to the people in Exodus 16 when the Sabbath was first given directly clue us into this because it said there, “Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest.” It does not say ha’shabbat, or “the Sabbath.” Instead, it leaves off a definite article. If the people were aware of the Sabbath as an institution, it would have said ha’shabbat, “the Sabbath.” It does not. Instead, Moses was made aware of it in connection to the giving of the manna.

Unfortunately, some versions, utterly mistranslate that verse and add in two definite articles which don’t exist in the Hebrew. They say, “To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD” (KJV). By adding these in, they insert inappropriate and confused theology to the text.

And finally, in the same line of thought, Moses gave additional specificity by repeating the words and adding in the word “holy.” He said to Israel, “Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord.” The entire phrase of Exodus 16:23 smacks of, and implies, uniqueness, and thus first-time instruction concerning Sabbath requirements.

The reason why it’s important to know this is because of the highly divergent teachings on the Sabbath within Christianity. Those who teach that a Saturday Sabbath is required for Christians today, will make the claim that it is an eternal standard of God that always existed for humanity. This verse in Exodus shows this is not true.

In the giving of the Sabbath in connection with the Manna came two pictures of Christ. He is our Bread, and He is also our Rest. That He is our Rest is seen explicitly in Hebrews 4:3, “For we who have believed do enter that rest.” By faith in Christ, our heavenly Bread, we enter into God’s eternal rest, pictured by the giving of the Sabbath along with the Manna. It is only a picture. This continued to be revealed in Exodus 16. In verse 25, it then said –

Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field.” Exodus 16:25

Again, there was no article in front of “Sabbath.” It simply said, “a Sabbath.” However, this was the formal institution of the Sabbath for Israel, and so it actually precedes the giving of the law. As the formal institution, the name was given to designate the day. Next, Exodus 16 shows that God provided in advance of the Sabbath for the Sabbath by providing manna. And third, He directed that what was provided on Friday was to be prepared on Friday, in advance of the Sabbath. It then formed a picture of Christ coming after the giving of the law. He gave us Christ, and then He gave us rest in Christ via fulfilling the law.

The law was annulled through His completed work, and with it the Sabbath day requirement was annulled. However, as an ordinance to Israel, there was more for them to learn at the time of the giving of both the manna and the Sabbath. In verse 26 of the same chapter, it said, “Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”

In saying this to Israel, it was to be understood that this first Sabbath wasn’t a one-time occurrence. Rather it was to become the standard at all times and as long as the manna was provided. However, it could be inferred at that time that the Sabbath was then only to be observed during that period when the manna was given. It wasn’t until the giving of the law, that the Sabbath was fully incorporated into what was expected of Israel, even apart from the times when manna was given. One might ask, “Who cares about that?” But for Israel, we see an incremental giving of instructions for the Lord to progressively reveal His intentions to the people.

Step by step, the Lord methodically shaped Israel to become His obedient people. By giving them the Sabbath in connection with the giving of the manna, He was preparing them for a time when the Sabbath would be required apart from the manna. Which would have been easier for people to adjust to? Being given two portions of manna and being told to prepare them on Friday and then not work on Saturday, or being told to prepare food on Friday and not do anything on Saturday when houses were full of things they had stored up through normal life?

The giving of the manna for six days and withholding it on the seventh, before entering a normal agricultural setting, was a valuable preparation for the time when the manna would no longer be provided. The wisdom of God is seen in how He introduced the Sabbath into the lives of His people, Israel.

After this initial giving of the Sabbath, it was incorporated into the Ten Commandment in Exodus 20, giving specifics about what could not be done on that day. After that, it was introduced again in Exodus 31 where it was given great specificity. In those verses, a unique chiastic structure was given –

Exodus 31:13-17 – The Sabbath Rest
A Sign between the Lord and Israel (7/11/2016)

a. Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep
—-b. For it is a sign between Me and you
——–c. Throughout your generations,
————d. You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you
—————-e. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death
——————–f. For whoever does any work on it
————————x. Work shall be done for six days,but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord
——————–f. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day
—————-e. He shall surely be put to death
————d. Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath
——–c. Throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant
—-b. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel
a. On the seventh day He rested and was refreshed

In the first half of the chiasm, it explains the requirement. It then gives the naming of the punishment first and then the reason for the punishment. The second half of the chiasm does the opposite. It gives the reason for the punishment, then the naming of the punishment, and then the explanatory basis for the sequence.

In the Old Covenant, man worked and then rested. In the New Covenant, man rests and then works. A picture is made of the process of salvation in the two dispensations. Israel worked six days and then rested on the Sabbath. It was in anticipation of the time of rest which lay ahead when all things would be restored.

With Christ’s coming we rest in honor of His finished work, and then we conduct our work week. This is why in the first half of the chiasm, line e gives the penalty – death, and then line f gives the reason for the penalty – working on the Sabbath. Whereas in the second half of the chiasm, the order is reversed. First is noted the reason for the penalty – working, and then is given the penalty – death. Our rest is in Christ and what He has done. We have died to the law; we now live and work in Christ.

Understanding this, we see in Exodus 31 that the Lord told Israel that the Sabbath would be a sign between Him and them, a sign of sanctification. However, for the believer in Christ, we do not receive our sign of sanctification through an external observance. Rather, our sign of sanctification is the sealing of the Holy Spirit. It is received simply by placing faith in the finished work of Christ. Paul notes this in Romans 15 –

“Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, ¹⁶ that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:15, 16

The sign of the Sabbath is not at all for this dispensation. With Christ’s coming, we rest first in Him and in honor of His finished work, and then we conduct our work. This is the lesson found back in Exodus 31 for those who will pay heed. After that, the Sabbath was mentioned one more time in Exodus. In 35:2, the mandating of the Sabbath is given with the warning that anyone who works on that day was to be put to death. After that, it immediately added in something new to the Sabbath laws saying, “You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day” (Exodus 35:3).

Along with all the other things that the people were already told to not do on the Sabbath day, a new requirement was added in. No fire was to be kindled in any dwelling on the Sabbath. No manna was provided on the Sabbath and so they were to prepare their food a day in advance of the Sabbath. As a further restraint, they were told to not even kindle a fire. To kindle a fire was a laborious process of work. As food wasn’t cooked, they were not to consider making a fire for any other reason. As John Lange says about this –

“The addition, prohibiting the kindling of fire, indicates that the law of the Sabbath is made more rigorous in the matter of abstinence.” John Lange

The Israelites were to actively abstain from work in every possible way. The same is not true now. In Christ, we are given a different aspect of the same precept. We are not told to abstain from every work in order to attempt to merit God’s favor. Instead, we are to rest in the finished work of Christ. In the end, whether before the cross or after, it is all done in relation to Christ.

And that brings us to the relationship of the placement of the Sabbath requirements given in Exodus 31 and then in Exodus 35. In Exodus 25 through the first half of Exodus 31, the instructions for the construction of the tabernacle were given. Immediately after that long section came the giving of the Sabbath law verses, showing that they were a sign of sanctification to Israel.

In chapter 35 came the details of the actual construction of the tabernacle. That went all the way until the end of the book. But just prior to those details was the final note concerning the Sabbath requirements. Understanding the placement of these two Sabbath law passages shows us a simple and profound truth. The keeping of the Sabbath by Israel was tied directly into the presence of the Lord among them. It was He who sanctified them, and the Sabbath was a sign of that sanctification.

Now, in Christ, we have what that sign only pictured. As it says in Hebrews 4:3, “For we who have believed do enter that rest.” The word used there to describe this rest is found in Acts 7 where Stephen cites the Lord’s question concerning His place of rest, and then it is used 11 more times, but only in the book of Hebrews. There it explains the meaning of entering God’s rest. It is a rest which is not at all found in the Sabbath day, but in Christ.

In fact, in the New Testament, outside of the gospels, which describe Jesus’ fulfilling the law, the term “Sabbath” is found only 10 times. Nine of those are in Acts, and are only used in relation to Jewish/Synagogue observance. The final time is in Colossians 2, our text verse today, where Paul adamantly speaks against being judged by anyone in relation to Sabbath observance.

The reason for this is that Christ is our place of rest. It is through Him that we are granted access, once again, into that Garden of Delight that we were expelled from so long ago. As Paul says, “the substance is of Christ.” What is important to understand is that Paul’s epistles are doctrine for the church age. To ignore his letters means there is no doctrine for the church age. All theology thus becomes a pick and choose path to God.

Attempting to be justified before God through works sets aside both the notion of receiving a gift as well as the granting of grace. This is the error of those who state that we are to observe these festivals of the Lord, including the Sabbath, in order to be pleasing to Him. One cannot merit grace. It simply must be received. Anything else… is not grace. Mandatory Sabbath observance is a heresy.

^3 (con’t) a holy convocation.

miqra qodesh – convocation holy. This is what verse 2 specified for the feast days, and this is what is now repeated for the Sabbath. It is a holy convocation. The Lord is calling His people, Israel, to observe this day as a holy calling. Unlike the next seven feasts, this is the only weekly one, and thus it is set apart from the others. However, this in no way means that it is not a Feast of the Lord. What is does mean, however, is that no other feast was to take precedence over it. Some of the feasts lasted a full week, and at times, others may have lined up with a Sabbath day. In such cases, the Sabbath requirements were not to be set aside. Instead, the Sabbath was to be kept to the Lord, despite whatever else occurred. This included the prohibition that…

^3 (con’t) You shall do no work on it; 

kal melakah lo taasu – All work no you shall do. The verb is second-person plural. No work was to be conducted on a Sabbath day. There is no exemption from this. However, it is noted in Scripture, and by the mouth of the Lord, that priestly duties were to continue even on Sabbath days. This is seen in Matthew 12 –

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. ² And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

³ But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: ⁴ how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? ⁵ Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? ⁶ Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. ⁷ But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸ For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Matthew 12:1-8

The priest’s duties to the Lord took priority over a Sabbath Day observance. Think it through. As those whose duties to the Lord were exempt, how much more then are those who are “in” the Lord because of His finished work also exempt from this. He is the Lord of the Sabbath; we are placed in Christ through faith in what He has done, and therefore we are no longer under the laws which only pointed to Him.

*^3 (fin) it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.

This translation here is confusing and should rather read, “…it is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings.” Otherwise, it seems like the Lord is even now working six days and taking the seventh off. Rather, they were to work and then rest to the Lord, honoring Him on this special day dedicated to Him.

Now, with His having fulfilled the law, we enter God’s rest. This is the reason why the first part of the sentence is in the second-person singular – “Six days you shall work.” The Lord speaks specifically to Christ. “You (alone) shall do the work.” In the second half, it is in the second-personal plural – “All work you (all) shall not do.” This cannot be arbitrary, and it cannot simply be attributed to scholarly error. It is far too obvious to be a mistake. Instead, it is instructive.

It is speaking of us resting in Christ’s accomplished work. “You Christ My Son, shall do the work. You all, My people,shall rest in My Son’s work. It is His effort, and not in our own effort. The words of Jesus, Paul, and the author of Hebrews all agree that our true rest is found in Christ, and in Him alone. The Sabbath was only a picture of what was to come. Concerning the Sabbath, in Christ we proclaim, “Feast fulfilled.”

With that knowledge, we are to rest in Christ, trust in Christ, and be pleased to have been reconciled to God solely by the work of Christ. Thank God for Jesus Christ. If you are listening to this sermon, and if you are trying to merit God’s favor through your works, be it Sabbath observance, or helping ladies across the street, you’re a making a fundamental mistake. You are placing yourself in the equation. What you need to do is to remove yourself, and put Jesus in it, completely and wholly. By trusting in what He has done, you will be in the sweet spot, and on your way to glory.

Closing Verse: “For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.” Hebrews 4:10

Next Week: Leviticus 23:4-8 Redeemed and living in holiness; Christ as our Head… (The Feasts of the Lord, The Passover and Unleavened Bread) (37^th Leviticus Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if you have a lifetime of sin heaped up behind you, He can wash it away and purify you completely and wholly. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Feasts of the Lord, The Sabbath

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying
These are the words He was then relaying

“Speak to the children of Israel
And say to them: ‘The feasts of the Lord
Which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations
These are My feasts; pay heed now to My word

‘Six days shall work be done
But the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest
A holy convocation
You shall do no work on it; as previously addressed 

It is the Sabbath of the Lord
In all your dwellings, pay heed to this word

Lord God, a Sabbath of rest You gave to Israel
A weekly feast to honor You
But in this feast is a story to tell
A story of what Christ Jesus did do

He came to this place of work, toil, and sweat
And He labored for us so that we could truly find rest
In Him the work is finished; the requirement is met
And so now in Him, we are eternally blessed

We read in Hebrews 4 and verse number 3
That in Him when we believe we find our true rest
The feast is fulfilled; we now rest peacefully
Yes, in Christ Jesus, we are eternally blessed

Hallelujah to You, O God, great things You have done!
Hallelujah to You, O God, for the giving of Jesus Your Son!

Hallelujah and Amen…