(2) Even though the Jews observe a lot of rituals, three festivals are important to them – “Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.” – Exodus 23:14. Those being “the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles” – 2 Chronicles 8:13. These are very significant – “Three times a year all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles.” – Deuteronomy 16:16. Since people had to think of God during these festivals, it helped the Jews not to forget the graces bestowed upon them by Him. Nowadays, it is easy to recollect an incident due to the technological advancements which have given us still cameras and video camcorders. In contrast to our times when it is not hard for us to reminisce, there were no such facilities in the ancient times. So festivals of this kind were a means to help people meditate and remind themselves of those incidents of the past that were critical to their life. Before we delve into the truths reflected by the shadows of these festivals, let’s first find out where in the New Testament they are declared as types? The New Testament unambiguously states that the whole Law is a shadow (Hebrews 10:1). Therefore, these festivals can rightly be considered as shadows as they are amongst the most important commandments of the Jewish Law. Now let us examine the meaning behind each of these.
(3) The first feast is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This was celebrated during Nissan, the first month of the Jewish Year, following the Passover. We know
that the Day of Passover is the day when the Angel of Death passed through Egypt inflicting the last plague. That was the day when the people of Israel were freed from the Egyptian slavery. God established this festival to commemorate this freedom – “Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.” (Exodus 12:17). Jewish Days begin in the evening. So the Angel of Death must have passed through Egypt during the night of Nissan 14th that started at 6 P.M. The Israelites set out of Egypt the next day, Nissan 15th (Numbers 33:3). Therefore, following the Day of Passover (Nissan 14th), the seven days starting from Nissan 15th are the days of the celebration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:12-17). Even till today, when they commemorate this festival, the Israelites remember how God brought them miraculously out of Egypt.
(4) The day of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread symbolized imminent glorious truths. As we know, the Lamb of the Passover typified our Savior Lord Jesus Christ. In 33 A.D., the corresponding truth was fulfilled. That year on Nissan 14th, Jesus Christ was betrayed by the Jewish authorities, and then crucified on the cross by the Roman soldiers. The Lamb of the Passover freed the Jews from their Egyptian slavery. The sacrifice of the fitting anti-type Jesus Christ freed the whole of mankind from slavery to sin. We know that during the Last Supper, which was a Passover Seder, Jesus instituted the Memorial in memory of his sacrifice in place of the old shadow’s commemoration. If we think about it further, Unleavened Bread signifies sinless nature in the Bible. By not actually being a part of the genealogy of Adam and also by staying sinless till the very end, Jesus personified the unleavened nature. We will further understand the wholesome beauty of this parallel in Paragraph 8.
(5) During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the day after the first Sabbath following the Day of Passover, the High Priest was required to wave the sheaf of the first grain of the harvest before God (Leviticus 23:9-14). Some call it the Day of Waving of First Fruits. In 33 A.D., since the day of Passover (Nissan 14th) was a Friday, the first Sabbath after it was the next day Nissan 15th. So the Day of Waving must have been on Nissan 16th. On that day, when the priest entered the Temple to wave the sheaf before God, he must have seen that the veil of the Temple had been torn in two (Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45). Chances are less that the priest would have understood the inner meaning behind that. Moreover, there is almost no possibility of his knowing that the Waving of the First Fruits about to be performed by him that day was just a shadow of the Truth that had been fulfilled that very same day. Yes, early that morning of the same day, Christ had been raised from the dead as the First Fruit of those who are asleep (1 Corinthians 15:20). Thus, we understand that the death and resurrection of Jesus are representatives of the types established thousands of years ago through the festivals of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The feast reminded the Israelites of their freedom from Egyptian slavery. In the same manner, Christ’s death and his third-day resurrection should remind us of the freedom that He won for us and the whole mankind from slavery to sin. Therefore, our hearts should thank God.
(6) Next, let us meditate on the Feast of Weeks. The festival that comes exactly fifty days after the Waving of the First Fruits is the Feast of Weeks. This is also called as the Day of Pentecost. On this day, two loaves of bread were offered as a wave offering before God (Leviticus 23:15-22). To find out which truth this feast signifies, we again have to travel to 33 A.D. Earlier we noted that Jesus rose from the dead on Nissan 16th, the Day of Waving of First Fruits of 33 A.D. The risen Christ ascended to Heaven after presenting himself alive to many over a period of forty days (Acts 1:3). Before he left, he commanded the disciples not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait to be anointed with the Holy Spirit which was the power from heaven (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:2-5). Obeying him, they returned to Jerusalem (Acts 1:12) and waited there as instructed by him, with continual devotion to prayer (Acts 1:14).
(7) So when exactly did the Holy Spirit descend upon them as Jesus said? As we know, it was indeed on the Day of Pentecost. On the Day of Waving of First Fruits, Christ rose from the dead and ascended to Heaven after forty days. Ten days after that comes the Feast of Weeks that is also known as the Day of Pentecost. On that day, when the disciples were assembled together with one mind, the Holy Spirit came down like a rushing violent wind and filled them. This incident is very important. That was the day the Church was born as a New Creature by Spirit. That was the day, the Church was created by the Spirit of Truth to be First Fruits (James 1:18). Just as the High Priest presented the first fruits before God during the typical Feast of Weeks, in the same way Jesus Christ, the true High Priest spiritually created the Church, the First Fruits from all of mankind whom he had won by his blood and presented it before God. Yes, the Feast of Weeks kept auguring the day when the Church would be anointed with the Holy Spirit.
(8) The two loaves of bread presented by the High Priest during the Feast of Weeks were not unleavened. They were baked with yeast. Isn’t the Church imperfect as it is still sinful in flesh? Justified by the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Church is able to stand before God. How beautiful are these festivals as symbols! During the feast that signified the sacrifice of the sinless Jesus, Unleavened Bread is used to represent his perfection. At the same time, during the Feast of Weeks that symbolized the imperfect Church, leavened loaves of bread are used to indicate the lack of self-justification of the Church. What is the significance of the number of loaves being two? To understand this, we need to look to the words of the Master himself as he spoke to the disciples – “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” (John 10:16). Here, the Lord refers to the Gentiles as the other sheep, for the Jews had long been the only sheep in God’s pen. They alone had been chosen and guided by him until such a time when Jesus says he would bring the other sheep that is the Gentiles to the pen. As we know, with the beginning of the Church, it became “neither Greek nor Jew” and all were united as one flock under one shepherd. The day such a special Church of Christ began is the Day of Pentecost. With the establishment of the Church, the Jews and Gentiles who had been separate groups were presented together as one before God as signified by the High Priest when he waved the two loaves of bread on that day.
(9) The last festival we are to delve into is the Feast of Tabernacles. This feast was to be observed on the fifteenth day of Tishri (the seventh month) and was to last for seven days (Leviticus 23:33,34). God constituted it to commemorate the journey that the Israelites undertook from Egypt to reach Canaan. During this festival, all the Israelites had to dwell in booths. God made them do this to help them remember the times they had lived in such booths during their journey through the wilderness (Leviticus 23: 42, 43), and how God had miraculously guided them during that period. Remembering these, they were expected to praise Him. God instructs the Israelites to be happy during this feast – “…and rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.” (Leviticus 23:40). It was a joyful occasion for them indeed as they had been redeemed from slavery in Egypt and had reached the promised land of Canaan after forty tough years of journey through the wilderness. This being the case let us see what truth this Feast of Tabernacles represents.
(10) In the first feast, we saw Israel’s slavery under the Egyptians represented mankind’s enslavement under sin. We understand that the act of God miraculously freeing them from slavery symbolizes His deliverance of mankind from sin and death. We also know that mankind would be fully delivered from Adam’s sin during the period of the Kingdom of Heaven. In those times, all people would recollect their journeys through the wilderness of sin and be reminded of how God had loved them to such an extent that He had sacrificed His own Son to rescue them. This is what the Feast of Tabernacles signifies. It is indeed remarkable that the book of Zechariah foretells that the people of all nations will keep the Feast of Tabernacles during those days (Zechariah 14:16). God also warns that He will smite those who fail to keep the feast at that time (Zechariah 14:18, 19). It is very true that in the Kingdom of Heaven, those who forget that God’s love saved them from sin shall suffer punishment. Thus the Feast of Tabernacles beautifully symbolizes the rejoicing future that awaits mankind in the Kingdom of Heaven.
(11) Thus we saw that these three significant festivals commissioned by God’s Law foretold of grand truths that were to come. We also discovered that the truths symbolized by the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Weeks have been fulfilled exactly as signified by their types. The period of the Kingdom of Heaven signified by the Feast of Tabernacles is also bound to come very soon which we eagerly look forward to. During these feasts, the Israelites had to offer various sacrifices. There is a reason why God insisted on the sacrifices during the Old Testament period. The Israelites weren’t justified on their own to stand before Him, and they needed to be justified by means of different sacrifices that symbolized Christ’s sacrifice. It is due to this reason that sacrifices were a daily necessity for the Israelites during the Old Testament times. Without those sacrifices, the Israelites did not have any justification to stand before God to commemorate the festivals or present their offerings. All the sacrifices of the Old Testament represented Christ’s supreme sacrifice alone.
(12) Thus an examination of such types and anti-types mentioned in the New Testament helps enrich our faith. It is amazing that history itself attests to the fine nature of their parallel fulfillments. At the same time, it might amount to adding to the Word of God when someone tries to illustrate as types those parts of the Old Testament that have not been explicitly mentioned to be so in the New Testament. Also confusion might be born out of that, as such things come from the human mind and not the Holy Spirit. Therefore, if we avoid such kind of practices and meditate on only the shadows referred to by the New Testament, there is no doubt that we will grow in Spirit. May God bless us with wisdom to accurately understand such profound types in the Bible!