Understanding Jewish Feasts: Their Significance for Christians

Often, when Christians read the Old Testament, they do not see the value in the special days set apart by God for the Jewish people. After all, we’re not Jews, so why should they matter? And, doesn’t faith in Christ trump the Law and Jewish practices?

While we could give a flippant yes to the second question, it does not negate the importance and value of every part of God’s Word for our lives. A huge part of our ability to witness for Christ and his triumph over sin and death is in remembering the why. Remembering the why requires us to remember the history of God’s people, the Jews, and understand why the feasts were established and how they point to Christ.

Remember, the Exodus story is our story.

If I want to talk about what it looks like for Jesus to save me from my sin, all I have to do is tell the story of the Exodus. Here was a people, clueless about the God of their forefather, Abraham, living as slaves to a pagan king. They were in this state for four hundred years, but as they cried out to God in their suffering, at just the right time, he sent a man to bring them out of Egypt—Moses. We know the story of how, with many signs and wonders, God proved his hand was on Moses and that Pharaoh must yield to his request. Jesus, too, came at just the right time with signs and wonders, preparing the way to bring those who followed him out of their slavery to sin.

But Pharaoh was stubborn, just as the religious leaders were in the first century. It would take something huge to break the chain of rebellion—the death of the firstborn sons. But not all firstborns would be killed. No, God would protect the homes of the Israelites when the angel saw the blood on the lintel and frame of the doors.

The Passover is the first and primary feast designed to remind God’s people of his great salvation, and they were to remember it always.

“This day is to be a memorial for you, and you must celebrate it as a festival to the Lord. You are to celebrate it throughout your generations as a permanent statute. You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. On the first day you must remove yeast from your houses. Whoever eats what is leavened from the first day through the seventh day must be cut off from Israel. You are to hold a sacred assembly on the first day and another sacred assembly on the seventh day. No work may be done on those days except for preparing what people need to eat—you may do only that. (Exodus 12:14-16 CSB, emphasis added)

“Keep this command permanently as a statute for you and your descendants.  When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, you are to observe this ceremony.  When your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’  you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he struck the Egyptians, and he spared our homes.’” So the people knelt low and worshiped.  Then the Israelites went and did this; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. (Exodus 12:24-28)

Blood had to be spilled for God’s wrath to pass over the homes of the Israelites. We must remember this, as it points directly to our own Passover Lamb—Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed for our salvation. He drank the cup of God’s wrath, that we might escape the punishment we deserve.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Along with the Passover feast, the symbolism in the Feast of Unleavened Bread is undeniable in how it points to the cleansing from sin we receive in Christ.

When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which he swore to your ancestors that he would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you must carry out this ceremony in this month. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to the Lord. Unleavened bread is to be eaten for those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, and no yeast may be found among you in all your territory. On that day explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ Let it serve as a sign for you on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the Lord’s instruction may be in your mouth; for the Lord brought you out of Egypt with a strong hand. Keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year. (Exodus 13:5-10)

When Moses gave instructions for the various sacrifices, grain offerings for the priests were to be without leaven. Leaven symbolized falsehood, sin, and hypocrisy, and in commemorating the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Israelites were remembering how the Lord brought them out of a sin-filled place to a land set apart for him to dwell with his people.

Remembering the effect of yeast on bread is a great way to share how easily sin can infect and grow in our lives. Jesus came to save us from the power of sin in our lives.

The Feast of Purim.

A feast that falls outside the books of the Torah is that found in the book of Esther. Again, we know the story, but do we remember and relate it to God’s work in our lives today? Here are the instructions related to the two days set aside for Purim.

These days are remembered and celebrated by every generation, family, province, and city, so that these days of Purim will not lose their significance in Jewish life and their memory will not fade from their descendants. (Esther 9:28)

Along with the story of the Exodus, the events in the life of Esther serve as reminders that a major goal of Satan is to destroy the Jewish nation. Why? Because if there is no nation, there is no remnant; and if there is no remnant, there is no Savior. If there is no Savior, then Satan has won.

In remembering the celebration of Purim, we remember that God provided a way for his people to be saved from the wrath of the nations that hated them. The king could not revoke his decree, but he could amend it, and with his amendment, he allowed the Jews the ability to fight back against their enemies. The remnant was saved to live another day.

Unlike the other feasts, Purim is a good reminder for Christ-followers that God’s Word and his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be fulfilled. All Israel (the remnant left on the End Day) will be saved. Paul understood the covenant promises, the prophecies, and the final fulfillment:

I don’t want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you will not be conceited: A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved. (Romans 11:25-26a)

He will save his people. Those who come to Christ prior to the tribulation years will experience that salvation without the added suffering and trial. But a day is coming when the remnant will also recognize him for who he is—Messiah, Lord, and Savior. This is the mercy that God shows his chosen people. He doesn’t do it because they are worthy or anything special, but because of his great love for them and because he keeps his promises. We need to remember that, and Purim helps us to understand it.

I don’t have to physically celebrate these feasts to remember, but I must remember, because the story of the Jews is God’s Story, and that’s my story, as one grafted into the family by his grace. In sharing these stories, I connect the dots for those outside the faith, painting a living picture of how God loves us, saves us, and blesses us.

Grace and Peace

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