The Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur in Hebrew, is the most holy of all the Seven Feasts. This is the day, the only day, when the high priest would enter into the holy of holies and sprinkle the blood of the lamb on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. Like all of the Seven Feasts, Jesus Christ is the focal point and fulfillment of the Day of Atonement. Just as Hebrews 9:12 says, Jesus, our High Priest, “entered once for all into the holy of holies not by means of the blood of goats, but by means of His own blood.”
Jesus and His disciples celebrated all of the feasts including the Feast of Booths. On one occasion, during the Feast of Booths, Jesus refers to “Living Water.” What is He referring to? Join us as we step into the life and ministry of Jesus who not only fulfills the Seven Feasts by what He does, but also by what He says.
When did Jesus rise from the dead? The answer seems obvious, right? On Easter Sunday – duh! Actually, Jesus rose from the dead as a “firstfruit” on the Feast of Firstfruits. Once again, the fulfillment of the Seven Feasts is through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Besides being a holiday, the Seven Feasts are opportunities for discipleship. Imagine a family removing ALL leaven from their homes when one of their children asks, “Why are we doing this?” As the primary means for discipleship, you as the parent respond to your child saying, “As a family, we take sin seriously because we know that sin separates us from God and each other. So, we remove leaven from our house as a reminder to repent and trust in God who is abounding in steadfast love and mercy.” How might we embrace the rhythm of our lives in order to disciple our family and friends?
Passover is the most well know of all the feasts. In fact, it is very difficult to understand the events of Holy Week without understanding the Passover. It is no coincidence that Jesus (our Passover lamb 1 Cor. 5:7) was crucified on Passover. It is no coincidence that Jesus died at the ninth hour (3:00 pm Luke 23:44) which is the same time the Passover lamb was killed. If God is this intentional and precise in working out His plan of salvation, could it be that He is just as intentional and precise in your life?
The number seven is significant in Scripture. Seven is the number that points to Jesus as well as the presence of God in and for all creation. Although the Sabbath is not technically one of the Seven Feasts, the Sabbath is the foundation for life’s rhythm. The Sabbath is observed on the seventh day of the week, every seventh year is decreed a sabbatical year, and after seven sabbatical years a Jubilee year is observed. Seven weeks after Passover comes the celebration of the feast of Pentecost. The feast of Tabernacles, which completes the holiday season, lasts seven days. And the seventh month, Tishri, contains the most holy days of the Hebrew calendar. Join us for worship as we are reminded how the rhythm of Sabbath points us to Jesus who is our rest.
It’s Easter Sunday and Jesus is Risen indeed Hallelujah. During the season of Lent, we’ve been asking, “What is your IT?” What is your greatest fear? What needs to die in your life so that you can experience freedom in Christ? Today is the day when we celebrate the death of IT and rise to new life won for you through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Reading: Tenebrae Focus: The second to last words of Jesus were these, “IT is finished.” Very few people heard him utter these agonizing words, but His words still speak to every known and hidden corner of our lives. Together, let us journey to the Cross and look upon the place where IT goes to die.
Life is hard, we all know that. Many times, we make life harder than it has to be by isolating ourselves or thinking that we can go it alone. As we all struggle with IT, God gives us the assurance of salvation in Christ, and the love of brothers and sisters in Christ. Therefore, let us follow the commandment of Jesus to, “Love one another.” Not as people who are without sin, but as sinners loving sinners, walking with each other and loving one another knowing that we’re all getting through IT.
Our culture celebrates self-reliance and independence. The self-made man and woman. The ones who pull themselves up by their bootstraps. We are tempted to believe that freedom is found when we conquer IT, overcome IT, and handle IT. The truth is, however, freedom is only found through our confession and shouts of Hosanna (save us!), when we give IT up.