Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
- Exodus 6:6,7
God’s appointed times - Feasts of the LORD (Lev.23:4) tell and show us God’s salvation, His love and His plans toward us for good to give us hope and a glorious future. They teach us about eternal things (Col.2:16,17). The miracles that God performed in the book of Exodus when He brought His people, the Israelites out of Egypt into the promised land and then His plan for eternal redemption through Jesus Christ – The Lamb of God.
The placement of these feasts through the year has prophetic significance, Jesus death and resurrection are the substance of the spring feasts. His return and establishment of His kingdom are the substance of the Fall feasts. In between - the summer is the season of Church history. Preparation of the second coming of Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Spring feasts
1. Passover (Pesach - meaning passed over in Hebrew). It is the Feast of Freedom from slavery and bondage. In the 14th day of the first month at even is the LORD’S Passover.(Exo.12:2-14)(Lev.23:5). Passover represents salvation and deliverance by the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb, and is a reminder of the night when Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go, that the LORD allowed the destroyer to slay all the first born in the land of Egypt both man and beast, but the faithful people of God were protected by the blood of the Lamb applied on the lintel and 2 side posts of the house wherein they were. The flesh of the lamb that was slain was to be eaten roasted with fire with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs which symbolizes the bitterness and harshness of the slavery the Hebrews endured.They were to eat it in haste with their loins girded, shoes on their feet and their staff in their hands.
In the New Testament Jesus serves as the sacrificial Lamb. The LORD Himself was sacrificed on Passover day to pay for the sins of the world once and for all time. (Heb.9:28) “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation" (of the body).
We mark our house that is, our body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit with the blood of Jesus Christ. We apply the blood of Christ by faith to the door of our heart. When we believe and receive Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, His Spirit indwells us. Jesus is the door. We are justified and made righteous when we trust in the sacrificial blood of the Lamb of God (Rev.7:14) (II Cor.5:21).
Passover represents salvation and deliverance. It is a clear picture of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Creator, Powerful, Victorious, yet he offered Himself as a Lamb (Passover Lamb without blemish) without sin to pay for our sin. He humbled himself to do the will of God. “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin ...... Lo I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will O God” (Heb.10:4-7) (Rev 5:5,6). Jesus Christ is the true picture of what humility means.
The Passover feast included drinking 4 cups of wine that stand for the 4- fold deliverance spoken by God in Exodus (Exo.6:6-7). “I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from the burdens of the Egyptians and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”. The first cup speaks of being brought out. The second cup of the deliverance from bondage. The third cup speaks of redemption and the fourth cup speaks of belonging.
In the Gospel of Luke (Luke 22:15-20) he records the use of the first and the third cups during the last supper. The cup immediately after the meal is the cup of redemption. It symbolizes the New Covenant and our redemption by His precious blood from slavery to sin. Jesus is the lamb without blemish (defect). He is the broken bread. He is the cup of redemption. As He said in the Gospel of Luke, He will not partake of the Passover again, until he can share it with us in the coming Kingdom.
2. Unleavened Bread
On the 15th day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. (Lev. 23:6, Exo.12:15-20).This feast is an extension of Passover. It relates to two aspects of God’s deliverance. The first day is a reminder of the Exodus from Egypt. The Israelites had to leave Egypt in a hurry; they had no time to let their bread rise. It represents the swiftness of their salvation. The seventh day is a reminder of their crossing of the Red Sea. The Lord parted the Red Sea, so they could cross over, a reminder of God’s faithfulness. (Exo.13:8)
Unleavened Bread eaten over a period of 7 days symbolizes a holy walk with the Lord, in prayer and meditation in the Word of God it symbolizes the process of sanctification. We need to get rid of the old leaven of Egypt and die to our carnal nature, by knowing and obeying the word of God. It is a reminder of God’s righteousness. It reminds us of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, as He searches out and frees us from the sin that inhabits our house (Our soul) (Psalm.139:23-24) Allowing sin in our house has a corrupting influence. We are unleavened because Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. (I Cor.5:6-8)
The body of our Lord Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life. He was born in Bethlehem, which means House of Bread. The unleavened bread that is striped and pierced is His body wounded and bruised for us (Isa.53:4,5, I Peter.2:24). By His stripes we are healed.
He was pierced – He said “They shall look upon me whom they have pierced.” Pure without any leaven, Jesus body was without sin. And the Passover custom of burying, hiding and then resurrecting the second piece of the 3 pieces of matzoth (unleavened bread) presents the Gospel. Christ died for our sins, He was buried and He rose again the third day according to the scripture. (I Cor.15:3, 4)
3.First Fruits
On the days during the Feast of Unleavened Bread will be a Sabbath. The day following the Sabbath is the celebration of First Fruits (Lev.23:10,11; Exo.23:16) It is held in the early spring. The early crop of the Spring harvest (the first grain crop to ripen) usually a sheaf of harvested barley is brought before the Lord and waved before Him and the grain is left for the Priest and the poor. By this offering of First Fruits the whole Summer harvest that would be gathered 7 weeks of days - 49 days from the day following Passover until Pentecost.(Shavuot-Feast of weeks-the wheat harvest)“The ingathering” is sanctified. This is an act of thanksgiving for the Lord’s provision and bounty. The resurrection of Jesus Christ occurred the day following the Sabbath. His resurrection from the dead was like a wave offering presented before the Father as the first fruits of the harvest to come (I Cor.15:20-26). An overwhelming harvest, at the end of the age. God’s redemptive harvest. First Jesus Christ, the First Fruits has triumphed in his resurrection, and then the rest of his crop, the redeemed will be raised triumphantly at His second coming. (1Cor.15:23) The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrates that His sacrifice for our sins was accepted by God. When God raised Jesus from the dead, He absolved (we were set free from the penalty of sin-that is, death) the substitute of the sins He bore .The sin imputed to Him was left in the grave and the resurrection therefore confirms Jesus triumphant word “It is finished”.(John.19:30) The sin that separated us from the Father had been removed. The resurrection of Jesus declares that God had accepted Jesus sacrificial payment for our sins and pardoned us.
Our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified as the Passover Lamb. He is the Unleavened Bread, pure and sinless, who bore our punishment, died and was buried and He is The First Fruits from the dead. This signifies God’s plan of redemption through Jesus. Jesus is the first begotten of the Father (Heb.1:6).The first born of creation (Col.1:15,16).The first begotten of the dead (Rev.1:5) and the First Fruits of those who are to be resurrected (1Cor15:23).
Pentecost Shavuot – Feast of Weeks. (Lev.23:16) The day after the seventh Sabbath shall you number 50 days and you shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord. Shavuot marks the summer harvest. It is the feast of ingathering of the harvest, and thanksgiving to God is given for the harvest. Two wave loaves of bread, baked with leaven should be offered to the Lord. They are the first fruits unto the Lord. These loaves symbolizes the Church being comprised of both Jews and Gentiles It also reminds us of the giving of the Law, exactly seven weeks after the Exodus in Mount Sinai. Exactly 50 days after Our Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven Jesus sent the Holy Spirit as promised (John 14:16-17) to indwell the disciples and empower them for ministry. The promised Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost, which is another name for the Feast of Weeks.
We, the people of God, Holy to the Lord, the First fruits of His harvest (Jer.2:3) are therefore to present ourselves as holy first fruits to God, as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God (Rom.12:1). Having the first fruits of the Spirit, working in us effecting the present redemption of our souls. Believers are given the guarantee that we will have the future redemption of our bodies at the second coming of Christ (Rom.8:23).