We now come to the conclusion of the Mosaic exposition on the fourth commandment. We see that the sabbath principle runs throughout the year, and is not limited to a weekly cycle. And of course we see the fulfillment of these festivals is found in Christ. “Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the Lord thy God . . .” (Deuteronomy 16:1-17).
The Passover was to be celebrated in the month of Abib (or Nisan). The sacrifice of the Passover is to be made in Jerusalem (v. 2). Another festival, the Festival of Unleavened Bread was conjoined to the Passover, and was celebrated over the seven days following the Passover (vv. 3-4). The Passover could not be celebrated at home (vv. 5-6), and had to commence at sundown. The meat of the sacrifice was to be roasted and eaten (v. 7). Unleavened bread was eaten for six days, and then there was a solemn assembly on the last day (v. 8).
The second annual festival was called weeks or Pentecost. It marked seven weeks after the very beginning of the harvest (v. 9). Pentecost was to be observed with an offering or tribute (v. 10). The offering was to be given in all joy (v. 11). The joy was to include others less fortunate, and this was remembered for historical reasons (vv. 11-12). After this came the festival of booths, or Tabernacles, at the last of the harvest (v. 13). Joy is again commanded (v. 14). This festival lasted a week (v. 15). An appearance before the Lord, with full hands, was required three times a year (v. 16). The giving was to be according to each man’s ability (v. 17).
The New Testament makes it plain that Jesus Christ is our Passover lamb. The apostle Paul says so explicitly (1 Cor. 5:7-8). Christ fulfilled the qualifications of a Passover lamb, down to the last detail (1 Pet. 1:19; John 19:36 & Ex. 12:46). And we Gentile Christians are to keep the festival by getting rid of the leaven of malice and wickedness. The Passover is not thrown away; rather, it is kept in different fashion than before. We celebrate weekly, and we take meticulous care to keep strife out of our lives and mouths.
In our celebration of the Lord’s Supper, some may ask about our use of leavened bread. Remember we are no longer eating the bread of affliction (v. 3), but rather the bread of heaven, the bread of paradise. Remember the Passover was an annual festival which required a rigorous purging of leaven. The Lord’s Supper was not celebrated by the early Christians annually, but rather daily and weekly. This meant that for Jewish Christians, the celebration of the Lord’s Supper would have run them through other occasions when the use of leaven was required. The first recorded Christian Passover (after the institution of it) was on Pentecost, and leaven was present in the sacrifices of Pentecost. In short, to follow the example of unleavened bread of Passover in the Lord’s Supper is a pattern that proves or requires too much. Leaven was not just excluded from the bread, but was excluded from everything. Since we know this was not the case in the early celebrations of the Lord’s Supper, we have no reason to think that leaven should be missing from the bread.
At Pentecost three thousand heard the Word and were baptized (Acts 2:41-42). From that point on they submitted to the apostolic doctrine, had fellowship, broke bread, and prayed. So the first observation of the Lord’s Supper in its new Christian context began on the day of Pentecost, a day when the use of leaven was mandatory. “. . . they shall be baken with leaven” (Lev. 23:17). We have moved from the seventh day to the first, and from the bread of affliction and remembered slavery to the bread of freedom, liberty, and fullness of joy.
Then we come to the fullness of Tabernacles. The festival here continues the glory of ingathering. We are not to appear before the Lord empty-handed, empty-hearted, or empty-headed. Gather in, to give again, to gather in, to give again. And this spirit of generosity is the most evangelistic thing we can do. We appear before the Lord giving, because we believe that He is engaged in harvesting the world.
Because of our sinfulness and tendency to forget, constant reminders are most helpful.
Remember your history—these festivals that Israel held were obviously seasonal and agricultural. But it is significant that God required them to remember their history and their redemption at these same times. Mere seasonal festivity is more pagan than Christian. But at the same time, the seasons of our lives are part of what God has given us. But we are to link those seasons to the salvation of Christ.
Joy is a duty—Paul says in Phillipians that we are to rejoice always. This is also required here, several times (vv. 11, 14).
Include the hurting—we are commanded to include the hurting and those less fortunate. But before those who feel themselves entitled say yeah!, we must all remember why we are sometimes tempted to neglect this commandment.
Emptiness and fullness are reciprocal—we are not to appear before the Lord empty (v. 16). We are not to free a slave empty (15:13). The two great commandments are always linked. We worship a giving God, and so we must be a giving and overflowing people.