The Passover Season

The Passover is the beginning point of the plan of God. Nothing else could happen without the sacrifice of Jesus. It is the fulcrum around which turns the plan of God. How fitting His plan of love would center around His greatest expression of love – the sacrifice of His Son.

The “love feasts” or agapes of the early Christians alluded to by Jude (Jude 12) were none other than the feasts of Leviticus 23. God calls these feasts of love His Feasts, “ ‘[The Eternal’s or Jesus’] appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations – My appointed times are these…” and He begins with the weekly Sabbath, followed by all the annual feasts and/or holy days.

Obviously under the New Covenant our sacrifices are not of the animal kind. Jesus gave Himself as our Passover Lamb, so the blood of lambs, bulls and goats is no longer necessary. We offering financial gifts, ourselves in dedication and often problems we need to turn over to Jesus at the cross. God hasn’t changed; He’s still a God of exchange. Our New Covenant “offering by fire” represents burdens or sins we turn over to Jesus to be burned on the spiritual altar.

The nature of the sacrifices has changed because of Jesus’ blood. But when God says something is holy, He means it. He blessed it for good. He didn’t take away His blessing or His holy presence from these days. His name is holy and He commands us in the third of the Ten Commandments to refrain from taking it in vain so as to profane it.

Nothing is different with the fourth commandment. As with His holy name, He expects us to love and obey Him by keeping His Sabbaths holy. The holy days are simply statutes of this fourth commandment. Our faithfulness to God’s covenant involves obedience to all His commandments and statutes. God’s “lovingkindness” or faithful covenant love is eternal only for “those who keep His covenant And remember His precepts to do them (Ps. 103:1718).”

Disobedience to His Sabbath commands has always grieved God. He promised to “gather those who grieve [like Him] about the appointed feasts [not being kept]…(Zeph. 3:18).” He will bless the remnant of His people today who repent of grieving Him by keeping pagan feasts instead of the ones He ordained.

God’s people don’t realize the joy, knowledge, understanding and training in righteousness they have missed by observing days of their own choosing. Like Adam, they have chosen to take for themselves the knowledge of good and evil. They do it their way and miss out on God’s Sabbath blessings.

It’s somewhat akin to taking a course in chemistry and refusing to do any lab work. The feasts are concentrated, intensive lab sessions where we live out what we learn. We celebrate Jesus and God’s plan for all mankind by observing these feasts. While we do receive special instruction about God’s ways, we act out God’s prophetic plan. God is ... Continued