Do the Jews still have to keep
the Feasts of the LORD?
In order to answer this question
correctly we need to study the covenants that God made with Israel concerning
the Feasts and also the historical records of their observances.
Passover: God originally established this Feast with
the Children of Israel while they were still in Egypt (Ex. 12:1-51). Here is the
covenant, “So this day shall be to you a
memorial; and you shall keep it as a Feast to the LORD throughout your
generations. You shall keep it as a
Feast by an everlasting ordinance.” (Ex. 12:14) “And you shall
observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever.”
(Ex. 12:24) The language of this ordinance is very
clear. It is an everlasting ordinance
therefore it cannot be abolished.
We know that our Lord Jesus Christ ate the Passover Meal (Seder) with
His twelve apostles (Mt. 26:17-20). As
they were eating the Passover Meal Jesus instituted the Holy Communion (Mt.
26:26-29). When the Jews believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ, like the apostles, they still keep the Passover and also
partake of the Holy Communion. In this
way they not only fulfill the everlasting
ordinance that God made with
their forefathers, but also fulfill the New Covenant that they make with the Lord
Jesus Christ. With Gentile Christians
it is a completely different situation altogether. We shall study this later.
Unleavened Bread: God also
originally established this Feast with the Children of Israel while they were
still in Egypt (Ex. 12:1-51). The
language of this covenant is similar to that of the Passover. “So you shall
observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought
your armies out of the land of Egypt.
Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as
an everlasting ordinance.” (Ex. 12:17) This Feast cannot be abolished.
The Jews will have to observe this everlasting
ordinance throughout their generations. Our Lord Jesus Christ and all His disciples
observed this Feast during His earthly ministry. (Mt. 26:17-19) At least twenty
years after the establishment of the New Covenant Church Luke recorded the
apostle Paul had kept the “Days of the Unleavened
Bread.” (Acts 20:6)
Firstfruits:
Unlike the first two Feasts God established this Feast with
the Children of Israel while they were in the wilderness. This Feast also has a permanent nature. “You shall eat
neither bread not parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you
have brought an offering to your God; it shall be a statute forever
throughout your generations in all your dwellings.”
(Lev. 23:14) Again, all Jews
throughout their generations must observe this Feast. This also applies to Messianic Jews as well.
Pentecost: This Feast, like the first three Feasts that
were studied previously, is also of a permanent nature. “And you shall
proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all
your dwellings throughout your generations.” (Lev. 23:21) We know the original Early Apostolic Church
that consisted of believing Jews only had commemorated the Feast of
Pentecost. “Now
when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one
place.” (Acts 2:1) Thousands
of Jews from “every nation under heaven”
had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost (Acts 2:5). More than twenty years after that historical
event in Jerusalem, and also after the apostle Paul had become a believer he
still kept the Feast of Pentecost. “For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would
not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if
possible, on the Day of Pentecost.” (Acts 20:16) Here is a strong proof text that it is
correct for Messianic Jews to observe the Feasts of the LORD.
Trumpets In the Leviticus passage describing this
Feast, although there is no mention of a time duration we can safely assume
that, like the other six Feasts of the LORD, it was given to the Children of
Israel to be observed throughout their succeeding generations. The Jews have celebrated Rosh Hashanah as
their Civil New Year’s Day for many generations even up till today.
Atonement: Yom Kippur is the holiest fast day of the
Jewish year. It was a day on which
atonement was made for the whole nation (Lev. 16). In the Old Covenant the high priest went into the Holy of Holies
with the sacrificial blood to make atonement for the sins of the people. “You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute
forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.” (Lev.
23:31) When Jesus died on the cross “the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” to
signify the abolishment of this priestly service (Mt. 27:51; Heb. 9:6-14). For Messianic Jews the Day of Atonement
commemorates the supreme sacrifice and atonement of Jesus Christ. It is a day of prayer, fasting, intercession
for Israel, self examination, confession of sins and repentance (1 Cor. 11:28;
1 Jn. 1:8-9)
Tabernacles: In contrast with the Day of Atonement during
which time the pious Jews must be “afflicted of the
soul”, the
Feast of Tabernacles is a time of rejoicing.
“. . . and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. You shall keep it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the
year. It shall be a statute forever
in your generations. You shall
celebrate it in the seventh month. You
shall dwell in booths for seven days.
All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your
generations may know that I made the Children of Israel dwell in booths when I
brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’” (Lev.
23:40-43)
Conclusion: Every one of the Seven Feasts of the LORD
were specifically given to the Children of Israel and they are to be kept as statutes
forever and also throughout
their generations. The Jews have kept them faithfully and even
after some of them have believed in Jesus and accepted Him as their Messiah
they have continued to observe the Feasts of the LORD. The Gentile Christians have a different
position than the Jews in regard to the observation of the Feasts of the LORD.
This Article is the response of Paul Wong
to a discussion in the ARK Forum on July 29, 2003
For comments please write first to: [email protected]
May God bless you.
Paul Wong is a Christian minister and the
President of ARK International.
His ministry also serves as an architectural service company in Houston.
The ARK Forum on the Internet is international and non-denominational.
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