The Feasts.

The Jews of New Testament times observed many religious feasts and fasts. We shall

discuss six feasts and one fast, of which four of the feasts and the fast had their beginning in

the law of Moses. The other feasts were of later origin.

The Feast of the Passover. (Exod. 12:1-20; Lev. 23:5-8; Num. 28:12-25). This was

the oldest of the Jewish feasts, having been inaugurated in Egypt at the time of the Exodus. It

celebrated the deliverance from Egyptian bondage. The people were commanded to meet

from year to year in the city of the central place of worship (tabernacle or temple) and repeat

the activities of the last night in Egypt. After making sure that no leaven was in the house

where they were staying, they would kill the lamb on the fourteenth day of the first month

(Abib, or Nisan), roast its meat, and as a group eat it that evening with unleavened bread and

bitter herbs. By New Testament times the Jews had made changes in the details of observing

the feast. The people would eat at ease rather than in haste, signifying that they were no

longer in bondage to the Egyptians; they would pass a cup of wine around the table at intervals,

and each one would take a sip from it; the sprinkling of the blood on the door posts and

lintels seems to have been discontinued; and they would sing from Psalms 113-118 (the

Hallel) during and after the meal.

Since the Jewish day ended, and a new day began at sunset, the actual eating was

during the early hours of the fifteenth day of the month. The Feast of Unleavened Bread

followed the Passover proper and lasted eight days, during which there were special sacred

meals and sacrifices. The first day of the feast and the last day were holy convocations,

regardless of what day of the week they fell on. Sometimes the whole occasion was spoken of

as the Passover. The time of the year was March-April. Since Jesus was crucified at the time

of the Passover and was raised from the dead on the third day thereafter, the Jewish Passover

and the Christian Pascha, which celebrates the resurrection, come at the same season of the

year.

The Feast of Pentecost (Lev. 23:15-20 Num. 28:26-31). This was a feast of the first

fruits of grain, coming fifty days after the Passover. It was a thanksgiving for the crops ready

for harvest, and a presentation of the first fruits of the harvest to the Lord and to His priests. It

is sometimes called the Feast of Weeks, because it came seven weeks — a week of weeks —

after the Passover. The celebration was at the tabernacle or temple and lasted only one day.

That day also was the anniversary of the giving of the law (the Ten Commandments) by the

Lord God from Mount Sinai. To Christians it is familiar because on the day of this feast the

Holy Spirit came with power upon the group of disciples who were the nucleus of the early

Jerusalem church (Acts 2:1).

Feast of Trumpets (Lev. 23:23-25; Num. 29:1-6). Every time this occasion is mentioned

in the Bible, it is said to be the first day of the seventh month, but it has long been

observed by the Jewish people as New Year’s Day (Rosh Hashanah, Head of the Year).

Probably even before the time of the Exodus from Egypt it had been celebrated as the beginning

of the crop year, because it came after the harvest of the previous year’s crops and

before the sowing of the crops for the coming year. According to their civil calendar it was

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the beginning of the year, but according to their religious calendar it was the beginning of the

second half of the year. It was a one-day feast observed at home.

The Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:1-34; 23:26-32; Num. 29:7-11). This day, probably

the most sacred of the year for a devout Jew, was observed the tenth day of the seventh

month. The people remained at home, abstaining from food throughout the day (presumably

occupied in confession, repentance, and prayer) while the high priest offered sin offerings to

make atonement for the sins committed by the people during the past year. It was the only

day during the year when he went into the Holy of Holies taking the blood of the sin offering.

The Feast of Tabernacles (Exod. 23:16; Lev. 23:34-44; Num. 29:12-40; Deut.

16:13-15 cf. Neh. 8:13-18). This was an eight-day feast beginning the fifteenth day of the

seventh month in the religious calendar. Thus the people generally had just enough time to go

from their homes to the tabernacle or temple after the Day of Atonement. Its purpose was

probably twofold. It was a thanksgiving for the crops already gathered. It was therefore

sometimes called the Feast of Ingathering (Exod. 23:16; 34:22). To this feast they would take

the tithes of the previous year’s harvest and increase of cattle. It also celebrated God’s care

for the Israelites during the forty years of wandering in the desert. Three practices engaged in

during the week commemorated the providential care for their fathers. During the week the

people dwelt in booths in imitation of their fathers dwelling in tents in the wilderness (Lev.

23:40-43; Neh. 8:14-15). Great candelabra with many lights were erected in the Court of the

Women in commemoration of the pillar of fire which guided the people in the wilderness by

night. On the last day of the feast a pitcher of water was brought from the pool of Siloam by

the multitude and poured out with great ceremony at the foot of the altar in the Court of the

Priests in commemoration of the water which the Israelites had received from the Lord out of

the rock (Exod. 17:5-6; Num. 20:11). John has given an account of one Feast of Tabernacles

which Jesus attended (ch. 7).