Festivals of Faith in Christ (Deuteronomy 16:1–17)

1. The following law was passed in Massachusetts in 1659: “Whoever shall be found observing any such day as Christmas and the like, either by forbearing labor, feasting or any other way, shall pay for any such offense five shillings as a fine to the country.”

2. The law remained on the books for 22 years, and Christmas was not made a legal holiday in Massachusetts until just before the Civil War.[i]

iii. When Oliver Cromwell controlled England they passed a law that made Christmas Day an official working day.[ii]

1. This was because of the connections with the Roman Church

2. It is called a “christ MASS” after the roman mass afterall

iv. For some of you this dilemma seems crazy, others know it too well

v. But did you know the early church faced a similar dilemma?

1. Those that came out of Judaism had all these feasts and celebrations they were taught were key to worshiping God, to the celebration of family, and to being a good citizen

2. But others did not celebrate them… what were the early Christians to do

vi. I think the puritans could have done well to learn from their example and so should we

1. And so, since Pastor Yurie asked me to do a Christmas message in addition to His message next week

vii. today you get

2. Prop: Festivals of Faith in Christ Celebrate or not, live for Christ with Holy thankfulness.

3. I’ll be asking 3 questions

i. What were the Israelite Festivals?

ii. How does Christ fulfill the Israelite Festivals?

iii. How should we celebrate Festivals? (Notice I didn’t say just Israelite festivals this time)

II. Body of sermon

1. What were the Israelite Festivals?

i. Explanation

1. Deuteronomy 16 focuses on the 3 pilgrimages

a. This was a time when all men over 20 years of age were required to go worship in Jerusalem 3x a year

b. These are what the songs of ascents speak of that we’ve discussed on Sunday nights

2. There are other Holy days in the Israelite calendar that point to Christ, but we just do not have time to get to them all

3. The 3 festivals

a. Passover/Feast of Unleavened Bread

i. Passover part

1. Passover” (pe-Shack) comes from the verb meaning “to pass over

a. Passover was observed on the 14th day of the first month, Abib, with the service beginning in the evening (Lev. 23:6

2. It was to remember the decisive time of the God’s rescue in the Exodus

3. Remembered by sacrificing

Exodus 12:3

a. smeared the blood of the lamb on their doorposts as a signal to God that He should "pass over" their houses when He destroyed all the firstborn of Egypt (Ex. 12:13).

4. It was to remind Israel that they needed a price paid for them

5. Why did Israel need a sacrifice?

a. What have the Israelites done that would merit death? Why would they be subject to death and judgment like the Egyptians?

b. the death of the firstborn of Egypt brought judgment against the gods of the Egyptians.

Exodus 12:12- For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.

c. Ezekiel 20:4–10 reveals that the Israelites worshiped idols while in Egypt (esp. 20:7–8),

Ezekiel 20:7–8- And I said to them, ‘Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.’ But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. “Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

d. Israel could not stand over the Egyptians for their horrible oppression because they looked down and their hands were just as red with their evil

e. Israelites had sinned like the Egyptians, and therefore, in the tenth plague God reveals his people’s sins as well as his provision for their salvation. Yahweh’s judgments on the gods of Egypt prove that he alone can deliver one from sin’s penalty of death.

6. So Passover was a expression of faith in God’s provision to pay for their sins[CDB1]

ii. Unleavened bread part of the celebration begins in v4

1. It would begin the night after passover

2. During the next 7 days they could only eat bread with no yeast

3. Flat bread to remind them they had to quickly leave Egypt when they were saved with no time to let the bread rise

4. So God saved them from their guilt, and he brought them out of their enslavement

Trans: He continues in v9

b. Feasts of weeks in verses 9-12

i. It was also called the “Feast of Harvest” (Ex. 23:16) or the “day of firstfruits” (Lev. 23)

ii. 7 weeks, or 50 days, after the grain harvest they were to gather

1. Harvest time was when the check came in from all your hard work

2. It would be if you received you pay check only 2 or 3 times a year and you’re never quite sure how much you’ll make

3. So it was a time of lot of rejoicing

iii. Thus they were to give a free will or voluntary offering in proportion to their blessing from God

1. If they had a big paycheck they would give more than if they had a little

2. It was a call for them to remember when things went well that it was from God

iv. And v11, Israel was to remember the needy among them since God remembered them when they were needy in Egypt

a. Think of it like a parent telling a child to share what was given to them

Trans: the 3rd feast also focuses on thankfulness

c. Feast of booths (v13-15)

i. “Also know as Feast of Ingathering”

ii. Occurred on the 15th day of the seventh month to celebrate the completion of the autumn harvest.

iii. Called the festival of booths because they were supposed to live in tents made from branches and leaves for one week

iv. It was a large celebration included holy gatherings on the first and eighth days, and the offering of many animal sacrifice

v. V15- they were gathered to be joyful? Why? Because they remembered they stayed in tents during the Exodus

vi. God cared for them in past, and this was a extremely powerful lesson that was passed on from generation to generation YOU NEED YAHWEH

4. V16-17

a. Moses reminded the Israelite men of their obligation to go three times a year to appear before the Lord

b. This was not just a time to celebrate, but took great faith

i. And the people did not have it easy

1. They had to leave family and fortunes behind for this trek

2. They had to trust the Lord that their lands would not be attacked, that their farms would keep growing

ii. And it required a gift because this was all about being thankful to Jesus

ii. Illus

1. You can imagine a young Jewish boy getting excited that he got to go on the special trips with his dad and uncles

2. What a privilege to be one of the guys

3. And these would have been great celebrations full of singing, eating

4. But there was a lesson time… as the men would take the boy aside and say… this sacrifice it is for your sin this gift we’re giving… it was because of what God has given us

5. And by repetition they were supposed to learn Yahweh saves

Trans: But then let’s move forward to New Testament

2. How does Christ fulfill the Israelite Festivals?

i. Explanation

1. Turn to Colossians 2:16–17

2. Thus Jesus said Matthew 5:17- “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them

3. The 3 festivals

a. Passover/Feast of Unleavened Bread in 1 Corinthians 5

i. Paul is dealing with major sin in the church, a man living in sexual immorality

ii. So Paul draws their attention to the death of jesus

1. Jesus, who was crucified during the Passover celebration

2. Jesus who said the bread was his body and the wine his blood

3. Just as the lamb was killed for Israel’s sin, so Jesus was killed for all our sin

a. In our place, as the lamb was killed for the Israelites Idolatry

b. This is the gospel message

c. Because we too all worship idols and being made in the image of a holy God we are supposed to show the universe what He is like but we do evil, we trample on this privilege and so deserve judgment

4. The substitutionary imagery of Isaiah 53:6—“The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all”—is drawn straight from the sacrifice

iii. So, just as the Israelites were supposed to avoid yeast in remembering this salvation

1. Paul is saying Christians must avoid the leaven of malice and evil in remembrance for what Christ as done

Trans: but what about the other feasts?

b. Feasts of weeks

i. Well, 7 weeks was known as 50 days or the greek Pentecost

ii. And what happened at Pentecost?

iii. Read Acts 2:1–4

iv. The whole point of the feasts weeks was to give in thankfulness to God who had given

v. And what great given was given an Pentecost?

1. The helper Christ promised

2. Acts 1:3 he said to wait until the Spirit came

3. And the wonderful thing about the Holy Spirit is that He, though being God, is all about point people to Jesus

John 14:26- But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

vi. When Paul is trying to get the Corinthians to stop focusing on their various teachers and gifts but instead to focus on Christ. What does he tell them?

1 Corinthians 4:7- For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

vii. Pentecost is all about reminding to be so thankful for the provision we have

viii. Like the food you eat is broken down and based through your bodies chemical and electrical system allowing you to do things

ix. Your strength to be do anything godly does not come from you, but the Spirit who empowers you

x. And we thank Jesus because the Spirit was sent from Him and comes to us because of Him

Trans: the last one is a little harder, because it hasn’t happened yet

c. Feast of booths (Zech. 14:16–19)

i. This is all about the millennial kingdom

ii. Right now the nations are at war with Jesus

1. Just think how easy it is to mention God… “God loves you, we need to please God”

2. But bring up the name Jesus… and the fighting gloves come out

Revelation 19:15- From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

iii. at the second coming of Jesus that God’s Anointed One (Ps 2:2) will “strike down the nations” and rule them with a rod of iron

iv. But here, the nations are coming to worship during the Feast of Booths… to be thankful!

v. This must be the millennial kingdom as Jesus is worshipped, but there are still those who will fight him

vi. One day every knee will bow and tongue confess Jesus is Lord

vii. And on that day, they will celebrate thanking Him for all He has done

ii. Illus

1. These festivals like all things in the law are pointing to Jesus… when you’re standing somewhere on a sunny day and a shadow passes over you, you do not study the shadow, mark it out with chalk

2. You turn around to see who is there

3. New testament helps us understand that these are all about Jesus

Trans: Now, let’s ask the key question

3. How should we celebrate Festivals? (Festivals of all kinds)

i. Explanation

1. Are we commanded to celebrate these Israelite festivals?

a. Simple answer, No

b. Turn to Romans 14:5-8

i. There was a great conflict here between the Jews and gentiles over what to do with Holy Days

ii. Paul’s response?

1. Whether you celebrate or not…realize you are here to serve Jesus

2. So don’t judge others who think differently

3. Just make sure you’re doing it because of JEsus

iii. Same with Christmas… there is no command to celebrate Christmas in the bible

1. But there is also nothing wrong with it if it is done with honoring Christ

2. And so notice how Paul describes the way we celebrate the festivals in 1 cor 5:8

i. Let us live the Christian life in a holy way

ii. It is about saying no to sin described by the leaven and yes to God

iii. The sin was not something that could be allowed to be accepted in the church.

b. Now, is Paul just pulling this completely out of context? NO

c. See, Passover was barely ever celebrated

2 Kings 23:22- For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah.

d. Second Chronicles 30:1, 3, 13, 15 describes a Passover during the reign of Hezekiah

i. & this happens right after a time of national repentance

ii. Passover was a response to the repentance of God’s people

iii. So Paul takes it because the source… a repentance heart leads to proper festival

3. So, Christian, how should you celebrate Christmas, thanksgiving, a birthday, or any special event?

a. With Christ focused eyes

b. With thankfulness

i. Praying over the meal and our time of celebrating is not just tradition… it is sanctifying

ii. Talking about those who forbid celebrating:

1 Timothy 4:1–5- For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

c. But mostly, you honor Christ by living a holy life on this day and every day

III. Conclusion

1. Cohesion

i. So let me summarize with some points from David Mathis at the desiring God Blog

1. You can feast or you cannot… its up to you

a. Christmas and all these holidays are great opportunities, but they’re not commands

b. Yet, don’t use this as an excuse to be selfish and avoid Christmas with your family just because you do not like it.

2. But if you do feast… Be thankful to Jesus

a. It’s not about the food, it’s about thankfulness to Christ

b. So do not let the preparation of the meal and the wrapping of presents take you away from the giver

c. And key in this is offering prayer

3. Plan with Christ at the center

a. don’t just plan for the food and drink, but to make much of Jesus at the culminating point

b. And the key to the planning is how this day will flow into the next

c. Prayerfully consider how the holiday will make you be thankful to Jesus, following him and sayin no to sin the next morning you wake up.

4. Enjoy the holiday to the glory of God

1 Corinthians 10:31- So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

2. Resolution

i. Charles Spuregeon had a love hate relationship with Christmas

1. Sometimes he spoke of it being this great holiday to remember Christ’s birth

2. Sometimes he saw it so mixed up in Catholicism that he couldn’t stand it

ii. But he wrote

1. God forbid I should be such a Puritan as to proclaim the annihilation of any day of rest which falls to the lot of the labouring man. …. if we had but one or two more days in which the poor man’s household, and the rich man’s family might meet together, it might perhaps be better for us..

2. Perhaps you are completely opposed to the keeping of Christmas! That is your right! But you can still benefit from the holiday and show the joy of the Lord to those who are going to be with you.

[i] Robert J. Morgan, Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes, electronic ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000), 111. [ii] John MacArthur, Truth for Today : A Daily Touch of God’s Grace (Nashville, Tenn.: J. Countryman, 2001), 378.

a. [CDB1]Thus Gentiles were excluded from the Passover feast unless they had become proselytes (Ex. 12:43–49) b. And Numbers 9 tells us that if the people were ceremonially unclean, they could not participate, but would have the opportunity in a month c. Their uncleanliness was like someone showing up to the christms party with a flu… it would just spread to everyone But it was so important, they had a special party for them to particpate

Related Media

Related Sermons

Earn an accredited degree from Redemption Seminary with Logos.