IN.

Gary Crampton
THE SPRING & SUMMER FEASTS
Introduction
In Old Testament Israel there were
seven great ceremonial festivals which
were to be observed annually. Fourof
these (Passover, Unleavened Bread,
First Fruits, and Pentecost) were held
in the spring and summer of the year,
and three (Trumpets, Day of
Atonement, and Booths or
Tabernacles) were held in the fall.
The J ewish liturgical and/or religious
year began in the first month of the
Hebrew calendar year with Passover.
The civil year began with Trumpets in
theseventhmonth. Thespringfestivals
symbolized the beginning or revival
of religious life, and the fall, the cutting
off of the religious year.
On several of these festive occasions
Israel was to observe Sabbaths which
were in addition to the regularweeldy
Sabbath (d. Lev. 23:3,37,38; cpo vv.
4-36,39-44; Col. 2:16). likewise,
sacrifice and the giving of tithes and
offerings was stressed. Thus, the idea
of rest and worship was prevalent.
There was also a special Sabbath year,
called Jubilee, which occurred every
fifty years, in which rest and worship
was mandated. These were all a pan
of the covenant structure of Israel's
liturgical system.
It was required that all adult males of
Israel go to Jerusalem to attend three
of the festivals: PassoverlUnleavened
Bread, Pentecost, and Booths (Dt.
16: 16).jerusalemwastheplacewhere
God dwelt in His temple, and men
were required to go there to properly
worship Him on these particular
occasions. Again, the stress was on
the need of God's people to be in His
presence and worship Him. These
events were holy convocations and
joyous times of covenantal Sabbath
celebration.
The seven feasts and the year of
Jubilee were all ceremonial in impon
and typicaVprophetical of the Lord
Jesus Christ and the New Covenant
era. The apostle Paul makes this clear
in Colossians 2:16,17: "Therefore let
no one act as your judge in regard to
food or drink or in respect to a festival
or a new moon or Sabbaths [pl.] -
things which are a mere shadow of
what is to come; but tlle substance
belongs to Christ." Our Lord perfectly
fulfilled all of these in His person and
work, and through His ushering in of
the Messianic (N.T.) age. Inthisseries
of articles we will study these feasts in
light of their redemptive- historical
fulfillment.
Itshould be mentioned that Israel did
celebrate other days and years, such
as montluy "new moon" festivals and
the Sabbatll year. These will not be
studied in separate articles as such,
but will be covered under otheranicles
where appropriate.
It should also be noted that two feasts
not prescribed by God in the
Pentateuch (tlle five books of Moses)
became a part of the Jewish calendar:
Purim and Hanukkah. These two
postexilic feasts were not ceremonial,
and therefore, did not point to ilie
coming Messiah. Theywill, however,
be briefly dealt with in ashort, separate
article.
Christ and the Spring
and Summer Feasts
Passover and Unleavened Bread
Old Testament
Old Testament passages regarding
these two feasts: Exodus 12-14; 23: 14-
17; 34:18-26; Leviticus 23:5-8;
Numbers 28:16-25; Deuteronomy
16:1-8,16,17.
A study of the passages listed above
(plus others noted) reveals the
following regarding these festivals:
March, 1992 UlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 17
1) Passover and Unleavened Bread
were so clOsely related in Jewish
thought that the New Testament
authors often spoke of them as
practically a single feast (lk. 22:l;
Acts 12:3).
2) Passover was celebrated on the
14thofAbibINisan, the fustmonthof
the Hebrew calendar . . Unleavened
Bread followed on the 15th
throughthe21stofthesame
month. Together they
began the Jewish liturgical
year with a celebration
commemorating the
deliverance of israel from
Egypt under the leadership
of Moses. (in this sense, it
was the "birthday" oflsraeLY
Passover was a onedayJeast
when a lamb was slain and
eatenalongwith bitter herbs
(a reminder of the bitterness
of slavery) and unleavened
bread:
Rabbjnic writings maintain
!hatfour cups of wine were also taken
at the Passover feast. The third cup
was called "the cup of blessing" (d, 1
Cor. 10:16). That wine was a part of
the Passover celebration is obvious
from Luke 22:14-20.
1
During the seven days that followed
therewasto benoleavenfoundwithin
Jewishhouseholds.Asearchwasoften
made to purge all leaven from the
home. Leaven represented growth,
and the removal of this substance
from Israel's family units symbolized
the purging of the leaven of Egyptian
sinfulness. During this time there
were two Sabbath days (the first and
last)andseveralassembliesofworship,
along with the offering of special
sacrifices and the giving of tithes and
free will offerings from the winter
crops.
3) Aspotlesslambwasslainat Passover,
thus demonsttating the necessity of
bloodshed (death) for the forgiveness
of sin (lev. 17:11; Heb. 9:22).
likewise, redemption through the
shedding of blood portrayed that
salvationwaspurelyofJehovah'sgrace
(Dt. 7:6-8).
4) The PassoverlUnleavened Bread
festival had a threefold aspect:
a) Past: Israel was always to
rernernberwhat Godhaddone for His
covenant people in the Exodus event.
b) Present: it was to serve as a
constant reminder of the need of the
people to trust in Jehovah and walk in
obedience to His law.
c) Future: lsrael was to participate
in this event looking to the time when
the Messiah would come and usher in
18 f mE COUNSEL of ChaIcedon f March, 1992
the Kingdom of God (I Cor. 5:7).
5) This was an annual festival in
which the males weretequired to go
to Jerusalern and worship (Ex. 23: 17;
Dt.16:16). Teclmica11yspeaking, only
the males were communicant
members of the Old Testament
church. Anuncircumcised person
(sojourner males and/or Hebrew
females) could not partake
of thePassover (Ex. 12:48),
' and thus, could not
participateinthefullbenefits
6f, Old Testament chUrch
membership. In fact, a
'person who was unwilling
tbbecircurncised,ortohave
his male children
,circumcised, was
considered (along with his
' children) to be unworthy
' (unclean). He was to. be
excommunicated from the
church (Gen. 17:14; Ex.
4:24-26). Non-adherence to
God's required covenant
signs and sea1s was, andstill
is, a serioUs matter.
As noted, Passover attendance was
only mandatory for males (Ex. 23:17;
Dt. 16:16); it was for those who had
been circumcised (Ex. 12:48). Thus,
only the males could participate in the
sacramentalaspectofthefeast. Further,
Passover was only fbr those males
who were old enough to examine
themselves and make a viable
profession of faith. This is obvious
from Exodus 12:26 and 13:8, where
we read of the male children
undergoing catechetical instruction.
Before one could participate in .the
sacramental aspect of the feast, he had
to understand the principle behind it.
at should be noted that the luke
2:41-50 passage seems to indicate
that this was the LordJesus' first trip to
the feast as a sacramental participant.
And prior to his sacramental
participatioij in the feast, we find that
He is being catechized by the Rabbis
(w.46,47].)
In this regard, the women (and small
children) did not partake of . the
sacramenl1\lelementof thefeast, albeit
they did eat the meal. That is to say,
that the women (as
well as the young
children), although
not required to go to
the feast, were
welcome, and
probably encouraged
to do so (d. I.k. 2:41).
The family unit was
the most basic and
important institution
in God's economy,
and there was always
a stress upon the
covenantal aspect
offarnily life.
Therefore, even
though the whole
family may have been strongly urged
to attend the Passover festival, only
themalescouldsacramentallypartake,
because only they were circumcised
and required at the feast. It should be
apparent that if women and small
children were required to partake of
the feast sacramentally, then God
would have mandated their
attendance. Otherwise, He would be
permitting them to sin through non-
participation.
(Note: in Deuteronomy 16 there is a
distinction made between Passover
and the other feasts. Whereas at
Pentecost [w. 9-12] and Booths [w.
13-151, thewomen and children ruin
attendance) were to partake of the
covenant meals, such was not the case
atPassover [w.I-81. Theformerfeasts
wererituals;thelatterwasasacrament.
Another of the distinguishing
characteristics of the Passover, as
compared with the other sacrificial
feasts, was that in the former, the
Levites andlor pliests sacrificed the
lamb [d. Ezra 6:19; 2 Chr. 30:16;
35:11], whereas, with the latter, the
offerer himself sacrificed the offe\ing
and the pliests "offered up the blood"
[ef. Lev. 1:1-9; 4:27-31).)
Perhaps an analogy can be drawn here
with the New Testament church. The
New Testament community
frequently participated in covenantal
"love feasts" (jude 12; 2 Pet. 2:13; 1
Cor. 11:17-34), at which time the
Lord's Supper was served (l Cor.
11:20-32). Surely, the covenant
children partook of the meal, while at
the same time they did not participate
in the sacrament (1 Cor. 11:28).
New Testament
New Testament passages regarding
these two feasts: Matthew 26:17-30;
Mark 14:12-26; Luke 22:7-22; John
13-17; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8.
A study of these texts reveals the
following concerning the fulfillment
of Passover and Unleavened Bread in
the person and work of Christ and the
coming of the New
Covenant age:
1) In the New
Testament, Passover,
as a sacrament, is
fulfilled in the Lord's
Supper. Jesus
instituted this New
Covenant sacra-ment
in the Upper Room,
priorto Hiscrucifixion.
TheLordJesusHirnself
is the perfect Lamb of
God, who is the anti-
type of the Passove.r
lamb On. 1:29; 1 Cor.
5:7). Thus, on the
cross, Christ fulfilled the Passover
event once for all.
(Although aU of the feasts, wilderness
manna feedings, etc., were in a sense
typical of the Lord's Supper [d. 1 Cor.
10:4], Passover was the real type of
the antitypical Eucharist. Similarly,
there were. many Old Testament
baptisms [Heb. 9:10; 1 Cor. 10:1-3; 1
Pet. 3:20,:21], but circumcision was
the real type of the antitypical New
Testamentbaptism[seeCo1.2:11,121.
That is, whereas circumcision and
Passover where sacraments, the other
baptisms and feasts were rituals.)
March, 1992 t- TIlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 19
2) Jesus, as the New Testament
Mediator, leads the people of God in
the greater Exodus, which is the
exodus from slavery in sin to freedom
in Christ (Rom. 6:15-23). Luke 9:31
makes reference to this, where we see
Moses and Elijah with the Lord at the
Transfiguration, speaking about His
coming "Exodus" (d. the Greekusage
ofexodos). This is thetrueredemption
thatPassovermerelysymbolized.Jude
(vv. 4,5) strongly connotes this when
he states that it was Jesus Christ who
led the people of Israel out of Egypt in
the Old Testament redemption.
4) The idea of sanctification and the
Lord's Supper is also present in 1
Corinthians5:6-8. Here Paul writes
that the New Testament feast (Lord's
Supper) is to be taken only after the
church (corporatelyandindividually)
has dealt with her sin (removal of
leaven). TheLord'sSupperisameans
of grace, wherein the believer grows
in His relationship with Christ. At the
Supper, the elements (unleavened
bread and wine) take on special
significance - the bread represents the
body of the Lord and the wine
represents His Blood.
3)AsaNewTestamentsacrament,the ' When the sacrament is properly
Lord's Supper is a covenant sign and adminstered, there is a sacramental
seal of the Christian's abiding in a union which takes place between the
covenant relationship with Christ. elements and that which they signify
Water baptism, which fulfills (WCFXXVlI,2). Therefore, when the
circumcision(Co1.2:11,12),istheNew ' rth' . . akes th S'
wo y parnclpant t e upper,
Testament sign and seal of entering he ''inwardly by faith, yet not carnally
into the Covenant of Grace (WCF
XXVIII,1,6;assymbolicofHolySpirit and corporally but spiritually,
receive[s), and feed[sl upon, Christ
baptism,i.e.,salvationU Cor. 12:13]). cified dallbenefi f d
The Lord's Supper symbolizes em .. ' ,an tso His eath,"
sanctification _ a continuing in the for spiritual nourishmehtand growth
Covenant of Grace (WCF XXIX,1). (WCFXXIX, 7; d . l Cor. 10:16,17).
Therefore,asbaptismisadministered, Due to the importance of this
only once, wherein the recipient is sacrament with regard to the
wholly passive (as in salvation), the Christiah'ssanctification process, the
Lord's Supper is to be taken often, presentwriter,alongwithjohnCalvin,
withtheparticipantbeingactive(asin ' john Owen, jonathan Edwards, et.
the process of sanctification). al., is a firm adherent to a weekly
Lord's Supper (Acts 20:7).
In both of these New Testament
sacraments, thebloody Olel T estarnent
rite has been replaced bythebloodless
NewTestamentsignandseal. Thisis,
of course, due to the finished work of
Christ's bloody sacrifice (Heb. 7:27;
9:28; 1 Pet. 3:18). Thus, we can say
that all of the Passovers in Israel's '
history pointed to the greater Passover
whichtookplaceat Calvary(l Cor.5:7).
Further, to be true to the actual
institution of the Lord's Supper, the
church should use wine (not grape
juice) and unleavenedbread. Thefeast
with these elements
(Jesus distinctly used these two, thus
abrogating any need for bitter heros,
lamb, etc.) and they should be
nOrrllative for today.
20 f TIlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon f March, 1992
(Note: that wine is to be used is
[historically speaking] practically
unquestionable in Reformed
churches.> . But the same should be
true of unleavened bread, jesus, as a
good Jew, certainly instituted the the
feastwith unleavened bread [theLord's
Supper was inaugurated at the
Passover festival {Lk. 22:14-20}, in
whichunleavenedbreadwasrequited
{Lev. 23:4-9}]. And Paul, in 1
Corinthians 5:6-8, teUsus, at the very
least implicitly, that we are still to use
unleavened bread today.)
5) The New Testament sacrarnent has
a threefold aspect: ,
a) Past: the Christian is to always
rememberwhattookplaceat Calvary,
never forgetting this monumental
event in redemptive history - "do this
in remembrance of Me" elk, 42:19).
b) Present: the one partaking of the
feast, in a worthy manner, by faith,
actually(spiritually) feeds on tile Lord
forspititualgrowth(1 Cor.l0:16,l7).
c) Future: the church is.to PaItake
of this feast until tile second.advent of
, . . , . '.'
Christ.
she does so looking forward to that,
great marriage supper of iJte lamb in
the eternal state (1 Cor. :26; Mt.
26:29).
6) In the Testament age, all
believers (inale and female) 'and
children are to be baptized, and
thereby, become members of the
church (Acts 2:38,39; 16:14,15; Gal.
3:26-29). And, in the New Covenant
era, all church members who are able
to make a credible profession of faith,
exarninethernselves,discemtheLord's
body 0 Cor. 11:27-29),and "do this
[take the Supper] in remembrance
[i.e., with understanding] of Me" (Lk
22: 19), both male and female, are to
partake of the sacrament of the Lord's
Supper. They are communicant
members.
New Covenant communicant
membership is expanded to include
females as well as males (Gal. 3 :28).
But, as in the Old Covenant, where
membership in the church was
restricted to those families which
underwent circumcision, likewise, in
the New Testament
church, membership
should be restricted to
those families which
undergo baptism (both
believers and their
children). Thus, Christian
families which do not
baptize their covenant
children should not be
allowed to join the church.
(cf.Ex.12:48;Gen.17:14).
7) The Passover/
Unleavened Bread feast
took place in the spring of
theyear, representing new
beginnings (Song 2:11-
13), with the commencement of the
Jewish liturgical year. Likewise, in the
New Covenant age we see the
beginnings of God's new creation in
the person and work of Christ (2 Cor.
5:!7; Heb.12:22-29; Gal. 4:26). The
Kingdom of God has broken into
redernptivehistory. The Lord'sSupper
points to this fact.
It should also be noted that as Israel
offered special sacrifices and tithed
from her winter crop at Passover, the
New Testament Christian presents
his whole life unto God as a living
sacrifice (Rom. 12:1,2). It is highly
probable that the number of "seven"
(representing perfection in Jewish
numerology) days that the Jews
celebrated the Feast of Unleavened
Bread was symbolic of the perfection
of Christ.
First Fruits
Old Testament
The primary passage regarding the
worship, Israel recognized God's
bountiful provision for His people ..
3) The first fruits of the harvest
represented the whole of Israel's
splinglsummer crop, and pointed
toward the final spring/summer crop .
that would be harvested at the time of
Pentecost. It was, ina sense, a promise
andlor guarantee of the "whole" crop.
New Testament
Feast of First Fruits in the Old The New Testament passages
Testament is Leviticus 23:9-14. Here
the follOwing is taught:
1) The feast was held on the 16tll of
AbiblNisan, the first day after the first
Sabbath of Unleavened Bread. First
Fruits, therefore, had a close
relationship with the Passover/
Unleavened Bread feast.
2) At this time Israel was to present the
first fruits of the Barley harvest as a
wave offering before Jehovah. There
was also to be a burnt offering and a
grain offering sacrifice. In this act of
regarding First Fruits are:
John 20:19-22; Romans
8:23; and 1 Corinthians
15:20-23. A review of
these passages reveals the
following:
1) In John 20:19-22,
Jesus gave the first fruits
of the Holy Spilit to His
apostles, pointing to and
promising the full
outpouring which
would take place fifty
days later at Pentecost
(Acts 2) . .
2) This promise On.
20:19-22) was giver! on the day of
Christ's resulTection, which was the
first day after the Sabbath of
Unleavened Bread. Thus, Jesus
Himself is the First Fruits of the
resurrection, and He is the fulfillment
of all of Israel's wave offerings. In 1
Corinthians 15:20-23, we read that
the Lord's resulTection, as the first
fruits of all believers, guarantees that
the whole crop of God's elect will be
resulTected unto eternal life.
3) The New T estamer!t views the first
fruits of Christ's resulTection an
March, 1992 l' TIlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 21
immediate beginning of the Kingdom
of GoeL But it also anticipates the
progressive sanctification of the world
as this Kingdom advances through
the preaching of the Word of God
(ML13:31-33). Hence, the New
Testament Christian is to understand
that as Jesus has fulfilled this Old
Test:aIIlentfeast in His
person and work,
JehovahhasgivenHis .
church the fullness of
bounteous blessings
in His Son. Jesus
Christ is the Amen to
all of God's promises
(2 Cor. 1:20).
We celebrate the
redemptive
significance of . this '
feast at the Lord's
Supper,justastheOld
Testament church
celebrated it during
the Feast of Passover/
Unleavened Bread.
Therefore, when we
taketheLord'sSupper
we do so looking
forward to a boun-
teous harvest of salvation grace in the
New Test:aIIlent age.
4) In Rornans 8:23 (cp. Eph.l:13,14)
Paul teaches that the believer has a
presentpledge(down'payment) of the
Holy Spirit as a "first fruits," which
guarantees his eternal salvation and
the fullness of the Spirit in glory.
5) As Christ arose on this day of First
Fruits, we must also assume that the
Old Testam.ent feast prefigured, and
thlisprophesied, the Christian Sabbath
or Lord's Day. ' ' .
Pentecost
Old Testament
Old Testament passages about the
Feast ofPeruecostarefoundin: Exodus
23:14-17;34:21-24; Leviticus 23:lS-
21; Numbers 28:26-31; and
Deuteronomy 16:9-17 (and others
noted).
1) This feast was called Pentecost,
Harvest, Weeks, and First Fruits (as
distinguished from the previously
discussedfeast). Itwasheldfifty(thus
"Pente" ["fifty"] "cost") days (the day
followingseven "weeks") after Passover
on the 6thdayofSivan, in the summer
of the year. It was, for all intents and
purposes, considered an extension of
the PassoverJUnleavened Bread feast.
This was the time of the climax of the
wheat harvest (thus "Harvest"). It
22 TIlE (COUNSEL of Chalcedon March, 1992
symbolized the completion of God's
provision in the spring and sununer
harvests. Hence, it was an extension
of the earlier feasts and a Sabbath day,
atwhich time thepoorwere especially
cared for (Dt. 16:9-12).
2) Pentecost was. a time of joyous
celebration where the
titheofthegrainharvest
was presented to
Jehovah. This was
offered in the fonn of
loaveS, ' rather than
sheaves the "loaf"
. symbolizing the
"oneness" of God's
people; they are many
sheaves, comprising
one loaf (see Ezel<. 34;
In. 10:16). Further,
Pentecostwasaoneday
festival with sacrifiCe
and worship included.
Leaven was .tobe
included in the
sacrificial offering.
3) The giving of the law
at Sinai took place on
the day of Pentecost.
During that time 3000 persons were
put to death for disobedience to the
Lord (Ex. 32:28).
4) Pentecost called for mandatory
attendanceinJerusa).emforallH$ew
males.
New Testament
The primary New Testamenrl passage
regardirig the Feast df Pentecost is
found in Acts 2:1-4 L The,following
can be understood frorrtthis pericope
(and others in the O.T.and N.T.):
l)All of the Old Testament Pentecosts
prophetically pointed to the great
Pentecost of Acts 2. This is revealed in
the first verse of this chapter, which
reads (literally), "when the day of
Pentecost was being fulfilled." Just as
all of the Passovers pointed to the
great Passover fulfillment in the
sacrifice of Christ, so also the
Pentecosts of antiquity typified the
Acts 2 antit:ype (A.D. 30).
In Old Testament times the church
had the Spirit of God,just as the New
Testament church does. The Spirit
was a partofIsrael theocratically(Hag.
2:5), aswellasindiVidually(Ps. 51: 11:
Is. 63:11; 1 Pet. 1:11). (Of course, the
Spirit was also active cosmica!ly in the
Old Testament as well [Gen. 1:2].) In
Romans 8:9, Paul teaches us that it is
impossible for a (any) person to be
saved withouttheindwellingpresence
of the Holy Spirit. Thus, if the third
person of the Godhead was not
personally indwelling His elect in the
OldCovenant,theycouldnotbesaved.
The difference between the Old and
New Covenants is that in the former
dispensation the gift of the Spirit was
proleptic (i.e. , anticipatory). That is, it
anticipated the coming New
Testament age. Numbers 11:16-30
makes this clear. Here we read of a
proleptic Pentecost, where God
poured out His Spirit on the seventy
elders as a sign of that which would
take place in the New Covenant.
Moses' prayer of verse 29 reveals that
the mighty work of the Spirit on the
seventy was prophetic of the Acts !.
fulfillment (cf. Joel 2 :28). The
Pentecost of A.D. 30 was the "fullness
of times" for this feast.
2) The first fruits of theSpirilhadbeen
realized in John 20:19-22; in Acts 2,
the "whole crop" came. Further, the
Acts 2 Pentecost is to be seen as a
reversal of the TowerofBabelincident
(Gen. l1).AtBabel, Godhadconfused
the "one tongue" of the sinful world
and scattered the people with "many
tongues". At Pentecost, the Lord
restored the "many tongues" of the
peoples under the "one tongue" of the
gospel. ThepromisethatJellovahhad
made to Abraham in Genesis 17:5
was coming to pass - many nations
were partaking of the blessings of
God.
3) In Acts 2:41, weseetheingathering
of the harvest of souls. The one body
(''loaf,'' d . 1 Cor. 10:16,17) of the
church was being waved before the
Lord as an act of worship. In contrast
to the 3000 persons who were put to
death after the giVing of the law at
Sinai, now we wimess the coming of
the Spirit in order that the people of
God can keep the law CHeb. 8:8-12).
Further, we read that 3000 souls were
saved at this time. Here we recognize
that the leaven used at Pentecostin the
old dispensation was symbolic of the
leavening work of God's Spirit in
advancing His Kingdom in the new
age (Mt. 13:33).
4) The pouring out of the Spirit at
Pentecost revealed that God was fully
proViding for His elect. The New
Covenant, which was established in
the Upper Room and sealed on the
cross at Calvary, was now empowered
for the advancement of His Kingdom.
The final establishment of this
Kingdom was also prophesied in Acts
2 in verses 19 and 20. Here we read
of the overthrow of Jerusalem that
wouldoccurinA.D. 70 (d. Mt. 24:29-
31). At this time the Old Testament
dispensation, with all of its ceremony,
sacrificial system, etc., would once
and for all times be abolished. This
cataclysmiC event in redemptive
history was foretold by the Lord in
Luke 21:5-32 (see v. 31).
5) It is also noteworthy that Pentecost
took place on a Sunday. Herein we
see the diVine blessing on the Christian
Sabbath, the day of our Lord's
resurrection.
6) With the coming of the Spirit at
Pentecost we witness the New
Testament covenant prOVision for
dynastic succession. This is integrally
related tocovenantrenewal. Formore
on this see the later article on The
Sennon on the Mount and Covenant
Renewal.
Endnotes .
1. Alfred Edersheim, The Life andTimes
ofJesus the Messiah, Vol. II, pp. 479fI.
2. See Charles Hodge, Systematic
Theology, Vol. III, pp. 615-617.
March, 1992 ;. lliE COUNSEL of Chalcedon ;. 23