'Rightly Dividing the Word'
Sabbath Fulfilled
Mark 2:27 And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath."
God made men to keep the Sabbath for the benefit of men so that they can have rest. Since our Lord Jesus was the Lord of the Sabbath, all those in Christ have been set free from the law of observing the Sabbath.
Mark 2:28 "Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."
Jewish Feasts Fulfilled
Deu 16:16 "Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.
The Three Feasts of the Lord
1. Feast of Unleavened Bread
a) The Passover
Lev 23:5 On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord's Passover.
Our Lord Jesus was crucified on Passover as the Passover Lamb of God.
b) Feast of Unleavened Bread
Lev 23:6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread.
Our Lord Jesus was the Word made flesh. His words, teachings and commandments are the bread of life (unleavened bread).
John 6:48 I am the bread of life."
2. Feast of Weeks (Firstfruits)
a) A sheaf of 1st firstfruits
Lev 23:10 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest.
A sheaf of the firstfruits of the harvest was waved by the priest before the Lord - this was fulfilled by our Lord being the first resurrected from the dead.
1 Cor 15:20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
b) Feast of Weeks
Lev 23:15-16 And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost (50 days) resulted to 3,000 Jews being converted to Christianity fulfilled the Feast of Weeks of harvest.
3. Feast of Tabernacles
a) Blowing of Trumpets
Lev 23:24, 27, 34 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.
The angels heralded the birth of the Lord with sounding of the trumpets.
b) Day of Atonement (Sabbath)
Lev 23:27 "Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord."
After our Lord Jesus' baptism by John, He and His disciples preached repentance to bring the Jews back to the Lord. Repented Jews were baptized.
c) Feast of Tabernacles
Lev 23:34 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord."
God came down to dwell in the Tabernacle amongst men. The Jews dwelled in tents during this Feast. After our Lord's resurrection, He gave the Holy Spirit to dwell in the physical bodies (tabernacles) of His disciples thereby fulfilling this Feast of Tabernacles.
John 20:22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."
Sabbath and Feasts Fulfilled
Since Jesus had fulfilled the Sabbath and all Jewish feasts, so all former Jews in Christ Jesus, have also kept the Sabbath and Jewish Feasts with their everlasting ordinances.
So at the death of Jesus, God could tear the veil into two to leave the temple of God thereby annulling the Mosaic law including the Sabbath and Jewish Feasts.
