Category Archives: Days and Times

Passover to Pentecost – New Testament Passovers and Counting the Omer

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Passover to Pentecost – New Testament Passovers and Counting the Omer        Week 1 Day 5

Passover and the other Feast are mentioned in the New Testament, most of them are connected with Passion Week and Jesus’ crucifixion.  Luke, in recording Paul’s travels also mentions the Feasts.

Paul

Paul uses the Feast as time markers in his travels.  Paul sailed after the Feast of Unleavened Bread in Acts 20: 6 and after the Fast (Day of Atonement) in Acts 27:9.  In 1 Corinthians 5: 6-8 Paul uses two of the elements of Passover to encourage us to walk in “sincerity and truth.”  He reminds us of the action of yeast and relates Jesus as our Passover lamb.

 Luke

            Luke in writing his gospel and Acts refers to Passover in chapter 22 with the death of Jesus.  But in Luke 2:41 he tells the story of Jesus staying in Jerusalem after Passover and staying in the Temple.  It is noteworthy that it took three days for Mary and Joseph to miss Him.  This relates to the waters of Marah when Israel could not find water to quench their thirst.  Luke starts Acts with the story of the Ascension which is during the Counting of the Omer and Pentecost.  The other story set in this time period is the arrest of Peter and the angel releasing him from jail (Acts 12).

John

John was writing to show Jesus as the Son of God.  He purposely highlights His miracles and he uses the Feast more than another other Gospel writer.  Using the Feast as time stamps will give you another layer of John’s work to show Jesus as the Son of God.

John 2:12 is set after the miracle of the water being turned into wine.  Jesus is in the Temple before Passover and cleans it of “yeast”, the merchants.  He will do this again just before His death.  From this story to 4: 54 is set in the Counting of the Omer.  The stories in this section shadow those of first fifty days and the guidelines established in Leviticus 23.  Nicodemus reflects the correcting of the “leaders” that Jethro encouraged Moses to establish and uses the story of the bronze snake to predict His death.  Jesus and the disciples then go to the country and proceed to baptize the crowds, which relates to Israel going through the Red Sea.  The Samaritan woman is next, she symbolizes the loaf of bread that is offered at Pentecost.  Drinkable water, food, and the harvest are included in this dialogue.  This section ends with Jesus healing an official’s son which is a picture of the consecration of the firstborn (Exodus 13).

Advance one year to John 6 and it is Passover time, again.  Jesus is feeding the five thousand and comparing Himself to manna and the Passover meal.  This comparison serves to thin out the crowds, much as the forty years did to the “unbelieving” generation.

John 7 is set six months later in the seventh month and the Feast of Tabernacles or Ingathering (Leviticus 23:33).  This Feast is set after ALL of the crops are harvested (barley, wheat, and the grapes and olives).  (The symbolism here is overwhelming, and truth be told I am not ready to write on the subject.)  “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment” (7: 24 NIV).  Reduces the mindset that had developed a religion of works to one of seeking God.  Another reference to the Exodus is verse 37 & 38 when Jesus uses the water from the rock (Exodus 17) to describe Himself.

Several months will pass (to the first month of the year) and Jesus is at His final Passover in John 11: 55.  Lazarus has been raised from the dead and Jesus is ready to enter the time of “tending the Lamb and getting rid of the yeast” before Passover.  So from John 11 to the end of the book and on to Acts 2 is one very busy time period, possibly sixty days in length.  The timetable is a bit off but Jesus sending Judas away could be seen as cleansing the house of yeast.

it seems I miss one the first time, please see Passover to Pentecost to Persecution – Peter

Passover to Pentecost – Old Testament Passovers

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Passover to Pentecost – Old Testament Passovers       Week 1 Day 4

Josiah celebrated the Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 35: 1(NIV)

The Passover had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel. 2 Chronicles 35: 18 (NIV)

King Josiah

Holidays are something celebrated and enjoyed, but they are not necessarily news worthy.  There are references to the Feast of the Lord, just not a lot of them.  Contrast this to the references of the Exodus.  (To be fair, Hezekiah did celebrate Passover five chapters before this one.)  Josiah was the last king of Judah who “did right in the eyes of the Lord.”  After cleaning up the Temple, the Torah had been found and he was going to do what was written in the Book.

The priest and Levites were in place and 36,700 animals were donated for the people to have a lamb.  (This would have meant about 367,000 people celebrating.)  Verse 18 must be a reference to it having been done on the correct day as Hezekiah’s was done on the “Second Passover” date.  Apparently King Saul, David, and Solomon let the practice of observing the Feast slip or it was not done to this extent (2 Chronicles 35: 17).

Ezra

Ezra 6:19 tells of the exiles who had returned from Babylon celebrating the Passover.  It seems to be a dual celebration because they were also thankful because the king of Assyria had become favorable toward them.  It could be that Josiah’s Passover may have had a positive effect on the people before they were taken into captivity. It may also be that Passover was being celebrated but not on large scale.

Ezekiel

In chapter 45 God is instructing Ezekiel to reestablish the Feast, sacrifices, and sanctify the Temple in preparation for Passover.     This wakeup call was effective because it continued into the time of Jesus.  I found it interesting that David’s descendent was referred to as a “prince” and not a king.

Samuel

There are no direct references to any of the Feast during his lifetime.  The verse from Josiah does make it sound like the people celebrated them during his life.  1 Samuel opens with the story of his father and mother, and it seems that Elkanah and his wives were observing the Passover and other Feasts.

There are other references to Passover that will be written about.

Passover to Pentecost – Fifty Days!

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Passover to Pentecost – Fifty Days!        Week 1 Day 2

Leviticus 23: 16 – Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath.

Okay, why fifty days?  It does not fit any of the usual numbers we associate with trials and test.  The verse is referring to the harvesting of the barely crop (a symbol of Israel); is that the only answer?  With that asked I will turn to Jewish legend, which I am finding usually has more meat than myth.  This is the time it took for Moses and the Israelites, after Passover, to get to Mount Sinai and get the Laws of God.  Pentecost (Feast of Weeks) is celebrated as the point of spiritual freedom because they were given God’s Word.

Chabada.org gives the seventh day of Passover as when Israel went through the Red Sea which puts them out of Egypt on day eight.  No, you will not find that in Scripture, but I can live and work with that idea.  Seven is recognized as the number of completion and eight as new beginnings so it does make sense.

The events that occurred from the Red Sea to Mount Sinai are mirrored in other Passovers and their history:

  • Bitter water
  • Food
  • Water problems, again
  • Amalekites
  • Community structure
  • God at Mount Sinai

These topics will be visited later in this series.  An immediate point is Exodus 19:1; since I am not a Hebrew scholar this verse puts a time stamp on their arrival.  I would say that it was sixty days when they arrived.  Since it is a “tradition” as to when to celebrate things I think I will look for something else to nit-pick on.

Passover to Pentecost – Passover

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Passover to Pentecost – Passover        Week 1 Day 1

“Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. Exodus 13:1 (NIV)

Passover is a foundational stone of the Jewish faith; for the Christian it is an historical event that shows Jesus and His redemptive work for our salvation.  The importance of this day is reflected in Exodus 12: 13 when God commanded, “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come” and Luke 22:15 when Jesus said, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”   The initial story is found in Exodus 12.

Passover, for the Jew, represents physical redemption from bondage and the path to spiritual liberation when they given the Laws of God at Mount Sinai.  In that redemption several things that occurred:

  • All of the Egyptian gods were judged (12:12).
  • The final plague occurred
  • A mass movement of people started.
  • The Egyptian people gladly gave away their wealth and possessions to slaves.
  • God’s timing of events and love for Abraham’s descendants was made evident.
  • God established rules for participation in Passover.

Leviticus 23 is where the “appointed feast” is explained.  The Feasts of the Lord start with Passover and is then followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost.  Passover starts the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Fristfruits begins the Feast of Weeks which starts the day after Passover.  This is the time after Jesus’ resurrection to Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came to the Church.

Over the next seven weeks we will look at references to this period of time in the Old and New Testament and the things that Jesus did before his Ascension, and we will explore more about the start of the Church in the Book of Acts.  Some of my references will be from Messianic websites as well Jewish websites.  If you look on the Jewish sites I am sure you will find things that are not pro-Christian.  Please do not be offended!  I wanted a Jewish prospective about the Feast and they provide an excellent resource.

So, “To look at things differently will improve your vision or make you shut your eyes.”

Yeast – Before Passover

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Yeast – Before Passover

“For seven days no yeast is to be found in your homes.” (Exodus 12: 19) NIV

God had prepared His people to be out of Egypt.  He had made the Egyptians weary of them and their God.  His Passover would be the final straw and He set the stage for them to go; He gave specific meal instructions.  It covered what to cook and eat and how it was to be done.  As Christians, we take a lot of symbolism from this meal and even more has come from Jewish traditions.  Getting rid of yeast is very important to the Passover Feast and is rich for us as Christians.  But why yeast!?

I like the spiritual lesson Chabad.org has in its post on Passover. (I am paraphrasing big time.)  The difference between crackers and bread is yeast.  It fills the dough with gas and makes it puffed up; while the cracker stays flat and humble.  Wow!  Yeast in most places of scripture carries a negative thought.

My question, “Why yeast” still stands?  Yes, we should take time and view our lives and houses and get rid of things that are not pleasing to God.  The Jews do this before Passover and they are serious about it.  How would these first participants in Passover make that connection when all yeast had ever done is make their bread rise?  For the most part, we Christians will say that yeast symbolizes sin, but Jesus compared yeast to the action of the Kingdom of God.  I believe that He would ban it on what it would come to shadow, but I also think more has been at play here.

In Exodus 12: 34 the people took their dough in the kneading troughs wrapped them in extra clothing and moved quickly out of town.  My second thought of “why” is the speed of their departure.  Adding yeast and letting it rise in order to bake can take time.  By the text, it sounds like they were leaving quickly and God knew they would be on the move for several days.  Flatbread cooks quicker than yeast bread.

A third “why” could be the Egyptian cult worship that involved yeast?  The frog goddess Heqet was also involved with yeast.  It was a bread-making/ beer cult and could have been one of the deities that Israel had become involved with. (See Frogs in the Bible)

Yeast in itself is not bad and could be used the rest of the year, but for this time period, it did pose a problem.  It could be one or all three of these or it may be something else, but for the trip out of Egypt, it had to go.  Please see my other posts on yeast: What I Learned From Studying Yeast;  Yeast, All Bad;  Yeast, A Model of Church Growth.

Take Away – A more “modern” custom that Jews may do in preparations for Passover is selling their yeast.  I see it as a picture of what Judas did to Jesus.  Jesus became our sin (yeast); Judas tried to give the money back but was refused.  Yes, modern Jews can buy back their yeast products after Passover.

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/1742/jewish/What-Is-Chametz.htm