A Calendar That Tells a Story

Even though I’m 41 at the time of writing, I still prefer a pen-and-paper calendar to the many options on my devices. I know the trade-off: I lose built-in reminders for appointments, special dates, and deadlines. But there’s something about physically writing things down—seeing the shape of the month and the rhythm of life in ink—that I still prefer.

Whether you keep your calendar digitally or on paper, the goal is the same. Calendars help us remember what matters: people, responsibilities, celebrations, holidays, and commitments that shape our lives.

Believe it or not, the feasts we will study over the next several posts were given to Israel by the LORD as reminders—set times that taught them about Him and His plans. God shaped His people through these sacred dates throughout the year.

When most Christians hear the word feasts, they picture Jewish holidays, ancient rituals, or perhaps a Passover meal someone once hosted at church. But the feasts of the Bible are far more than cultural traditions. Long before modern Judaism shaped its liturgies—and long before today’s debates about Sabbath, Sunday, or feast-keeping—God Himself established something deeper:

A calendar woven into the life of His people—
a calendar that told the story of redemption and the Redeemer.

Leviticus 23 calls these celebrations “the LORD’s appointed times” (Lev. 23:2). Not Israel’s holidays. Not human inventions. The LORD’s.

God built these sacred days into Israel’s yearly rhythm so that generation after generation would remember who He is (Deut. 8:2), what He has done (Ex. 12:14), and what He promised to do (Lev. 23:43).

This series will help us understand the feasts as God gave them, see how they point to Jesus, and explore what they mean for the church today.

Movement 1: The Feasts of the Bible — Why God Gave Them

Before we explore each feast, we need to understand why God gave them in the first place. Scripture reveals at least three central purposes.

1) The Feasts Were God’s Discipleship Strategy

Through Sabbath and the annual feasts, God shaped Israel’s identity. These days regularly pulled His people back to the truths of their story:

• God rescues (Passover — Ex. 12)
• God provides (Firstfruits — Lev. 23:9–14)
• God leads (Booths/Tabernacles — Lev. 23:42–43)
• God forgives (Day of Atonement — Lev. 16)
• God dwells with His people (Tabernacles — Ex. 29:45–46)

The feasts formed a calendar of spiritual formation, training Israel’s heart to remember God in every season (Deut. 6:10–12).¹

2) The Feasts Were “Visual Theology”—Living Object Lessons

Every element of every feast carried symbolic meaning:

• Passover pictured deliverance through the blood of a lamb (Ex. 12:13; 1 Cor. 5:7).
• Unleavened Bread pictured the removal of sin (Ex. 12:15; 1 Cor. 5:8).
• Firstfruits pictured the promise of a greater harvest (Lev. 23:10–11; 1 Cor. 15:20–23).
• Pentecost pictured gratitude and covenant renewal (Deut. 16:10).
• Trumpets pictured awakening and assembling (Lev. 23:24).
• Atonement pictured substitution, cleansing, and reconciliation (Lev. 16; Heb. 9–10).
• Tabernacles pictured God dwelling with His people (Lev. 23:42–43; John 1:14).²

3) The Feasts Form a Single Storyline

The feasts are not disconnected holidays—they tell one unified narrative. Passover begins with redemption. Tabernacles ends with God dwelling with His people. Between them is the movement from salvation → sanctification → gathering → restoration. This is a gospel-shaped calendar.³ Jesus steps into every moment of that story.

How the Israelites Experienced the Feasts

Many Christians assume ancient Israel celebrated the feasts the same way modern Judaism does today. But Scripture and history paint a more nuanced picture.

1) The Biblical Feasts Were Simple and Temple-Centered

Leviticus 23 is surprisingly simple: rest (Sabbath), offerings, holy assemblies, pilgrimages (Deut. 16:16), meals, and remembrance. The Mosaic instructions focus on worship tied to Israel’s sanctuary life—especially sacrifice and holy assembly (Lev. 23; Num. 28–29; Deut. 16:2, 6, 11).

This matters because when people today talk about “keeping the feasts,” they often mean keeping later standardized home practices. But the Old Testament’s own instructions are much more temple-centered than many modern assumptions.

2) After the Temple’s Destruction in AD 70, Judaism Adapted

After the Temple was destroyed (AD 70), sacrificial worship was no longer possible. Jewish practice necessarily adapted. Over time, rabbinic tradition preserved and shaped home-based forms of remembrance and instruction for Passover and other feasts.^4–8

• Passover moved away from a temple sacrifice toward a home-centered meal focused on retelling the Exodus story.
• Early rabbinic sources preserve developing elements of Passover instruction and practice in the post-temple period.
• Scholars note that components of the Seder and Haggadah developed over time rather than arriving fully formed in the Mosaic era.
• Second Temple Judaism itself had diversity (including competing calendars), so practice could vary even before AD 70.

Modern Jewish observance is meaningful and historically rich, but it is not identical to the Mosaic system described in the Old Testament. This distinction becomes extremely important later when we ask whether Christians today are required to “keep the feasts.”

Movement 2: How the Feasts Point to Jesus

Jesus did not come to erase the feasts. He came to fulfill God’s Word (Matt. 5:17; Luke 24:27).

The feasts are shadows. Christ is the substance (Col. 2:16–17).

Movement 3: What the Feasts Teach Us About the Church Today

Although believers are not under the Mosaic Law (Rom. 6:14), the law served as a guardian until Christ (Gal. 3:23–25), and Christians must not be judged regarding festivals or Sabbaths (Col. 2:16–17), the feasts still shape Christian discipleship in meaningful ways.

1) The Feasts Teach Us to Remember

God gave Israel rhythms to remember His works (Ex. 12:14; Deut. 4:9). We also need patterns that draw our hearts back to Christ.

2) The Feasts Teach Us to Rest

Sabbath pointed to rest in creation (Gen. 2:1–3) and redemption (Deut. 5:15). Hebrews 4 reveals that Jesus is our spiritual Sabbath rest.

3) The Feasts Teach Us to Anticipate

The fall feasts lift our eyes toward Christ’s return (1 Thess. 4:16–17), final judgment (Heb. 9:27), and the renewal of all things (Rev. 21:1–5). We live between Firstfruits (resurrection) and Tabernacles (God dwelling with His people forever).

4) The Feasts Teach Us to Celebrate

Israel’s feasts were full of singing (Ps. 118), eating (Deut. 16:14–15), rejoicing (Lev. 23:40), generosity (Deut. 16:16–17), and thanksgiving (Ps. 100). The people of God are meant to be joyful. The feasts remind us why.

What This Series Will Cover

Each feast will be explored in three dimensions:

1. How Israel celebrated it (Biblical foundation) — the commands, context, and purpose of each appointed time.
2. How the feast points to Jesus (Christ-centered fulfillment) — where we see the feast’s symbolism fulfilled in His life, death, resurrection, and return.
3. What the feast teaches us today (Discipleship application) — how each feast forms our worship, holiness, rhythms, hope, and rest.

After covering the feasts of Leviticus 23 (and later Purim and Hanukkah), we will transition into a clear and charitable apologetics section addressing questions such as:

• Are Christians required to keep the feasts today?
• Why Sunday instead of Saturday?
• Is Sunday worship a sin—or pagan?
• Did the Roman Catholic Church change the Sabbath?
• How should Christians respond to Hebrew Roots teaching?
• What does it really mean to “walk as Jesus walked”?