By Elisabeth Hinze
There are certain friends who weave themselves into the tapestry of your life. They become part of the bigger picture of who you are. They’ve known you for years, through all your ups and downs in in-betweens. And still manage to love you. It’s that type of friendship I have with Michelle. She’s known me for half my life. We have a shared history. So conversation comes easily. Last week’s chat was no exception. We discussed life in general, getting older (and the fact that we do it so gracefully), the benefits of a high protein diet, the Ebola virus and naturally the “situation” in Israel. And then the conversation took an unexpected turn. For some reason, the topic drifted to the “Jewish” festivals.
Murky waters, I thought. Because I’m a Christian. And tradition often entails that Christians do, well, Christian things. The Jewish people, on the other hand, do different things. Like keep the “Jewish” holidays. Right? But what is the implication of me, a Christian, celebrating the “Jewish” festivals? Does it mean that I want to become Jewish? That I’ve fallen in love with a culture? That I’ve become so enamoured by a tradition that I want to be part of it? And then, by implication, abandon all the Christian stuff?
So yeah, murky waters. Honestly, I understand the scepticism and concern. Because I’ve been there. Personal experience also tells me how futile it would be to launch into an argument, to use all my substantial facts and evidence to convince. Because that’s not my job. My job is to share, to speak from my heart and to tell of my experiences.
Yes, I know. I’m far from alone in this. A revelation about the so-called “Jewish” festivals has swept across the nations. Next month, a multitude of Gentile Believers will celebrate Rosh Hashana. And the month after that Yom Kippur and Sukkot.
I can’t speak on their behalf. But I do know why I celebrate. Firstly, because they’re not the Jewish festivals. They’re God’s festivals, His appointed times. And secondly, because they’re all about Yeshua.
God instructed the nation of Israel to keep seven festivals, seven appointed times. But this wasn’t just Him giving the Israelites an excuse to have seven good parties per year. What with God being God Almighty, you can be sure He had a good reason.
Because right there hidden in the seven festivals is a picture of what Yeshua would do for us. It’s like the reflection in a mirror versus the real thing. Each festival is a mirror image of the real thing that Yeshua would come to do. Let’s take the first festival, Pesach or Passover, for example. Celebrating Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt, it tells us how the redemption of a people was obtained through the blood of the Passover Lamb. Years and years later, Yeshua was crucified when Israel celebrated the festival of Passover. And once again, the redemption of a people was obtained through blood. But this time it was the redemption of all the people of the earth. The deliverance was from slavery to sin and death and destruction. And the blood was Yeshua’s.
Thousands of years before Yeshua, our Passover Lamb, died on the cross, God already told of what would happen by giving a mirror image of the events to come – all of it wrapped up neatly in the festival of Passover. It was like God saying, “Look! This is exactly what my Son will do for you one day. The Passover lamb in Egypt is the mirror image. My Son dying on the cross is the real thing!”
But Passover wasn’t the only festival that Yeshua fulfilled. Let’s take a look at the list. The festival of Unleavened Bread? Check! Yeshua fulfilled that one. Festival of Firstfruits? Check! Yeshua fulfilled that one too. Festival of Shavuot or Pentecost? Check! Festival of Rosh Hashana? Ah, that’s where things get interesting. The last three festivals haven’t been fulfilled. Yet.
Because looking at the odds, I’d say that we can be pretty certain that Yeshua will also fulfil the last three festivals, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot.
And that is my reason for celebrating God’s festivals, His appointed times, the so-called “Jewish” holidays. It’s simple really. It has nothing to do with becoming Jewish. Because the festivals are about Yeshua. The way everything has always been about Him. And the way everything will forever continue to be about Him.
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