DAILY READING
REFLECTION
Jesus as Festival Fulfillment
By Dave Mann
The Lord directed his people in Deuteronomy to celebrate three festivals annually (Deuteronomy 16:16). How do we, as followers of Jesus, no longer observe these festivals in the same way as they did in the Old Testament? The keywords in this question are “in the same way.” In reality, we do observe them but with a revolutionized focus on the person of Jesus.
The Festival of Unleavened Bread or Passover was established to remind Israel of the Lord’s miraculous work to rescue them from Egypt. Jesus himself celebrated the Passover with his disciples on more than one occasion. During the last time before his betrayal and crucifixion, he held up the unleavened bread and said, “This is my body.” When he held up the cup, he said, “This is my blood.” (See Matthew 26:26-30.) With divine authority, Jesus expanded the focus from solely concerning the Exodus led by Moses to include a primary focus on himself. In the sacrament of Holy Communion, we are assured of deliverance from sin, death, and the power of the devil through the death of Jesus.
In the Festival of Weeks, also known as Pentecost, the Jews would celebrate the giving of the Torah. We Christians now understand that it was during the Festival of Pentecost that the Lord unleashed the power of the Holy Spirit. In his Pentecost sermon (Acts 2), Peter reminded his hearers of the prophecy in Joel 2:28-32. Yes, the written Word of God is a great gift, but we also understand that the power of the Holy Spirit is critical to live life as God intended.
In the Festival of Tabernacles, the Jews would construct temporary lodging abodes (tents or
tabernacles) in which they would reside briefly, to be reminded of their living in temporary dwellings when they were brought out of bondage in Egypt. (See Leviticus 23:40-43.) In John 1:14 we read: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt (literally “tabernacled”) among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus is the fulfillment of living in a tabernacle. Also, in John 7:37-39, Jesus was participating in the festival of Tabernacles when he proclaimed, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
All of these festivals, therefore, are prophetic pictures of Jesus, the Messiah, who is the reality and fulfillment of each of them.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, all of our hopes and dreams are fulfilled in you – deliverance from sin, death, and the power of the devil, guidance by the Holy Spirit, and moving from temporary life on this earth to sure and certain hope of eternal life with you. Keep us focused on you both now and forever. Amen
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DAVE MANN
I am a Pastor for Internationals (retired) in the UALC community. I am married to Pam, father of four, and grandfather of six. Pam and I have lived twenty of our years in other countries including France, Cameroon, Haiti, and Morocco. In retirement, we continue to enjoy writing devotionals, learning languages, and teaching English to internationals.
