We Christians lost connection with the Jewish roots of our faith within a couple centuries of Jesus’ first coming. Antisemitism reared its head in the early church and the Jews were driven out of the body of Christ. The subsequent loss of understanding of the cultural context of Jesus’ ministry and work of salvation on the cross removed some of the richness and fullness of meaning of our comprehension of God’s word. (And in some cases, it appears to have possibly resulted in instances of less fidelity in Bible translations.) For one example of the loss of richness in meaning, it has only been in the last 10-15 years that I came to understand the significance of Jesus as our Passover Lamb and the wonderful prophetic nature of this feast, practiced for 1500 years as a foreshadowing of His coming. I have sat in rooms and sanctuaries full of mature Christians who were all amazed and thrilled by the significance of the cultural implications of the words and actions of ancient Jews that pointed strongly to the future coming of our Messiah, all points we had never heard in our churches. The Bible, both New and Old Testament, is full of prophesy concerning our Lord Jesus. And I have personally gained in understanding and faith as I have explored the TANAKH (Old Testament) with guidance from messianic rabbis and teachers.
However, even though these Jewish perspectives provide an opportunity for fuller understanding of God’s word and a deepening of our faith, there are some serious problems in the Jewish Roots movement. Many messianic believers are working hard to live Torah-compliant lives. When that effort becomes an attempt to be made righteous, they have crossed over into heresy, rejecting the free gift of salvation won by Jesus on the cross. It is also true that it is a difficult task sorting out which of the 600 some commands and instructions in the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) are still “in effect.” In this context, the two areas that have most confused believers are the dietary laws and the feasts. I will leave the former as a discussion for another day.
But regarding the feasts of the LORD, they all point to one thing. As revealed and practiced in ancient times, they are rehearsals and pre-enactments of Jesus’ coming to earth, not once but twice, first to sacrifice himself to save us from our sins and announce the good news of the kingdom of God, and then a second coming to pass judgement on evil nations and establish his righteous kingdom on earth. As a result, God’s feasts are no longer just forshadowings of His coming(s). They should by now have become celebrations of the kingdom of God and of our Yeshua (salvation).
And yet, the majority of the messianic movement celebrates the feasts almost exactly the same way as orthodox Judaism, sometimes very appropriately, but sometimes failing to fully acknowledge the connection to Messiah Yeshua due to being overly focused on the details of the older traditions. One notable exception to this is Zev Porat, a messianic rabbi in Israel who gave up a 40-million-dollar inheritance rather than renounce Jesus as his Lord. His is an amazing story, well worth reading. He has dedicated his life to evangelizing his fellow Jews. Rabbi Porat advocates for Jesus-centric celebrations, avoiding most of the human traditions codified in the Talmud, but freely admits we Christians don’t appear to have much guidance from the Word on how to do that.
So, should non-messianic Christians even care about the feasts?
I contend that the answer is an unequivocal “yes.” When God specified His feasts in Leviticus 23, he repeated four different times, “This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed in the appointed month from generation to generation.” And for the benefit of the dispensationalists, this admonition is not so easy to write off as just for the Jews, and not for those grafted into the root of Jesse and adopted into the commonwealth of Israel. Zechariah 14:16-17 states the following:
“Everyone who is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to bow down to the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the feast of Booths. Should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to bow down to the King, the LORD of hosts, then there will be no rain for them”
So obviously, the feast of Tabernacles will be celebrated when Jesus returns. Therefore, I conclude that God’s feasts are for all of His children forever (in perpetuity, even in heaven)! And what is left is for us to prayerfully observe them, remembering what happened in ancient times, making Jesus the center of the celebrations, and looking forward to an eternity of celebration!
So then, how should we celebrate? I would suggest first reading Leviticus to understand the instructions. Then ask, “How does this relate to Jesus?” Then celebrate like children, focused on our beloved Lord and Savior. We shouldn’t get bogged down in legalistic arguments, but rather trust that the Torah has been written on our hearts, not as a set of rules, but as promptings from the Holy Spirit to worship him in spirit and truth, creating in us a clean heart. And then, try not to worry and argue. Just celebrate!
With each passing season, I pray that we can move together toward Christ-centered ways to celebrate Passover, First Fruits, Shavuot, Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.
Cogitation Stew 