Continuing from the previous Bantu Calendar post, we will now go through all these Old Testament festivals and shine light upon them according to the New Testament. In other words, which ones do we as believers keep?
We start with the first Festival of the year, which is is Passover, which is from the Old Testament ways. This particular time involved the slaying and eating of a lamb, remembering Israels deliverance from Death and the 10th Plague of Egypt. This is what is now called the last legitimate Old Covenant Passover Sacrifice, meaning it should be kept even now.
Passover Scriptures
Now Scriptures to confirm this statement are Exodus 12,1-4 & Leviticus 23,5, and a great deal more like Numbers 9,1-14 (below):
" 1 SoNiNi spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai in the first month of the second year after they came out of Egypt. He said, 2 “Have the Israelites celebrate the Passover at the appointed time. 3 Celebrate it at the appointed time, at twilight on the fourteenth day of this month, in accordance with all its rules and regulations.”
4 So Moses told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover, 5 and they did so in the Desert of Sinai at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. The Israelites did everything just as SoNiNi commanded Moses. 6 But some of them could not celebrate the Passover on that day because they were ceremonially unclean on account of a dead body. So they came to Moses and Aaron that same day 7 and said to Moses, “We have become unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be kept from presenting the Lord’s offering with the other Israelites at the appointed time?" 8 Moses answered them, “Wait until I find out what the Lord commands concerning you.”
9 Then SoNiNi said to Moses, 10 “Tell the Israelites: ‘When any of you or your descendants are unclean because of a dead body or are away on a journey, they are still to celebrate the Passover, 11 but they are to do it on the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They must not leave any of it till morning or break any of its bones. When they celebrate the Passover, they must follow all the regulations. 13 But if anyone who is ceremonially clean and not on a journey fails to celebrate the Passover, they must be cut off from their people for not presenting the offering at the appointed time. They will bear the consequences of their sin.
14 “‘A foreigner residing among you is also to celebrate the Passover in accordance with its rules and regulations. You must have the same regulations for both the foreigner and the native-born.’”
Furthermore in Numbers 28, 16 and Deuteronomy we see the importance of Passover and The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Deuteronomy 16, 1-8), below:
"1 Observe the month of Aviv and celebrate the Passover of SoNiNi na NiNi, because in the month of Aviv he brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 Sacrifice as the Passover to SoNiNi an animal from your flock or herd at the place SoNiNi will choose as a dwelling for his Name. 3 Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste—so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt. 4 Let no yeast be found in your possession in all your land for seven days. Do not let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain until morning."
"5 You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town SoNiNi gives you 6 except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, on the anniversary of your departure from Egypt. 7 Roast it and eat it at the place SoNiNi will choose. Then in the morning return to your tents. 8 For six days eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day hold an assembly to SoNiNi na NiNi and do no work."
Now this particular Festival is mentioned plenty of times in the New Testament, like in Matthew 26,17 & Mark 14,12-25 (below):
"12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Immanuels disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”
16 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Immanuel had told them. So they prepared the Passover.17 When evening came, Immanuel arrived with the Twelve. 18 While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.” 19 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?” 20 “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
22 While they were eating, Immanuel took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”
23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
24 “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. 25 “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of Heaven.”
There is more mentions of Passover in John 2,13 & 11,55, but also in Hebrews 11,28 and in 1. Letter of Corinthians 5,6-8:
"6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch - as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
Even in this one Paul is saying they was indeed keeping the Festival back in the day, but it should be kept not with the old bread of malice, but if Christs unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Feast of Unleavened Bread Scriptures
Next step, after the Day of Passover is just what Paul talks about, namely is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This is the eating of the Passover Sacrifice made on the 14th of Nisan, the feast that lasts 7 days (8 including Passover) where eating bread with yeast (the yeast is supposed to symbolise sin in your life) is not allowed. So, eat bread with no yeast. Now allot of these Scriptures is to be found in the same place as the mentions of Passover. Like Exodus 12,15-20, 13,3-10, 23,15 & 34,18.
It was a Remembering of their travel (Liberation) out of Egypt in all haste they was called out to be a holy people, by making designated daily offerings, as mentioned in Leviticus 23,6-8, Numbers 28,17-25, Deuteronomy 16,3, but also in the New Testament Mark 14,1-2, 1. Corinthians 5,6-8 (both quoted above) & Acts of the Apostles 12,1-3 (below):
1 "It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread."
All Old Testament Festivals was around and the time of Immanuel, He kept them and so should we. He fulfilled them so we must remember them. But do we really know when they are? According to the calendar below, Passover and Unleavened Bread has passed for 2021 (Second Passover is coming on the 21st of October 2021).
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