Dwell On It: Sabbath and Feasts

Question: Why do we celebrate man made holidays and Sunday sabbaths vs. celebrating Biblical feasts and Saturday sabbaths?

Answer: According to Leviticus 23, there are 7 feasts that are celebrated. These feasts were intended to be a chance for the Israelites to acknowledge God’s goodness as their provider and intercessor.

In the New Testament, we read in Colossians 2:16-17 and Romans 14:5-6 that Christians today are not required to observe the Old Testament feasts. All of the Old Testament feasts are intended to point us to Jesus. Baruch Maoz, an Israeli pastor of Jewish extraction, says, “Having been fulfilled (O.T. law and purpose of feasts), they no longer have the religious value they had in the past; yet, for us Jewish Christians, they form part of our national culture. The shadows have passed to give room for the reality…the Mosaic religious institutions, including the sacrifices; feasts; the specific form of Sabbath duties…are no longer binding.” All this to say, it’s because of Jesus that we are no longer required to observe Old Testament feasts.

As for the sabbath, there was a time that it was widely observed on Saturday. Early in Christianity, when it was still called the “Way” (because of Jesus being the Way, the Truth, the Life), many followers were converted Jews and their holy day was Saturday. So why did the change occur? The gospel began to reach more Gentiles who began to follow Jesus. These Gentiles did not have the belief background that the Jewish converts had. This, combined with the Resurrection and beginning of Creation happening on the first day of the week (Sunday) made it a natural transition to observe Sunday as the sabbath instead of Saturday.