Festivals as Shadows of Christ's Work in the Bible

The festivals in the Old Testament served as a "shadow of things to come," pointing forward to the person and work of Jesus Christ ^[6]. These religious observances, mandated by God, included daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly celebrations, with significant emphasis placed on their regular observance ^[2].

The Old Testament festivals can be broadly categorized into those connected with the Sabbath institution and the great historical festivals ^[1].

Sabbatical Festivals:

The Weekly Sabbath: This foundational observance (Leviticus 23:1-3) was a day of rest and worship ^[2].
The Seventh New Moon (Feast of Trumpets): This festival marked the beginning of the civil year and was observed with special sacrifices (Numbers 29:1-6) ^{[1, 2]}.
The Sabbatical Year: Every seventh year, the land was to lie fallow, and debts were to be released (Leviticus 25:2-7) ^{[1, 2]}.
The Year of Jubilee: Occurring every fifty years, after seven sabbatical cycles, this year brought freedom for slaves and the return of ancestral lands (Leviticus 25:8-16) ^{[1, 2]}.

The Great Festivals: These three major annual festivals required all Israelite males to appear before the Lord ^[1].

The Passover (Pesach): Commemorating Israel's deliverance from slavery in Egypt, the Passover involved the sacrifice of a lamb and a meal of unleavened bread. This festival was instituted before the events it commemorated, much like the Christian Passover ^[9]. It foreshadowed Christ, the "Lamb of God," whose sacrifice brings deliverance from sin.
The Feast of Pentecost (Shavuot): Also known as the Feast of Weeks, of Wheat-Harvest, or of First-fruits, Pentecost celebrated the harvest and the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai ^[1]. It pointed to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church, which occurred on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2).
The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot): Also called the Feast of Ingathering, this festival commemorated God's provision for Israel during their wilderness wanderings and celebrated the final harvest ^[1]. During the Feast of Shelters, Jesus used elements of the festival to reveal his identity, showing that he fulfilled its essential meaning ^[7]. He appeared at a series of Jewish festivals, including the Feast of Shelters, using their imagery to reveal profound truths about himself and replacing vital elements in their ceremonies ^[8].

Beyond these, other festivals and feasts existed. Some were connected with domestic or social events, such as weddings or birthdays ^{[3, 5]}. There were also feasts associated with the offering of sacrifices and annual festivals ^[5]. Jeroboam, for instance, established a festival in the eighth month, mimicking the festival in Judah, to sacrifice to the calves he made in Bethel, which violated the law ^{[4, 10]}.

The Apostle Paul, in Colossians 2:17, explicitly states that these observances—including food and drink regulations, festivals, new moons, and Sabbaths—are "a shadow of things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ." John Gill's commentary on this verse explains that these were "types, figures, and representations of spiritual and evangelical things" ^[6]. The distinction of meats, for example, which ceased in Christ, represented the former division between Jews and Gentiles ^[6].

While the observance of certain days can be seen as meritorious in some contexts, the New Testament emphasizes that such practices are not a work for salvation, but rather a means to holiness ^[11]. The Old Testament festivals, therefore, find their ultimate meaning and fulfillment in Christ, who is the reality to which they pointed.

Sources

Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Festivals — I. The religious times ordained int he law fall under three heads: + Those formally connected with the institution of the Sabbath; + This historical or great festivals; + The day of atonement. + Immediately connected with the institution of the Sabbath are-- a. The weekly Sabbath itself. b. The seventh new moon, or feast of trumpets. c. The sabbatical year. d. The year of jubilee. + The great feasts are-- a. The passover. b. The feast of pentecost, of weeks, of wheat-harvest or of the first-fruits. c. The feast of tabernacles or of ingathering. On each of ”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Festivals, Religious — There were daily (Lev. 23), weekly, monthly, and yearly festivals, and great stress was laid on the regular observance of them in every particular (Num. 28:1-8; Ex. 29:38-42; Lev. 6:8-23; Ex. 30:7-9; 27:20). (1.) The septenary festivals were, (a) The weekly Sabbath (Lev. 23:1-3; Ex. 19:3-30; 20:8-11; 31:12, etc.). (b) The seventh new moon, or the feast of Trumpets (Num. 28:11-15; 29:1-6). (c) The Sabbatical year (Ex. 23:10, 11; Lev. 25:2-7). (d) The year of jubilee (Lev. 23-35; 25: 8-16; 27:16-25). (2.) The great feasts were, (a) The Passover. ”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Entertain — Entertainments, "feasts," were sometimes connected with a public festival (Deut. 16:11, 14), and accompanied by offerings (1 Sam. 9:13), in token of alliances (Gen. 26:30); sometimes in connection with domestic or social events, as at the weaning of children (Gen. 21:8), at weddings (Gen. 29:22; John 2:1), on birth-days (Matt. 14:6), at the time of sheep-shearing (2 Sam. 13:23), and of vintage (Judg. 9:27), and at funerals (2 Sam. 3:35; Jer. 16:7). The guests were invited by servants (Prov. 9:3; Matt. 22:3), who assigned them their respective places (1 Sa”
I Kings “I Kings 12:32 (YLT) — and Jeroboam maketh a festival in the eighth month, in the fifteenth day of the month, like the festival that <FI>is<Fi> in Judah, and he offereth on the altar--so did he in Beth-El--to sacrifice to the calves which he made, and he hath appointed in Beth-El the priests of the high places that he made.”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Feast — As a mark of hospitality (Gen. 19:3; 2 Sam. 3:20; 2 Kings 6:23); on occasions of domestic joy (Luke 15:23; Gen. 21:8); on birthdays (Gen. 40:20; Job 1:4; Matt. 14:6); and on the occasion of a marriage (Judg. 14:10; Gen. 29:22). Feasting was a part of the observances connected with the offering up of sacrifices (Deut. 12:6, 7; 1 Sam. 9:19; 16:3, 5), and with the annual festivals (Deut. 16:11). "It was one of the designs of the greater solemnities, which required the attendance of the people at the sacred tent, that the oneness of the nation might be maintained”
Colossians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Colossians 2:17: Which are a shadow of things to come,.... By Christ, and under the Gospel dispensation; that is, they were types, figures, and representations of spiritual and evangelical things: the different "meats and drinks", clean and unclean, allowed or forbidden by the law, were emblems of the two people, the Jews and Gentiles, the one clean, the other unclean; but since these are become one in Christ, the distinction of meats is ceased, these shadows are gone; and also of the different food of regenerate and unregenerate souls, the latter feeding on impure food, the ashes”
John (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on John 7:1: 7:1-52 This chapter is another account of Jesus during a Jewish festival, the Festival of Shelters. Jesus used elements of the festival to reveal his true identity to his Jewish compatriots and to show that he had fulfilled the festival’s essential meaning (see 7:37-39; 8:12).”
John (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on John 5:1: 5:1–10:42 In this section Jesus appears at a series of Jewish festivals and uses their imagery to reveal more profound truths about himself. He appears at a Sabbath (ch 5), Passover (ch 6), the Festival of Shelters (chs 7–9), and Hanukkah (ch 10). In each case, Jesus himself replaces some vital element in the ceremonies of the festival. 5:1-40 This chapter reads like a courtroom drama, with a description of the crime (5:1-15), followed by a decision to prosecute (5:16), a description of the charges (5:18), and Jesus’ defense (5:17, 19-40). 5:1 one of the Jewish holy ”
Exodus (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Exodus 12:14: for a memorial, &c.--The close analogy traceable in all points between the Jewish and Christian passovers is seen also in the circumstance that both festivals were instituted before the events they were to commemorate had transpired.”
1 Kings (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 1 Kings 12:32: 12:32-33 Replacing the Festival of Shelters, Israel’s crowning ceremonial feast in the seventh month, with the festival in Bethel also violated the law (Deut 16:13-15). The imitation observance one month later during the eighth month may have coincided with the end of the Canaanite agricultural year. Jeroboam’s false religious practices led to Israel’s downfall (2 Kgs 17:22). • Jeroboam’s offering of sacrifices on the altar at Bethel set a bad precedent in spiritual leadership.”
Galatians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Galatians 4:10: To regard the observance of certain days as in itself meritorious as a work, is alien to the free spirit of Christianity. This is not incompatible with observing the Sabbath or the Christian Lord's day as obligatory, though not as a work (which was the Jewish and Gentile error in the observance of days), but as a holy mean appointed by the Lord for attaining the great end, holiness. The whole life alike belongs to the Lord in the Gospel view, just as the whole world, and not the Jews only, belong to Him. But as in Paradise, so now one portion of tim”

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