Feasting with Our Lord: The Feast of Weeks

And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD. You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of twotenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the LORD. And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be as a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the LORD. Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering. The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the LORD your God.’” ‘

By Rev. Thomas C. Messer

We come now to the conclusion of our series in which we have reviewed some of the Feasts established by God for the Israelites to observe annually. As we noted at the beginning, all of the Old Testament Feasts fall upon a set liturgical calendar established by God Himself (Leviticus 23). God used this calendar and its appointed Feasts to meet with His people on a regular basis and to deliver to them forgiveness, life, and salvation. These Feasts served to remind the Israelites of what God had done for them, what He continued to do for them, and what He would ultimately do for them through the Promised Messiah. All of these Feasts pointed forward to, and find their fulfillment in, our Lord Jesus Christ. It is through Him and His saving work that forgiveness, life, and salvation were delivered and applied to the Old Testament saints. In the same way it is delivered to us New Testament saints today. It’s always all about Jesus!

So, what of the Feast of Weeks (Leviticus 23:15-22), the last feast to be considered in our series? This feast is tied to the Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread. The Israelites were commanded by the LORD to count seven weeks from the Sabbath celebrated during the Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread. The Feast of Weeks was celebrated on the day after that seventh Sabbath, on the fiftieth day. The Feast of Weeks gets its name from the fact that it is celebrated seven “weeks” after the Feast of Unleavened Bread. But it is also known by a name every Christian will recognize: Pentecost, which means, in ancient Greek, “fiftieth [day].”

The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) was a celebration of the completion of the harvest season. God placed this feast on the liturgical calendar to remind His people that the blessings of the harvest came from His bountiful goodness to them. As with the other feasts, the Israelites made offerings that the Lord commanded and the priests sacrificed animals, that His people would receive with thanksgiving not only the physical blessings of the harvest, but also the spiritual blessings of forgiveness of sins and peace with God. A Holy Convocation (i.e., Divine Service) was held on this feast and the Word of God was proclaimed to the people, reminding them of the LORD’s commands and promises (i.e., Law/ Gospel preaching).

The fulfillment of the Feast of Weeks is revealed to us in Acts 2, where we read about the miraculous outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus’ disciples on the Day of Pentecost. Just as the Old Testament Feast of Weeks is tied to the Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread so, too, is its fulfillment in the New Testament Feast of Pentecost. It was during the Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread that Jesus offered Himself as the ultimate sacrificial Lamb of God on the cross. In doing so, He brought this Feast to its fulfillment. And, after resting in the tomb on the Sabbath, Jesus rose from the tomb on the third day as the firstfruits of all who believe in Him (cf. Leviticus 23:9-14; 1 Corinthians 15:23). He then appeared to His disciples in His resurrected flesh for forty days during the seven weeks leading to Pentecost, preparing them for the Word and Sacrament ministry they were being called and ordained to in His stead and by His command. On the fortieth day, Jesus ascended into heaven to sit at God’s right hand, commanding His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit. It was on the Day of Pentecost that the Holy Spirit came.

Jerusalem was filled with pilgrims who had come to keep the Feast of Weeks and celebrate the harvest. But these pilgrims were in for a big surprise on this particular Day of Pentecost, for they witnessed the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit at work within Jesus’ disciples. They came from all over and spoke many different languages. As the disciples preached, each pilgrim heard them preaching in his own language. It was on this Day that St. Peter delivered the first Christian sermon, proclaiming the death and resurrection of Christ to all who would hear. Three thousand were baptized and brought into our Lord’s kingdom that day. It was a revelation that a new sort of harvest had begun: God’s harvest of believers in Christ. This harvest will continue to be reaped by the ongoing preaching of the Gospel and administration of the Sacraments until our Lord returns in great glory on the Last Day. It will include people of all nations, regardless of nationality, race, or language, for Christ lived, died, and rose again for all people.

And so it is that the Christian Church continues to celebrate the Feast of Weeks to this day, although in the fulfilled, New Testament manner. We do so, not just seven weeks after Easter on the Day of Pentecost, but each time we gather together for Divine Service, where Jesus is present among us to forgive our sins and preserve our faith through His Holy Word and Sacraments. Thus, does He keep us in His Kingdom, which has no end, presenting us as a glorious harvest to His Father. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Rev. Thomas C. Messer serves as pastor at Peace Lutheran Church in Alma, Michigan. He can be reached at pastormesser@gmail.com.