Sermon Title: “The Sacred Calendar: Entering God’s Rest through Christ” Primary Text: Leviticus 23 Opening Reading: Hebrews 4:9–11
“So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” —Hebrews 4:9–11
We will be spending some time today and next Sunday in Leviticus 23, looking at the Sabbath days, days of rest that God established for the Children of Israel. So, let’s start by talking a little about rest. I could ask some questions this morning about rest. Did everybody get enough rest last night? Have you had a restful week? Are you feeling rest in your soul this morning?
We know the answers to those questions. They speak of physical sleep, but they also address a sense of something called rest that we feel, in our bodies, minds and spirits. Today it would be called “wellness.” There’s been a noticeable shift in how we think about rest in our culture. Not long ago, people took “sick days” when they were too unwell to function. But now, many companies offer “wellness days”—intentional time off not because we’re sick, but to protect ourselves from becoming sick in the first place. Some of it may sound like modern rebranding, tailored to a generation that values mental health and self-care. And maybe there’s a bit of pandering involved. But behind it is an undeniable truth: if we are going to be at our best, we need to change the way we think about wellness. It’s not just about waiting until we break down; it’s about recognizing our limits, managing our inner world, and being proactive with rest. Wellness isn’t just a reaction—it’s a mindset.
Even after adopting that mindset, we still need to act on it. Just like a car needs regular oil changes to run well—not just repairs when something breaks—we need moments to step away and recharge. That’s what “wellness activities” and “wellness days” are really about. Not excuses to be lazy, but deliberate pauses that refresh our minds, bodies, and souls. And when done well, they don’t make us weaker or less committed—they make us more present, more productive, and more whole.
And that truth is not just for our physical bodies, but for our minds and spirits. We are talking today about Old Testament Sabbath laws. They were about rest. They were fulfilled in Christ, because He gave us a greater rest. Jesus doesn’t just offer rest to the body. He offers spiritual rest to the broken sinner who’s collapsing under the weight of life—He also offers spiritual rest to His disciples when they are weary and need to come aside from ministry, and labor “… and rest awhile” (Mark 6:31).
The Sabbath that Jesus fulfills is not just a day on a calendar—it’s a lifestyle of trusting that He is enough, even when we stop working. Just as we now understand the value of wellness in our jobs, Jesus teaches us the value of soul rest in the Christian life.
Well, this morning, we are talking about rest—not just the kind that restores your body, but the kind that heals your soul and reconnects you to God.
Prayer
We are now in our 6th sermon over the Mosaic law of the Old Testament. And the question we’ve been asking is, “How is this law relevant to me?” And the answer we have been giving is that all the Old Testament, the law, finds it’s fulness of meaning and purpose in Jesus. We considered the sacrifices, the tabernacle, and the priesthood.
And it is refreshing to read the Old Testament that way. Before we knew Christ, if we had read about Jewish priests working in this portable tent, slaughtering animals, and dividing their entrails according to Mosaic law, we might have thought, “I can find something better to read.” But when we come to know Christ, we become like the two disciples who walked with Jesus on the Road to Emmaus. On that walk, Jesus showed them how all this Old Testament Scripture was fulfilled in Him. And they later said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?”
The Old Testament suddenly came alive to them. Well, in the previous sermons, our hearts were blessed in remembering that that portable tent, that sacrifice of animals, and that Old Testament priesthood were all physical representations of the Spiritual gifts Christ gave us; His presence, His propitiation, and His priesthood.
Today, we are looking at another category of Mosaic laws; the laws concerning Sabbath days. The word Sabbath, means rest, or stop, or cease. God gave Israel a day out of every week to rest, stop/ cease working, sit down, lie down, relax, refresh.
That really is a remarkable thought. Especially at the time God gave them these laws. They were on their way to the Promised Land. A land He would give them as an inheritance. And when they got there, there would be a lot of work to do.
That really is a remarkable thought. Especially at the time God gave them these laws. They were on their way to the Promised Land. A land He would give them as an inheritance. And when they got there, there would be a lot of work to do. They would be immediately going to war, facing fortified cities and fierce enemies. After the destruction of war, they would need to rebuild—homes, roads, and infrastructure. Then would come the labor of planting vineyards, sowing fields, tending flocks, and establishing a new way of life from the ground up. It would take faith, endurance, and obedience to follow God’s commands—not just in the wilderness, but in the long, exhausting work of building a nation under His rule. And yet, even with all that work ahead of them, before He even lays out the full plan for conquest and construction, God first gives them a calendar of rest—a schedule of their Sabbaths, their feasts, their days off. Before the sweat and the battle, He commands them to rest in Him. What kind of God does that? A God who knows our limits, values our joy, and invites us to worship before we work.
And we are going to consider these days of rest, and how those laws about ceasing from physical work, tell us about how Jesus called us to rest in His salvation. So, let’s take a look. Turn with me if you will, to Leviticus 23.
Leviticus 23 (Selected Verses with Descriptions)
“These are the appointed feasts of the LORD… holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them.” — Leviticus 23:4
The Sabbath – Weekly Rest-our Saturday
Leviticus 23:3 “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwellings.”
The Passover and Unleavened Bread – around-March/April Easter
Leviticus 23:5–6 “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the LORD's Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.”
The Feast of Firstfruits – The First Harvest Offered to God-early Spring
Leviticus 23:10–11 “When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits… and the priest shall wave it before the LORD, so that you may be accepted.”
The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) – Rejoicing-May/June
Leviticus 23:15–17, 21 “You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath… You shall bring from your dwelling two loaves… as firstfruits to the LORD… It shall be a statute forever in all your dwelling places.”
The Feast of Trumpets – A Call to Rest and Remember – September early fall
Leviticus 23:24–25 “In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work.”
The Day of Atonement – October
Leviticus 23:27–28, 32 “On the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of affliction and offering… You shall do no work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement… It is a Sabbath of solemn rest.”
The Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) – September/October
Leviticus 23:34, 42–43 “On the fifteenth day of this seventh month… is the Feast of Booths to the LORD, for seven days… You shall dwell in booths… that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
Closing Verse for Reading:
Leviticus 23:44 “Thus Moses declared to the people of Israel the appointed feasts of the LORD.”
Each feast included rest, reflection, sacrifice, and celebration.
Leviticus 23 is a calendar of rest—appointed times when God called His people to stop, to worship, and to remember. But here’s the key: Every feast ultimately pointed to Christ. And today, we’re going to walk through each one—showing how God ordered Israel’s year around His grace, and how it invites us to rest in Jesus.
IV. Walking the Sacred Calendar (Leviticus 23)
I called this walking the sacred calendar because I wanted you to understand how a Jewish year would go. And this is so rich with symbolism. First off, remember that there were 7 of these “feasts” or periods of rest or Sabbath. “7” in Scripture is the number of completeness.
But the first Sabbath that is mentioned in Leviticus 23 is not one of the feasts. It is what we understand as the Sabbath day, our Saturday, the day of rest, one of the ten commandments; honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy-don’t work on the Sabbath day. It’s like God gave them a weekly reminder of His rest.
1. The rest of the weekly Sabbath – (Every 7th Day)
The Sabbath was observed every seventh day, beginning Friday evening and ending Saturday evening according to the Hebrew calendar.
God instituted a weekly rhythm of rest and reflection. The Sabbath was a day set apart for physical rest and spiritual renewal, a time for remembering God as Creator and Redeemer.
Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Imagine what it would have been like after 400 years of slavery.
As the sun set on the sixth day, a Hebrew man and his wife sat quietly outside their tent, the smell of fresh-baked bread lingering in the air. The work was done—no plowing, no gathering, no burdens to carry. As they rested, their thoughts turned to Egypt: the scorching heat, the crack of the taskmaster’s whip, the endless toil without rest. But now, on this seventh day, they remembered with gratitude the God who delivered them by His mighty hand. The Sabbath was not just a day to stop working—it was a gift of mercy, a sacred reminder that they were no longer slaves. They belonged to Yahweh now, the God who gives rest to the weary and freedom to the oppressed.
And as beautiful as that was, as wonderful it must have been to contemplate the freedom given them from slavery, so much more wonderful is the Sabbath given to us in Christ.
Christians are no longer bound to observe the Sabbath day as a legal requirement, because that commandment has been fulfilled in Christ. While the seventh-day Sabbath was a weekly rhythm of physical rest, a time to stop, reflect, and remember God's provision, it was ultimately a shadow pointing to something greater. Hebrews 4:9–10 makes it clear that the Sabbath rest of the Old Covenant did not bring the Israelites into God’s complete rest. That rest is found only in Jesus, who is our true Sabbath. In Him, we cease striving to earn righteousness and instead rest in His finished work on the cross. As Colossians 2:16–17 teaches, Sabbaths and festivals were shadows of things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Paul reiterates in Romans 14:5–6 that the observance of specific days is a matter of personal conviction, not binding law, and warns in Galatians 4:9–11 against returning to legalistic observance of days and seasons as if they could secure God's favor.
That said, the Sabbath principle still teaches us something valuable: God designed us to need rest, worship, and renewal. While Sunday is a meaningful day for gathering with the church and honoring Christ’s resurrection, it is not a legal burden. It is a gift. In Jesus, we live every day in the grace of spiritual rest. And the kinds of rest pictured in the Old Testament feasts we will look at today and next week—rest from slavery (Passover), rest from corruption (Unleavened Bread), rest in God's provision (Firstfruits), rest in revelation (Pentecost), rest through repentance (Trumpets), rest from guilt (Day of Atonement), and rest in God’s presence (Tabernacles)—are not merely calendar events, but spiritual realities we now enjoy in Christ. He is our complete and eternal rest.
With each feast we will see its significance to the Children of Israel, how it was fulfilled in Christ, and Jesus call to us to enter His rest.
2. The Rest from slavery -Passover Nisan 14
The Passover Sabbath was celebrated on the 14th of Nisan which would be in March or April in our calendar.
And you know that Passover commemorated the night when God spared the Israelites in Egypt by the blood of the lamb. They were to eat in haste, ready to leave slavery. They were to put the blood of the Passover lamb on their doorposts, and the death angel, seeing the blood would pass over the house, not taking the firstborn people and animals.
As the evening shadows fell and the Sabbath Passover began, a Hebrew man and his wife sat in quiet reverence, their hands resting from labor, their hearts heavy with memory and gratitude. The smell of roasted lamb lingered in the air, mingling with the bitterness of herbs. They remembered that terrible and glorious night in Egypt—when death passed over every home marked by the blood of the lamb, when they ate in haste with sandals on their feet and staffs in hand, ready to flee their chains. Now, they ceased from their work not merely to rest, but to remember: they had been slaves, but the Lord had delivered them. This Sabbath was holy—a pause to worship the God who redeems, who calls His people out from bondage into freedom. On this day, they understood that their rest wasn’t just from labor, but from the shadow of death itself.
The Feast of Passover was a memorial of Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt—a dramatic rescue accomplished by the blood of a spotless lamb. On that fateful night (Exodus 12), each household that trusted God's word painted the blood of a lamb on their doorposts. When judgment swept through the land, death passed over every home marked by the blood. It was not their strength or goodness that saved them, but the provision God made. This act of divine mercy became the foundation of Israel’s identity as a people redeemed by grace, and the Passover meal became an annual reminder of that salvation.
This powerful image finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ. He was crucified during Passover week, not by coincidence, but by divine design. As Paul writes, “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). On the very night He was betrayed, Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples in the upper room (Luke 22:7–20). But at that meal, He redefined the symbols. Taking the bread and the cup, He said, “This is My body… This is My blood… poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:26–28). He was telling them that the true deliverance was not just from Egypt, but from sin. The ultimate slavery was not political oppression, but bondage to guilt, shame, and death. And He, the spotless Lamb of God, would be sacrificed so that judgment might pass over us.
Now, Jesus calls to us—just as He called to weary Israel in Egypt—to rest. Not to strive to earn God’s favor. Not to carry the weight of our past or the chains of our sin. He says, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). This is the rest of Passover—the rest of being rescued. In Christ, we rest from slavery to sin, from fear of judgment, and from the need to save ourselves. We rest under the blood of the Lamb, safe, forgiven, and free. The angel of death no longer threatens; our Redeemer has come, and in Him we find a rest deeper than sleep—the rest of redemption.
The next Sabbath was
3. The Rest from Corruption – Feast of Unleavened Bread – Nisan 15–21
Date: Nisan 15–21 (begins the day after Passover)
Time of Year: March/April
For seven days, the Israelites were commanded to remove all leaven from their homes and eat only unleavened bread. Leaven—yeast—was a symbol of corruption and sin, of the slow spread of impurity. This feast was a call to holiness, a reminder that freedom from Egypt meant separation from the sinful ways of the world.
As the Feast of Unleavened Bread began, a Hebrew couple sat quietly in their home, now cleansed of all leaven. Every crumb had been swept away with care in the days leading up to the festival. Their table held only flat, simple bread—no rising, no puffed-up loaves. Yet this humble meal spoke volumes. It was a declaration: they would not carry Egypt’s corruption into their new life. As they rested, they remembered the night they fled bondage with haste, and how God delivered them. This rest was not passive—it was purposeful. In stillness, they reflected on the call to be set apart, to walk in purity, to live as God’s holy people.
In this feast, the Israelites remembered that rest is not only freedom from oppression—it is freedom from the sin that defiles.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread followed immediately after Passover and lasted seven days. During this time, the Israelites were commanded to remove all leaven from their homes and eat only unleavened bread (Exodus 12:15–20). Leaven, or yeast, became a powerful symbol of sin and corruption—of something small that spreads quietly and transforms everything it touches. Removing leaven was more than a household chore; it was a spiritual practice of cleansing, of turning from impurity and living in the purity of God's calling. It reminded God’s people that redemption from Egypt was not just about leaving slavery behind, but about entering into a new, holy life.
Jesus fulfilled this feast in both His life and His teaching. Just as He kept the Passover with His disciples, He also observed the days of Unleavened Bread. But more than observing it, He embodied it. His life was the very definition of unleavened—pure, without sin, wholly set apart for the Father’s will (Hebrews 4:15). Paul makes the connection clear in 1 Corinthians 5:7–8: “Cleanse out the old leaven… For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven… but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Jesus not only saves us by His sacrifice, but also sanctifies us by His Spirit, calling us to cast off the corruption of our former way of life and walk in the purity He provides.
Now, Jesus invites us into the rest of this feast—not merely rest from labor, but rest from the inward corruption that poisons the soul. He calls us to lay down our pride, our bitterness, our secret sins, and find peace in a life of holiness. This is not a rest that comes from perfection, but from His grace. It is the rest of being made clean. It is a daily rest—where we sweep the leaven from our hearts, not to earn God’s approval, but because Christ already made us new. In Him, we rest in a better kind of purity—one not achieved by effort, but received by faith. Jesus calls us not only to come and be saved, but to walk with Him in sincerity and truth, free from the corruption of sin, and at rest in His sanctifying love.
The next Sabbath was
4. Rest in God’s provision -Feast of Firstfruits – Nisan 16
The Israelites would bring the first sheaf of the barley harvest to the priest. It was an act of dedication, thanking God in advance for the full harvest to come.
As the Sabbath of Firstfruits dawned, a Hebrew man and his wife sat in restful stillness, watching the golden light stretch across their barley fields. The tools of harvest lay untouched beside the doorway—today was not for labor, but for reverent rest. In the quiet, their hearts swelled with gratitude as the first sheaf of barley had already been brought to the priest, lifted and waved before the Lord. It was a holy gesture of trust—giving the first and best, thanking God not for what they had gathered, but for what He had promised to provide. As they rested, they remembered: the land was a gift, the harvest was grace, and this day of stillness was a declaration that their lives depended not on toil, but on the goodness of their God.
In this feast the Israelites remembered that their rest was not just from slavery or the threat of death, but it was a provision of their daily bread.
The Feast of Firstfruits was celebrated on the day after the Sabbath following Passover (Leviticus 23:9–14). On that morning, the Israelites brought the very first sheaf of the barley harvest to the priest, who would wave it before the Lord as an offering of thanksgiving and trust. It was an act of faith—giving God the first portion, before the full harvest had come in, trusting that He would provide the rest. It was also a time of rest: no ordinary work was to be done on that day (Leviticus 23:14). In this feast, Israel was taught to rest not in what they could gather, but in the goodness and provision of their God.
This feast was perfectly fulfilled in Jesus Christ. On the very day of Firstfruits, after the Sabbath of Passover week, Jesus rose from the dead. Paul writes, “Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). Just as the first sheaf of grain was a promise that more would follow, so Jesus’ resurrection is a guarantee that all who belong to Him will be raised as well. He is the first to rise never to die again, and His victory over the grave is a down payment on the future resurrection of His people. When Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene on that morning (John 20:17), He was not just alive—He was the living proof that God’s promises are sure, and that death no longer has the final word.
Now, Jesus calls us to enter the rest of this feast—not merely the rest of forgiveness, but the rest of confident hope. He invites us to rest in God’s provision—not just for today, but for eternity. As we dedicate the “firstfruits” of our lives to Him—our time, energy, and resources—we declare with our actions that we trust Him to bring the full harvest. We do not labor in fear, but in faith. We do not mourn as those without hope, but as those anchored in the risen Christ. The resurrection of Jesus is not only a past event—it is our present rest and our future assurance. In Him, we rest in the provision of new life, knowing that the best is yet to come.
Well, next week, we will continue to look at these feasts of rest, and come to understand the rest that we are offered and given in Christ.
V. Concluding Appeal: Enter His Rest
Let me end where we began: with rest.
Hebrews 4:9 — “There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.”
These feasts are not just history. They are prophecy fulfilled in Christ. They are God’s way of telling us:
“You don’t have to strive anymore. Come. Rest in Me.”
And He offers complete rest.
So consider this: God gave Israel seven feasts of rest—not randomly, but purposefully. In Scripture, the number seven always symbolizes completeness. When something was finished, whole, and perfect, it was marked by the number seven. God created the world in seven days, and then He rested. In the same way, He gave His people seven sacred feasts—seven appointed times to stop, remember, worship, and rest. Rest from slavery in Passover. Rest from corruption in Unleavened Bread. Rest in God’s provision at Firstfruits. Rest in revelation at Pentecost. Rest through repentance at Trumpets. Rest from guilt on the Day of Atonement. And rest in God’s presence during the Feast of Tabernacles. All of this pointed forward to Jesus Christ—our true Sabbath, our perfect sacrifice, our complete rest. In Him, every shadow finds its substance. In Him, every feast finds its fulfillment. And in Him, we are invited into not just a day of rest, but a life of rest—complete, eternal, and secure.
If you are not yet a Christian, I invite you:
And if you are a believer already—don’t live like a slave.
VI. Closing Illustration:
In the Philippines I heard a local pastor use the following parable to illustrate Christ's offer of rest (Matt. ll:28) and the response of people who won't trust Him completely: The driver of a carabao wagon was on his way to market when he overtook an old man carrying a heavy load. Taking compassion on him, the driver invited the old man to ride in the wagon. Gratefully the old man accepted. After a few minutes, the driver turned to see how the man was doing. To his surprise, he found him still straining under the heavy weight, for he had not taken the burden off his shoulders.
Larry Chell.
Jesus has done the work. The calendar of Leviticus has been fulfilled.
It’s time to rest.