In this sermon, the speaker discusses the concept of three days and three nights in relation to Jesus' resurrection. He explains that according to Jewish reckoning, a part of a day counts as a whole day. The speaker then references Acts chapter 2 and verse 23, where Peter addresses the men of Israel. The sermon also delves into Leviticus chapter 23, which outlines the feasts of the Lord, including the Sabbath. The speaker emphasizes the importance of starting anew through salvation in Jesus Christ.

I want to thank Leroy and Gordon for picking up the charts, which is kind of hard to get so that everybody can see it, but I think they did a very good job. Turning your Bible, please, to Leviticus, chapter 23, the 23rd chapter of Leviticus, and I'll begin reading in the first verse. Leviticus, chapter 23, verse 1, is, "...the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, The Feast of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocation, these are my feasts." First of all, we have the Sabbath in verse 3. Maybe you can turn your eyes up from time to time and just look at the chart. Over at the other end, at the left hand, you see the Sabbath. I'm going to follow right along, but we're not going to read the whole chapter. "...six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. Ye shall do no work on it. It is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwelling." Then the Passover, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, verses 4-8. These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed time. "...on the fourteenth day of the first 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 seven days. You must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it, but you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it." Then the Feast of Firstfruits, verses 9-14. Maybe your Bible has little headings that say this. Some Bibles do. The Lord spoke to Moses, verse 9, saying, "...Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruit of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted on your behalf. On the day after the Sabbath, the priest shall wave it. You shall offer on that day when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord. His grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the Lord for a sweet aroma, and his drink offering shall be a wine one-fourth of an inn. You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings." Now, that's as far as we're going to read, but just follow on in your Bible. Verses 15-22, the Feast of Weeks. Verses 23-25, the Feast of Trumpets. Verses 26-32, the Day of Atonement. This really wasn't a feast, it was a fact, but it listed with the Feast of Jehovah. It was the most holy day in the Jewish calendar. Verses 26-32. And then, verses 33-38, the Feast of Tabernacles. Well, it actually goes on through verse 43. 44, just a summary. So, Moses declared to the children of Israel the Feast of the Lord, and so you see all of those feasts here on the chart, don't you? All the feasts. Interesting that they're all listed in one chapter, the biggest chapter, 23. It starts off with the Sabbath, which speaks of creation that brought into work creation and created it on the Sabbath day, the seventh day. Not a rest from weariness, but a rest of complacency. A rest of satisfaction with the work that was done. Then we bring up a Passover. We'll be going over that. Feast of Unleavened Bread came the day after the Passover and lasted for seven days. You can see the yellow there, that's the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And then you have the Feast of Firstfruits here on the day after the Sabbath. These large lines here are all Sabbath, and the Feast of Firstfruits was the day after the Sabbath. And then, of course, you have the Feast of Pentecost, seven weeks later. And then, interesting enough, we have quite a gap in time in the religious calendar of Israel. Quite a gap in time. And then we start with the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. And I've really been intrigued by this chapter recently, because in that chapter you have the whole history of the children of Israel. Mind you, it has an application to us today, too. We're going to mention those things as we go along. It has an application to us, and it's the whole history of the age of Israel. Quote, Israel's past, Israel's present, set aside by God. Sacrificed. Israel's future. Israel is stored and eventually enjoying Christ's kingdom here on earth. And then, of course, the millennium merges into the eternal state, the new heaven and the new earth. Now, I do explain what the date is here. This chart, incidentally, is done with great precision, I think. I think it's a very good chart. The calendar that you see there is the religious calendar, not the civil calendar. I think that's important for us. In other words, don't think of this, in our terms, as January 1st that year. It's not. It's the beginning of Israel's religious calendar, and it doesn't agree, of course, with the civil calendar. The reason I say that is because these people had to do with harvest, and they were thanksgiving to God for the barley harvest and the wheat harvest, which we will be going over in great detail. But the calendar we'll read again back here in the first year of the religious calendar, where we're going to be going over that. As I say, this all has an application to us as believers, although we're not Israel. It's wonderful how God wrote the Bible, and he could write this which gives you a panoramic view of the nations of Israel, and at the same time he had an application for the church in which we live. And we'll try to go over that as we go along. I wish we had an opportunity for questions here, because some of it might not be clear to you. Now, for the Passover, let's turn back to Exodus chapter 12. Remember, the people are in Israel. Pharaoh has been resisting the Spirit of God, and the cry of God's people, of Moses, let my people go. And now, the last plague has come, the death of the firstborn. Exodus chapter 12, verse 1. Now, the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be your beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you. And that's what I say, the religious calendar. This is the institution of a new religious calendar. Moses speaks to the congregation of Israel, saying, On the tenth day of this month, every man shall take for himself a lamb according to the house of his father. So, on the tenth day of the month. Incidentally, this was the seventh month of the civil calendar, the first month of the religious calendar. The seventh month of the civil calendar became the first month of the religious calendar. So, six months have passed. Six months have passed before the Passover was instituted. Why? Why didn't God institute Calvary? Why didn't Calvary take place back in Genesis, right after sin had entered the Garden of Eden? You ever think of that? He could have, but he didn't. He waited thousands of years, didn't he? Just think of that. Sin entered the Garden of Eden way back in the dawn of human civilization. But, it wasn't until the ninth month that the Passover came, the death of Christ. Remember, seven always speaks of fulfillment, completion in the word of God, doesn't it? Well, I think it corresponds to the experience we have in the book of Galatians. In the fullness of time, God sent forth his son born of a woman, born under the law to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. In the fullness of time, God in his wisdom allowed certain dispensations to pass before Calvary cross was erected. In other words, he tested men under various conditions, didn't he? He tested man in innocence back there in the Garden. Man failed the test. Tested man under conscience, man failed the test. He tested man under human governance, man failed the test. Tested man under promise with Abraham, man failed the test. Then he tested man under law, and man flunked again. But, it was after the legal dispensation had run out that God sent his son in the fullness of time. I think that's very, very significant. In the seventh month, not the first month of the seventh year, the seventh month he started a new challenger. Now, the lamb was selected on the tenth day of the month. I would suggest to you that those ten days correspond to the thirty years in Nazareth. I know that the Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth, and the eye of God, examining him, may I say reverently, for God knew, but the eye of God looking down on his beloved son, he tested him for thirty years there in Nazareth. And, at the end of thirty years, the Lord Jesus steps forth in his public ministry, and God opens the heavens, and he says, this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. The Lord Jesus passed the test, didn't he? And, then John the Baptist said, I will behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world. So, speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, on the tenth day of this month, every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. I'm sure you've all noticed the progression in verses three, four, and five. In verse three, it says, a lamb. In verse four, it says, the lamb. In verse five, it says, your lamb. If the household be too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it. According to the number of the persons, according to each man's need, you shall make your count for the lamb. Now notice, your lamb shall be without blemish. A male of the first year, you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. The lamb was to be spotless. A lamb without blemish. 1 Peter 1, verses 18 and 19. I know it's familiar to you, but it would really be wrong to go over these scriptures without reminding ourselves of these verses. 1 Peter 1, verses 18 and 19. Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by petition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, and of a lamb without blemish and without spot. The Lord Jesus, the perfect fulfillment of the Passover lamb, God said, you take a lamb without spot, without blemish, and the Lord provided that lamb centuries later, a lamb without blemish and without spot. So, that lamb was selected on the tenth day of the month. The lamb was spotless. It says, a male of the first year. A male of the first year. I think that reminds us that the Lord Jesus was cut off in the prime of life, wasn't he? I think I mentioned before that when Isaac Watts wrote that hymn when I surveyed the Wondrous Grove, he wrote the second line on which the young prince of glory died. It's a good reminder that the Lord Jesus was a young man when he died, 33, 33 and a half years old. It says, from the sheep or from the goats. Both of those were sacrificial animals, weren't they? Both of them were animals that were ordained or sacrificed by the Lord. Now, you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Fourteenth? Well, I would suggest to you that they correspond to the years of public ministry of the Lord. Generally, we think of the public ministry of the Lord as three and a half years, right? Three and a half years. But, in legal reckoning, a half of a year counts for a year. In Jewish reckoning, any portion of the whole counts for the whole. If a man was sentenced to jail, let's say for ten days, he could be released after he had served part of ten days, because that would count for the whole. That accounts for the fact that the Lord Jesus was in the grave three days and three nights. Well, we say he died, he was buried on Friday afternoon, he rose again Sunday morning. That's hardly three days and three nights. No, but it's part of three days and three nights. And, according to Jewish reckoning, a part counts for the whole. And I think that's what you have here. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day. It was kept for four days. The four days of the Lord's public ministry. And then it says, now, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill us. Well, that reminds us of what Peter said to the men of Israel in Acts chapter 2 and verse 23. Let's look at that. Acts chapter 2 and verse 23. I'm going to go back to verse 22, because it has that expression in it, men of Israel. Peter wasn't talking to Gentiles, he was talking to Jews on the day of Pentecost. But, men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves also know, him being delivered by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken, by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death. How beautiful the fulfillment of Exodus chapter 12 you have in Acts chapter 2. I often wonder what modernists and liberals do with passages of the scripture like this. I guess they just wave them aside as being historical. But, as we were mentioning this morning, every word of God is pure, and every word of God is significant, is it not? The whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill us at twilight. At twilight. Just think of that. Just think of the perfection and the accuracy of the word of God. Matthew chapter 27. Matthew 27, and verses 45 through 50. Matthew 27, verse 45, says, "'Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land, and about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, "'Eli, Eli, land up to Bethany, that is, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' Some of those who stood there when they heard that said, "'The man is calling for Elijah.' Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge filled with sour wine and put it on her wreath and gave it to him to drink. The rest said, "'Let him alone, let us see if Elijah will come to save him.'" Jesus, when he had cried out again with a loud voice, yielded up his spirit. Killed at twilight. And, of course, that speaks to us that the Lord Jesus Christ killed as our Passover lamb on the cross of Calvary, doesn't it? First Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 7 gives the application for us. If you look down at the bottom where you have the application of the church today, you'll see the cross there, the cross of Calvary. And then if you turn to First Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 7, it says, "'Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened.' For indeed, Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the peace not with old leaven, but with the leaven of man's wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." Then going back to Exodus chapter 12, if you turn over to verse 46, Exodus chapter 12, you find that one of the requirements was not a bone of the sacrificial animal was to be broken. In verse 46, "'In one house it shall be eaten. You shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones.'" And this, of course, too, was fulfilled with tremendous precision in the death of the Lord Jesus. His body was broken, but his bones weren't broken. That is, his body was pierced with the nails and with the spear, but not a bone of him was broken. John chapter 19 and verse 36. John 19 and verse 36. Have to go back. They had just broken the legs of the two malefactors that were hanging with Jesus. It says, verse 33, "'When they came to Jesus, and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.' But one of the soldiers pierced his thigh with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. The U.S. dean had testified, and his testimony is true, that he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, not one of his bones shall be broken." Wonderful, isn't it? Wonderful the minute detail that is given. Then back to Exodus chapter 12 and verse 7. "'And they shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two doorposts, and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it.'" Interesting, isn't it? The application of the blood. The blood applied to the doorposts and the lintel. "'None on the floor. There was no walking over the blood of Christ.' It says in Hebrews chapter 10, concerning apostates, "'You trample on the foot, son of God, and count the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing.' The doctor gives him his chair when he was writing this, that there would be no blood on the base of the door, just on the side posts and on the lintel." And, of course, it's faith that applies the blood to the door, is it not? When a person comes to the Lord Jesus and accepts him as Lord and Savior, he's appropriating the value of the language God shed on thousands across. In a very real sense, he's applying the blood to the doorposts inside the house safely. And, incidentally, this was the only way of deliverance that night in Egypt. There was no other way of salvation. It says in verse 8 that they were to eat the flesh. They were to eat the flesh. "'Then they shall eat the flesh on that night, roasted in fire with unleavened bread, and with bitter herbs shall they eat it.'" It's wonderful, isn't it, that the same lamb that provided redemption becomes the food of the people. And that's true with us, too. The same Lord Jesus Christ who died for us on the cross of Calvary, he's our food. He's a manna sent down from heaven. We feed on him as we go to the word of God, as we read the word of God, as we study the word of God, as we memorize the word of God, as we apply the word of God and obey it day by day in our lives. A beautiful touch. And then it says it was to be eaten with unleavened bread. And we read that already, didn't we, in 1 Corinthians. It keeps the peace, not with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I think it's well worth noticing that there was no lapse between the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which says, well, as soon as you're saved, you start living the life of holiness. That's really what it's saying. No gap there. When it says, let us keep the peace, it doesn't mean there the Lord suffered. It means there is the whole Christian life. Let us keep the peace, not with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. That is what it characterized, the whole life of the child of God. So, here is, let's say, the day of conversion when I come and trust the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior, and right away begins the day of unleavened bread, and at last the decline of how many days? Seven days. Seven is a picture of perfection. Seven is a picture of fulfillment or completion. So, the Feast of Unleavened Bread stands for the whole Christian life. We'll be going over that next week in the will of God. I just couldn't resist sharing that with you just now, because I think it's so beautiful. But it says not only that, it says, with bitter herbs. Did you notice that? It says, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs you shall eat it. Even today, although the Passover for the Jewish people is pretty far removed from what you have in the Scripture, they do have a bitter... I think they use horseradish for the bitter herbs today when they observe the Passover. What is the practical application to our hearts of the bitter herbs? Well, I think there's more than one application. For instance, sometimes when we're remembering the Lord, we think of all the darkness which round thy spirit pressed, of all the ways and fellows which rolled across thy breast. O there thy grace unbounded and perfect love we see, with joy and sorrow mingling. We now remember the joy and sorrow. I think that's the bitter herb, don't you? The sorrow, with joy and sorrow. The sorrow of a lover. Sorrow where our sin crossed the Savior. Sorrow that it was our sin that took him to the cross, that took him through those three hours of darkness where he was forsaken by God. When he endured that eternity of torment in our behalf. Sorrow. Joy, yes, joy and an accomplished redemption of sorrow. But I think there's more to it than that. You know, when we keep the feast, the saints all come together to remember the Lord. Oftentimes their outward clothing is quite nice, but inside oftentimes there are broken hearts. You don't get through life very far without the bitter herb. Heartache, the death of a loved one, unfaithfulness in other people, tragedy, sickness, wayward children, financial problems, and the whole long list. So, we do, we keep the feast in a way with bitter herbs. We don't get beyond that. Then it says in verse 13, Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. The blood shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. The blood is a sign of safety. And that's an interesting thing. When we think of the word pass over, this pointer is going to now pass over the podium. But in the original language of the New Testament, the word has a slightly different meaning. It means, I'll go back and forth over you. Guardian, so that the death angel will not strike. It isn't just a matter that I'll pass by and forget you. No, no. I'm going to be there to protect you this night when the death angel is smiting the firstborn in the land of Egypt. I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. Verse 12, Both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. Now the blood shall be a sign for you. A wonderful thing it is today when, by faith, the blood is on the house. I tell you, we Christians really don't know how good we have it. We really don't. I've had some contact with people lately whose lives have been all messed up. People of the world, their lives are in terrible, disastrous condition. Notice what it says. Not when I see your good works, not when I see your church membership, not when I see your baptism or your fine family, not even when I see the blood fluff something up, which of course is what all the cults do. They add to the gospel of redeeming grace. God says, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And we're reminded, are we not, in a verse like that, Outer foundation can no man lay, but that is laid with his Christ Jesus, the Lord. None on a name under heaven, given among men, whereby he must be saved. No wonder we sing on Christ, the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. The blood that night was sufficient. The blood, period, was sufficient. And Christ's blood is sufficient. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. Oh, that's wonderful, isn't it? Wonderful that there isn't a sin, that the blood of Christ is not sufficient to cleanse away in its efficacious power. No sin to grace. And, dear friends, all of those people inside the house could know that they were safe and secure. If salvation is by grace, through faith, plus nothing, then safe people can know they're safe. If salvation depends in any measure on my works, on what I have to say, I'll never know whether I've done enough work, or the right kind of work. The only good gospel, the only true gospel, is salvation by the grace of God of free gifts. Of grace. And so, we can know that we're safe. John 10, 27, 28, 29. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, that they follow me. I give unto them eternal life, that they shall never perish, either shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is great in all, and no man will be able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. And then, 1 John 5, 13. These things have I written unto you, that believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. It really doesn't depend at all how the people felt that were inside the house. It doesn't make any difference how they felt. If the blood was on the side posts and on the listle, they were safe and secure. Feelings be what they may. But that's true today, isn't it? If we by faith have applied the blood of Christ, if we have taken the blood of Christ as our passport to heaven, if we have received the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord, it doesn't make any difference what our feelings may be. What really counts is that we have accepted him. Of course, there are two great differences between the Passover as it was instituted, and the fulfillment of the Passover, the person of the Lord Jesus. And I think these speak to our hearts. In the Passover, it was the lamb. In the fulfillment, the man. And it was the God man, the Lord Jesus. That really is amazing, isn't it? If you could stop to think of it. It wasn't an animal 1,900 years ago that was slain at the cross of Tel Aviv. It was a man. God manifested in the flesh. It wasn't infanticide, it wasn't the death of an infant. It wasn't homicide, you know, people driving along and they hit somebody and kill them. Homicide. It wasn't homicide. It wasn't genocide, which is wiping out a race or a people. It was deicide. It was murdering. Man murdering his God. Shocking, isn't it? It's true. Just the same. And then, of course, another great difference. One great difference is that it was a man, not a lamb, here. Here it was a lamb. Here it was a man. The Lord Jesus Christ. The other difference, of course, is that this took place every year at the end of the year. Once at the end of the year. Praise God for us. We rejoice in a finished work tonight, don't we? And we remember this in a very special way when we come together and take the bread and take the cup and remember the Lord in His death for us. Because that's the way to start a new year, isn't it? And it's a way to start a new life as well. That's what this symbolizes. When we come to the Lord Jesus Christ, it's like starting all over again. I think every time a person gets saved, it's almost as if God gives them another opportunity, isn't it? It's like a fresh start. And it really proves to be that, in the life of everybody who has been born again. Now, I wonder if there's any of the brethren asking questions. If there are, make some comments. Anything that you'd like to add to, I'm sure. Anything that any of you brethren would like to share you with. Yeah. Here's the first, second, third, fourth, fifth. Really, the more you study the Bible and the more you see these things in the Bible, the more you stand in awe of the Word of God. Isn't it? That's what I'm trying to say to you more. How foolish it is for men to doubt the Word of God. And remember, these books were written by men in many cases that never met one another. They never knew one another. Some of them were thousands. And yet, they all tell one consistent story. And with the minutest accuracy that Sam has just brought forth. Beautiful, isn't it? There are other things like that, too, that will be coming out as we go along. Thanks, Sam. Anything else that anybody, any brother would like to add? Yes.