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Ancient Context, Ancient Faith
Jesus and the Jewish Festivals
Most readers of the New Testament study the great stories of Jesus through the lens of western culture. But how well can we really understand this Jewish teacher if we don’t understand his context? In this series of books, Gary Burge uses his extensive knowledge of the first century world and the Middle East to offer insights not available to the average person. Each book will develop important cultural themes and wrap them around well-known New Testament passages. And the result will be insights rarely gained elsewhere. In this fourth volume of the Ancient Context, Ancient Faith series, Dr. Burge explores six different Jewish festivals as they were celebrated in the first century and examines how Jesus used the imagery of the festivals to unveil his own mission. Discover the Jewish Sabbath, Passover, Tabernacles, and Hanukkah as Jesus knew them.
144 pages, Paperback
First published July 31, 2012
27 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Gary M. Burge
63 books27 followersGary M. Burge (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is dean of the faculty and professor of New Testament at Calvin Theological Seminary. He previously taught for twenty-five years at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. Among his many published books are The New Testament in Seven Sentences, Theology Questions Everyone Asks (with coeditor David Lauber), A Week in the Life of a Roman Centurion, Mapping Your Academic Career, The New Testament in Antiquity (coauthored with Gene Green), and the award-winning Whose Land? Whose Promise? What Christians Are Not Being Told About Israel and the Palestinians.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 27, 2022
For a few years I have been wanting to learn more about the Old Testament Jewish festivals and how they relate to the New Testament. This little book was excellent for scratching this itch. First of all, it better established in my mind what the three major pilgrimage festivals were (those requiring travel to Jerusalem). They are 1. Passover, which commemorates Israel leaving Egypt, 2. Pentacost, which commemorates God's meeting with Israel at Mt. Sinai, and 3. Tabernacles or Booths, which remembers how God's people lived in tents for 40 years before crossing the Jordan and entering the Promised Land.
The author connects each of these festivals to incidents in Jesus' ministry and shows how Jesus was the ultimate fulfillment of each of these. Perhaps most interesting to me were the aspects of the Festival of Tabernacles that are not mentioned in the Old Testament but had become of part of the traditions. These are the water ceremony and the light ceremony. In the book of John, the timing lines up for Jesus to have said, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink," during the water ceremony, "I am the light of the world" during the light ceremony. This is so interesting!
I also love the connection between the festival of Pentacost and the DAY of Pentacost. The festival remembers when God descended in fire at Mt Sinai and established Israel into a new era and a new nation. The DAY of Pentacost is when the Holy Spirit descended in tongues of fire onto the believers, bringing in the new era of Christianity and the church.
The author ends the book with a reminder that while the Jewish Festivals are important to understand, we do not celebrate them anymore, because now we see life through the lens of the gospel.
"Thus we do not worship God with a Passover Meal; we worship him with the Lord's Supper (or Eucharist) that is anchored to Passover but moves beyond it definitely. We do not celebrate an Egyptian lamb that was slain to protect God's people; rather, we announce the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."
The author connects each of these festivals to incidents in Jesus' ministry and shows how Jesus was the ultimate fulfillment of each of these. Perhaps most interesting to me were the aspects of the Festival of Tabernacles that are not mentioned in the Old Testament but had become of part of the traditions. These are the water ceremony and the light ceremony. In the book of John, the timing lines up for Jesus to have said, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink," during the water ceremony, "I am the light of the world" during the light ceremony. This is so interesting!
I also love the connection between the festival of Pentacost and the DAY of Pentacost. The festival remembers when God descended in fire at Mt Sinai and established Israel into a new era and a new nation. The DAY of Pentacost is when the Holy Spirit descended in tongues of fire onto the believers, bringing in the new era of Christianity and the church.
The author ends the book with a reminder that while the Jewish Festivals are important to understand, we do not celebrate them anymore, because now we see life through the lens of the gospel.
"Thus we do not worship God with a Passover Meal; we worship him with the Lord's Supper (or Eucharist) that is anchored to Passover but moves beyond it definitely. We do not celebrate an Egyptian lamb that was slain to protect God's people; rather, we announce the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."
October 8, 2017
Festival and Fulfillment in Jesus Christ
Delightful and informative read about Jesus's celebration and ultimate fulfillment of the Jewish Festivals as detailed in the Gospel of John. Burge's insights give the pertinent Jewish background to key events in the life of Christ as told in John's Gospel. The book is an easy read with excellent photographic Illustrations. I recommend "Jesus and the Jewish Festivals" for new readers of the Gospel of John and seasoned believers who have studied this Gospel many times.
Delightful and informative read about Jesus's celebration and ultimate fulfillment of the Jewish Festivals as detailed in the Gospel of John. Burge's insights give the pertinent Jewish background to key events in the life of Christ as told in John's Gospel. The book is an easy read with excellent photographic Illustrations. I recommend "Jesus and the Jewish Festivals" for new readers of the Gospel of John and seasoned believers who have studied this Gospel many times.
July 2, 2025
It was insightful to learn how the different festivals commanded to the Jewish people in the Old Testament point to Jesus in every aspect. This knowledge will give you new insights when you read the New Testament and see what Jesus says in different places and moments; many of them are related to the various Jewish festivals, and Jesus is often pointing to something greater—that in the end, everything finds its fulfillment in Him.
October 16, 2025
Excellent!
August 22, 2013
The work is a brief and colorful introduction to the cultic and seasonal background of the New Testament, and the Gospels in particular. Burge skillfully introduces the content and the need for the text (9-34), addresses the Sabbath (37-49), explains the Passover (51-65, 101-118), details the feast of Tabernacles (67-82), unfolds Hanukah (85-98), and offers a number of conclusions regarding these and other feasts of Jesus’ day (121-136).
In analysis, two critiques should be noted prior to summarizing the work’s strengths. First, the book appears to be poorly edited. For example, the text has “there” instead of “they” on page 18, “pelted a hundred…” on page 72 should read “pelted with a hundred…”, and Colossians gets a fifth chapter on page 135, to name a few issues. Further, the book is filled with a slew of pictures. Many of these pictures detract from the text and only serve to buffer the content of the work. In reality, the text would probably only fill about 50-75 pages in a normally-formatted book, but the pictures and formatting spread the book out physically.
Second, the writer promotes a number of his personal approaches to the feasts in question without really making any strong arguments for or against his position. On the one hand, Burge advocates the continuance of the Sabbath (48-49, 131-133), albeit on a different day, but on the other hand sees the other feasts abrogated and replaced by Christmas, Easter, etc. (33-34, 134-136). These seemingly contradictory positions are argued heavily from a historical theological vantage point and little time is taken to deal with the underlying reasons for the positions.
Positively, the work does give a quality overview of the feasts of Jesus’ day, delineates between Torah-regulated holidays and added holidays, provides a number of unique personal examples, offers deep insights from well-vetted primary sources (i.e., Second Temple sources are preferred), and draws a number of helpful applications along the way. While there is much to merit the work, there is much that detracts from it. Unfortunately, there are not many scholarly books that deal with the topic, so Burge’s work is currently the best in the field.
In analysis, two critiques should be noted prior to summarizing the work’s strengths. First, the book appears to be poorly edited. For example, the text has “there” instead of “they” on page 18, “pelted a hundred…” on page 72 should read “pelted with a hundred…”, and Colossians gets a fifth chapter on page 135, to name a few issues. Further, the book is filled with a slew of pictures. Many of these pictures detract from the text and only serve to buffer the content of the work. In reality, the text would probably only fill about 50-75 pages in a normally-formatted book, but the pictures and formatting spread the book out physically.
Second, the writer promotes a number of his personal approaches to the feasts in question without really making any strong arguments for or against his position. On the one hand, Burge advocates the continuance of the Sabbath (48-49, 131-133), albeit on a different day, but on the other hand sees the other feasts abrogated and replaced by Christmas, Easter, etc. (33-34, 134-136). These seemingly contradictory positions are argued heavily from a historical theological vantage point and little time is taken to deal with the underlying reasons for the positions.
Positively, the work does give a quality overview of the feasts of Jesus’ day, delineates between Torah-regulated holidays and added holidays, provides a number of unique personal examples, offers deep insights from well-vetted primary sources (i.e., Second Temple sources are preferred), and draws a number of helpful applications along the way. While there is much to merit the work, there is much that detracts from it. Unfortunately, there are not many scholarly books that deal with the topic, so Burge’s work is currently the best in the field.
October 25, 2013
Gary Burge knows how to write biblical, historical help books for Americans: quick and easy with lots of glossy pictures.
With Jesus and the Jewish Festivals, Burge highlights how Jesus interacted with the many celebrations in his time and how he used those images and ideas to further his case to be Messiah.
This is the thickest Ancient Context. Ancient Faith book I've read by Burge. There is alot of information in this book. It is perfect for pastoral aids, and small group study.
Burge first explains how hard it would be for Americans to describe some of our "lesser" holidays to people of other countries where we take some things for granted. He then pivots into how ancient Jews used imagery and symbols in different ways.
We explore The Sabbath, Passover, Tabernacles, Hanukkah and finally Jesus' final Passover. Each chapter explains how they were originally celebrated and how Jesus hijacked the festival for his own use.
The final chapter explores how the early Christians tried to incorporate the Jewish festivals with their own celebrations.
This book, like his earlier work, opens the possibility and understanding of Ancient Israel for modern times. You'll look at Scripture's familiar stories with fresh eyes. It will get you excited to read your Bible!
This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Zondervan Publishing.
With Jesus and the Jewish Festivals, Burge highlights how Jesus interacted with the many celebrations in his time and how he used those images and ideas to further his case to be Messiah.
This is the thickest Ancient Context. Ancient Faith book I've read by Burge. There is alot of information in this book. It is perfect for pastoral aids, and small group study.
Burge first explains how hard it would be for Americans to describe some of our "lesser" holidays to people of other countries where we take some things for granted. He then pivots into how ancient Jews used imagery and symbols in different ways.
We explore The Sabbath, Passover, Tabernacles, Hanukkah and finally Jesus' final Passover. Each chapter explains how they were originally celebrated and how Jesus hijacked the festival for his own use.
The final chapter explores how the early Christians tried to incorporate the Jewish festivals with their own celebrations.
This book, like his earlier work, opens the possibility and understanding of Ancient Israel for modern times. You'll look at Scripture's familiar stories with fresh eyes. It will get you excited to read your Bible!
This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Zondervan Publishing.
May 21, 2014
Burge is always great, but this is one of absolute my favorites. HUGE insight into Jesus's life by understanding the festivals in which he participated. I finally bought the book, which is extremely unusual for me (because I'm a library person), but I just really wanted this for my small personal library. (Oh by the way, you don't come away feeling like you should be observing these festivals - that's not the point at all.)
August 21, 2013
reading about what the Jewish festivals were, why they were celebrated, and how they were celebrated really brings to life the the Gospel narratives. Reading what Jesus said and did at the festivals were significant because ultimately they pointed to Christ himself. it is a short and informative book with many colored pictures which is always a plus.
February 2, 2013
Helpful on the lesser-known feasts and places Jesus in his context; could have been much better on the Passover and how Christ fulfilled it.
April 10, 2014
Cute, short, thin book. Easy read, tons of pictures. Yet amazingly scholarly. Endnotes. Does not endorse Messianic Judaism per se. Awesome. Practically a stocking stuffer.
March 31, 2016
interesting and informative
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews