The shadow, and the real thing

“These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” Colossians 2:17
Paul here is referring to the religious feasts and the keeping of the Sabbath (Col. 2:16). The feasts were given to Israel to mark certain events in their history: the Passover, when the angel of death ‘passed over’ the houses of Israel in Egypt (Ex. 12); the Feast of Unleavened Bread, remembering how the Israelites left Egypt in such a hurry they did not have time to put the yeast in their bread (Ex. 12:39); the Feast of Tabernacles, to remember the manner in which the Israelites had wandered in the wilderness (Lev. 23:43). Also there was the Feast of Firstfruits, giving God thanks for the harvest; the Feast of Weeks, for the completion of the harvest; and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
Christ is the fulfilment of all of these. He is the Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7), and it is by His blood that death cannot touch us. He is the unleavened bread (yeast being a symbol of sin), the bread of life, sinless. He is the firstfruits of the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20-23), guaranteeing the rest of the harvest to come. He is the atonement for our sins and the means by which we can obtain mercy from God. He is the tabernacle that shelters us while we are in the world. And at His trumpet call, we will rise to be with Him forever. In Him is also found the true Sabbath rest (Heb. 4:9-11). There is much we can learn from the Old Testament, and it’s a shame that many Christians tend to ignore it.