What is a high Sabbath?

Answer

A “high Sabbath” refers to any of the seven annual festivals commanded by God for the Israelites in the Old Testament books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Leviticus 23 explains the regulations for the weekly Sabbath and then details the other days throughout the year that required a “sabbath rest” during which no customary work could be performed.

Commencing in the spring, the seven high Sabbaths were Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. These Jewish feasts are closely linked to Israel’s spring and fall harvests. They served as annual reminders to the Israelites of God’s continual protection and provision, while also foreshadowing the redemptive work of the Messiah. The high Sabbaths symbolize the complete narrative of salvation—namely, the work of Christ—commencing with His crucifixion as the Passover Lamb and culminating in His second coming, when He will “tabernacle” or dwell with His people eternally.

According to the Gospel of John, the day following Christ’s death and burial was a high Sabbath, or as the NIV states, “a special Sabbath” «The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. », (John 19:31). In this instance, the high Sabbath coincided with the Passover festival, making it a “double Sabbath” where the weekly Sabbath observance was combined with the first day of the Passover feast, Nissan 15, which also held the sanctity of a Sabbath (see Deuteronomy 21:22-23).