Here we go again, stepping on the delicate toes of certain segments of Christendom, but the truth must be told.  Please be patient as you read whether you agree or disagree.  There may be a Scripture surprise or two along the way and at the end.

Some of you may be pretty clueless as to what the fuss is all about, maybe that is because you have focused more upon the New Testament Covenant and not studied the Old yet.  Or if you are a new believer, praise God, you may have not yet been "religionized" by some of the contending views from the well-"leavened" church world around us.

Our subject is from "The Feasts of Israel".

In the Old Testament, there were 7 mandatory "feasts" of the Lord given under the Old Covenant..  They involved sabbath observances and many other ordinances.  The "Feasts" were known as:  Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, Tabernacles.  These feasts were of great prophetic significance that held much hidden revelation and promise for what would take place later in the life of God's people, both Jew and Gentile.

 There were many specific instructions on exactly how they were to be observed. You may want to read Exodus 23 and leviticus 23 for more details .

Jesus and His disciples appear to have "kept" the feasts as did most of Old Israel. There is no specific mention that they kept all of them according to the letter as I can't find where they dwelt in tents  for the*Feast of Tabernacles  at Jerusalem, but we do know that Jesus was without blame as touching the law.

 *Lev 23:42 You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths  
   Nehemiah 8:15 And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.
   Nehemiah 8:16 So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God 
           
The focus of this writing is the Christians obligation or relationship to either keeping or observing the feasts.  We have many voices pointing us toward observing, re-enacting, practicing, and keeping the Feasts of Israel as given in the Law of Moses.

Like many other subjects that have been complicated by the church and other religions, confusion reigns. 

It is bad enough the Christian "church" "celebrates" such blatantly pagan "holidays" such as Easter, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Halloween. 
But on the opposite side we have those who religiously set forth keeping the Old Testament holidays as given to Israel.  Many of the "Messianic", "Jewish Roots"  brethren and some prophets declare we need to "keep the feasts and the sabbath". 
(Here again, we get different versions. Some hold to the letter of the Law observances and some practice a symbolic observation).

The apostle Paul was a messianic believer in Jesus Christ, and wrote the majority of the books of the New Testament. He was confirmed by Luke, Peter, the elders in Jerusalem, James, and many others as an apostle and writer.  
To his voice and writing we add Peter, James, Jude, Luke, and John.  These "holy men of God" wrote AFTER the cross of Christ which ushered in a NEW Covenant which had been prophesied:

Jeremiah 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah

Many scriptures bear witness that God sent a NEW Covenant after the first Covenant:

Hebrews 8:8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

Hebrews 8:13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

Hebrews 9:15 And for this cause he (JESUS) is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were (PAST TENSE) under the first testament,

Hebrews 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things that that of Abel

 Mark 14:24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.

Ahhh, we have a NEW covenant as the OLD one decayed and was prophesied to vanish away. 
We have an article called "Tell me you who desire to be under the law" which tackles those who would put you under Old Testament Laws such as tithing, circumcision, and other "matters of the law". 

Here are a few of the many verses which point this out:

Now that we have established the fact that we are subject to a NEW Covenant, let us give the verses which likewise COMMAND the Christians, churches, or readers of the New Testament to observe, keep, practice, or obey what the Old Testament commanded of those 7 feasts. 

We read that Jesus gave His disciples the commands, ordinances, and instructions for the churches.  God had the disciples write the scriptures and gave them the faith which they in turn were to give their disciples.  

These are the Scriptural passages in which Christians and churches were instructed, commanded, or reminded to either keep or observe the 7 feasts, and the sabbaths (BTW, there were several sabbaths and one of them lasted a year)
as they were written and set forth according to the OT Law:

1._______________________
2._______________________
3._______________________

No, you are not in need of magnifying glasses. 
There are NO NEW Testament commands, instructions, or reminders to keep or observe the feasts, sabbaths, new moons, or even buy a Hebrew calendar to live by. -EVEN though Paul said in 2nd Thessalonians 3:4 And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command.   (note the "we". He included the other apostles and brethren)

If you have read "The Tithe That Binds", the revelation we were given from God that there is not one verse instructing any Christian or church to pay tithes in our New Testament covenant, the same applies to keeping the feasts, sabbaths, and ordinances of the Old Testament. 

The instruction to literally observe these ordinances from the OLD Covenant was never repeated in the New Testament instructions to any of the saints or churches. 

Many Old Testament verses are quoted in the New, but not Leviticus, Numbers, or Deuteronomy concerning our obligation to observe the feasts according to the OT. 
No booths, no trumpets, no worry about getting all yeast products out of your home for 7 days during Unleavened Bread, no bloody slaying of a lamb in the back yard for Passover, , ....  You are not obligated to any of that and God is probably offended if you do. 

He sacrificed His own Son in order to make you free from the Law of sin and death which included the feasts, circumcision, and sabbaths.

Note and take heed: the feasts included death penalties for improper observance.

Exodus 12:19 Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land

And if you think you can observe a "modified" version of the feasts, for example,  observing the Feast of Tabernacles by camping out in the back yard or on your roof in a hut made from branches and sticks, remember what it says in the LAW in how you are to do so:
Dt. 12:32 
What thing soever I command you, that shall ye observe to do: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

Leviticus 23:42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:

If you are still with me, we will now seemingly contradict ourselves and tell you how we as Christians, WILL keep the feasts!
You see, the law "changed".
Hebrews 7:12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

An example of this change is the law of male circumcision. Under the Old Covenant all males were to be circumcised on the 8th day aftr birth. 
It was mandatory.
It was "forever" an ordinance:

"He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant."

These are the verses commanding Christians to be circumcised in flesh: __________.  (empty again).

Here is the "change also of the law" revealed:
Col. 2:11  
in whom ye were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ

Deuteronomy 30:6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live

Do you see it yet? The true circumcision is that of the heart, as done by God, not of the flesh as done by man.

Now let's apply this truth to a feast, The Feast of Unleavened Bread: 

 Exodus 12:17 And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. 

Leviticus 23:6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread

This was a feast to be observed for 7 days, and it had a shocking death penalty attached for improper observance:
Exodus 12:19 Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land

Does "7 days" ring a bell?
How about 7 years, as in 7 years of Jacob's Trouble, i.e. the Tribulation?

How might we connect the MANDATORY feast of unleavened bread to the church during those"seven days" -i.e. years? 

What is our "bread" in the New Covenant?
Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
 Matthew 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.

Jesus, who is the Word made flesh, gave us His body and blood to "eat and drink". i.e. to consume. 
We obey the command to eat and drink His body and blood by consuming His Word. His Word is life-giving "bread". 

But something happened.
The Harlot Church came along and added "leaven" to the Word.
We are commanded to purge out the leaven of the harlot (apostate Christianity) and partake of the "unleavened bread" of God's Word so that NO LEAVEN may be found in our "house, i.e. the temple of our body that houses God's Holy Spirit.

We should define spiritual "leaven" at this point.
It may be sin, *tradition, the Laws of the Old Testament, or even malice.  (*church tradition and denominational rules that got added to our faith).

Matthew 16:12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

1 Corinthians 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven (like the feast), neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth

2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that, if ye receive circumcision  (tithing, sabbaths, feasts, or OT Laws),
Christ will profit you nothing.
3 Yea, I testify again to every man that receiveth circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole law
9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.  

But the church has done far worse than our Jewish brethren in that we have added our own leaven to God's Bread.

Here is a list of "leaven", such as words, practices, and traditions you will not find in our Christian Covenant and not found in God's Scriptures:
"the trinity", Christian "tithing", the church board, pastor sole authority over an assembly, "purgatory", "the Mass",  "Easter", "Christmas", patriotism, Sunday School, and more here. 

You may as well include your 501c3 churches that yoked themselves to the spiritual darkness of the government beast also. 
Those are words, traditions, and phrases unknown to the New Testament writers. 
Jesus said we will be judged by His Word, not traditions.  -and He will judge us severely during tribulation if leaven is found in us. 

John 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
-Thus we will NEVER be judged by the words, rules, and traditions added by men.

1 Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.

Men just love adding "leaven" to God's Word and they will judge you lost or as a heretic for not agreeing with their unscriptural terminology. 

Thus for "seven days (years)" we will "keep"  the Feast of Unleavened Bread by walking in the purity of Scripture, walking in HOLINESS, and being free from sin. 
The Old feast of Unleavened Bread has changed for a spiritual people called "Spiritual Israel", the church. (consisting of both Jew and Gentile). 

How may we be purified?
It is through repentence and faith in "what is written". 
Our Covenant is "new" and "a better covenant", in which we are free from the ordinances, i.e. the feasts, sabbaths, new moons, and holidays of the Old.  Let no one rob you of this liberty and bring you back into bondage.

 "Ye observe days, and months, and seasons, and years. 
 I am afraid of you, lest by any means I have bestowed labor upon you in vain."
-Paul to the Galatians in chapter 4.

The Galatians had turned back to the leaven of observing sabbaths, feasts, new moons, sabbath years....   

What did Paul mean by "observe"?
Here is what "observe" means, and if you are a feast observer, this may be significant in understanding what Paul wrote: 

to "observe", gr. paratero, 3906:
to stand beside and watch, to watch assiduously, observe carefully
to watch, attend to with the eyes 
to watch one's self
to observe, keep scrupulously
to neglect nothing requisite to the religious observance of

"Ye observe days, and months, and seasons, and years. 
 I am afraid of you, lest by any means I have bestowed labor upon you in vain."

Is there a single command to keep or "observe" the sabbath or feasts in Christ's New Testament?
Is there a single reminder to any church or saint in the New Testament church to observe the feasts as given in Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Nehemiah?
-I am still searching....

For those who are prone to wrestle and twist non-specific words like "commands" and "commandments" from the OLD Covenant into New Testament laws,
here are a couple of specific, straight forward New Testament commands:

Acts 10:48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
 2nd Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, If any will not work, neither let him eat.
2nd Thessalonians 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly (not working), and not after the tradition which they received of us.
( no mention in the passage of tithes, feasts, or sabbaths.)
1st Timothy 4:11 These things command and teach.
(no mention in the passage of tithes, feasts, or sabbaths.)
1st Timothy 5:7 These things also command, that they may be without reproach.
(There was no mention in the passage of tithes, feasts, or sabbaths.)
1 Corinthians 7:10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband
John 15:17   These things I command you, that ye love one another

Titus 1:14 not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men who turn away from the truth

Remember, when God gave those feasts back in (the Torah), Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deut., He used the words "YOU SHALL....", or "thou shalt...", or "ye shall..."  depending on the translation. 

Here is an excerpt from Leviticus 23 regarding part of the feasts:

36 Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto Jehovah: on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto Jehovah: it is a solemn assembly; ye shall do no servile work  
42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are home-born in Israel shall dwell in booths

Amazingly, the words "ye shall" are not used in the New Testament in reference to the OT law.

FINALLY, Paul wrote much of the New Testament. Paul was a Jew, he was a student of Gamaliel, a pharisee, zealous for the OT LAW, and a persecutor of the church until he was converted. 
Paul was far better qualified to determine what feasts, laws, commands, ordinances, sabbaths, new moons, etc. we should observe, and he wrote many words to the churches he loved and gave himself to. (Romans, Corinth, Ephesus, Philipi, Thessalonica, Colasse, Timothy, etc.)

Here is where Paul gave a church a reminder to observe the feasts as practiced by Israel under the law, or in any other form or variation: 
1:__________________. 
2: __________________.
3. __________________ .

Oops, Paul must have forgotten to write those commands in any of the epistles.  BUT he did say this in 1st Corinthians 14:37 
If any man thinketh himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him take knowledge of the things which I write unto you, that they are the commandment of the Lord.

Who will you believe? the writers of the New Testament or someone with "ye shall.." in keeping the feasts and sabbaths? 
If you look for them as an ordinance given to the church, you will not find them given. To understand the detailed requirements of the Law concerning them read Exodus 23, Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16.

-and remind yourself that the address and location God chose to place His Name was Jerusalem, Israel. (you can google Jerusalem Israel to find it). 
That was the "place" where Jesus and His family, then later His disciples went to keep the feast sbefore the cross. 

 What do you think was the significance was when Jesus pronounced Jerusalem "your house is made desolate" and when the Romans came later and totaly destroyed the city? NO ONE kept those feasts as they were "ye shall" "forever" ordered in the Law. 

Deuteronomy 16:16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty: 
1 Kings 11:36 ... that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.

Yeast is leaven, added to bread, it becomes invisible, makes the bread more appealing to the  flesh, and puffs up the loaf.    

HOMEWORK FOR YOU:
Here is a Bible search engine:

In the NEW TESTAMENT, look up the words: (I used the American Standard version)
1. Holy Days
2. Feast/ feasts
3. New Moon
4. sabbath
5. command
6. commanments
7. commanded
8.ordinances
9. BONUS WORD: tithe, tithing, tithes.
10. "Ye shall"

You will find the results most enlightening and you do not need me to see the obvious. Just keep in mind the death of Christ ushered in the NEW Testament and it became of force after the death of the testator, Christ.
Hebrews 9:17 For a testament is of force where there hath been death: for it doth never avail while he that made it liveth 

God bless each and every one of you and may He keep you in Christ's love and truth.