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| At Lazarus' Tomb, Bethany, Israel |
Easter is my favorite Christian "high day". Why? Because if Jesus Christ had not risen from the dead, our entire faith would be groundless and worthless. It would be "in vain", as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:17. The figureheads of all other world "religions" either lie dead in the grave to this day or they will be there eventually. But, Jesus Christ was raised from the dead by the power of God the Father (Ephesians 1:20), and it is because of this that we mortals who trust in His finished work have the assurance of eternal life if we trust in Him (1 Cor. 6:14). Hallelujah!
On this beautiful Resurrection Morning though, I invite you to examine briefly with me (as most of us have a very busy Easter) the parallels between the Resurrection and the Jewish Feast of First Fruits. To review:
It is recorded in Leviticus 23 that God the Father gave Moses the information about the 7 Holy Feasts. Here are the Spring Feasts, in chronological order:1
Passover (Pesach) Nisan 14-15
Unleavened Bread (Hag haMatzah) Nisan 15-22
First Fruits of the Barley Harvest (Yom Habikkurim), the first Sunday after the Hag haMatzah Sabbath Saturday. The year Jesus was crucified, this was Nisan 17.
Pentecost (Shavuot) The year Jesus was crucified, this was Sivan 6.
And here are the first three, added to our old friend, the handy-dandy Passion Week chart!
Thursday sundown to
Friday sundown
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Nisan 8
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Jesus arrives at M,M&L's house in Bethany earlier in the day.
"Mary" (most likely Mary of Bethany) anoints Jesus' feet with costly ointment.
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Friday sundown to
Saturday sundown
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Nisan 9
|
Weekly Sabbath; no work or travel.
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Saturday sundown to
Sunday sundown
|
Nisan 10
|
Palm Sunday; Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
Jesus presents Himself at Temple; Passover Lambs are Selected (Lamb Selection Day)
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Sunday sundown to
Monday sundown
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Nisan 11
|
Day 2 of lamb with family
Jesus curses the fig tree
Jesus cleanses the Temple
Jesus heals and teaches in the Temple
Jesus and the 12 return to Bethany.
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Monday sundown to
Tuesday sundown
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Nisan 12
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Day 3 of lamb with family
Jesus teaches extensively in the Temple
Olivet Discourse (Mount of Olives) to disciples
Judas makes contact with Temple priests
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Tuesday sundown to
Wednesday sundown
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Nisan 13
| |
Wednesday sundown to
Thursday sundown
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Nisan 14
The Lord's Seder |
"Preparation Day"
After sunset, to begin the day, Jesus eats The Last Supper (Jesus' early Passover seder) with the disciples.
Garden of Gethsemane in the early hours; Jesus' high priestly prayer (John 17); Jesus's mock trial; sentencing Thursday morning.
Day 5 of lamb with family; sacrificed in mid-afternoon. Lamb's blood applied to doorposts . God's Lamb's blood covers all our sins.
Day of Jesus' crucifixion (begins mid- morning) and death (mid-late afternoon) Earthquake at His death; Temple veil rent in two. Jesus is hastily buried in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb before sundown. |
Thursday sundown to
Friday sundown
|
Nisan 15
Passover Feast of Unleavened Bread begins |
High Feast of Passover at Thurs. sundown, when Passover meal is eaten;
First day of Feast of Unleavened Bread;
Jesus' body is dead in the tomb; Disciples are scattered and terrified.
|
Friday sundown to
Saturday sundown
|
Nisan 16
The Weekly Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Hag haMatzah) |
Jesus' body remains dead in the tomb.
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Saturday sundown to
Sunday sundown
|
Nisan 17
Feast of First
Fruits:
The Morrow after the Hag haMatzah Weekly Sabbath |
In the wee hours of Sunday morning Jesus is resurrected, as our First Fruits. Other dead in the area come out of their tombs. After dawn, the women and later the disciples witness the empty tomb. He is risen! He is risen indeed!
During the day, the Wave Offering is made (waving of the omer - - sheaf of barley). |
Interestingly, though not coincidentally, Jesus referred to the Feast of First Fruits Himself, in John 12.
23Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
27“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
The Feast of First Fruits commemorates (Leviticus 23:9-12) the beginning of the barley harvest, and signals the start of 49 days until the harvest festival of Shavuot (Pentecost) comes. (Counting of the Omer). It is always celebrated on the first Sunday after the Sabbath Saturday that falls within the week of Unleavened Bread, the first Sunday after the 15th of Nisan (Aviv). See Leviticus 23:15-16.
In brief, because most of you will find your eyes crossing over this next part, there was great controversy in Jesus' day as to when First Fruits should begin. The Pharisees thought it should always be celebrated on Nisan/Aviv 16, and the Sadducees believed it should be calculated as I have stated above, the first Sunday after the 15th of Nisan (Aviv). {For a detailed explanation of why the Sadducees were right, see source #3, in the Sources section.}
Therefore, both First Fruits (and Pentecost) always fall on a Sunday. As Zola Levitt so beautifully put it:4
"Thus it happens, so early in the Bible {Leviticus}, that God honors Resurrection Sunday, the Sunday after Passover, as representing particularly the things that come up out of the ground spontaneously and miraculously after the long, dead winter."
Jesus' resurrection miracle brought life to mankind, who had been enslaved to sin for 4000 years.
The ceremonies surrounding First Fruits are:
- the waving of a sheaf of barley (wave offering) see Joshua 5:11
- a defect-free male lamb was offered, along with bread and wine, See Leviticus 23:13.
- the very symbols Jesus used to ask us to remember Him ("Last Supper" aka Jesus' Early Seder)
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
1 Cor. 15:20-23 (KJV)
Now, I want to quote very liberally from my source below: {emphasis mine, for clarity/translation}
"Yeshua {Jesus} is the first-begotten of the Father (Heb. 1:6); the firstborn of all creation (Col. 1:15-16); the first-begotten of the dead (Rev. 1:5); and is the First Fruits of those who are to be resurrected (1 Cor. 15:20-23). Baruch HaShem! {Blessed be G-d!} And just as He is our Firstfruits, so 'He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all He created' (James 1:18)."
How amazing that immediately after Jesus' resurrection, we find recorded only in Matthew's gospel that, in the aftermath of the crucifixion earthquake and Easter morning earthquake the graves were opened and that some of the dead were likewise resurrected, as the incredible resurrection power of God spilled over that area! (Matt. 27:52-53)
In closing, 1 Peter 1:3-5 (NET) - -
{This from the man who had not only denied His Lord 3 times, but who had 3 days later held the empty grave clothes in his hands...}
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 that is, into an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. It is reserved in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are protected through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Alleluia!
https://youtu.be/eeZVLgbKTxo
Sources:
1 http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Introduction/introduction.html
2 Good, J. (1998). Rosh HaShanah and the Messianic Kingdom to come: an interpretation of the Feast of Trumpets based upon ancient sources. Nederland, TX: Hatikva
3 http://nailedtocross.com/index.php/articles/calendar-studies/5-firstfruits-16th-day-or-first-day-of-the-week
4 https://www.levitt.com/essays/first-fruits
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