How does the feast of firstfruits connect to the resurrection of Jesus as Messiah?
Christians all over the world celebrate Resurrection Sunday, often connected with Easter, the day when Jesus rose from the dead, but did you know that there’s the Jewish festival that all of ancient Israel was to observe called the Feast of Firstfruits?
Once the children of Israel made it to the promised land, God had given them instruction for the priests to take the first fruits of the harvest (most likely barley) and wave a sheaf of the firstfruits in front of the altar before God.
It was a symbolic way of both acknowledging and thanking the King for His goodness to provide for them.
Here’s what Leviticus 23 has to say:
Adonai said to Moshe,
"Tell the people of Isra'el, 'After you enter the land I am giving you and harvest its ripe crops, you are to bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the cohen. He is to wave the sheaf before Adonai, so that you will be accepted; the cohen is to wave it on the day after the Shabbat.
On the day that you wave the sheaf, you are to offer a male lamb without defect, in its first year, as a burnt offering for Adonai.
—Leviticus 23:9–12 CJB
Just after the instructions for Passover and the seven day feast of Unleavened bread, commemorating the Exodus from Egypt, God tells His people to celebrate the feast of first fruits when they enter into the promised land.
While there’s a debate about when this happens after Passover—the Pharisees believed the day after Sabbath was referring to the Sabbath of the first day of Unleavened Bread and the Sadducees believed it was the Sunday after the seventh day / Saturday Sabbath following Passover—It seems clear from the Bible that this day fell on a Sunday during the time that Yeshua (Jesus) was crucified.
Jesus is the first fruits among the dead.
Can you imagine this connection with the early Jewish followers of Jesus?
Yeshua rides in on a donkey, likely four days before Passover.
He celebrates a Passover seder meal and declares that the broken matzah represents his body—the wine of the third cup of redemption represents the new covenant, ratified by His blood.
And then days later, they find the empty tomb on a Sunday morning following the sabbath day’s rest.
“After Shabbat, as the next day was dawning, Miryam of Magdala and the other Miryam went to see the grave. Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, for an angel of Adonai came down from heaven, rolled away the stone and sat on it.”
—Matthew 28:2 CJB
The lamb slain from the foundation of the world, the lamb sacrificed at Passover and sung about during the Great Hallel has become the cornerstone of the people of God. (Psalm 118:22).
And now he rises as a wave offering, representing the first fruits of the promised land of the new covenant.
He’s the sacrificial lamb, the bread offering, and the wine offering of His blood, presented before God to forever seal the new covenant with God.
And all of this hinges on the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead—His resurrection is the proof we hang all of our hope on!
Rabbi Paul confirms this perspective in 1 Corinthians:
But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Messiah has been raised! And if Messiah has not been raised, then our proclaiming is meaningless and your faith also is meaningless.
And if Messiah has not been raised, your faith is futile—you are still in your sins.
—1 Corinthians 15:13–14,17
If no one has ever been resurrected, then everything we believe is meaningless. Everything we’ve staked our entire lives on is for nothing. And yet Jesus, after His resurrection visited His disciples and over 500 people who witnessed the firstfruits of God’s salvation.
But now Messiah has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also has come through a Man.
For as in Adam all die, so also in Messiah will all be made alive. But each in its own order: Messiah the firstfruits; then, at His coming, those who belong to Messiah; then the end, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all rule and all authority and power.
—1 Corinthians 15:20–24
Yeshua is the first fruits offering before God. And through Him—the only person to have escaped death has brought resurrection life to all who put their trusting faith in Him. He’s the first fruits among everyone who has slept in the dust before His coming, and the first fruits of everyone who trusts in Him after. And He will return just as He promised to bring God’s Kingdom fully to earth.
For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
1 Corinthians 15:25–26
And this is what gives us hope!
We see God’s faithfulness to deliver His people from slavery in Egypt.
We bow down in awe and humble worship for His lovingkindness to send Himself a Passover lamb on our behalf.
We lift our voice with shouts of joy that Yeshua didn’t stay in the tomb, dead, but rose again to life to conquer death and the grave!
We celebrate that He is the firstfruits among the dead, and that one day we will join Him in the fullness of His kingdom that will know no end.
With this confident hope, we join with the apostles and early Jewish followers of Yeshua and stake our very lives on the fact that He will fulfill His promise to return.
Offering up your firstfruits
This Resurrection Sunday, let us remember the first fruits of the promise.
Let us raise our hands in worship as a wave offering before Yeshua our great high priest!
Let us worship our God with joyful shouts of adoration and praise!
Let us offer up our thankful hearts as an offering to the One who gave His life on our behalf!
Let our lives become the living sacrifice as we draw near to the great King!
So we remember the words of Jesus, “Yes! I am coming soon!” and let us proclaim with every ounce of awe and joy we can muster: “Amen! Come, Lord Yeshua, come!”
And as you celebrate, may the grace, peace, and joy of the King Yeshua be with you all!
