Paul the Poke

1 Corinthians 15:20-24a But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming…

So people ask, what are the “first fruits”? This is a reference to the Lord’s Festival. It is as known as different titles. It is called the “Feast of First Fruits” in Christianity. In Hebraic Judaism, it is known as “Reshit Katzir”. In a Jewish mindset it means, the beginning of the harvest. The harvest is resurrected bodies. First Fruits is the third of the LORD’s spring holidays. First Fruits has its roots in the Old Testament after the Jews Exodus out of Egypt.

Leviticus 23:9-14 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. Now on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect for a burnt offering to the LORD. Its grain offering shall then be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire to the LORD for a soothing aroma, with its drink offering, a fourth of a hin of wine. Until this same day, until you have brought in the offering of your God, you shall eat neither bread nor roasted grain nor new growth. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. 

The Jewish people were given this appointment from God after leaving Egypt. There are specific directions as to the administration of this holiday. Traditionally, the first fruit to be harvested is barley. The grain is to be presented before God as a fine flour mixed with oil and baked. Translation, a barley bread was baked without yeast (yeast is symbolically sin). The drink offering is wine. Contained in these instructions is a foreshadowing of the elements of communion, bread and wine. Who proclaimed to be the “bread of life”?

Another condition, a perfect lamb was presented and sacrificed. Jesus is called the Lamb of God at least 27 times in the Book of Revelation alone. We know He was sacrificed on a cross. Christ, the seed of grain, was planted in a tomb and resurrected a glorified, incorruptible body.

This is to take place one day after the Sabbath, the first day of the week, or Sunday. God tells the Jewish people this festival is to be completed continually where ever you live. Give thanks to God before eating.

Jesus is the initial harvest of the resurrection. There was a wave of believers in Jesus who were resurrected in Jerusalem after Christ (Matthew 27:52-53). Christ, as high priest, presented and waived this resurrected harvest before the Father.

These spring holidays tell the story of Jesus at His first coming. He was the Passover Lamb that was sacrificed. He was buried before the Sabbath began. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was celebrated on the Sabbath. And he was resurrected on the first day of the week in accordance with the Feast of First Fruits. The Jewish people participated in this holiday for thousands of years from the time of Moses. These spring feasts were literally fulfilled to the day in the person of Jesus.

So who is next? But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming…

This entry was posted on May 18, 2014 at 9:37 AM and is filed under Gospel, Prophecy, Spring Feasts with tags 1 corinthians 15, Feasts of the Lord, First Fruits, Jesus Christ, Jewish Holidays, Leviticus, Matthew 27, Resurrection. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.