Spring Festivals, Pt 3: First Fruits
Leviticus 23:9-14 9The LORD said to Moses, 10“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. 11He is to wave the sheaf before the LORD so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. 12On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the LORD a lamb a year old without defect, 13together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with olive oil—a food offering presented to the LORD, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine. 14You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.
1Cor. 15:20-23 20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the Firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in turn: Christ, the First fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
Rom. 8:22-23 22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the First fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.
In 313 the Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire and in the process divested the faith of its Jewish roots. The sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday and other changes were made as well. One of these changes was related to the observance of the Resurrection. The traditional Christian Church’s most holy day is the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus, known as Easter. This name comes from the name of an Anglo-Saxon pagan goddess of Spring, Eostre, whose celebration occurred every spring about the time of Passover.
Prior to the appearance of Messiah, the Jewish sacrificial system was the means by which God instructed his people about redemption, healing of sin, and the salvation of their souls. Over the centuries, he had taught his people that he was to be their raison d’etre, their reason for living. This played out in every aspect of their lives including the manner in which they made offerings to God. The sacrificial system is a very big subject, worthy of its own blog, and so won’t be developed here. But part of that system was the idea of First fruits, which was the concept that the first part of everything a devout Jew did was to be offered to God. So the choicest bundle of grapes, the first bunch of grain, or the first born of a flock was brought to the Temple as an offering to God. Because God is sovereign creator the first issue from man, beast, or soil was considered holy and offered to him. Similarly, as Christ rose from the dead three days after his crucifixion, his resurrection is seen as the First fruit of the resurrection we all will see at the return of Christ.
So rather than Easter, which has become so paganized, Jews and Messianics celebrate the Resurrection of Christ at the holiday of First fruits three days after the Passover celebrated to mark his crucifixion. But is there something more here? Is First fruits just the celebration of his resurrection? Is there more than history here? Well certainly there is because the Resurrection of Jesus is the sign to us who believe that we have eternity with him ahead of us. The 1Corinthians and Romans verses shown above carry the idea that God’s children through his Son eagerly and excitedly look forward to that day when we will see him face to face.
So if we, who call Jesus our Lord, learn anything at all from this Jewish Festival it ought to be that we also should make Jesus our reason for living. He made us after all. He loves us, he nurtures us, cares for us and guides our lives in ways we can’t possibly understand. But one thing we known for absolute surety: Jesus voluntarily went to the Cross to recue us from the consequences of our sin. His resurrection is a guarantee that we also will resurrect and join him in eternity. But here’s the thing: we humans are prone to sin. We might be tempted to say, “Well, since I have guaranteed access to Heaven now, I can live anyway I want! Right?” No, that’s not right. Salvation, with all its benefits, is a starting point. It is an open door through which we walk and once on the other side everything changes. Jesus no longer is a sort of curiosity; he is our Master and Savior.
In James chapter 2 God says that faith without works is dead. In other verses he is even more dramatic.
14Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16as you hold firmly to the word of life. (Philippians 2:14-16)
9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1Peter 2:9)
22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24)
16So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)
Our lives change because through our salvation we become new humans different from the rest of the world. Firstfruits is a reminder of what Jesus did and also that we are different and ought to live differently. So let’s decide to put away our old sinful ways of doing things and choose to live in a way that pleases God. It’s the right thing to do.