JESUS IS THE FIRST FRUITS

THE WAVE SHEAF OFFERING - SUNDAY MORNING!

Why did Jesus' resurrection have to take place on this day of the year?

Jesus is risen and has interacted with Mary revealing Himself, but He says a very curious thing to her. He said,  "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father." What does that mean? 

If we are ignorant of the Feasts of the Lord, this phrase makes absolutely no sense. If however, we were familiar with the Feasts of the Lord, we would know that the First Fruits of the barley harvest must be presented in a wave sheaf offering on the first day of the week, that follows the weekly sabbath. Specifically the sabbath that falls during the week long Feast of Unleavened Bread. 

In 2014 First Fruits falls on Sunday April 20. It does not coincide with the date of the resurrection which is today April 17. But in the year that Jesus died and was resurrected the two events fell on the same exact day. 

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts. 

The Sabbath ‘Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings. 

The Feast of Passover

‘These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. 
On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is   the Lord's Passover.  

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 

The Feast of Firstfruits

‘When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. 

He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. ... it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.   
LEVITICUS 23 : 1-11

And so Jesus ascended into Heaven and presented Himself at the appointed time before the Father as the first fruits of many brethren, this festival happens at the beginning of the barley harvest. And barley is a symbol for over-comers, so, Jesus is declaring Himself, as the first fruits of those who will overcome. 

That is why he said to Mary, "do not cling to me for I have not yet ascended to my Father." 

You can find the criteria for selecting the right day by reading the law and then applying it. In V11 the day after the sabbath (weekly sabbath) or after Saturday, the day we call Sunday.  but the question remains...Which Saturday? 

We can deduce that from the following verses in Leviticus 23:15-16 below. The correct sabbath (Saturday) is counted back seven weeks before the Festival of Weeks. So this particular Saturday has to fall during the week of unleavened bread immediately following Passover. 

In 2014 the sabbath falling during the feast of unleavened bread is April 19. 

The Feast of Weeks - Pentecost seven Saturdays after the Saturday that falls during the Feast of Unleavened bread. 

15 ‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 16 Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.

When we look into Scripture with an understanding that comes from Scripture itself rather than looking at it through the filter of our culture, a lot of confusion drops away and the truth is revealed. Because our cultural understanding has come out of many church traditions. Some of them were instituted to break the connection with the biblical record on purpose by the Roman church.  

Their reasoning? Because the biblical feasts were seen as Jewish, not applying to the church. 

Did you know that this is still the prevalent attitude of most churches today? Most churches simply ignore the Feasts of the Lord because they believe they are Jewish and therefore part of the old covenant, they should be ignored. 

Inspite the fact that with great purpose, God had to share His feasts with the Israelites, when they were coming out of Egypt. Before God spelled out in detail His feasts Jews like us were ignorant of them! 

In other words, the festivals never were Jewish, they were established by God and loaned to the Hebrew children when they became His people. 

Today, as His people, we should also come into an understanding of what God instituted His Feasts for. 

They do NOT belong to the Jews, (Hebrews only) any more than Christ belongs only to the Jews. 

It is this indifference toward understanding the Feasts of The Lord, that leads to many slight misconceptions about passages of Scripture, and then out of those misconceptions, wrong conclusions are made, because we fail to discern the context.  Then we promote the wrong concepts until they become church traditions (false doctrines) and they take on a life of their own. 

Many New Testament Christians, half believe the Old Testament is irrelevant, since we are now in the New Covenant, but the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy and said,

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.  2 Timothy 3:16 New King James Version (NKJV)

Isn't it exciting to know that Jesus fulfilled every one of the requirements of the law and the prophets?

If you want to look into this topic of First Fruits more deeply, go here!