III. Messiah: the Firstfruits
In the letter of Paul to
the Corinthians, this was said of Yeshua (Jesus),
“But now is Christ risen
from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept” (I Corinthians
15:20 KJV).
Paul’s use of the term “slept”
refers to those who are the righteous dead. Paul had great insight when
it came to understanding the fuller purpose that God revealed through the
institution of the feasts or divinely appointed times. Paul knew that the
Firstfruits celebration was the beginning of the harvest in which the first
sheaf of barley reaped was given to Yehovah as the first fruits before
the rest of the harvest could be reaped. By knowing that Messiah is the
fullness of all things, Paul refers to the pattern in which the harvest
was reaped as pointing to the resurrection of Messiah and the saints.
“For since by man came death,
by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die,
even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order:
Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming”
(I Corinthians 15:21-23
KJV).
Yeshua (Jesus) not only rose
on Firstfruits but he also became the first fruits. He revealed the greater
significance of God’s purpose for the feast of Firstfruits which is his
resurrection, and secured the hope of the resurrection for all of God’s
people.
