Did you know that Jesus rose from the dead on the ancient Israel Holy Day that we call First Fruits? This annual Spring Feast had been established by God and observed since the time of Moses. Jesus ultimately fulfilled it!
Let’s take a closer look at this amazing Feast and all of its profound glory and meaning for each of us today.
Consider that in winter, the earth looks dead and lifeless compared to its vibrant colors and life-inspiring nature. What looked gray and brown just a few weeks earlier suddenly awakens. Fruit appears, flowers bloom, and leaves suddenly grow—nature’s colors arise in full display.
Even as the Earth looks dead and seems lifeless in the winter, before new life breaks through in the spring, so too Jesus was the first of those to arise from the dead. And He did it on the spring Holy Day that we call the Feast of First Fruits.
This is another example of how the Old Testament connects with the New Testament. And it underscores that Yeshua is the “glue” that holds it all together. In fact, the entirety of God’s written Word all points to a central theme and person – Yeshua the Messiah. There is no doubt, gray area, or question — Jesus is the fulfillment of all of Scripture. He is what it is all about.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Rev. 22:13).
Beloved, Yeshua is the culmination of all 66 books of the Bible. And although there are endless subjects and angles we could expound upon regarding this, probably the most profound is His resurrection.
Undoubtedly, the most significant and impactful historical event that has ever happened is the death and resurrection of Messiah Jesus! Think about it – there is no other act that carries this eternal weight: Yeshua conquered death!
“He is not here, for He has risen” (Matt. 28:6).
Let’s dig deeper into the Feast of First Fruits and its meaning for us today. To do that, we need to start at its beginning:
“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and you gather 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” (Lev. 23:10–11).
During the Feast of First Fruits, the Israelites would take the first part of their spring harvest and offer it to God, thus sanctifying their whole harvest. This principle provides a key insight into why we are accepted by Father God when we make Jesus our Savior.
Look again: “When you enter the land which I am going to give you and gather its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the…” Get this now: “first fruits.”
The reason I want you to notice the term “first fruits” here is that when Paul talks about the resurrection of Messiah Jesus, he says that Jesus was the first fruits of those who are raised from the dead.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, “But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep” ( Verse 20).
Paul, being a Hebrew from birth, was familiar with the Torah and, through divine revelation, revealed a direct connection to the resurrection of Yeshua and the prophetic meaning of the ancient Feast of First Fruits.
So once again, “…you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD for you to be accepted…”
When the sheaf of the first fruits was lifted up by the priest and waved before the Lord:
That Israelite farmer and his whole harvest were then sanctified and accepted by the Lord.
In other words, they took the first fruit of their harvest, dedicated it to the Lord, and waved it unto Him. This was an act of honoring and thanking Father. Then, in response, God accepted and sanctified the farmer and his whole harvest.
Likewise, Jesus is the first fruit, the first one raised from the dead, who ascended to the Father. And because the Lord God accepted Him, Father now accepts us. As a result of that first fruit being consecrated, the rest of the harvest was then consecrated! Through Jesus, we are counted as being accepted by God; we are part of Jesus’ fruitage!
Beloved one, we are accepted in Messiah because of His shed blood and His resurrection. He rose from the dead as the ultimate “First Fruit” after giving His life for us. And because He’s accepted, in Him we become accepted as part of His harvest. Father loves, adores, and dotes over each one of us; He created us, sent His Son to die for us, and now lives within us. Through Messiah Yeshua, Father now looks upon us as His sons and daughters.
“He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1: 5-7).
Beloved, you are accepted 100% by God, and do not let anyone or anything tell you otherwise.
This year, the Feast of First Fruits begins at sunset on Friday, April 7, and ends at nightfall on Saturday, April 8.
Rabbi Schneider hosts the impactful television program Discovering The Jewish Jesus, which is available in more than 100 million homes in the United States and nearly 200 nations worldwide. In 2021, he began broadcasting on the radio and now airs across America. Rabbi Schneider imparts the revelation of Jesus’ Jewish heritage and His fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. Questions of how the Old and New Testaments tie together, and how Yeshua completes the unfolding plan of The Almighty Yahweh, are answered with exceptional clarity.
www.discoveringthejewishjesus.com/about-2/rabbi-schneider/
