Jesus can be found in the Jewish feast of firstfruits just as he can in all Jewish feasts. The feast of firstfruits is one of the seven authorized feasts that God ordered the Israelites to observe. It is the third spring feast and occurs in the Jewish month of Nisan around March or April of our calendar. The feast of firstfruits was always on the day after the sabbath following passover. It would be on a Sunday or the first day of the week. The feast of firstfruits occurs during the feast of unleavened bread which is the seven day feast that starts the day after passover. The Israelites were to offer an offering on the first day of the feast of unleavened bread. The offering of the firstfruits of their barley harvest was used for this occasion. The Israelites were to gather an omer of barley which is roughly four dry quarts and place it into a sheaf [bundle tied together]. Barley was the spring harvest. They were to bring this to the priest at the court of the temple or before this to the tabernacle. The priest then winnowed (blew air through the grain to remove the chaff [husks], parched (dried with heat), and bruised the barley grain. This was on the first day of the feast of unleavened bread. The next day the priest put some incense on the sheaf and then waved it before the LORD and then he threw some of the grain into the fire on the altar for an offering to the LORD. The LORD would accept this meat offering and then bless the rest of the harvest. The Israelites could not eat any of the barley before offering the firstfruits of the barley to the LORD. The day the sheaves were waived was the second day of the feast of unleavened bread and also the feast of first fruits. (Leviticus 23:4-14 ¶ These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.
5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’S passover.
6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.
7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
9 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:
11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.
12 And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD.
13 And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin.
14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.) The feast of firstfruits as verse 14 shows was to be observed forever by the Israelites, but after the destruction of the temple in AD 70, it was no longer observed. Barley was always the grain of the poor with wheat being for the rich. I believe the significance of the barley shows Jesus not only came as a poor man, but for all people including the poor to bring everlasting life to them and make all people rich through him.
The Israelites did not observe the feast of firstfruits until they had entered the Promised Land as verse 10 shows. It was not celebrated in the wilderness. The Israelites had to be in the Promised Land to grow the crops as they previously wandered around. This was also done to represent how the Jews struggled in the wilderness as they wandered in sin and how in the Promised Land they had rest just as a person only has rest in Jesus after they are saved. The wilderness represented bondage to sin whereas the Promised Land represented the life a Christian has in Jesus after his resurrection. Just as the Israelites could not eat any of the barley prior to the offering of the firstfruits, neither could a person fully partake of their salvation until after the resurrection of Jesus as the firstfruits. The old testament saints did not have the Holy Ghost living full time in them.
Jesus died on passover as our passover lamb and then he rose from the grave on Sunday which was the feast of firstfruits to become the firstfruits of resurrection. (I Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:) (I Corinthians 15:20-23 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.) Jesus had to be the first person to receive his glorified resurrected body. This allowed that the rest of us will also get a resurrected glorified body someday. New testament Christians will get their glorified bodies at the rapture and old testament saints at the second coming of Jesus at the end of the great tribulation just before the millennium and the thousand year reign of Jesus. On that glorious resurrection Sunday that was the feast of firstfruits as Jesus rose from the grave, at the same time the priests would have been waving the sheaves of grain of the people’s offerings to the LORD asking for God to accept the offering and bless the rest of the barley harvest not realizing that Jesus, their Messiah and High Priest had rose from the grave as the firstfruits for all those who would believe in him. The priests missed out on the real firstfruits. (Hebrews 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;) Jesus overcame death by being the firstfruits of resurrection guaranteeing that those who are saved have also overcome spiritual death. (John 11:25-26 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?) Jesus asks do you believe he will give you everlasting life. Everyone must answer this question for themselves and must answer yes Jesus is the resurrection and life and believe if they want everlasting life. The feast of firstfruits points to Jesus as our resurrection and life and points to his second coming in the fall feasts that we can rejoice over and look forward to. The spring feasts show Jesus in his first coming as our Saviour and point to Jesus in the fall feasts as our King.
Seven sabbaths and a day, or fifty days after the feast of firstfruits, the Israelites were to celebrate the feast of harvest or Pentecost. (Leviticus 23:15-16 ¶ And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.) The Israelites were to do no work on Pentecost and were to offer another meat offering. God gave the Holy Ghost to believers on Pentecost as his meat offering to all true believers. Jesus ascended to heaven so the Comforter who is the Holy Ghost could come and live in us. (John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.) (I Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.) Jesus gave us the firstfruits of the Spirit on Pentecost. (Romans 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.) This verse shows how Christians should look to the day they get their glorified, resurrected bodies that is now possible due to Jesus having been our firstfruits.
The feast of firstfruits must go hand in hand with passover as the passover represents the death of Jesus and the feast of firstfruits his resurrection. You cannot have a resurrection without having a death. Passover represents Jesus being slain and the feast of firstfruits Jesus being raised up. The death of Jesus would have been in vain if he had not rose from the grave, so you must have a resurrection with that death. You cannot separate these two feasts. (I Corinthians 15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.) Those who are saved are still alive even though their physical bodies may be dead thanks to Jesus being our firstfruits of resurrection. Thank God for the empty grave. (Luke 24:1-7 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.
3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.) Jesus is alive and well and sits at the right hand of God the Father with the right hand denoting prominence and therefore we can rejoice in our everlasting lives and look to the things above in heaven and not focus on the things here on earth. (Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.)
We as Christians celebrate Easter as Resurrection Day or the day Jesus rose from the grave. We really should be celebrating the feast of firstfruits as the true Resurrection Day. Some years Easter comes before passover which destroys the connection for Christians witnessing to Jews about the resurrection of Jesus as you have the resurrection on Easter before having the death of Jesus on passover.
Jesus was bound in grave clothes when he was buried. This bounding is symbolic of the barley bound in sheaves that would become the firstfruits. (Mark 15:46 And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre.)
We see how Jesus as our firstfruits and High Priest ascended to heaven after his resurrection that Sunday morning to offer his blood on the heavenly altar as a firstfruits offering to God. This completed our redemption and allowed us to have everlasting life for those who receive Jesus as their Saviour. This was why Jesus told Mary Magdelene not to touch him when she saw him by the tomb and thought he was the gardener. (John 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.) Mary could not touch Jesus until he placed his blood on the heavenly altar. Then he returned that day to see his disciples and then he could be touched. Modern bibles change this to phrases such as “Do not cling to me” or something similar and miss the connection. Mary could not even touch Jesus, not just cling to him as she would have polluted him if she had touched him due to her sin.
For Jews or anyone who may be listening and are not saved, realize that Jesus your Messiah died for yours and my sins on passover and rose victoriously from the grave on the feast of firstfruits so that you might have eternal life. Call upon Jesus today to save you. See how each Jewish feast pointed to Jesus and thank God for sending his Son Jesus to save each of us. Start celebrating the feast of firstfruits and all Jewish feasts with a new understanding of what Jesus did for us and will bring us in the future.
