He is risen - Jesus, the Firstfruits of God's harvest!

Not only does Jesus fulfill the Feast of Passover with his crucifixion, he also fulfills one of the Lord’s Feasts with his Resurrection!

We all know Jesus rose on a Sunday, but we sometimes miss the actual Scriptural fulfillment that took place.

The Feast of Firstfruits is frequently over-looked today. God commanded His people make a Firstfruits offering to Him on the day after the Sabbath following Passover (remember: the Sabbath is Saturday, so Firstfruits would fall on the Sunday after Passover).

In obedience to His command, the High Priest of Israel would wave the Firstfruits of their barley harvest before the Lord on this day.

The LORD said to Moses, “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. He 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. Leviticus 23:10-11

Jesus, as High Priest, also fulfilled His father’s command as He rose from the dead on this Feast day:

Early on the first day of the week, (the day after the Sabbath) while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance… but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb… At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus… Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' John 20:1-17

Jesus is the Firstfruits of God’s harvest! He is depicted as so in many places throughout the New Testament.

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 1 Corinthians 15:20-23

He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. James 1:18

These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. Revelation 14:4

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers Romans 8:29

Just as the barley was waved before God in Jerusalem for all to see, Jesus also presented the Firstfruits of His harvest before God:

The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. Matthew 27:52-53

Jesus... the Firstfruits of God’s harvest!