Pastor David B. Curtis
Pastor David B. Curtis
The single most significant event in the history of the human race took place on the first Sunday after Passover in about the year A.D. 30. It's the day we're celebrating today; Biblically it is called "The Feast of First Fruits." Now, you may be thinking: "I thought today was called 'Easter.'"
Let me tell you a little bit about Easter. The name "Easter" is derived from a pagan spring, fertility deity who appears variously as Eostre, the Saxon goddess of dawn with a hare's head (the origin of Easter bunnies); Ishtar, from Ninevah, introduced into Britain with the Druids; Astarte, the queen of heaven, from Babylon whose worship involved sexual depravity (The egg figures prominently in the worship of Easter Astarte was said to have sprung from an Egg which fell from Heaven into the Euphrates). Even the fast of Lent, which was introduce in the sixth century, was borrowed from Babylon. A similar fast was observed by the Egyptians in commemoration of Osiris.
The Easter celebration is pagan, even the name comes from a pagan god. It is quite interesting that in the context of the feasts, God gave this commandment to Israel:
Exodus 23:13 (NASB) "Now concerning everything which I have said to you, be on your guard; and do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your mouth.
God told Israel not to even mention the name of pagan gods, but the church has a celebration that is named after a pagan god.
What is Christian about Easter? Nothing! Easter is a pagan holiday. There is nothing about Easter in the Bible. Easter is never mentioned by the Lord, or the apostles, nor was it was ever observed by the early church!
Today is a very important date in History. It is the first Sunday after the Passover, which was called the "Feast of First Fruits." In the fourth century, the Roman emperor, Constantine, issued the Easter Rule, which states that Easter shall be celebrated on the first Sunday that occurs after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox. So the church adapted the pagan holiday of Easter and celebrated it on the Biblical holiday of the feast of first fruits. By doing this, the significance of the feast of First Fruits was lost in all the nonsense of the Easter celebration. This day is not about bunnies, colored eggs, or dressing up; this day is about the resurrection from the dead.
Let's look at what the Bible tells us about the significance of this day. To do so, we need to go back to the book of Leviticus. Old Covenant Israel had seven holidays that were prescribed by God. These seven holidays are discussed throughout the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments. But only in Leviticus 23 are all seven holidays listed in chronological sequence. These seven holidays are called, the Feasts of the Lord.
Leviticus 23:4 (NASB) 'These are the appointed times of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them.
The KJV says, "These are the feast of the Lord." The word "feasts" is the Hebrew word mow'ed, which means: "to keep an appointment" or "appointed times." The words "holy convocation" mean: "rehearsal." In other words, the feasts of the Lord were appointed times of worship for Israel that would serve as "dress rehearsals" in God's prophetic calendar. These feast are not just part of the heritage of Israel, there is something much deeper going on here.
Fundamentally, these seven feasts represent and typify the sequence, timing, and significance of the major events of the Lord's redemptive career. They commence at Calvary, where Jesus voluntarily gave Himself for the sins of the world (Passover), and climax at the consummation of the messianic Kingdom at the Lord's second coming. These seven feasts depict the entire redemptive career of the Messiah. The number "seven" is the biblical number of completion.
The study of the feasts is a study in typology. Typology is the interpretation of Old Testament events, persons, and ceremonies as signs which prefigured Christ's fulfillment in the New Covenant with the church.
Colossians 2:16-17 (NASB) Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival [heorte] or a new moon or a Sabbath day-- 17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.
Colossians 2:17 indicates that the Feasts are shadows to teach us about Christ. When we study the Feasts of the Lord, we are in reality studying Christ. Each Feast is a prophetic picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. These feasts are shadows - that is they pointed to the Lord; but once the Lord returned, we don't need the shadow, we have the reality. So today we don't celebrate the feast of First Fruits, because it is a shadow, we celebrate what the feast foreshadowed, which was the resurrection of Christ.
Let's look at the first several feasts so we can see the significance of the feast of First Fruits.
The first feast was called Passover:
Leviticus 23:5 (NASB) 'In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the LORD'S Passover.
In order to fully understand and appreciate the feasts being appointed times given by God, it is important to understand the biblical calendar that God gave us. There are two primary calendars in the Bible. The first is called the civil calendar and is used from Genesis 1:1 to Exodus 12. The first month in the civil calendar is Tishrei. The first day in the civil calendar is the beginning of the new year. This is known in Judaism as "Rosh HaShanah". Biblically, it is called the "Memorial of Blowing of Trumpets or the Feast of Trumpets". The second calendar in the Bible is the religious calendar. The religious calendar is used from Exodus 12 to Revelation 22. God established the religious calendar in:
Exodus 12:1-2 (NASB) Now the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 "This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.
The month that God was referring to was the month of Nisan. Prior to God's establishing the month of Nisan as the first month in the religious calendar, it was the seventh month in the civil calendar. God gave the religious calendar so we could understand that these feasts, which He gave and which are His appointed times foreshadow important events in His plan of redemption.
Passover is the foundational feast. The other six feasts that follow are built upon it. Passover occurs in the spring of the year, on the 14th day of the Hebrew month, Nisan (March/April).
We need to be aware of the Jewish calender. We view midnight to midnight as a day. But the Jewish community, taking its cues from Genesis 1 where the Bible says "...the evening and the morning were the first day", observes their days as starting at sundown. Normally at 6:00 but, formally at sundown.
Of the many words that would best describe what happened in Egypt 3500 years ago one word says it best REDEMPTION. The events were real, the miracles genuine all wrought by the God of the Hebrews, who was greater than all the gods of Egypt. A group of slaves were redeemed, so they could worship the true and living God. But such a redemption was not without cost. Blood was to be shed to secure their redemption; the blood of a lamb, a Passover Lamb. All of those lambs sacrificed down in Egypt (one per household) pointed to the one true Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Writing to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul draws the parallel for all time when he says, "Christ, our Passover Lamb, was sacrificed for us." (I Cor. 5:7).
John 1:28-29 (NASB) These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29 The next day he saw^ Jesus coming to him, and said^, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Passover was a shadow or type; the anti-type was Calvary. Passover was celebrated on the 14th of Nisan. And Jesus Christ was crucified on the 14th of Nisan. While Israel was celebrating their Passover, Jesus, the true Lamb of God, was being crucified. This begins the second Exodus to the promised land of the new heavens and new earth.
The second feast is called the "Feast of Unleavened bread:"
Leviticus 23:6 (NASB) 'Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.
God appointed the Feast of Unleavened Bread to begin the very next day after Passover, on the 15th of the Hebrew month, Nisan. It was to last for seven days. The first and last days of this Feast were recognized and observed as high Sabbaths:
Leviticus 23:7-8 (NASB) 'On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work. 8 'But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.'"
On the first night, and again on the seventh, there was to be a holy convocation - these were high Sabbaths.
As with the other feasts of the Lord in Leviticus 23, the prophetic meaning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is found in the work of the Messiah. Passover pictures the substitutionary DEATH of the Messiah as the Passover Lamb. The Feast of Unleavened Bread pictures the BURIAL of the Messiah and His sinless life.
The third feast is called "First fruits," and this is the feast that we want to focus on this morning:
Leviticus 23:10-11 (NASB) "Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, 'When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. 11 'And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD for you to be accepted; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.
What date is this feast to take place on? Passover was to take place on the 14th of Nissan. The feast of Unleavened bread was to take place on the 15th of Nissan. What date is First Fruits? There is no date given. The inspired text says that this third feast occurs "...on the day after the Sabbath..."! Most scholars say the feast of First Fruits took place on the 16th of Nisan. They take the Sabbath here to be the Sabbath of the first day of Unleavened bread. But I believe that the Sabbath referred to here is the weekly Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. Let me try to explain why: If "First Fruits" occurs on the 16th of Nisan, and it pictures Christ resurrection, this does not allow for Jesus to be in the grave 3 days and 3 nights:
Matthew 12:40 (NASB) for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
I take this to mean 3 full days, or 72 hours. We know that Jesus was buried at the end of the 14th of Nisan. He was in the tomb on the 15th of Nisan and would have remained in the tomb until the 18th of Nisan. There is no date given in Scripture for the feast of First fruits, because it is always on a Sunday! So, the date would change from year to year, but it is always on a Sunday - the first day of the week. What is interesting is that on the year that Christ was crucified, there had to be three days between the 14th and the first day of the week. And it just so happens that there was.
If Christ spent 3 days and nights in the grave, this would mean that the traditional idea of Christ being crucified on Friday is incorrect. I believe that Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, was buried by the end of the day. He was in the grave from Thursday at sundown until Saturday at Sundown, which is 3 days, and 3 nights or 72 hours. He rose from the dead on Sunday - sometime after sundown on Saturday evening.
Here is a time line:
14th of Nisan- Jesus was tried early morning and declared faultless by Pilate (Wednesday). He was hung on the Cross from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM. Jesus dies the same time the Passover lambs are being slaughtered in the temple. He is prepared for burial and placed in tomb just before sunset.
15th of Nisan- the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (which was a High Sabbath) Jesus is In the tomb. 1st night and 1st day (Thursday).
16th of Nisan- Jesus spends the 2nd night and 2nd day in the tomb (Friday).
17th of Nisan- Jesus spends the 3rd night and 3rd day in the tomb ( Saturday of the Jewish Sabbath).
18th of Nisan- Jesus is resurrected at the close of the Sabbath, beginning the first day of the week. This is the day of First Fruits, Jesus' body could not be found, the tomb was empty (Sunday).
The confusion about Jesus being crucified on Friday may come from:
John 19:31 (NASB) The Jews therefore, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
Remember that the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a special High Sabbath and no work is to be done. We assume they had to get Jesus' body in the tomb before the weekly Sabbath, but it wasn't the weekly Sabbath; it was the High Sabbath of Unleavened Bread.
So, Passover occurs on the 14th, Unleavened Bread occurs on the 15th (and lasts till the 22nd); and "First fruits" occurs on the day after the weekly Sabbath or Sunday, the first day of the week. So first fruits is ALWAYS on a SUNDAY. As to the significance of the Feast of First fruits, as with the other feasts, there is no room for doubt or speculation that it represents Christ's resurrection:
1 Corinthians 15:20-23 (NASB) But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming,
On one particular morning, the feast of first fruits were being waved before the alter in the temple, and that particular morning some women were heading to an empty tomb:
Mark 16:1-9 (NASB) And when the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, they came^ to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?" 4 And looking up, they saw^ that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. 6 And he said^ to them, "Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. 7 "But go, tell His disciples and Peter, 'He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He said to you.'" 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. 9 <Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.
FIRST FRUITS pictures the RESURRECTION of the Messiah. This feast took place after the weekly Sabbath, or Sunday, the first day of the week. Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week. Are these just coincidence, or was God teaching us the history of redemption?
So, hundreds of years before Christ was ever born, God was teaching His people that their Messiah would come and He would die for them on Passover, the 14th of Nissan. Jesus was the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. God was teaching His people that for three days Jesus would be in the tomb, and that He would arise from the dead on the first day of the week - the very day that Israel celebrated the feast of First Fruit. Jesus became the first to raise from the dead.
Prophecy proves the truthfulness of the Bible. How do we know that it is not just another book? The Bible can be verified as the Word of God in many different ways. Scientifically, the Bible is amazingly accurate. Historically, the Bible gives stories of wars, locations of ancient cities, the existence of lost civilizations, and many other things that were once thought to be historically inaccurate. As archaeologists uncover the ruins of the Middle East, the Bible is being verified as accurate. I think that one of the greatest proofs of veracity of the Bible is fulfilled prophecy. God said certain things would happen, and they happened. No other book in the world contains the kind of specific prophecies found all throughout the pages of the Bible. There is no comparison, for example, between the Oracles of Nostradamus and the Old Testament prophecies about Jesus Christ. The prophecies of the Old Testament are often so obvious, that many secular scholars have unsuccessfully attempted to assign later dates to some of these prophecies to make it appear that the prophecies were made up after the events. That's how stunning some of this stuff is.
Fifteen hundred years before Christ's resurrection, God predicted in type and shadow that Jesus would be crucified on the 14th of Nisan and would rise from the dead three days later on the first day of the week, and it happened exactly as God said it would.
Without Jesus fulfilling the feast of First Fruit by His resurrection, the church never would have come into existence. Before Jesus was even dead, the overwhelming majority of his followers had deserted him. In fact, do you remember the Apostle Peter? He was one of Jesus' key disciples. But when Jesus was facing death, he deserted Him, he denied ever having anything to do with him, and he disappeared - he went back to his fishing boat. When Jesus died, it appeared that His cause would die with Him.
But, it didn't happen that way. The followers of Jesus didn't fade into oblivion. In fact, they all came back bolder and more courageous than ever before. What happened? What made the difference? Resurrection, that's what made the difference. When they saw Jesus die on Wednesday, they were plunged into indescribable disparagement and agony. Jesus was dead, they put him in a tomb, and everyone assumed that that was that. Then, He came back to life. Seeing firsthand His resurrection from the dead changed his followers' perspective on life, and everything related to it.
Seeing the risen Lord changed the disciples from disparagement and agony to boldness and joy. What else can explain the great change in their attitude? Did they all say, "Let's pretend He's alive, let's say that He rose from the dead"? Then they all went out and laid down their lives for a lie? The majority of them were persecuted unto death. Some of them were thrown into boiling caldrons of oil, some of them were burned at the stake, some of them were crucified - all for a known lie? That is psychologically impossible! They sealed their testimony with their blood, because they had seen the risen Lord.
Jesus not only defeated death for Himself, He promises resurrection and life to all who put their trust in Him:
John 11:25-27 (NASB) Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She said^ to Him, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world."
In verse 26, Jesus asks, "Do you believe this?" What is this? It is the statement about Jesus himself that He gives in verse 25. He tells Mary that He is the resurrection and life. But that's not all He asks her to believe. Jesus is saying, "I guarantee eternal life to everyone who believes in Me." To believe that Jesus is the Christ is in essence to believe that He is the guarantor of eternal life to everyone who trusts in Him.
Because of the resurrection, these words carry weight they never would have carried otherwise. If He had remained in the grave, the question of whether or not He is the only way to heaven would be a matter of debate. However, the resurrection answers the question and ends the argument once and for all. Is Jesus really the son of God? Well, He has power over death, so I guess that means He is everything He claimed to be.
To deny the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is to destroy the entire basis of the Christian faith. The Christian faith is not based primarily on the teachings of Jesus, the life of Jesus, the miracles of Jesus, or the death of Jesus. The Christian faith is based on all of these, culminating in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. If there is no resurrection, all of these other factors are valueless.
Does a person have to believe in the resurrection of Christ to be a Christian? Yes! If you do not believe that He rose from the dead, you are saying He is a liar:
Romans 10:9-10 (NASB) that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; 10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Eternal life is predicated on belief in the resurrection. You must believe: "that God has raised Him from the dead." Why is belief in the resurrection so important? The resurrection proved that Christ was all that He said He was. Jesus was not just a great teacher, great prophet, or a good example. He is Lord! What you believe about Jesus will determine where you spend eternity:
John 3:36 (NASB) "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
Hopefully, you can see the importance in the resurrection. If you dismiss the resurrection, you pull the very heart out of Christianity. Because of the resurrection, Christ can offer eternal life to all who trust in Him.
John 11:25-26 (NASB) Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
Jesus is saying, "He who believes in me shall live (spiritually), even if he dies (physically), and everyone who lives (physically), and believes in Me, shall never die (spiritually)."
Two categories of believers are discussed: those who would die before the resurrection and those who would not. For those who died under the Old Covenant, He was the Resurrection, but for those who lived into the days of the New Covenant - which is all of us, He is the Life.
Under the New Covenant, there is no death, spiritually speaking:
1 Corinthians 15:54-57 (NASB) But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. 55 "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Speaking of the glories of the New Covenant, John wrote:
Revelation 21:4 (NASB) and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."
Where there is no death, there is no need of a resurrection. Those who have trusted in Christ have eternal life and can never die spiritually. Therefore, they don't need a resurrection.
What happens to us at death? Since the resurrection is past, what happens to believers when they die? Their physical body goes back to dust from which it came:
Ecclesiastes 3:20 (NASB) All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust.
And their spirit goes to be with the Lord:
2 Corinthians 5:6-8 (NASB) Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord-- 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight-- 8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
The resurrection was a one time event in which the Old Testament saints were brought out of Hades and finally overcame death to be with the Lord. We have put on immortality. As believers, we live in the presence of God, and in physical death, we simply drop the flesh and dwell only in the spiritual realm.
Jesus said, "I guarantee eternal life to everyone who believes in me." That is quite a promise! But remember this promise is coming from a man who rose from the dead. Jesus not only conquered death himself, but He conquered death for everyone who comes to Him in faith. If you have never put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, I beg you to do it now.
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