Matthew records that the scribes and the Pharisees wanted a sign from Yeshua and he replied, that the only sign that He would give them was the sign of the Prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a whale, so would the Son of man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. 31 Yeshua was crucified on the 14th of Nisan and was resurrected on the 17th of Nisan fulfilling His own prophetic words and giving the world the greatest sign of love ever given. “That God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that who so ever believed in Him should have everlasting life.” What a gift of LOVE! Yeshua’s resurrection took place on the Feast of First Fruits.
The Feast of First Fruits is a prophetic picture that pointed to Yeshua. The first fruits of the spring harvest were to be waved before the Lord as thanksgiving offerings. The sheaves of barley that are waved before the Lord, represent the choicest of grain that the Lord brings forth during the spring harvest from the earth. The first spring harvest is the barley harvest that takes place on the Feast of First Fruits and the second spring harvest is the wheat harvest that takes place on Pentecost When these grains were harvested they would then be ground and used to bake bread. The picture painted of the Feast of First Fruits is that God brings forth bread from the earth. On this precise day of thanking God for the first gain of bread, Jesus, “the bread of life” the choicest of all humans, is resurrected from the heart of the earth in a glorified body as the first fruits of many. Yeshua our salvation was born in Bethlehem, which means the house of bread. He is our unleavened bread, i.e. our sinless portion. He is the Word of God, the bread that nourishes our soul. He is the Bread of Heaven, resurrected from the heart of the earth.
He went around Jerusalem appearing too many after His resurrection for the next 40 days to gain many witnesses that He was indeed brought forth from death to life, from the center of the earth to His ascension to heaven. When He appeared to Mary, He would not allow her to touch Him because He had not yet gone to His Father. 32 He needed to present Himself to His Father as a wave offering of First Fruits. He would be presenting Himself to His Father as a priceless and precious gift of obedience. This gift of obedience would open the door to heaven for all believers to be reconciled to the Father. In essence, He would be saying. I am your firstborn son Father, the first fruits of the harvests. I have done what you have asked of me, and now many of your sons and daughters will follow and join us in the household of God.
There were three harvests every year, two in the spring, and the final harvest of fruit in the fall at the end of the year. These harvests are to represent the harvesting of souls. Yeshua was the first fruit of many, resurrected conquering death, and this gives us the blessed assurance that we as believers will follow as the many. The spring harvesting of souls represents the first harvesting of souls to be all those that believe and trust in Yeshua as their Lord and Savior and follow His teachings. The fall fruit harvest at the end of the year represents the final harvesting of souls at the end of the age.
We see that the picture God has painted for us on the Feast of First Fruits is a picture of resurrection and that of salvation. It may be of interest to you that on this exact day in history, the 17th of Nisan Noah’s ark rested upon Mount Ararat (Gen. 8:4), and that Israel crossed the Red Sea (Ex 3:18-5:3-14) On the 16th of Nisan the manna that God gave to the Hebrews wandering in the wilderness ceased. The following day the 17th of Nisan the people of God ate of the First Fruits of the Promised Land (Joshua 5:10-12). Haman who plotted to wipe out the Jews was hung on the 17th of Nisan saving the Jews from destruction, this story is found in Esther.
All of these events foreshadowed the greatest event in all of history, the resurrection of the Son of God. Yeshua was brought forth from the heart of the earth on the 17th of Nisan, The Feast of First Fruits. These appointed times are a gift from God for all that have eyes to see. The fall feasts are yet to be fulfilled, but because the spring feasts were fulfilled with such precision we can be assured that the fall feasts will be as well.
31 John 20:17
32 Ibid
Please pass this Jewish roots study on to those that you believe would be interested in studying the word through Hebrew eyes.
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Be Blessed,
Rev. Marjorie
marjorie@sweetmanna.org
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