Jesus, the Lamb of God, died on Passover as a propitiation for our sins,
and was buried on the first day of Unleavened Bread. On the third day, on the
feast of Firstfruits, He rose again, defeating death.
(Matthew 28:1-6) Now after the
Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the
other Mary went to see the tomb. (2) And behold, there was a great
earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled
back the stone and sat on it. (3) His appearance was like lightning, and
his clothing white as snow. (4) And for fear of him the guards trembled
and became like dead men. (5) But the angel said to the women, “Do not be
afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. (6) He is not here,
for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
The same day that the first fruits were being presented at
the Temple, the Messiah resurrected.
JESUS IS THE FIRST
FRUIT
Jesus not only rose from the dead on the day of Firstfruits,
but the Bible says that He is the first fruit in the Redemption Plan.
(Revelation 1:5) and from Jesus
Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings
on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood…
We know that Jesus is God’s firstborn son, but what does it
mean that he is the firstborn of the dead? Although it mentions death, the
biblical concept talks about life.
Paul explains it:
(1 Corinthians 15:20-21) But in fact
Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen
asleep. (21) For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the
resurrection of the dead.
Jesus is the first one to have resurrected, after being
dead.
There had been others, like Lazarus, who had been
resurrected before, but not to eternal life. They only resurrected to live a
few years more. But Jesus defeated eternal death.
Paul continues to explain:
(1 Corinthians 15:22-23) For as in Adam
all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (23) But each in his
own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to
Christ.
Jesus is the first fruit of resurrection. After him, come
those who believe in Him.
Before resurrecting Lazarus, the Lord explained that He was
the resurrection.
(John 11:25-26) Jesus said to
her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me,
though he die, yet shall he live, (26) and everyone who lives and believes
in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
So, although we will die, if we believe in Him we will have
eternal life. We will resurrect on the day that He comes for a second time to
Earth.
(1 Thessalonians 4:13-17) But
we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that
you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. (14) For since we
believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring
with him those who have fallen asleep. (15) For this we declare to you by
a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming
of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. (16) For the
Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of
an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ
will rise first. (17) Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught
up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will
always be with the Lord.
Today (Sunday, April 4, 2011) we are celebrating the feast
of Firstfruits and the day of Resurrection. It is a day to give thanks for the
miracle of life. The way to be thankful is to give Him the best of us, always
the first. He gave it all for us… now it’s our turn…
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a
grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies,
it bears much fruit.
(John 12:24)
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