Feast of First Fruits
On the first day of the week, they found an empty grave. The question is, is that all there is to the resurrection, or is there more? We celebrate the resurrection, when just a short time before we know our Lord was beaten, dragged and nailed to a cross. The sky darkened, and the disciples wept and ran and hid. [John 20:19] Jesus' body was removed from the device of evil, wrapped in a shroud and buried; a stone was rolled over the entrance to the grave. The people left to contemplate their future, but things were about to change and change they did, for all parts of the world.
But there is something else that we need to look at, and that is the Feast of First Fruits. A Feast that was fulfilled by our Lord when He rose from the Tomb, showing all will die, but not all will stay dead, as our Lord demonstrated. Yes, we too will be raised on the last day, a promise to those who have confessed His name as Lord, to everlasting life, but until then, what are we to do. Jesus was the First Fruits from the dead, the perfect one, to be presented to the Father, as the first fruits are. [Deuteronomy 26:2] Jesus said to Mary, do not hold on to me, as I have not yet been to the Father. [John 20:17] He was pure and perfect, and He couldn't have a person that may have been unclean contaminate him, no matter who they were.
He is our First Fruits from dead, [1 Corinthians 15:20] from this picture; we who have the firstfruits of the spirit, [Romans 8:23] and living with the mind of the Messiah, [1 Corinthians 2:16] and who follow in the Lord's footsteps. [Psalm 119:105] We must remember what the Psalmist wrote, ‘who may enter the house of the Lord, those with clean hands and a pure heart.’ [Psalm 24:4] In working towards this aim, we are not working towards salvation, but working for the Lord because of it, in forever gratefulness.
As we are a type of firstfruits, we need to look beyond the cross and the grave, remembering the stone has been rolled away to give life to the world. This is a life that starts now and continues forever; therefore, we must keep our eyes on the prize to come. We are to live as a firstborn, [Numbers 3:13] keeping ourselves spotless, [2 Peter 3:14] because Jesus the First Fruits from the dead, laid out a picture of how we are to live and finally be presented before the Father, not as a sinner, but as a sinner redeemed. [Romans 8:1] Cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb, [Revelation 12:11] from the inside out, and hear the words, well done true a faithful servant. [Matthew 25:21]
Dennis
To see my books, blogs or contact me, visit my website, dennismcleod.co.nz
Watch my interview about Journey to the Promised Land on This Week in America
