Join us as we delve into the profound significance of the Feast of First Fruits, tracing its origins in the Torah and connecting its prophetic fulfillment in the life and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Rabbi Schneider expertly guides us through this special series, unveiling how these ancient celebrations are not only historical markers but spiritual lessons for our lives today. This episode offers a deep dive into the intertwining stories of the resurrection, the obedience of Jesus, and the fulfillment of biblical prophecies.
Paul goes on to say, if Jesus wasn’t in actual history raised from the dead, he said, then you and I are the biggest fools on the earth for giving our lives to something as Christians that isn’t real. We are in the midst of a special series. We’re calling the umbrella to this series Passover, but today I’m going to be focusing specifically on the Feast of First Fruits. You see, in the Old Testament, in the Torah, the Lord gives us His calendar in the book of Leviticus, chapter number 23. And he says that I have appointed days and these days are perpetual statutes. These appointed days of the Lord, these appointed days of Yahweh, which is God’s sacred name, had application not just for the children of Israel in the initial historical context, but they also have application today for us, whether you’re a Jew or a Gentile, because Jesus has brought all these days, beloved, to their ultimate fulfillment. And each one of these sacred holidays speaks to us of the ministry of Messiah Jesus. And today we’re going to be making specific application to the Feast of First Fruits and how it relates to our life today. Let me begin by simply inviting the Lord’s presence into our hearts today. Father God, we worship you and we bless you. And Father, I pray that you would take my mouth now and use it, Lord, as a vehicle and a channel to communicate your spirit and your truth and your words to your people. And that, Father, you would supernaturally transform us by your word. Father, your word is truth. Transform us into the image and likeness of your son, Messiah Jesus. For it’s in his name and for your glory that we ask and pray. Amen and amen. Now, over the previous weeks, I’ve covered Passover. And I’ve shared with you how Jesus was crucified to the day on Passover because he’s the ultimate fulfillment of it. And then we moved on from Passover to cover the feast, beloved, of unleavened bread. Jesus was crucified on Passover, but he was buried on unleavened bread. Jesus fulfills unleavened bread, beloved, by, listen, being the one that was perfectly obedient. And as a result of him being the perfectly obedient one that was crucified and buried for us, you and I, beloved, have a sacrifice for our sin. You see, Jesus died on the cross for us as the unblemished lamb of God. And then he was buried, beloved, as the one that was perfectly obedient by becoming obedient unto the point of death. So that the name of Yeshua HaMashiach, at the name of Jesus the Messiah, every knee will bow and tongue confess that he alone is Lord. The reason that the Feast of Unleavened Bread is associated with obedience is because the Lord told the children of Israel in the Torah that he was about to call them out of the land of Egypt on the night of their deliverance. And he said to them, when you hear me call you, if you’re in the middle of baking bread and that bread has not yet arisen, it has not yet leavened, don’t wait for it to rise. Don’t wait for it to leaven. You obey me instantaneously and obediently and be perfectly obedient to my word. And that’s what Jesus was for us. He was perfectly obedient to the word of the Father through his entire life. And it’s for this reason that he could become the substitute for our sin. He was the innocent one dying on behalf of you and I, the guilty ones. Now, we’re moving on today from there. We’ve looked at the death of Jesus associated with Passover. We’ve looked at the burial of Jesus associated with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the perfectly obedient one, dying and being buried on our behalf. But it doesn’t stop there, of course. It stops, beloved, or I should say it begins with the resurrection. Because Jesus not only was crucified on Passover and buried on unleavened bread, but get this, He was raised, beloved children of God, to the day, get it now, on the feast that the Lord gave the children of Israel in the book of Leviticus, called the Feast of Firstfruits. We’re going to begin today by going to the book of Leviticus, chapter number 23, beginning in verse number 10. Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, when you enter the land which I’m going to give you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, He shall wave the sheep before the Lord for you to be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath, the priest shall wave it. Now let’s take this verse apart a little bit because I know on first reading, it might be like you feel a little bit lost. I understand that. So let’s go through it again slowly and then I’ll make application again. We’re looking at all these fees prophetically. Who wrote this? Who wrote the scripture that we just read in Leviticus? This was recorded by Moses. You know what Jesus said about Moses in John chapter 5? Jesus said, Moses wrote of me. That all these feasts that Moses wrote of beloved are ultimately fulfilled in Messiah Jesus. They were prophetic shadows of him and his ministry. So let’s go through this again, understanding that when Moses wrote this, although it had application to the children of Israel at the time, in this case, it related to their agricultural lifestyle. But more than that, it was a prophetic word casting, beloved, upon the ministry and person of Messiah Jesus. In fact, these feasts were called in Leviticus chapter number 23, mikra. And one of the meanings, one of the colors of the Hebrew word meka means a rehearsal. And so these feasts were rehearsals for something greater that was coming. And that greater that was coming is Messiah Jesus, was Messiah Jesus and his ministry. Just like at a wedding rehearsal, right? You go to a wedding rehearsal and that rehearsal is a rehearsal for the main event that’s coming. And so it was with these feasts. They were rehearsals for the main event, the main event being Messiah’s coming and his ministry. Let’s take a look at that now with those words in mind. Verse number 10, speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, when you enter the land which I’m going to give you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheep of the firstfruits from the harvest to the priest, and he shall wave the sheep before the Lord for you to be accepted. Let’s think about this. Here was Israel. This was the first of the agricultural feast in the spring. And so what the Lord was telling the children of Israel through Moses was, in the spring, When you get the first fruit of your harvest, I want you to take that first sheaf of the first fruit of the harvest in the spring, I want you to bring that sheaf to the priest, and then I want the priest to wave it before me for you to be accepted. Now let’s dissect this. In the wintertime, you could say the earth looks dead. I mean, the flowers aren’t out like they are in the spring. The color isn’t there. The life isn’t there. The vegetation isn’t there. But suddenly that earth that looked dead in the winter, as the spring comes, that earth is resurrected to life. And suddenly these beautiful flowers begin to come forth from the ground. That which was gray and dead looking suddenly begins to sprout blues and purples and yellows and oranges. And suddenly that earth that looked dead now is alive. It’s full of color. It’s like the earth has been resurrected from the dead. And similarly, this feast, beloved, is a shadow of Messiah’s resurrection, because even as the priest brought in the first fruit from the harvest that spring, so Messiah was raised in the spring as the first fruit of those that will rise from the dead. And if Messiah is the first fruit, that means there must be a second fruit, a third fruit, a fourth fruit, and et cetera, et cetera. And you and I, beloved, are those second, third, fourth, et cetera fruits that will rise from the dead. And why? Because the first fruit has been raised to the Lord, even as that priest took the Israelites’ first sheaf and waved it before the Lord, and because that first sheaf had been presented to the Lord, the rest of the harvest, beloved, became accepted and sanctified and holy before the Lord.
SPEAKER 01 :
You’re listening to Discovering the Jewish Jesus with Rabbi Schneider, and he’ll be right back. But first, have you thought about the legacy you’ll leave when you’re no longer on this earth? Planning for the future, it’s an important step in walking with wisdom. So we’ve partnered with Freewill, a free online tool that makes creating a will simple, secure, and accessible to everyone. I’ve used it myself, and it’s really easy and efficient. And this tool, it also gives you the opportunity to make a lasting impact. And if you want to support this ministry, you can include a financial gift to us in your plans to help us share the love of Yeshua with generations to come. You can get started today at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. Just click on our resources and need a will tab. It’s completely free, whether you choose to give to this ministry or not. So check it out today. And for those of you who do choose to give, thank you so much. And now back to Rabbi with the second half of today’s lesson.
SPEAKER 04 :
So Messiah then is the first sheaf, the first fruit of those that rise from the dead. He ascends to the Father, presents Himself to the Father on our behalf. The Father accepts Him as the perfect fruit first fruit, the first sheaf, and because Messiah is accepted and He’s the head of the whole harvest, His whole harvest now, which is you and I and everyone else that is His, is accepted before Him just as the rest of the harvest was now accepted during the time of ancient Israel. Now let’s continue. I want to point out one other element in this verse that’s important for you. Listen very closely. Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, when you enter the land which I’m going to give you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheep of the first roots of your harvest to the priest. And he shall wave the sheep before the Lord for you to be accepted on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. The Sabbath is on Saturday, Friday night at sunset through Saturday. What’s the day after Saturday? Sunday, the first day of the week. What day did Yeshua rise from the dead? The day after the Sabbath, Sunday, right? The first day of the week. So I hope that you’re beginning to see and get excited about how the Torah and the Hebrew Bible was a shadow of Messiah Jesus. This is why Yeshua said, beloved one, in Matthew 5, 17 and 18, do not think I’ve come to abolish the law and the prophets, for I’ve not come to abolish, but to fulfill or fulfill. fill the law and the prophets up with meaning and i love the fact that matthew 1 1 as i remind my viewers so often the whole new testament begins in matthew 1 1 this is the genealogy of jesus christ get it now the son of david the son of abraham so in the new testament we from the very first verse are brought back to the old testament because the new testament fulfills and completes the old testament What I want to do now is take you on a quick survey through the principle of the resurrection, beloved, in the Old Testament, what we call in Hebrew the Tanakh. Let’s, for example, begin by looking at the book of Hebrews and show you how the book of Hebrews ties the resurrection of Yeshua, who has become the first fruit of those that have been raised from the dead, how this was actually foreseen before. all the way back with Abraham offering up his son Isaac. Hear the word of God as I read from Hebrews chapter 11, verses 17 through 19. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. And he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son. It was he to whom it was said, in Isaac your descendants shall be called. Listen to this now, verse 19. He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. So once again, we’re seeing from the very beginning in primitive form, there was this faith, get it now, in the resurrection of the dead. Back during the time of Jesus, we had two primary groups of religious leaders. We had the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees, get it now, believed in the resurrection of the dead. But the Sadducees that we also read about in the New Testament did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. And of course, there’s that old corny joke about the Sadducees that goes, that’s why they’re sad, you see? Let’s continue on looking at the principle of the resurrection in the book of Psalms. Psalms chapter 16, verse number 8 through 10. Why is all this? Listen. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will you allow your Holy One to undergo decay. And this verse is actually quoted in the New Testament that David saw that the Messiah would be raised from the dead. And because the Messiah would be raised from the dead, David knew that he too would be raised from the dead and that he would not undergo decay. All the way back, beloved, to the Hebrew Bible that we see faith in the resurrection of the dead. Continuing on, I want you to see in the book of Leviticus, chapter 23, 5, 6, 10, and 11, we see in prophetic form there the death, burial and resurrection of the Messiah, the death and Passover, the burial and unleavened bread and the resurrection. Once again, we’re looking at the resurrection in the Feast of First Fruits. Now, moving into the New Testament, I want to bring some primary verses out speaking to us about the resurrection and the implications that has on our life today. First of all, I’m going to the book of First Corinthians, beginning in Chapter 15. And I want to read now Verse number 1 through 4, Paul speaking, he says, Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you also stand, by which you are also saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I deliver to you as of first importance what I also receive, that Christ died for our sins, there’s Passover, according to the scriptures, he was buried, verse number four, there’s unleavened bread, and that he was raised on the third day. There’s the feast of firstfruits, all shown to us in primitive prophetic form in the 23rd chapter of the book of Leviticus. Here’s the point that I really want to stress and make real to you today. The resurrection of Yeshua HaMashiach, of the Lord Jesus Christ, is an actual historical fact. You see, many people that sit in churches all over the world, they say they believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, but they believe it like it’s a fairy tale. I want you to understand, beloved one, this is no fairy tale. This is rooted in actual history. This is the historical, factual things that the apostles of the New Testament witnessed with their own eyes. Let’s look at this for a second, this phenomenon, as we continue the book of 1 Corinthians 15, speaking of Paul’s words. This is what he says about the resurrection of Jesus. He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that, he appeared to more than 500 brethren at one time. And Paul said, most of them remain until now. And then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. And last of all, Paul said, he appeared to me as one untimely born. He said that after Yeshua was raised from the dead, He appeared to Cephas, to Peter. Then he appeared to all 12 disciples. Then Paul said, he appeared to 500 people all at the same time, a crowd of people. And Paul said, most of those 500 are still alive today. And then Paul said, and last of all, he appeared to me. Jesus, beloved, has historically and factually and really been raised from the dead. Paul goes on to say, if Jesus wasn’t in actual history raised from the dead, he said, then you and I are the biggest fools on the earth for giving our lives to something as Christians that isn’t real. Paul is so strong on this point. He’s so dogmatic about it. He said if the historical resurrection of Jesus isn’t a historical, factual reality, he said, then you and I are fools for believing something that’s just a fairy tale. And he said even beyond that, we’re liars because we’re telling people that God did something that he didn’t do if Jesus wasn’t raised from the dead. But he said he has been raised from the dead. And John said this. that which I have seen, that which I have touched.” I’m going to 1 John now, chapter 1. He said, what was from the beginning, he said, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, we proclaim to you. Peter writes in the book of 2 Peter, chapter 1, verse 16 through 21. Listen to this carefully. We’re talking about the actual historical resurrection of King Jesus as we’re celebrating today the Feast of First Words. Listen to what Peter wrote. For we did not follow cleverly Tobiah’s tales, whom we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory, He’s speaking here, beloved one, when he was on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus, and Jesus was literally transformed before them into a spirit being of light. And then Peter heard the voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved son. Listen to him. Peter said, this isn’t a fairy tale. Peter said, I was with him when it happened. I saw it. Listen again. He said, we are not following cleverly devised tales when we may know to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to him by the majestic glory, this is my beloved son with whom I’m well pleased. He said, we ourselves heard the utterance made from heaven He said we were with him on the holy mountain when it happened. Beloved, I want you to know Jesus is real. He was really and literally made alive from the dead and raised for you. Jesus loves you. And if you have not surrendered your life completely to him, now is the time to do it. Get down on your knees, beloved, and just fall before him and say, Jesus, save me. Come into my life and make me alive. Beloved, this principle of first fruits that we’ve looked at today really is a dynamic that should be functioning in all our lives in every dimension. In other words, Father has always called us to give him our first, the first of our time, the first of our talent, and the first of our treasure. Jesus is the first fruit of those that have risen from the dead, and we want to live our lives putting him first. Jesus said, seek first first the kingdom of God and everything else should be added unto you. I want to ask you today during this Feast of First Fruits, if you believe in me, if you believe that God is reaching the world through this ministry, would you offer him today an awesome first fruit offering through this ministry? Thank you. And I love you very much. God bless you and Shalom.
SPEAKER 01 :
You can give a special First Fruits offering of any amount to Discovering the Jewish Jesus by visiting our website, discoveringthejewishjesus.com. That’s discoveringthejewishjesus.com. Or if it’s easier for you, just give us a call at 800-777-7835. That’s 800-777-7835. And if you’ve supported Discovering the Jewish Jesus at all this year, We just want to say thank you so much. We’re deeply grateful because when you choose to honor the Father through your faithful giving, you’re investing in something that goes beyond this season. You’re sowing into this ministry. That enables us to ensure that Rabbi’s teachings reach more and more people all over the world as we await Jesus’ return. And I wanted to remind you today that as we prepare our hearts to celebrate Passover and first fruits, which begins at sunset on Wednesday, April the 1st, we remember what Jesus did for us. Through His death and His resurrection, we have eternal life and get to live in the kingdom forever. I love this holiday season so much. My family and I have been so blessed by learning the Jewish roots of Christianity. And if you’d like to learn more about this specially set apart Holy Day, then I want to encourage you, visit our website, discoveringthejewishjesus.com. We have a whole Messianic section that’s dedicated to help you understand the Jewish roots of your faith. And now I want to turn things back over to Rabbi so he can wrap up today’s special message with God’s Aaronic blessing. I hope that it inspires you and that it encourages your life today. Rabbi?
SPEAKER 03 :
The words from the Aaronic Blessing in the book of Numbers, chapter 6, verses 22 through 27, helps us to realize how good God is to you and I personally. So receive His blessing into your life, and then beloved one, go bless somebody else in Jesus’ name today.
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with his countenance and the Lord give you, beloved one, his peace. God bless you and shalom.
SPEAKER 01 :
This program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. And I’m your host, Dustin Roberts. Join us tomorrow when Rabbi Schneider explains the prophecy behind Jesus’ death. That’s coming up Thursday on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.
