Indeed, the Messiah fulfilled
the feast of Passover.
FIRSTFRUITS FULFILLED IN
YESHUA
The significance of the feast
of Firstfruits points to the resurrection of Yeshua (Jesus). According
to Leviticus 23:11 this feast was observed on the day following the seventh
day Sabbath immediately following Passover. In other words, Firstfruits
was observed on the 1st day of the week following Passover.
On Firstfruits, the first
sheaf of the barley harvest would be presented to the priest to be waved
as an offering to the LORD. The LORD was to be honored with the first fruits
of the harvest that would be later reaped. In considering the feast of
Firstfruits as pointing to the resurrection of Yeshua (Jesus), three points
must be examined.
I. The Messiah rose from
the dead after three days and three nights
According to Matthew 12:39,
Yeshua (Jesus) described the period of time that he was to remain physically
dead to the period of time in which Jonah was in the belly of the great
fish. He said,
“For as Jonah was three days
and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt. 12:39 KJV).
While many believers traditionally
accept that Yeshua (Jesus) died on a Friday, the scriptures indicate that
it was on a Thursday that he died. Let us look at a few facts that bear
witness to this truth.
The scriptures record in
a number of places that the resurrection of Messiah took place before the
rising of the sun on the first day of the week. This means that the Messiah
rose from the dead during the first 12 hour cycle of the first day of the
week. It is possible that he may have risen between the hours of 3 am and
6 am which would be the last three hours of the first 12 hour cycle of
the first day of the week. Prior to the first day of the week was the seventh
day Sabbath. The seventh day Sabbath began Friday at 6 pm and ended Saturday
at 6 pm. The day before the seventh day Sabbath was called “the preparation
day”. It began on Thursday at 6 pm and ended on Friday at 6 pm. It was
called “the preparation day” because it was the day when the people of
Israel would prepare their meals and get ready to observe the seventh day
Sabbath of complete rest. When Yeshua (Jesus) died, it was about 3 pm (the
ninth hour of the day according to Matthew 27:46-50), and about three hours
before the beginning of the preparation day. According to the following
scriptures, preparation day was the day after Passover.
“And now when the even was
come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,
Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the
kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body
of Jesus. And Pilate marveled if he were already dead: and calling unto
him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. And
when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph” (Mark 15:42-45
NIV).
