Bikkurim – “First Fruits”

Jesus and the Three Jewish Pilgrimage Festivals – Series Outline

My walk with Jesus has always guided me to the text of the Old Testament. In the books of the Old Testament I see Jesus as the great ‘I Am’. I see the work and person of Jesus in the feast, laws, wisdom, psalms, and stories. This series will look at the connection Jesus has to the three Pilgrimage Feast; Passover, Pentecost and Sukkot. Other days and feasts be woven into the series as they connect.

• Post 01 – Shalosh Regalim – Annual Pilgrimage Feasts; Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot
• Pesach (Passover) – Physical Salvation
  • Post 02 – Palm Sunday – Paschal Lamb Brought to Jerusalem [10 Nissan]
  • Post 03 – Observing the Paschal Lamb for Blemish [10-13 Nissan]
  • Post 04 – Passover – Crucifixion [14 Nissan]
• Shavuot (Weeks) – Spiritual Salvation
  • Post 05 – Counting Omer – a Week of Weeks [16 Nissan to 5 Sivan]
  • Post 06 – Feast of First Fruits – Resurrection [16 Nissan]
  • Post 07 – Shavuot – Pentecost – Giving of the Law [5 Sivan]
• Sukkot (Tents) – Joyous Thanks to God for His Encompassing Protection
  • Post 08 – Rosh Hashanah – Head [of] The Year [1 Tishrei]
  • Institution of the Sabbath, the weekly day of rest.
  • Ten Days of Repentance
    • Post 08a – Yamim Noraim – Days of Awe [1-10 Tishrei]
  • Post 09 – Yom Kippur – Day of Atonement – [10 Tishrei]
    • Closest Day to God
    • Single Shofar followed by Song and Dance
    • Holy of Holies
    • Lots over Goats
    • 2nd Tablets
  • Post 10 – Sukkot (Tents, Tabernacles)
    • • Celebration of Joy
      • 2 days of Feasting – [14-15 Tishrei]
      • Continuing ‘Intermediate’ or weekdays of the festival
        • Live in, or at least eat in a Tent structure.
    • Post 10a Arba Minum – “Four Kinds” – [14-22 Tishrei]
      • A palm branch (lulav),
      • two willows (aravot),
      • a minimum of three myrtles (hadassim) and
      • one citron (etrog).
      • The first three kinds are neatly bundled together, the lulav.
    • Post 10b Lights (structure tbd) [14-21 Tishrei]
    • Post 10c  Nisuch ha-Mayim “Pouring of the Water” [14-21 Tishrei]
    • Post 11 – Hoshana Rabbah – “Great Salvation” or Supplication [21 Tishrei]
      • Water from Your Inner Most Being
      • 7th Day of Sukkot
      • Torah from the Ark is Celebrated.
      • Deuteronomy is Read
      • Final Day of Divine Justice
  • • Post 12 – Shemini Atzeret – “Eight[h] [day] Solemn Assembly” [22 Tishrei]
      • People Prepare for Home
      • Dance with Torah Scrolls
      • Last Meal in the Sukkot, Tent
      • Rain for the Year Determined
  • Simchat Torah [23 Tishrei]

Bikkurim, Feast of First Fruits

Passover, Unleavened Bread, or Pesach is still celebrated, as is Shavuot, or the Feast of Weeks. This is not the case with the Feast of First Fruits, or Bikkurim. First Fruits was a celebration where an omer,a sheaf grain or a measure equal to about 2 2/3 pounds. In the case of First Fruit, omer refers to a sheaf of the first crop of grain. A priest waved the omer joyously before the Lord in the temple.

With the destruction of the tem ple, Bikkurim is no longer commanded or celebrated. Bikkurim is is at the beginning of Sefirat HaOmer, Counting the Omer, Passover celebrates physical salvation and Shavuot, Weeks, 49 days later, celebrates spiritual salvation and the gift of the Law. The 49 connecting days are called Counting Omer, they are hopeful, joyful, anticipation of spiritual salvation. Bikkurim, First Fruits, is the first day the new grain is waved before the Lord for Counting the Omer. The feast of First Fruits was to be celebrated the day after the Sabbath/Saturday.

Bikkurim, First Fruits, Initiated by God

Exodus 23:14 “Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me. 15 “You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed. 16 “Also you shall observe the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field.

and

Leviticus 23:9 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. 11‘He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.

Jesus as First Fruits

What does Christ have to do with that First Fruits? Jesus blesses the cup of wine saying, “Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine.”Jesus is the vine. We said we are the branches and we will will produce fruit.

Jesus is thanking God because God with raise him from the grave in three days as the First Fruit. Jesus is also thanking God for the fruit we will produce by the power of His Spirit.

During the days Jesus walked the earth, First Fruits was still observed in the temple. With the destruction of the temple, First Fruits is no longer commanded. Just as Jesus, the Pascal Lamb, died once for all, Jesus is the First Fruit of those who will be resurected. The deposit of the Spirit in our lives is the begining of the spiritual salvation we should be joyously anticipating.

The new testament Letter to the Corinthians puts it this way;

1 Corinthians 15:20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,24 then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.

We Can Bear Fruit if We Live by the Spirit

Multiple times during the Passover meal as well as later that night Jesus encouraged his disciples. He promises that when He goes to the right hand of God He will send the Holy Spirit which will help us to follow him in All Things. Jesus was the First Fruits and we can follow.

If we follow Christ, we can eagerly await growing in the Spirit and producing fruit

 Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

Israel’s rejection of Jesus led to the call of salvation to the Gentiles, those who are not Jewish. Gentiles have been grafted into the vine, Jesus. Most people consider Christianity a gentile religion. One thing should be kept in mind, all the writers of the New Testament, as well as all of the disciples of Jesus where Jewish. Jews, Christians, and Gentiles can bear first fruits if we let the Spirit of God lead us. We are called Christians because of the name Jesus the Christ, Jesus the annointed.

In the post on Passover, Pesach, we saw Jesus was without blemish or blame. The book of Romans, in the New Testament, tells us the value of the Root, Jesus, being pure withput blemish. For if the root and vine are Holy, then all who are abiding in the vine are holy.

Romans 11:11 I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. 12 Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be! 13 But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too.

The resurrection occurred on the Festival of First Fruit. Jesus is the first fruits of many. Following in the life of Jesus enables us to bear good fruit. Being filled with the Holy Spirit, a follower of Jesus, will produce good fruit.

What is the Fruit We Are to Bear

Galations tells us to walk be the Spirit

Gallation 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.

Fruit of the Flesh – Galations tells us of the fruit that bad. These are the fruit we harvest if we walk by the flesh.

•  Gallation 5:19 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are:
  • immorality,
  • impurity,
  • sensuality,
  • 20 idolatry,
  • sorcery,
  • enmities,
  • strife,
  • jealousy,
  • outbursts of anger,
  • disputes,
  • dissensions,
  • factions,
  • 21 envying,
  • drunkenness,
  • carousing,
  • and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Fruit of the Spirit – Finally, Galations finishes this section by letting us knowwhat good friut we will produce when we walk in the Holy Spirit

•  Gallation 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is
  • love,
  • joy,
  • peace,
  • patience,
  • kindness,
  • goodness,
  • faithfulness,
  • 23 gentleness,
  • self-control;
  • against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.”

Ephesians in the New Testament mention the fruit of goodness, righteousness, and truth.

Ephesians 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them; 8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light 9 (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; 12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.13 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.

Wake Up!

If there is more good fruit that bad in your life, praise God. On the other hand, if the fruit of the flesh is predomonint in your life, Wake Up!.

14 For this reason it says,“Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”

We see similar warning in the Old Testament prophets.

Isaiah 21:17 Rouse yourself! Rouse yourself! Arise, O Jerusalem, You who have drunk from the LORD’S hand the cup of His anger; The chalice of reeling you have drained to the dregs.