The First of Many

The first of many! The Apostle Paul refers to Jesus as ‘the firstfruits’. What an incredible and hope-giving image! In the springtime the beginnings of the year’s harvest appear. Depending on where you live, this might be cherries, pears, rhubarb, or some greens. In the north of Scotland, to be honest, we have to wait a little bit longer before the first fruits appear. In Israel, the firstfruits of the harvest was all about barley. The first barley harvest was to be dedicated to God. This sacrifice was done in faith, trusting that God would grant a rich harvest in due season.

I was totally amazed when I learned that Jesus died exactly on the day of Passover and rose again precisely at the start of the Feast of Firstfruits. Isn’t God amazing? For many centuries the Jewish people were observing these Feasts without being able to understand that in doing so they were pointing to the most important event in history: the death and resurrection of their Messiah, the Saviour of the world.

That resurrection morning, when Jesus walked out of the grave, on God’s appointed moment in time, we were given a promise. As God brought Jesus forth as the firstfruits, the first person to be resurrected and never die again, He became the guarantee of a beautiful and bountiful harvest in time to come. The remainder of this harvest includes you, me, and all people who have put their faith in Jesus throughout the ages.

Just as the first part of the spring harvest gives the promise of more to come, so does Jesus’ resurrection guarantee ours. You may have heard it said that the only thing that’s certain in this life is that one day we will die. For us as believers in Jesus we may add another certainty: we will one day rise again! Jesus’ resurrection became the first of many millions more who will rise to inherit eternal life. Hallelujah!