What Is the Feast of Firstfruits in the Bible — In Biblical Context

The Biblical Context

The Feast of Firstfruits was one of the most theologically significant celebrations in Israel's calendar, pointing forward with remarkable precision to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It fell on the day after the Sabbath during the week of Unleavened Bread — the sixteenth of Nisan. On this day, the priest would take a sheaf of the first barley harvest, wave it before the Lord as an offering of acknowledgment, and then the people could begin to eat of the new harvest. The offering was accompanied by a burnt offering of a lamb, a grain offering, and a drink offering. The significance of firstfruits in the ancient world was primarily agricultural and economic. The first and best of the harvest belonged to God. By giving Him the firstfruits, the Israelite acknowledged that God owned the entire harvest and that all blessings came from His hand. 'Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.' But the Feast of Firstfruits carried a much deeper spiritual meaning. It was a pledge and promise of the full harvest to come. By offering the first sheaf, the Israelite expressed faith that God would provide the rest of the harvest. The firstfruits guaranteed the harvest; the resurrection of Christ guarantees the resurrection of all who trust in Him. Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 15 is the classic Christian interpretation of this feast. 'But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.' Jesus rose from the dead on the very day of the Feast of Firstfruits. He was buried before sunset on the day of Passover (the fifteenth of Nisan) and rose after sunset on the day after the Sabbath (the seventeenth of Nisan) — the day of the waving of the sheaf. The fulfillment is breathtaking in its precision: the sheaf waved before the Lord became the risen Christ presented to the Father as the firstfruits of the great harvest of the redeemed. The typology extends further. Just as the firstfruits guaranteed the full harvest, so Christ's resurrection guarantees the resurrection of every believer. 'If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.' Just as the firstfruits were holy and set apart for God, so the resurrected Christ is holy and set apart as the firstborn from the dead. And just as the firstfruits opened the way for the people to eat of the new harvest, so Christ's resurrection opens the way for believers to enjoy the new life of the Spirit. The Feast of Firstfruits teaches us to give God our first and best — our first waking thoughts, our first energies, our first resources, our first devotion. It also fills us with hope, for the Firstfruits has risen, and the harvest of resurrection is certain.

Where It Sits in Scripture

Supporting Passages