Firstfruits of the resurrection

What did the apostle Paul mean when he wrote, “Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep”? (1 Cor. 15:20, 23). With “firstfruits” he referred to a Jewish feast, and with “fallen asleep” to the deceased.

Christ died on Passover as the supreme Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7); on Unleavened Bread he became the Bread of Life (John 6:35, 48-51); and on the Feast of Firstfruits he rose from death. He fulfilled these three feasts on three consecutive days.

With the Feast of Firstfruits, Israel had to bring the first sheaves of the harvest to the sanctuary to honour God as the Sustainer of their lives (Ex. 11:31; Lev. 23). The first fruit from the fields after winter signified that many more grain and fruit were coming.

Likewise, Christ’s resurrection indicated that many more resurrections were coming. Paul wrote about this in his letters to churches (1 Thess. 4; 1 Cor. 15). In John 6, Jesus reiterated four times that he would raise the dead on the last day (verses 39, 40, 44, 54).

When Christianity became state religion, Christian feasts were merged with existing pagan ones, giving new meaning to them. Christmas became associated with the winter solstice, and Easter with the feasts that rejoiced in new life of springtime. That is where the bunnies and eggs came into the picture. They highlight a new beginning.

The bodily resurrection of believers will ready them for the New Earth (Rev. 21:1-6). Isaiah, Daniel, Peter, and Jesus prophesied about that (Is. 66:17; Dan. 12:2; 2 Pet. 3:13; John 5:28-29).

Many immigrants are now on their way to Canada. All they have now are some pictures of how the place looks that they are heading for. However, soon the picture will change to reality when they arrive at their destination. Then their hope changes to seeing.

Likewise, believers now only have vague ideas about their resurrection and eternal destination, but their death (or Christ’s return) will replace ideas with reality.

Paul and John said that our resurrected bodies will be like that of Christ: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to his glorious body” (Phil. 3:21). “We know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).

Let us look beyond the Easter fun of candy and searching for eggs to the ultimate Easter – new body, New Earth, eternal springtime, no bad things, abounding good things, and no natural or man-made disasters. A dream fulfilled by the Almighty.

Jacob Van Zyl of Lethbridge is a retired counsellor and the author of several faith-based books.