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From Passover to Shavuot? From Easter to Pentecost? Do these two springtime journeys have anything in common? As believers in Yeshua, both Jew and Gentile, what can we learn from this coincidence of the calendar?
Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, is now behind us. It is the feast that commemorates God’s miraculous redemption of the Jewish people from bondage in Egypt. Beginning on the second night of Passover, observant Jews fulfill the ancient tradition known as the Counting of the Omer. This tradition counts successively the 49 days between Passover and the next great spring feast, Shavuot; this year, Shavuot begins on the evening of Sunday, June 8. What is the significance of this ancient custom? There are two major explanations for the Counting of the Omer. (There are more, but space will only allow for the two major most common explanations).
The first explanation is rooted in history and rabbinic tradition. The ancient rabbinic tradition says the 49 days mark the time of the journey of the children of Israel from redemption in Egypt to God’s great revelation at Mount Sinai. Accordingly, every Jewish person is encouraged to utilize this period of counting to further their own personal journey toward God and greater Torah observance in his or her life. The season becomes not only a time of remembrance of Israel’s journey but a symbolic picture of the human soul’s longing and journey toward God.
The second explanation is agricultural. Shavuot, following 49 days after the beginning of Passover, is also the great spring harvest festival. In the Land of Israel, it was the time for gathering in the spring grain harvest and for giving thanks to God for His provision. In Leviticus 23, we read that a measurement of grain was to be offered up on the second day of Passover as a First Fruits offering. This offering was also a symbol of the harvest yet to come. The First Fruits offering was presented after the Passover ‘Sabbath’ (the first day of Passover) was concluded on the second day of Passover.Because no work – such as harvesting – could be done on the Sabbath, this ceremony’s offering of grain was set aside prior to Passover. In the year that Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) was nailed to the tree there were, most likely, two consecutive Sabbaths: the weekly Sabbath and the first day of Passover (a day kept as a Sabbath). This meant that the First Fruits offering was probably reserved on Thursday and then not offered until the third day (the first day of the week or our Sunday).
Suddenly God’s purposes become clear as we study this amazing alignment of holidays. A Jewish believer named Sha’ul (the Apostle Paul) wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:20: “Messiah has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of the resurrection!” He goes on in verse 23 to clarify, “Messiah is the first fruit of the resurrection. Those who belong to Messiah are part of the resurrection harvest to come!”
I believe that, in the year Yeshua our Passover Lamb was sacrificed, at the very moment the Jewish priest held up the symbolic First Fruits offering, Yeshua was being raised by His Father from the grave.
What amazing good news! Yeshua has overcome sin and death by His sacrificial death and resurrection. But even better news is coming! Just as we carefully count the omer from Passover and, 49 days later, see the great spring harvest festival of Shavuot or Pentecost, we can remember that Yeshua is just the first fruits of the resurrection harvest to come!
Praise God, we who have trusted in Yeshua are a part of the great harvest that God has promised in Messiah!
Have a wonderful, joyous, Spirit-filled Shavuot!
