Anticipate Your Resurrection

“Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain.” DEUTERONOMY 16:9The Feast of Weeks was the day when people brought the first sample of the harvest as a gift to the Lord. In Exodus 23:16, it is called, “the firstfruits of your labour.”In the New Testament, Jesus is described as the firstfruits: “Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20). The firstfruits was a sample, a taste, a pledge of what was to follow in the harvest.When Jesus rose from the dead, He was the first of many who would also rise from the dead. Just as the first basket of fruit gives you a taste of what is coming from the whole tree, so the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the first glimpse of the day when all His people will be raised: “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ” (1 Cor. 15:22-23).This Feast of Weeks (or firstfruits) points to our glorious hope of resurrection. Jesus is the firstfruits. He is the hope of resurrection for you. As you look back on the resurrection of our Lord, take time to anticipate the day of your resurrection and drink in the hope God intends for you to have.Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk