1 Corinthians 15:22-24 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.

1. The firstfruits offering was and act of ___________, proof they were trusting God to ___________ and ____________.

2. Jesus is the _______________ of the ___________________, which means he is the first to rise and we will follow suit.

3. Since Jesus has presented Himself to God on our behalf, we can ______________ our lives to God as an act of ______________.

Scripture Readings
Leviticus 23:9-14
Acts 20:17-35
John 10:22-30

Take It With You!

During Easter we will be learning how the Israelites celebrated their God and how those celebrations point us to Jesus. Here we will offer thoughts and meditations on the celebration of Christ to help us as we contemplate and discuss and wrestle with the messages.

In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul uses the image of the firstfruits. This goes back to the Jewish festivals of Passover and Pentecost, which in their developed forms were both agricultural and salvation-historical festivals. Passover was the time when the first crop of barley was presented before the Lord. Pentecost, seven weeks later, was the time when the firstfruits of the wheat harvest were presented. The offering of the firstfruits marks signifies the great harvest yet to come...

Paul applies this Passover image to Jesus. He is the firstfruits, the first to rise from the dead. But this isn't an isolated instance. The point of the firstfruits is that there will be many, many more. Jesus's Passover, that is, Calvary and Easter, which occurred of course at Passover time and was from very early on interpreted in the light of that festival, indicated that the great slavemaster, the great Egypt, sin and death themselves, had been defeated when Jesus came through the Red Sea of death and out the other side. Paul goes on later in the chapter to expound the nature of the Christian's resurrection body on the basis of the new body of Jesus.

NT Wright, Surprised by Hope. pg. 98