How to Celebrate the Biblical Holiday of First Fruits (The Day the Messiah Rose Again!)

Let's talk about First Fruits! The third Biblical holiday of the year, First Fruits often gets overlooked in the shadow of Passover and Unleavened Bread. While it actually happens during the Week of Unleavened Bread, it deserves attention and celebration of its own.

As believers in Messiah, First Fruits is one of the most joyous days of the year because it commemorates Yahusha being raised back to life! After being killed on Passover, the Messiah rose from the dead three days later on the feast of First Fruits! When Paul mentions that the Messiah is the "first fruits of the dead" in 1 Corinthians 15:20 he's not only saying that Jesus was the literal first fruits offering to YHWH, but also that the Messiah is the third festival of the year.

What is First Fruits? Historically it has been a day when the first of the barley harvest is gathered in the land of Israel, which makes it similar to the harvest celebrations of Shavuot and Sukkot. The theme of celebrating what YHWH provides is significant throughout Scripture, and should be central in our lives. Most of us aren't barley farmers, but we can still celebrate the provision that YHWH supplies us in the form of jobs, finances, a place to live, groceries, a garden, days of rest, friends and community, etc. Of course the ultimate provision is forgiveness for our sins...no matter how ugly or awful, forgiveness is available to us through the Messiah's sacrifice.

What should you know about First Fruits? It happens on the day after Shabbat during the Week of Unleavened Bread. Because Passover doesn't always land on the same day of the week (on most calendars), it's important to note that First Fruits doesn't always land three days after Passover - but it did when the Messiah was executed. The Festival of First Fruits is the kickoff for the counting of the omer, where we count fifty days to get to the next set apart time, Shavuot.

Significant events have taken place at First Fruits:
-Israel crossed over the Red Sea after leaving Egypt in the Exodus story. (Exodus 3:18, 5:3)
-The Temple was cleansed and sacrifices were reinstated under the reign of King Hezekiah. (1 Chronicles 29:17-18)
-Israel eats the first fruits of the Promised Land. (Joshua 5:10-12)
-Queen Esther foiled the plot of Haman. (Esther 3:12, 5:1)
-Noah's ark possibly came to rest on Mount Ararat after the flood on First Fruits.
-The resurrection of Yahusha the Messiah. (Matthew 28)
-The walk to Emmaus, where Jesus "expounded on all things concerning himself" from Scripture to a couple of his followers. (Luke 24:13-15)

All of these amazing events are a fresh start. Seeing your slave drivers swept away into the sea and leaving their land is a new beginning. The ark finally setting back down on the earth is mankind's second chance on the earth. Cleaning out the Temple, being saved from annihilation, eating from the Promised Land for the first time, and most importantly, the Savior being brought back to life? The freshest of starts, a blank slate. The trees bud, the flowers come up, and creation awakens. We are reminded that life starts all over again in the spring.

First Fruits is a time for:

1. Reading Scripture. Check out the stories of the empty tomb and read about the Messiah coming back to life. What did he have to say on the day of his resurrection? Wouldn't it have be amazing to hear him speak on the walk to Emmaus? Leviticus 23:9-14, Deuteronomy 26, and 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, would also be good to read.

2. Celebrating that the Messiah is alive! The greatest moment in history happened on this day. Rejoice and be glad! Spread the truth of this amazing act.

3. Recognizing and thanking YHWH for provision. Make a list of how much he really provides: material possessions, spiritual health, friends, physical nourishment, the positives of your environment, small things that make you smile. It's easy to overlook the many good gifts from him, make it a point to stop and acknowledge those today. Also remind yourself that he is providing for the needs of tomorrow as well.

4. Giving an offering. Pray about and discuss how you can offer first fruits of your own harvest. Tithing or donating money, giving your time to a good cause, and sharing your possessions are all ways to do that.

5. Remembering your heritage. Deuteronomy 26:5-11 gives the example of literally reciting the Israelite heritage of being rescued from slavery by YHWH when a person would hand their First Fruits offering to the priest. First Fruits is a time to remember both the story of the redemption of Israel as a whole, and also your personal story. Something along the lines of, "My life used to be like ______, but now YHWH has brought me blessings and - look - here I am able to celebrate his set apart times" fits well with the passage in Deuteronomy.

6. Blessing your spiritual leaders, foreigners, orphans and widows. Right after the above passage in Deuteronomy, Scripture makes mention of the tithing to the Levites, strangers in the community, and orphans and widows. What can you do to help these groups of people? Pastors, mentors, ministries, etc. all work hard to support your spiritual health, often at immense cost. Could you give them a gift or at least take the time to express your gratitude? How about those that could use support from you? What could you do to show them that they are loved and welcomed in YHWH's kingdom? 

7. Worship. Have a dance party to great praise music or fall to your knees in awe and reverence of YHWH. Celebrate the Messiah's victory and the amazing plan of redemption he has for us. Worship him on one of the greatest of days.

8. Feasting. The first harvest of the year is a big moment. Long before grocery stores, you lived off of the fruits of your last harvest until the next year. That could be scary when supplies start to dwindle and you're a ways out from the abundance of summer. The barley harvest was a collective sigh that even if there wasn't a lot in that moment there was more provision coming. Celebrate that with a special meal. If you're a gardener include the first bits of produce that are starting to come up in your part of the world. Depending on the year that's usually green onions, herbs, sorrel, fiddle heads, and asparagus for me.

9. Counting the omer. First Fruits is day one of the counting of the omer. Make a fun calendar or counter and mark off the first day as we lead up to Shavuot.

Happiest of First Fruits to you! Enjoy this amazing day of celebrating the unquenchable life to the Messiah!

Passover Gifts for Kids

Passover is coming up! Are the kids in your life equipped to celebrate? While I definitely don't think gifts are mandatory for a joyous Passover or Unleavened Bread celebration, they can be a great way to generate excitement and to make this time special for the little ones (and adults) in your life! Having certain books or games to get out at Passover each year can build the excitement and these things can also help your children to focus on the set apart time at hand.

Let My People Go Game from Modern Tribe

Passover Old Maid/Memory Game from MomsandCrafters

Betrayal of the King Book from Bible Pathway Adventures

Risen King Book from Bible Pathway Adventures

Happy Passover Shirt from GreenTurtleTShirts

10 Plagues Nail Decals from Midrash Manicures

Last Supper Block Kit - I'm not seeing this for sale anymore, but maybe you could buy Legos and challenge your kids to make something like this!

Matzah Passover Leggings from GiftsNShtick

Prince of Egypt Book (or movie)

Passover and Unleavened Bread Activity Book from Bible Pathway Adventures

Go Feast Card Game from Rebekah Co

Can of Plagues from Modern Tribe

Seder Slides Game from Modern Tribe

Related posts:
Beautiful Things for Passover
Kids Crafts for Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits

Helping Kids Get the Most from Passover Seder

Why I Started Celebrating the Biblical Feasts

Why do I celebrate the Biblical holidays?

This was a slower process than the decision to honor the Sabbath day. Growing up, my mom had the wisdom to recognize the many problems with Easter being celebrated in the Christian church, so we turned to celebrating Passover in my early teens. It seems obvious in hindsight but it took us several years before we figured out we should keep the rest of the Biblical holidays as well. So what led to the change?

For me that spark came when I started seriously reading and studying Scripture. While I have consistently read my Bible since I was a preteen, I wasn't studying or being taught all of it. If you cherry-pick the popular Christian passages of Scripture, you are going to miss a lot.* Realizing that all Scripture is breathed by YHWH and intended to instruct us (1 Timothy 3:16), I knew I needed to study the whole book to see its instructions for me. Upon reading the Bible in a year I could see that not only are these holidays mentioned, but that their thread can be seen from Genesis through Revelation. (My personal learning and conviction was compounded by my small congregation that was also studying this - surround yourself with those seeking truth and working to be obedient to the word and your life will change.) And when I saw that the thought of celebrating YHWH's set apart times was exciting! To enumerate a few reasons...

I wanted to start celebrating the Biblical feasts because:

-Scripture commands us to. Once I checked out Leviticus 23, Deuteronomy 16, and the many other verses on the feasts this was loud and clear! "This is a festival to YHWH throughout all your generations." (Exodus 12:14) I mean, really no reason beyond this is needed, right? Scripture says throw a party, so that is just cause to celebrate. If the word says to do something then it is in our best interest to do that. You don't have to be a scholar to realize that following Scripture's instructions is the wise choice to make.

-Paul exhorts believers (even non Jewish ones) to keep these feasts. Many people have told met that the Biblical holidays are strictly an Old Testament thing and not needed after the Messiah came. Apostle Paul didn't think so and expressly told believers to keep the feasts (1 Corinthians 5:8). Both the Old and New Testaments tell us to do this. Think you're not invited because you don't come from the right gene pool? Nope, this instruction is for everyone. When Paul wrote this, he was actually addressing a Greek group of believers from Corinth. His target audience wasn't Jewish people or those living in Israel, and you don't have to meet those descriptions to celebrate.

-The Messiah and his disciples kept the set apart times. Remember those WWJD bracelets? Well one of the answers to that question is, "He would keep the feasts!" We see him doing this at the last supper for Passover, traveling to Jerusalem for a feast as a boy, and in John 7 at Sukkot. The cycle of the seven set apart times would have been foundational to his life, marking the seasons and the calendar. Just as we know that fall means back-to-school, leaves changing colors, and pumpkins and apples, he would have associated fall with getting ready for the fall feasts. I love how this gives us such an idea of what his days were like...picture him putting together a sukkah before the Feast of Tabernacles or counting the omer in the spring time, and making plans to celebrate the feasts.

-There is both historic and prophetic significance to each of these times. The Biblical holidays are action packed to say the least, from the Israelite exodus from slavery to the resurrection of the Messiah; the giving of the Torah to baptism in the Holy Spirit at Shavuot. Each set apart time is so rich because it symbolizes not only what YHWH wants us to remember regarding the past, but what is to come at those times in the future. Did you know when Yahusha said that no one knew the day or the hour of his return he used an idiom for the Feast of Trumpets? We can learn so much from the feasts.

-Wanting to honor YHWH. We host birthday celebrations and engagement parties, and award ceremonies because we want to honor people. What about a few days to honor the Creator? While we can do that through other means as well, we shouldn't neglect that he asked us to observe these times.

-Conviction. I've had no problem celebrating cultural holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, workplace/career milestones, high school homecoming, the Ohio State versus Michigan football game, and even completely made up days like 'National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day'...is it too much to ask to give YHWH's days a little attention? In fact, I'd willingly jumped into all of those other days because they sounded fun and (mostly) they held some significance. What am I saying when I reject the feasts of YHWH because I don't think they have meaning or could be celebrated with joy?

-Sincerely wanting to be a doer of the word. I don't know about you, but for me there came a time when I just got sick of letting myself off the hook with excuse after excuse for why we don't actually need to keep Scripture's instructions. Life is too short to live in half-hearted compromise. And if abundant life comes through the Messiah, shouldn't I align myself with his lifestyle and value system, at least to the best of my ability? YHWH deserves more than just my verbal praise, he desires that we show our faith by our actions. Celebrating a few times a year is a doable and joy filled way to do that.

I am so thankful to be able to honor and celebrate YHWH's set apart times. It is a great joy to have the seasons of my life revolve around Scripture. I wish I could adequately tell you how celebrating the feasts has enriched my faith and understanding of Scripture, but it has been so much more than I ever imagined. 2 Peter 3:18 tells us that we are to continually grow in the favor and knowledge of the Messiah, if you're feeling like you've been stuck or stagnant, keeping the feasts is an amazing opportunity to grow! All are invited.


*That really bad habit of skipping over large portions of Scripture leaves believers in the dark on many topics, and most live in complete ignorance that there are times of year that are set apart by the Creator for specific celebrations. This is compounded by bad translations (like Shavuot's misnomer Pentecost, or heaven forbid, calling Passover "Easter," or how a mention of it being "already after Yom Kippur" in Acts gets changed to "we had lost a lot of time"). If you have a poor translation of Scripture that you don't read all of or study, you are going to miss important blocks of Scripture, including these ancient festivals we are commanded to keep.

More on the Biblical Holidays:
The Beginner's Guide to the Biblical Holidays

The Feast of Tabernacles: What it Means and Why You Should Celebrate

Fresh Perspective on the Biblical Feasts

What are the Differences Between Passover and Easter?

Open My Eyes - Psalm 119 Printable

"Open my eyes that I might see the wonders from your Torah." -Psalm 119:18

What an amazing statement! If you haven't read through the 119th psalm to see the author's reverence for the words and instructions of YHWH, it's definitely worth a look. The unknown author waxes quite poetically about the beauty of the word, the goodness of Torah's instructions, that it's worth more than millions in gold, how the word is a lamp to our lives. He or she has nothing but praises for the Torah, and this is the longest chapter in the whole of Scripture...nothing but praises.

And yet, still they are asking to see more.

There is so much more richness and depth to Scripture than what we realize. And the more I see, the more I am aware that there is more that I haven't yet understood. No matter where you are in your faith, you can have more. This printable is available to you for free in hopes that this reminder would stir in your heart to ask to see more of the beauty from YHWH's word.

Click here to download this printable. It is free for your personal use and easy to print off on a regular printer. Enjoy!