Transcript First Fruits - Beth Yeshua Messianic Fellowship, Priest

First Fruits
Resurrection Day!
The Resurrection Story: Luke 24
1
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they
came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had
prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from
the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the
body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed
about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in
dazzling clothing; 5 and as the women were terrified and
bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them,
"Why do you seek the living One among the dead? 6 "He
is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke
to you while He was still in Galilee, 7 saying that the Son
of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men,
and be crucified, and the third day rise again." 8 And they
remembered His words, 9 and returned from the tomb
and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the
rest.
The Resurrection
• Found in TANAKH: Daniel 12:2,3 • “Many of those sleeping in the dust of the
earth will awake, some to everlasting life
and some to everlasting shame and
abhorrence. But those who can discern
will shine like the brightness of heaven’s
dome, and those who turn many to
righteousness like the stars forever and
ever.”
By the time of Yeshua, Not all Jews
believed in a Resurrection
• The Sadducees, who only believed in the
first FIVE books of the Bible (Torah), did
NOT believe in the Resurrection.
Matthew 22:23-28
Acts 23:8
Yeshua’s Response: “I am the
God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob”
• God is the God of the Living, not the dead!
• Matthew 22:29-32
Yeshua’s Resurrection
• Essential to our own: He is the Firstfruits
from the dead.
– But each in his own order: “Christ the first
fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His
coming” (1 Corinthians 15:23)
In short, if Yeshua did not
Resurrect
• We will not either!
His Resurrection is the Sign of His
Being the Messiah
• Look at Dynamic in Matthew 12:22-23
• Healing of the blind/mute man… All the
crowds were amazed, and were saying,
"This man cannot be the Son of David,
can he?"
Matthew 12
•
24
But when the Pharisees heard this, they
said, "This man casts out demons only by
Beelzebul the ruler of the demons."
• 25 And knowing their thoughts Jesus said
to them…
Same Incident…Not a New One
•
38
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees
said to Him, "Teacher, we want to see a
sign from You."
It wasn’t as if He already didn’t give them a
sign! He healed the blind/mute man!
Sign – 3 Days AND 3 Nights
•
39
But He answered and said to them, "An
evil and adulterous generation craves for a
sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but
the sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just
as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND
THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE
SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man
be three days and three nights in the
heart of the earth.
Sign – Greek - Semeion
•
•
•
•
Strong's Number: 4592 (say-mi'-on)
Parts of Speech - Noun
Definition
a sign, mark, token
– that by which a person or a thing is distinguished from
others and is known
– a sign, prodigy, portent, i.e. an unusual occurrence,
transcending the common course of nature
• of signs portending remarkable events soon to happen
• of miracles and wonders by which God authenticates the
men sent by him, or by which men prove that the cause they
are pleading is God's.
THREE DAYS AND THREE
NIGHTS
• The Greek word for AND is Kai (ka-hee)
Strong's Number: 2532 and it means:
AND
Not OR
More about that…
• Next Shabbat!
• In short, the “Good Friday” explanation of
the crucifixion is not able to fit the “AND”
criteria and the “AND” criteria is vital for
the fulfillment of the sign.
The Pharisees Understood
Clearly What He was saying!
• Matthew 27:
•
62
Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the
chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with
Pilate, 63 and said, "Sir, we remember that when He was
still alive that deceiver said, `After three days I am to
rise again.' 64 "Therefore, give orders for the grave to be
made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples
may come and steal Him away and say to the people, `He
has risen from the dead,' and the last deception will be
worse than the first." 65 Pilate said to them, "You have a
guard; go, make it as secure as you know how." 66 And
they went and made the grave secure, and along with the
guard they set a seal on the stone.
Importance of His Resurrection
• His Resurrection is essential - Or our faith
in Him is in vain.
His Resurrection is Critical to our
Faith
• If Yeshua did not Rise: We are all lost in
our sins.
• We might as well “eat, drink and be merry
for tomorrow we die…”
• Why live a holy, moral life if we all end up
the same and there is no resurrection!
Our Faith Rests Upon His
Resurrection! 1 Corinthians 15
•
12
Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised
from the dead, how do some among you say that there is
no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no
resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been
raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our
preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 15 Moreover we
are even found to be false witnesses of God, because
we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He
did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if
the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised;
17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is
worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also
who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If we
have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men
most to be pitied.
Resurrected Messiah Seen by
Many!
• To Mary Magdalene – John 20:14
• To the women returning from the tomb –
Matthew 28:9,10
• To Peter later in the day – Luke 24:34
• To the Emmaus disciples – Luke 24:13-33
• To the Apostles (Thomas absent) – Luke
24:36-43
• To the Apostles (Thomas present) – John
20:26-29
Resurrected Messiah Seen by
Many!
• To the seven by the Lake of Tiberias –
John 21:1-3
• Was with them for 40 days! Acts 1:1-3
• At the Ascension – Acts 1:4-11
Shaul - 1 Corinthians 15
1
Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I
preached to you, which also you received, in which also
you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast
the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in
vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I
also received, that Christ died for our sins according to
the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He
was raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to
the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five
hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until
now, but some have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to
James, then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as to one
untimely born, He appeared to me also. 9 For I am the
least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle,
because I persecuted the church of God.
Witnesses Unto Death
• ALL of the original Disciples of the
Messiah (except Judas and John) were
martyred for their faith.
• NONE of them renounced the fact that
they saw the risen Messiah!
Martyrdom of Apostles
• Andrew: Martyrdom by crucifixion (bound, not nailed, to a cross).
• Bartholomew (Often identified with Nathaniel in the New Testament):
Martyrdom by being either 1. Beheaded, or 2. Flayed alive and
crucified, head downward.
• James the Greater: Martyrdom by being beheaded or stabbed with a
sword.
• James the Lesser: Martyrdom by being thrown from a pinnacle of
the Temple at Jerusalem , then stoned and beaten with clubs.
• Jude (Often identified with Thaddeus in the New Testament):
Martyrdom by being beaten to death with a club.
• Matthew: Martyrdom by being burned, stoned, or beheaded.
• Peter: Martyrdom by crucifixion at Rome with his head downwards.
• Philip: Martyrdom.
• Simon: Martyrdom by crucifixion or being sawn in half.
• Thomas: Martyrdom by being stabbed with a spear.
In other words…
• …They all expected to see Him again in
the resurrection! They all believed His
words!
“I am the Resurrection”
•
17
So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been
in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem,
about two miles off; 19 and many of the Jews had come to
Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother.
20 Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming,
went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house. 21 Martha
then said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother
would not have died. 22 "Even now I know that whatever You
ask of God, God will give You." 23 Jesus said to her, "Your
brother will rise again." 24 Martha said to Him, "I know that
he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." 25
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who
believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who
lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?"
27 She said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are
the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the
world.“
(John 11)
If Yeshua did not Rise, His claim
is not True:
• …And He is not who He claimed to be!
Fulfillment of the Scriptures –
Luke 24
44
Now He said to them, "These are My words
which I spoke to you while I was still with you,
that all things which are written about Me in the
Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms
must be fulfilled." 45 Then He opened their minds
to understand the Scriptures, 46 and He said to
them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would
suffer and rise again from the dead the third
day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of
sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the
nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
Yeshua’s Fulfillment of Another
Holy Day
• He had just fulfilled Passover and
Unleavened Bread on the cross, now
He is to fulfill another Moed (appointed
time).
• We don’t need a “new” holy day (such
as Easter) to honor the Resurrection!
God already built in that day in His
Moedim!
The Resurrection Fulfilled First
Fruits – NOT Easter!
•
“But now Christ has been raised from
the dead, the first fruits of those who are
asleep.”
20
1 Corinthians 15
First Fruits! Leviticus 23
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10
"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them,
`When you enter the land which I am going to
give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall
bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your
harvest to the priest. 11 `He shall wave the
sheaf before the LORD for you to be accepted;
on the day after the sabbath the priest shall
wave it.
9
Day after the Shabbat
•
15
`You shall also count for yourselves
from the day after the sabbath…
He Rose on 1st Day of Week – After
the Weekly Shabbat (7th Day)
• “Now after the Sabbath (7th Day), as it
began to dawn toward the first {day} of the
week, Mary Magdalene and the other
Mary came to look at the grave.”
Matthew 28:1
Conclusion: We Don’t Celebrate
the Resurrection…
• With eggs, or rabbits, or other fertility
symbols...
• With Sunrise services or baskets or candy
or “hot crossed buns”…
And, in Fact, We don’t Celebrate…
• …The Feast as they did in the Temple
Days, because there is NO Temple.
• Many Messianic Congregations don’t
celebrate it at ALL! Since it was
expressed in the Temple Service as a
wave offering as we read in our parsha.
• But, we really need to honor this day!
We need to remember this Moed
because our faith rests upon the
Messiah fulfilling it!
• So, Let us honor this Moed with joy, for our
Messiah rose on this day!
• A promise toward our own Resurrection!
Because When a Believer Dies, it is
different than when a Non-Believer
Dies!
1 Thessalonians 4: 13 But we do not want you to be
uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so
that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even
so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep
in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the
Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming
of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen
asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the
trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17
Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the
air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore
comfort one another with these words.