class 09 the passover and the firstfruits

The Study of Leviticus

Class 9

The Lord’s feasts: The Passover, Unleavened Bread and

the Firstfruits

Leviticus - Chapter 23The Passover

According to Leviticus 23, there were seven feasts that the people of Israel celebrated: The feast of the Passover The feast of Unleavened Bread The feast of the Firstfruits The feast of Pentecost The feast of Trumpets The day of Atonement and The Feast of Tabernacles


This is registered in in Leviticus 23. However, if we look at the other books of the Bible, we

will see that they mention only three feasts. Exodus 23:14 says: “Three times you shall keep a feast to me in the year”.


All seven feasts could be sumed up in three: The first feast consisted of the Passover, Unleavened

bread and the Firstfruits. The second consisted of Pentecost, which occured seven

weeks after the first feast. The third consisted of the Feast of Trumpets, the day of

Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles.


1. Historical aspect The passover was historically established during the last

plague in Egypt. The Lord said that the death angel would pass over all houses and the firstborn of each family would die. To be delivered from death they had to celebrate the Passover.

The passover lamb was separated on the tenth day of the month of Abib (April). They had to examine the lamb carefully before killing in on the fourteenth day of Abib.


They put the blood on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses forming the shape of the cross. This points to Calvary.

God said: “When I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you” (Exodus12:13,23).

The Passover means that God put himself over the homes of the Israelites as a covering, protecting them from the destroying angel that he had sent upon the Egyptians (Exodus 12:23).


2. The prophetic aspect The passover was celebrated on the the tenth day of the

first month. Each son of Israel would take a lamb for himself according to the house of his father and separate it for four days (Exodus 12:3). Durring these four days, the lamb would be examined to make sure that it was without blemish.

The Lord Jesus was also tested for four days, and just as the passover lamb of Exodus 12, he had to be without blemish or defect.


After he was arrested, the Lord Jesus was subjected to six examinations or trials: Three at the hands of the priests, who examined him

according to God’s Law (Mark 11:27-12:37; 14:53-65; John 18:13, 19-24)

Three at the hands of the Roman government, who tried him according to Roman Law (John 18:28-19:6).

Three at the hands of Pilate who declared (all three times) that he found no fault in him (John 18:38; 19:46).


The Lord passed all of the tests, and was found innocent. And precisely on the Passover, he was lead to die as the Passover lamb. Therefore, his death was the exact fulfillment of the type.

At the Exodus of Israel out of Egypt, the Passover lamb was killed at the end of the day, and that evening they ate the flesh of the lamb having applied the blood on the door posts and lintel.


3. The personal aspect The personal aspect of the passover is that all men must

have a salvation experience confessing with their mouth Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives.

All men need the blood of Jesus to be freed from the condemnation and judgment of God.


The blood on the lintel and doorposts eliminated the destroyer’s power over the homes of the people of Israel. Hebrews 2:14 emphatizes this.

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. Hebrews 2:14

The Passover is the first feast of the divine calendar. It occurred in the first month of Abib. The personal passover of each believer marks the beginning of a new life.

Leviticus - Chapter 23The feast of unleavened bread

1. The historic aspect The feast of Unleavened Bread occured durring the seven

days after Passover. Bettween the 15th and 22nd days of Abib (April) no leavend bread could be eaten. All leaven had to be removed from the homes.

This use of unleavened bread illustrated the hurry with which Israel left Egypt. The women packed up the unleavened bread dough still in the bowls and left hurriedly (Exodus 12:8-11; 14-20; 31-39).


2. The prophetic aspect The prophetic aspect of the feast of unleavened bread

illustrates the burial of Jesus. Since he had no sin, death could not deter him. The biblical rational is simple. The salary or payment of sin is death and wherever there is no sin, then death has no power to act.

The body of Christ was placed in the tomb on the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread. Jesus was the only true unleavened loaf with no leaven of sin.


Therefore on the exact day of the Passover Jesus was killed as the Passover Lamb.

The feast of the Passover was a single day event, but the feast of Unleavened bread lasted seven days. This indicates that our Passover experience is once and for all, but a life without leaven is the lifesyle that we have while we are here.


3. The Personal aspect Leaven is a symbol of evil and sin. “Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump,

since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Corinthians 5:7,8).

The personal aspect of this feast is that we must be delivered from sin.


The Passover represents Jesus solving the problem of the punishment for our sin. The unleavened bread portrays Jesus solving the problem of the practice of sin.

Matthew recorded the angel saying: “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21).


Every believer needs to be set free from the practice of habitual sin. The “works of the flesh”, must not be considered as inevitable and unbreakable chains, just because we are human.

God’s way of solving the problem of sin is by killing the old man.

“For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:19-20).


Jesus died on the cross for us and also died so that we could also die. The cross deals with our old man.

“Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” Romans 6:6

If we know that we ahve already died with Christ (Romans 6:6), we can experience his life

“Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord”. Romanos 6:11


God broke the power of sin when Christ died on the cross and took our old nature. For this reason we can consider ourselves dead to sin. We are no longer slaves of sin.

Our faith transforms these truths into our experience. Consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God.

Our old man, with its selfish desires died with Christ.

Leviticus - Chapter 23The feast of firstfruits

1. The historical aspects According to the facts, this feast shoud be the third day of

the Passover, that is on the day right after the Saturday. Christ was crucified durring the feast of the passover. Then he was burried, and after three days he was ressurrected. At his ressurrection Cristo became the firstfruits, which is the feast of Christ at his ressurrection.


“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, " Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering to the Lord.” Leviticus 23:9-12


The Lord Jesus is the firstfruits of the ressurrection (1 Corinthians 25:20,23-24). The firstfruits were the best part and therefore they were offered to God.

But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. (1 Corinthians 15:20-23)


After the ressurrection the Lord Jesus told Mary not to touch him (John 20:17) because he had not yet returned to the Father as the firstruits.

The freshness of the ressurrection had to first be for the Father’s delight, as a type of the firstfruits of the harvest brought to God.

Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God." (John 20:17)


2. The prophetic aspect Just as the unleavened bread speaks of death and burial,

the firstfruits speak of the ressurrection. Matthew 27:50-54 describes the circumstances connected

to the death of Christ: The veil of the temple was torn in half, from the top to the bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split apart. The tombs opened and the bodies of many saints who had died

ressurrected. They left the tombs and after the ressurection of Jesus they walked about every part of the city and appeared to many.


This describes the firstfruits of the ressurrection. Together with Christ, the bodies of many saints experienced the power of the ressurrection of God! They were like sheaves of wheat triumphantly waved in worhsip and praise before the Lord.

They were ressurrected much before the main harvest. They make up a powerful prophetic witness of the certainty of a great future harvest.


3. The personal aspect In John 12:24 Jesus said: “Most assuredly, I say to you,

unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” Jesus was speaking of himself. He did this to explain to his disciples the reason that he had to go to the cross, die and be burried. It was necessary for him to be sown as a seed, so that at the ressurrection he could prepare a harvest of grain similar to himself.


In 1 Corinthians 15:23, Jesus was described as being the first fruits of the early harvest which testifies to the last harvest of the same fruit. James 5:7 diz:

“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.”


Just as the unleavened bread speaks of our holiness, the Firstfruits speak of our fruit because of Christ’s character in us.

These firstfruits of Christ in us are the truths of John 15. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me,

and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5


Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:2-4, 8, 12).


Just as the unleavened bread removes us from sin, the Firstfruits introduces us to love.

“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.” (1 John 3:14).

The personal aspect of the Firstfruits is that the imagem of Jesus must be formed in us.


In our spirit we are already like him, because we have received his Spirit in our hearts by faith, we have been born again, as childrens of our Father.

In our soul, we are being transformed by prayer of the Spirit and the renewing of our mind by the Word of God. In our future our bodies will be glorified.


For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:53-54)

class 09 the passover and the firstfruits

Spiritual

personal passover

leviticus chapter

passover lamb of exodus

feast of trumpets

feast of pentecost

feast of tabernacles

unleavened bread dough

use of unleavened bread