An excerpt from Jewish Roots of Christianity
The feasts of Israel are in one sense, spiritual signposts that say, “This way to Messiah.” …The feasts of Israel find their fulfillment in Jesus and the ultimate spiritual destination of salvation.
The feasts point to Jesus, who has made the way of salvation possible. As He proclaimed about Himself in John 14:6, “… I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Shavuot
Shavuot occurs seven sabbaths and a day (50 days) after Passover. This feast is also called the “Firstfruits” or the “Feast of Weeks.” The Hebrew word Shavuot means “weeks” or “sevens” because we count seven sevens from the day after Passover.
Christians are familiar with the Greek word Pentecost, which literally means “fiftieth.” These different names for this feast—Shavuot, Pentecost, the Feast of Weeks, or the Firstfruits—are synonymous, and all refer to the 50-day period after Passover culminating with the day the feast is celebrated. Shavuot was a time for the Israelites to give thanks to God for their produce during the barley season.
Firstfruits also provided an opportunity for Israel to trust God rather than Baal and the other Canaanite nature gods and was a reminder to them that the Lord was their Creator and Provider. Additionally, according to Jewish tradition, God gave Moses the law on Mt. Sinai during Shavuot.
Shavuot was one of three feasts requiring all Jewish men to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles were the other two (see also Exodus 34:23). As Deuteronomy 16:16 states: “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.”
Christians may not know the birthday of the church at Pentecost in Acts 2 occurred on the Jewish Feast of Shavuot! As Acts 2:1-4 reveals:
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
In the last chapter of our study, we’ll do a deeper study of Acts 2. For now, note the connection between the birthday of the church and the Feast of Shavuot, Pentecost. While Shavuot, or Pentecost, was an annual feast on the Jewish religious calendar, the coming of the Spirit and birth of the church in Acts 2 was a singular event, which occurred on the feast day, for many reasons we’ll discover. In short, both the agricultural feast day of Shavuot and the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost are both about harvest—manifested by God’s blessing, God’s power, and God’s provision.
There is a physical harvest, yes, but there is also a spiritual harvest.
God instituted the Feast of Weeks in Leviticus 23:15-22:
And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord. You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the Lord. And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be as a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord. Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering. The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest. And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.
When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the Lord your God.
“Firstfruits” and “harvest “are the key words from this passage that will strengthen our understanding. Leviticus 23:17 states, “You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the Lord.” Here in Leviticus 23 the word firstfruits is associated with physical harvest. In Acts 2 there was a spiritual component, as there was a harvest of three thousand souls (Acts 2:38-41), people who responded to Peter’s preaching and were saved following the Spirit falling upon him and the other disciples. Shavuot, as we’ve mentioned, is also called the Feast of Firstfruits. “And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest …” (Exodus 34:22). The most common Hebrew word for “firstfruits” is bikkurim.
Once firstfruits were offered to the Lord, the rest could be utilized by the farmer.
Additionally, in the Torah (the five books of Moses), the idea of first fruits was connected to the principle of the firstborn: “Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine” (Exodus 13:2).
In the same way, the Lord told the people that the firstfruits of the ground also belong to Him, “Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9-10).
One application for the follower of Jesus is that this feast speaks of the importance of dedicating our first and our best to God’s glory. This may include our time, talents, and other resources—all gifts and blessings from the Lord. Honoring the Lord with our firstfruits is part of the dedication and trust He expects and deserves.
