James David Malm

                                    Leviticus 23:5, “In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD's Passover”. That is, the fourteenth day is the Passover; and it begins at the evening ending the thirteenth and starting the fourteenth day. In verse 6, “On the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread,” that is, at the beginning of the fifteenth day, the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins. “It is the Feast of Unleavened Bread unto the Lord seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. In the first day you shall have a holy convocation: you shall do no servile work therein. But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Eternal seven days: in the seventh day is a holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein”.

                                    Now [Strong’s Concordance] in its Hebrew-English Dictionary defines servile as meaning: work of any kind. Yet in Exodus we see that we have been commanded that every man may eat. This could allow for the gathering together of food and perhaps minor preparation or warming up, but it certainly is not intended that any major cooking take place. It is not intended that people spend their whole day baking and roasting and cooking. This heavy work should be done on the day before this High Holy Day for we know that Jesus Christ was our Passover sacrifice for us, and then He died around three in the afternoon on Passover day.

                                    And then in Luke 23:50, “There was a man named Joseph, a counselor; and he was a good man, and just: (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them ;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. And this man begged the body of Jesus from Pilate”. And in verse 53, “He took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulcher that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. And that day which is the Passover day was the preparation day and the Sabbath drew on”. And the Sabbath that they are talking about is not the weekly Sabbath but the High Holy Day, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

                                   
For going back to Leviticus 23:5, we know that the fourteenth day of the first month is the Lord’s Passover, and the very next day, the fifteenth day, is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Verse 7, you shall have a holy convocation on this fifteenth day, which is the first day of the week of unleavened bread. So we know that the Passover then; is a kind of a preparation day for the High Holy Day, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And even as the disciples of Christ were in a hurry to bury the body before the sunset and the beginning of this High Holy Day, in a hurry to bury the body lest they be working on the High Holy Day, and lest they be unclean for the High Holy Day, even so we should prepare for the High Holy Day, and do the bulk of our heavy work, our cooking, and our preparation on the Passover day which is not a holy day, and is a preparation day for the holy day.

                                    The Passover is a day of repentance from sin, of acknowledging the sacrifice of Christ, of asking and seeking that that sacrifice be applied to us. It is a day of mourning for our sins and for the fact that our sins are the direct cause of the need for the death of the Lamb of God. Nevertheless it is not a High Holy Day; it is a preparation for the process of coming out of sin. Repentance is required before we can come out of sin, and the atonement for sin through the sacrifice of Christ is required before we can come out of sin. And the Feast of Unleavened Bread pictures us putting leaven out of our bodies, our lives, and our homes, and that pictures putting sin out of our lives.

                                    Even as Passover is a preparation day for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, taking Passover is a preparation and the sacrifice of Christ is a preparation for putting sin out of ourselves. Leviticus 23:9, “And the Eternal spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the Eternal, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the Eternal.

                                    And the meat or grain offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the Eternal for a sweet savour,” a sweet odor, “and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin. And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings”. Now particularly notice that on verse 11, he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted for you. This sheaf, which is being offered, which is being waved before God is to be accepted on behalf of the people. It is to be offered on the day after the Sabbath.

                                    And verse 14, you shall not begin any harvest or eat anything of the new produce of the land until this is done. You may continue to eat of the old produce, what you have in stock and in store, but you may not eat anything of the new harvest. You may not begin the new harvest until the very first sheaf of the new harvest is presented to God, and this is done to be accepted for you. What does this mean? Remember that Jesus Christ is our Passover sacrifice for us, and the beginning of unleavened bread and throughout the whole feast, God is putting sin out of His people. And we must be putting sin out of our lives, and taking in the unleavened bread, which is typical or represents the perfect life of Jesus Christ. We must be taking Christ into ourselves and putting out sin. So that’s what the feast means.

                                    So let us turn then to John 20, “The first day of the week,” notice this is the first day of the week which is Sunday. And notice back in Leviticus 23, the waved sheaf is to be offered on the first day of the week, the day after the Sabbath being Sunday. Now John 20:1, “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher, and seeth the stone being taken away from the sepulcher. And then she runs, and comes to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said unto them, they have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid him.

                                    Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulcher. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulcher. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulcher, and sees the linen clothes lying, and the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home”.

                                    This was the early, early morning of the first day of the week, Sunday, and He, Jesus Christ, was already risen. He was not there. He had in fact risen exactly three days and three nights after being put in the tomb, and He was put in the tomb just before sunset, and shortly after His death at 3 PM on Passover afternoon. So He would have been buried sometime between 3PM and about 6:30 or 7PM. Most likely maybe 5:00 or so, to get those people time to get back to their homes and prepare for the High Holy Day. So Jesus Christ rose on a Saturday afternoon, late in the afternoon just before sunset. And on Sunday morning when Mary came to the tomb and the other two disciples also, He was not there. He had already risen.

                                    Now in John 20:10, “The disciples went away again unto their own home. But Mary stood without at the sepulcher weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked in and sees two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepiest thou? And she answered them, because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. And Jesus said unto her, Woman, why weepiest thou? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

                                    Jesus then said unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and said unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master for she recognized His voice. And Jesus said unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, your Father; and unto my God, and unto your God. Now Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her. Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week”, this is still the same day, it is Sunday now, “when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst of them and said, Peace unto you. And when he had so said, he showed them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord”.

                                    Now in verse 21, “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father has sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said these things, he breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit.” Now the Holy Spirit was not given at Pentecost first. It was given first to Abel, and then to all God’s saints, prophets, and men of God during the period from creation to the time of Christ. And now Jesus Christ had fulfilled the faith of God in calling all these people by going through with and performing His role as the sacrificial lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And having gone to the Father and been accepted by the Father as the true atoning sacrifice for mankind, He came back from the Father and breathed on them and said “Receive ye the Holy Ghost”. So He was giving to His beloved disciples, immediately upon His return, the Holy Spirit, the comforter that He had promised them.

                                    So our Lord was sacrificed for the sins of the world on Passover afternoon, which was a Wednesday in that particular year. And He was buried before the sun was set, and for the next day the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, was a High Holy Day. And on Saturday afternoon before sunset, He was raised up from the dead as it is written in I Corinthians 15:20,

“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept”. Christ is the first fruits and will be the first fruits of many brethren, many more to be raised up in a future resurrection of the saints. And after He was raised up on the very day, the next day after His resurrection, the day of the wave sheaf offering, He ascended to the Father for He said to Mary, “Don’t touch me for I have not yet ascended to the Father”.

                                    And later that same day, He came down and appeared in the midst of a crowd, a group of them, showing that He had in fact ascended to the Father and brought back with Him the comforter, the Holy Spirit. Now let’s go back to Leviticus 23:15, “And you shall count you from the day after the Sabbath”, that is the day Sunday, the first day of the week, “the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; you shall count seven complete Sabbaths: Even unto (up to and not including) the day after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat or grain offering unto the Eternal”. Now this day, this fiftieth day is the Feast of Pentecost and we will be covering that later on in a talk on Pentecost.

                                    But this day of the offering of the wave sheaf was to be the beginning of the count. And from that Sunday, we are to count through seven complete weeks, seven times seven, forty-nine days, and the day after the seventh Sabbath, the day after the completion of seven weeks is to be a new beginning the fiftieth day, the Feast of Pentecost. Now this count is to take place from the Sunday or the first day of the week after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This shows us that Jesus Christ was accepted for us so that  the harvest of first fruits could begin. Jesus Christ was the first of the first fruits, the first fruit of many brethren. Now in Leviticus 23:11, “And he shall wave the sheaf before the Eternal, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf a he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the Eternal”.

                                    Now notice there is no sin offering being offered here. The sin offering was the Passover. Here, a burnt offering was being offered. A burnt offering means that the animal was completely burned and consumed by the fire and the smoke arises. This pictures the ascending to heaven of a sweet smell, a sweet odor, a sweet savour to God showing that He found this lamb acceptable, desirable, and something pleasant; and this pictured the life and work of Jesus Christ. Now we go to verse 13, “And the meat or meal offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire,” which is baked or cooked, “unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin”.

                                    Now the pouring out of wine symbolizes the pouring out of blood, the death of the Lamb of God, Christ. That lamb pictures the Lamb of God Christ. The pouring out of the wine symbolizes the death of Christ. But in this case, His death is a result of service to God. He did this for God. This was not a sacrifice for sin. It was a sacrifice of the totality of Jesus Christ in obedience, in faithful obedience, and service to God; that He was willing to follow God as lambs are willing to follow those who lead them about. So there is no hint at all of sin in this. And the meal offering which is the unleavened bread, pictures the perfect life of Jesus Christ. It pictures Him as a bread of life being presented to God on behalf of all the people, to be accepted for all the people.

                                    So here we have through the sacrificial system, a picture of Christ as the Lamb of God serving the Father, following the Father, and Christ as the wholesome bread of life for all God’s people, and being presented as a first fruits of many brethren, the beginning of the harvest of souls from this earth. This is what the waved sheaf is all about.

                                     To recap, the Passover is about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Passover lamb slain from the foundations of the world, sacrificed for our sin, atoning for our sin, paying the penalty, which we have earned because of our sins. When we repent and turn from those sins, we can then be justified through the sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb of God, paying the penalty so that we can then go forward and put sin…

                                    The Feast of Unleavened bread pictures God putting sin out of our lives and empowering us to live a sinless life through the presence of the Spirit of the Father and the Spirit of Jesus Christ; the Holy Spirit of God. And further, He is putting out sin out of the lives of all of His called out ones from the very beginning starting with Abel. Now the waved sheaf pictures Jesus Christ ascending to the Father, and being presented to the Father, and being accepted by the Father on our behalf; to be accepted for us as a representation of the harvest of first fruits, the first sheaf of the harvest of first fruits, representing the whole harvest, a representation of the Harvest of First Fruits.

                                    And as Christ is accepted on our behalf, this also pictures the acceptance of the whole harvest of first fruits. So that the whole harvest of first fruits could now be harvested, could be reaped, could be brought into the store house, could be brought into the spiritual temple or family of God, so that the called out first fruits would now be acceptable to the Father through the agency and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And His acceptance of Christ as a first of the first fruits, a representation of the first fruits now being acceptable to the Father, God could then dwell in His first fruits, His called out ones, in us through the agency of the Holy Spirit.

                                    The first fruits being accepted by God through the acceptable sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ being lifted up and presented to the Father, and being accepted by Him, and returning back to the earth, and breathing out upon His people, and saying, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost”. The Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit was given to God’s people on this very day of wave sheaf. They were acceptable to God through Jesus Christ because they were repentant, and they were now atoned for, and had the sacrifice of Jesus Christ covering them. They could now become the literal dwelling place of God, the literal temple of God. The Holy Spirit was given on this day to these people to signify their acceptance through the called out one Jesus Christ, through the Holy One Jesus Christ, through our sacrifice, and now our living sacrifice Jesus Christ.

                                    In past ages the Holy Spirit was given to those called out by the Father in faith, that Jesus Christ would fulfill His mission, would present Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the people, would be successful in living a perfect life, would be successful in atoning for sin. And now that He was successful on this day, on this very day, he was accepted by the Father, His people, His disciples, were also accepted. And Jesus brought with Him the comforter, and gave the comforter, the Holy Spirit, to His disciples as recorded in John 20:22. And this is why in Leviticus 23; the people were commanded not to eat of any of the new harvest until the first sheaf of the harvest was accepted as a representation of the harvest by God.

                                    The fact is, if Jesus Christ had failed on His mission, if He had not been accepted by the Father, then the first fruits, the called out ones, would also not be accepted because there would have been no atonement, no sacrifice for their sins. The lifting up of the waived sheaf in Leviticus 23, pictured the lifting up of Jesus Christ to be accepted by the Father for us. The lamb being sacrificed, pictured Jesus Christ in service to the Father, pouring Himself out in service to the Father, even to the point of pouring out His life. And as Jesus Christ was accepted by the Father, so the entire work and labor of Jesus Christ was accepted.

                                    That work and labor, being the first fruits for whom He had given Himself. And even as Jesus Christ poured Himself out wholly and completely, and absolutely in service to the Father, so it behooves us to follow His example, and live our lives in complete service to the Father, to Almighty God, to the ultimate ruler of the universe. We are His servants which means we must do what He says. We must please Him, we must keep His commandments, and do that which is pleasing in His sight as His son Jesus Christ had done. And in so doing we become the temple of the Holy Spirit, the temple of the living God.