At the very moment when the empty tomb of our Lord was discovered, the Jewish high priest came out of the Temple waving a sheaf of barley. Fifty days later when the fire of the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples early Pentecost morning and gave birth to the Church, likewise the same high priest was coming out of the Temple in that very hour holding up two loaves of bread. What was this all about? What did the two loaves represent?
HISTORY
After the exodus from Egypt, what God began with Abraham, He confirmed His covenant with Israel through the giving of the Law to Moses. This began what is known as the Dispensation of Law and this era transformed human moral law by instilling a spiritual stewardship based on the revelation of the will of God. In giving the laws for His people, God set several appointed “feasts of the Lord” for Israel to observe at specific times of the year. Altogether, Leviticus 23 provides seven feasts which are to be celebrated annually: Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles. God calls them “holy convocations” which in Hebrew (‘mikra’ Strongs H#4744) means “rehearsals” or “preparatory assembly.”
Paul tells us these feast dates are a “foreshadowing of events to come.” “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” (Colossians 2:16-17) In other words, Paul is saying these feast dates all point to Jesus Christ.
HARVEST FEAST
Oddly enough, it was on the Day of Pentecost, or the 6th of Sivan on the Hebrew calendar, that God gave Moses the tablets of His Law. But for the longest time Pentecost was looked upon as an agricultural feast or celebration that began seven weeks earlier in the spring, generally in March or April depending on the Jewish lunar calendar. It was originally known as “Harvest Feast” and then “First Fruits Harvest Feast.” In Hebrew, it is known today as “Shavuot” which means “weeks” or “Pentecost.”
It begins three days after Passover. For it was early morning on the Feast of First Fruits that the Jewish high priest would wave a sheaf of barley (or wheat) outside of the Jerusalem Temple proclaiming the earliest ripening of the coming summer harvest as a form of praise and gratitude before the Lord. Likewise, it was on this day that the resurrection of Jesus Christ occurred, for He is the First Fruit of the Resurrection. Just as the high priest waved a sheaf signifying God’s blessings on a future and full harvest, so the resurrection of Christ is a promise of a future resurrection of all His believers. Thus, His empty tomb is a promise of our resurrection, discovered in the moment the high priest was waving a sheaf before the Temple.
CONTEXT OF FIRST FRUITS
So, what else happened on the Feast of First Fruits in the Bible? Remarkably, it was on this same day that Noah’s ark rested on Mount Ararat (Genesis 8:4), that Israel crossed the Red Sea (Exodus 13:3-14:14), and Israel ate the firstfruits of the Promised Land (Joshua 5:10-12). Remember, that God rotated the Hebrew calendar forward six months (Exodus 12:1-2). First Fruits is always celebrated on the 17th day of Nisan.
In addition, it was on this Feast of First Fruits that began with the high priest “counting the omer” every day for 49 days until Pentecost. He would wave a sheaf of barley or wheat, known as the “omer.” This would culminate on the 50th day (“pente”) or Pentecost when the high priest would come out early in the morning and hold two loaves of leavened bread. In the festive agricultural celebration this proclaimed the full and final harvest of the summer grains.
But “50” in the Hebrew colloquial is not symbolic so much of the number 50 as it is a symbol of “fullness or completion.” (‘chamishshiym’ Strongs H#2572 root of ‘chamesh’)
Thus, we read, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” (Acts 2:1) Precisely fifty days after the Feast of First Fruits, the day the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead, 120 disciples “gathered together in one place” to await the promise of Christ, when they were baptized with the Holy Spirit.
PENTECOST- TWO LOAVES OF LEAVENED BREAD?
Within the Old Testament, the sacrificial system was a means of grace whereby the relationship between God and His people begins to be restored. Ultimately, the sacrificial system was inadequate, which is why Jesus came to earth to fulfill the Law.
There were five types of offerings in the Old Testament:
- Burnt Offering
- Grain Offering
- Peace Offering
- Sin Offering
- Trespass (or Guilt) Offering
Apart from animal or bird sacrifices, unleavened bread was always used as a grain offering as it represents sacrifice and hardship, it tasted bitter and symbolized the burden and affliction of Egypt. Leaven has always been a symbol of sin and/or corruption in the Bible. But on two occasions, during 1) Pentecost and during a 2) Peace offering or a Thanksgiving offering, leavened bread is actually specified. (Thanksgiving offerings were another type of a Peace offering.) We know that leavened bread is fuller, lighter and tastes good and has a sweet aroma. Thus, it is appropriate in these two moments that leaven represents reconciliation and thanksgiving.
IT ALL POINTS TO JESUS CHRIST
Jesus said He is the “Bread of Life” (John 6:35) and He was born in Bethlehem which means “house of bread.” As Christ was crucified on the Passover and buried hurriedly at sundown which began the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the bread without leaven symbolized “bread without sin.” Likewise, Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit….” (John 12:23-24).
Christ, the kernel of wheat- the basis for bread—did indeed have to die to be buried on the Feast of Unleavened Bread and He rose three days later on the Feast of Firstfruits to become “the firstfruits” of our resurrection.
Just as Jesus symbolizes the sheaf of barley that the high priest held up on Resurrection Sunday morning when His empty tomb was discovered, the two loaves of leavened bread that the priest held up on Pentecost morning symbolizes the coming resurrection of all believers. Many believe the two loaves represent the Church and spiritual Israel. For it is Jesus Christ who is the guarantor of the full and final harvest to come.
THE CONTEXT AND CELEBRATION OF PENTECOST
The common practice in Israel today is to read the Book of Ruth during Pentecost or “Shavuot.” The story of Boaz and Ruth surrounds the event of Pentecost, the final summer harvest of the grain fields owned by Boaz. Is it no wonder that the story of Ruth and Boaz takes place in Bethlehem? For it would be on his very fields many years later that the shepherds of Bethlehem would be visited by the angelic host that glorious night announcing the birth of a Savior in their town.
And the key moment in the Book of Ruth? In the middle of the night on the threshing floor of Boaz where wheat is winnowed, Ruth approached Boaz while he was sleeping. ““It happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative.” (Ruth 3:8-9)
The shul (skirt), or hem, was the emblem of rank or authority in Israel. In the middle of the night with no one else around, Ruth was asking Boaz to put the authority of his house over her. She invoked her right under the laws of Israel for him to take her to wife. Boaz was delighted to accommodate her and communicated his intentions to take her as his wife. The next day in the city gate he formalized his redemption of Naomi and the taking of Ruth as his bride.
As “kinsmen redeemer” Boaz, the great-grandfather of David, the one to whom the promise of Messiah was given, (2nd Samuel 7) redeemed Ruth, a Moabitess, as his Gentile bride….just as Jesus Christ is our Kinsmen Redeemer who shall return to take His Gentile bride, the Church.
As “50” in the Hebrew language symbolizes fullness and completion, likewise Pentecost represents the fullness and completion of the final harvest, or the end of the Church Age.
Paul uses the word “dispensation” four times in his epistles, and we are reminded that just as the Dispensation of the Law began on the 6th of Sivan when Moses received the Law and came down from Mount Sinai, the Dispensation of Grace, the birth of the Church Age, began on the same 6th of Sivan or Pentecost Sunday. When will the Church Age end? Paul says it is a mystery, “that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.” (Romans 11:25)
Not only does the feast of Pentecost unveil the commencement of two dispensations, it points completely to the Rapture of the Church. Just as Boaz redeemed his Gentile bride in the middle of the night, so Jesus shall come “as a thief in the night” and “at a time you think not” to claim His Bride.
Until then, let us labor together for lost souls in the fields of harvest He has assigned you and me.