Today is a day of eternal significance. Today is a day of deliverance and victory. Today is a day of new beginnings and confirming the promises of what is still to come. On the Biblical calendar, today is the anniversary of the day that the Israelites walked through the Red Sea on dry ground, and their enemies were buried by the waters – the third day after the original Passover. Today is also the anniversary of the resurrection* of our Lord Jesus Christ, when He walked out of the tomb fully and eternally alive after conquering and overcoming death – the third day after the crucifixion of our eternal Passover Lamb.
On this day as the sun began to rise after the people of Israel had passed through the Red Sea on dry ground with a wall of water on both sides, Moses raised his hand over the waters, and they swept back into their normal place. Israel’s enemies, the Egyptians, in spite of their military strength and power, were buried in the waters as God moved powerfully on behalf of His people. The Hebrews watched in amazement at the mighty hand of God which was outstretched on their behalf. For generations to come, nations near and far would be told of the glorious deliverance God provided for His people so that they could worship Him freely.
In addition, according to Jewish law, in the years after God faithfully delivered the people of Israel into the land He had promised them, today* is the day for waving the first sheaf from the field (also known as first fruits) before God as an act of faith in God’s provision for the harvest to come. Year after year on this day as the sun began to rise, the priests presented the first buds of the fields in a wave offering before God, declaring God’s faithfulness and how He delivered them into the Promised Land basically saying, “God has fulfilled His promises to us so far and we are confident that He will continue to keep His promises.” This offering acknowledged God as the God of harvest and demonstrated faithful hope and expectation of God’s provision of abundance when the time was ripe. From this day, the countdown began to the full offering of first fruits, which takes place 50 days from today, signifying a faithful deposit towards the bounty of the harvest yet to come.
On this day as the sun began to rise in the year of Christ’s crucifixion, the earth quaked and the stone covering the entrance to the tomb was rolled away. At the same time that the priest would be waving the first and best of the field, God’s first Son, the best of mankind, walked out of the tomb resurrected to eternal life. Two women named Mary went out with burial spices to visit Jesus’ tomb, but He was not there. An angel of the Lord assured the women that the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead, just as He had promised that He would. As the day progressed, the risen Lord Jesus appeared to the women and other disciples, demonstrating and revealing to them that through His suffering, death, and resurrection, God had been faithful to deliver on all of His promises by fulfilling God’s laws and the prophecies of God’s Prophets. From this day the countdown began to Pentecost, the day when Jesus would fulfill another promise, the promise of the Holy Spirit indwelling believers as the first fruits of their resurrection and as a deposit guaranteeing God’s faithfulness for the final harvest of all believers when the time is ripe.
Jesus conquered the grave, overcoming and defeating mankind’s greatest enemy – death, and those who saw with their own eyes were in awe of the mighty hand of God. Since that day, people from nations near and far have been told of the glorious deliverance God provided for His one and only Son so that all believers who are saved by grace through faith in Jesus can enter into the presence of God and worship Him freely. Since that day, the countdown has been progressing towards God’s glorious harvest of all believers at the end of time. Since that day, whoever lives by believing in Jesus will never die, because God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son so that whoever would believe in Him would not perish but have eternal life – the same eternal life which He was resurrected to on this day in history.
THIS is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!!
Scripture References:
Passing through the Red Sea: Exodus 14 & 15
Festival of First Fruits: Leviticus 23:9-14; Deuteronomy 26:1-11
The Resurrection: Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20
Note: This is the day commemorated as Easter in some churches around the world.
*Note: The Feast of First Fruits is celebrated after first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is a day of rest. In the year of Jesus’ crucifixion, this appointed date fell on a Saturday, the Sabbath day for Jews, so the first fruits were presented on the third day – the same day Jesus exited the tomb.