April 19, 2026:

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”

(1 Corinthians 15.20-22)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Paul tells the Corinthians that “Jesus is the firstfruit of those who have fallen asleep.” The Day of Pentecost in Jewish tradition and teaching is the celebration of the “first fruits” of a bountiful harvest. The harvest has already begun. It may well have been completed before the land owner approached the Temple with the offering of those first fruits. Practically, the blessing of those first fruits will not increase the harvested yield. We do not know if by faith, however, that which has been collected into their barns and storage bins has not increased as did the five loaves and two fish which fed 20,000 men and women and children with 12 baskets of leftovers beside. I will not misrepresent the scripture, as many have done, which would be quoted by them saying, “All things are possible with God.” That teaching of Jesus was not a product oriented saying. It was not the bestowing of a super power to do a worldly thing which generally only benefits the person who has said it. When Jesus offered that insight, His focus and context defines the real purpose of “All things are possible with God.” He was speaking an answer to the disciples’ question, “If a rich man cannot be saved, then what chance does a poor man have or, by extension, a person who is rich or poor and not Jewish?” Jesus was redirecting their thoughts from a worldly understanding of salvation being earned to see the will of God’s love for every person. The only barrier to our salvation is us. God will do everything possible to help His people see how to accept the gift of salvation He brings to them. That greatest possibility would, of course, be Jesus Himself as the perfect substitutionary sacrifice offered to cover the price of our sins and sinfulness and thus be saved.

I offer that understanding of what Jesus said to refer to both the abundant feeding as well as the abundant harvest. Both instances ought to be seen through the perspective of salvation. The willingness to offer what we have in hand as that which is right and good to do (food given to strangers that they might go hungry and the first fruit, the first tenth, offering for an abundant harvest) demonstrates the power of faith to save. It may well be easier to say we see how sharing food with others can save them from hungering or from hunger itself. Not everyone came prepared to be on the mountainside with Jesus so long. Some may have come believing it would be more of a “one and done” event. Jesus would say a good word and there would be a gift of healing performed. This, however, was 20,000 people. That might amount to a lot of words and a lot of healings. We do know there were lots of words (in Matthew it takes three long chapters to record them). We do not know of any healing done that day except for the feeding of a multitude with one family’s lunch. Trust me, that would have been a healing but not really of the body. Rather it was a healing/reorientation of the mind and an affirmation of Immanuel, God with us, to bring a healing to the spirit. What seemed impossible (the sating of those hungering and thirsting for knowledge and healing and thus continue to live in this world) became the possibility of God to save (the awareness of God to meet the hungering and thirsting for righteousness which saves lives in the spirit). The first fruit offering of Pentecost when offered in faith for the purpose of serving God and others and bring them closer may well have brought a blessing on the harvest and multiplied it without the owner of the harvest having done anything more than come before God with a contrite heart. When it comes to the matter of salvation, God can use all things for His purpose and His glory.

It is here that I am understanding Jesus then being the first fruit of the harvest which comes from the seed planted by God in the hearts and minds and souls of human beings. Those who have “gone asleep” are those whose lives were laid down for the sake of believing in God and staying true to Him, keeping faith alive even as the cost of their own lives. Their faithfulness to being believers in God, and some gave up their original faiths and religions to become believers in God, kept the promise alive which God had made to Adam and Eve and to the Serpent. The future of humanity and of all creation was put upon the relationship between God and humanity. It all depends on God exclusively but in God’s desire to redeem humanity and bring creation to its fullness, it was an act of love which actually brought life to life. Jesus is that act and gift of saving the hope of humanity. The believers gave their lives to the promise of God as seeds of faith sown into the earth. Jesus was the result of that faith which came into the world as a man so that people could see and know that faith was not without hope. We are to do that same thing as we plant our own faith into the world sowing seeds of love, generosity, peace and all the fruit of the spirit for the purpose of making God’s desire for our salvation come to life. Are we bearing that fruit as Jesus did so that all, or as many as possible who will choose to believe, will be saved?

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.