1 Corinthians 15:20 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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1 Corinthians 15:20

Comments

Paul takes us all the way back to Leviticus 23 and the inauguration of the Feast of Firstfruits, where the very first sheaf of grain in every smallholding, every farm in ancient times, was to be brought to the priest and the priest would wave it in the air. This was before the main harvest; the rest of the harvest was brought in later, and the end of harvest was marked by the Feast of Weeks seven weeks later (Leviticus 23:15-22). Following the waving of the first sheaf, they would then proceed to the sacrifices and worship in anticipation of the great harvest. This took place on the third day after the offering of the Passover lamb. It was accommodated within the Passover feast and we know that the Lord Jesus Christ went to Calvary at the time of Passover. On the Friday there was a sabbath, the high day, and then on the day following the sabbath, our Lord's day, was the day for the offering up of the firstfruits, the first sheaf of grain before the harvest was gathered in. So all took place at the same feast, and Christ rose from the dead. He led the way for his people, triumphed over death and sin. Project earth is to go on and be preserved because Christ has secured the victory over death on Calvary. It achieves far more; it is theologically far more important even that a demonstration of divinity, and they'd swept it all away by listening to Greek philosophy. What a mistake!Paul links Christ’s resurrection to the Feast of Firstfruits: ‘Now is Christ risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of them that slept.’ Just as the remainder of the harvest would be brought in over the coming weeks and the harvest would end with the Feast of Weeks, so Christ was raised first, and all his people will in due course be resurrected at the coming of Christ. All things have been planned are perfectly order by the Father from the beginning. But Christ was the firstfruits, the sheaf of promise, as it were. So the apostle here shows how all these things were predicted in symbolic form so long ago, and there is a sequence of verses which speak about our bodily resurrection.

Application

Some texts show that God the Father had a part in the resurrection; some texts show that God the Holy Spirit had a part in it, but the majority tell us that the Saviour raised himself, and it was by his power. So while every member of the Godhead has some part in it, we know that it was also the Lord himself by his mighty power that raised himself from the dead. His eternal consciousness tasted death for us, and experienced the agony and pain of separation from God. He experienced the attacks of the demons, hemming him around, trying to keep him in the domain of death. But Christ, though truly dead, when the moment came by an exertion of his mighty and amazing power shattered and broke the bands of death for every one of us.

Questions

Sleep does not refer to the soul, but to the body. All those people who believe in Christ, who love him and trust in him; all those who belong to God, when they die, their bodies, of course, perish and rot; but their bodies are said to sleep. They are not asleep, literally; of course not. They are dead, as the apostle goes on to affirm shortly. Nevertheless, sleep is the appropriate term, because one day they will be raised again. Christ used the same figure in describing Lazarus: ‘Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death’ (John 11:11-13). But it doesn’t refer to the soul, because at death the soul of the believer goes to the paradise of Christ, awaiting that coming final day of resurrection.

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1 Corinthians 15:20 Commentary and Bible Study

The meaning of 1 Corinthians 15:20 explained