Verse 20

"But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."

I believe I have never used the word "firstfruits" in my entire life. My web browser does not even accept it as a word and wants to spell-check it.

But the meaning is simple enough, the first things to come, literally pertaining to crops, but useful in other ways too.

So why would Paul compare Jesus' resurrection to farm crops?

For comfort and confidence of course.

Not clear?

Well, that makes sense as most of us (but not all, SHOUT OUT to my Iowa family members!) don't daily live aware of our agrarian society. I don't grow food. I buy it. I'm not concerned about the height of the corn or the progress of the apple trees. I just pay for these things and usually don't even notice if the price fluctuates.

But in an agrarian society, people pay attention to all this. It is their livelihood. They need to be aware of it.

And to the original audience of this letter, they would understand all this.

So, what is the significance of the first fruits?

Among many things, a main connotation of the first fruits is that they are a-coming. The first fruits are assured. Seasons change, rain falls, the moon passes through phases, and the first fruits come. Even in a down year, something is going to grow and that first thing to grow is the first fruits.

In the same way, Christ's resurrection is an assured promise to those who have already died in Christ and those who will. It's a-coming.

There's comfort here. There's confidence in this proclamation. It's good news.

Just as the new crops will come, so too will we one day be raised in new glorified bodies free from fallen-ness and weakness and united with Christ.