Christ: the first fruits

"But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits 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. But each in his own turn; Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him." (1 Corinthians 15:20-23 NIV)

The Apostle Paul spoke of the resurrected Christ as "the first fruits of those who have died" Look at that one more time. The resurrected Christ is "the first fruits of those who have died."

What is the meaning of that phrase, "first fruits?" In the early summer, those of you who plant tomatoes in your gardens get to experience a special treat. You get to go to your garden and pick a fresh, vineripened, homegrown tomato. You not only get to pick it -- you also get to eat it. You might put it in a salad -- or you might put a slice on a hamburger -- or you might just eat it like an apple.

But however you do it, that tomato will taste better than any tomato that you have eaten in the past year. It will certainly taste better than the winter tomatoes that you purchased in the supermarket. But it will also taste better than the tomato from your garden that you ate last August. By August you had grown accustomed to fresh tomatoes. They didn't seem as special as the first tomato of the season. What's the difference? The difference is that, in the early summer, you have been waiting all winter for a good tomato. When you finally get a fresh, vineripened, homegrown tomato -- the first one from the garden -- it tastes better than any tomato since the first tomato of the previous year.

That first tomato is what they called "first fruits" in the Bible. It is special. It is special because it tastes good, but it is also special because it holds the promise of more tomatoes through the summer. It isn't the "last fruit" or the "only fruit" but the "first fruits." It holds the promise of baskets full of wonderful tomatoes. It holds the promise of a wonderful summer.

First fruits were the first part of the harvest that faithful Jews brought to the temple as an offering. Although Christ was not the first to rise from the dead (he raised Lazarus and others), he was the first to never die again. He is the forerunner for us, the proof of our eventual resurrection to eternal life.

Paul says that Jesus is "the first fruits of those who have died." Jesus' resurrection was not the "last fruit" or the "only fruit." It is the "first fruits" -- and it holds the promise of many resurrections to come -- the resurrections of our loved ones -- our resurrection.

Charlotte Austin McCary's Chapel United Methodist Church