YEA Lesson Library

The Lesson

Early Sunday morning Mary went weeping to Jesus’ tomb. She stooped down and looked inside the tomb that had been carved into the side of a hill. Two angels were sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying. She was heartbroken that Jesus’ body was gone, because she feared it had been stolen. As she cried, she looked over her shoulder and Jesus was standing there. At first
she didn’t recognize Him. When she realized who He was, probably her first inclination was to give Him a big hug. But that was not to be. “Don’t touch me,” He cautioned, “For I haven’t yet ascended to the Father.”

Later that evening the disciples, except for Thomas, were locked in a room because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. All of a sudden Jesus was standing in the room with them. He showed them the nail prints in His hands and where His side was pierced with a sword. The disciples knew it was Jesus and were over- joyed to see Him. When they saw Thomas they told him that they had seen Jesus, but Thomas didn’t believe them. “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands – and put my fingers into them – and place my hand into his side” (John 20:25 TLB). Now we know why he’s called, “Doubting Thomas.”

Eight days later the disciples went into a room again and locked the door behind them. Thomas was there that day. And again, Jesus suddenly appeared in the room without unlocking the door. He knew that Thomas had doubted His resurrection and wanted proof that He was not an impostor. Jesus told Thomas to put his fingers on His hands where the nails had been driven and his hand on His side where the sword was thrust. Jesus said to Thomas, “You believe because you have seen me. But blessed are those who have not seen me and believe anyway” (John 20:29 TLB).

Why did Jesus allow Thomas to touch Him when He would not allow Mary to touch Him? Was this a sexist thing? No! As you read the New Testament you’ll find that Jesus was a real supporter of women. The significance is far greater than you might initially see. In Leviticus 23 God instructed Israel of old about keeping the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread. He explained that on the day after the Sabbath, which is Sunday, they were to bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of their harvest to the priest. “And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it” (verse 11). So what’s the significance?

God’s holy days are loaded with symbolism and typology. The Passover lamb was a type of Jesus Christ. The unleavened bread that we eat at the Passover symbolizes the broken body of Christ. The small cup of wine we drink at the Passover symbolizes the shed blood of Jesus Christ for our sins. The sheaf of grain that was cut to be waved before God was cut Saturday about sunset. It was probably cut at the time Jesus came out of the tomb, the year Jesus was crucified. Jesus Christ was the first of the firstfruit of the harvest (1 Corinthians 15:20).

The reason Jesus told Mary not to touch Him was because He had not ascended to His Father. This was because He had not gone to heaven to present Himself to God to be accepted as a wave sheaf for you. We read in Leviticus 23:11 that the priest was to wave that sheaf of the firstfruits on Sunday. For Jesus to be your Passover Lamb, He had to fulfill the requirements of the law. The entire package was not complete until He was presented to the Father and accepted as a pure sacrifice for you.

What significance does all of this have for you? Baptized believers of Christ are a kind of firstfruit (James 1:18 and Revelation 14:4). The “firstfruits” will be resurrected at the return of Jesus Christ. “Then I saw thrones, and sitting on them were those who had been given the right to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus, for proclaiming the Word of God, and who had not worshiped the Creature or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They had come to life again and now they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. This is the First Resurrection (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended)” (Revelation 20:4-5 TLB). The significance for you is that if you’re a “firstfruit,” you will be resurrected 1000 years before those who are not! Like Christ, you’ll be accepted of the Father. You’ll get to enjoy the most wonderful time on the face of this earth when Jesus sets up His Kingdom. Being a firstfruit is worth working for. Yes, it has great significance.

“And even though Jesus was God’s Son, he had to learn from experience what it was like to obey, when obeying meant suffering. It was after he had proved himself perfect in this experience that Jesus became the Giver of eternal salvation to all those who obey him” (Hebrews 5:8-9 TLB).