Sermon: The Two Wave Loaves of Pentecost
#1710
David C. Grabbe
Given 27-May-23; 75 minutes
description: The offerings of the Old Testament are like divine parables, acted out by the priests to teach about the Messiah, unveiling a beautiful picture once we understand the symbols. All offerings during the annual holy days point to Christ and each holy day asks us to remember our former slavery. The offering on Pentecost contained two loaves that were baked with leaven, which seems contradictory because of the symbolism of leavening. The loaves were not simply firstfruits, but a grain offering, which symbolizes our devotion to fellow man, given as an offering to God. The leavened loaves were waved in conjunction with a massive burnt offering, peace offering, and sin offering, all of which typify Jesus Christ's work—the only way service from corrupted human beings can be acceptable. The Pentecost offering can be seen in New Testament events, and it gives us an application where there are doctrinal differences, such as how to count to Pentecost.
transcript:
If you have counted for yourself, then you know that today is the seventh Sabbath since the day of the Wavesheaf, and tomorrow is the Feast of Weeks. So, in anticipation of Pentecost, today we will be digging into a section of Scripture to uncover as many nuggets as we can. But first, we will draw upon the apostle Paul to help prepare us for our digging:
II Timothy 3:15-17 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
When Paul wrote this to Timothy, the “Scriptures” consisted of what we now call the Old Testament. Paul says that Genesis through Malachi were able to make Timothy wise for salvation through faith in Christ. The Old Testament is just as inspired by God as the New, and Paul says it is profitable, and that it supports our completion, particularly regarding what we must do—that is, our good works.
A great many who profess Jesus as their Savior really don’t believe Paul here. They don’t believe that wisdom for salvation can be found in places like Leviticus or Deuteronomy. Instead, many latch onto the part of the verse about "faith which is in Christ Jesus," and then ignore the Scriptures that God purposefully recorded for our benefit.
Certainly, it is easier to skip over the many details that we moderns find hard to relate to, generally knowing that Jesus fulfilled those things. But if we read only the end of a book, we miss the critical points that make up its substance, and we also really won’t understand what happens at the conclusion. Likewise, if we neglect the Old Testament, we will not grasp the New, and therefore, we will not truly understand the totality of Christ’s work. The Holy Scriptures form the foundation of our living faith because they point to Christ. When we read of Him in the gospels and the epistles, we recognize Him from the Old Testament Scriptures that testify of Him, and we better understand the example He set for us to follow.
Today we will analyze the unusual offering on Pentecost that consisted of two loaves that were baked with leaven, and we will see that these ancient instructions are rich with application for us today. Even though we are removed from agricultural offerings these days, they are still part of the holy day instructions, and there is a beautiful picture that emerges if one takes the time to understand the symbols.
The offerings might be difficult for us to really plug into, but I read an observation by a commentator that I found to be helpful in reframing some of the instructions, so they are easier for our minds to work with. He said that the offerings are like divine parables of the Old Testament. In other words, the offerings tell stories of great significance, but the stories are acted out rather than spoken, as we are accustomed to.
Granted, it takes much more work to contemplate the offerings and extract their lessons than something like the Parable of the Good Samaritan. That is a superb story that we can easily plug into. It has action—even bloody violence. It contains social friction, which really fuels us these days. It has recognizable characters, including an underdog who becomes the hero. There is suspense as a man’s life hangs by a thread. It has a happy resolution, and the self-justifying man who prompted the parable gets put in his place. Now, it doesn’t have any romance—sorry, ladies—but even so, it is a story that even children can wrap their minds around. It practically begs to be turned into a screen production. In fact, various movies contain the dominant themes of that parable because they are simple to grasp, yet powerful.
But the Old Testament parables—the offerings and even other rituals—present much more of a challenge. Understanding them requires comparing spiritual things with spiritual. It takes identifying patterns and principles, and carefully assembling the pieces. Now, they don’t have action or drama or characters that are as easy to recognize, but they are still products of the mind of God, and they have much to teach us about salvation when we begin with the fact that they all relate to Christ. The sacrifices, and the rituals, and even the holy days all point to Him in some way, whether in His work or the critical need for it. They all help us to see Him more clearly. They are part of the tutor, given by God to bring people to the Messiah. That means that they teach us about Him.
Before we get to the two loaves, we will get an overview of Pentecost from Deuteronomy 16:
Deuteronomy 16:9-12 “You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain. Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the LORD your God blesses you. You shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.
There are several elements we will pull out of this passage. The first is in verse 12, which says to remember the former slavery. This is not an aspect of Pentecost that we focus on, but it is right there in the text. In fact, the instructions for all three festival seasons command us to remember the former slavery and God’s deliverance. That is a theme of the weekly Sabbath as well, in Deuteronomy 5. With each holy day, God tells us to remember where we came from and what He has done in separating us from this world. He does not want that to ever get far from our minds lest we become tempted to return.
When we remember our former enslavement, we have cause to celebrate our freedom in the present, and this leads into a second element in this passage. As we know, the count to Pentecost consists of seven weeks—seven sevens—and then the next day is the Feast. It is the same pattern as the Jubilee, except that the Jubilee consists of seven weeks of seven years instead of seven days. But Pentecost and the Jubilee use the same procedure to arrive at their respective endpoints.
So, God says here to remember the former slavery, which then reminds us of the liberty we have now. Similarly, at the beginning of the Jubilee year, liberty was proclaimed throughout the land for all its inhabitants (Leviticus 25:10). It was a consecrated and holy year, even as Pentecost is a holy day. So, Pentecost is like a mini-Jubilee.
Finally, I will draw your attention to verse 10 again. This is something that we know, but we will read it again so we can maintain the right focus. It says to keep the Feast “to the LORD.” It is a day when He is fills our minds. He was to be the object of the holy day for Israel, and they did not even have the gospel accounts and the epistles to really see how Pentecost really is about Him, as we will see. Even though we can identify ourselves within the symbols of the day, verse 10 here declares that it is still a feast to the LORD.
This is worth bearing in mind because of a change that has taken place in the last century or more within what is called Christianity. In former times, it was understood that the chief goal of man is to glorify God, and that God’s Word is the only instruction in how to do this. That is the central theme in the Westminster catechism, which was developed in 1640 and which served as a guiding thought within nominal Christianity for centuries.
However, over time, and through the Enlightenment, and the Age of Reason, and Darwin’s theory, this guiding principle of glorifying God has been lost. Humanism is now the dominant principle within Western culture and religion. Instead of sincere men trying to glorify God, now men are glorified, and God is treated as a servant. Even among the religious in the West, our thoughts center around people—predominantly ourselves—and God is in the background, there to help us, and comfort us, and give us the life we want. We want Him to keep us comfortable, rather than devoting everything to Him because He means so much to us. The Catholic Church has elevated the totality of man above God—the creation above the Creator—and all but the most conservative Protestant churches have done the same. The priorities are upside down, and if an idea or trend is in the world, it usually makes its way into the church as well. This is what falling away from God looks like. Richard gave a sermon at the Feast in 2006 entitled, “It’s Not About You.” In one sense, the title says it all, but Richard showed that salvation is ultimately about God and His glory rather than man’s. We may be the apple of His eye, but we are not the center of the universe. At the culmination of all things, God will be all in all. And so, to get back to the instructions here, above all the symbols and themes and events of Pentecost is the fact that it is a feast to the LORD—to glorify Him. Everything else is underneath that.
Now, if you would turn to Leviticus 23, we will start looking at the unique offering on Pentecost that serves as a parable and teaches about the Messiah:
Leviticus 23:15-22 And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD. You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the LORD. And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be as a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the LORD. Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering. The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the LORD your God.
If you have a bookmark or a spare digit, you might keep it here because we will be venturing forth to other places and returning here several times. We will spend quite some time on this passage because it contains many themes that make up this Hebrew parable. Even so, this sermon will not cover every nuance. And because the instructions contain symbols and types, there can be somewhat different interpretations. But today we will see one way of understanding the offering here, this parable, that will give us several significant lessons and applications that we can use as God leads us through the sanctification process.
As we see, the two loaves that are baked with leaven form the centerpiece of this offering. Now, this parable may not have action, like in the Good Samaritan, but it does have drama or tension. There is something to be resolved. These loaves pose a serious question because Scripture overwhelmingly uses leavening as a symbol of corruption, yet here, leavening appears in a holy day offering. It seems to be contradictory.
Now, there is one usage of leavening in Scripture that is sometimes taken to be positive. So, we will go on a side trip and look at that usage, and I will give you the reasons why I see it as a negative symbol there as well. Keep your place here, and please turn to Matthew 13:
Matthew 13:33 Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”
It is common for commentators to see the leaven in this parable as a force for good because it is likened to the kingdom of heaven. As a result, they will typically say this teaches about the kingdom spreading throughout the world. To me, that symbolism seems like a stretch because the future establishment of the Kingdom will not be a gentle or gradual spreading, like leavening consuming the sugars in dough and slowly expanding. God’s Kingdom will not spread—it will be imposed by divine power and with lethal force on the rebellious.
In addition, that interpretation overlooks the fact that Jesus does not speak of the Kingdom in just the future sense. He speaks of the Kingdom in other ways as well. Significantly, the physical nation of Israel is another application of God’s Kingdom. It is part of His dominion. God promised Abraham that kings would come from him, and thus, his family would grow into a kingdom that derived its authority from heaven. So, the nation of Israel is sometimes in view when the Kingdom is spoken of. This is seen most clearly in Matthew 21:43, where Jesus tells the chief priests and the elders of the people, “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.”
Jesus considered the religious leaders to be part of God’s Kingdom, and He foretold that the Kingdom would be taken from them. They had a measure of responsibility within the Kingdom. They wielded religious authority that Jesus acknowledged, though He disagreed with their application of their authority because it bore bad fruit—it wasn’t in alignment with God. Thus, the physical nation was an aspect of the sovereign dominion of Heaven.
Now, if you look back up to verses 1-3, they show that the audience for the early parables in the chapter was the multitudes, not the disciples. This is also seen in verses 34 and 36, which again mention the multitudes. If you study the flow of the chapter, you will find that the first four parables—including the Parable of the Leaven—are spoken to the multitudes, even though Jesus has some side comments to His disciples. The first four are spoken to the citizens of the Kingdom at the time, while the last four parables are spoken to the disciples, the representatives of the spiritual nation that would receive the Kingdom. You will also find that the first four parables all contain negative symbols, because they teach about the deplorable spiritual state of the nation. They have elements like birds, which can be symbols of demons; and elements like poor soil, and thorns, and tares, which are weeds, planted by the enemy and which look just like wheat but are toxic. These all describe unrighteous elements in the nation, and leavening fits right in there as a negative symbol.
So, when we understand the audience of the parable of the leavening, and this other way that Jesus sometimes spoke of the Kingdom, we can see that the leavening in this parable is negative as well. The “three measures of meal” are a reference to God’s visitation of Abraham in Genesis 18. Abraham told Sarah to make three measures of meal into cakes. This was when God promised Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son. The meal symbolizes the fellowship between God and the family of Abraham, which would grow into a kingdom.
The Jews were quick to claim Abraham as their father, and the “three measures of meal” were something easily recognizable in their history. But then Jesus introduces a contaminating element into the story. Over time, something happened to the fellowship between God and the expanding house of Abraham. The kingdom became “all leavened.” We know from other places that leaven is a symbol of corruption, especially of apostate doctrine and practice, as well as hypocrisy.
The woman—Israel—“took” of pagan belief systems from the nations around her and subtly introduced those corrupting ways into her relationship with God. The Judaism that Jesus encountered was a spiritually deadly blend of some Scripture, plus beliefs and practices absorbed during the Babylonian captivity, flavored with Greek philosophy, and baked with the traditions of previous generations. The problems Jesus encountered were false beliefs, and hearts hardened by doctrines and practices that were far removed from God’s intent.
What Jesus encountered demonstrated a thoroughly leavened relationship, such that “He came to His own and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11). The parable teaches that the covenantal relationship between God and Abraham’s family kingdom had completely degenerated, and thus, the leavening in this parable is consistent with the idea of corruption.
So, returning now to our Hebrew parable in Leviticus 23, we see that this offering raises a significant question because it contains a symbol of corruption. Then, the mystery deepens because there is not one leavened loaf but two. Why two? The loaves probably came from one batch of dough, which is the normal way of baking, and yet God requires two loaves, not one. For some of the New Testament parables, Jesus gives the interpretation of a symbol. He says things like, "the field is the world" or "the tares are the sons of the wicked one." But there is no such explanation here.
The commentaries make various suggestions as to what the loaves represent, but there is not clear scriptural backing to say definitely. So, as a starting place for exploration, we will begin with the biblical usage of two in general.
Now, to back up just slightly, in the Bible, the number one indicates sovereignty, because there is no other. There is just one. The number two, then, indicates that there is another, which then suggests that there is a difference. That is the fundamental idea behind the number two in Scripture: When there are two things, the primary meaning is difference.
Sometimes the difference between two people or objects is benign. Two people may have different personalities but a shared testimony, like Paul and Barnabas. David and Jonathan were different people with a close friendship. The Ten Commandments were on two different tablets of stone. In these examples, the two are different but not opposed.
However, in many usages, the number two progresses beyond simple difference and into division, opposition, or even hostility. Think of God and Satan, Abel and Cain, or Jacob and Esau. Often, when there are two, one of them (if not both) wants to be the only one, to be sovereign, or at least to be the top or the best, and then strife follows.
Remember, the two loaves are baked with leaven, which is a symbol of corruption. This suggests that the idea of difference in the two loaves may not be benign. Differences with corruption—with carnality, let’s say—tend to produce division, even enmity. This picture is a curious one because the priest holds up two different, leavened objects to the holy God. These symbols pose the question of how God could accept an offering of loaves that, by all accounting, are characterized by carnality. So, the drama in this parable is building.
Now, when we read the description of the two loaves, our eyes gravitate to verse 17, which says that they are firstfruits. Firstfruits are a symbol that is familiar to us, but even so, we need to reign in the impulse to gallop off, and plug that in to prophecy, and leave the rest of the passage in the dust. It is easy to overlook verse 16, which introduces the two loaves and tells us what they are. Verse 16 does not tell us why there are two, but it does tell us that they are a grain offering. They consist of fine flour made from the first part of the wheat harvest, but they are specifically identified as a grain offering. So, we need the backstory on the grain offering to understand what is pictured here.
John explained the grain offering at great length in his Bible study series on the Offerings, and his sermon series on the Sacrifices of Leviticus, and his articles as well, so if you want the unabridged backstory, I will refer you to those pieces.
I will give a shorter explanation of this key element of the parable. Please turn to Leviticus 2. We won’t get into all the details because it is a full parable on its own, but we will read verses 1-3:
Leviticus 2:1-3 ‘When anyone offers a grain offering to the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour. And he shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense on it. He shall bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests, one of whom shall take from it his handful of fine flour and oil with all the frankincense. And the priest shall burn it as a memorial on the altar, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD. The rest of the grain offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’. It is most holy of the offerings to the LORD made by fire.
The grain offering comes from the fruit of the ground, which God gave to mankind. The early chapters of Genesis show that God has given what comes from the ground to mankind (Genesis 1:29; 2:16). More specifically, the grain offering represents the fruit of one's labors out of what God has given, and dedicating those labors to God and man. As it says here, a portion of the grain offering is put on the altar for God, while the remainder is given to the priest, who can represent mankind in general in this parable.
While the primary ingredient is flour, the offering also contains oil and frankincense, which are other examples of the fruit of the earth. There are varying levels or types of grain offerings in this chapter, but whatever the form, labor is involved. In addition to the work of sowing, tending, harvesting, winnowing, and preparing the grain, labor is involved in the other ingredients as well. There is the harvesting of olives and pressing them into oil. The oil is a symbol of God's abundance, including (but not limited to) His Spirit. There is labor in collecting and refining the frankincense, which has a pleasing aroma that comes out when heat is applied. As a quick note and application, the frankincense invites us to consider whether we produce a pleasing aroma to God when a trial in service puts some heat on us. But as we can see, the one making this offering is involved in all kinds of labor, and he gives this token to God and to his fellow man in the person of the priest.
Unlike the burnt offering or the sin offering, the grain offering is not substitutionary. That means it does not represent an individual. Instead, it pictures the individual's labors from God's bounty. That is an important distinction, so I will repeat it: The grain offering does not represent an individual, but rather the individual's labors. God requires His portion first, which is burned on the altar, and the rest of the offering is for human benefit. Notice, though, that the offeror does not keep any part of the grain offering—he gives it away completely. Just keep that in mind because there is a very helpful lesson we will come back to.
To summarize: The grain offering pictures devotion to others, including service and generosity from what God has provided. In other words, it shows the offeror giving humanity its due.
Now, it is vital to understand that even though mankind receives the benefit of our labors, this is still an offering to God. This is seen by the fact that the first portion is burned on the altar. There is a principle here that everything we do in relation to fellow man still involves God. It is either an offering to Him or an affront to Him. We can see this where Paul tells the Corinthians, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” There were food issues that were causing division in that congregation, and Paul basically told them that the larger issue was whether or how God was glorified. Similarly, in King David’s psalm of repentance, after he had destroyed the life of Uriah and grievously wronged Bathsheba and changed her life forever, he said to God, “Against you, you only [or it could be, “you above all”] have I sinned.” And when Ananias and Saphira misrepresented the offering of their property, their interactions were with the church, yet Peter said they lied to the Holy Spirit. So, God is in everything we do. When we do good for others, it is an offering to Him. When we sin against others, we sin against God above all.
Verse 1 specifies that the flour must be finely ground, which is also specified for the loaves on Pentecost. This teaches us about what God is looking for in our service on behalf of others. Remember that all the ingredients in a grain offering require labor. The fact that the flour must be finely ground shows an additional level of effort beyond just the harvesting, which is hard enough. Before the days of automation, the harvesting, winnowing, and grinding were done by hand, and it took dedication and deliberate effort to crush the grain into flour, and then to keep on grinding it, over and over, until it was so fine it was like dust.
The fine flour teaches that “near enough” isn’t good enough in giving to our fellow man what is due to him. It is not the raw product that is given, meaning just the harvested grain, but rather grain that has been worked with and refined until it is of the best quality possible. So, it shows striving for perfection in what we give to others in service. God is looking for the very best—the highest quality.
We can take this principle one step farther, because what is necessary to produce the fine flour is not just effort, although labor certainly is a large part of it. This offering is about quality rather than quantity. We know from Micah 6 that thousands of rams or 10,000 rivers of oil really don’t impress God. He’s looking for internal qualities. He was greatly pleased with the two mites, offered by a widow, because of what it demonstrated about her heart.
What is really beneath the fine flour is the approach and the character of the one laboring, because it is character that guides how the worker judges the quality of what he offers. The individual’s character determines what level of coarseness he is willing to offer to God, or what level of impurities he is willing to offer to God. So, the fine flour reflects the character of the person. Ultimately, it is only with God’s refining that our works can be of the right quality. When we properly understand works, we know that God is the one producing them in us. It is utter vanity, and a denial of Jesus Christ, to take credit for what He has done.
Now, the lesson involved here can be very helpful because at times our service, or our generosity, is not received in the way we think it should be. We may pour ourselves into something for the benefit of others, grinding it fine and striving for the highest quality, and maybe there is no acknowledgment. Or maybe we do receive a response that indicates that what we did isn’t good enough, or we missed something else. If you have ever received such a reflection after expending yourself, maybe it frustrated you.
But the grain offering helps us because it shows that the devotion is given to God first. Even though mankind receives benefit, we are really laboring in service to God. So, if it feels like our service is overlooked or unappreciated, the grain offering reminds us that how God receives the offering matters far more than the shortsightedness or pickiness of mankind. And because the grain offering is completely given away, it also teaches that, really, we shouldn’t be expecting anything back from mankind. Again, it’s not about us. So, the grain offering tempers our expectations by putting the outcome in God’s hands. Jesus said to “do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return.” God will reward in His own way and time.
While we are in Leviticus 2, drop down to verses 11-12:
Leviticus 2:11-12 No grain offering which you bring to the LORD shall be made with leaven, for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey in any offering to the LORD made by fire. As for the offering of the firstfruits, you shall offer them to the LORD, but they shall not be burned on the altar for a sweet aroma.
Verse 12 mentions the offering of the firstfruits, which is a reference to the Pentecost loaves. The Pentecost grain offering contains leavening, while the typical grain offering here does not. God forbids the priest from putting the loaves on the altar because of the leavening.
The altar symbolizes God's table, and He does not partake of the leavening. Instead of being burned on the altar, the priest holds up the loaves before God and waves them. That action implies God's close inspection, and hopefully, His acceptance. But the leavened grain offering is for use by the priest. It is acceptable for one use, but not another. If the leavening typified something positive in the Pentecost offering, it would have been fit for God's altar. However, as this shows, God requires a distance from the leavening.
Now, we have to think about leavening personally, so pack your bags, because we need to go on a guilt trip. Remember that Jesus said the two great commandments were to love God with all one's heart, soul, and mind, and to love one's neighbor as oneself. Those are commandments. Remember also that sin is the breaking of God’s commands. When we put those two things together, we arrive at a definition of sin that is so broad and high that we can only be deeply grateful for God’s mercy. That is, sin is simply any measure of imperfect love toward God or man. Any deed, word, or thought that does not show perfect love toward God and man signals corruption inside, even if it does not manifest outwardly in graven images, Sabbath-breaking, murder, adultery, theft, and so on.
We may keep the commandments, even with their underlying intent, yet the apostle John writes, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves" (I John 1:8). Paul writes about the law of sin and death inside, well after his initial conversion. In reality, everything we think, say, and do falls short unless it is exactly what God thinks, says, and does. We may do the right thing toward a neighbor, but not do it with the perfect motivation or attitude in which God does it. Thus, our "good" work contains corruption. It is leavened. The more we compare ourselves to God, the more we realize that everything that proceeds from us is tainted. It simply is not good or perfect as God is. OK, our guilt trip is over. This high standard is not meant to make us despondent, nor should we fixate on our failing in it. But this awareness encourages humility, which is the first step toward spiritual growth.
Interestingly, we saw that the grain offering had oil poured on it. Scripturally, oil symbolizes abundance, wealth, energy, health, and a vital ingredient for a good life. God's Spirit is sometimes seen within the symbol of oil, though not always. What this means, though, is that none of what oil symbolizes—including God’s Spirit—can undo the corrupting effect of the leaven. The leavening still wasn’t acceptable for the altar, even with the oil. By God's Spirit, we can control the flesh sufficiently so that sin does not rule over us, but as long as we are in this flesh, corruption exists inside that taints our works.
The problem of corruption relates to another question in this parable, and that is the time context. Because of the harvest symbolism, some suggest that the first resurrection will take place on Pentecost. If that happens to be your view, we will still be friends, and we’ll find out some day. But the harvest is not the only symbol. There are other symbols to think about, too. First, as we will see, there is another harvest, besides the one at the end of the age. In addition, the meaning of the grain offering, as well as the leavening, both indicate that the wave loaves relate to this life rather than the resurrection. In the resurrection, the corruptible will put on incorruption. Our works will no longer be leavened. Also in this life are those concepts of differences and division that are contained in the number two. In the resurrection, we will be one with God and each other, which is not shown here.
Another aspect is the role of the priest. The priest stands between mankind and God, making intercession. Jesus Christ is our High Priest, and that is part of what He does for us now. But when we are resurrected, we won’t need an Intercessor. All the symbols here relate to this life rather than the beginning of the next one. It’s just some food for thought.
Now, if you would turn back to Leviticus 23 again, we will keep going. Pentecost strongly underscores this meaning of generous devotion to others. We will continue with the wave loaves in a moment, but for now we will skip ahead to verse 22. Remember that this is part of the instruction for the holy day:
Leviticus 23:22 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the LORD your God.
Maybe this verse seems like a random statute tacked onto the holy day, or like some scribe accidentally put this verse in the wrong place. But with an understanding of the grain offering, we can see that this verse fits perfectly with the other themes for this day. It gives a clear example of mankind owing something to fellow man and supporting his well-being.
Now, back up in verse 17, the next element in this parable is the one with which we are most familiar, and that is firstfruits. We will tie this with one other Pentecost verse:
Exodus 23:16 and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.
This reiterates that the Feast of Harvest contains the first part of our labors. The two leavened loaves are grain offerings of the first part of the wheat harvest. Again, the grain offering does not picture an individual or a people, but rather the service, devotion, and giving of what is due to mankind as an offering to God.
At their most basic level, firstfruits are an early sample of a crop. We should remember, though, that every crop has firstfruits. Whether the crop is barley, wheat, olives, olive oil, grapes, figs or other fruit, wine, or even honey, each product has an early sample that God claims as His (see Numbers 18:12; Deuteronomy 18:4; II Chronicles 31:5; Nehemiah 10:35-37). Notice, though, that the presence of firstfruits does not indicate that a harvest is complete, but that it has started—that some portion has reached maturity and can be given to God. So, the mention of “firstfruits” requires the context of what crop is being harvested.
Even as there were multiple agricultural harvests, and each one had firstfruits, so also there are different types of metaphorical firstfruits. We are probably most familiar with the usage in James 1:18, which says that we who have been regenerated are a kind of firstfruits of God’s creatures, or of His creation, meaning the spiritual creation. Also, in the vision of the 144,000 in Revelation 14, those redeemed are called firstfruits.
However, there are other usages as well, ones that are more important:
I Corinthians 15:20-23 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.
Jesus is twice called the firstfruits, and specifically the firstfruits of those who have died and will be resurrected (see Acts 26:23). He is the first and best part of that harvest.
Please turn to Romans 8:23:
Romans 8:23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body
We have been given a small, early portion of God’s Spirit, with the promise of receiving the fullness later. So, God’s Spirit has a firstfruits portion. The apostles received the firstfruits of the Spirit, and the effects are shown in Acts 2. The real focus of that day was what God did through the firstfruits of His Spirit, not the people who received it. It is a Feast to the LORD, and the firstfruits of the Spirit allowed God to be glorified.
As another application, Romans 11:16 says that “If the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy.” The context does not say definitely, but it seems to be talking about Abraham. He was the early and abundant part of God’s work anciently. In Jeremiah 2:3, the nation of Israel is called the firstfruits of the LORD’s increase. In Hosea 9:10, God says He viewed Israel as the firstfruits on the fig tree. Israel was the early part of God’s labor as well. But what we see is that just as each crop had an early portion that belonged to God, so there are multiple applications of firstfruits metaphorically as well.
Now, we’ve gone through backstories and explanations to flesh out the details in this parable, and it is finally time to start resolving it, so please turn back to Leviticus 23, one last time. What is of paramount importance in this parable is that the loaves are not presented to God by themselves. Instead, they are part of a considerable compound offering. Verse 18 shows the priest making a substantial burnt offering, consisting of ten animals. Ten indicates the precision of divine order. Those ten include seven lambs. Seven indicates perfection, such as something being filled up. The priest completely burns this offering on the altar, picturing unreserved devotion to God. It pictures life completely consumed in service to Him, and the numbers involved put an indelible stamp of divine order and perfection on this expression of complete devotion to God.
In verse 19, the priest makes a sin offering, which provides symbolic cleansing. Then the priest makes a peace offering. The peace offering pictures God and man in harmonious fellowship, sharing a meal, through the work of the priest. It is in this context that the priest waves the leavened loaves before God.
In other words, the priest does not wave the loaves by themselves. Instead, the presentation of the other offerings paves the way for the loaves. Notice verse 20: "The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs." When you parse this out, it means that the priest also waved the two lambs of the peace offering, along with portions of the other offerings, when he held up the leavened loaves.
When we put it all together, this parable teaches that God's acceptance of the leavened loaves depends on everything else the priest offers. God accepts the devotion and service to others that contains differences and carnality only in conjunction with a substantial burnt offering, a peace offering, and especially, a sin offering. Even so, He does not allow it on His altar. As He told Moses and Aaron back in chapter 10, He must be regarded as holy, and before all the people, He must be glorified (Leviticus 10:3).
We began with Paul’s teaching that the Scriptures make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, so consider how this parable teaches about the Messiah. Jesus Christ is the compassionate High Priest, approaching the Father on our behalf, mediating and advocating for us. He lived His life as the flawless and complete burnt offering. Day by day, He was consumed in service to the Father, giving of Himself up to His final breath, reserving nothing for Himself. His sinless sacrifice fulfilled the sin offering, paying for our transgressions. And He is our peace offering. He is the means by which mankind and the Father can have abundant fellowship and security and satisfaction.
All these impeccable works of Christ, held up before the Father, make the two different, leavened loaves acceptable. As we strive to overcome, the Father accepts our imperfect works because of all that Christ does. So we see, the protagonist and Hero in this parable is not the loaves—it is Jesus Christ. Pentecost truly is a Feast to the LORD.
When God sends forth His word, it does not return to Him empty. This parable that God gave to Israel played out in the first-century church as well, but with an additional element.
I mentioned earlier that the end of the age is not the only harvest. There is another metaphorical usage of harvest imagery, and that is within the present age, beginning with Christ’s ministry. Please turn to John 4:
John 4:35-38 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.
Jesus was surveying the Samaritans around Sychar, and He judged that the area was ready for a harvest. This harvest was not one that involved physical death and resurrection, but a gathering of people bearing fruit because the word preached to them had taken root. He perceived that spiritual growth had taken place and it was ready to be used.
If you want to study this out further, Matthew 9 and Luke 10 contain Christ’s commission to the 12 disciples and to the 70 others, and their commission begins with Jesus saying, “The harvest truly is plentiful [or great], but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” Jesus sent the disciples to "reap," which was symbolic of the teaching and works He commissioned them to perform, to gather those who had been given ears to hear (see Matthew 9:35-38; 10:1-42; 11:1; Luke 10:1-20).
Similarly, the New Testament speaks of firstfruits in the present tense, indicating a harvest had already begun. Remember, the presence of firstfruits means a portion of a crop has reached maturity, not that the harvest is complete. In I Corinthians 16:15, Paul mentions "the household of Stephanas" as being "the firstfruits of Achaia." Romans 16:5 also highlights "Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia to Christ." The changed lives of these believers were the early part of a spiritual harvest taking place in western Greece.
Similarly, we were baptized into the Firstfruits, Jesus Christ. We went through a type of His death and resurrection. We received the firstfruits of God’s Spirit. That is what makes us a kind of firstfruits of God’s creation—His harvest. That is what allows us to produce the fruit of the Spirit. God is glorified when we produce fruit out of what He has given to us. So, the gospels and epistles show the harvest symbolism beginning during Christ's ministry and continuing up to today. It isn’t a harvest of physical death and resurrection, but of people whose lives and behaviors and works bring glory to God.
Now, remember that the leavened loaves signify that our service is tainted, if for no other reason than that we have not yet put on incorruption. In addition, the number two reminds us that among God's servants, there have always been differences, some of which are merely different ways of doing things, but others involve strife.
For example, the disciples argued about who among them would be greatest. They served their fellow man, as the grain offering portrays, in terms of preaching the gospel, healing people, casting out demons, and so forth, yet they also butted each other for dominance. There were differences that crossed over into competition. Striving for preeminence always leavens relationships because it reflects the defining image of Satan, the adversary of God (see Philippians 1:16; 2:3; James 3:14-16; III John 9; Isaiah 14:13-14).
Later, even after the 12 became apostles and were more mature, there were still differences and divisions. In one instance, there was a division between Peter and Paul because Peter was still leavened by Judaism, such that he gave preference to the Jews over the Gentiles. In another instance, Paul and Barnabas were divided over how to use John Mark, and they parted company for a time. But God still worked through them because of Christ's work as Priest, as well as His acceptance of all the offerings Christ fulfilled perfectly.
The two loaves contain the idea of difference, and that separation remains unsolved in the parable. It’s like a cliffhanger, screaming for a resolution. But in the New Testament, we find two becoming subsumed into one. We see one Body, and one Spirit. We see one hope of our calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; and one God and Father of all. It is in these ones that differences can be overcome.
On Pentecost in Acts 2, the apostles were all of one accord and in one place. They were different people, but one in purpose. They were accepted in the Beloved, and because they were accepted, God gave them the firstfruits of His Spirit. His heavenly gift included the gift of languages. Before that, there was a language barrier. But with the gift of languages, the confusion and division of Babel began to be reversed in the church, and those differences were overcome. God's Spirit gives a unity to those who are led by it. This unity is not yet perfect, but we are still of one mind more than we could ever achieve on our own.
In Acts 2:41, 3,000 people took the first step toward becoming one with God. In Acts 2:44-47, members of the young church freely gave to those in need, just like in the gleaning law we saw. They continued daily with one accord, breaking bread from house to house, eating with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God. This extraordinary example shows what is possible when our High Priest works to make imperfect labors with evident differences bear good fruit. But it necessitates that Christ abundantly supply His own labors, for without Him, our spiritual efforts achieve nothing (John 15:5).
The New Testament mentions numerous pairs of diverse people. Paul addresses pairs like barbarians and Scythians, slaves and freemen, male and female, husbands and wives, masters and servants, parents and children, young and old, rich and poor. Think about how each of these pairs, with differing cultures and backgrounds and circumstances, would approach service differently. These all labored in service out of God's abundance, while approaching works differently and still having corruption within that affected their love toward others. That fits perfectly within the symbol of the two loaves.
In terms of the effect on the early church, the most significant pair is that of Jews and Gentiles. The Father accepted both on the basis of faith in Christ, but some of the church's works were further leavened because not all of its members accepted the other. That theme arises frequently throughout Acts and the epistles of Paul.
Please turn to Ephesians 2. In Ephesians 2, Paul addresses the Jew and Gentile divide, but notice how Paul’s words echo the themes of the Pentecost offering:
Ephesians 2:14-18 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both [Jew and Gentile] one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Like the two leavened loaves, the Jews and Gentiles had significant differences. However, from the beginning, God's intent was to bless all the families of the earth through Abraham and His Seed, even though not all families physically descend from him.
God justifies those who have the same faith as Abraham, rather than simply the blood of Abraham in their veins. In this way, as those blessed started to orient their lives toward a common purpose, God could begin to overcome the differences, and bring them into one.
Now, let’s turn our focus away from the first-century church and to the church in the present. The church of God has some doctrinal differences, one of which is how to count to Pentecost when Passover falls on a weekly Sabbath. That was not a factor this year, but it will come up again in a couple of years.
On this matter, ministers and members alike have blown the dust off their Bibles, and have earnestly sought God, and have humbly fasted, and yet, we have not arrived at the same conclusion. There is leavening somewhere in the mix—some corruption of understanding. Now, if not everyone has objectively and earnestly sought the truth, that would be part of the corruption. But if we have all done our absolute best to search this out, and we still aren’t seeing the same thing, then the solution must come from above. This difference cannot be overcome by the efforts of mere men. We cannot even open our own eyes, let alone somebody else's. Jesus Christ must do that. And He will do it, in His own time and way.
Now, this does not suggest at all that we should neglect doctrinal clarity, or that doctrine is less important than just getting along, which involves compromise—far from it. Part of our devotion to God and to the truth is our responsibility to "test all things [and] hold fast what is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21), and to search the Scriptures like the Bereans, and to judge what the speakers teach in Sabbath services, as it says in I Corinthians 14:29.
But until Christ overcomes this difference in understanding, the offerings that accompany the leavened loaves provide excellent lessons for us. The massive burnt offering of devotion to God consisted of ten animals. Ten animals expresses a devotion to God that we may have a hard time comprehending. Such devotion goes far beyond the empty slogans in pop Christianity, like “God is my co-pilot,” or “Jesus is my homeboy.” To grasp what that burnt offering looks like in practice, we must study the life of Christ. His every thought was about what would please the Father. His devotion to the Father both drove Him onward and constrained Him from going His own way, even when He wished that awesome and terrible cup would pass Him by.
If we strive to emulate Christ’s devotion, and let His consuming drive to please the Father both move and constrain us, our overriding concern will be what God wants. Such devotion to God fosters unity with others who are likewise motivated, even where our understanding is not uniform. To put it simply, we greatly respect others who are doing their utmost toward God, even if we disagree. We at least have the same object.
Focusing on the Father’s will and glorifying Him will make us much more attuned to Him, which helps with rightly dividing His word. When He is the focus of our lives, we have a better chance of recognizing where there is leavening in our understanding.
The peace offering on Pentecost further reminds us of the fellowship with the Father that Christ makes possible. In Christ, we have peace. If we value this rare peace, we will do all we can to preserve it and ensure that we are not separating from Him. This includes wholeheartedly seeking the truth, so we can be of the same mind as God. It also means eagerly repenting if there is even a chance that we are wrong, because peace with God means so much more to us than defending our ideas, our position, or our pride.
Similarly, Pentecost's sin offering reminds us that, if not for Christ's sacrifice, we would all be under the same condemnation. Each of us approaches the Father with nothing to stand on but His acceptance of Christ's blood in our stead. If we remember that, we will temper our evaluation of others because we know we need forgiveness, just as those who differ from us do. There is no room for arrogance or high-mindedness—only gratitude that God has made atonement available for us.
Thus, the same living parable that shows us how our leavened works can still be used also teaches us how to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Pentecost, like the other feasts, is a memorial of God and His many gracious works. The two leavened loaves remind us of the corruption—the law of sin and death—that remains in us even after baptism, and which affects all our works. Even so, God's acceptance draws attention to the greater, perfect work of Jesus Christ, where it belongs.
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