Hag HaMatzah (Feast of Unleavened Bread) & Sfirat Haomer/Yom HaBikkurim

Passover started with the Passover Seder on Saturday evening for around 70 people from Beth Tephila and guests. That's down from the 90ish number of attendees the last couple of years. Yet, we had a great time celebrating the deliverance of Israel from Egypt & our own personal deliverance from the bondage of sin by the slaying of God's appointed Lamb, the Messiah. Pesach lasts eight days, during which we eat no leavened foods. Leviticus 23:6 indicates that the seven days after the seder are another feast called "Unleavened Bread". Modern observance has combined Passover and Unleavened Bread into one eight-day festival called Pesach. We eat a lot of matzah crackers during Pesach. They are great with butter, honey, jams, charoseth or any other topping, since they have little to no taste themselves.
The series of spring holy days continues with the arrival of Sfirat Haomer, First Fruits, sometimes called Yom HaBikkurim. Since it is often overshadowed by Passover, one wonders if Sfirat Haomer has any significance in the New Testament. Actually, the holiday is mentioned several times & my personal conviction is that it should be one of the most important festivals for believers. A close reading of I Corinthians 15 shows the vital link of Sfirat Haomer to the ministry of Messiah. As Rabbi Saul of Tarsus teaches the believers the doctrine of the resurrection, he makes an amazing connection to this Biblical holy day:
But the fact is that the Messiah has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have died. For since death came through a man, also the resurrection of the dead has come through a man. For just as in connection with Adam all die, so in connection with the Messiah all will be made alive. But each in his own order: the Messiah is the firstfruits; then those who belong to Messiah at the time of His coming...I Corinthians 15:20-23
Although many read this passage as a commentary on the order of the resurrection, Paul is actually making a technical reference to the holy day of Sfirat Haomer. It is not merely that Yeshua was the first to rise bodily from the grave, but that by so doing, He is the direct fulfillment of the feast of First Fruits!
The tradition of this harvest festival is to wave barley sheaves before the Lord. Think of it: the grain that had come from the earth was now lifted up high for all to see. Yeshua Himself alluded to His resurrection in similar terms when He said:
The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Yes, indeed! I tell you that unless a grain of wheat that falls to the ground dies, it stays just a grain; but if it dies, it produces a big harvest...As for me, when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself (John 12:23-24, 32).
This parable was spoken to His disciples as they had come to celebrate the Passover, just before Sfirat Haomer (John 12:1, 20) The resurrection of Messiah from the dead is perfectly symbolized in the wave offering of the first fruits. The believers of the early Church, especially the Roman Church of the fourth century, began to lose touch with the Jewish understanding of the faith. However, the Church wanted to maintain a celebration of the resurrection of Messiah. Hence, the Council of Nicea (325 C.E.) established, among other edicts, that Christians would not be allowed to commemorate Passover but would observe the resurrection on a new holiday called Easter. According to this Church, Easter would be observed on the Sunday after the Spring Equinox. Consequently, today many Christians have forgotten the intimate connection between the resurrection and the Jewish holy days. It makes one wonder if it wouldn't have been simpler and clearer to continue to celebrate the great works of God at His appointed times. Is it any wonder that the Church historically has had such little awareness of its own Jewish heritage?