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Jesus Needed?

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Count the Omer – Countdown to Pentecost: Day 41

Matthew 1:20 “But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” NIV

Would you agree that Jesus, the Son of the Most High God, the only begotten (unique, one of a kind, of the same divine nature of God) – was conceived by the Holy Spirit? Would you agree that you can’t get much closer than that? Would you also agree that Jesus is the Second Person in the Triune nature of God – fully equal to God? Yet the greatest mystery of all time is what is recorded in Php. 2:5-11 when he referenced Jesus emptying Himself of equality with God. Jesus, Almighty God, became one of us – a Son of Adam. He was fully God, and fully man. Yet, He limited His divinity when He lived as a man. In a sense you could say He was God with His arms behind His back.

Would you also agree that God needs nothing? He is the sum total of all existence, provision and life. Yet, Jesus, the Man – experienced thirst, hunger, pain, weariness, heartache, etc. The God Who needed nothing became as nothing in need of something. What was the something He needed as a man? Obviously He needed food, liquids, companionship, and rest – just to name a few. Scripture said He needed the Father. But there was one more vital thing His life was missing. What was that one thing? Luke 3:22 answers the question:”…and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Luke 4:1, 14 records the rest: Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,..Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.

News about Jesus really didn’t begin to spread until He was filled with the Spirit. Selah – Pause and think about that. No one really knew His power for ministry until He was filled with the Spirit. Jesus, the Son of Man, needed the Holy Spirit to accomplish the assignment the Lord had for Him. Selah – Pause and think about that. Would you agree that Jesus needed to pray, to read and study the Word, to attend synagogue (church), to fellowship with other believers, to worship, to give, sacrifice, obey, and to serve? Jesus, the Son of Man, did.

Why do we NEED a countdown to Pentecost? Because, like Jesus – the Man – we are sons and daughters of Adam too. If Jesus needed all these things then we must conclude we need them too. But guess what? Apart from the Holy Spirit all these things become meaningless. Jesus, the Man, needed the Holy Spirit. More specifically He needed the Baptism and Infilling of the Spirit. If Jesus needed the Holy Spirit Baptism and Infilling – don’t you think you do too? 

Making the Omer  – “count” is synonymous with saying, Make the Word of Life count! Make it matter. Make Jesus, the Word of God, count! Do you make Jesus’ life count? Does His Life in you matter? Does Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection and ascension matter – to you? Does Eternal life matter – to you? Have you made it count? Have you made the count?

Making It Count

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Friday, April 10 marks the ninth day of the counting of the omer. What is the counting of the omer and what difference does it make for followers of Yeshua-Jesus today? Leviticus 23:15-17 states: 15 ‘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. 16 Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord. 17 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.

You might ask, What’s an omer? One for Israel defines an omer in the following way: An omer is a unit of measurement and is about three and a half litres, or just over fifteen cups of dry commodities. In this case, barley. Sometimes an omer is translated as sheaf, since it is about the amount of barley or grains that you would need to bundle into a sheaf.

One for Israel explains the significance, or the “why” of counting the omer: Just as any woman who has given birth knows exactly how long nine months feels, the Jewish people know exactly how long it feels from Passover until the feast of Weeks (called the feast of Shavuot in Hebrew, which means weeks, also known as Pentecost because of the 50 days) because they have to count the days off every year. Fifty days. Seven weeks. Every day, the omer is counted.

Following the crucifixion of Jesus, and Passover, every Jewish person would have been counting. One for Israel adds: He was crucified at Passover, and raised on the morning of the third day which is when the counting starts, and ascended ten days before the Holy Spirit was poured out at the feast of Weeks. For forty of those fifty carefully counted days, Yeshua was walking around, hanging out with friends, eating with them, talking with them, freaking them out from time to time. Especially at the beginning.

Now this counting is significant for several reasons:

  1. Firstfruits. Got Questions defines firstfruits in the following way: Firstfruits was a Jewish feast held in the early spring at the beginning of the grain harvest. It was observed on Nissan 16, which was the third day after Passover and the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Firstfruits was a time of thanksgiving for God’s provision. The day of the firstfruits offering was also used to calculate the proper time of the Feast of Weeks. The firstfruits offering found its fulfillment in Jesus. “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20).
  2. Harvesting of Grain. Firstfruits signaled the beginning of the barley harvest. Barley grain made up the poor man’s bread. It was coarser than wheat, and crumbled easily after being baked into bread. Why is that of significance? Following Jesus resurrection from the dead He made appearances for forty days to His Disciples and followers providing convincing proofs that He had been resurrected from the dead.

Isa. 55:11 states: So also is My Word. I send it out and it always produces fruit. It shall accomplish all that I want it to and prosper everywhere I send it.

Now imagine counting every Scripture you have ever read, every verse you’ve ever heard, every sermon, and teaching you’ve been exposed to – and counting to see if it has produced fruit. Imagine having to provide proof of its potency in your life. What firstfruits would come from your harvesting of the grain of His Word? What firstfruits could be offered as thanks for this word? How can you make His Word count?