Teaching Team

It's Summer...Now What?

By Seth Dralle  | Comments (3) | Posted on June 19, 2008

It is bittersweet when we bid farewell to the springtime festivals of Pesach, First fruits, the Omer count and Shavuot. They seemed to go as fast as they came. Yet, we are excited for the upcoming fall festivals of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot.

So, the spring is gone, but fall is a few months away...what do we do in the meantime? Aside from a few traditional fast days, there are few special days during the hot summer months on the biblical Jewish calendar.

Why is that?

I think it's because it is time to get to work.

In ancient Israel, Shavuot began the season of bikkurim (first fruits). Between Shavuot and Sukkot, the farmers of ancient Israel would continue to bring the first fruits of their crops to the Temple as they ripened. First fruits were taken from the seven species of Deuteronomy 8:8. Yet, these crops ripened at different times throughout the summer season. As soon as one crop was through being harvested, such as wheat; another crop would be ready to be harvested, such as figs or pomegranates. This season of harvest continued until Sukkot, when the grape harvest would be finished and the season's new wine would be brought to Jerusalem.

It was most likely this time of year that Yeshua and his disciples were traveling back to Galilee from Jerusalem in John 4. They had probably spent some time in Jerusalem after Passover until Shavuot. You'll remember that instead of taking the usual path along the Jordan, Yeshua decided to take a short cut home through Samaria. It is here that Yeshua encountered the woman at the well and stayed for a short visit in the village of Sychar.

It was here that Yeshua told his disciples:

"Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this case 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 labor." (John 4:35-38)

Drawing upon summer harvest imagery, Yeshua told his disciples that another sort of harvest was ripening...people. People were hearing the message of the kingdom, repenting of their sin and acknowledging that Messiah had come. It was time for the disciples to get to work.

If the time was at hand then, how much more so today?

With the feasts behind us, summer is a great time to "bring in the harvest" by sharing more openly about your relationship with the Master and what it means to be his disciple. Yes, I am talking about evangelism. Proselytizing may get a bad wrap, but it's a biblical concept. In fact, our English word "evangelism" is essentially a transliteration of the Greek word the apostles use for the act of proclaiming the good news, ευαγγελιζω (euangelizo).

This doesn't necessarily mean that you have to go door to door and pass out tracks. One of the most effective ways to spread the message of the kingdom is simply by sharing the good news with your family and friends.

Of all those who are believers, yet were not raised in a church, roughly 75% say they are believers because of the influence of a close friend or family member. That's a high number. What this means is that the best witness for the good news for your family and friends is you. More effective than televangelists, street preachers, or evangelistic crusades, is simply you meeting a friend for coffee and talking about the Master.

We certainly testify about the Master by the kind of lives we live. Talking the talk without walking the walk does more to discredit the good news than anything. But walking the walk also requires talking the talk. We need to be more open. The Master's name needs to be on our lips. As his disciples, we should live like him, right? Well, the Master didn't simply live in a bubble. He also preached, He taught, He told stories, He had an unceasing fervor for the Kingdom of Heaven. The message is a relatively simple one: The kingdom is coming, stop sinning, turn back to God, believe in Yeshua, tell others about it.

First Fruits of Zion is here for the purpose of discipleship. Two excellent resources that will assist you in sharing your faith is Restoration: Returning the Torah of God to the Disciples of Jesus, and King of the Jews: Resurrecting the Jewish Jesus. These books are a great tool to hand out to others. You can order both of these books from our online store here. We also offer a 40% discount for bulk orders of 5 or more books.

It's summer, get to work, make disciples for the Master.

About the Author: Seth Dralle is the fulfillment and shipping department manager and a research and teaching assistant for FFOZ. He is also a contributor to messiah magazine, the Monthly eRosh and the Torah Club Online Dictionary.

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