Pentecost,
otherwise known as “The Feast of Weeks,” is the second of the three major
Jewish festivals (the other two are Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles). The Hebrew word for the festival is “Shavuot,” and it means weeks.
Passover
was in early spring and included first fruits offerings from the early harvest
of barley. Shavuot was in late spring and included first fruits offerings from
the wheat harvest. The Feast of
Tabernacles, or Sukkot, was in the
fall, was the final harvest and included first fruits of olives and grapes.
All three
of these festivals involved a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. It was required of all Jewish men to travel
to Jerusalem to observe these three festivals.
Exodus 34:22-24 22“You must celebrate the Festival
of Harvest with the first crop of the wheat harvest, and celebrate the Festival
of the Final Harvest at the end of the harvest season. 23Three times
each year every man in Israel must appear before the Sovereign, the LORD, the
God of Israel. 24I will drive out the other nations ahead of you and
expand your territory, so no one will covet and conquer your land while you
appear before the LORD your God three times each year.[i]
The
Passover celebrated God’s deliverance of His people from slavery in Egypt.
Seven weeks after the 2nd day of Passover was the Feast of
Weeks. Jewish tradition holds that the
law, or Torah, was given to Moses at that time.
It is also tradition that David was born and died on that day.
Here is a
list of the Holiday traditions surrounding Shavuot.
1. The Ten
Commandments are read to commemorate the giving of the Law.
2. Some Jewish
people stay up all night studying the Torah (Law) to "re-live" the
revelation at Mount Sinai.
3. Book of
Ruth is read, tying in with the theme of harvest as well as the theme of
community. This also ties in with the
belief that King David was born on Shavuot, since the last verse of the book
shows that Ruth was one of his ancestors.
4. A 12th
century Aramaic poem, Akdamut, which heralds the Messianic future, is read.
5. Jewish
people traditionally decorate their homes and synagogues with flowers and
greens.
6. An older
tradition prescribes that two loaves of leavened bread be baked; some say they
represent all of humanity (one loaf is the Jewish people, the other Gentiles),
while others see them as representing the two tablets Moses brought down from
Sinai.
7. It is
traditional to eat milk products, because the rabbis say that when our people
received the Law they were as newborn babies.[ii]
Here is a
link to an entertaining video about Shavuot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFG_2iT-Lm4
In Jesus’s
day, Jerusalem was crowded at the time of Shavuot,
or Pentecost. It was at this feast time
that the Holy Spirit was poured out.
Acts 2:2-4 says:
“Suddenly, there was a sound from
heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where
they were sitting. Then, what looked
like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy
Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this
ability.”
This was an astounding event. While all Israel was gathered together to
celebrate God’s provision for them, God provided something even more momentous
than the Law. If they had been like newborn
babies at the giving of the Law, this was to be even more transforming and
powerful. This was not the doing away
with the Law, but the fulfilling of it.
Now what the prophet Jeremiah said about the law of God being written on
the hearts of His people would be fulfilled.
“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on
that day," says the LORD. "I
will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their
hearts. I will be their God, and they
will be my people.” (Jeremiah 31:33)
Look at verse
one of Acts chapter 2. It says, “On the
day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place.” Notice that it says, “All the
believers.” Acts 1:15 speaks of 120
believers gathered together in one place.
All the believers gathered together in Acts 2 must be at least 120
believers.
Next, look
at verse 41. It says, “Those who
believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about
3,000 in all.” Romans 8:29 speaks of
Jesus being the first born among many brethren.
The resurrection took place at Passover.
Jesus then would be the first harvest.
These 3,000 then would be the first fruits of the second harvest. I do not have any Biblical support for this
statement, and it is just my imagination at work, but I do find it significant
that God chose to pour out His Spirit on this particular feast day.
Jesus said,
“But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate
won’t come. If I do go away, then I will
send him to you.” (John 16:7) This passage in Acts 2 is an example of what
Jesus was talking about.
As far as I
know, there has never been another day in history when 3,000 people gathered in
one place made a decision to accept Christ as Savior at the same time. In 2012, the number of people in the world
that called themselves Christians stood at 2.2 Billion. There is a great difference between being
Christian in name and professing Christ.
However, there is no way to account for the billions of people
throughout history that have called themselves Christian apart from the Holy
Spirit. The Holy Spirit is still
working. “On average, around the world,
178,000 people convert to Christianity every day.”[iii]
In Acts 2:7
it says, “They were completely amazed. “
How can this be?” they exclaimed.”
Next in verse 12 it says, “They stood there amazed and perplexed. “ What can this mean?” they asked each other.” In two places closely connected, the text
emphasizes how amazed and perplexed the people were.
When the
sound of the mighty rushing wind was heard, people went running to see what it
was. They knew something was happening
and they wanted to see.
When they
saw, they were even more amazed.
Galileans were speaking languages from all corners of the Empire.
What they
saw needed explaining.
This is
true of many of the works of the Holy Spirit.
How does one explain the growth of the Church from 120 people to
billions?
How do you
explain what He has done in your life? The
Lord leads and opens doors. He provides
for us and makes a way for us. Everyday
people are delivered from all kinds of bondage.
I used to listen to the radio program “Unshackled.” Every week there would be the story of a
person who was saved from drug addiction, alcohol or a life of crime. The Holy Spirit is still at work today.
On that Day
of Pentecost, people did not understand what was happening so they made their
own explanation. “They’re just drunk, that’s all!” (Acts 2:13)
Peter got
up and explained. He says, ““Listen
carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. These people are not drunk, as some of you
are assuming. Nine o’clock in the
morning is much too early for that. (Acts 2:14-15)
He then
explains that this is what the Prophet Joel foretold:
‘In the last days,’ God says,
‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all
people.
Your sons and daughters will
prophesy.
Your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
18In those
days I will pour out my Spirit
even on my servants—men and women
alike—
and they will prophesy.
19And I will
cause wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below—
blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
20The sun
will become dark,
and the moon will turn blood red
before that great and glorious day
of the LORD arrives.
21But
everyone who calls on the name of the LORD
will be saved. Acts 2:17-21
Certainly,
verses 17 and 18 were fulfilled that day with people proclaiming the great things
the Lord had accomplished. However, the
sun becoming dark and the moon turning to blood are things that are yet to be fulfilled. These things are foretold in Revelation. Peter is talking about the Church age, the
time from Pentecost until the Church is taken up to meet Jesus in the air. The Spirit has been poured out and is being
poured out. The work that the Spirit
started that day is continuing to this.
Everyday people are turning to the Lord and are being baptized.
Peter gives
the inaugural address for the Church. In
it he says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” This is the same message Paul repeats twice
in Romans 10. Peter summarizes the core
of this message when he says, “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that
God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!” (Acts 2:36)
This is the
same message that we preach today. Jesus
is both Lord and Messiah.
There is
another feast. It is the feast of
Tabernacles. It is the final
harvest.
There is
also another day coming. Jesus will
return. The sun will be darkened, and
the moon will turn red like blood. This
will be the final harvest of the Church age as our Lord and Messiah ushers in
His 1,000 year reign on earth. Until
that time, the call that Peter made is still our call and invitation
today. It goes like this:
Each of you must repent of your
sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins. Then you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This
promise is to you, and to your children, and even to the Gentiles—all who have
been called by the Lord our God. Acts
2:38-39
[i]
Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New
Living Translation. Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
[ii]
http://www.jewsforjesus.org/publications/newsletter/june-2005/shavuot
[iii]
http://www.worldhopperministry.com/why.html
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