WHAT IS PENTECOST AND HOW DOES IT RELATE TO JESUS?
What is Pentecost and How Does it Relate to Jesus?
In our previous article, we looked at the Passover. What it is and how it relates to Jesus. The next festival that we will look at is Pentecost. Let’s see what this festival is and how it was fulfilled in the New Testament.
Pentecost
Pentecost is one of the 7 festivals/feasts mentioned in the Old Testament. However, you won’t find that name there. Pentecost is the Greek word for The Festival of Weeks, Feast of Harvest or Shavuoth. Pentecost gets its name from when it occurs. “Penta” means containing five. This festival occurred 50 days after the Offering of Firstfruits.
“ ‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD.” – Leviticus 23:15-16
Pentecost was the celebration of the beginning of the early wheat harvest and since it came 7 weeks after Firstfruits, or a “week of weeks”, it was called the Festival of Weeks or the Feast of Harvest. Pentecost, in addition to being a “thanksgiving” for the beginning of the wheat harvest, also became an annual celebration of the giving of the Mosaic law. Jewish tradition holds that God gave the Law to Moses at Mt. Sinai on Pentecost.
“On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.” –Exodus 19:1-2
The “first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt” would have been close to Pentecost. God then gave the Ten Commandments and the Law in Exodus chapter 20 and the proceeding chapters. Pentecost became one of the most popular Jewish Festivals in ancient Israel with many Jewish men & women traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate their thanksgiving to God for his provision and the giving of the Law.
The Old Covenant
Moses’ giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai ushered in the Old Covenant: its commandments, laws, sacrificial system and way of life, etc. However, Paul calls the Old Covenant, “the ministry that brought death” in 2 Corinthians 3:7. Not only could sinful man not fulfil the Law with all of its laws, rules, regulations, etc., but after it was given, the people of Israel “saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain” (Exodus 32:1) formed a golden calf to worship instead of God. Therefore, God brought judgement on the people at the hands of the Levites and “that day about three thousand of the people died.” – Exodus 32:28.
The New Covenant and the Holy Spirit
In contrast, the New Covenant, in 2 Corinthians 3:9 is described as “the ministry that brings righteousness!” Christ, the lamb of God, the sinless sacrifice, reconciles us to God.
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21
The New Testament also talks about a deposit, a guarantee, a Helper, that comes to change us and make this righteousness, this salvation, a reality:
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.” – John 14:16-17
“Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” – 2 Corinthians 5:5
This is exactly what we see in the New Testament in the history of the early church, the book of Acts. At the time of Christ’s crucifixion, most of the disciples scattered and deserted him. It was of course Peter, their leader, that denied even knowing Jesus three times. However, we see that when the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost, everything changed.
“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” – Acts 1:4-5
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken…’we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!’ “ – Acts 2:1-6, 11
Peter, then filled with the Holy Spirit, stood up and preached the Gospel. He declared that Jesus is Lord and Messiah, performed miracles, wonders and signs, was crucified on the cross, but God raised him from the dead. His sermon was convincing and by the time he was done, many in the audience said, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Acts 2:41 then tells us that, “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.”
Conclusion
When the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost in Acts 2, about three thousand souls were added to the church in response to Peter’s sermon. By contrast, this same number, “about three thousand” died at Mt. Sinai over the judgement of the golden calf. Pentecost, for the Christian, is the celebration of the proclamation of the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit being given, and the birth of the church. Jesus didn’t prescribe a bunch rules, regulations and festival days for his followers to celebrate. However, Pentecost is a beautiful reminder of what God did through His Spirit to build and launch His church. Many Christians celebrate this day as the coming of the Spirit, the announcement of the New Covenant and the launch of the church.