THE
PURPOSE OF PENTECOST
Since the close of apostolic
times, we in the church have
understood less and less about
Pentecost. For many, it is just
another religious date stuck on
the calendar. However, the
earliest Christians were blessed
to have a rich Hebrew tradition
to draw upon, so Pentecost was
very meaningful to them. Once
the Apostle Paul hurried across
much of the known world in order
that he might reach Jerusalem
for Pentecost (Acts 20:16). He
obviously regarded it as a very
important celebration.
Today
we might wonder if even the Jews
have forgotten some of the
significance of Pentecost. In
modern Israel, the holiday is
still celebrated and it is known
by its Hebrew name, Sha-vu-ot
(weeks). The holiday
includes the eating of
traditional dairy dishes, the
reading of the Book of Ruth and
a general emphasis upon the
giving of the law. It is
customary to study the whole
night of Pentecost and to read
the Ten Commandments. The idea
of “weeks” does have
biblical connection with
Pentecost since the holiday was
celebrated seven weeks from
Passover. But what can we make
of the emphasis upon the law?
Let us look into this holiday
and try to recover more of its
biblical significance.
PENTECOST
CONCERNS THE HARVEST
First
and foremost, Pentecost has to
do with the harvest. It marks
the end of the period of waiting
and anticipation following
Passover. This period is known
among the Jews as the
“Counting of the Omer”
(Lev. 23:15-16). The omer,
of course, was an ancient Hebrew
grain measure. The seven-week
period was one of anticipation;
a sort of count-down to the
beginning of harvest. The period
began on the day after the
Sabbath of Passover. At this time the
wave sheaf of first-ripe barley
was brought before the Lord.
At
Pentecost in biblical times the
farmers brought offerings of
first-fruits in baskets, amid
much celebration. Even today in
Israel, children often join
processions as they carry fruit
baskets and as the little girls
wear floral wreaths in their
hair. There is also the custom
of children dousing each other
with water on this early summer
holiday.
What can we make of this
celebration today? Certainly
modern Israeli customs still
reflect some ancient biblical
traditions. But there is more.
We know for certain as
Christians, that Jesus (Yeshua)
was the first-fruit offering (1
Cor. 15:20-23). After the
first-fruit offering was
presented to God, there was a
period of waiting and
anticipation. Jesus even said to
the disciples, “…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). In a
very real sense, while Jesus was
himself the true first-fruit
offering, Pentecost was the
first-fruit offering among men
(Jas. 1:18). While the wave
sheaf at Passover was a sign of
the beginning of the harvest,
Pentecost was the actual
reality.
Thus, from Passover (Pe-sach)
in the spring to Tabernacles (Suk-kot)
in the fall, Israel goes through
the complete growing and
maturing season. In Romans 8:23,
Paul comments on this from the
spiritual perspective saying: “…
but we ourselves, who have the
firstfruits of the Spirit, groan
inwardly as we wait eagerly for
our adoption as sons, the
redemption of our bodies.” Tabernacles
in the fall is the fulfillment
Paul longs for. It is the one
major biblical festival that
remains spiritually unfulfilled.
The world will end with the joy
of the threshing floor; with the
wheat in God’s barn. It will
end at the Lord’s coming and
spreading his tabernacle among
us (Rev. 21:3).
PENTECOST
CONCERNS THE NATIONS
Pentecost
is obviously not just a
celebration for the Jews but for
the nations as well. There is
one thing very obvious from Acts
2. Jews were in Jerusalem from
virtually every nation for this
holiday. The words of Peter as
quoted from the Old Testament
made it plain that the blessing
of Pentecost was for everyone:
“In the last days, God says, I
will pour out my Spirit on all
people” (Acts 2:17).
Christianity could not just be a
Jewish thing. The good news had
to reach to the ends of the
earth.
At
this festival, those present
from many national backgrounds,
heard the Gospel
miraculously preached in their
own tongues. Thus Pentecost
might well signify the beginning
of true international unity.
God’s purpose is finally to
gather all nations. There are
two distinct gatherings
mentioned in scripture. The
first gathering unfortunately
will be part of a very foolish
international war waged against
Israel (Joel 3:2; Zech. 14:2).
But after that awful war,
mankind will be gathered once
again to Israel in order to
worship the true and Living God.
In Psalm 22:27 we read: “All
the ends of the earth will
remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the
nations will bow down before
him.”
PENTECOST
CONCERNS THE LAW
Well,
obviously the Jews do not
celebrate the Christian
Pentecost mentioned in Acts 2.
The Jews celebrate their
Pentecost or Shavuot with
the primary focus toward the law
of God. They feel the holiday
marks the anniversary of the law
being given to Israel. At first
glance this emphasis may sound a
little strange to us Christians.
What does the law have to do
with Pentecost anyway?
We
do not have to look far until we
observe how carefully the work
of the law and the work of the
Holy Spirit coincide. Danny
Litvin, in his little booklet
entitled Pentecost is Jewish,
says that “...every function
of the Torah (law) is
also a function of the Holy
Spirit.” We Christians believe
that the Holy Spirit is within
our hearts, just as God’s law
is there. We believe that the
Holy Spirit guides and teaches
us (Jn. 16:13), just as the Torah
guides and teaches. The Holy
Spirit convicts of sin just as
the law convicts (Jn. 16:8; Rom.
7:7). Also, in full agreement
with the Pentecost theme, the
Holy Spirit brings about
fruitfulness in our lives. This
is also a purpose of the law as
we see illustrated in Psalm 1:3.
In Galatians 5:22-23 we observe
some of the spiritual fruit that
God desires in our lives and we
remember that the law of God
also produces a like fruit: “But
the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is no
law.”
There
is a common misconception today
that once we become Christians
we are thereafter through with
the law. It is surely
interesting that Jesus does not
share this opinion with us. One
of the main purposes of his
coming to earth was to fulfill
the law (Matt. 5:17). That
fulfillment not only concerned
every detail of his life, but it
also concerns every detail of
our lives. It may surprise us to
find out that God is writing the
law on our hearts: “I will
put my law in their minds, and
write it on their hearts. I will
be their God, and they will be
my people” (Jer. 31:33).
When the law is written on our
hearts it becomes second-nature
to us. It affects the way we
think and the way we live. In
other words, Jesus will make us
law-abiding men and women in the
deepest spiritual sense if we
follow his program. This is
surely news for the near-lawless
Christianity we are experiencing
in numerous places today. Many
in the church have happily
substituted their own law for
God’s law. Thus millions of
Christians are doing what seems
right in their own eyes. Many in
the church today go by feeling
rather than by the fact of
God’s law. In one of our
popular Christian songs some
time ago the artist crooned,
“How can it be wrong when it
feels so right…”
Pentecost touches all people,
including Jews and Gentiles. It
points us to the final harvest
of the world when men and women
will present themselves and
their deeds to the Lord God.
Happy will those people be who
have allowed Jesus to change
their lives and conform them to
his image and to his law. Happy
will they be who hear the words
of Matthew 25:34: “Come,
you who are blessed by my
Father; take your inheritance,
the kingdom prepared for you
since the creation of the
world.”
- Jim Gerrish
This
updated article is presented
courtesy of Bridges For Peace,
Jerusalem (original publication
date, 1991).