Pentecost

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit …. Acts 2:1-4.

 

So the people who were gathered together were Jews from all over the world—there in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. ... So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. Acts 2:5, 41.  This festival or feast is based the scripture in Leviticus 23 that describes the Jewish Feasts as given to Moses by God.

You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the LORD. 'You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked with leaven as first fruits to the LORD. 'Along with the bread you shall present seven one year old male lambs without defect, and a bull of the herd and two rams; they are to be a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD. 'You shall also offer one male goat for a sin offering and two male lambs one year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings. Leviticus 23:16-19.

Pentacost, also known as Shavout or Feast of Weeks, is fifty days after Passover. It is a spring festival at the end of the barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest.  This was one of the three festivals or feasts that all Jewish males had to appear before the Lord. Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. Deuteronomy 16:16. So it isn’t harvest time here in the United States—but it is harvest time in Israel. When we visited Israel in 2007 and 2010 we actually saw modern combines harvesting grain. Not exactly like Ruth, gleaning in Boaz field. Boaz probably took grain from the first of his harvest to the Temple in Jerusalem. That was the custom of the day. In this passage today there was no harvest—except a harvest of souls. The Holy Spirit was given to three thousand people when they believed in Jesus as the risen Savior. Peter shared the truth about Jesus—and souls were saved. Have you shared the truth about Jesus with anyone recently? Look for an opportunity—and see if Holy Spirit gives you the words to say…like He did for Peter. You might not reach 3,000 people—but even one will make one more to experience eternal life with God …and with you in Heaven. Hallelujah!

 

Prayer ~ May the Holy Spirit cleanse our hearts and fill us anew with His holiness just like at that first Pentecost.

 

© 2015 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.

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