Pentecost

Hello Everyone: 

Our scripture text for today is as follows:

1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come , they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting . 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance .

Our opening phrase starts with “and when the day of Pentecost was fully come.” 

Let’s explore the topic of Pentecost today and what “fully come” means.

The word Pentecost means fiftieth day.  It was the second of the three annual pilgrim festivals (along with Passover and tabernacles) when every male was required to proceed on foot to the Temple in Jerusalem. It is also called the Feast of Weeks, because it was held after the counting of seven complete weeks after “the morrow of the Sabbath” when the barley sheaves were offered (Lev 23:15-20). The festival is then held on the 50th day, i.e. Pentecost.  The festival is also named the feast of the Ingathering (Ex 23:16) and the Day of the First Fruits (Num 28:26).

All the pilgrim festivals possessed agricultural significance. Pentecost marked the end of the barley and the beginning of the wheat harvest, and two loaves, made of the finest wheat were “a wave offering before the Lord” in the Temple (Lev 23:17-20). The first fruits were also brought to the Temple on this occasion. Pilgrims used to assemble in large towns in each district, and would set out together in joyful procession to the Temple, where they were welcomed by the Levites. Historical connections were given to these festivals: Pentecost was associated with the revelation on Sinai, becoming known as “The Season of the giving of our Torah” although the Bible gives the event no specific date; it was deduced by reckoning based on Exodus 19:1-2. The Book of Ruth, associated with the barley and wheat harvests, as well as with a proselyte who accepts the Torah, became part of the synagogue liturgy on this festival.

On the day of Pentecost, the highlight of the services were the two loaves of wave offering to the Lord which was offered up by the priest.   Everyone was usually in place when this event occurred.   So when the text says that Pentecost was “fully come” it refers to the timeframe of when all the people would be in place for the “highlight” of the service.   It was at this point that the text teaches us that there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and….. they were filled with the holy ghost.

In Christianity, this particular day is identified with the “birth of the church.” 

As read in our historical analysis, Pentecost was one of the three “required” Jewish festivals that all Jews must attend.   God chose this particular season when Jews from all over the world would be there and thereby through the outpouring of the holy spirit, the gospel was preached to a multitude of Jews who ordinarily would not be in Jerusalem.

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

This entry was posted on 30. August 2010 at 14:56 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.