by Rebekah Harvey

This past Sunday was Pentecost, you may wonder how that could be important to you. Here are some reasons to help us as Christians understand Pentecost today. Pentecost is a celebration of the birth of Israel and the birth of the Church. It is also a celebration of the birth of king David and a celebration of harvest.

In the Old Testament the Lord commanded the children of Israel to celebrate three festivals in His honor. The first was the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 23:15) in early spring as an anniversary of the exodus from Egypt. It was to be observed with sacrifices from all the people. The next festival was the Festival of Harvest (Exodus 23:16) which was when they would bring the firstfruits of their harvests to the Lord. The third was the celebration of Final Harvest at the end of harvest season. (Exodus 23:16) Every man was to appear before the Lord and make offerings to Him at each of these festivals.

The Festival of Final Harvest is also known by other names, Feast of Weeks, Feast of Firstfruits, and the Feast of Pentecost. These festivals show God’s holy power at work in the lives of His people and to bring to remembrance the thanksgiving that was due Him. At Passover the blood of the lamb on the doorposts caused the death angel to pass over and the lives of the firstborn were spared because of that substitution. God’s redemptive power was at work, can you imagine how grateful you would be to have the first born in your household spared?

Pentecost as a celebration of the birth of Israel as a nation, God had made a promise to Abraham that he would be a great nation (Exodus 2:24). When Joseph and his family were first in Egypt they were few in number and grew to be a great nation but had become enslaved to Pharoah. God did many miraculous works and brought these people out of their bondage as a new nation.

Pentecost is a celebration of the birth of the Church, Acts 2:1-4 tells us that the believers were gathered together waiting for the promise that Jesus told them He would give them in Acts 1:4-5 “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 “for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” As they obediently waited the power of the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke with other languages through the Holy Spirit.

Pentecost is a celebration of eternal life and spiritual salvation through Jesus. John 12:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” 1 Corinthians 15:36 NLT “What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first.” Jesus died for our salvation. Colossians 1:18 ESV “And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”

Pentecost should be a reminder to us that prophecy has been fulfilled through Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit and we have the opportunity to allow Him to work in our lives with that same power!