Celebrating Pentecost

By Shirley Mitchell

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the 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.”

Acts 2:1-4

Did you know yesterday was Pentecost? There were seven feasts of Israel, four spring feasts and three fall feast. This fourth of the seven feasts of Israel was called by the Jewish people Shavuot which means “weeks.” This Feast of Weeks is seven weeks and one day (50 days) after the Feast of Firstfruits. The word Pentecost comes from the Greek word “pente” which means fifty. Jesus ascended to heaven 40 days after the Feast of Firstfruits and the Pentecost occurred 10 days later.

To understand the deep significance of what happened at Pentecost, we must understand more about the feasts of Israel. Leviticus 23:2 tells us that these feasts were appointed times with the Lord. They were times set with God. Some were somber times and some were joyous times. Colossians 2:16-17 tells us that the feasts were the shadow of things to come that were found in Messiah. These feasts outline the work of the Messiah from the Passover Lamb on the cross to the church age. All four spring feasts have been fulfilled by Messiah.

This feast marked the beginning of the summer wheat harvest. The first fruits were presented at the temple. Acts 2 tells the story of the Messiah sending the Holy Spirit to inaugurate the New Covenant and Church Age and the great harvest of the souls of men that believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, and the Savior of the world.

All Jewish men were to present themselves at the temple for three feasts, Passover, Shavuot and the Feast of Tabernacles. In Acts 2, men had come from every nation under heaven for Shavuot. Imagine with me what this day was like. A sound like blowing of violent wind from heaven came and filled the whole house where Jesus’ disciples and followers were sitting. Maybe the people outside who heard it, searched for the source of the disturbance. The disciples must have come bursting out from where they were gathered. The people thought, “How could these uneducated Galileans speak not only in their languages, but speak them with the accents as if this was their native tongue?” They were perplexed and amazed when ordinary Galileans were speaking to them in their own language. God broke the language barrier so many nations could receive the gospel.

The crowd gathered and streets filled fast. Perhaps Peter lifted his hands to quiet the crowd. The crowd fell silent. They focused their attention on the words of the Galilean man. In verses 14-17, Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.’ ”

Peter shared that Jesus of Nazareth was the Jewish Messiah. He told the story of Jesus of His life, His miracles, His crucifixion, His burial, His resurrection and His ascension to heaven because death could not hold the King! Through the Holy Spirit, Peter assumed his role as the leader of the early church and preached the gospel. Peter had changed from the disciple who deserted and denied Jesus to the bold apostle who preached to a crowd of thousands. Filled with Holy Spirit, Peter rose up to take his place on the battlefield and lead the way as the kingdom of God advanced under the ultimate leadership of God. He delivered the first sermon under the power of the Holy Spirit.

Peter quoted Scripture from Joel that God would pour out His Spirit on all people. On this day, the prophecy was fulfilled as a deposit. At the end times it will be fulfilled completely. As we near the return of Christ, the Spirit will be outpoured even more strongly. People will prophesy, have visions, and dream dreams. There will be wonders in heaven and signs on earth.

Peter lifted up his voice and declared the truth of all he had witnessed. The people were cut to the heart. The Holy Spirit burned Peter’s words into their hearts. Tears must have flowed down their faces. Peter told them to repent and be baptized. Through the Holy Spirit, thousands were saved in one day. Verse 41 says, “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.”

Isn’t that a staggering number? 3,000 people were saved in one day! This is what happens when the Spirit of God is unleashed. The number one way that we know the Spirit of God is being outpoured is because of the teaching of God’s Word. We are seeing this in our time. People are hungry for the Word of God and studying the Bible for themselves. We are not only listening to it at church, we are listening to it on the radio, watching it on television, searching for it on the internet, paying to go to Christian conferences, and reading devotions like this one. There is power in the teaching of the Word. His Word does not return to Him void. It convicts the hearts of men and breaks generational chains of bondage. It brings sight to the blind. It unveils our true identities. It gives us the relationship with God that we have always needed and wanted!

Pray with me: Oh, Father God, how amazing it was on that day of Pentecost two thousand years ago when you outpoured Your Spirit on Your people! We cry out for an outpouring of the Spirit in our lives. We study Your Word because we are thirsty and hungry for You. We don’t want to live on our own power, but we desire to be vessels filled with Yours. We desire to bring glory and honor to You through our choices and actions. Rain, Spirit, rain down upon us! In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus, we pray, Amen!