Pentecost

It seems that several of the events in salvation history corresponded to holy days and festivals that God gave his people to observe. The crucifixion of Jesus is pointedly associated with Passover. From the beginning of his ministry, Jesus had been identified with the Passover lamb (John 1:29) whose blood was spread on the doorposts to deliver families from the death of the firstborn.

The gospels describe Jesus celebrating a Passover seder with his disciples the night before he died. On that occasion he associates the unleavened bread of Passover with his body that is to be pierced. Also he connects the third Passover cup of wine, the cup of salvation, to his shed blood. He urges his disciples, whenever they celebrate Passover, to associate the symbols, not only with the deliverance from Egypt, but also with the deliverance from sin that he was to provide through his death.

It’s also very possible that the resurrection of Jesus is intentionally connected with the first day of counting the omer and the offering of the firstfruits offering. It was to be done the day after the Sabbath of unleavened bread (Lev. 23:9-17). The resurrection of Jesus is called the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (I Cor. 15:20)

Often overlooked is the role that “Pentecost” plays in this sequence. “Pentecost” is the Greek-based term for the Jewish festival of Shavuot (Weeks) described in Leviticus 23:15ff and Deuteronomy 16:9ff. It was one of three festivals that all Jewish men were to go to the temple in Jerusalem to celebrate (Deu. 16:16).

After the firstfruits offering, the Jews were to count off seven weeks (Shavuot). The next day, the fiftieth day, was to be the festival (hence Pentecost). In scripture this festival is described in terms of the harvest. But Jews have traditionally used it also to commemorate the giving of the Law from Mt. Sinai. The time frame matches. The Passover occurred in the middle of the (lunar) month. Exodus 19:1 says, “In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt — on the very day — they came to the Desert of Sinai.”

The exact timing seems to be important to the chronology. The arrival at Sinai would have occurred just over six weeks after Passover. Once the people got settled and Moses went up the mountain to talk to God, there were three days for the people to prepare themselves before the Law was given in the voice of God, accompanied by fire (Exod. 19:18).

In the rabbinic writings about the book of Exodus it is written that, “God’s voice, as it was uttered, split up into seventy voices, in 70 languages, so that all the nations should understand.”

The event described in Acts 2, that Christians refer to as “Pentecost”, exhibits many clear parallels to the Sinai event. It occurred on the same day of the year, and there were tongues of fire and speaking in other languages. The significance of the event, as described by Peter, seems to be the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

We could consider this Pentecost event as the Sinai of the New Covenant. We recall that one of the things that was new about the New Covenant was that the law was to be internalized (Jer. 31:33). Since men couldn’t keep God’s law in their own strength, God’s Spirit was going to be given to enable them to keep the law (Ezek. 36:27).

Jesus alludes to this in John 14:15 when he says, “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever — the Spirit of truth.” Paul alludes to this ministry of the Holy Spirit in Romans when he says that sin was condemned “in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature, but according to the Spirit” (8:14).

It’s easy for those without a knowledge of the Jewish background of the festival of Weeks (Pentecost) to overlook the fact that one of the primary reasons for the giving of the Holy Spirit was to enable the believer to obey God’s law. The Acts 2 Pentecost event was truly the Sinai of the New Covenant.