Following his atoning 'Passover' sacrifice and his victory over death on the cross, Jesus constantly reassured his apostles that even though he was about to leave this earthly physical, realm of the flesh and return to his Father in the spiritual realm of heaven, in his absence he would not leave them without help:
John 14: 26; ''But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.''
And again:
And sure enough, at Pentecost, just as Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit came to his apostles:
Acts 2: 1, 2 & 4; ''And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord [purpose] in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting. And they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.''
So, just for the sake of learning, let's have a closer look at Pentecost:
Leviticus 23: 16; ''Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.''
The ''fifty days'' refer to the number of days from the offering of the barley sheaf at the beginning of Passover. On this 50th day was now to be the Feast of Pentecost; since the time elapsed was 7 weeks it was also called the 'feast of weeks':
Deuteronomy 16: 10; ''And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee.''
This '50 days' then marks the completion of the barley harvest, which began when the sickle was first put to the grain...
Deuteronomy 16: 9; ''Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn [grain].''
... and when the sheaf was waved 'the morrow after the Sabbath'...
Leviticus 23: 10 & 11; ''Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you , and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave a sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you; on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.''
Pentecoste, or the 'feast of weeks' is also known as the 'feast of harvest' or the 'day of first fruits'.
The feast was proclaimed as a 'holy convocation' on which no servile work was to be done and at which every male Israelite was required to appear at the sanctuary:
Leviticus 23: 21; ''And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be a holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.''
Two baked loaves of new, fine, leavened flour were brought out of the dwellings and waved by the priest before the LORD, together with the offerings of animal sacrifice for sin- and peace-offerings. The ground of acceptance of the offering presupposes the removal of sin and reconciliation with God:
Leviticus 23: 17, 18, 19 & 20; ''Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven; they are the first fruits of the LORD. And ye shall offer them with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD. Then shall ye sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.''
In the Old Covenant Age, on this 'day of first fruits', 'feast of weeks', 'feast of harvest' - call it what you will - I'll call it the Feast of Pentecost - God's people expressed gratitude for the blessing of the grain harvest and, moreover, it was a reminder of their deliverance from slavery in Egypt.
Fifty days after Jesus' atoning Passover sacrifice, at the very beginning of the New Covenant Age, the ''first fruits'' of God's new harvest were filled with the Holy Spirit:
Acts 2: 1, 2 & 4; ''And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord [purpose] in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting. And they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.''
Next week - how we use our ''unknown tongue'' not only for our own benefit but also for the benefit of our wider church community.
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