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Happy Shavuat (Pentecost)

Last week I took a deep dive on the ascension of Jesus.

And it seemed fitting in keeping with the theme of discussing relevant Christian days, that this week I would discuss Pentecost – which is on Monday!

If you are a believer in Jesus you likely associate Pentecost as being the day that the Holy Spirit came down upon believers — the beginning of the worldwide church as we know it.

But perhaps what is less known is that Pentecost or in Hebrew “Shavuot” was actually the Jewish celebration of first fruits or first harvest celebrated 50 days after the Passover.

The Pentecost was a celebration in the Jewish community long before the Holy Spirit arrived.

3 Parallels

And there are some interesting parallels that can be drawn between the two celebrations that you may find interesting.

Law of Stone vs Law of Spirit

Firstly, the Jewish celebration was historically to be believed the moment when God gave the Torah or the Ten commandments to Moses on Mt Sinai. Thus, Jews celebrate this festival by reading the Torah and sometimes studying it throughout the night.

It was a celebration of the giving of God’s law.

And in Christian tradition – it was the fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:33: “ I will put my law in their minds, and write it on their hearts. I will be their God,, and they will be my people.” The law no longer was necessary, we had the law, the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

First Fruits of the Church

Secondly, this was a day of celebration of first fruits, marking the giving of what the first of what was harvested to God.

And on this day, according to Acts 2:41, about 3,000 believers were added to the church that day. The first fruits of the spiritual harvest, marking the beginning of the church.

Slaves to freedom

Lastly, the feast of weeks is often seen as the “birthday” of the Jewish nation. The moment they passed from slaves in Egypt to “God’s people” when they received the Torah. 

And for Christians, the Pentecost marks the birthday of Christianity. A foundational moment in the Church when people everywhere could pass from the slavery of sin, into the freedom of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.

All this to be said, God in all his wisdom chose the day of Pentecost very specifically as the birth of the Church. 

So when Monday comes around, and you celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, consider how you also, can give the first fruits of your labor unto God, as a celebration of the birthday of the church, and thankfulness for all He has done.

Until next week,

Be Blessed,

Aaron

Theophilus Newsletter

P.S. Another tradition from Shavuot is to read the book of Ruth. I will be doing that on Monday, should you desire to join me. Have a blessed weekend.