Pentecost

Even though Christmas and Easter are over there is still the festival of Pentecost to celebrate according to the Christian calendar. In late spring, in the midst of enjoying the warm weather, travelling and barbequing Christians outside of the Charismatic movement often forget about the Pentecost. However, as the Bible tells us, the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of the Pentecost is an important event in our salvation story. If Jesus came (Christmas), died and was resurrected (Easter) for our sin and justification, the coming of the Holy Spirit marks the new standing Christians now have in relationship with God.  For that reason, in Romans 8:9b Paul writes speaking of the Holy Spirit, “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.” Again in Romans 8:14 Paul writes that all who are led by the Holy Spirit are children of God. In Ephesians 1:13-14 Paul points out that the Holy Spirit is a seal of God’s ownership of us and also a guarantee of our future inheritance of everything that God has promised to give us such as the eternal life. These above verses among many point to the utmost importance of the day of the Pentecost.

The term Pentecost means “fiftieth.” It referred to the fiftieth day after the Passover festival when the Jews celebrated the Feast of Weeks-the annual harvest festival (Lev. 23:15-21). It occurred in early summer after the conclusion of the grain harvest. This festival is also called the Feast of the First-fruits, because the feast celebrated the first produce of the Promised Land, Israel’s inheritance (Deut. 26:1-11). It was an appropriate time for the Holy Spirit to come, because the Spirit is also regarded as the “first-fruits” of the salvation blessings to the believer (Rom.8:23). It is also interesting that the later Jewish tradition associated Pentecost with the giving of the law, because according to Rom.8:4 the just requirement of the law is fulfilled by those who walk according to the Spirit.