Today is Pentecost!

What is Pentecost?

Pentecost is the day that the disciples received the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 2: 1-4, we read:

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. (NIV).

Pentecost is a Greek word meaning “the fiftieth day.” The feast of Pentecost was celebrated 50 days after the Jewish Passover. According to The Upper Room, when counting the days, Jews omitted the Sabbaths. The Jewish Feast of Pentecost was the festival giving thanks for the first fruits of the corn harvest.

Jews from many nations were living in Jerusalem, yet through the Holy Spirit, on this day, they were able to hear the disciples speaking in their own languages. The disciples were speaking to them of God’s deeds of power.

Peter, speaking as the head of the new church, told those present that what the apostles were experiencing was a fulfillment of what the prophet Joel had foretold of this day, when the Spirit of God would be poured out on “all flesh—and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those says I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.” (Acts 2: 17-21) Joel’s prophesy concludes with “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Luke reports that on the day of Pentecost, over 3000 people were baptized, creating the first church. This is why Pentecost is also known as the “Birthday of the Church.”

Scripture informs us that the power and presence of the Holy Spirit led these members of the “first church” to do seven things:

1. Devote themselves to the apostles’ teachings and fellowship;

2. Devote themselves to the breaking of bread and to prayer;

3. Be filled with awe at the wonders and signs performed by the apostles;

4. Share their wealth/ property/ possessions with those in need;

5. Meet every day in the temple courts;

6. Break bread in their homes and eat together with glad and sincere hearts;

7. Praise God and enjoy the favor of all people;

And, Luke says the Lord added daily to the numbers of those who were being saved.

We in the Church now enter the “Season after Pentecost.” This is a season in which all believers should:

1. Support new disciples;

2. Support the whole congregation of believers by living out the gifts we have been given;

3. Call upon the Holy Spirit to give us the power to spread the Good News and with this Spirit, bring new disciples to the faith.

A heavy lift, for sure! But Pentecost makes this and more possible. The same Spirit that created the world can redeem the world. And, what a privilege it is to participate in this redemption!