The Feast of Shavuot/Pentecost

'And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 'Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD. 'You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the LORD. Leviticus 23: 15 – 17 

Beginning at sundown Tuesday June 3, 2014 through Wednesday, June 4, 2014 the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, also known as Pentecost is celebrated. This holiday is known by several other names including the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of the Harvest.  The celebration became known as Pentecost, which means ‘50’ in Greek because it is observed 50 days after Passover.

Pentecost is a joyous time of giving thanks and presenting offerings for the new grain of the summer wheat harvest. The celebration of Pentecost is observed because God commanded the Jews in Leviticus 23 to count seven full weeks beginning on the first Sunday after the first Sabbath after the Passover Lamb is sacrificed, and then present offerings of new grain to the Lord. The Feast of Pentecost is one of the three pilgrimage feasts when all Jewish males were required to appear before the Lord in Jerusalem. (Deut. 16:16)

According to Jewish tradition, it is believed that Moses received the Law on Mount Sinai exactly 50 days after Passover or on Pentecost based on Exodus 19:1, so the receiving of the Law is also celebrated on this day. Today in Israel, the Feast of Shavuot is celebrated by reading the account of the giving of the Law in Exodus 19 and 20 and by reading the book of Ruth, a story of the celebration of the harvest and of God’s redemption and restoration.

In early New Testament times, Jesus told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem following his crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. They were all together in the upper room for Pentecost on the 50th day after the Sabbath of Passover week. The Holy Spirit filled the house, with a sound like a mighty wind and what appeared to be tongues of fire, and filled the disciples. (Acts 2) The apostle Peter referred to the prophet Joel who said that God would “pour out His Spirit on all flesh.” (Joel 2:28-32) The people responded to Peter’s message with repentance, and about 3,000 were baptized. Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. (Acts 2:41) The new covenant between God and Israel (Jeremiah 31:31; Hebrews 9:14-15) was initiated on Pentecost, 50 days after the death of Jesus Christ.

“And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. Joel 2:28-32

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