Digging up the Hebraic roots of Christianity has brought me to a new deeper meaning of Pentecost . Most of my life, I thought Pentecost was a special Sunday that was mainly the “birthday of the church” when the disciples in the Upper Room had little pointy tongues of fire dancing above their heads (I'm sure you've seen those paintings). Peter then made a speech and told all the people who were milling around like they were at a Mall, that they killed the Messiah. The people were upset and wanted to know what to do, and Peter told them to repent and be baptized, and thus the Christian church was born when 3,000 of them obeyed . However, regarding this event, there is much more that needs to be considered. Rewinding to Passover a few weeks ago helps in this understanding of Pentecost/Shavuot and the wonderful parallels involved. The Passover wasn’t just about God bullying Pharoah to release the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. God had a definite destination in mind, He wanted to get His people to Mt. Sinai where He would propose to them. When they arrived at Sinai after many miracles, Moses ascended the mountain and God issued His ten suggestions ….er…COMMANDMENTS.
God was acting as a bridegroom proposing marriage to His bride. Some Hebrew sages relate that Mt. Sinai suddenly blossomed with flowers in anticipation of the giving of the Torah on its slopes. Actually, in Hebrew tradition, the marriage contract is called a ketubbah (ka-TOOB-ah). The katubbah, or marriage contract, was the Torah, which match-maker Moses brought to the bride (the mixed multitude that made up the commonwealth of Yisrael that had left Egypt in the Exodus). On hearing the commands of God, the people accepted the marriage proposal by saying "All that the LORD (Yahweh) has spoken we will do!" And matchmaker Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD. (Exodus 19:8). Even today, some Jewish communities read out a ketubbah between God and Israel as part of the Shavuot service. Shavuot – the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai – is one of the Holy Feasts (or Festivals) that God commands to be observed. It is one of the “Spring Feasts” that has been fulfilled by the Messiah Yeshua. While the Spring feasts have been fulfilled, the Fall Feasts have not.
1. Feast of Passover was fulfilled when Messiah was crucified as the innocent lamb. Coinciding with Passover is
2. The Feast of Unleavened Bread - The unleavened bread is also a symbol of Yeshua the Messiah who was our sinless Bread of Life. He was born in Bethlehem, which means, "house of bread."
3. The Feast of Firstfruits – Shavuot/Pentecost. This is when the Torah was given, when Yisrael accepted God’s marriage proposal, and when the first fruits of the harvest were presented to God --- ( 1 Corinthians 15)
20. “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep”. (I Cor. 15:20) In the three spring feasts we see the redemption story of our Savior. Our Lord Jesus personally fulfilled all three of those spring feasts -- down to the minutest detail. He was crucified on Passover, buried on Unleavened Bread, and His Resurrection proved Him to be “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” God commands us to observe all of these Feasts, or set apart Holy days, by prayer, rest, and study of Scripture. They are special days to be remembered in special ways to honor God. While we are commanded to commemorate the Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Shavuot, nowhere in Scripture are we commanded to commemorate the birth of the church as such. The very reason so many people were gathered in Jerusalem on Pentecost is because they were observing Shavuot.
Here is the Scripture passage in Acts Chapter two:
“Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews [ the Church was entirely Jewish from the beginning] from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken [they did not hear ecstatic utterances that were unrecognizable, they heard actual languages spoken]. Peter then told them how the Messiah was crucified.
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call. [ the church would not remain exclusively Jewish]”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. [Throughout Jerusalem there would have been many mikveh. A mikvah is like a little swimming pool, much like a modern baptistery, that Jews use for purification and to achieve holiness. The church did not invent baptism, Jews were familiar with immersing themselves in water for religious reasons. In fact, before receiving the Torah at Sinai, all Jews were commanded to immerse themselves in preparation for coming face to face with God. It is reasonable that it would not have been difficult to baptize 3,000 Believers in these mikveh on this Shavuot/Pentecost.]
Shavuot at Mount Sinai is considered by many to be the day on which "Judaism" was born -- remembering the giving of the Ten Commandments to Israel and their acceptance of this Divine Proposal. Shavuot in Jerusalem (Mount Zion) is the day on which the church was born, when the followers of Yeshua accepted the proposal to be baptized and receive the gift of His Holy Spirit to help them live obediently according to the principles and commands originally given on Mount Sinai so many years before.
