Shavuot: The Feast Of Weeks (Pentecost)

Shavuot: The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost)

(Leviticus 23:15-23)

1. A Christian man and a Jewish man were debating which faith was best. The Jewish man argued, “We gave you the 10 Commandments.” The Christian responded, “Yes, but you can’t say we’ve kept them!”

Many Christians are surprised to discover that Pentecost is a Jewish OT holiday.

Indeed, Christianity is the fruit of Biblical Judaism, as demonstrated by our study of the 7 Feasts of Leviticus.

2. Thus far in our series, we have addressed the following feasts and the corresponding New Testament truth:

(1) Passover: Christ died for our sins.

(2) Unleavened Bread: He is holy and died to make us holy, and He Himself is unleavened, represented by the second of three pierced Matzo Breads

(3) First fruits: Christ was resurrected on the Feast of First Fruits, the First Fruits of them that sleep…

3. These first three feasts occurred within an 8 day period: I maintain Christ died on Passover day, was buried during Unleavened Bread, and arose on First Fruits. The next of the seven feasts is Passover.

MAIN IDEA: Pentecost foreshadows that during the church age, a new phase in God’s program has emerged: Jewish and Gentile believers are united in one body through the Holy Spirit -- and God uses them to labor in His harvest field.

I. Pentecost in the OLD Testament (Lev. 23: 15-23)

A. 50 Days after FIRST FRUITS, in Sivan (May/June)

B. Sheep sacrificed and TWO loaves of bread

C. First Fruits celebrated the early BARLEY harvest, Pentecost celebrated the main harvest season, including WHEAT.

• The Jews understood God’s description of Israel as “a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey” an impetus to offer all these at Pentecost (Deut. 8:8)

• Bruce Scott, in his book, The Feasts of Israel, describes the scene of Pilgrims entering the Temple area on Pentecost:

“As they traveled onward, the holiday pilgrims journeyed up to Jerusalem. During the day they sang songs of praise to God and rejoiced in His goodness. At night they slept in the squares of the towns through which they passed. Preceding their procession was an ox, its horns covered in gold and its head adorned with a wreath of olive leaves. A flute player also preceded the group, playing his instrument all the way into the city of Jerusalem. Once near their destination, the excited pilgrims sent word ahead of their imminent arrival. The chief priests and officers of the Temple came out to greet them….

“…They then took the baskets off their shoulders and held them at the top as the priests held them underneath. Together the priests and worshippers waved the … fruits before the Lord….The worshippers…repeated a portion of Scripture….and left their baskets….next to the altar. The priests could them consume the…fruits.” (p. 65).

II. The Jewish Emphasis of Pentecost After Christ

• Since the Temple could only be built on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem, when it was destroyed in 70 A.D., the sacrificial system was ended…

• There are many customs I will not address, but one is crucial

A. Pentecost (for mainstream Jews) celebrates the giving of TORAH.

From a Jewish website: http://www.bus.ualberta.ca/yreshef/pesach/shavuintro.html

“Passover freed us physically from bondage, but the giving of the Torah on Shavuot redeemed us spiritually from our bondage to idolatry and immorality.”

We often forget the freedom that comes from knowing God’s will…we think of the burden of the Law (and it can, esp. with endless precautions/fences), but not the freedom

B. Exodus 19 and 20 do place us NEAR Pentecost time wise.

• It is in Exodus 20 that God speaks the 10 Commandments

• This potentially puts us at about the 6th of Sivan with time off for the Sabbath, which is Pentecost.

III. Pentecost in the New Testament is Considered the Church’s BIRTHDAY (Acts 2:1-4, 41).

A. The Church is the BODY of Christ, His Assembly.

B. Pentecost was a TIMED event, it had to happen then.

• Believers were praying and fellowshipping while they were waiting; the HS would come on Pentecost whether they prayed or not…

• Because Pentecost was on a Sabbath, the bread was baked the day before.

• The 3,000 people who came to Christ were prepared beforehand: years of Torah training, John the Baptist. Hearing of Jesus through the grapevine…

• There was never another Pentecost, not because the early church lost its power, but because it was an irrepeatable event.

C. Pentecost begins the age of the SPIRIT.

• Jewish tradition: When God spoke the Law, He spoke it in the 70 languages of the world

• Pentecost: Jews from all over the ancient world heard God’s word in numerous languages…” Rabbi Yochanan saying, “God’s voice, as it was uttered, split up into seventy voices, in 70 languages, so that all the nations should understand.”