"Pentecost" simply means "fiftieth day," and refers to the 50th day after Easter Sunday. It is parallel to the Old Testament "Feast of Weeks" (Shavuot), the feast that commemorated the birth of the nation of Israel and the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19 & 20). So this very important day celebrates both the birth of the old covenant community and the new covenant community.
How the church was birthed tells us a lot about the nature and mission of the church. The account in the book of Acts is well known.
"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" (Acts 2:1-4).
It's interesting how many parallels there were between the two birthing experiences (Israel and the Church):
- At Mount Sinai there was the sound of thunder and a thick cloud covered them. In the upper room they heard the sound of a violent wind.
- At Mount Sinai the Lord descended as a fire upon them. In the upper room tongues of fire rested on each one.
- At Mount Sinai the voice of God was heard answering Moses. In the upper room the Holy Spirit enabled them to supernaturally speak God's word.
Both of these momentous events shines a light on the big picture. God is establishing his personal rule in every aspect of God's creation, and God has chosen to establish a human instrument to accomplish that end. God has established a covenant community, in the context of both the old and the new covenants, to be God's representatives on the earth, to express the nature of the Kingdom and to extend the influence of the Kingdom. And the current human instrument and representative of God's Rule is the church,
Remember Peter's famous words to the church: "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy" (1 Peter 2:9-10). It had become increasingly difficult for Gentiles (non-Jews) to gain access to the old covenant community. The Good News of Jesus was that membership in God's Kingdom community was equally available to all.
And so, we celebrate the birthday of the church, and in the process remind ourselves of the true Kingdom nature of the church. We are reminded that we are still on mission with God, having confidence in the promise of Jesus that he would be with us, even to the very end of the age. Let's pause to celebrate, and then get back to work!
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