Traditions of Pentecost: A New Movement is Born

Traditions aren’t what they used to be, are they? Some things are just not necessary because they are no longer needed. I don’t have to sing all sixteen verses of Just as I Am as a hymn of invitation at the end of every church service. I don’t have to listen to my favorite music on my 8-track tape player.

But while some traditions need to be discarded, others should be preserved but changed. When the children were younger, our traditions of celebrating Christmas included stockings and family and presents. While the festivities have changed, and all of the children are not always present, the celebrations remain constant as we remember the things that are important – the love we have in our family and the love God has for us that He showed us in Jesus.

Traditions of Pentecost

In church, we used to remember Pentecost, the Sunday 50 days after Easter. It was on the Day of Pentecost that Christianity as we know it began. The day started as did so many other Jewish holy days – memorials and service in Jerusalem’s Temple area. “But Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed … Men of Israel, listen to these words: This Jesus of Nazareth was a man pointed out to you by God with miracles, wonders and signs that God did among you through Him, just as you yourselves know.

Though He was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail Him to a cross and kill Him. But God raised Him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by death” (Acts 2:14, 22-24 Holman Christian Standard Version (HCSV)).

Powerful words. Potent words. “When they heard this, they came under deep conviction and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: ‘Brothers, what must we do?’

‘Repent,’ Peter said to them, ‘and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 2:37, 38 HCSV).

And hear they did. “So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3000 people were added to them” (Acts 2:41 HCSV).

Many Christians think of this day as the “birthday” of the church. We remembered the day, but we really didn’t remember it well.

Why did Pentecost happen the way that it did? Had the people just hung around in Jerusalem because they didn’t know what to do? No. The word “Pentecost” comes from the Greek term which means fifty. Pentecost comes fifty days after Easter. The term “Pentecost” is not one used by the Jewish community. In Judaism, fifty days after the Passover comes the holiday of Shavuot (sha-voo-oat) which means “weeks.”

Traditions of Shavuot

The festival of Shavuot marks the culmination of the experience of redemption for the people of God. Sometimes the festival is known as the “Gathering of the Passover.” The Exodus from Egypt was intended to lead to the revelation of Sinai. The goal of the Passover is the giving of the Law – the Torah – to the Jewish people. God took the Jews out of Egypt so they would be His own treasured people, holy and separated from the pagan cultures around them. All of the Jewish holidays – Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot – are all connected with this event.

According to rabbinic traditions, the new moon of Nisan marks the start of sacred time. Passover remembers the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb. The first day of unleavened bread remembers the Exodus from Egypt. The seventh day of unleavened bread remembers the crossing of the Red Sea.

After the Passover, a forty-nine day countdown was held – counting every day as a special blessing before the climactic fiftieth day – a Jubilee of days! The Counting of the Omer, as it was called, recalls the days before giving the Torah at Sinai. To celebrate each day, grain from barley to wheat, was waved before the Lord. Shavuot remembers the giving of the Torah exactly seven weeks after the Exodus. Shavuot at Mount Sinai is sometimes considered the day on which Judaism was born.

On Shavuot Jews mark not just the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai, but also the acceptance or receiving of the Torah. One way the holiday is observed is through the reading of the book of Ruth, the story of a woman who converts to Judaism and accepts the Torah.

Traditions of Mercy

Do you see the Christian parallels? Do you sing the words, “Waves of mercy, waves of grace”? The next line by David Crowder says, “EVERYWHERE I look I see Your face.”

I am confident the first Christians – who had grown up in the Jewish faith – were left breathless by God’s incredible detail. Pentecost marks the culmination of the experience of real redemption – not just from a location and oppression called Egypt, but from a plague and possession called sin. The Passover remembers the sacrifice of the perfect Lamb of God – Jesus – whose blood sprinkled causes the angel of death to pass over those who have put their faith in Him.

Counting the Omer steps off the days from Jesus’ resurrection to His ascension back into heaven. And we count the days – the blessings we share – until He comes again.

The gifts of the first Pentecost have different meanings to different Christians. This is the first time that a believer is understood to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Some interpret this as a spiritual benefit of accepting Jesus – a down-payment given by God to help the believer walk with Christ. Others believe that all followers of Jesus were given gifts of the Spirit – the ability to speak in tongues, the ability to prophesy, the ability to heal by touch – just like Peter and the other apostles were able to do. Today those Christians are known as Pentecostals.

Traditions of Counting

This weekend, follow the advice of the old hymn and the traditions to count your blessings.

Count Jesus as your Savior first. If you have never accepted Him as savior, send me a text. I would love to talk to you about how to do that.

Count God giving you His Word second. (Isn’t it interesting that John says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”?)

Count your family third. Remember your physical family – mom, dad, brothers and sisters, cousins, aunt, uncles. Remember your spiritual family – the brothers and sisters at your church. Name them, one by one.

And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.