Just less than two months after Jesus' crucifixion, the festival of Pentecost took place in Israel.  In Hebrew this feast is called Shavuot, meaning weeks.  In Greek it is named for the fifty days of counting after the Firstfruits festival and is called Pentecost.

Many Christians think that Pentecost was somehow created/invented by the Christian church.  After all, we mark it as the day when the first believers received the Holy Spirit, and we call it the "birthday of the church."  However, Pentecost was a holiday and feast that was observed for centuries prior to Jesus' time on earth.

So, it was not a new holiday for the church.  It was a significant moment, the birthday if you will, of our church.  Here is how the amazing event was described in Acts.

^{Acts 2:1}When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.

²Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.

³They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.

⁶When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.

⁷Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?

⁸Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?

⁹Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome

¹¹(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

¹²Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

You can continue to read in Acts 2, the speech that Peter used to proclaim the events around Christ and the gospel of salvation.  The impact was tremendous, and this fledgling church saw a phenomenal burst of growth in that same day.

^{Acts 2:36}“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

³⁷When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

³⁸Peter 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.

³⁹The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

⁴⁰With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”

⁴¹Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

If you have ever been to Jerusalem, or seen pictures of the city around the temple area, you know that it is a very compact city.  It is amazing to imagine 3000 people gathering outside of any of the houses inside of that cramped city, much less a place to baptize that many people.  No house could accommodate that.  However, historical records indicate that just outside of the temple there were more than 100 ceremonial pools.  These were used for purifying worshipers before entering the temple.  This would have been the place where those 3000 new Jewish believers in Jesus could have been baptized.

We will include a few more comments about this Pentecost feast in the next post.

Blessings,

Larry