Pentecost

 

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and hit filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4 ESV).

 

Monday after Easter is the beginning of the “Season of Pentecost.” This is a Christian holiday celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ, as described in our reading today. It is observed on the 50th day after Easter. It is most commonly considered the beginning of the Church. You should note that I capitalized the word “church” indicating that we are talking about the formal beginning of THE Church that Jesus indicated when He told Peter that He was founding this church on faith in Him. Denominations have certainly been a part of the Church often beginning over disputes between men. The Church of Pentecost was a universal community of believers in Jesus.

 

In the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit is described as coming upon the apostles in the form of a powerful wind and tongues of fire, empowering them to speak in various languages and preach the gospel. Pentecost is seen as the fulfillment of Jesus' promise to send the Holy Spirit to his followers, who would then be empowered to continue his work in the world. There are some roots of this in the Old Testament. Pentecost (Shavuot in Hebrew) was the observance of the Feast of Weeks or Harvest, 50 days after Passover.

 

In the coming days we will look at some of the significant developments in the founding and practice of the Church. Hopefully it will be more inspirational that instructional (or historical). From these brief devotionals my prayer is that you realize we have more in common with other believers than not. Above all I pray you recognize that this is the continuing desire and purpose of the work of grace in Christ. That is the work of the Holy Spirit in us.