The Meaning Behind Pentecost
Shavuot
Shavuot, better known as Pentecost, is a holiday that today commemorates the single most important event in Israel’s history; the giving of the Torah (the first five books in the Hebrew Bible) to Moses at Mount Sinai. It is one of the three major festivals, often called “pilgrim” festivals, because in Biblcal times, all Jewish males were required to observe them at the Holy Temple (both Solomon’s & Herod’s) in Jerusalem. Christians will be more familiar with the Greek name for Shavuot, Pentecost — the holiday that Jesus’ followers were observing in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit was given to them. Since Pentecost is the Greek word for 50, and as Shavuot occurs 50 days after the first day of Passover, it was referred to as Pentecost in the Christian Bible. The holiday is also known as the “Feast of Weeks,” since it is celebrated seven weeks (or 50 days) after Passover.
During the days of the First (Solomon's) and Second (Herod's) Temples, Shavuot was a harvest festival called, " The Festival of Harvest”. Sheaves of barley (the winter crop) were brought to the Temple each day, beginning on Passover until Shavuot (50 days after). It was a joyous celebration, with the people bringing the firstfruits of their harvest to the Temple with thanksgiving to God for His provision. When an Israelite saw the first emergence of one of the seven species of the land — wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranate, olives, or dates – he was to tie a string around it, designating it as his firstfruits.
Exodus 23:16 “...and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.”
At the appointed time during Shavuot, these firstfruits of the land would be presented to God at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem (or before Temple times, at the Tabernacle). Upon reaching the Temple, the firstfruits would be given to the priests. Prescribed passages from the Bible, specifically from Deuteronomy 26:5-11, would be read, recounting the difficulties the Israelites encountered before settling in the land of Israel. By giving the firstfruits as an offering to God, the Israelites acknowledged that all the harvest—in fact, everything they had—came from God and belonged to Him. The offering of firstfruits was likewise an expression of faith that something else—the harvest of the rest of the crop—would come later. Therefore, the first fruit offering acknowledged God’s ownership of everything, expressed thankfulness for His provision, and anticipated what was to come.
The Book of Ruth
The Book of Ruth plays a huge factor on Shavuot and is traditionally read on Shavuot morning because of its link to the harvest season (when the story takes place) and because of Ruth’s acceptance of the Jewish faith and God. Ruth was a brave, Gentile woman whose love for God and the Torah led her to convert to Judaism. Notice, the Book of Ruth is always read because it centers during the season of the first fruits and it's a story of a gentile woman coming to believe in the God of Israel, just like God’s New Covenant is open to all nations through Jesus. Ruth has a further connection to Shavuot because she was the great-grandmother of King David who, according to tradition, was born and died on Shavuot.
The Celebration
It is customary to adorn homes and synagogues with flowers and foliage for Shavuot. These greens serve as a reminder that Shavuot was first and foremost an agricultural harvest festival and that today, too, we are to feel indebted to God for our material blessings. Customs include reading Ruth and two loaf bread meal. Some have argued that these loaves represent Israel and the Gentiles, however some sects of Judaism do not take well to that idea.
Israel as the First Fruits
In a symbolic use of the term, Jeremiah called Israel the firstfruits of God’s harvest.
Jeremiah 2:3 “Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest”
Just as the first and choicest crops were devoted to God, Israel was God’s chosen and set apart people. But the fact that Israel was God’s first fruits, not His only fruit, also anticipated other peoples and nations coming to the Lord.
Believers as the First Fruits
In Romans 16:5 and 1 Corinthians 16:15, Paul calls the first converts of a particular area “the first fruits.” Some translations use the term “first converts,” but literally it is “first fruits” (KJV), the same word used in 1 Corinthians 15:20.
Romans 16:5 "Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my well-beloved Epaenetus, who is the first fruits of Achaia unto Christ."
1 Corinthians 16:15 "I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)"
1 Corinthians 15:20 "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
James 1:18 uses the term with reference to believers. The new birth we have experienced is only a preview of the day to come when He will make all things new in a new heaven and a new earth.
James 1:18 “By his choice, he gave us birth by the word of truth so that we would be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”
The Holy Spirit as the First Fruits
Paul said we “have the Spirit as the firstfruits” (Rom. 8:23). The Holy Spirit is a foretaste, the first installment of our future glory. He is God's pledge of more to come in our resurrection life.
Jesus as the First Fruits
When Paul said Jesus is “the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20), he was drawing an analogy between the Old Testament offering and Jesus’ resurrection. As the Old Testament firstfruits symbolized and consecrated the entire harvest that was to follow, Christ’s resurrection was the foretaste of the resurrection of all believers yet to come. His resurrection is our assurance that one day all believers will be raised from the dead and will receive new, resurrected bodies. This gives a much deeper context to an often quoted verse:
1 Corinthians 15:55 “Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting?”
Jesus as the Harvest Offering
In the Old Testament, God commanded His people to give the first and best portions of the harvest as an offering to Him (Ex. 23:16; Neh. 10:35). This included grain (Ex. 23:16; 34:22), olive oil (Num. 18:12; Deut. 18:4), new wine (Num. 18:12; Deut. 18:4), honey (2 Chron. 31:5), sheep wool (Deut. 18:4), fruit (Neh. 10:35), and even their herds and flocks (Deut. 15:19). In the life and death of Jesus, we see every one of these fulfilled as a first fruit Harvest Offering:
Grain - Jesus is the Bread of Life
Olive Oil - Jesus is the Anointed One who was pressed in the garden of Gethsemane which means “Oil Press”
New Wine - Jesus’ blood is the new wine and new covenant
Honey - Often used to symbolize the Promised Land and God’s Word, Jesus is our Promised Land, New creation, and the Word became flesh.
Sheep Wool - Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world
Herds & Flocks - Jesus is our Great Shepherd
The Giving of the Torah
With the destruction of the Second Temple and the expulsion of the Jewish people from their land in 70 CE, the celebration focused more on the anniversary of the giving of the Torah to Moses at Mt. Sinai — which also fell 50 days after the first day of Passover. More than 3,000 years ago, after leaving Egypt on the night of Passover, the Jews traveled to the Sinai desert. There, they experienced divine revelation as God gave the Jewish people His Law. In Deuteronomy 4:10–13, Moses reminded the people of that experience:
Deuteronomy 4:10-13 “Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb [Sinai]… You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. Then the LORD spoke… He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets.”
The two holidays, Passover and Shavuot, are linked by more than just their proximity. The Exodus from Egypt, which Passover celebrates, marked the beginning of physical freedom for the Jewish people. But Shavuot is a reminder for the Jews that physical liberation was incomplete without the spiritual redemption represented by receiving God’s Law.
Shavuot in the Book of Acts
Contrast this to Shavuot in the Book of Acts, where Jesus, who Paul said was the “first fruits” told the disciples to wait for some better fruit, or power, to come to them:
Acts 1:4 “...wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Now God’s spirit would dwell inside of them, and on top of their heads was tongues of fire, just like the mountain in Exodus. When the mountain was ablaze, the Lord spoke and gave Israel their Covenant and Commandments. Now followers of Jesus would be the temples of fire where heaven met earth and where people could find God. When the Holy Spirit indwelled the believers at Pentecost, God spoke through them in multiple languages declaring the New Covenant.
Acts 2:1-4 "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."
Just as Moses gave the israelites the covenant of Yaweh, Peter gave the sermon through the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus is the only name in which we can be saved. The law came through Mt. Sinai and grace came through Mt. Zion. The author of Hebrews makes a clear contrast between these two mountains and their representation of the two covenants. The law came to Mt. Sinai, the cross came to Mt. Zion.
Hebrews 12:22-24 "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel."
We must never forget that the law came to Mt. Sinai but the cross came to Mt. Zion. The Holy Spirit perfect weaved every aspect of Shavuot to prepare the way for Jesus so that we can recognize Him as the Messiah and so that we can recognize what that means for our position in Him. Paul says, that Jesus was the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Just as he was resurrected and glorified, so will those whose trust and faith are placed in Him.
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