Pentecost

What is Pentecost?
Pentecost means 50, taken from the Greek word pente or fifty. In Hebrew it was the Feast of First-fruits (or a harvest festival) observed 50 days after Passover (Lev 23:9–14). Here, worshippers brought their the first fruits of their harvest to the Lord.

Jesus spent 40 days with His disciples after His Resurrection before He ascended to heaven. He commanded them to wait in Jerusalem until they received the promised helper (Ezk 36:26–7; Joel 2:28–32, Acts 2, et al). When He came, the New Covenant people of God began! The Spirit fulfilled the longing for the ability for hard hearts to be soften to keep God’s Law, or to truly live for Him. Without the Spirit we cannot live the Christian life. And so, having been regenerated by the Spirits work to believe and be justified, now adopted we receive Him into our heart as a gift to become new creations. He is given to every believer upon faith (Gal 3:2–3). In grace, this is the first fruit God gives to us of our final salvation (Ro 8:13)!

Pentecost was the last step to inaugurate the New Covenant and close the inter-covenantal period between Christ’s conception and the Spirit’s coming.

Why Celebrate Pentecost?
Most Christians today will observe Christmas and Passover (Easter), even if they aren’t overly liturgical. Yet, we’re only explicitly commanded to observe the Lord’s Day. However, given the weight of narrative in the Gospels and their centrality in coming together to form the basis of the New Covenant, we have warrant to modestly observe these three:

• Christmas: remembering Christ’s Incarnation
• Passover (Easter): remembering Jesus’ life, death and resurrection
• Pentecost: remembering the giving of the Spirit

These three celebrations form the basis of the New Covenant that we enter into when we believe the Gospel. Together they inaugurated the New Covenant and so are worth observing:

• Christmas: Christ’s coming fulfills the prophets, brought salvation, and enabled God the Son to fulfill all righteousness and die a perfect death. It is because of Jesus’ life that we can have His righteousness credited (imputed) to our account. With the Cross yet without His life we’d only be made neutral toward God, not positively righteous. This is worth remembering!
• Passover (Easter): In Christ’s suffering death the price (or wage) of sin was paid to the Father so all who call upon the name of the Lord may be justified (declare forgiven based upon His merits). In Christ’s Resurrection, our sentence of death becomes life; the curse of death removed. This is worth remembering!
• Pentecost: However, without Pentecost we’d be forgiven, free from the curse of death and yet powerless to keep God’s law and live life to the full. Thus, it is Pentecost that enables true life and empowerment to live the Christian life and fulfill the Great Commandment. This is worth remembering!

Or picture it visually:

​This is what Pentecost is and why we’re remembering it this year at MBC.