ou may be asking yourself what Holy Day I'm talking about, since this is a holiday which does not appear on most calendars. Yet it is one of the three most important Christian holidays, after Easter and Christmas. It celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit to us, to fill us up with the power of God.

entecost was originally one of the three annual Israelite feasts instituted by God through Moses. It was the feast of harvest (of the barley) fifty days after Passover--so it is now forty nine days (seven sevens) after Easter. Pentecost was also called the "day of the firstfruits," and that especially it is for Christians. A firstfruit is the first part of a harvested crop which represents and stands for the rest of the crop. As Christians we "have the firstfruits of the Spirit" which is what fills us with hope (Romans 8:23-24). This is what the Holy Spirit means to Christians:

God anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (II Corinthians 1:21-22)

If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you. (Romans 8:11)

For while we are in this temporary body, we groan and are burdened, not because we want to be without a body, but because we want to be in our resurrection body, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by Life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guraranteeing what is to come. (II Corinthians 5:4-5 paraphrased for clarity)

And you also became God's people when you heard the true message, the Good News that brought you salvation. You believed in Christ, and God put His stamp of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit He had promised. The Spirit is the guarantee that we shall receive what God has promised His people, and this assures us that God will give complete freedom to those who are His. Let us praise His glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

s the rainbow is the sign of hope given to Noah, so the Holy Spirit is the sign of hope given to Christians.  Pentecost is when we celebrate the giving of that sign of hope.

he story begins with Easter, and the glorious resurrection of our Lord from death.

hrist is called the firstfruits of those who shall rise from death (I Cor. 15:20-23). By His resurrection He guarantees our resurrection.

 

 

 

El Greco here shows Christ rising with the flag of victory over the disconcerted soldiers who had been guarding his tomb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

or forty days after His resurrection (including Easter), Jesus appeared often to His disciples, speaking to them of the Kingdom of God.  At the end of this time, on a Thursday, He was blessing them, saying, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."  Then He ascended before them into the heavens and was hidden from them by a cloud.

hy did Jesus have to leave us physically, rather than stay among us for the past two thousand years?  Jesus said, "I tell you the truth: it is for your good that I am going away.  Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.  When He comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because men do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.  I have much more to say to you, more than you can now hear.  But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth.  He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.  He will bring glory to me by taking what is mine and making it known to you.  All that belongs to the Father is mine." (John 16:7-15)

y sending us the Holy Spirit, Jesus brings us closer to Him (the Way, the Truth, and the Life) than we could otherwise be, even if He were physically present with us.

ust before He ascended, Jesus told His disciples to stay in Jerusalem because in a few days they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.  He told them the purpose of the baptism of the Spirit: "Repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed in the Messiah's name to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things."

or nine days the disciples were constantly in prayer, along with the women who followed Jesus, Mary His mother, and His brothers.  On the tenth day, on the holy day of Pentecost, in the room in which they were gathered, there was the sound of a mighty wind, and they saw what seemed to be tongues of fire resting on each of them, and they began to speak in other languages.  El Greco envisions this magnificent event this way:

s Jesus had promised, the disciples received power, and from that moment on they were unstoppable.  They changed from disciples (followers) to apostles (emissaries).  Not even the threat of death kept them from proclaiming the Good News about salvation in Christ throughout the world.  This is the glory of Pentecost.

If you want to know how, click on the dove to go to my second Pentecost page.