Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
History: Pentecost has “arrived.”
I was surprised to learn Pentecost has it’s roots in the Old Testament. Long before Acts was written there were annual celebrations of the harvests of two grains, barley and wheat. The first harvest, Passover celebrated the Jews physical deliverance from Egypt and their desire to refresh their lives by reminding themselves it was God that had made the difference in them. Barley and wheat were both planted at the same time but wheat took longer to ripen. The days between the ripening of those two grains ended with the Feast of Weeks, Shavuot. Pentecost/Shavuot was the celebration of the wheat harvest meant to remind them the time of wandering was over. God had provided for them a spiritual deliverance too. He’d given them His presence in the land, a time to plant and a time to harvest.
The Harvest:
This beautiful passage begins by filling the “entire house where they were sitting.” Then the mysterious “tongues…”rested on each one of them.” I can’t help it I have to interject right here…Holy Smoke! I read this and I thought this passage is the harvest! These people are the firsfruits of the Bread of Life in the gathering place for those who remember the difference God has made in their lives. The “one place“ where people can still hear a sound like a mighty rushing wind. It’s the Church where we begin to hear the bewildering words of faith spoken by the Holy Spirit to each of us in the language we hear as our own. We hear and finally understand “the mighty works of God,” have ripened in us. The “day of Pentecost arrived” and we have become the firstfruits of the wheat harvest. “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” James 1:18
“Passover may have given them their lives, but Pentecost gave them the ability to provide life for others.”a
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