SIGNS, SYMBOLS, AND SIGNIFICANCE: Shavuot/Pentecost

(After the resurrection of Jesus, he appeared to the disciples)

“May each of you be at peace.” As he was speaking, He revealed the wounds in His hands and side. The disciples began to celebrate as it sank in that they were really seeing the Lord.

Jesus said, “I give you the gift of peace. In the same way the Father sent Me, I am now sending you.”

Now, He drew close enough to each of them that they could feel His breath. He breathed on them and said, “Welcome the Holy Spirit of the living God” (John 20:20-22).

The disciples were gathered for the feast of Shavuot. There were people from all over the world who had come to Jerusalem for these second of the three pilgrimage feasts that were required in the Torah. This feast is a time of thanking God for the early harvest of barley and wheat, as well as the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. It occurs 50 days after Passover. To remind the Israelites of the source of their blessings, the people were to appear before God at the temple and bring an offering of grain (an omer) in the form of two loaves of leavened bread.

Acts 2 tells the story of the disciples gathering for the feast, as Jesus had told them to do. Luke 24:49 sets the stage, “So I am sending My Father’s promise to you. Stay in the city until you receive it – until power from heaven comes upon you”. The disciples, having gathered for the feast, experience a mighty, rushing wind, and a flame appears and divides into smaller flames and spreads from one person to the next! This is the Spirit that Jesus had been telling them about: The Comforter, the Helper, the one who would give them power to do great and mighty things in the name of Jesus. They all began speaking in other languages, and all who heard them understood in their own language! And thus, the Church was born. Both Jew and Gentile alike witnessed this amazing event!

“The inclusion of the Gentiles completed the symbolism of the wave offering, where (during Shavuot) the High Priest offered two loaves of fine wheat flour baked with leaven. Centuries before, the two loaves of the wave offering symbolized the Body of Messiah made up of both Jewish and Gentile believers. Though the loaves were made of fine wheat flour, they contained leaven, the symbol for sin. That speaks of the fact that the Church, though refined by the blood of the Lamb, still retains the human sin nature until that day when She will be presented as the Bride of Christ, without spot or wrinkle.” [1]

When God first gave His Torah, He wrote it on tablets of stone. On Shavuot in the first century, He wrote it on our hearts by giving His Spirit to dwell within those who believe in Jesus. And it changed our relationship with Him. He no longer resides in pillars of fire and cloud or dwells in a physical Temple. He has made His home in our hearts – He is always with us, never to leave us.

As Messiah-followers, Shavuot offers us the opportunity to celebrate both God’s Word and His Spirit. Through both gifts, we can know our God. His Word reveals who He is, and His Spirit guides us into all truth (Hebrews 1:1–2, John 16:13). And there remains much to anticipate in our daily relationship with God as we engage with Him through these two tremendous gifts.[2]

Praying Psalm 67, which is similar to the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:24-26, is read each night during the Counting of the Omer. What a powerful way to end each day!

May God pour His grace and blessings into us and turn His face to shine His light on us.

So all those on earth will learn to follow Your way and see Your saving power come to redeem all nations.

May all people live to praise You, Our True God; may all come to praise You.

May all nations celebrate together, singing joy-filled songs of praise to You because You judge the people fairly and give guidance to all the nations of the earth.

May the people praise You with their whole hearts, O God; may every man, woman, and child on the earth praise You.

The land has supplied a bountiful harvest, and the True God, our God, has poured out His blessings to us all. God is the source of our blessings; may every corner of the earth respect and revere Him.

On the 40th day after Passover, Jesus ascended into heaven. Recall in Mark 16, Luke 24 and Acts 1 that Jesus commissioned his disciples to spread the story, and then he rose up into heaven. Jesus also told the disciples to wait until the Holy Spirit came. That happened 10 days later at Pentecost.

Let us not downplay or ignore the significance of these events! The biblical feasts and the seasons of the church year are relevant for all as they help us understand all of God’s story as we navigate through a crazy world that is run by dark powers that seek to destroy us. Reading and meditating, praying and singing, worshiping and seeking the Spirit’s guidance and power are the source for daily living. The disciples bore witness. The Gentiles around them that day bore witness. We can also bear witness also to what the Triune God is doing in us and through us today!

Shalom!

Dawn S Gilmore, DWS

www.dawnsgilmore.com

Dr. Dawn S Gilmore https://dawnsgilmore.substack.com/

[1] jewsforjesus.org. (accessed 5.22.2020)

[2] JewishVoice.org. (accessed 5.22.2020)