The Day of Pentecost

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                          Acts 2:1

The Day of Pentecost

by Robert T. Cooper

For most of my life, so far as I can remember, I have known that Pentecost was the 50^th day (hence the name Pentecost) of which Easter was the 1^st. I have known it as the day the Holy Spirit descended on believers in Christ. I have known it is considered to be the birthday of the church.

I have also known that it was related to a Jewish observance connected to the harvest. But I knew little else. So I decided to do some research. Let me share some of what I found.

When our Jewish friends observe Shavuot, it is the feast or festival we and they know as Pentecost. It seems that the entire 7-week period from Easter to Pentecost is a season of harvest with the barley harvest occupying the early part of that period and the wheat harvest occupying the latter part of that period. Shavuot is also the day on which it is reckoned that Moses received the Torah on Mount Sinai.

One interesting side note is that Shavuot is observed on Pentecost Sunday only by Israeli Jews and by Reformed Jews. Other Jews around the world observe Shavuot on both Pentecost Sunday and Pentecost Monday. One tradition is that during synagogue service the morning of Pentecost Sunday, a liturgical poem is read immediately prior to the Torah reading. This tradition has been in place since about a.d. 1100, and so was not observed by Peter and company on the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts. A second tradition connected to synagogue service is the reading of the book of Ruth: it is read by Israeli Jews in the service on Pentecost Sunday; it is read by Jews around the world in the service on Pentecost Monday.

Since 1533, there is all-night Torah study leading up to Pentecost Sunday. One might remember that the study of the book of Joel had been part of the preparation of the Christian believers immediately prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2.

Two other Jewish traditions are the consumption of dairy products and the use of greenery for Pentecost decorations in both synagogues and homes.

Let me close by returning to the thoughts connected with the wheat harvest. Because Pentecost celebrated the wheat harvest, while the Temple was standing, there were two loaves of bread offered that day. This was the context in which Jesus made His “I am the Bread of Life” sermon.

We believers in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior must remember that while bread gives life to the body, Jesus as the Bread of Life gives eternal life to the spirits of His people. As it is important for us constantly feed our bodies, it is even more important for us to constantly feed on Jesus.

In the comments section, share how you go about feeding on Jesus.

Does Prophecy Matter or Not?

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                        Acts 1:16

Does Prophecy Matter or Not?

by Robert T. Cooper

Some people are fascinated by prophecy and can’t study it enough. Others don’t really care all that much, studying it when they come across it in their regular Bible study, but otherwise intent on simply living for Jesus today. These latter believers wonder what it really matters.

In Acts 1:16, God through Peter reminds us that all Scripture was spoken by the Holy Spirit through the various human biblical writers. If God the Holy Spirit revealed and inspired these things, perhaps we ought to pay some attention to it.

Moreover, God through Peter reminds us that all Scripture has been or will be fulfilled. He intended to tell us before the fact that which He had planned. Since God wants us to know these things, perhaps we ought to pay some attention to it. I mean, do you want to stand before the Lord at the Judgment and have to explain why you dismissed a portion of His Word?

Then in Timothy we are reminded that all Scripture is profitable “for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”. That includes the genealogies, the Mosaic laws, and prophecy. No matter which passage it is, we can benefit from that passage in at least one of those four ways.

In the comments section, let us know whether you are a person who is fascinated by prophecy or whether you are one wonders what it really matters to your living for Jesus today.

Anything But Solitaire

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                Acts 1:12 – 14

Anything But Solitaire

by Robert T. Cooper

In Christianity we put a lot of emphasis on making a personal, individual decision of your own for Christ. Yet when one reads the Bible, one gets the idea that while I have to decide for Christ myself in order to be saved, Christianity is not supposed to be an individual affair.

In the 21^st century one constantly runs into people who claim to be Christians, but they live their lives as individuals and not in intentional, continuing fellowship with a group of fellow believers. This is not the Bible way.

Looking at Acts 1:12 – 14, we see that the apostles, who had been together for the ascension of Jesus, stayed together as they returned to Jerusalem. They were all staying together in an upper room (probably the same place the Last Supper had taken place, probably the home of John Mark’s family). To emphasize the group nature, the passage lists the names of the Eleven. It is emphasized that they all prayed together. It even mentions additional people, men and women, who took part as they all prayed together.

Now is it possible that God has directed one or more people of your acquaintance to not join a local church? I suppose so. It is not my place to judge. Those people are accountable to the Lord, not to me.

Yet that would seem to be the exception, not the rule. Since we are to study together, to pray together, to be in fellowship with one another, to break bread with one another, since we are to form ministry-evangelism groups together, since there are no “lone ranger” Christians in the Bible, it seems that most all of us should be active in the fellowship of a local church.

With respect to being part of a local church, please leave a comment as to how God led you to your current situation.