While many church folk don’t really know much about Pentecost, the fullness of understanding it comes directly from its Jewish origins. That is made exceptionally clear in Acts Chapter 2. After describing how the Jewish followers of Yeshua were filled with the Holy Spirit, verse 5 notes, “And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.”
Of course there were Jewish men in Jerusalem, but these were from every nation under heaven, indicating they were visiting. This is significant because it shows these men were following Torah to be in Jerusalem for Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks. It is one of three pilgrimage Feasts in Leviticus 23 in which God called for the men of Israel to return to Jerusalem.
That’s right, Pentecost is actually Shavuot - the only Feast of the Lord in Leviticus which the Christian Church has adopted.
The Greek Pentecost means fiftieth, and is named for the time between the Feast of Firstfruits (Resurrection Day) and Shavuot. God said to count seven weeks and a day from one Feast to the other, thus the appropriate names Feast of Weeks, and fiftieth.
What happened in Acts 2 following the amazing experience of the Jewish disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit, praising God in the languages of those who were sojourners, is also completely Jewish. As the Jewish Apostle Peter addressed the crowd, he identified them as Jewish, saying in verse 14, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem.”
Then again in verse 21 he identifies them as “Men of Israel.” What he told them was essentially a short version of the Gospel. Appealing to their Jewishness with references to the Hebrew Scriptures, he definitively concluded in verse 36, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
His message bore fruit as these Jewish men were cut to the heart, asking what to do. When Peter told them to repent, and believe in Jesus, they did. In fact, according to verse 41, there were three thousand of those Jewish men who came into the Kingdom that day.
Dayenu! It’s a Hebrew word meaning “it would have been enough,” and a notable song typically sung at a Passover Seder. Three thousand Jewish men becoming believers in Messiah Yeshua would certainly have been sufficient as a wonderful victory. But of course, God had more.
While Peter was exhorting these Jewish men, he told them in verse 39, “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off.” The obvious meaning would be to the Jewish families, including those who were still in foreign lands.
Yet the fulfillment is expanded in later writings by the Jewish Apostle Paul. In his letter to the Ephesians, he tells the Gentiles they were aliens from Israel, without God and having no hope. In Chapter 2, verse 13, he proclaims, “But now in Messiah Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah.”
God was identifying those Peter said were far off as Gentiles. Paul was saying they had access to the same salvation as the Jews. He further wrote in verse 14, “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation.”
That was an amazingly powerful statement, making reference to the inner court of the Holy Temple where only Jewish men were allowed. Paul was stating the wall which kept the Gentiles out had been spiritually eliminated by Messiah’s blood.
Now watch how this fits into Shavuot.
Leviticus 23 commands an offering on this Feast to include two wave loaves baked with leaven. It is the only time leaven, which is symbolic of sin, was allowed in the offering. We believe it pictured sinful man, one loaf representing the Jews, one the Gentiles, waved together in unity before the altar of God, reconciled through the cross (Eph 2:16).
The deep meaning of Shavuot/Pentecost is God’s plan for Jewish revival, uniting Jews and Gentiles in Messiah.
One of the common mistakes made by some people is the belief that Pentecost is a Christian holiday that originated in Acts Chapter Two. Indeed, many theologians and ministry leaders mark that event as the beginning of the Christian Church. While the timing of the establishment of the church may be debatable, there is no question that Pentecost is actually one of the Feasts of the Lord outlined in Torah, in the Book of Leviticus. Not only was it celebrated by Jewish people in Israel long before the events of Acts 2, it was one of three pilgrimage Feasts when Jews were to come to Jerusalem to observe it. However, God had a plan for this Feast to be fulfilled as completely Jewish and yet completely Christian.
While Pentecost is Greek for fiftieth, Shavuot, the Hebrew name for the holiday, means weeks, which reflects God’s timetable calculation for the Feast. It’s detailed in Leviticus 23:15-16, “And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths (weeks) shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.”
In the Jewish religion, the command to count, referred to as the counting of the omer (measure) takes on great significance. Even in modern times, among the more orthodox, there is a literal day-by-day awareness of the schedule. It is seen as a holy, somber period, although that’s not reflected in scripture. There is even a non-biblical holiday called Lag Ba’omer on the 33rd day. It is kind of a respite from the restraint practiced during the fifty day span.
To be sure, the average Jewish family doesn’t acknowledge Lag Ba’omer, or even participate in the restraint of the period. In fact, because it is only a tradition, while there are theories, no one really knows why it is to be treated as a somber time. However, that tradition does keep the focus on God’s command to count the fifty days.
So it is in Acts 2:1, “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come . . .” The phrase “had fully come” denoted there had been anticipation for its arrival. Of course. The Jewish community had been counting the fifty days. First, it proves Pentecost is indeed Shavuot, and secondly, it blends with Yeshua’s words to His disciples. In Acts 1:5 He told them, “but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Check this comparison. The Jewish religion also refers to Shavuot as The Day of the Giving of Our Law. That’s because ancient religious leaders deduced Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai on the Feast. If that’s correct, and it might be, then God poured out His Spirit on the same day, roughly 1400 years later.
In the explanation of Shavuot in Leviticus 23:17, Moses wrote there were to be two loaves which were to baked with leaven. These loaves were to be waved together before the altar. What makes this curious is the leaven.
Since leaven is a symbol of sin, it is understandable that it was prohibited from the grain offerings. As specified in Leviticus 2:11,
“No grain offering which you bring to the Lord shall be made with leaven.” Yet for Shavuot, there were to be leavened loaves.
To grasp the significance of that seeming contradiction, we need to see the connection between the Jewish revival of Acts 2, and the call to reconciliation made by the Jewish Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2.
Acts 2:5, “And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.” These Jewish men had come to celebrate the pilgrimage Feast of Shavuot. As recorded later in the chapter, when the Jewish Apostle Peter addressed them with his great oration of the Gospel, they were cut to the heart, asking how they could find salvation.
Peter tells them to repent and to believe in Jesus, and three-thousand of them did. But Peter further said in verse 39, “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off.” Ostensibly, he was referring to the Jewish men who were there, their Jewish children, and the Jewish people who weren’t there, but were “afar off.”
Years later, writing to the Ephesians, Paul refers to the Gentiles as those “afar off,” using the same Greek word. In Chapter 2, verses 11-13, he paints the picture of a right relationship with God belonging to Israel, and Gentiles being “afar off” from it. But he explained, Gentiles have been included in salvation through the sacrifice of Yeshua,, completing the promise of Peter in Acts 2.
Paul continues to deepen the understanding of God's plan for unity in the following verses, alluding to the wall in the Holy Temple which kept the Gentiles on the outside, as being spiritually broken down. In verse 16 he declared, “that He might reconcile them both (Jew and Gentile) to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.” He continued in verse 18, "For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father."
Look how this all connects. The "one Spirit" is of course the Holy Spirit, which was poured out on Shavuot in Acts two. And it was on Shavuot the priest held up two loaves baked with leaven, waving them together before the altar. We believe one loaf represented the sinful Jews, and one the sinful Gentiles. It demonstrated God's desire for there to be unity in Jesus.
So whose Pentecost is it? Well it's Jewish, but it is fulfilled in both Jews and Gentiles.