Pentecost  Law & Spirit

Many Pentecost Stories

Have you ever noticed this in Luke’s account? In rehearsing the events surrounding Christ’s resurrection, the women came on the first day of the weeks. Have you wondered why the original Greek was plural, week(s). Yet many mistranslations abound, so they miss the significance of this statement. If they knew the law of Moses, they would have realized this was a reference to the beginning of the 50 day count to Pentecost. Looking back into God’s instructions in the law concerning the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Firstfruits, we find another curious yet meaningful side-note. In the midst of the section about the holy day, there is a specific and seemingly unrelated command. It addressed the needs of the poor and the stranger, the foreigner. And it tied together the story of Ruth with Pentecost the law and the spirit.

Pentecost and Resurrection

Luke’s account continues with the announcement of the angel, “Why are you seeking the living among the dead?” It is this belief in resurrection that is the core of the gospel, and central to the meaning of Pentecost. We do not have life of ourselves. The soul that sins shall die. But there is hope because of the resurrection. Christ’s command was for them to go and be witnesses of the resurrection…to the ends of the earth. And this commission would begin on one special day. The Lord God set aside a special day, holy time, to give his law to his people. And they agreed to obey! On this Feast of Firstfruits the people promised to walk with God. Yet God knew they lacked what was needed to fulfill their commitment. They lacked the heart and the faith to obey.

Pentecost the Law and the Spirit

Centuries later, Christ told his disciples to remain in Jerusalem until the day of Pentecost. Why? To receive what their ancestors had lacked, the power that would enable them to walk with God. The spirit of truth would impart the power to defy sin. The spirit would instil an obedient heart to love God and keep his commandments. It was this power that would enable them to go into all the world and teach all nations to observe all things the Lord had commanded. This spirit from the Father would become the power of resurrection. Giving God’s spiritual children the hope of eternal life.

Learn more about Pentecost:
Pentecost/Shavuoth/ Feast of Weeks