Arriving at Pentecost

Uncertainty

If you cast your mind back just a few months, all of our lives were thrown around by the novel corona virus. For a few weeks, particularly around the end of March, everything changed so quickly.

The catch cry of a nation was - flatten the curve.

Well, with a mix of corporate self-discipline and God’s grace - we did it! The curve here in Australia has well and truly been flattened.

But now we enter a new phase. And it’s going to be a phase where I suspect we’ll see a lot of frustration.

That’s because, we’re entering this time of where the virus has been brought under control, but it’s still there.

The wind has been knocked out of it’s sails (so to speak), but it still lingers.

And so because of the big wins, there is a certain level of freedom that has been gained. But because it’s still there, we don’t have the full freedom we long for.

And the result - is the frustration that we’ll be feeling for some time now.

Bible parallel

Now something that I absolutely love is when we can reflect on life events and we’re reminded of a bigger picture of what God is doing.

For starters, as I was just talking about this in-between time of the virus being controlled but not yet finished - while not an exact parallel, but I’m reminded of the in-between time we are in where Christ has won a victory over death, but a final consummation of this victory is still to come - something that will happen when Jesus returns again.

But there is actually another parallel that I want to consider. In particular, I’m talking about the period between Passover and Pentecost.

Passover to Pentecost

In the New Testament, both of these events take on a much greater dimension.

Passover

It was during the feast of Passover that Jesus was tried and crucified.

Which itself was very symbolic of what Passover was all about.

Passover originally remembered the day the Israelites left Egypt.

Each family ate a meal while ready to leave in haste. At the centre of the meal was a lamb sacrifice.

Well, Jesus became our lamb sacrifice. He fulfilled the very purpose of the Passover. That is, to free his people from bondage.

But as we travel from Passover to Pentecost, there’s another important observation that we can draw from the Old Testament.

You see, while they were wandering in the desert for forty years, God was speaking to Moses and establishing patterns that would serve his purposes.

Agriculture

What is interesting is that God actually ties his major feasts into the annual agricultural cycle.

And so we find that Passover falls at the beginning of the barley harvest.

A week of weeks later, that is, seven times seven, which is 49, we then find a natural cycle where the barley harvest is finished but the wheat harvest is about to begin.

Due to the timing, this second feast got the name: The Festival of Weeks.

(That is, because it’s a week of weeks).

But as the Greek language became more prominent, it took on the title Pentecost - which references the 50 days (that is, the 49 plus one).

Now, hopefully I’m not losing you here. Basically what I’m saying is that God is tying the great feasts that commemorate the big events that God has done, with the annual harvest.

Pentecost

So Pentecost was initially an agricultural harvest, but in Jewish tradition, it was also tied to the giving of the Law. That moment when Moses went up the mountain and received the law which he gave to the people.

But, as we come to the New Testament, it was about to take on a whole new dimension.

Disciples

But before I look at that, I want to think for a moment about this journey that the disciples have found themselves on.

The Passover that they just experienced was unlike any other.

There world was rocked. In fact, it was quite literally rocked as there were reports of earth quakes.

Everything was changed.

Now they went through that period between Good Friday and Easter Sunday which must have been so tumultuous - but I actually don’t want to focus on that. I want to instead consider the time after the resurrection, but before this day of Pentecost.

I think this must have been a very bizarre time. You see, they know Jesus has risen. They’ve seen him. They’ve even eaten with him.

But it’s not the same. He’s there - but he’s not with them like he used to be.

They’re not doing the wandering thing they used to do.

Jesus pops in here and there, until finally, forty days after his resurrection, Jesus speaks with them one last time before he ascends into heaven before their very eyes. Something you can read about in Acts 1.

And now they are completely alone.

And so they enter this very weird time. A time when Jesus has been raised. And yet there is something missing. A presence.

This time for these disciples between Passover and Pentecost was one where they no longer had the constant companionship of Jesus.

He hadn’t gone. It was just different.

And though they might not completely be aware of what it was about to be like, while they were about to re-gain that presence with the Holy Spirit, it was going to be a new normal that they would come to.

Acts 1

But we get a little glimpse of this time in Acts 1.

If you look at Acts 1, it starts with the ascension of Jesus.

But if you look, you’ll see that they were left gawking at the sky. I get the impression it was almost like a bit of a numb feeling.

And then in the second half of the chapter they choose someone to replace Judas.

Again, I get the impression it is almost a bit awkward. They want to keep things running, and so they are keeping things going, but nothings really happening.

Now I don’t know about you but I look at this time for the disciples, and while I don’t want to make too much of the comparison, but there is an interesting parallel with what we’re going through - and it’s made all the more apparent given that the timing of our restrictions have kind of correlated with Passover to Pentecost.

You see, we know God is still in control. He has never abandoned us during this time. But it just feels so different.

What we can learn

Now this might be a nice little observation, but I don’t just want to leave it as an observation.

Instead, as we jump into Acts 2, we can see the difference that was made as a new normal was about to begin for them.

The new normal for them, is actually our constant now (something I’ll explore shortly), but as we go through our own shift, it is such a good reminder for us.

Acts 2

So let’s jump into the second chapter of Acts.

Now the opening words of the chapter say: “When the day of Pentecost came...”

When this was first written, most people would have been familiar with this time. They would have known that Jewish people would have descended on Jerusalem for the second of the three major festivals of the year.

They know that they would have come to celebrate the harvest of barley and to give thanks to God because of it.

And I suspect that as this day approached, there might have been a certain awkwardness for the disciples.

You see, it’s been 7 weeks now since Jesus was raised to life. And while they’ve seen him during this time, as I’ve explored, it hasn’t been the same.

I think it would be like that frustration I spoke of at the start of this message.

People are celebrating the new harvest - but don’t they understand.

The wind

Well, these disciples are all together. Probably a bit drowsy. Maybe a bit sullen.

But then that all changes quickly.

It starts with the sound of the blowing of a violent wind.

But then, the sound isn’t something outside. It’s inside.

There’s a new strange sensation. What they were hearing was strange - but so was what they were seeing.

On each of them, what appeared to be a tongue of fire separated and came to rest on each of them.

But this strange experience was about to get even more strange.

You see, it was the Holy Spirit that was being poured out on this very day, and as the Holy Spirit filled each of them, they began to speak in other tongues.

Now this passage makes it very clear. This experience of speaking in tongues was not some ecstatic utterance. It was languages that could be heard by speakers from other nations.

These were earthly languages spoken by people that could only speak them by divine ability.

Just as a quick aside - what we are seeing here is actually the beginning of an undoing of what happened at the tower of Babel in Genesis 11. You might remember that at the tower of Babel, God put an end to man’s attempt to be like God by dividing the tongue. But now, for this brief moment, people from other languages can understand.

The reaction

Well, this experience was quite something - and its worth noting that this was actually not just some quiet personal experience.

What happened in that room with the disciples in it was noticed by the crowds that had gathered in Jerusalem for this celebration of the harvest.

And Acts 2 tells us that they crowds that gathered were left bewildered.

They had no idea of what was going on.

Many of them spoke other languages, and there could not understand how the words being spoken by these disciples could be understood by them. They recognised them as Galileans, and certainly the majority of Galileans they knew didn’t know those languages that were being spoken.

It got some of them thinking about the meaning of it all - but it also got some of them thinking that perhaps they had decided to get on the drink a bit early on this occasion.

Our experience

Now, I should just clarify here. By highlighting a parallel between what we’ve just gone through and their situation, I’m not at all suggesting that we are about to experience a big situation like this.

What is happening here is very unique to this time. God is essentially making a statement. He’s saying that the Spirit is now ready for business. Things will happen differently to how they previously operated.

For us, we might have some big spiritual experiences. Speaking in tongues might even be part of that experience. But we need to recognise that our experience will likely be very different indeed.

Peter’s Sermon

From verse 14, we then see Peter respond to the crowds about what has happened - and you would have to say that it was the Spirit inspiring these words that he has to say.

And it is in this response that we will find lessons on how we should understand our own time.

Peter actually starts by addressing the complaints that they’re drunk.

His response: It’s only 9 o’clock in the morning!

But he then shows that what they’ve just seen happen was actually something that had been predicted by the prophets.

He turns to Joel who foretold that in the days to come, it would be their sons and daughter. The young. The old. Man. Woman. Everyone.

The prophet Joel had spoken of the Spirit been poured out. And that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord would be saved.

Peter goes on to explain how Jesus then fits into all of this.

You see, Jesus is central to this whole occurrence. It was his death and resurrection which has unleashed the power of the Lord and has started something new. Something which is going to change the entire world. It will redeem it.

If you’re following along in your bible, then you’ll see in verse 25 Peter starts a quote from Psalm 16.

And it’s a very particular theme which this quote introduces. It is the theme from life to death.

You see, God has power over death. God makes all things new. He brings things that are lifeless and gives them life.

And I want to suggest that this is what is happening on this day of Pentecost some 2000 odd years ago.

The sin that had gripped the world was taking hold and the world was not alive.

But just in the same way that Jesus literally broke through the bonds of death, so too God is ripping this world out of its bonds and giving it life.

The response

In verse 37, we see that on this particular day, the message has sunk in.

“What shall we do?” they ask.

Well, Peter is quick with the answer: “Repent and be baptised”.

And this is really at the heart of it. Turning away from the ways of this world. And turning to God.

Application

And so, can I suggest that the first thing we need to do as things change so quickly, is that we need to recognise that so often we do get caught up in the ways of this world.

And we need to repent. We need to say - God, I haven’t been living the way I should.

Now I recognise that many of you listening have already repented and turned to Christ. That is wonderful. But while you can be assured that your sins are forgiven, it is also good to remember that we need this forgiveness. And so it is a helpful practice to come back to our repentance.

But what else can we take away from observing this unique day of Pentecost.

Joy

Well, I want to pick up on this theme I mentioned before of going from death to life.

You see, in Pentecost, we see life being breathed into the world. The Spirit brings life.

And with life comes joy. In fact, we see mention of joy when Peter quotes David’s Psalm. You see it in the second half of verse 28: “you will fill me with joy in your presence”.

And so as we come to Pentecost we need to recognise that while there is a time to lament, but there is also a time to rejoice.

And this is the great thing about Christian joy.

You see, Christian joy is not the superficial happiness that we sometimes mistake for joy.

The superficial happiness is the one where you can have a smile on your face, but your hurting. Or you can feel happy, but the slightest irritation sends you spinning.

Christian joy on the other hand is deep. It’s the type of joy that says: even though hardships abound, I will delight in knowing that Christ is with me and that he goes before me.

It’s the type of joy that says, whether I live or die, I am secure in the love of Christ.

Certainty

Now let me just make one further main observation about what we can get from this account.

That is, that we can have certainty even in uncertain times.

You see, these disciples were going through a rocky time. They had no idea what was going to happen or how it would happen. But as this day of Pentecost dawned, things began to make sense.

Now that doesn’t mean they fully understood everything. But what it did mean was that they had clarity on what they needed to understand.

That is, that God is in control and that he will not let them see decay.

You know, as we navigate this pandemic in the weeks, months (possibly even years), I can’t give great certainty as to how it will unfold - but what I can give certainty about is that God will always be there for us. That he won’t let us down.

God has given us the Holy Spirit to help us understand this, and it means that as we move through interesting times, we can have the assurance that we so desperately need.

Conclusion

Going from Passover to Pentecost in 2020 has certainly been an interesting ride. I’m not trying to pretend that our recent experience directly corresponds with that of the journey 2000 odd years ago.

But as we can see some parallels, I think it is worthwhile applying some of these lessons to our own situation.

Times change. Things operate differently in that. But in all things, God remains constant.

And though we struggle and stumble, we can actually have great joy in knowing that the Spirit is with us and He is giving us life.

Cling to that life. Cling to the assurance that God is there with us taking us through.

And commit your life to him, because it is only in him that we will truly find life.

Let me pray...