From Passover To Pentecost

From Passover To Pentecost

“From the day after the Sabbath [of Passover], the day you brought the barley sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks [to Pentecost]. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord… I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 23:15-17, 22

Passover is incomplete without Pentecost, Shavuot in Hebrew. It is for this reason that we count down 49 days from Passover to Pentecost. This means that redemption (Passover) is not complete without the revelation of God’s Word which happened at Sinai on Pentecost with the giving of the 10 Commandments. The reason being is that redemption without revelation leads to a regression into slavery because without the truth you cannot truly be set free spiritually. Passover and Pentecost together lead to both salvation and transformation through Word and Spirit!

On Pentecost, God gave the 10 Commandants as well as the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts. Acts 2 is actually a re-enactment of Mount Sinai. The booming of the wind is like the thundering at Sinai, and the tongues of fire over the disciples’ heads are akin to the fire that came out of the mouth of God when He uttered the Commandments. Targum Neofiti, an ancient Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Bible describes it as follows, “like torches of fire, a torch of fire to the right and a torch of fire to the left. It flew and winged swiftly in the air…and returning it became engraved on the tablets of the covenant and all Israel beheld it (Targum Neofiti 19:2). The split tongues of Acts 2 looked like the fire of Sinai, which is said to have inscribed the tablets of the covenant.

In Acts 2, God again imprinted His Word as He did on Sinai. This time, the stone tablets of Sinai were replaced as God wrote His new covenant within their heart: ”I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel…I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts…” (Jeremiah 31:31,33)

Application:

The fact the 10 Commandments and Holy Spirit were both given on the same day is still very significant. It was by means of the Word and the Spirit that created the world. And it is through the Word of God and the Holy Spirit that we become new creations. Salvation must lead to transformation which occurs when your mind is renewed by God’s word through the power of the Spirit (Rom. 12:1). Therefore make sure you read and study the Scriptures regularly and ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate the Word for you.