What is celebrated on Pentecost?
Pentecost is a festival when Christian believers commemorate the being sent a helper in the Holy Spirit. The modern-day church schedules this commemoration on a Sunday that falls 50 days after the celebration of Easter. Christian believers view the day of Pentecost as the birthday of the modern day church. The day of Pentecost marks the beginning of spreading the gospel so that all nation may glorify the name of God.
What happened at the Pentecost?
On the day of Pentecost, the apostles were gathered in the morning hours to celebrate the Pentecost a Greek festival that came after the harvests. On this day, the Jews would come and give gifts and offerings to God for the just concluded harvests. As the apostles led by Peter were gathered in one place to celebrate this Jewish festival, the house they were gathered in was filled with a sound from heaven. The sound was in the form of a wind that came rushing and filled the room they were gathered in. Tongues of fire were seen rested on the heads of all the apostles who gathered there. The apostles were then filled with the Holy Spirit and at that moment, they all started speaking in tongues.
There were many people on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and they had gathered on that day to listen to the apostles. The gathering included people from all parts of the world and some were surprised to hear the apostles speak in their native languages. Some of the pilgrims started enquiring whether the Apostles were not from Galilee. The pilgrims wanted to know why they were able to understand their native dialect. Some people did accuse the Apostles of being drunk. It took the intervention of Peter to explain that they could not be drunk at such early hours of the morning, an act that attracted fines in Jerusalem at that time. He further explained that the events being witnessed were the fulfilment of the prophecy of Prophet Joel. The prophecy was that in the last days God would give upon everyone the Holy Spirit so that both men and maidservants would prophesy.
What is the meaning of Pentecost in the Bible?
The day of Pentecost refers to the events when the Holy Spirit fell upon the apostles who had congregated with other believers. The meaning of the events of this day has left a question that persists to date. As the Bible in Acts 2:12 explains, those who heard the believers speak in tongues were perplexed and asked, “What does this mean?” To try getting the answer to this question, it is important to remember that according to Acts 1:4-8, Jesus before rising to heaven had instructed his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of a helper, in this case, the Holy Spirit. The bible goes on to explain that Jesus told his disciples that they would receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. By receiving this baptism, the apostles would be empowered to be witnesses of Christ in all parts of the world.
It is worth noting that before Jesus began his ministry he went to John the Baptist and asked him to baptise him. It was after Jesus was baptized that the Holy Spirit came upon him in the form of a dove. This event was critical as it marked the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. The coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost was important for them to fulfil the order by Jesus to spread the gospel across all nationalities. Upon receiving the power of the Holy Spirit, the apostles would receive his help in their mission to spread the word since they had in them the Holy Spirit. The events of the day of Pentecost mean that God the church was being given a helper and power as promised in order for God’s name could be glorified in all nations.
Why is Pentecost important?
Pentecost is a festival when Christian believers commemorate the being sent a helper in the Holy Spirit. The modern-day church schedules this commemoration on a Sunday that falls 50 days after the celebration of Easter. The Pentecost has the following significance:
- The events of the day of Pentecost marked a new relationship between Christians and God.
- The day also marked the beginning of the baptism using the name of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit.
- The day is viewed by Christians as the day when the Christian church was born.
- Upon receiving the Holy Spirit, the apostles had the power to preach the word God across all nations.
- It marked the beginning of the church as presented by Luke as a universal church.