PT-1 "The Evidence of the Spirit's Coming" (Acts 2:1-4)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/10/2017 8:46 AM

My Worship Time                                             Focus: PT-1 The Evidence of the Spirit’s Coming

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                        Reference:  Acts 2:1-4

            Message of the verses:  “1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”

            As we look at these verses we see the beginning of the Church.  Just as Paul writes about Jesus in Acts 26:26 “"For the king knows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner.”  So the Church began in the same way as it was not done in a corner, but in the city of Jerusalem where many people were gathered for the feast of Pentecost.  These are one of those events we read about in the Word of God where we wish that the Lord would have made a video that we could look at and see all that went on.  I realize we can read Luke’s descriptive account of it and perhaps see it in our minds eye but still it would be nice to see it on God’s video.

            I want to quote from MacArthur’s commentary as he gives an explanation of what the feast of Pentecost is all about, as it is very important to understand. “Pentecost means ‘fiftieth.’  It is the New Testament name for the Feast of Weeks (Ex. 34:22-23), or Harvest (Ex. 23:16), which was celebrated fifty days after Passover.  In post-exilic Judaism, it also celebrated the giving of the Law of Moses.  The Spirit’s coming on that day was linked to the pattern of feasts in the Old Testament.

            “God’s redemptive New Testament timetable is pictured in the feasts of Leviticus 23.  The first great feast mentioned in that chapter is Passover.  The killing of the Passover lamb pictured the death of Jesus Christ, the ultimate Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7).  A second feast was the Feast of Unleavened Bread, celebrated on the day after Passover.  During that feast, an offering of the first fruits of the grain harvest was made.  Leviticus 23:15 commands that offering to be made on the day after the Sabbath.  The Sadducees and Pharisees differed on what that Sabbath was.  The Sadducees interpreted it as the weekly Sabbath, and hence the grain offering would always be on a Sunday.  The Pharisees interpreted the Sabbath as the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  According to that interpretation, the grain offering would always fall on the same day of the month but not the same day of the week.  Until destruction of the Temple in A. D. 70, the Sadducees’ interpretation was normative for Judaism (F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts).  Hence, the day the first fruits were offered would have been on Sunday.  That provides an apt picture of the Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection as the ‘first fruits of those who are asleep’ (1 Cor. 15:20).

            “Fifty days after the first Sunday following Passover, the Feast of Pentecost was celebrated (Lev. 23:15ff.). At Pentecost, another offering of first fruits was made (Lev. 23:20).  Completing the cycle of the typical fulfillment of the feasts, the Spirit came on Pentecost as the first fruits of the believer’s inheritance (cf. 2 Cor. 5:5; Eph. 1:13-14).  Further, those gathered into the church on that day were the first fruits of the full harvest of believers to come.  God sent the Spirit on Pentecost, then, following the pattern of Leviticus 23, not in response to any activity of men.”

            We will continue looking at some more of MacArthur’s commentary on this important subject in our next SD.

            I would like to say that many years ago I read a book by a Jewish man named Zola Levitt who went through all of the Old Testament Feast and explained their New Testament meaning.  The next feast after Pentecost is the feast of Trumpets.  Look what the following verses have to say:  “1Co 15:52  in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  1Th 4:16  For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.”  Yes the Feast of Trumpets speaks of the rapture of the church.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Preacher, apostle, teacher.”

Today’s Bible question:  “When Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, there were three shouts of …?”

Answer in our next SD.

7/10/2017 9:38 AM