A Prayer For Pentecost

“Father of light, from whom every good gift comes, send your Spirit into our lives with the power of a mighty wind, and by the flame of your wisdom open the horizons of our minds.

Loosen our tongues to sing your praise in words beyond the power of speech, for without your Spirit we could never raise our voice in words of peace or announce the truth that Jesus is Lord.”

Author Unknown

God’s Appointed Times: Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks

Today is Pentecost Sunday the day we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the church. Pentecost is also referred to in the Bible as the Feast of Weeks, Feast of Harvest, and the Day of Firstfruits {Ex. 23:16; Num. 28}. Pentecost falls on the fiftieth day from Passover. It was a one-day feast and celebration {Ex. 23:16; 34:22; Lev. 23:15,22; Num. 28}. 

The liturgy for the feast is found in Deuteronomy,

“You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord. You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread as a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of fine flour, baked with leaven as first fruits to the Lord. Along with the bread you shall present seven one-year-old male lambs without defect, and a bull of the herd and two rams; they are to be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. You shall also offer one male goat as a sin offering, and two male lambs one year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings. The priest shall then wave them with the bread of the first fruits as a wave offering with two lambs before the Lord; they are to be holy to the Lord for the priest. On this very day you shall make a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious work. It is to be a permanent statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations” {Lev. 23:15-21}.

The Feast of Passover was the beginning of the barley harvest and Pentecost was celebrated during the wheat harvest. The feast was a wave offering to the Lord. It consisted of two loaves baked with leaven. It was made with fine flour that was sifted in order to separate the chaff from the wheat. The wave offering was a way for the Hebrews to exhibit their dependence on God, not only for the harvest but also for their daily bread, an offering of thanksgiving.

This is of course the first Pentecost, a foreshadow of the Pentecost in the New Testament. God gave Moses the law on Mt. Sinai written on tablets of stone. Yet there was a promise from the Lord of a future time when the law would be written on the tablets of the heart {Jer. 31:31–34}. For thousands of years, people journeyed to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost awaiting the promise of God. 

The Feast of Pentecost was fulfilled in Jesus when He was glorified in the resurrection and seated on the throne at the right hand of the Father. He sent the promised Helper, the Holy Spirit in the upper room to the disciples on the Day of Pentecost which was the fulfillment of God’s promise. Through the Holy Spirit, the Father wrote His precepts on the hearts of all who placed their faith in Christ. He does this still today for all who come to faith in Christ.

 

In John’s gospel account Jesus speaks and reveals how He fulfills this feast: “But Jesus answered them by saying, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit’” {Jn. 12:23–24}. Jesus is the seed of grain that died for our sin. He is the Bread from Heaven made with fine flour; perfect righteousness. 

The feast of Pentecost marked the fifty days between Passover  and Pentecost, the New Testament Pentecost was fifty days from Jesus’ resurrection to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the one hundred and twenty in the upper room. 

There is so much more to say concerning the symbolism, types, and fulfillment in Christ concerning the Feast of Pentecost, but this is sufficient for now. I will write more in the future concerning God’s Appointed Times because they so beautifully speak to the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus our precious Savior.  

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Sabbath Sanctuary: Holy Saturday Why did Jesus have to die?

It sits nicely tucked away in its box—the bronzed cross that hung on my wall for many years as a symbol of blessing for my home. I packed it away after redecorating the place it hung and came across it this morning.

Remembering that His hands were pierced instead of mine.

Bronze represents judgment. Jesus took upon Himself the wrath due to me on the cross. A cross to bless my home came with a great price from God, who sent His Son. 

Yesterday, we remembered Christ and His crucifixion, His holy sacrifice for our filthiness and sin. Every sin I have committed, every idle word I have spoken, was nailed to the cross yesterday. There seems to be a void after the horrific crucifixion scene the previous day and the celebration of an empty grave on Sunday. Sabbath Saturday seemed quiet; the dust settling from the events and commotion of the traumatic events of the previous day, and a calm hush appeared to hold the city captive. It looked like everything was dead. Everything the disciples hoped for is gone—their dreams died and were buried with Jesus. The perceived injustice broke their hearts, and indeed, the question had to well in their minds—why did He have to die?

Many have asked this question through the centuries since He laid down His life for the world. It was foretold through the Old Testament: “They are striking the judge of Israel on the cheek with a rod. Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; One will come from you to be the ruler over Israel for Me. His origin is from antiquity, from eternity” {Micha 5:1a–2 HCSB}. This speaks to His eternal nature, the pre-existent Christ—the Lamb that was slain {Revelation 13:7-9}came in the flesh. Jesus told His disciples that everything written about Him in the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled {Lk. 24:44}.

“Christ has sinlessly borne the sins of the world. In His innocence, he has submitted first in the full waters of the Jordan and then in the bloody waters of the cross, to baptism for sin’s repentance becoming cursed for us in over us and save us from our sin.” [1]

Some argue that this sacrifice is cruel and sadistic, but they are misguided. It was a price motivated by the love and compassion of the only wise God. He could have chosen to leave us in our sins, awaiting judgment, displaying His perfect justice. He could have chosen to save no one. But God, in His love, chose to redeem us instead of leaving us to wallow in the mire.

Because He is holy and sin requires judgment, Christ’s atonement was necessary. Jesus prayed in the garden to let the cup of His death pass from Him {Matt. 26:39}, if only there was another way…but He always prayed according to Father’s will. This is evidence that Jesus couldn't avoid His death and the cup of His suffering if He was going to fulfill the Father’s purpose and redeem mankind.

“Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Hime, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him” {Isaiah 53:1-6 NASB}.

But this is not the end of the story. Friday happened, but Sunday is coming! The Suffering Servant is now the victorious King! 

“He will divide the spoils with the strong. This means that we share in Christ’s inheritance. According to Paul, we co-heirs with Jesus cause we have been adopted into the family. We are God’s children. ‘Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if we indeed share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory’ {Rom. 8:15}.”[2]

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” {John 3:16}. But His justice required a way for our sins to be paid for, for He is a holy God and cannot allow sin to go unanswered. Paul tells us that was why God sent Christ to be the propitiation {Romans 3:25}, the only perfect sacrifice to pay for our sins. The love and justice of God were the ultimate cause of the atonement.

On this Sabbath, Passover, and Easter weekend, reflect on God’s holiness and justice and rest in His love, which chose to redeem you and make available His promises for your life. In His holiness, He saw your sin; in His justice, He provided the sacrifice through Christ; and because He loves you, He redeemed you.

Saturday is almost over…Sunday is Resurrection!

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[1] Alan E. Lewis, Between Cross And Resurrection: A Theology Of Holy Saturday (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001), 45.

[2] R.T. Kendall, Why Jesus Died: A Meditation Of Isaiah 53 (Oxford: Monarch Books, 2011), 185.

The Passover Lamb: Behold the Lamb of God

It is Holy Week, and many eloquent writers have penned beautiful prose concerning the beauty of what we remember this week. Here are my humble musings, what my heart is breathing on this Good Friday. Not only is this Good Friday for the body of Christ, it is also Passover for the Jews, beginning at sundown. I love when Passover falls at the same time as Easter; the two are more connected than appears on the surface {I will elaborate on this in a moment}. Let’s begin at Good Friday.

Good Friday is a solemn day—or should be in proper reflection. Before Jesus made His way to the cross, He had a battle to overcome in the Garden of Gethsemane. This is where Jesus had an intense spiritual battle, and through His struggle, he remained obedient to God and submitted Himself to the will of the Father. He agonized as He pondered what was to come and prayed for the cup to pass. Through His love for us, He remained obedient; He saw beyond the cross to those He loved and desired to redeem. He chose to obey the Father's will and endure His impending suffering. Jesus chose obedience, and the Lord sent an angel to minister to Him.


“And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, ‘Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.’ Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him” {Luke 22: 41-43 NASB}.

Jesus received His strength from the Lord. When the Lord sent the angel unto Him, the Father strengthened Him and enabled Him to remain obedient until death.

Jesus suffered immensely on our behalf, and it is important to remember that He not only died for us, but He also died in our place and on our behalf. The brutality that Jesus experienced absorbed God’s wrath and reconciled us to the Father. He exhibited the grace and mercy of God on behalf of sinners and conquered death. He was the last and perfect sin offering.

“This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed, the sin offering shall be killed before the Lord. It is most holy” {Leviticus 6:25 NASB}.

Christ—the holiness of God—is beautifully prophesied in the Old Testament. Just as the high priest was adorned with the words holiness unto the Lord, Christ was holiness in the deepest and fullest sense of the word. The Old Testament tells the story that Jesus completes in the New Testament. We would not have the New Testament without the Old Testament.

Leviticus chapter four details the requirements for the sin offering. I encourage you to read it; it is too lengthy for this space. Below is a brief summary;

The sacrifice for the sin offering offered at the Tabernacle had to be the first-born male, without spot or blemish. The sacrifice was required to be inspected by the priests to ensure the sacrifice satisfied God’s requirements. In the New Testament, Jesus fulfilled this requirement, as He, upon inspection seven times, was found to be without fault:

1. Pilate: John 19:4; Pilate came out again and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him” {NASB}.


2. Herod: Luke 23: 14-15; “You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against Him. No, nor has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by Him” {NASB}.


3. The High Priest: John 18 says that after Annas sent Jesus to Caiaphas, he could find no fault with Jesus.


4. Caiaphas: Matt. 26:57-75; Could not get the witnesses to agree on any wrongdoing by Jesus.


5. Judas: Matt. 27:4; “I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood” {NASB}.


6. The Centurion: Matt. 27: 54; “Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’” {NASB}.


7. The thief on the cross: Luke 23:40-41; “But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong” {NASB}.



Jesus is not only our sin offering, He is also our Passover Lamb. It is no accident that Christ was crucified on Passover. He was not only crucified on the day, but also at the same hour.


“With this many lambs, it was necessary for the Jews to prepare them for sacrifice at nine o’clock in the morning…they then killed them at three o’clock that afternoon so that the Passover could be completed before six o’clock, which would begin a new day.”[1]


As Israel was slaughtering the lambs with knives, spikes were driven into the flesh of our Lord, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy…He was wounded for our transgressions….



“Then at three o’clock as the people were praising God and slaughtering the lambs, Jesus died. Mark was careful to note the time and wrote that it was the ninth hour (three o’clock Jewish time) when Jesus breathed His last breath (see Mark 15:33-37).”[2]


On Passover, the Israelites were to take hyssop and apply the lamb's blood on the doorway's lintel and each side post. Now, as Christ hanged on the cross dead, His blood is applied to humanity, and the destroyer has to passover in the presence of the Blood.


The only way to the Father is to believe that Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead for our sin; to attempt any other passageway is to negate the cross. In the Tabernacle, there was only one door;


Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” {John 14:6 NASB}.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it… And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” {John 1: 1-5, 14 NASB}.

“Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement” {1 John 5:5-8 NASB}.


“And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament. They which are called might receive the promises of eternal inheritance” {Hebrews 9: 15 NASB}.

Dear Jesus, thank you for being the perfect sacrifice for sin. Thank you for loving the world so much that you died to redeem it. Father, I thank You for bringing forth the birth of Your Son. I acknowledge Jesus Christ as my only mediator and propitiation for my sin and give you all the glory, honor, and praise. Jesus, You are our Paschal Lamb. Thank You for Your shed blood that marks us for You and sends the destroyer on his way. In Your precious Name, Amen.




Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

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[1]Booker, Richard, Celebrating Jesus In The Biblical Feasts (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishers, Inc., 2009), 42-43.

[2] Ibid.

Sabbath Sanctuary: Holy Saturday

Yesterday, we remembered Christ and His crucifixion; His holy sacrifice for our filthiness and sin. Every sin I have committed, every idle word I have spoken, was nailed to the cross yesterday. I need only repent and apply His sacrifice to my life.  

As Good Friday passes, we look forward to Easter Sunday to celebrate the most significant event of all time—the Resurrection. Christ defeated death, hell, and the grave. He tasted death for us and overcame it. He holds the keys to hell; it is a celebration indeed!

Saturday seems to get lost in the holiday preparations. We return to the mundane life routine,  preparing food, doing the laundry, and preparing for worship on Sunday. But what about Saturday? Scripture, too, quickly passes over Saturday. There seems to be a void after the horrific crucifixion scene the previous day, and the celebration of an empty grave on Sunday. Matthew grants a glimpse into some of the events on Saturday; the Pharisees before Pilate, ensuring the grave is guarded, there will be no grave robbing this night!

Holy Saturday is a time of waiting, when nothing significant occurs. “The crucifixion, deliberately timed to precede the Sabbath day (which in John’s chronology was the Passover itself), was naturally followed by a pause when nothing would happen, and certainly no visit to the tomb by Mary and the others to anoint the body” (Alan Lewis, p.3).  Saturday is just an ordinary day, with Jesus' body seemingly lying in the cold, hard tomb, leaving all creation to groan for Him.

Though Jesus’ body may be entombed and lying on that cold, hard rock slab, there is much happening behind the scenes, taking place in the unseen heavens before His pierced, precious body is resurrected.

Jesus was not idle on Saturday; He was busy freeing the captives, declaring His victory over the devil and his minions. The prophet Hosea foretold this in Hosea 13:14: "Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from death? O Death, where are your thorns? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion will be hidden from My sight" {NASB}. And so too, the prophet Zechariah 9:11: "As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you, I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit" {NASB}.  Peter penned in 1 Peter 3:19-20a, "In which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient" {NASB}.

Paul also tells us in Ephesians 4:9, "What does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?"{NASB}. Jesus defeated death, hell, and the devil, and mocked them openly; "When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him" {Colossians 2:15 NASB}.  

Sabbath Saturday seemed quiet; the dust was settling from the events and commotion of the traumatic events of Good Friday, and a quiet hush seemed to hold the city captive. It looked like everything was dead. Everything the disciples hoped for is gone—their dreams died and were buried with Jesus. They could not see all that Jesus was doing. He was overcoming death so that He could ascend to take His place at the Father's right hand. Christ presented Himself, the perfect sacrifice, and sprinkled His blood on the Heavenly Mercy Seat.

So rest this Sabbath, and know what Christ did for you in His death. Rest this Sabbath, Saturday—tomorrow is Resurrection!

Alan E. Lewis, Between Cross & Resurrection: A Theology Of Holy Saturday (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001), 3.