Fulfillment of the Feast of Pentecost
Synopsis: The long-anticipated time of fulfillment arrived in Jesus. The time of shadows
and types ceased with his resurrection and enthronement.
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The famous opening passage of the second
chapter of the Book of Acts stresses the fulfillment of
things foreshadowed in the Hebrew scriptures that occurred when the gift of the
Spirit was poured out on the Day of Pentecost. The passage informs the reader that the bestowal of the
Spirit fulfilled what the Levitical feast symbolized.
The arrival of the gift of the Spirit among
the disciples was the seminal event that marked the inauguration of the Church
and set the stage for the spread of the new faith, a process documented in the
book of Acts.
(Acts
2:1-4) - “And when the day of
pentecost was filling up [the number of days], they were all together with one
intent; — When there came suddenly out of heaven a sound, just as
of a mighty rushing wind — and it filled all the house where they were sitting; And
there appeared unto them — parting asunder — tongues like as of fire, and it
sat upon each one of them; And they were all filled with Holy
Spirit and began to be speaking with other kinds of tongues, just as the Spirit
was giving unto them to be sounding forth.” – (The Emphasized Bible).
Prior to his ascent, Jesus commanded the
disciples to wait in Jerusalem until “you receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea
and Samaria, even as far as the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:7-9).
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In the Book of Acts, the proclamation of
the gospel begins in Jerusalem, the heart of the Jewish nation, and
concludes with Paul preaching in Rome, the center of the world empire. Following
his Death and Resurrection, the Messiah of Israel became the Lord of the nations
who exercises his sovereignty by propagating his Gospel among the nations (Psalm 2:6-9, Matthew 28:18-20,
Revelation 1:4-6).
The outpouring of the Spirit was accompanied
by manifestations of sight and sound that caused a commotion among the Jewish
pilgrims in the city. This created an opportunity for Peter to proclaim the Gospel.
His sermon highlighted the theme of fulfillment in the new
messianic age that had just dawned, the “last days,” signified by the Spirit's presence.
The feast of Pentecost was the first of two
annual agricultural feasts. It celebrated the completion of the barley harvest.
It occurred fifty days after Passover and, so, was known as the “feast of
weeks,” as well as the “feast of harvest, the first-fruits of your
labors” (Leviticus 23:11-16, Deuteronomy 16:9-10).
“Pentecost” is from a Greek word for
“fiftieth.” A highlight of the festival was the offering to Yahweh of the first
sheaf or the “first-fruits” of the grain harvest. Every male
in Israel who was able was required to appear in
the Temple during the feast (Exodus 34:22-23).
The outpouring of the Spirit on this feast day
was not coincidental. Its theological significance is indicated by the Greek
term sumpléroō used in verse 1 for “filled up.” The
force of the verb is to “filled up completely,” to fill something to the very
brim (Strong’s #4845).
The verb is a present tense infinitive, signifying action in progress. In other
words, the feast was in the process of being fulfilled fully
as the Spirit was given.
What the feast previously symbolized was coming to fruition. On this day, God gave the actual “first-fruits” of the end-time harvest, the gift of the Holy Spirit (compare - Romans 8:23, Luke 24:49).
All male Israelites were required to attend
the feast. Likewise, in the Book of Acts, all the disciples were assembled
in one place. The “all” is repeated in Verse 4 to emphasize the
point; “ALL were filled with the Holy Spirit.”
The entire company of the new people of God was gathered in prayer before Him
in His Temple.
In his sermon, Peter declared that what had
occurred was the fulfillment of a well-known prophecy from the Book of Joel
(Joel 2:28-32 - “In the last days,
I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh”). The promise was in the
past; the fulfillment had arrived.
Peter exhorted his audience to “repent and
be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins; and you
will receive the free–gift of the Holy Spirit.” This “free-gift” he
identified to be “The promise of the Holy Spirit.” The long-awaited gift
of the Spirit was now available to “you and to your children, and to all
those who are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God will call” (Luke 24:45-49, Acts 2:38-39).
The language reflects not only the prophecy from
Joel but, also, the promised blessing of Abraham for all nations:
(Genesis 12:3) - “That I
may bless them who bless thee, But him who maketh light of thee will I curse — So
shall be blessed in thee all the families of the earth.”
(Galatians
3:13-14) – “Christ hath redeemed us out of the curse of the law,
having become in our behalf a curse; — because it is written — Cursed is every
one that hangeth upon a tree; — In order that unto the nations the
blessing of Abraham might come about in Jesus Christ — in order that the
promise of the Spirit we might receive through means of the faith.”
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The gift of the Spirit is the sign that the
messianic age of fulfillment has dawned. Paul described this gift as the
“first-fruits of the Spirit,” language derived from the original feast
of Pentecost. He also called it the “promise of the Father” and equated
it with the “blessing of Abraham” (Romans 8:23, Exodus
23:16, Leviticus 23:10-14).
In Colossians 2:16-17, Paul wrote,
“let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with
regard to a festival or a new moon or Sabbath.” Such things were mere shadows
of what was to come, but the substance is now found in Jesus; in him, all God’s
promises find their “yea” and “amen,” including the feast of
Pentecost (2 Corinthians 1:20, Galatians 4:3-10, Hebrews 8:5).
The appointed feasts of Yahweh were types and
shadows of the reality to come. The long-anticipated time of fulfillment arrived
in Jesus; the time of the shadows and types ceased with his resurrection and
enthronement at God’s right hand. What the feasts pointed to had become reality
in him.
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