PENTECOST
The word “Pentecost” is derived from the Greek word for “fifty.”
The Day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts 2, occurred 50 days after
Jesus’ resurrection and 10 days after His ascension.
The day celebrates the sending of the Holy Spirit to the disciples
following Jesus’ ascension. On the 50th
day after the Sabbath of Passover week, the Jews celebrated a
festival of thanksgiving for the harvest. It was known by a number
of different names:
The “Feast of Weeks” was the second-most important festival for the
Jews. (The most important was Passover.) This explains why so many
people from all over the Roman empire were in Jerusalem on the day
when the Holy Spirit was sent (see Acts 2:8?11).
The Day of Pentecost is seen as the culmination of the Easter
season. In many calendars, the day is listed as “Whitsunday.” This
comes from the phrase “White Sunday,” and refers to practice of the
newly baptized appearing in their white, baptismal garments on that
day.
The color of the day is red, symbolizing the tongues of fire that
appeared on the apostles.
In the early church, Jesus’ ascension and the sending of the Spirit
were celebrated together.
By the seventh century, Pentecost had become such an important
festival that the whole week following was set aside to observe it.
Law courts were not in session, and most work was forbidden. By the
12th
century this was limited to only three days. In most European
countries the Monday after Pentecost is
still observed as a holiday.
Courtesy of St.
Paul’s Lutheran Church, (Sunday Bulletin), Rev. Dr.
Kevin Fast
Philippians 1:4-6
