Pentecost symbolized a new beginning for God’s people as they left Egypt. They had moved to Egypt as families of the twelve sons of Jacob. Then they lived in Egypt 430 years, most of it in slavery. They had always been told what to do by their overseers.
Then God came and worked through Moses to free His people from bondage. It took ten plagues for Pharaoh to finally release the people. They had witnessed the miracles of the plagues and experienced the protection of the Passover lamb. Then God parted the Red Sea and fed them with food and quail in the wilderness. Finally, God brought them to the foot of Mount Sinai.
There God would begin to make a group of twelve tribes into one people and nation through the Law. It was a new beginning for the nation of Israel.
Pentecost was the Beginning of the Church
Jesus came to earth and at the age of thirty began His ministry. He chose twelve men to be His followers. Jesus mentored these men over three years and trained them so that they would be able to continue His ministry when Jesus returned to the Father.
Acts 1: 3 During the forty days after he (Jesus) suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.
4 Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. 5 John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”[1]
Jesus knew His disciples would need the empowering of the Holy Spirit to carry out the task He had trained them for. They were obedient and waited in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit. When it fell on the Feast of Pentecost, it was the beginning of the church.
Luke gives us insight into how the church grew. Acts 2: 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.[2]
Pentecost Still Symbolizes a New Beginning for Each of Us
It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can be drawn into a relationship with God. Ephesians 2:19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.[3]
[1-3] Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.