Three times a year, Jerusalem filled with people as they came to celebrate the three main festivals. These were Passover/Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and the Festival of Shelters (fall Festival). God had commanded that His people meet at the Temple to celebrate these festivals.
Deuteronomy 16: 16 “Each year every man in Israel must celebrate these three festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of Shelters. On each of these occasions, all men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he chooses, but they must not appear before the Lord without a gift for him. 17 All must give as they are able, according to the blessings given to them by the Lord your God.[1]
Jerusalem was Filled with Pilgrims at Pentecost
By the time of Jesus, Jews had spread across the Roman Empire. The goal of observant Jews was to be able to celebrate one of the pilgrimage Festivals in Jerusalem. Realistically, if a Jew lived many miles away from Jerusalem, they may only be able to celebrate a festival in Jerusalem once in a lifetime. Travel was expensive and time-consuming, limiting options.
The Festival of Weeks, or Pentecost, was well-attended. Passover/Unleavened Bread was early in the spring, and travel could be more difficult. By the time of Pentecost, the weather was better, and traveling was easier. This meant that at the time of the giving of the Holy Spirit, many Jews from all parts of the Roman Empire would have swelled the population of Jerusalem several times over.
Acts 2: 7 They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, 8 and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! 9 Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” 12 They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.[2]
The Jerusalem Visitors Would Take the Good News of Jesus with Them
The Jewish pilgrims would have spoken many languages. The Holy Spirit enabled uneducated disciples from the backwater area of Galilee to speak the languages of the Jewish pilgrims. This way, they would understand what God had done through Jesus. They would take this new knowledge with them as they returned home. Not only would they be able to tell their Jewish community about Jesus, but since these people lived in Gentile areas, they would also be able to share Jesus with their Gentile neighbors.
The two loaves of the Pentecost offering, the Jews and Gentiles, were coming together in a new beginning of the church of Jesus on earth. To hear how Jerusalem filled with people and how that affected the church, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/the-festival-of-pentecost
[1,2] Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.