Jews around the world are wrapping up their celebration of Shavuot…the Feast of Weeks. The reference is to the span of 7 weeks since the Feast of First Fruits. Penta equals 50, thus Pentecost is also referencing those 50 days between the Feast of First Fruits and this special day we know as Pentecost. In Jewish tradition, it is a celebration of harvest. Likewise, in Christian tradition, it denotes a harvest of a different kind.

Keep in mind that each of the 7 feasts of the Lord prescribed for the Jewish people in Leviticus 23 were merely a shadow of something to come. Jesus, who fulfills each of those feasts, is the substance.

¹⁶ So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, ¹⁷ which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. 

~Colossians 2:16-17

Through Jewish eyes, the celebration is all about God’s gift of the Torah at Mt Sinai, but through Christian eyes, Acts 2:1-4 describes the coming of the promised Holy Spirit upon believers, resulting in the birth of the church and a harvest of souls! The giving of the Torah, as important as it was, was a mere shadow of the substance that was to come. Yes, we can learn from the shadow, but our focus should always be the substance! Let’s illustrate…

I love the promises of John 14! First, He encourages His followers (including us, many years later!) that He is going away to prepare a place for us and will return to take us where He is. A few verses later, Jesus utters the familiar words, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

His inquisitive disciples wanted to see the Father, but Jesus told them He and the Father are one, so to know Jesus is to know the Father. Then, in verses 16-17, Jesus introduced a totally new concept! He told them that when He goes away, He will send a Helper who will not only dwell with them (as Jesus had done), but would INDWELL them! The Helper (Holy Spirit) would move in!

Sure enough, 50 days following His resurrection, the Holy Spirit was given! To this day, believers have Holy Spirit power living inside of us, and He will live large if we don’t hinder Him! That is worth celebrating!

To wrap it up, think of this:

• Bethlehem was God with us
• Calvary was God for us
• Pentecost was God in us

Indeed, Immanuel (“God with us”) took on human flesh in order to go to Calvary to sacrifice Himself for our sin. Then, He didn’t leave us orphans, but rather sent the Holy Spirit to guide, direct and empower us.

We need a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit day-by-day. Are you living in victory with power over sin? That is life for us when the Holy Spirit has His way. If, however, we are entangled in worry, guilt, fear, sin, etc, then we simply need to ask the Holy Spirit for a fresh anointing! We don’t need to be “saved” again, but we do need supernatural power found only in the Holy Spirit to be able live victoriously.

Today, we celebrate with our Jewish friends, and I pray you embrace the substance, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit who lives inside of you!

Happy Pentecost, dear friends!

PS: Today is launch day of Real Life Network, which will be a fantastic resource for great teaching, family friendly content and encouragement in life. What better time to launch than Pentecost Sunday! Check it out!