What’s the point of Pentecost?
If a child of a Hebrew family asked that question, the father and mother would know that they had failed as parents. The Hebrew faith finds its roots in history: a history with God–the God who hears and answers.
The first song in Scripture is called the Song of Moses. It was written in response to God delivering the Hebrews from the bondage of Pharaoh. It was written as worship to the God who manifests Himself as a warrior. God spoke to Moses and a mob of people who had known nothing but slavery as they weighed their options. Roaring behind them, the chariots of Pharaoh’s seemingly invincible armies that had held them captive for several life times, and before them lay the seemingly inevitable watery death of the Red sea. Into that impossibility, God spoke, “Stand still and watch the Lord rescue you!” Their waiting resulted in the parting of the Sea and the drowning of their enemies. Moses’ Song is a tribute. “The Lord is a warrior; Yahweh is his name!”
No one much sings that song any more.
Yes, we sing, “God is Awesome,” and He is.
Yes, we sing, “God is Merciful,” and He is.
Yes, we sing, “God is Kind,” and He is.
Yes, we sing, “God is Our Father,” and He is.
But no one much sings or proclaims, “Our Father is a Fighter!” If you mess with His kids, you will find a furious Father who fights for His Family.
Fifty days post-Passover, God birthed the nation that He had promised Abraham–the nation called Israel. Pentecost is the feast in which the Hebrew people celebrated not only freedom, but also the God who fights for children–His Children. God gave specific commandments to this newly formed nation, “Don’t forget anything of what you have seen. Don’t let your heart wander off. Teach what you’ve seen to your children and grandchildren.”
In the book of Acts, the Hebrew descendants gathered to celebrate this victory once again. Just before this feast, Jesus spoke to a handful of fearful nobodies who found themselves facing an equally impossible task, “You will be My witnesses to the ends of the earth.” How? “Wait for the Holy Spirit to empower you!” And in the midst of the feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit birthed a “New People.”
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