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Shavuot Time For Counting: Pentecost Law And Spirit
by Jim Gerrish

One day after the last day of Passover, Jewish people all over the world begin a scriptural countdown to Shavuot/Pentecost called "The counting of the Omer."

As Christians we hear the word and are familiar with it, but Pentecost, like so many other things in our heritage, has become clouded and hidden from our understanding. We are not able to connect up with the rich traditions, which surround the holiday.

We know from the book of Acts that the Holy Spirit was given to the Church on this day (Acts 2:1). We also know that on one occasion the apostle Paul sought to arrive back at Jerusalem for this festival (Acts 20:16). From the New Testament we do not know much else about this celebration.

When we turn back to the pages of the Old Testament and when we look at the many Jewish traditions about this holiday, our appreciation of Pentecost can be greatly enhanced. We find that the holiday has many names - with each name representing some facet of its meaning. In the New Testament it is called Pentecost. This name is taken from the Greek rendering of the number 50. Pentecost falls on the 50th day after the offering of firstfruits during the Passover season. The celebration is sometimes called Hag Ha Bikkurim, or the Festival of Firstfruits. This name may cause the festival to become confused with the offering of firstfruits during Passover. Actually both events are closely connected, as we shall see.

The most common Hebrew name for the Pentecost festival is "Shavuot" or "weeks." Again, this name is derived from the fact that Pentecost occurs 50 days or seven weeks after the offering up of the firstfruits at Passover. We learn from the scripture that on the first day of the week after the Sabbath during Passover, the firstfruits were offered to the Lord (Lev. 23:9-11). The waving of the firstfruits is a clear sign of a coming harvest. One tradition tells us that the firstfruits of the barley harvest were brought up from the warmer area of the Galilee and offered to the Lord. To Christians, this certainly is a reminder of Jesus who was actually called the firstfruits in the New Testament (I Cor. 15:20,23), and who came up from the Galilee to be offered.

Although there are many traditions concerning Pentecost, the clearest and most obvious meaning is connected with the idea of the coming harvest. Pentecost as well as most of the other seven festivals is related directly to the agricultural theme.

As the very first ripe grain is waved before the Lord during the Passover season, the message is clear that there is to be a coming harvest. In Israel at this point the counting of the omer is begun. The omer was an ancient grain measure, again illustrating the theme of harvest. For fifty days after Passover the omer is counted. This seems to be some sort of anticipation of the coming harvest. On the fiftieth day of the counting of the omer the festival of Pentecost occurs.

Thus, Firstfruits is the sign of the harvest, and Pentecost is the beginning of the fulfillment. It is interesting that on Pentecost both the barley and wheat are ripe. There are also a wide assortment of early fruits, which get ripe at this time.

We know from the Talmud that during this feast, the firstfruits of the wheat harvest were brought to the Temple by the farmers. We also know that many other firstfruits were also brought, such as grapes, figs, honey, etc. The farmers themselves brought up this offering in baskets, amidst much celebration and with the music of flutes.

For the last two thousand years there has been no Temple, so it has been difficult for the Jewish people to celebrate this festival as it once was celebrated. Today in some communities of Israel the children march around carrying decorated baskets of fruit. They are usually dressed in white and have wreaths of flowers upon their heads. The offerings they bring are given to the Jewish National Fund in lieu of being taken to the Temple in Jerusalem.

The idea of the giving of the Spirit and the resulting fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) cannot be divorced from this celebration. The Holy Spirit came to empower Jesus' disciples and to make them fruitful in ways undreamed of before his coming. Perhaps the fruit of the Spirit are most clearly illustrated in the story of Ruth, which is traditionally read during this celebration.

Ruth was a Moabitess who lovingly followed her mother-in-law to Israel. She seems to have come during the period of grain harvest and possibly even during Pentecost. Her life expresses the highest love and commitment to her mother-in-law, causing Ruth to forsake her own heritage in order to serve and be with her. We see many beautiful spiritual qualities in this young woman. Her life was marked by obedience (Ruth 3:5), kindness (3:10), holiness (3:10), discretion (3:14), love (4:15), and many more qualities, which are listed elsewhere as the fruit of a Spirit-led life.

While Pentecost may be considered a harvest, it is certainly not the complete harvest. That theme is developed by the fall festivals, particularly the festival of Tabernacles, when all the fruit is gathered in (Deut. 16:13). We can know from this that the giving of the Holy Spirit is a promise of similar and greater things to come. The Apostle Paul stated in Rom. 8:23 that we now have the firstfruits, and that we groan within for the total redemption. Quite simply, the history of the world will end with a great spiritual movement spoken of in type by both Pentecost and Firstfruits at Passover. We can see from this that Pentecost has great significance for us, as Christians in helping us understand the directions and ends to which God is moving in the earth.

Over the centuries another ancient tradition has developed around Pentecost. This tradition is probably the most important one so far as the Jewish community is concerned. Pentecost is seen by the Jews as a festival marking the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai. Since offerings can no longer be taken to the Temple in Jerusalem, this emphasis on the giving of the Law has become paramount.

When we stop and consider this emphasis we will find that it is not far removed from the idea of the giving of the Spirit and the spiritual fruitfulness, which follows. Danny Litvin in his little booklet entitled. "Pentecost is Jewish" says that "every function of the Torah (Law) is also a function of the Holy Spirit." After all, didn't God speak through the prophet saying, "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Jer. 31:33). We Christians believe that the Holy Spirit guides and teaches us (Jn. 16:13). Also, the Holy Spirit brings about fruitfulness in our lives as we have seen from Galatians 5:22-23.

This year the festival of Pentecost or Shavuot falls May 22 and 23. It is our hope that many of you can enter into this festival with new interest and awareness. It is certainly our hope and prayer that each of you will be found living fruitful lives as pictured for us in the Gospel of John, chapter 15, and especially that the fruit of the Spirit enumerated in Galatians may be present and abundant in your lives.

The holiday of Shavuot (Feast of Weeks), one of the three Biblical pilgrimage-to-Jerusalem festivals, marks the Jewish People's receiving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai 3,325 years ago.