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Lessons from the Festival of Pentecost
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, with the Pentecostal Sunday on the anvil (to be celebrated in the
Universal Church on 24-5-2026), Yours Truly is inspired to share this Message on the Festival of Pentecost using two
broad sub-headings
I) Significance of the Festival of Pentecost from the Jewish Perspective and
II) Significance of the Festival of Pentecost from the Christian Perspective
Before coming to the above-mentioned Broad sub-headings, Yours Truly would like to make some general, pertinent observations
under headings such as Historical/Sequential. Directional and Agricultural.
When it comes to 2 Broad Sub-headings, I would also under a particular subject like say Size, Protection, Target, Signs… use opposites eg…Small and Big,
Visible and Invisible et al to bring forth the lessons clearly and creatively in the manner of the Preacher who endeavoured to be creative in his preaching
(Eccl 12:10…hmmm. …He used Words of delight” ESV).
Firstly
A) Historical and Sequential
Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln,
and the whole mountain trembled greatly.- Exo 19:18
To illustrate, just as in Modern Indian History, Republic Day commemorating the introduction of Indian Constitution (which ensures Law and Order in the
Indian polity besides bringing stability in the Nation) is celebrated annually on January 26th, for the Jews Festival of Pentecost is vital for it is a
commemoration of giving of The Law at Mount Sinai by the Lord God of Abraham 50 days after their liberation from the Egyptian Slavery. Needless to say,
just as the word “Quadra” is linked to number 4 and “Hexa” to number 6, “Penta” is always associated with 5. So after 5*10 days (50) of their
liberation from Egyptian Slavery which Jews celebrate as the Day of Passover, the Event of they getting the Law which was going to be foundational for their peaceful,
stable and secure existence in the new fertile land
(Deu 11:11 -
they were going to inhabit as promised to their ancestors -
Gen 15:18)
was indeed a milestone event in their rich, spiritual history. As such, it necessitated it’s remembrance by way of an annual celebration along with 2 other Festivals
(Passover and Festival of Tabernacles at different times in their annual Calendar) in a Divinely Designated Place
(Deu 16:16
…for many years at Shiloh where the Tabernacle housing the Lord’s presence was there and later at Jerusalem where King Solomon built a Temple for the Lord’s Presence to dwell therein-
2 Chro 5:13-14).
The calculation of 50 days can be arrived at by factoring in the Day the Jews left Egypt (around April 15th-
Numbers 33:3)
and their arrival at Mount Sinai around June 1st
(Exo 19:1-2)
which adds to 47 days (including the days of Exit from Egypt and arrival at Mount Sinai. In Moon based Lunar Calendar of the Jews every month has 30 days only).
Now factor in 3 days of preparation in the matters of purity and holiness
(Exo 19:10-11)
before the Lord descended like Fire on Mount Sinai to give the Law, it would add up to 50 days.
For us Christians’, it is a milestone event as 50 Days after Easter (which signals Divine Acceptance by our Heavenly Father of the completion of Redemption
Work by God’s Pascal Lamb our Saviour of delivering us from our sins by dying in our stead on the Passover Day-
Rom 4:24-25/Rom 5:1/1 Cor 5:7),
Pentecost Signals giving of the Holy Spirit to us.
B) Directional…
If the Law given at Mount Sinai 50 days after completion of their liberation from the Egyptian Slavery would guide the Jews in ALL matters of their life
(including mundane matters such as how to set up their toilets in the near the War Zone-
Deu 23:12-14)
then the Lord’s Spirit for us Christians indwelling us from Day
of our Salvation (liberation from Sin on accepting and appropriating Christ’s atoning Work on The Cross) would guide us in ALL matters of our lives
(John 2:27)
making the act of glorifying our Heavenly Father at ALL TIMES the sole aim of our lives
(1 Cor 10:31).
I have heard testimonies that those living in rural, remote villages of India after having accepted Lord Jesus as their Saviour and being sealed by the Holy Spirit,
even while being illiterate (they may not be able to read The Bible) are being amazingly led by the Spirit, living God-pleasing Holy lives in conformity with The Bible.
C) Agricultural
Also one needs to remember that timing of the Festival of the Pentecost also known as the Festival of Weeks (at the end of 7 Weeks of their liberation from Egyptian Slavery,
the good Lord started giving them The Law) in the Jewish Calendar, would coincide with their first grain harvest (month of May-June) whereby they were instructed to
bring in thanksgiving their first grain offerings also to the Presence of the Lord at this time
(Exo 34:22/Num 28:26).
The NT dimension and equivalent of the above is that for the Apostles (the first workers’ in the Lord vineyard-Matt 20:1-16), the Festival of Pentecost brought in a rich harvest of about 3000 souls into the Lord’s Kingdom (Acts 2:40-41).
Viewed from yet another angle, the good Lord who had called the Early Apostles to be “fishers of men” (Matt 4:19), ensured that their efforts on the Day of Pentecost yielded “a big catch” just as some of their physical, realistic efforts in the past (inspired and blessed by the Lord) portending the events of Acts 2:1-41 had also resulted in “a big catch” (Luke 5:4-6/John 21:5-11)!!!
Now let’s focus on other aspects of the Festival of Pentecost and the Event of the Law being given to the Jews at Mount Sinai exclusively from the
JEWISH PERSPECTIVE
1. Size:One and Small/Many and Big
Obey them completely, and you will display your wisdom and intelligence among the surrounding nations. When they hear all these decrees, they will exclaim,
‘How wise and prudent are the people of this great nation!’-
Deu 4:6
Israel by itself from Dan to Beersheba (Northern most point to its Southern tip of its border-
1 Sam 3:20/2 Sam 3:10)
spanned only about 240 kms (Smaller than the Southern State of Telangana in India). So in terms of its’s geographical size it was small in the
Biblical times in relation to other Countries (eg…Land Area of Egypt was 45 times bigger than that of Israel) but great amongst many relatively bigger nations
on account of The Law it’s citizens obeyed for The Divine Law to which they submitted exuded wisdom and equity principle of a fair God.
For instance, at a time the unwritten Law operating in many countries was “Might is right” (with stronger men dictating terms to their weaker
counterparts…Hey…is it not operative even now!!!), there were heart-warming Laws like the one below which cared for the poorer and weaker sections of the
Jewish Society and the one which was pivotal to the Story of Ruth who would go on to play a role in the lineage of the Saviour of the World.
“When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop.
It is the same with your grape crop—do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground.
Leave them for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the LORD your God.-
Levi 19:9-10
One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go out into the harvest fields to pick up the stalks of grain left behind by anyone who is kind
enough to let me do it.”Naomi replied, “All right, my daughter, go ahead.” So Ruth went out to gather grain behind the harvesters. And as it happened,
she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz, the relative of her father-in-law, Elimelech-
Ruth 2:2-3.
2. Protection: Visible/Invisible
Three times each year every man in Israel must appear before the Sovereign, the LORD, the God of Israel. I will drive out the other nations ahead of you and
expand your territory, so no one will covet and conquer your land while you appear before the LORD your God three times each year.-
Exo 34:23-24
In the Indian context, we are quite familiar with the march past of the different regiments of the Indian Army at Kartavya Path (formerly known as Rajpath in New Delhi)
on the Republic Day every year. Now the decisive question is…whether the entire Indian Army (including those soldiers guarding the Border) is summoned to
New Delhi to participate in the Republic Day Parade? No way!!! For unguarded Border posts would mean giving a red carpet welcome (sic…)
to terrorists or armies of the hostile neighbouring nations to infiltrate our great Nation!!! So only some Soldiers of the different regiments are called
to participate in the march-past, with other brave ones’ diligently guarding the Border.
Contrast this with the apparently “risky” Divine instruction in
Exo 34:23-24
that ALL Jewish men are required to come over to Shiloh or Jerusalem to participate in 3 annual Festivals (including the One of Pentecost) with the “invisible
“army of angels
(2 Kings 6:17)
guarding the Israeli Borders from infiltration of hostile neighboring Nations (like Ammon, Moab, Edom or Philistine).
This was one “silent miracle” (3 times a year) which would occur annually and in the 1500 years of Biblical History of Israel from the time of giving of The Law,
there was not even one instance of invasion by hostile neighbouring nations, when all the Israeli Men went to participate in 3 annual Festivals leaving their
Border Posts unguarded!!! Hallelujah!!!
3. Repentance: Godly/Ungodly
At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem.-
Acts 2:5
Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”-Acts 2:37
After hearing Peter's sermon what brought Godly Jews virtually to their knees . _Hey...they were not Alcoholics, Womanisers or Drug Addicts ,
Thieves or Murderers._ But cut in their hearts, they ask this question to Peter and to the other Apostles...
, “Brothers, what should we do?”-Acts 2:37
Let's unravel this mystery step by step.
Firstly, we need to understand that unlike in New Testament where our good Lord enters into a Covenant with each Church individually and separately (in
Rev 2-3,
in our Lord's address to the 7 Churches in Turkey, we would not see Our Lord taking the good Church at Smyrna to task for the lapses of the Church at Sardis
or taking Philadelphia Church to task for the lapses of the Church at Laodicea. By same token, we do not see Apostle Paul taking other Grecian Churches’
such as the ones’ at Phillipi or Thessalonica to task for the serious lapses found in yet another Grecian Church at Corinth-
1 Cor 1-6),
we need to remember that OT Covenant was with WHOLE NATION OF ISRAEL, as evidenced by the following Scripture portions...
For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were ALL under the cloud and that they ALL passed through the sea.
They were ALL baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They ALL ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank
from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.-
1 Cor 10:1-4
Note the number of times the word ALL is used. The good Lord did not merely deliver only Moses, Aaron and Miriam from the Egyptian slavery but the entire
Nation of Israel, brought them to Mount Sinai and entered into a NATIONAL COVENANT with them. So much even if one individual Achan sins, the good Lord would
call the entire Nation (small one at that...a stretch of only 250 kms approx from Northern extreme portion of Dan to Southern border of Beersheba-
1 Sam 3:20)
to account for the same as evidenced in the following Scripture portions...
But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things[a]; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri,[b] the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah,
took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.- Joshua 7:1
When Achan son of Zerah was unfaithful in regard to the devoted things,[a] did not wrath come on the whole community of Israel? He was not the only one
who died for his sin.- Joshua 22:20
Hey, Ezra the Priestly Scribe individually was s righteous man but when he heard about other Israelites sinning...look at his response as he knows that
the good Lord who has entered into a National Covenant with his Nation would be angry with the whole Nation...
After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves
separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites,
Egyptians and Amorites. 2 They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them.
And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness.” *When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat
down appalled. -
Ezra 9:1-3
Fast forward to the Day of Pentecost and see Peter addressing the Godly Jews who were NOT individually responsible for the Crucifixion of the
awaited Messiah but being devout they knew they ALL had a national accountability!!!
Examine the climactic words of Peter now in the last portion of his sermon...
Therefore let ALL Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”- Acts 2:36
Most of these Godly Jews were away in different places (Acts 2:9) when Jesus was crucified unjustly (by the scheming of some
envious Jewish religious Leaders) and had come to Jerusalem now for the Festival of Pentecost, but knowing they too were responsible being
under the National Covenant, they are cut to the heart and are responding with broken hearts...
...Brothers, what shall we do- Acts 2:37
Thus that day unlike say in a massive, typical Billy Graham Crusade without a traditional ALTAR Call (nothing wrong about it)
addressed to sinners like Alcoholics, Drug addicts, Womanisers et al, the heart of many a Godly Jew who till that day was part
of a National Divine Covenant (entered into with ALL the Jews at Mount Sinai about 1500 years back) was ALTERED for good!!!
Now let’s focus on the Festival of Pentecost from the
CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE (ACTS 2)
1) Jews (One and Small)/Gentiles (Big and Many)
For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is God’s powerful method of bringing all who believe it to heaven.
This message was preached first to the Jews alone, but now everyone is invited to come to God in this same way.-
Rom 1:16 (TLB)
Yes indeed starting from the Day of Pentecost (which marked the beginning of the works of the Holy Spirit in the Church History)
till Chapter 7 of the Book of Acts, Gospel was primarily preached amongst the Jews.However,when the Early Church started dwelling
in it’s own “comfort zone” in the matter of Gospel Preaching without going beyond Jerusalem when a clear instruction in
Acts 1:8
was to go centrifugally from Jerusalem to the ends of the Earth, the good Lord in His Sovereign Wisdom had to virtually reverse
Acts 1:8,
to bring forth the conditions of
Acts 8:1
(persecution) in order Gospel goes beyond Jerusalem to first Samaritans
Acts 8:5)
and other regions.
2) Written and Unwritten
“Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams,
and your young men will see visions. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on servants—men and women alike.-
Joel 2:28-29
Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen, all of you, visitors and residents of Jerusalem alike! Some
of you are saying these men are drunk! It isn’t true! It’s much too early for that! People don’t get drunk by 9:00 A.M.! No! What you see this
morning was predicted centuries ago by the prophet Joel— ‘In the last days,’ God said, ‘I will pour out my Holy Spirit upon all mankind, and your
sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men dream dreams.-
Acts 2:14-17
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that
I command him.-
Deu 18:18
Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you.-
Acts 3:22
As the unsaved Jews were all well-grounded in OT Scriptures, it was only natural for the Apostles (also of Jewish background) of the Early Church
to connect to them using the OT Prophecies about the Promised Messiah and Dispensation of the Grace Age (fuelled by the Holy Spirit) in order to
bring them to the Saving and Redemptive Grace of the Saviour. After Apostle Peter’s yet another Scripture based and Spirit anointed Message post
Pentecost
(Acts 3:11-4:4)
the population of the Church would swell from 3000 to 5000.
However amongst the Samaritans and Gentiles who were not conversant with OT Prophecies about the coming Saviour, what “delivered the goods”
as it were, in winning souls to the Lord’s Kingdom was not only Gospel Preaching laced with Messianic Prophecies but the One laced with
Extraordinary Miracles
(Acts 8:4-14/Acts 19:10-11)
for just as quoting the right WRITTEN Messianic Scripture Portions before the Jews with conviction and authority borne out of the power of the
indwelling Holy Spirit and performing miraculous signs would convince the Jews that Christian Apostles (also of Jewish background) standing
in front of them
a) are first and foremost, Men approved and endorsed by God of Abraham
b) and these Representatives of God need to be taken seriously and
c) their Words of Call to Repentance (of setting right the relationship with Lord God of Abraham through Christ His ordained Saviour)
needs to be acted upon immediately
proclaiming the Gospel laced with Signs and wonders borne out of the power of the Holy Spirit convinced the Gentiles too that Christian
Apostles standing in front of them
a) are Men of God and
b) and that their Words comprising the Call to Repentance (of setting right their relationship with Holy Creator God through His ordained
Saviour Christ) needed to be taken not only seriously but acted upon immediately
3. Signs: Gifts/Fruit
Can any Message on the Holy Spirit be ever complete without throwing light on the usage of
A) Gifts of the Holy Spirit
(1 Cor 12: 7-11):
Their impartation thereof and their subsequent works which are usually accompanied by visible
manifestation of Divine Power and the manifestation and
B) The Fruit of the Holy Spirit
(Gal 5:22-23)
which when imparted at the point of salvation may not be accompanied by any melodramatic signs but closer scrutiny of the manifestation of the
Fruit would make us discern that it is also very much a proof of Divine empowerment in a Christian's life.
If in the Chapter 2 of the Book of Acts we see conspicuous working of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Apostles with He entering
their lives by way of melodramatic anointing (vs 1-4) and sustaining their Ministry by way of very visible Signs and Wonders (vs 43),
we see the same Holy Spirit entering the lives of 3000 early believers SILENTLY and manifestation of His fruit in their lives by way of
outpouring of His LOVE into their hearts for the Lord as evidenced by their abundant love for God’s children i,e fellow Christians who were
with them
(vs 44-45/John 13:33-34/Rom 5:5/1 John 3:11).
One definite proof of one's love for invisible God is his/her love for visible God's children who are right around him/her
(John 13:33-34).
That is why the Apostles themselves did not want this Blessed Lot of 3000 believers to go and wait in any "upper room" like they did after the
Lord's ascension, for futher infilling of the Holy Spirit, for the work of the Holy Spirit by way of manifestation of His Fruit in the lives of
3000 believers was quite obvious for all to see!!!
4. Category: Apostles /3000 Believers
This leads us to yet another question, what about those accepting the Lord in 2026??? To which category would they belong…the Blessed Apostles
or the equally Blessed 3000??? The answer is obvious, they would belong to the category of 3000 in whose lives the Fruit of the Holy Spirit
would be manifested first and then depending upon their consistent growth (with they coming to know more about the Lord and Christianity through
their Pastors like the 3000 learned more and more of NT precepts from the Apostles), they too would be consequently anointed with the Gifts of
the Holy Spirit as per Lord’s Will and timing one day to be used more fruitfully in His vineyard with the Gifts being given as per their Calling
(Apostolic, Prophetical, Evangelical or Pastoral-
Eph 4:11-15/2 Tim 2:21).
In my own life, while from the day I received the Lord Jesus as my Lord and Saviour in Oct 1983 becoming righteous in the sight of my Heavenly Father,
while there was Heavenly joy and peace in my heart
(Acts 9:31/Rom 14:17)
all along, it was not until July 1989 (as I had grown in the intervening period
in Scriptural and Spiritual knowledge and was in a position to teach others about Christian faith) that Gifts of the Holy Spirit were imparted to me
in one Church Youth Meeting by way of a "special" anointing experience in the same Church wherein I was born-again 6 years before.
Dear Believer, while I am always praying that all in the Universal Church would see eye to eye on all matters including the “when and how” of the
coming of the Holy Spirit into the lives of the believers, While on the subject, I would also want everyone to remember what Lord Jesus Himself said
about the Holy Spirit. He is like a wind
(John 3:8).
We cannot dictate to a wind its course. He may have come into one Christian’s life in an exceptional way (like in the case of the Samaritan Church-
Acts 8:5-17
or Gentile Cornelius and his family
Acts 10:44-48...
in order that Jews respect Samaritans/Gentiles treating them at par with them and Samaritans in turn respect the Jews) and by the same token,
He may have come into my life like in a more normal way like in the case of 3000 believers and then anointed me at the time of entrusting me with a
Ministry
(Acts 2:38-45/ 1 Peter 4:10-11/ 5:1-4).
The Universal Church with different denominations would do well to remind itself that more than uniformity in the type of Holy Spirit-related
experiences, unity borne out of the Holy Spirit given love (Roman 5:5) is more important amongst Christian Brethren. We ought not to give any
room for any prejudice in any way but exemplify the teaching of our Lord as seen in
John 13:34-35.
“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will
prove to the world that you are my disciples.”-
John 13:34-35
However, only to substantiate what happens in the lives of most of the Christians', I am bringing this point that a new believer in 2026 belongs
to the Category of 3000 and not to that of Apostles. 2 more Scriptural evidences in this regard are…
a) If the testimony of the Apostles was “we have seen, heard and touched the Lord Jesus”
(1 John 1:1),
the testimony of 3000 would be that
we believed in Christ by faith purely on HEARING THE GOSPEL ALONE
(Rom 10:17).
It is to some of the 3000 in Pontus, Cappadocia, Ausia who were there on the Day of Pentecost
(Acts 2:9…before dispersion in Acts 8:1) Apostle Peter was writing his First Apostle (1 Peter 1:1) laced with these words of appreciation…
“Though you have NOT seen him, you love him. Though you DO NOT NOW SEE HIM, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible
and filled with glory,-
1 Peter 1:8
Does any New Born again Believer say that he has seen, heard or touched the Lord or would he say I was saved when I heard the Gospel and in
faith believed and appropriated the same in my life? The answer is obvious…is it not!!!
b) If the Apostles had The Word (teachings of NT Dispensation by virtue of their association with our Saviour for 3 and ½ years) but had the
Holy Spirit in greater measure only on the Day of Pentecost, the 3000 had the Holy Spirit from Day One (evidenced by way of their selfless
love displayed towards fellow Christians) but no full knowledge of the NT Precepts which they would learn from the Apostles
(Acts 2:42).
By the same token, believers in 2026 like the 3000 would have a measure of the Fruit of the Holy Spirit in their lives from day one but
would need to know more and more about the Christian Faith from their respective Pastors and by way of setting apart time for Prayer and
Scripture Reading (preferably from Johns Gospel and the Epistles to start with, before moving onto other Gospels and finally OT and the
Book of Revelation).
5. Nature: First Adam/Final Adam
In conclusion, I would like to state that we Christians need to thank the Lord for giving us not only The Word (to instruct us what to do…even
if it means loving our enemies) but also the Spirit (to instruct and empower us from within to act as per The Word-
Isa 59:21)
which our OT Counterparts lacked and hence panted and puffed in the matter of fully pleasing the Lord
(Acts 15:10 TLB)
…sometimes even failing very badly to reap very serious consequences.
Hmmmm…how many of the hard-hearted Jews prone to idolatry and adultery died when the Law (good by itself but innate sinful, rebellious nature
of First Adam makes one go against it-
Rom 7:7-8 TLB) was being given…
So they did, and about THREE THOUSAND men died that day.-
Exo 32:28 (TLB)
By the same token, how many were saved when the Promised Spirit was given
(Jere 31:31-33
…which first softens the hard heart making it like that of Final Adam inclined to obey God at any cost. One more Biblical term to describe
Christ is Final Adam-
1 Cor 15:45)…
And those who believed Peter were baptized—about THREE THOUSAND in all-
Acts 2:41 (TLB).
Wow!!! Same figure of 3,000!!!
No Wonder Apostle Paul declares “Letter (when given to a person with the heart of First Adam) kills but the Spirit gives life
(making the concerned person imbibe the qualities of the Final Adam)” -
2 Cor 3:6
So my Christian Brethren, wherever you are, having foretaste of Heaven in your hearts (living waters overflowing therein-
John 7:37/2 Cor 1:22)
praise the Heavenly Father for making you enjoy a bit of Heaven right here on Earth even as He has made you a Citizen of Heaven
(Phil 3:20).
Let all of us also remember and praise Him for not only making us Citizens' of Heaven but also for guaranteeing our safe arrival
therein by depositing His Spirit within us (Eph 1:13-14 TLB) by way of a process which began 2000 years ago on the Festival of Pentecost.
Hallelujah…MORE LOUDLY PLEASE. FOR NO THEOLOGY CAN END WITHOUT DOXOLOGY!!!
Pastor Suresh Manoharan
A Lowly Servant,
Rehoboth Prayer House, SR Nagar, Hyderabad,
India
www.JandsmMinistries.com
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