Today’s Verse and Thought
“On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ”(Acts 1:4–5)
From yesterday- During those last 40 days, Jesus instructed all His disciples to go out into all the world and tell them the good news about the Kingdom Of God. But before they began, they were to wait another 10 days.
On day 50, something new was going to happen.
The Church Age is Born - Day 50
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”(Acts 2:1-4)
Jesus ministered to His followers for forty days after His resurrection. Then His final instruction to His disciples was to wait for “the gift” that God was going to give them. After that, He ascended into heaven right in front of their eyes with the promise that He would come back the same way.
“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”(Acts 1:11)
The disciples didn’t know how long they would have to wait in Jerusalem, or exactly how “the gift” that Jesus promised would become known to them; they just knew that Jesus told them, “wait.”
And so they waited.
“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”(Psalms 27:4)
They ended up waiting for ten days before the Gift of the Spirit finally came to them. But why ten days? Why not seven, or twelve, or three? Because it marks the 50th day since Jesus resurrection.
Fifty days after Jesus rose from the dead, ordinary people were given the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit for all who put their faith in Jesus and declared that He was their Lord and Savior.
“The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.”(1 Corinthians 2:14)
OK, but what is the big deal about 50 days?
Before we discuss the significance of day 50, we need to go back in time and understand just a little about some of the Jewish celebrations.
Hang in there with me, it will make sense in the end.
Why do we need to know about ancient Hebrew festivities?
Growing up in church, I don’t recall hearing about any Jewish feasts. I knew that the Jews didn’t celebrate Christmas or Easter (instead they had Hanukkah and Passover) but that was the extent of my knowledge of anything Jewish.
So why do Christians need to know about Jewish celebrations? Primarily because not understanding the significance of them actually obscures the true importance of how they connect to our Christian faith today.
And as you’ll recall, Jesus was a Hebrew from the tribe of Judah - and the Patriarchs were Hebrew/Israeli - so anything historically Israeli/Hebrew/Jewish is foundational to all things Christian.
Back when Moses received the Levitical Law on Mt. Sinai, God instructed the Hebrews (later known as “the Jews”) to celebrate seven yearly feasts. These seven appointed festivals are found in Leviticus 23 where God outlines what the Israelites are to observe, and why.
These festivals, are often referred to as "appointed times,” and were ordained by God approx. 1400 years prior to the time of Christ. All the feasts have a spiritual significance relating to Jesus. As a Christian, we don’t usually learn about Jewish feasts, primarily because we are not under the Jewish Law that required participation.
But they are significant to understanding how the Church Age plays into them.
And just as a mention, our Gregorian calendar is not the same one that is used in the Bible. So never try and calculate any dates using our calendar. You will get very confused.
In fact, the calendar that the Jews use today isn’t even the correct Biblical calendar. So don’t get too confused by our dates vs Jewish dates. We will go over the explanation of calendars in another study.
For today, I just want us to have a general idea of when these feasts took place and why. Here is a quick overview of each:
The Seven Jewish Feasts
1. Passover (Pesach)
Celebrated the 15th of Nisan (March to April). This is a seven day celebration that includes 3 separate feasts - Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits.
Exodus 12:1-28, Leviticus 23:5
The Hebrews were to slaughter a lamb, place its blood on their doorposts, and eat the lamb with unleavened bread. Passover commemorates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and the “passing over” of their homes during the final plague that took the firstborn males in Egypt. When the death angel saw the blood on the doorposts, he would “passover” that house.
2. Feast of Unleavened Bread (Chag HaMatzot)
Celebrated starting on the 15th of Nisan (March-April) same time as Passover.
Exodus 12:15-20, Leviticus 23:6-8
This feast commemorates the “haste” with which the Israelites left Egypt to go into the wilderness. Having no time to let the yeast rise in the bread before they escaped, they had to make unleavened bread, or as we might call it, “flatbread.” They were to eat unleavened bread for seven days, and no leavened (yeast) products were allowed in the home during this time.
3. Feast of Firstfruits (Yom HaBikkurim)
Celebrated the 16th of Nisan (March-April) same timeframe as Passover.
Leviticus 23:9-14
The Feast of Firstfruits is a celebration of the spring harvest. The Hebrews offered a “grain offering” of barley which was the first grain of the spring harvest.
The first sheaf of the barley that was harvested was presented to God in the Temple as an offering for His provisions for another year.
4. Feast of Weeks (Shavuot, also called Pentecost*)
The feast of weeks is celebrated seven weeks after the date of the Passover in May or early June (total of 49 days and on the 50th day is the celebration).
Exodus 34:22, Leviticus 23:15-22, Deuteronomy 16:9-12
They first harvested barley, and then they harvested the wheat at the end. This marks the end of the spring harvest.
This date also commemorates the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, which occurred 50 days after the Exodus. This was a time of offering the firstfruits from the wheat harvest and celebrating God's covenant with Israel
*(Pente = fifty hence the word Pentecost)
5. Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah)
Celebrated on 1st and 2nd of Tishrei (the first month of the year in Israel). This would be during September on our calendar, but would be celebrated like we celebrate January 1 at the start of our “new year”.
Leviticus 23:23-25
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, marked by the blowing of the shofar (ram's horn) to signal the beginning of the Ten Days of Repentance, which culminate in Yom Kippur, the next feast. The Israelites were to gather for a day of rest and reflection, blowing the trumpet as a call to repentance and renewal.
6. Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)
Celebrated 10th of Tishrei.
Leviticus 16:29-34, Leviticus 23:26-32
Significance: Yom Kippur is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, dedicated to repentance and seeking atonement for sins.
Details: The high priest would make atonement for the sins of Israel, and the people would fast and pray for forgiveness.
7. Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)
Celebrated 15th to 22nd of Tishrei which coincides with our late September early October.*
Leviticus 23:33-43, Deuteronomy 16:13-15
Sukkot commemorates the 40 years the Israelites wandered in the desert, living in temporary shelters or “sukkahs.”
This celebration also commemorates the fall harvest of fruits like grapes, figs, and olives. Jews are commanded to live in temporary booths (sukkahs) during this festival, as a way to remember the wilderness wandering when they lived in tents.
*October 7th 2023 was the day that Hammas attacked Israel. It was on the Israeli Feast of Tabernacles.
The Significance of 50 Days
Jesus was crucified on the 14th of Nisan (the first month of the Jewish calendar), which was the day before the Passover feast began at sundown.
This date coincides with the Jewish custom of slaughtering the “Passover lambs” in the afternoon on the 14th of Nisan, just before the evening meal begins. This would have been the day of preparation for Passover.
Isn’t that amazing? Some would say it is just a “coincidence.”
I think not. But wait, there’s more.
To be continued…
Today’s Question
Today’s Prayer
Father as I consider the entirety of Jewish history, I never realized how intertwined it was with our faith today. Why I never understood that is a bit of a mystery. Maybe I had teachers who just didn’t know? Or maybe the Church doesn’t see any need? I don’t know exactly why I was never taught, but today I see how significant Jewish history is. Because in many ways, it is our history too. I know that I am a Gentile by birth, but I am a Jew in a sense because you adopted me. I want to know our history and know what it means to us today. I think Christians have missed out on some really important things by not knowing history. I thank you Father that I have access to the knowledge today. I thank you that you have brought me into your family. And I am so amazed at how complex and interwoven all of the history is. It is truly mind-blowing to me. Thank you for opening our minds and eyes to the beauty of your Word. We serve an awesome God. All praise and glory and honor belong to you now and always. Amen ❤️