Gospels Part 013
In today’s lesson we look at the annual Holy Day of the Feast of Pentecost. We will explore what this holy time teaches us about Jesus Christ’s role in God’s plan.
Fifty days after Jesus Christ had been resurrected, it was early summer and the first Christians were celebrating Pentecost at the beginning of the wheat harvest in the Holy Land. As recorded in Acts 2, that turned out to be quite a day! On that day the New Testament Church first received the Holy Spirit from God. Suddenly the Feast of Weeks or Firstfruits (other names for the Feast of Pentecost) took on a new meaning for them. The shadow of this Feast had now become a reality! Pentecost would become the Church’s anniversary of the receiving of God’s Spirit. As a continuation of the first century New Testament Church, we continue to observe this day and consider its meaning then and in the future for those who respond to God’s invitation to follow Him and become members of His eternal family.
Jesus Christ revealed the significance of this Feast by sending the Holy Spirit on this day. He had earlier told the disciples in Luke 24:49:
"Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
How would that Spirit come to them? Notice what Jesus said in John 15:26:
"But when the Helper comes, [which] I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth [which] proceeds from the Father, [it] will testify of Me."
So how would they receive that Spirit on Pentecost, and how do we receive that Spirit today? As Jesus said here, He would send it to us from the Father. We do not receive the Holy Spirit without the involvement of Jesus Christ.
God’s Spirit plays a crucial role in the life of Christians. When a person receives God’s Spirit on repentance and baptism, that Spirit begins a process of spiritual transformation in the person’s life, a transformation the Bible calls conversion. Through this process, we shed our own way of thinking and living and allow Jesus Christ’s attitude and way of life to guide everything we do.
Paul described this life-transforming change in Galatians 2:20:
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
So, Jesus Christ sends the Holy Spirit from the Father, and then through God’s Spirit, Jesus Christ can live again within us, empowering us to live a truly godly life. The old person is crucified with Christ—put to death as symbolized by baptism—and now a new person lives as though Jesus Christ were living again within us. So, we see that Jesus Christ is at the center of this process, too.
Pentecost is also called the Feast of Firstfruits. Those who are truly God’s people in this age are the firstfruits of God’s plan of salvation. We read about that in Revelation 14:4, speaking of the 144,000:
"These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb."
And Jesus Christ Himself is called the first of the firstfruits. We read that in 1 Corinthians 15:20-23:
"But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming."
So, we see again that Jesus is at the center of the Feast of Firstfruits. He is the first of the firstfruits, and He also lives again in the lives of believers through the Holy Spirit which He sends to us. Yet the ultimate fulfillment of this Feast will only be realized after He returns to earth to establish God’s Kingdom, when all people will have access to God’s Spirit.
If you’d like to learn more about this biblical Feast and its meaning, search ucg.org for “Pentecost.” You’ll find dozens of articles and sermons explaining its meaning in depth.
© Scott Ashley, 2025. All rights reserved.
Course Content
Scott Ashley
Scott Ashley was managing editor of Beyond Today magazine, United Church of God booklets and its printed Bible Study Course until his retirement in 2023. He also pastored three congregations in Colorado for 10 years from 2011-2021. He and his wife, Connie, live near Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Ashley attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, graduating in 1976 with a theology major and minors in journalism and speech. It was there that he first became interested in publishing, an industry in which he worked for 50 years.
During his career, he has worked for several publishing companies in various capacities. He was employed by the United Church of God from 1995-2023, overseeing the planning, writing, editing, reviewing and production of Beyond Today magazine, several dozen booklets/study guides and a Bible study course covering major biblical teachings. His special interests are the Bible, archaeology, biblical culture, history and the Middle East.
