By David Webb

Pentecost was indeed a time of great joy.  Most of the harvests throughout the countryside had already been reaped, and now a period of rest and enjoyment lay before the people.  This great festival of the Day of First Fruits would be a holy convocation in which no servile work would be done, and a day when all males were to appear before Jehovah in His sanctuary, to make the appointed sacrifices and offerings.  Tradition gave this day another important meaning, for many believed it to be the very day upon which Jehovah had given His law to the people of Israel through Moses on Mount Sinai.

Therefore, Pentecost took on a two-fold meaning for the people as a day to celebrate the great harvest, and a day to celebrate the giving of the Law.

As the morning sacrifices began, the great Temple courtyards were filled to capacity with countless thousands of devout worshippers of Jehovah; men who had come to Jerusalem from every region of the Roman Empire.  Some made their journey to the holy city from the regions of the north, the provinces throughout Asia Minor.  Others had come to Jerusalem from Egypt and other lands along the southern Mediterranean.  Some came from the Far East, from the lands of the Meads and Persians.  And still others had made the long journey from the west, Rome itself.

When the priests concluded the first set of offerings, they began chanting the "Hallel" (which are excerpts from Psalms 63 to 68), and the people answered back, chanting in response.

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory…  All mankind will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done…  Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him; let all the upright in heart praise him!...  Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled. O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come. When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions. Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple…  Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious!...  May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth.

It was approaching the third hour of the day, when the priests began making preparations to offer the two wave-loaves, with their accompanying sacrifices.  The loaves were prepared from wheat grown in the best district of the country, and were baked two days before, since the previous day had been a Sabbath.  Each loaf was long and flat, slightly turned up at the edges, and were exactly seven hand-breadths long, four wide, and four fingers high.  These two loaves represented a peace and a thanks offering for the people of Israel, and were leavened because the people recognized that no matter how sincere their offerings to Jehovah might be, they were still leavened by sin and imperfection.

During the ceremony, the officiating priest raised the first loaf high into the air.  Turning to face the east, he waved it back and forth, then up and down, offering praise to Jehovah.  Solemnly, the priest returned the loaf to its place and repeated the same wave-offering with the second loaf.

Luke's account of the day of Pentecost, recorded in the second chapter of Acts, does not specifically identify what part of the Pentecost ritual was being observed when the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit.  But most agree that it must have been near the very moment when the priest made the offering of the two wave-loaves.

Without any warning, a sound was heard throughout the Temple courts, sounding much like a mighty wind.  And yet there was no wind.  Fear began to quickly spread through the thousands of worshippers crowded together.  Some, no doubt, tried to make their way through the mass of people toward the nearest passage ways, while others fell to their knees sensing the very presence of Jehovah.  Still others may have been searching the sky with fearful eyes, expecting to see some terrible sign of an immediate judgment.

Then a sign appeared.  Something which resembled tongues of fire seemed to sit upon twelve men, and they were all "filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."  No doubt those who witnessed this event were even more frightened by the sights and sounds which were taking place, although the devout would immediately recognize the presence of Jehovah, and realize that a miraculous demonstration was being performed before their very eyes.

As the twelve began to speak, their words stirred excitement and anticipation in the massive crowd.  They were speaking about, "the wonders of God."  Jehovah's 400 years of silence had now been broken by 12 men speaking as prophets of the God of Israel.  Although John the Baptist had prophesied before of this day, his prophecies never carried such a vivid demonstration of Jehovah's power.  It was easier for those who were hardened of heart to disregard his messages.  But on this occasion, the miracle and the prophecy could not be denied.  They heard the sound, and they saw the flame-like tongues, and now they were hearing the words of God miraculously spoken through twelve men.

But there was one other matter that added to the confusion of the crowd.  How could these twelve men speak in the native tongues of those thousands of worshippers assembled there?  The crowd recognized these men as being from Galilee, making them fishermen by trade, and certainly not educated in the foreign languages and dialects of the various regions and territories of the Roman Empire.  Although it was suggested, "they have had too much wine," certainly no one seriously believed that their being drunken was a reasonable explanation for being able to speak foreign languages flawlessly.  Even Peter, who arose to address the mass of people said, "these men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning!"

What then was the explanation?  There had to be some reasonable explanation for what was happening, some great purpose for the miraculous demonstration of Jehovah's power, and some meaningful reason behind the prophetic revelation of Jehovah's word.  The question on the lips of these devout worshippers was, "what does this mean?"  And so, Peter proceeded to give them the answer to their question, an answer that would cut to the very depths of their hearts.