Pentecost. Shavuot. Two names for the same day. One Greek; the other Hebrew.
The Church understands this day according to the Greek term - Pentecost - the day the Holy Spirit was poured out. The Book of Acts, chapter 2, describes it this way:
'When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.' (Acts 2:1-4)
However, this was not the beginning of a new "church" feast. What happened that day so long ago took place on the day of Shavuot, also called the 'Feast of Weeks', a feast the Jewish people had been keeping for millennium.
The 23rd chapter of Leviticus describes each of the Lord's feasts. Please note, they are not referred to in Scripture as the 'Jewish' feasts. Rather, Leviticus Chapter 23 begins thus:
1. And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2. "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts'.
From the Feast of Firstfruits, when the children of Israel were to bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of their harvest to the priest, and he would wave it before the lord, fifty days were to be counted, to the day after the seventh Sabbath - this was the Feast of Weeks, when they were to offer a new grain offering to the LORD. The instructions for how this was to be carried out are found in Lev. 23:15-21, and was to be continued throughout their generations.
This is the last of the Spring Feasts, which consist of Passover and Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and The Feast of Weeks. The remaining feasts are in the fall of the year - the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles.
Shavuot is celebrated by the Jewish people not only in its agricultural aspect, but it also signifies the freedom that began with the Exodus at Passover. It is believed that it was at this time they received the Law at Mount Sinai. Consequently it is observed as the time of the giving of the Torah. After Jerusalem's destruction in 70 AD, the celebration of this feast lost much of its agricultural roots, and came to be celebrated primarily as the time the Torah was given.
Interestingly, it became customary to read the Book of Ruth during this feast. Ruth, you will remember, had married Naomi's son, who died. When Naomi decided to return to Israel from Moab after the death of her husband and both sons, Ruth went with her, saying, "Where you go I will go. Your people shall be my people, and your God shall be my God." This important joining of 'Jew and Gentile" resulted in Gentile Ruth marrying Boaz, the Jewish ancestor of King David.
Returning to the account in Acts, after the Holy Spirit had been poured out, when Peter preached to the crowds of people from every nation and language, they could all understand what he was saying, his call to repentance, and about three thousand were baptized!
