Of all the Jewish holidays, by far the most familiar to Christians is the Passover. The Passover (Hebrew Pesach) is also known as as the “Feast of Unleavened Bread.” At Passover the Jews celebrate the moment when God freed the people of Israel from slavery at the hand of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. The story is recorded in the book of Exodus. God sends Moses to Egypt, demanding that Pharaoh free the children of Israel from bondage. But Pharaoh’s heart is hard, and he refuses. God therefore brings judgment upon the Egyptians by afflicting them with all kinds of plagues and pestilence. Yet still Pharaoh remains arrogant and obstinate.
Finally, God brings upon the Egyptians the tenth and most devastating plague: the destruction of the firstborn. The angel of death goes throughout the land of Egypt, killing the firstborn of every womb. But the children of Israel were spared. God instructed them to sacrifice a year old lamb; the blood of the lamb was then placed on the door frames of their houses. “When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the door frame and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.” (Exodus 12:23)
On the night this transpires, God commands the Israelites to eat the Passover meal. This meal consists of the meat of the lamb along with unleavened bread. The children of Israel had to be prepared to leave Egypt immediately, for God knew that Pharaoh would finally relent after this last and most devastating plague. But bread made with yeast takes time to rise. Since the people of Israel didn’t have time for the bread to rise, they were to eat only unleavened bread. Additionally, they were to eat “with your cloak tucked into you belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD’s Passover.” (Exodus 12:11)
For over 3,000 years, the Jewish people have commemorated these dramatic events by celebrating the Passover meal (called the Seder meal). The Jews partake of the meal and recount the story of how God delivered them from slavery and oppression. The Passover meal has taken on immense Christian value as well because Jesus’ last supper with his disciples was in fact the very same Passover meal we’ve been describing. Yet Jesus radically transformed the occasion. Rather than looking back to the events of the Passover, Jesus applied the meal to his own imminent suffering and sacrifice. For Christians, therefore, the bread and the wine have come to symbolize the brokenness of Jesus’ body and his blood shed upon the cross.
Most Christians understand the parallels between the Lord’s supper and the Jewish Passover. The children of Israel sacrificed a spotless lamb, whose blood on the doorpost would protect them from the destroyer. Likewise, Jesus, the perfect lamb of God sacrificed himself upon the cross so that by his blood we might be freed from sin and death. The strong resonance between the Jewish Passover and the Christian Lord’s Supper have rightly made Seder meals very popular among Christians. These are most often celebrated on Good Friday when Christians commemorate the death of Jesus. They are a powerful reminder that our Christian roots go deep down into the soil of Judaism.
Yet there is another Jewish celebration where these connections are almost never made. I refer to the relationship between the Jewish “Feast of weeks” and the Christian Pentecost. (The term Pentecost can refer to the Jewish holiday, but has now come to be more strongly associated with Christianity.) The Jews celebrated the “Feast of Weeks” 50 days after Passover. In Hebrew, this feast is known as Shavuot. The celebration of Shavuot commemorates the gift of the Torah. Following the exodus from Egypt, God led the children of Israel to Mount Sinai. This journey took 50 days, thus the 50 days between Passover and Pentecost. (Pentecost comes from the Greek word meaning “fifteith.”) When they reached Mount Sinai, Moses went up on the mountain to receive the law from God.
For orthodox Jews, the interval between Passover and Shavuot is a time of anticipation. They count down the days until the festival, when they will memorialize God’s gift of Torah and the establishment of the covenant between God and Israel. Jews today who observe Shavuot essentially renew their covenant commitment to God and the Torah. It’s as if on this holiday God once again gives the Torah and the Jewish people receive it. Jews celebrate Shavuot in a number of ways. One tradition involves the lighting of candles. The candle light symbolizes how Torah lights their way; that is, it gives Israel the knowledge and instruction they need to live in a way that honors God and brings about his blessing. As the Psalms declare, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Additionally, the ten commandments – the backbone of the Torah – are recited in synagogues. Some Jewish people stay up all night learning about the Torah in order to demonstrate their zeal for the law.
Christian pastors rarely (never?) note the powerful link between Shavuot and Pentecost. I find this very puzzling. It is hugely significant that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out upon Jesus’ disciples on the very day when the Jewish people would be celebrating the gift of the Torah. God gave the children of Israel the Torah in order to show them how they ought to live. By the light of Torah, they would know how to offer God proper worship and obedience. This would bring about their salvation: God would bless them with abundant, prosperous life in the promised land. In the same way, Christian Pentecost is a celebration of the new covenant. Under the new covenant, Israel has been redefined. The people of God are no longer just the physical descendants of Israel, but all those who devote themselves fully to Jesus – the true king of Israel. And they no longer need to walk according to the light of Torah; they have something far, far better. They now possess the Spirit of the living God himself. The Spirit who is also spoken of as “the Spirit of the Messiah” (Romans 8:9) or “the Spirit of his Son.” (Galatians 4:6) The candlelight of Torah is no longer needed, because the powerful sunshine of the Spirit now lights our way.
The relationship between Shavuot and Christian Pentecost sheds all kinds of light upon our understanding of faith and works. Far too many Christians have torn Christian behavior away from Christian belief. The full weight of salvation then falls only upon our passive belief in Jesus. Meanwhile, our active allegiance to Jesus is not allowed to make any contribution. We can put this flawed scheme of thought behind us when we recognize the intimate connection between Shavuot and Pentecost. For just as the Torah was the way of life given to Israel, the Holy Spirit is the standard for Christian conduct. Human obedience is still essential – it’s just that the mode of obedience has changed. This is precisely what Paul says in Romans 7:6: “The goal is that we should serve in the new life of the Spirit, not in the old life of the letter.”
When Christians wrongly separate belief from behavior, all kinds of problems arise. In fact, right behavior can ironically become a problem! It threatens to become a temptation, lest we begin to sneak in trust in our own actions rather that keeping our trust entirely upon what Jesus has accomplished. This train of thought is fraught with headaches.
For example, consider a Christian who is growing in Christ-likeness. Perhaps the Spirit is helping them to consistently tell the truth, or exercise patience in frustrating circumstances, or love their pesky neighbor. These achievements should be regarded as nothing less than occasions for celebration! The power of Jesus’ own Spirit is living within them, transforming them into the person God created them to be! Yet within the framework above, such victory might result in tension. This person might ask themselves: “Am I really trusting fully in Jesus, and not in my own efforts?” And how might a person even know whether their trust is completely in Jesus, and not themselves?
Thankfully, if we read the Bible correctly, Christians don’t have to subject themselves to this kind of tortured thinking. The freedom from sin and death which we now enjoy “in Jesus the Messiah” comes from “the Torah of the Spirit of life.” (Romans 8:2) In other words, the Torah celebrated by the Jews at Shavuot has now reached its fulfillment in the Spirit-filled life celebrated by Christians at Pentecost. Paul goes on to write of how “the righteous verdict of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” The “righteous verdict” of Torah is life. This is nothing less than our salvation – eternal, resurrection life. And it comes to those who walk “according to the Spirit.” In other words, the Spirit-empowered transformation of our behavior brings about our salvation. This salvation comes about in the present time as we are freed from the clutches of sinful, destructive behavior. But it also involves our future salvation – the final judgment when our Spirit-inspired righteousness leads to ultimate vindication. Paul puts it this way, “if the Messiah is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. So then, if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives within you, the one who raised the Messiah from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies too, through his Spirit who lives within you.” (Romans 8: 10-11)
Therefore, those who possess the proper understanding of Scripture don’t have to worry whether pride in their own actions is somehow sneaking in and undermining pure faith in Jesus. Rather, they can rightly celebrate the ongoing work of Jesus in their lives. In fact, they can take pride – good, healthy pride – when they recognize the changes that are taking place in their behavior. This pride comes from knowing that God’s Spirit is at work in them to produce a life that is pleasing to him.
So please, dear reader, when you think about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, remember that all this took place on the festival of Shavuot – the day when the Jewish people were celebrating the gift of the Torah. Of course, first Christians were all Jews, and they could not have failed to make the connection between the two. The apostle Paul certainly didn’t. The Torah was the code of conduct given to Israel so that they might offer to God proper worship and obedience. The Torah held out the promise that if Israel was faithful to the covenant, God would bless her with abundant, joyful life in the promised land. But now, those who give their allegiance to Jesus the Messiah have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit transforms us into the likeness of Jesus himself. Our entire humanity is restored and renewed – not just our thoughts and beliefs but our conduct and actions. And this transformation is nothing less than salvation itself.
