Pentecost

The Festival of Pentecost celebrates the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to send His Holy Spirit. The promised Spirit of God would set apart Christians for God by His teaching and comforting. The Spirit came at the Jewish festival of Pentecost, when large numbers of people gathered in Jerusalem from all of the known world. There the Spirit made Himself visible as tongues of fire resting upon the Christians. He made Himself known audibly in the rushing sound and as the Christians were enabled to speak all the languages of the gathered peoples, so that they could preach the good news about Jesus Christ. And just as suddenly, He began the work of pointing people, not to Himself, but to Jesus, the God-man, who had lived and died to pay for the sins of the world, and who lives forever, the King of King and Lord of Lords, one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We cannot understand God, but we have the privilege of hearing Him describe Himself to us. We have the comfort of hearing His Word in our own language, the fruit of the Spirit’s work in this world.