Question:
Dear Greg,
I
am puzzled that mainstream Christian churches seem to place so little importance
on Pentecost; it is essentially the “birthday” of the New Testament
Church—the day of the foundational meeting and the day of the arrival of the
Holy Spirit. There were thousands
of conversions on Pentecost. Some
years later we come to the time of the Apostle Paul’s ministry: Paul (Saul)
was a wealthy, highly educated Roman Citizen.
He was also something of a tyrant, torturing and murdering many
Christians. Due to his close
contact with Roman society, it is unlikely that he had much regard for the
Jewish religion either, including the Holy Days.
Following his conversion, however, we find the Apostle Paul actually
delaying his missionary journey in order to observe Pentecost with the Ephesians
(1 Corinthians 16:8). What did he know that many today apparently do not?
We seem to “bend over backwards” to observe the day on which we
imagine Jesus Christ was born (most scholars say it is not) while ignoring the
(known) day of the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Do
you agree?
Dale
Answer: Dear Dale,
Here
are some thoughts by way of response:
1.
You use the term “mainstream Christian churches” without a specific
definition.
I am not clear what, or who, you mean.
The feast of Pentecost, or its cousin, Whitsunday, is observed in many
orthodox Christian traditions. To
my knowledge it does not assume the same importance in any church in the annual
liturgy as the birth of Jesus simply because it is not centered in the birth,
life, teaching, death and burial of Jesus.
A study of the holy days and festivals of Christianity reveals that those
that are Christ-centered received (and continue to receive) the premier focus
and “first importance” (see 1 Corinthians 15:3-4), but Pentecost is
certainly not ignored or overlooked.
2.
You mention that Paul was a Roman citizen and would not have much regard
for
the Jewish religion. On the
contrary, Paul was a highly decorated Jewish rabbi who also happened to be a
Roman citizen. It was in his
capacity as a Jew that he tortured and murdered Christians.
Because of his religious background he could see through the mixture of
Judaism and Christianity that many in his day proposed, and fought the legalism
that resulted from such a mixture in all of his writings, notably Romans,
Galatians and Colossians.
3.
Yes, Paul observed Pentecost, as did the New Testament church. However, in
observing
Pentecost he did so not because of any old covenant implication or regulation,
but because of its meaning as the birthday of the church, the body of Christ.
4.
There is no “bending over backwards” on the part of Christians to
observe
Christmas—Christians
do not observe December 25 as if it is the precise date of the birth of Christ.
It is no mystery that the exact date of Jesus’ birth is unknown.
But it is absolutely clear that he was born on one day out of 365, and
Christians chose December 25. Ironically,
I am not aware of anyone who opposes celebrating December 25 as the birth of
Christ (and uses the argument that no one knows when he was born), who actually
celebrates Christmas on one of the remaining 364 days.
It appears, then, that they simply don’t want to celebrate Jesus’
birth at all!
5.
As far as celebrating Pentecost or Whitsunday on the exact date, the
precise
date
that coincides with the birthday of the body of Christ, Christians are divided.
It was originally celebrated, in Acts 2, according to the Jewish
calendar. But Christians do not use
the Jewish calendar for calendar computations.
Even if Christians did, there would be controversies.
Even the Jews will tell you that from the time of Christ until now there
has not been an unbroken line of exact dates upon which all Hebrew holy dates
have been observed. For example,
there have been times when the observance of a Jewish holy day was determined by
the physical observation of the rabbis, not a mathematical computation.
6.
Fixing precise dates and times and seasons that are “holy”, as
opposed to
other
times that are less than holy is not a Christian activity.
Paul gives us this instruction in Galatians 4:8-10 (see the entire
context of the book in addition). Christians
observe Christ, not times and dates. December
25 is not holy, it is just a day selected by Christians many centuries ago. As said before, other dates could be just as valid for
worshipping the newborn king, the Prince of Peace, our Lord and Savior.
The Eastern Church does so in early January, for example.
In
Christ,
Greg
Albrecht