Fire+at+Pentecost

Fire at Pentecost ** P **** entecost Sunday was the official break between Christianity and Judaism. On Pentecost Sunday, the 50th day after Christ’s rise and 10th day after His assention, the disciples were celebrating Passover like the rest of the Jewish community. In the Jewish culture, Passover is a remembrance of the Lord saving the Hebrews from the Egyptians during their enslavement. ****("CHABAD.org") **** The disciples treated it like any other Passover, expect that they still had Jesus’ return and assention in their heads. During Passover, a family sacrifices the first of their crop to God at **** 9 AM **** (at least in Biblical times!). At that exact moment when Peter remembered it was time to offer up the sacrifice, the Holy Spirit came as a huge flame into the city and into the house the disciples, and a small crowd of fellow believers, were worshiping in. ****(Shinozawa 13-18) A small jet of flame rested just above each person’s head. This symbolized the baptism of the Holy Spirit onto the disciples. ** ** L **** et’s start with the beginning. Passover, like I explained in the above paragraph, is the remembrance of an important historic event. It also is when Jews remember and read the laws that Moses passed down to them from God. The same concept has been remade at Pentecost. Instead of remembering the Ten Commandments, the disciples and believers remembered the two simple laws that Jesus gave them: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love your neighbor as you love yourself.” The laws of the Ten Commandments fall directly under these two. “Thou shall have no gods before me,” is linked to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind.” If a person loves God, he isn't going to have gods above Him. “Thou shall not condemn,” is linked to “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” A person wouldn't be jeilous of his friend or of a stranger if he loved them the way he should. Pentecost took the laws and made it final to the disciples that these were the laws they needed to remember. These were the laws that were most important. Jesus brought new life to these laws and made them crystal. ** ** N **** ext, notice how at **** 9AM **** the Jews sacrifice their first of crop to God. The same action took place in Genesis, where Abel sacrificed his best lamb and his brother, Cain, sacrificed his first of crop. God didn’t accept Cain’s offering because He knew Cain had kept back the best of the crop from Him. He accepted Abel’s offering because it was Abel’s best lamb out of his whole flock! When the Holy Spirit interrupted the **** 9 AM **** sacrifice, it symbolized how Christ had taken our place. Instead of us being judged harshly, but fairly, Christ took the place and saved us all. The Holy Spirit took the place of the crop to explain that no more material sacrifices were needed, that Christ was the ultimate sacrifice. So the Jews are free! ** ** O **** ur final piece of the case is what happened during the fire. As the fire burnt over top of each disciple’s head, it symbolized that new life was born. The Holy Spirit is known for brining new life to the church. So now the Jewish customs were no longer needed for forgiveness. Christ bridged the gap that had been made long ago during Earth’s first few weeks. Christianity took hold and the new believers spread their experience throughout their homelands. This day was one of the most important days in the birth of Christianity. It brought forth new life and a new hope. ** ** S **** o let’s recap. The full meaning of the laws Jesus had tried to empathize were shown brightly on Pentecost. The Holy Spirit made it clear that material sacrifices were worthless now. Let’s not forget what the fire brought. It bestowed new life to all who accepted it. Boom! The break. **

"What is Passover?-Study&History-Passover-." // CHABAD.org //. Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center, 2011. Web. 11 Apr 2011. .

Shinozawa, Kozumi. //Manga Metamorphosis//. Japan: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 2008. 13-18. Print.