What does Pentecost mean? This word comes from the Greek and means the fiftieth day. During the Lord Jesus' day and up to now, the Jews have celebrated the Shavuot. The Shavuot is a celebration that remembers the day when Moses received the two stones of the law in Mount Sinai. This happened fifty days after the Hebrews were free from Egypt. The day the Hebrews were free from Egypt's slavery is celebrated in the Passover. This means that Pentecost is celebrated fifty days after Passover.

It is important to remember that our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified during the Passover celebrations. The letter of Acts tells us that after Jesus' death his disciples kept gathering to prayer and fellowship. During the celebration of the Pentecost there were a lot of people from all places of Asia minor in Jerusalem.

It was in this important day that God decided to send his Holy Spirit to this small group of Christians just as he had promised. Acts chapter two tells us about these events:

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. Acts 2:1-5 NIV.

Our Lord Jesus Christ told his desciples to not go out from Jerusalem until they were baptized by the Holy Spirit. Therefore the descent of the Holy Spirit marked the hour in which the message of the cross started to spread throughout the world. God always has a perfect plan. Going back to the day of Pentecost, it was no coincidence that there were people from all over the world in Jerusalem reunited to celebrate Pentecost. There were people from many places so there were many different languages represented. During that day, a loud noise was heard and a strong wind blew. I can't imagine that everybody was wandering what had just happened. It must have been very impressive. Everybody started gathering and asking what was that loud noise and where it came from. For sure we know that thousands gathered near the disciples and that approximately three thousand belived in the message of Jesus given by Peter. Today the church of Christ celebrates Pentecost to remember the arrival of the Holy Spirit. This happens fifty days after the crucifixion of Christ.

Jesus Christ gave instructions that no one leave Jerusalem until they had received the Holy Spirit. The gospel had to be heard by people from all over the world regardless of race, color, language or culture. It was clear that the message of the cross couldn't be spread without the power of the Holy Spirit coming down on the first Christians.