Rabbi Schneider - Pentecost: More Than You Were Ever Taught
It’s an important season in the biblical narrative because we’re in the season of Shavuot or Pentecost. Now, I know that many of you, you’re familiar with the term «Pentecost». Perhaps it’s been discussed in your church or it’s been preached on in your church. But, you know, a lot of Christians really don’t know the Hebrew or the Jewish roots of Pentecost. Pentecost is actually the Greek name of the Hebrew holy day called Shavuot that was given to the children of Israel 3500 years ago. «Shavuot» is Hebrew and it means «weeks, » because according to the Torah, Shavuot took place seven weeks and a day after Passover. But Pentecost is the same thing. Seven weeks and a day adds up to what? 50.
So Pentecost means 50. It’s the same exact day. In the New Testament., it’s called Pentecost because the New Testament was written in Greek because the Lord wanted the Gospel to penetrate the entire world. And Greek was the most common language in the world when the New Testament was written. And so this is why it’s called Pentecost, So the message could spread far and wide. The roots of Pentecost go back 1500 years before Acts 2 and it originally was one of the three pilgrim feasts, the three times of year in the Torah where God commanded all of Israel to come to Jerusalem to worship him, to present an offering. But as time went on, it became known to the Israelites, to the Jewish people, I should say, as the time that the Lord appeared in fire and glory on Mount Sinai and gave them the Law.
When those early believers were in the upper room in Acts 2, they were thinking about what happened on Mount Sinai approximately 1500 years before they were gathered in the upper room. So to put the timeline together, it was 2000 years ago, right, that the disciples were gathered in the upper room. But 1500 years before that, God gave them the Torah when He appeared to them in glory at Mount Sinai.
So I say all that to say that many Christians have heard the term Pentecost, and they immediately think of the Pentecostal church or they think about 50, the Pentecostal church, t hey think about 50, or they think about Acts 2, that begins by saying «Now, the day of Pentecost had come and the believers were all gathered together in one place, and suddenly there came a rushing sound and a rushing wind» and the Spirit of the Lord appeared as tongues of fire over each one of them, and they began to proclaim the gospel in languages that they had never heard before, so that everybody that it was gathered to Jerusalem could hear the gospel being taught and preached in their own language.
What a supernatural, phenomenal experience, when the Holy Spirit was given and those that received it were given supernatural utterance to speak the gospel in a language that they had never heard. I had a similar situation take place in my very own life one year, when I had a big conference I was teaching at and there was a woman there from Peru and she knew no English at all. And of course I was teaching and preaching in English, sprinkled with a few Hebrew words. But this woman from Peru heard me teaching in her own language. And when we read Acts 2, we read really two things: that the Gospel was being proclaimed in languages that had not been learned.
And we also read in Acts 2 that people heard the Gospel being proclaimed in their own language. And so it’s a mystery. Was it that the gospel was being proclaimed like, I don’t know how to speak Chinese, but all of a sudden I meet a Chinese person and I begin to share the gospel with him in Chinese. Did that happen or was what happened Did that happen or was what happened that I still spoke in English, but somehow, as I was speaking in English, the Chinese person heard me speak it in Chinese? It’s a big, glorious mystery and miracle. But that’s what happened, Beloved, in Acts 2. Aren’t you thankful during this time of year that our God is a God of revelation? Because again, this holy season, it goes back to the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai 3500 years ago.
So it’s a celebration of revelation, that God is a speaking God. He didn’t have to give the Law. He could have remained in heaven, silent and aloof. He could have chosen not to speak to humanity, but instead he chose to come down on top of the mountain and give us his commandments. And the commandments are not made to put us under legalism. The commandments were given because God loves us, and ultimately they were given to lead us to Jesus. In the commandment is a self-revelation of the nature of God. In the commandments we read «You shall love your neighbor as yourself».
I mean, there’s all types of divine fullness in the commandments. So we have the commandments in the commandments. So we have the commandments because God desires to speak to us. And Pentecost or Shavuot is a celebration of that. And I want to encourage you today to believe that God is still speaking. More importantly, I want you to believe that He’s still speaking to you. And a lot of times you might be thinking, «Well, what do you mean he’s speaking to me? I haven’t heard him say anything, » but it’s not always in an audible voice that he speaks, my friend. It’s not always like you’re going to hear a sentence in English.
Sometimes it’s more divine intuition. God speaks to us in our intuition. We just begin to become aware of something. We become aware of something in our life that we need to change. We become aware of something in our life that God wants to call us up to. We become aware of some place in our life that God wants us to go, okay? So when you think of God speaking to you, don’t put him in a box and think that it has to be like you’re going to audibly hear Him. God speaks most often to us through our intuition. So pay attention to your intuition. Be in touch with your inner man. And the more time you spend just alone with God, even as Jesus would oftentimes go to a mountain, on top of a mountain, to be in a lonely place to pray.
Let’s take that as a model and a cue for us that if we want to hear God speak to us, we too need to have a disciplined lifestyle where we’re making time to just sit before the Lord so that He can still our soul and give us a better ability to hear him when he’s speaking. Don’t expect necessarily to hear an audible voice, although God at times speaks that way. But it’s not most often, mostly through our intuition. It’s subtle. It’s like a big, fluffy cloud. And more and more you just become aware of what God’s saying to you. Pentecost was a time where God called Israel to himself. He called them to Jerusalem. No matter where they were living in Israel, God called the Israelites to come to Jerusalem to appear before him. In other words, you’re placing yourself under the gaze of the Creator, and to present an offering to him. And the Hebrew word for offering is «korban, » and it means «to draw near».
So when we present a sacrificial offering to the Lord, it’s a way of drawing near to Him. And when we draw near to him and present an offering that’s a sacrifice, you know what that does? It opens our heart to him. And in opening our hearts to him, we create a channel for him to come in and fill us with his goodness. I want to wish you a very happy, a chag sameach, happy holiday during this Shavuot, during this Pentecost season. And I want to simply ask, if this ministry of Discovering The Jewish Jesus is blessing you, if God’s using it in your life, would you present an offering to Him this year, my beloved brothers and sisters, through this ministry? You just follow the directions here on the screen to do so. I love you. Thank you for your time today. God bless you and shalom.