The remarkable events of the coming of the Holy Spirit began when the disciples were gathered together for Pentecost. This festival, also known as the festival of Shavuot, the feast of Weeks, or the feast of Firstfruits, was one of the three occasions each year when the Jews were to come to the Temple to celebrate; hence Jews were there in Jerusalem from many countries. The festival actually started following the Passover, when the barley harvest began, and the first sheaf of barley was waved as an offering to God. Then seven weeks were counted off, in which time the rest of the spring barley harvest was brought in, then the spring wheat harvest. Then came this day of Pentecost.

The significance was threefold, firstly, it was a thanksgiving for the harvest. Next, the instructions in Leviticus about this festival specified that the Israelites were not to harvest to the edges of the field, or to gather the leftovers, which were to be left for the poor and the foreigners among them. Lastly, the Jews saw it as a time that commemorated the giving of the Law, the Torah, at Mount Sinai, which was considered to have been on the very day of Pentecost, or Shavuot.

Similarities between Sinai and Pentecost

If you look at some of the symbols of both the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai, and the day of Pentecost in the Acts of the Apostles, you can see a number of parallels. There at Sinai, the Lord descended onto the mountain in fire, just as the tongues of fire came at Pentecost. And there was a great noise in both; at Sinai, thunder, and at Pentecost, the sound of a strong wind blowing – the Holy Spirit. Interestingly, the Hebrew word used for thunder in Exodus is also the word for voices or languages.

Writing the law on our hearts

What can we learn about Pentecost from considering its Jewish roots? At Sinai, the giving of the law was about learning how God wanted his people to act, both in relation to him and to other people. The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost fulfils both this, and the prophecies of Ezekiel 36 and Jeremiah 31, where God says that he will give his people a new heart, writing his law on their hearts and putting his spirit in them so they can follow his commands.

It’s about knowing God, no longer at a distance from the bottom of a scary mountain, but God the Holy Spirit filling our hearts, guiding us daily in how we should walk and act.

 It also fulfils Jesus’ words in John 16, where he says that the Spirit will guide his people in all truth. It’s about knowing God, no longer at a distance from the bottom of a scary mountain, but God the Holy Spirit filling our hearts, guiding us daily in how we should walk and act.

The communal nature of the Torah law

So if the original Pentecost was celebrating the giving of the law, how does that affect our understanding? Many Christians like to ignore the Torah – the law God gave to his people at Sinai – other than a few specific stories and the Ten Commandments. It can seem outdated to us, with our modern eyes. There are also parts that are really difficult to get our heads around, and even a few bits that seem harsh and uncompromising.The Holy Spirit came to change our hearts

Nonetheless, it is a very important part of our Scripture. Many of the principles there underpin how a good, functioning society needs to work, even if some bits need to be adapted to a very different culture and time. Jesus told us that he had come, not to abolish the law, but to fulfil it. A key part of this, of course, was his fulfilment of the sacrificial system, as he became the sacrificial lamb who takes away our sins. But another major part of the fulfilment came by the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It is the Spirit who enables us to live out the true spirit of the law of God, because it is written on our heart.

First, it is interesting to consider how so many of the laws in the Torah were not for the benefit of the individual, but to promote the wellbeing of the whole community. Quarantine laws, for example – something we can all relate to now – and also laws on mildew. Sexual laws were as much about the physical, moral and spiritual health of the whole community as they were about the individual. Now sex seems to be considered as an individual’s right. Many biblical laws related to the care and provision of those in difficult situations. Property rights encouraged long-term investment in land and business, essential for prosperity, and honesty was paramount – again essential for a functioning community.

Not all of these laws are directly relevant to us – though indirectly they may well be. But the Holy Spirit brings similar benefits, though in a way that empowers us to keep the underlying ethos of God’s laws.

The Spirit enables us to keep the essence of the law

The law was always difficult to keep, as there were many rules associated with it. But God’s Spirit brings to us the power we need to live in a way that benefits both ourselves and our families and community. Galatians 5:22 lists the 9 well-known fruits of the Spirit. Top of the list, of course, is love. Love in itself makes us naturally want to reach out and help those left behind. Goodness makes us naturally want to do the right thing.

Patience is essential in so many circumstances. Self-control can help us to make the right choices in a way that a law cannot; and restrains us from giving in to temptation on so many scores.

Kindness and generosity at the heart of Pentecost

Kindness is a hugely underrated fruit of the Spirit, but it is at the heart of Pentecost – both the original Jewish festival and the Christian fulfilment.

It’s interesting to see how the main instructions for Shavuot in Leviticus include sharing with the poor – leaving the leftover grain for those in need – and how the passage immediately following Pentecost in Acts mirrors this: Acts 2 tells us that all the believers were together and had everything in common; they sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.

Now the book of Ruth is the one traditionally read at Shavuot in synagogues. This book tells the tale of a young widow who leaves her country to assist her mother-in-law. In so doing she experienced the kindness of Boaz, who emulated the Shavuot law of leaving food in the fields for the poor – even going way over and above that. Kindness is the key word used to describe both Ruth and Boaz in that story, and demonstrates what this festival should, in part, be about.

With the law, this sharing was prescribed; they were ordered to do it out of compulsion, though some did it gladly. But after the Holy Spirit came, people did it out of love, and joyfully – the law was written on their hearts.

With the law, this sharing was prescribed; they were ordered to do it out of compulsion, though some did it gladly, such as Boaz. But after the Holy Spirit came, people did it out of love, and joyfully – the law was written on their hearts.

Daily infilling to bring about a true heart change

We need daily filling of the Holy Spirit if we are to live the Christian life. We need boldness to share God’s work, of course, and from time to time we may need the signs and wonders that accompany it. But most of all, we need his word written on our hearts, to enable us to grow the fruits of the Spirit that enable us to live our lives in community with others, at peace with ourselves and with God. Post-pandemic, I believe that the fruits of the Spirit – kindness, peace and joy, are vital, especially as society faces all sorts of grief, depression and anxiety.

And we need God’s supernatural wisdom to guide us in the best way to approach things. These things are all ours for the asking.

The Holy Spirit gives us what we need in order to bless both ourselves and those around us. The laws are helpful to enable us to understand, but can’t bring about a true heart change. It is the Holy Spirit who does this by filling our hearts, changing us from within. We just need to keep on making space for him, inviting him in.

Let us continue to ask him to empower us with all that we need: miraculous wisdom and miracles, boldness to share the good news, and the love, peace and kindness that can quite literally turn the world upside down.