I. INTRODUCTION TO HAG HASHAVUOT: THE FEAST OF WEEKS

Known as the Feast of Weeks among the Jewish people, this one-day festival is known as the Feast of Pentecost among Gentile believers.

A. The Designations

The first of eight designations for this particular festival is Hag Hashavuot, meaning “the Feast of Weeks” and commonly used in the Old Testament (Ex. 34:22; Deut. 16:10). It is called the Feast of Weeks, because it took place seven weeks after the Feast of Passover (Pesach).

A second designation is Hag Hakatzir, which means “the Feast of Harvest,” referring to the fact that this occasion marked the end of the spring harvest season (Ex. 23:16).

Yom Habikkurim is the third designation, translating into “the Day of the Firstfruits,” as it delineated the time of the firstfruits of the summer harvest (Num. 28:26).

The fourth designation is Hag Habikkurim, which means “the Feast of Firstfruits.” This is a rabbinic name that is not found in Scripture. It became known as such, because the firstfruits of the wheat and barley harvest were offered at this time.

The fifth designation is another rabbinic name, Hag Atzeret, meaning “the Closing Festival.” It became the rabbinic name, because it marked the end of the first cycle of festivals. The seven holy seasons fall into two cycles (Lev. 23); because the Feast of Weeks marks the last of the first cycle, it became known as “the Closing Festival.”

Atzeret Shel Pesach, the sixth designation, means “the Closing Season of the Passover.” This, too, is strictly a rabbinic name, and refers to the fact that it is the last feast of the first cycle of festivals which began with the Passover.

The seventh name is Zman Matan Torah, which means “the Season (or the Time) of the Giving of the Law.” This rabbinic name is based upon a Jewish tradition that the Law of Moses was given to Israel on this day.

The eighth designation is “the Day of Pentecost,” derived from the Greek translation in the New Testament (Acts 2:1; 20:16; I Cor. 16:8). The Greek word “pentecost” comes from the Greek word that means “fifty,” and applies here because this feast comes 50 days after Passover.

B. The Jewish Practice

1. The Jewish Observance

During the Second Temple period (515 B.C. to A.D. 70), the Jewish observance of this feast focused on it as a harvest festival for farmers. In an elaborate ceremony featuring people playing flutes and other instruments, farmers paraded to the Temple with an offering of their firstfruits – wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olive oil and honey.

2. The Two Loaves

Again during the Second Temple period, Jewish practice consisted of waving two loaves before the altar. The rabbis asked the question, “Why is it necessary to have two loaves?” Their answer as it appears in the Talmud says that because Pentecost is the season for the fruit of the tree, therefore the Holy One said, “Bring Me two loaves on Pentecost so that the fruit of your trees may be blessed.”

3. The Scripture Reading

The Book of Ruth is read on this occasion because this story also takes place at harvest time. Furthermore, Ruth was a convert to the Mosaic Law which was given on this day. The rabbis teach that just as Ruth suffered deprivation when she accepted the Torah (the Law), so we suffer deprivation when we accept the Law. Furthermore, according to Jewish tradition, King David – a descendant of Ruth – was born on this feast and died on this feast.

4. The Special Foods

There are three special foods eaten by Jewish people on this occasion.

a. Milk Products

There is a special emphasis on milk products this day in order to remember that the land given to Israel by God was a land flowing with milk and honey. And according to Jewish tradition, only dairy foods were eaten on the day of the giving of the Law.

b. Challah

Another special food for this feast is challah, egg bread made yellow by the heavy use of egg yolks and eaten weekly on the Jewish Sabbath day. For this particular feast day, however, the bread is baked in the form of a ladder to differentiate from the braided form used every Friday night. The ladder is also to remind us of the Jewish tradition that Moses used a ladder to climb into Heaven to receive the Law.

c. Kreplach

The third special food is kreplach – a Jewish kind of ravioli without tomato sauce and shaped in a triangle rather than a square. It has three sides to represent the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), as well as the three divisions of the Old Testament (the Law, the Prophets and the Writings).

II. THE FEAST OF WEEKS IN THE LAW OF MOSES

The Law of Moses mentions this feast day five times:  Exodus 23:16 describes it as a pilgrimage festival, one of three occasions on which every Jew was to go to Jerusalem to observe holy days (the other two were Passover and Tabernacles); the second passage employs the feast’s common name, the Feast of Weeks (Ex. 34:22); the third passage, Leviticus 23:15-21, contains some details on the timing of this feast as well as its purpose, that is, to make a meal offering – the firstfruits of the wheat harvest – to the Lord; the fourth reference, Numbers 28:26-31, specifies the nature of the offerings; finally, Deuteronomy 16:9-12 describes this feast as a time of rejoicing before God as a means of remembrance of the Jewish people’s bondage in Egypt.

III. THE FEAST OF WEEKS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

The Feast of Weeks is mentioned three times in the New Testament:  In Acts 2:1-4, it is used in regard to the birth of the Church; the second passage, Acts 20:16, states that Paul wanted to be in Jerusalem for this special day, although as a Jewish believer he was no longer bound by the Law to do so; and Paul, again, refers to this feast in I Corinthians 16:8.

IV. THE MESSIANIC IMPLICATIONS

In dealing with the Messianic implications, we will first examine Acts 2:1-4 and, then, look at the various aspects of the fulfillment of this feast.

A. Acts 2:1-4 – The Birthday of the Church

We learn that the Church was born on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-4. We read, too, of the specific ministry of being filled by the Holy Spirit, which means being controlled by the Holy Spirit. (The filling of the Spirit was not something new here, however, as people were filled with the Spirit in the Old Testament and the Gospels even before the events of Acts two.) The new ministry that happens here is Spirit-baptism, and this is clear by comparing two passages:  In Acts 1:5, Jesus used the future tense, when He said, ye shall be baptized by the Holy Spirit. They had not yet been baptized by the Holy Spirit, but they would be not many days hence. Obviously, not many days hence refers to the event that occurred 10 days later on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1. While the actual work of Spirit-baptism is not mentioned, it is, indeed, what happened on this occasion. This is obvious from the second passage (Acts 11:15-16), where Peter refers back to Acts 2:1-4 and mentions the Spirit falling on the apostles at the beginning. In verse 16, he quotes what Jesus said in Acts 1:5 to point out that the Spirit’s ministry of baptism prophesied then by Jesus was fulfilled when He came upon them at the beginning (Acts 2:1-4).

This ministry of the Spirit was new, beginning in Acts 2:1-4 on the Feast of Pentecost, the Feast of Weeks. And this is the way one enters the Body of Messiah, we are told in I Corinthians 12:13. A believer enters the Body by means of Spirit-baptism, and the Body is the Church, according to Colossians 1:18. Thus, the Church was born with the advent of Spirit-baptism, because apart from Spirit-baptism the Church cannot and does not exist. So, the birth of the Church is the fulfillment of the Feast of Weeks.

B. The Two Loaves

The Law of Moses describes the offering of two loaves. The Feast of Pentecost was fulfilled by the birth of the Church comprised of Jews and Gentiles united into one Body. One of the loaves represents the Jews and the other the Gentiles, with both symbolizing Jewish and Gentile believers united into a single Body (Eph. 2:11-16; 3:5-6).

We also know from the Old Testament observance that these loaves were to be leavened. Leaven in the Scriptures is symbolic of sin, and it is Jewish and Gentile sinners who are saved by grace through faith and brought into this Body. These loaves, furthermore, were to be made of wheat. Wheat and harvest in the Gospels are common symbols of evangelism and salvation. In Matthew 3:11-12, wheat and harvest are connected as well with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which began on the Feast of Pentecost and brought the Church into existence. These same symbols appear again in Matthew 13:24-30, where they serve to elaborate on the Matthew 3:11-12 passage; here, wheat is again used as a symbol of evangelism and salvation which result in being unified into the Body of Messiah that was born on the Feast of Pentecost. Another example of this is found in John 4:35-38, where wheat again portrays evangelism and salvation. By means of evangelism, people come to a saving knowledge of Jesus, and when they exercise faith, they are baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ.

C. Firstfruits

Another facet of the Feast of Pentecost was that there were firstfruits – wheat and barley – on this occasion. This concept is fulfilled in a very special way in that these first believers were Jewish believers, the firstfruits fulfillment of the Feast of Pentecost (Acts 2:41-42). This is also brought out when James writes specifically to Jewish believers in James 1:1; these Jews are a kind of firstfruits of His creatures (James 1:18), fulfilling the firstfruits aspect of the Feast of Pentecost.