Pentecost Sunday was not a new Christian celebration. It is an old Hebrew celebration of the Feast of Weeks, celebrating the collection of the first fruits of the harvest, usually seven weeks plus one day from Passover. For Christians it is celebrated on the 50th day from Easter Sunday and celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles as described in Acts 2. The apostles are gathered in secret to avoid discovery by the Roman and Jewish officials who might still be looking for followers of Jesus. While in a locked room the Holy Spirit comes upon them as a wind and appears as “tongues of fire” upon each apostle’s head. From there the apostles move out from the confines of their room and into the broad daylight of the open market in Jerusalem. They begin to speak about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. What makes it miraculous is that people who are in Jerusalem, who have gathered from all over the Roman world, claim to hear the apostles speaking in their own native languages (the first “sign” of the Holy Spirit. Then Peter stands up to explain what is happening and does so “with power and authority” , the second “sign” of the Spirit.

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