Shavuot is one of the three Jewish feasts that were regarded as pilgrim festivals requiring all male Israelites to celebrate it at the temple in Jerusalem (Ex 23:14-17). Because of the unique timing of this festival, it went by other names as well: Feast of Weeks because it was to be 7 weeks after the Feast of Firstfruit (Bikkurim), and Pentecost because it was actually 50 days after Bikkurim. And, because the timing of Bikkurim is tied to Passover (Pesach) (Lv 23:11), Shavuot is therefore also tied to Passover in its timing as well (Lv 23:15).

So, if that is the case, then why did the Christian celebration of Pentecost become different from the Jewish celebration of Shavuot. Today, one would think they were two totally separate events. Technically, I guess they have become two separate celebrations, but that is rather unfortunate. So, what happened? How did this separation occur from something that was at one time united?

In Leviticus, we learn that the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Matzah) started the day after Passover (Pesach), lasted for seven days with the Feast of Firstfruit (Bikkurim) within this week of celebration of Matzah. Over time, because of their juxtaposition, each of these three feasts became part of a single celebration. In the gospels, we learn that Jesus Christ was crucified on Passover, was in the tomb on first day of Matzah, and rose on Bikkurim. The early Church then began to celebrate Christ’s crucifixion on Passover, or the 14th day of Nissan. This meant that it was on a different day each year on the Gregorian calendar (even though it was the same day each year on the Jewish calendar).

Over time, as the church became more hierarchical in nature and more predominantly Gentile in composition, there were some prominent church leaders who began to teach that Christians should separate themselves from those of the Jewish faith because Jews were the ones who rejected Jesus Christ and had him crucified. While it hard to really defend such a belief, this is what many taught at this time of church history.

At the same time, the Emperor Constatine declared Christianity as the national religion. What this did was demand that all should become part of the church. To accommodate this, the church began to “Christianize” many of the pagan holidays in order to more effectively incorporate people of other religions into the church. The pagan holiday Easter, which, in a loose way, celebrated Spring, life, birth, and renewal was used as a way to merge this festival with Christ’s resurrection (which technically occurred on the Jewish festival Bikkurim). This caused a split among many worshippers as some churches adopted this new “Christian” holiday to celebrate Christ’s resurrection and others kept to the traditional Jewish holiday of Passover when Christ was crucified. These Christians who celebrated Passover were known as Quarterdecimans (as quarta decima, in Latin, means fourteen).

This split of how Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection were celebrated continued for about twelve years until the Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.) where the church leaders agreed that the official church celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection would be celebrated on Easter each year rather than on the Jewish Passover. Easter was decreed to be the first Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring Equinox. This meant Easter could occur as early as March 22nd or as late as April 25th on the Gregorian calendar, depending upon when this full moon occurred. This forever separated the celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection from Passover.

Then, the church decided that their version of Pentecost would be fifty days after Easter. This was a play off how the Jews determined Shavuot from Bikkurim. This was convenient in one way, because it always made Pentecost on a Sunday whereas the Jewish Pentecost (Shavuot) would be fifty days after Firstfruit (Bikkurim) which could be any day of the week. Because Passover and Easter were now technically separated, the worship of Pentecost and Shavuot could be nowhere near each other on the Gregorian calendar. For example, the Jewish holiday Shavuot in 2024 will occur on June 12th (starting sundown on June 11th), the Christian holiday Pentecost occurred on Sunday, May 19th. In addition, the focus of the two holidays is not the same any longer.

This is the topic of what we will discuss next time. I hope you will join me.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Since Easter is just around the corner, I thought we should look at some things Christ said about himself that supports him being the God of Easter. However, before we do that, I think we should visit a few of the past posts to remind ourselves of what we already know so we can go forward. In the post Easter vs First Fruits we saw there is a difference between Easter and First Fruits (Bikkurim); but today, Easter for Christians is the same as First Fruits (Bikkurim) to the first century Christians. For the reason why, review the post. Therefore, for Christians, both are referring to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We also need to understand the character of God to help us understand the role of Jesus Christ. Review the post entitled Son of God to understand this more. This will help us understand the concept of the term “Son of God” and what that means. Does this mean they are two separate beings? Or does this term support the idea of Trinity? Reviewing that post will help you see that terminology sometimes yields to a connotation that was not the original intent.

Our understanding of the Godhead is especially important for us understanding how Jesus Christ can be the God of Easter. See the post entitled Biblical Conundrum: Trinity to review how God is an enigma to us and is very hard to understand from a human viewpoint. However, understanding that He is unique and above our understanding helps us to better understand how Jesus Christ can be the God of Easter. The idea of Trinity, although difficult, is key to our moving forward in understanding how Jesus could be the God of Easter.

Now that we have some background information for our discussion, we will begin to understand what Christ said about himself while here on earth. Many have claimed that while he was a great teacher and showed how to live a good life, he did not claim to be God. Others say he did not claim to have any qualities that would be considered equal to God. As we go forward from here toward Easter, we will explore some of Christ’s sayings and see what he really claimed. I look forward to hearing your feedback.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

When you have something good, you want to pass it on, right? That’s how God feels. As we saw in the previous post, God wanted Israel to be separate from the world but not exclude the world: i.e., he wanted Israel to pass it on. Israel was to be the example for all to follow. To demonstrate this to them, he gave them an example immediately after they entered the Promised Land.

Before they entered the land of Canaan, Joshua had two spies go into Jericho and check things out (Js 2:1). A woman by the name of Rahab hid them at one point to help ensure they were not found out (Js 2:4). These spies reported back to Joshua that the people of Jericho feared the Israelites and now was the appropriate time to take the land as their own (Js 2:24).

The people of Israel first had to cross the Jordan River. Joshua used this as a faith-building exercise. If God could get them safely across the river which was swollen due to the Spring rains, then surely he could deliver Jericho into their hands (Js 3:10). As soon as the feet of the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant touched the water of the river, it parted, and everyone entered Canaan on dry land (Js 3:13-17). After crossing the river, they all encamped at Gilgal (Js 3:19), approximately ten miles from Jericho. When the people of Canaan heard how God parted the Jordan River for them to cross, they all feared the Israelites (Js 5:1). This gave Joshua the opportunity to stop and renew their covenant with God by having all the males circumcised (Js 5:2-9). This was around the tenth day of the first month.

On the fourteenth day of the first month, they held Pesach (Passover; Js 5:10). The next day (Matzah or feast of Unleavened Bread), they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from their new land (Js 5:11). The next day, the manna which God had fed them for forty years ceased and they ate the produced from their new land (Js 5:12). This would have represented their first Bikkurim (or feast of Firstfruit). Joshua then had to let the men completely heal, get them battle ready, and have all the people travel the ten miles to Jericho. It is likely it would have taken the men approximately two weeks to recover from the pain and soreness of their circumcision. Then it is likely it would have taken about a month to group and train the men to prepare for battle and go over battle strategy.

While it is true they expected God to fight their battle for them as he had said (Js 6:2), I’m sure Joshua wanted to have a regimen of fighting men that would be under his strict authority—just in case. Then, it is likely it would have taken a few days to get all the people—close to two million of them—to travel the ten miles, get camped and ready for what God was going to do for them. They then marched around the city once a day for seven days and then seven times on the seventh day(Js 6:4, 12-15). Adding up all this time of preparation, it is not hard to imagine it took them approximately 50 days after their first Bikkurim until the walls of Jericho fell. That would place this time of the conquering of Jericho around Shavuot (Pentecost). As we stated previously, this is the feast of inclusion and that is what happened here.

Once the walls fell on the seventh day of their marching, the Israelites took the city and killed everyone in the city, except for Rahab and her household (Js 6:17, 21-22). Rahab and her family were spared just as the spies had stated. Therefore, Rahab who was a Canaanite, a Gentile, was allowed to live as an Israelite. She married Salmon who was of the tribe of Judah. She and Salmon had a son named Boaz (Mt 1:5) who also became an instrument of inclusion which God used to show this pattern of inclusion again. We’ll discuss that next time.

Don’t you find it interesting that this story in the Bible, which became a most notorious story of all the Biblical stories, fell on Shavuot which God had instituted as a feast to represent inclusion and a feast where paradigm shifts occurred? God doesn’t shove it in their faces and say, “Look, I’m showing you what this feast is about.” No, he lets the realization of what he is doing seep in subtly. Not everyone would get it, but those who paid attention would. While others were screaming, we are God’s chosen people, keep others at bay, God was saying, no, see, I’m giving you examples for you to follow. Follow my lead and be the example, the banner, the ambassador I want you to be for the world. God is still the God of Inclusion. Are you acting that way or are you also trying to keep others at bay. Your future is sure and that is all that matters. But is it supposed to be that way? What if others before you did that? Would you have a relationship with God now if they had that same attitude? God was saying to the Israelites to pass on what he had taught them. He’s still saying the same thing today.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens