What It Means to be Filled with the Holy Spirit # 8

"And When the Day of Pentecost Was Fully Come" (continued)

We know that God's approval is upon calling this Feast, "The Day of Pentecost," because in Acts 2:1, the Holy Spirit calls this Feast of the Lord, "the Day of Pentecost," instead of its original name, "the Feast of Harvest" (Exodus 23:16). And by doing so, the Holy Spirit is placing special emphasis upon the fiftieth day and its meaning; therefore, this tells us that "the Day of Pentecost" was the result of the perfect consummation of the time that began with the Feast of the Passover. Leviticus 23 makes it clear that the feast of the Passover, the unleavened bread, and the firstfruits (the wave offering) were observed in the same period of time: the Passover the 14th day of Abib, the unleavened bread the 15th day, the firstfruits the 16th day. Thus, "the Day of Pentecost" was the result of the offering of The True Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ our Lord: "For even Christ our Passover is [was] sacrificed for us ..." (1 Corinthians 5:7). The "Day of Pentecost was the result of The True, Incorruptible Unleavened Bread, Jesus Christ our Lord, laying down His Life that we might have Life Eternal, for Jesus said: "I am the Bread of Life ... and the Bread, moreover, which I will give is My Flesh - for the world's life" (John 6:48, 51). The "Day of Pentecost" was the result of Jesus Christ our Lord being Resurrected from the dead. It was the result of The One Who Is The True Wave Offering, The One Who Is the Firstfruits of God's Resurrection Harvest being Raised from the dead: "And Jesus said ... "I Am the Resurrection, and The Life" (John 11:25). Oh, beloved, "the Day of Pentecost" is the consummation of God's perfect timing, for "the Day of Pentecost" IS THE DIVINE RESULT OF THE CROSS, THE RESURRECTION, AND THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST.

If we look closely at the above Scriptures in 1 Corinthians 5:7; John 6:35, and John 11:25, we shall find that something different has taken place. The "Feasts of the Lord" no longer point to Christ or prefigure Christ; for no longer will the blood of lambs and goats, and other offerings suffice. No! These Feasts of the Lord have become what God always intended them to be, they have become a PERSON, they have become a true and genuine reality in the Person of Jesus Christ.

In John 1:29, we find that the very first mention of the Lamb of God, the very first mention of the True Passover Lamb, far surpasses everything written of the Lamb in the Old Testament.

"The next day John (the Baptist) seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin (all the sin) of the world.'"

Beloved, with these words, the Holy Spirit through John the Baptist sums up and fulfills all the types and shadows which the Passover lambs, and there were thousands, represented in the Old Testament; and He proclaimed The One Who is the Lamb of God Himself, He heralds the only Lamb which God hath provided! He heralds The One Who taketh away the sin of the world! He heralds The One Who taketh away each and every sin of the whole world, sin past, sin present, sin future! For we are not redeemed with corruptible things, "But with the Precious Blood of Christ ..." (1 Peter 1:19).

Thus, in the Old Testament, the feasts of the Lord only point to Christ and prefigure Christ; but throughout the Gospel of John, the Holy Spirit makes it clear that the feasts of the Lord are fulfilled, summed up and completed In The Person of The Lord Jesus Christ. May we please prayerfully read John, chapters six, seven, and eleven before we go further; for in these chapters, most of the feasts of the Lord are spoken of, or are indirectly referred to, as our Lord Jesus presses toward "the hour" that He completes the work His Father sent Him to do: - His Cross, His Resurrection, His Ascension.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 9 - "And the Passover, a Feast of the Jews, was Nigh")