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Pentecost
June 1, 2025

Today is Pentecost, and possibly the only Holy Day of the Bible widely recognized by many Christians. We are told that it was on this day the Holy Spirit was first given to the faithful and it came to them through the sound of a rushing mighty wind. Living in El Paso, I have seen more than my share of windy and dusty days this year. On those windy days, the sound of the wind is stronger than the sound of cars from the nearby freeway, and when I look out the window, I see movement confirming the sound of wind. It might be the tree branches swaying back and forth, the leaves fluttering in the wind, or ripples across the surface of the pond. On the dusty days, I can see the dust flying in the air. But imagine the day of Pentecost where the sound of a rushing mighty wind was heard but we’re not told there was any movement that we would expect with a strong wind. It would be confusing, sort of like if we hear a strange sound coming from our house that we can’t explain. If we hear the sound of a rushing mighty wind and we feel the wind, it all makes sense, but when all we hear is the sound and there is no wind, it would be different. I’d probably go back to look to see if a television or radio was left on.

In Jerusalem on Pentecost all those years ago, there was the sound of a rushing mighty wind that descended on and filled the house. Then cloven tongues of fire appeared above each of them. Each had been given the Holy Spirit and each began to speak in a foreign language. If the sound of the wind wasn’t confusing for bystanders, the people suddenly speaking foreign languages might have seemed jarring, as if they had been rudely awakened from a dream.

Acts 2:1-4
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The promise of the Holy Spirit was given by Jesus to the disciples before He died. Jesus also explained that unlike the disciples who spent so much time with Him before His death, the world would not see Jesus after He died, and that it would be through the Holy Spirit that Jesus would be made manifest to believers everywhere, as evidenced by their keeping the commandments of Jesus, adding that those who love by keeping the commandments of Jesus will be loved by God the Father. Jesus further explained that the world who did not know Him, would be unable to see Him because they wouldn’t be keeping His commandments that reflected the teachings of God the Father. The Holy Spirit given to the faithful would lead to the faithful having peace, a genuine peace, so that our hearts are not troubled, so that we live without fear. Jesus reminded the disciples that He would one day return, and until that happened, the prince of this world, Satan, would rule.

John 14:19-31
Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 21. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

Jesus would further explain to the disciples that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, would only be given if He went away, meaning if Jesus didn’t die the Holy Spirit wouldn’t be given as it has been since that Pentecost in Jerusalem. He showed that the Holy Spirit would convict the world of sin that comes through non-belief, of righteousness that comes through living our life in faith aligned to the teachings of Jesus, and of judgment because Satan, the prince of this world is being judged. Beyond the teachings of Jesus that we have in the Bible, the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth.

It is the Holy Spirit, first given on Pentecost, that glorifies Jesus and the Father because it is through the Holy Spirit that we can understand what it means to live as a Christian doing what is expected of us. Beyond doing what is expected of us, we also are able to live our lives with a happiness that comes by the Holy Spirit that gives us the opportunity to rejoice in Jesus Christ and God the Father, where our joy can be full.

John 16:5-24
But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father? They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith. Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me? Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

The Greek word translated as joy is chara, Strong’s Greek word 5479, meaning cheerfulness and joy. We see this word used in many other verses in the New Testament and joy itself is one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-26
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Going back to that Pentecost in Jerusalem, there were religious people from every part of the known world who saw the disciples speak in foreign languages and were able to recognize the words being spoken as in their native language. Now if the people speaking in their own native language were well educated, it would have easily made sense to them, but the people speaking were Galileans, thought of generally as being uneducated, and it was the fact that it was uneducated folk speaking in their language that confounded them, because they couldn’t comprehend that an uneducated person could speak in a foreign language.

When some were trying to figure out how these uneducated people were speaking in foreign languages, others were laughing at it attributing what they saw as the result of uneducated people getting drunk and then somehow as being drunk somehow sounding super intelligent speaking a foreign language. For people to think that getting drunk would allow Galileans to become smart enough to speak a foreign language speaks volumes about how backwards the Galileans were seen by others. Keep in mind, all of this was happening in the third hour of the day, what today would be called nine in the morning. Peter saw their remarks and stood up and let everyone know that the people speaking in foreign languages were not drunk, they were fulfilling something that had been spoken of by the prophet Joel, the giving of the Holy Spirit, and that those who would call on the name of the Lord would be saved.

Acts 2:5-21
And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Joel did indeed write of this saying that the Spirit of God would be poured out on all flesh and could possibly one day include people from all those foreign countries representing the languages that were being spoken. When Peter quoted Joel saying that, “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved,” he probably didn’t quite understand that salvation would be also given to Gentiles. People receiving the Holy Spirit would be given gifts of the spirit which would include the gift of prophecy. Joel also showed that the Holy Spirit would have to be given first before the coming of the end time and that during this end time all who turn to God will be saved, and that this number, a remnant would be a smaller number of people.

Joel 2:28-32
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

Thousands of years ago the Levitical priesthood would give a blessing to the people of Israel. We can look to the words of that blessing uttered so long ago to understand the blessing that comes to all who are called, whether they have already lived and died, are presently alive, or will be called at yet a future time.

Numbers 6:22-27
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.

The words of the blessing given by the Levitical priesthood were designed to bring comfort to those who heard the blessing, and the greater blessing comes to us today not through those words as if words magically have a super power, but the greater blessing comes to us today through the Holy Spirit, made available to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through His death and resurrection we have been given a blessing we can never earn knowing that it was Jesus Christ who was crucified and raised from the dead so that the penalty of death is removed for us. David had some level of understanding of this, which is why in the Psalms, he wrote about the resurrection of the Messiah, and we can read what Peter preached about that Psalm as we continue in Acts.

Acts 2:22-28
Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.

When Peter was quoting David, he was referring to a passage from Psalm sixteen.

Psalm 16:8-11
I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Peter explained that David was not talking about himself in this Psalm because David’s grave was still with them. Up to this point when people had read Psalm sixteen, they probably thought that David believed his own body would be supernaturally preserved by God. They wouldn’t have understood that He was describing the Messiah to come, and this led Peter to refer to David as a prophet, because he knew that God would raise up the Messiah to sit on the throne, and also knew that God would not allow the body of the Messiah to decay in the grave. Peter reminded all who were there that they were witnesses to what happened to Jesus, and then added how David wrote that the LORD said to my Lord to sit on His right hand until enemies are made the footstools.

Acts 2:29-35
Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool.

Peter in the last few verses was quoting from the one-hundred tenth Psalm, a shorter Psalm of seven verses where indeed the LORD said to my Lord to sit at His right hand until the enemies are made the footstools. Psalm one hundred ten also shows how Jesus would rule with strength even overtaking the enemies, with the people turning to Jesus. The rulers of this world would be reduced to nothing in the Day of the Lord and Jesus would remain as the Judge of the entire world as the Kingdom of God is established in the demise of civilization as we know it.

Psalm 110:1-7
The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries. He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

Peter concluded his Pentecost message by showing that God had made Jesus both Lord and Messiah, the Christ. Having heard Peter’s message, the people including those people who originally thought they were looking at a bunch of drunk people early in the morning, asked of Peter and the other apostles who were there what they should do. Peter answered their question by telling them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ to have their sins forgiven and to receive the Holy Spirit, and that this promise was to the people listening, to their children, and to people afar off including everyone alive today, whoever God the Father would call.

Acts 2:36-39
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Pentecost as we know it comes from the Greek and means to count fifty, as in fifty days. Peter and the apostles were gathered together on a Sunday, not because Sunday was the Lord’s Day, not because Sunday is a weekly memorial of the resurrection of Jesus, but because there is no other day of the week that Pentecost can be observed other than Sunday. Pentecost, even in the times of ancient Israel, has always been observed on what we call Sunday. In the Greek it was Pentecost and in the Old Testament it was the Feast of Weeks. In Leviticus we see the command for this Holy Day, and how the weeks are calculated. Going back to the Days of Unleavened Bread, which this year began on Sunday, April 13th, we would begin counting with the Sunday when the wave sheaf offering would be offered in Old Testament times. When the Days of Unleavened Bread starts on a Sunday as is what happened this year, the wave sheaf offering would also be offered on that first Holy Day, because that offering needed to be completed within the Days of Unleavened Bread. Counting from Sunday, April 13th, we find we observed seven weekly Sabbaths. Ending on Sunday, June 1st, we find that we are exactly at fifty days, from which the word Pentecost in the Greek is derived. In the Old Testament many different types of offerings were given in conjunction with the Holy Days, and on the Day of Pentecost, it was no different. Unlike the Days of Unleavened Bread, on this Holy Day, leavened bread was to be included in the offering. As a Holy Day, it is like the weekly Sabbath, and is not a day for work. Interestingly, it is on this day among all of the Holy Days, that God references the gleaning laws. Today we have food banks and back then there was a gleaning requirement in the land. Gleaning was the harvest of crops along the edges and in the corners that might be missed by traditional harvest processes to give those who were poor the opportunity to have food to eat. We think of modern farm machinery to harvest crops, and even back during this time methods were used to speed the harvest.

Leviticus 23:15-22
And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD. And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD. Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.

Similarly today and in a spiritual manner, God does not exclusively reserve spiritual food for his people, and neither should we reserve spiritual food for just ourselves. Just like in the days of ancient Israel when poor people would gather food from along the edges of fields and in the corners, today, spiritually poor people hunger and thirst for God’s truth even though they don’t know it. It would be totally inconsistent with the principle of gleaning to keep these spiritually poor from gleaning the truth. Just like landowners could not keep the poor from their land for the purposes of gleaning food, we cannot exclude the spiritually poor from God’s truth, because one day they too will have their day of salvation. It would be selfish on our part to keep the truth of God just to ourselves. When we think of gleaning we think of grain fields. Gleaning also applied to any tract of agricultural land and could be applied to orchards and vineyards.

Leviticus 19:9-10
And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.

In Galatians, Paul would explain this concept a little more, showing that we all reap what we sow. In other words, we get what we deserve. He added that if we want eternal life, we must sow to the Spirit. We must also be spiritually minded and seek to grow spiritually if we want everlasting life. As we have this desire to grow spiritually, we cannot exclude others from the spiritual benefit we have been given. Just like we are benefiting from the spiritual harvest God has given to us in our life, what we know spiritually has to benefit others beyond just benefiting ourselves. If all we do is gobble up spiritual truth and horde it for ourselves, there can be no benefit to others. We have to be willing to do good for others, especially those who are of the household of faith, but also not forgetting those who are not of the family of faith who have a need. When we do this we are practicing gleaning in the modern era.

Galatians 6:7-10
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

There are those who criticize our observance of Pentecost as a Holy Day as well as the Holy Days and weekly Sabbaths because of the sacrifices and offerings recorded in the Old Testament. We know that these sacrifices and ceremonial offerings are no longer needed in our worship of God as Jesus died once for all taking away the need for these sacrifices and offerings.

Hebrews 10:5-10
Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come in the volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

We know there are some who will criticize our observance of these days because of the words Paul used in writing to the Galatians, when he criticized them for observing days, months, times, and years.

Galatians 4:9-11
But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

The word Paul used for observe is paratereo, Strong’s Greek word 3906, which was also used by the Gospel writers to describe how the scribes and Pharisees watched Jesus. Paratereo means to insidiously watch with the idea of finding fault with others. When we observe Pentecost, any Holy Day, or the weekly Sabbaths, it is not to insidiously watch to find fault with others. We keep these days because we believe these are still commanded to be kept. We believe that one day when Jesus returns all will keep these days. Until Jesus returns it is not our place to criticize non-believers because it is God the Father who calls. It is also not our place to criticize other believers as they also keep these days. We keep these days, we observe these days, not because of a desire to criticize others, not out of a feeling of spiritual superiority, but because we feel compelled to keep and observe what we believe to be in effect.

Some people use the term first-century apostolic Christians to describe us because we feel our beliefs are aligned not with modern Christianity but the Christianity that we can read from the Bible, including instances that show the early church and Holy Days. Today we are keeping Pentecost and there are times in the New Testament after the giving of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem where Pentecost is mentioned.

In one such instance, Paul had a desire to return to Jerusalem for Pentecost and this desire is referenced in the Book of Acts and one of Paul’s letters. If there was no need to keep Pentecost, the Holy Days, or Sabbath, this would have been a definitive point of discussion in the New Testament and it is totally missing. Instead we see relatable references given in passing that suggest that in what we will read today, Pentecost was still observed by the early church. In making plans to sail back to Judea, Paul understood that if he rushed things a bit, he could make it back to Jerusalem for the Day of Pentecost.

Acts 20:13-16
And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot. And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene. And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios; and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day we came to Miletus. For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.

In his first letter to the Corinthians, it appears Paul decided to stay in Ephesus until Pentecost.

1 Corinthians 16:5-9
Now I will come unto you, when I shall pass through Macedonia: for I do pass through Macedonia. And it may be that I will abide, yea, and winter with you, that ye may bring me on my journey whithersoever I go. For I will not see you now by the way; but I trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit. But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost. For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.

In Peter’s message on that Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was first given, he mentioned the resurrection of Jesus. With Jesus resurrected as the firstfruits, it is up to each of us to determine in our own minds to be with Christ at His return, whether we be with him alive or in death. It is on Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was first given, that it is good for us to consider that we will be Christ’s at his coming as we move forward to the establishment of the Kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 15:20-28
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Similarly, James writes that we should be a kind of the first fruits of God.

James 1:17-18
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

The Holy Spirit was first given to the church on that Pentecost in Jerusalem thousands of years ago. We might not appear as drunk to those living in our communities around us, but we might seem to be a peculiar people. We are already benefiting from the Holy Spirit that has been given us, and using the principles of gleaning that are mentioned in connection with Pentecost, we can use the spiritual gifts we have been given to also benefit those who have not yet been called.