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The Day of
Pentecost |
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As
evening approached in the ancient city of Jerusalem, the distant sounds of the
Temple priests blowing on their trumpets could be heard echoing throughout the
city, signaling the end of the Sabbath and the beginning of the great Day of
Pentecost. Jerusalem was filled with thousands of devout men, some of whom had traveled great distances to celebrate the Passover, and had remained in Jerusalem these past seven weeks to celebrate the Feast of First Fruits. And now this celebration of God's blessings upon Israel would end in the great Day of Pentecost, the fiftieth day since Passover and, according to tradition, a day held sacred among the people of Israel as the one on which Jehovah gave Moses the law on Mount Sinai. However, it was very difficult for most to concentrate upon this traditional holy day, for the entire city was filled with speculation over the disappearance of the body of a man called Jesus of Nazareth. Upon their arrival seven weeks earlier, these devout worshippers entered Jerusalem during the midst of a tremendous turmoil surrounding the man Jesus. Some were claiming to have actually seen him perform miracles, while others said his words were unlike anything heard since the days of the great prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. Others remembered how he had courageously cleansed the Temple of the thieving money changers; and still others remembered how he had silenced the Sadducees on the question of the resurrection, and when the scribes and Pharisees sought to entrap him in his own teachings, he cunningly entangled them in their own web of hypocrisy. To many, this man called Jesus may have been a great teacher or an inspirational leader. However, no one could deny his raising the anger of the priests and the High Priest, for he had actually claimed to be the Son of God, a blasphemous act for any mere man to make, and certainly one which was worthy of death. But those who had followed the angry crowds outside of the city to witness his crucifixion, remembered all too well that this man died unlike any other they had seen before. Even with his last breath he prayed, but in a most unusual way. He prayed to God by actually calling him "Father," saying "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." How strange, they though, that this one accused of blasphemy would die showing such contemptible familiarity to Jehovah by actually calling him "Father." And it was also a strange thing that he would pray for those who had sentenced him to die in this most terrible way. During his final moments they remembered him praying, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Even nature seemed to take notice of this man's crucifixion. Those who stood at the foot of the three crosses witnessed a most unusual event. On a brilliantly clear day, the sky suddenly became darkened and remained that way until Jesus finally gasp for his last breath. At that very moment the earth shook, as though God himself was speaking in the terrible, quaking rumble that struck fear deep into the hearts of everyone present. It was then that the veil of the Temple was suddenly, and quite unexplainably, torn in two – as though unseen hands had ripped the veil apart from the top to the bottom. However, it was what happened just three days later that became the most talked about event in Jerusalem during the next seven weeks. After his crucifixion, the body of the man from Nazareth was placed in the tomb of one called Joseph of Arimathea. The Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, agreed to secure the tomb at the request of the High Priest, since it was feared that the followers of Jesus would remove the body, and claim that he had been resurrected from the dead, as he himself had once prophesied. However, on the morning of the third day the tomb was empty, and the body of Jesus of Nazareth was no where to be found. Those in Jerusalem were hearing the rumor that the disciples of Jesus had come in the night to remove the body from the tomb while the guards slept. But few had given that rumor serious consideration, for everyone knew that the guards would have been executed for sleeping on duty. And furthermore, everyone knew the procedures all Roman guards followed to prevent that very thing from happening. Roman soldiers on guard duty worked only a four hour shift and took turns sleeping. So of the twelve to sixteen men who guarded the tomb, only four to eight slept at any one time, and those would sleep in a tight semi-circle around what they were guarding. There would be other explanations offered for the disappearance of the body, but those who went to the tomb to look for themselves knew that there was no simple explanation for what had happened here. None that is, other than perhaps this man's prophecy of being resurrected from the dead had actually come true. But if that were the case, then his claim of being the Son of God and the Messiah would also be true. And yet, Israel's Messiah would certainly not have come in such a humble manner, living such a humble life, and dying in such a humiliating way. Surely he would have come in glory, and victoriously led Israel in a conquest to forever rid itself of the oppressive Roman yoke. However, those who witnessed the events of the past seven weeks, also heard the claim of Jesus' disciples, that he has been resurrected from the dead. But now, seven weeks had passed, and while it was certainly difficult to concentrate on anything else, these devout worshippers must now turn their attention to the final day of the Feast of First Fruits, the day known as Pentecost. After sunset, throngs of worshippers began gathering outside the Temple gates to wait through the evening for the priests to ceremonially cleanse the great alter, and to make preparations for the Day of Pentecost. Finally, at midnight, the magnificent Temple gates were opened, and the masses of men with their sacrificial animals poured through, quickly making their way to the priests who spent hours examining the thousands of animals to be used as burnt offerings and peace offerings the following day. As the night slowly passed into morning, the priests carefully watched for the sun to break over the distant hills. At that precise moment, the priests would sound their trumpets, calling an end to the preparations and announcing the beginning of festivities which marked the great Day of Pentecost. However, no one realized at that moment that in the matter of a few hours they would see and hear something which would change the course of history, and shake the very foundation of their souls. For soon, these devout worshippers would be given irrefutable evidence that the man called Jesus of Nazareth had indeed been resurrected from the dead, and was in fact the Messiah, the very Son of God, and the Savior of the world. |
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