The old Pentecost was 50 days from the Sunday during Passover season (Leviticus 23:15-22; Deuteronomy 16:9-12), the day when a holy meal was first waved before God and then consumed by the worshiper. In John 14:8-27 Jesus foretold a time when he would leave and send the Holy Spirit. Acts 2 is the fulfilment of that prophecy. The Holy Spirit is our comforter or legal advocate, who sits alongside of all of us who are in the church like a lawyer does in court as someone on our side. We cannot find the Holy Spirit in the world, but only in the community of believers. The Holy Spirit makes it possible for the work of Jesus to continue in the church after his departure. He does this by teaching and reminding us of the things of God.
Shavuot
Pentecost (count 50) is also called shavuot (weeks). The feast of weeks commemorates the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. The Holy Spirit enables God’s law to be written on our hearts. The 50 days or 7 weeks of counting between Passover and Pentecost signifies anticipating the coming of the law as also the Holy Spirit (John 14:8-27). Another name for the festival is the day of firstfruits. Firstfruits of the year were brought as an offering. It pictures the church as firstfruits of God’s harvest in the world. It is also called the festival of reaping, picturing God’s beginning to reap for his kingdom. Among Jews the book of Ruth is read on Pentecost. It appropriately pictures Christ’s redemption of his Bride, the church. The Holy Spirit is the seal of our redemption (Ephesians 4:30).
Knowing and seeing God
In John 14:8-27 Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father and they would be satisfied. It was in response to Jesus’ comment (verse 7) that if they had known Jesus they would have known his Father, and that from that time on the disciples know God and have seen him. Philip did not understand and so Jesus explained that what he said and what he did were the Father’s words and the Father’s works because the Father was in him. Furthermore, those who believe in Jesus will also do similar works and even greater than he did. When we think of greater works, we tend to want that the miracles of Jesus but not any great personal sacrifice. Knowing God includes believing him and relying on the Holy Spirit. Then the church will do greater works than these.
Threats do not create true unity
In John 17:20-26 the Greek phrase in verse 23 is literally “that they might be perfected in unity.” Christianity is incredibly unified on many essential teachings of the faith: who is God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, angels, humanity, sin, the Bible, salvation, church, our mission and last things. Disagreement on nuances of these and other topics causes some outside the church to believe we are in a food fight of total disagreement, but that is untrue. There is certainly room to grow into greater agreement, leaving the final conclusion to the final judgment. Narrow-minded Christians may think that by threatening excommunication they are creating unity, but that is not unity, just teaching people with brains and wisdom to shut their mouths. Real unity comes about through a bond of peace even with a diversity of opinion (Ephesians 4:3).
Is ecumenism really heresy
When we hear churches preach against ecumenism, it is usually couched in terms of a struggle against heresy. But when we dig deeper, the so-called heresy is often not against the teachings of Christ, but against some lesser twig of doctrine. We have heard people argue such issues as traditions of mere men versus innovations also of mere men, contemporary versus modern music, unknown tongues versus known languages, Sunday versus Saturday, immersion versus sprinkling, ad infinitum. Throughout history, church tradition has tended towards narrower and narrower doctrines, creating increasingly greater reasons for division rather than unity. But, salvation is open to a broader range of people than self-centered denominational politics might allow. With Jesus’ prayer for unity in mind (John 17:20-26), might not just one of the greatest heresies of all be that of narrow partisan divisiveness between churches.
Biblical purposes of ecumenism
If we reject ecumenism are we rejecting the unity that Jesus prayed for (John 17:20-26)? The so-called hina (so that) clauses explain why unity is important. Jesus works for unity among us so that all of us may be one; so that we might be in God; so that the world might believe that God sent Jesus (verse 21); so that we might be one as God and Christ are one (verse 22); so that we might be perfected in unity; so that the world will know that God sent Jesus and has loved us even as he has loved Jesus (verse 23); so that where Jesus is we may also be; so that we may see Christ’s glory (verse 24) and so that God’s love may be in us (verse 26).
Being perfected in unity
All churches have a measure of disunity. It may be disagreements in the kitchen or the choir, with the denomination or the pastor, doctrinal twigs or musical tastes. All these are normal to church life. The challenge for all of us is to overlook such lesser annoyances and work for unity. That’s why Jesus prayed for you and me, that we may grow into perfect unity (John 17:20-26). The original Greek uses wording which means “working through the entire process (stages) to reach the final phase” and that final phase is unity. It is a process and we are in the middle of it. We cannot be perfected in unity by human institutions, being burned at a stake or politically motivated claims to authority. Jesus is bringing us into unity through the glory that he has given to us.
Jesus’ prayer for you
If Jesus were to pray a prayer just for you and me what would it be? What would he wish us? We actually have a record of just such a prayer. In John 17:20-26 Jesus prayed for his disciples but also for those who would believe the message of the disciples. That message has been recorded in the New Testament and has been preached around the world since. What then was Jesus’ prayer for you and me? It was that we be one. The Greek word for one means in this context “to be united most closely (in will, spirit).” What does that mean when someone undermines the pastor, the bishop, or causes division in a local church? When we are disgruntled and critical of our fellow faulty human beings, how are we contributing to Jesus’ prayer for unity?
How are we one
When Jesus prayed for Christian unity, did his prayer in John 17:20-26 fail? Are we possibly really one even despite the man-made walls that seem to divide us? Are we one in our practices? No. Christians worship in all different kinds of manners and customs. Are we unified in teaching about every twiggy issue of doctrine? No. Are our human institutions unified? No. But Jesus’ prayer for unity was specific about one thing. He prayed that we may be one, just as the Father is in him and he is in the Father. He prayed that we would be in Father and the Son. So far so good. All Christians who are in Christ and in the Father are unified, but we still have a way to go to experience the unity that Father and Son have between themselves.
Who is with us
Have we ever wondered who is with us? In a world of selfishness, who is really for us? If we love Jesus and are obedient to his teachings, both he and the Father make their home with us (John 14:23-29). Putting that together with the rest of the context then, that means that all three members of the Holy Trinity are with us. The Holy Spirit is promised along with the presence of the Father and the Son. God makes his home with us. How do we prepare for God to live with us? The answer is also given. We love and obey him. How do we love Jesus? He taught that we do so by loving our neighbors in actions, feeding the hungry and thirsty, taking in the foreigner and clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned.
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