Prayer Fuel
PENTECOST
Both the giving of the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai and the giving of the Holy Spirit to birth the Church in Jerusalem happened on the 50th day after Passover.
Both events were promised and expected encounters with the LORD. The people prepared themselves for his coming and the Lord came in tangible ways to establish his covenant, presence, and blessing with his people.
Both events signify God’s desire to dwell among his people and guide them in righteous living. At Mount Sinai, God established a covenant with Israel, providing them with moral and legal guidance through the Law. Similarly, Pentecost inaugurated a new covenant based on the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within believers, enabling them to fulfil the law of love taught by Jesus.
The former event established Israel as a nation whose very identity is to represent and follow the LORD. The latter event empowered believers with boldness to preach the death and resurrection of Christ to all nations and teach them to obey everything Christ had taught them.
Below is a summary chart that compares and contrasts the giving of the law 50 days after the first Passover and the giving of the Holy Spirit 50 days after the Jesus Passover.
| What | The giving of the 10 Commandments | The giving of the Holy Spirit |
| Where | On Mount Sinai. | In Jerusalem. |
| When | 50 days after the first Passover. | 50 days after the unique Passover when Jesus was crucified. |
| Prayer | For deliverance from Pharaoh’s cruel exploitation. | For Christ, repentance, and forgiveness of sins to be made known among the nations |
| Sacrifice | A year-old male lamb without defect. | The body and blood of Jesus Christ – the lamb of God. |
| Feast | The Feast of Weeks or Shavuot | The day of Pentecost. |
| How | God came in thunder, lightning, fire, with the sound of a trumpet upon the mountain. | The Holy Spirit came in a violent wind with tongues of fire that separated and came to rest upon each of the disciples. |
| Communication | God spoke to the whole community directly and to the community through Moses. | People from all the nations heard the disciples speaking the wonders of God in their specific mother tongues. |
| Transformation | Into a new nation with moral and legal identity, protection, and guidance from God. | Power from on high to become the people of God from every tribe, nation, and language. |
| Effect | After worshiping the golden calf about 3,000 died by the word of Moses and the sword of the Levites.[1] | Peter preached the death and resurrection of Christ to Israel and about 3,000 accepted the message and were baptised. |
| Covenant | Promise to bless all who obey the law of God and curse all who disobey with hard hearts. | The promise of new hearts for believers enabling them to hear and fulfil the law of love modelled and taught by Jesus. |
| Teachers | Moses and the Torah | The Apostles and the Holy Spirit[2] |
Reflection
Those who are reciting the Quran during Ramadan will be reminded that Allah is totally other and unknowable. How might the Gospel become good news to such people?
Prayer
Father, we thank you for revealing yourself so wonderfully at Mount Sinai and Jerusalem exactly 50 days after Passover. Your timing is remarkable.
We thank you for sending us your laws, for coming to show us how to fulfil your laws in Spirit and Truth, and for sending your Holy Spirit to fill all who follow you.
We pray you will have mercy on those blinded and bound by dead religion and false gods. We pray you might open their ears to hear your saving truth, and open their hearts to trust and obey you.
This evening eleven of us met in an upper room to share the Word of God, prayer and fellowship. We are currently quite limited in boldness to share the Gospel freely. Please pray for the witness of the Holy Spirit to quicken and embolden.
Thank you for praying for our house guest who is plagued by manipulating, accusing and threatening voices. We had quite a battle today, Easter Sunday. K is learning to resist these voices and was able to come out of her room today and wash her clothes despite her fears. This was a big win for us. Please pray for the Word and Spirit of God to dwell in her richly and to overcome these voices and the fear they bring.
[1] Exodus 32:28.
[2] John 14:26.
