(Originally posted June 3, 2022)

Tomorrow night is the start of Pentecost/Shavuot. As you may recall, the celebration of Shavuot takes place in the opening chapters of Acts, where the Holy Spirit is poured out on all believers. With that in mind, take a look at a few details that Luke chooses to include in Acts 1:

– Jesus was taken up from a mountain after He had given commandments

– He was with the disciples for an additional forty days

– Jesus was taken up in a cloud to sit with God

And wouldn’t you know, all of these details also appear in the story of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19, 20, 24), which is the basis for Shavuot:

– Moses comes down from a mountain to give Israel the commandments

– Moses spent forty days on the mountain with God

– When Moses ascends the mountain, he is covered by a cloud

Jesus’ actions (such as waiting forty days) and Luke’s authorship (such as mentioning Jesus’ giving of the commandments) are meant to scream to us, “SHAVOUT! SHAVUOT! SHAVUOT!” We’re being primed to think of Jesus as a new and better Moses, and any reader familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures would be thinking of Exodus, Moses, and Pentecost as they read through Acts 1.

Well, what happened during that first Shavuot at Mount Sinai? As God’s people gathered together at the foot of the mountain, there was crashing thunder and loud trumpets. Thick storm clouds rushed through the people. God descended from heaven in a raging fire.

And what happens in Acts 2, as the disciples celebrated Shavuot? As God’s people gathered together in Jerusalem, there were loud sounds from heaven. A rushing, mighty wind blew through their midst. Flames of fire appeared over each of the disciples’ heads as God descended upon them.

Jesus is thus the new Moses. He has delivered us from the bondage of sin, written the Word of God upon the tablets of our hearts, and commanded us to reclaim the earth for His Kingdom.

* * * * *

“I will raise up for them a Prophet like Moses from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.” (Deuteronomy 18:18)