Pentecost was the celebration of the beginning of the early weeks of harvest. In Palestine, there were two harvests each year. The early harvest came during the months of May and June; the final harvest came in the Fall. Pentecost was the celebration of the beginning of the early wheat harvest.

The significance of Pentecost to the church is something that we need to walk through carefully, and we shouldn't ignore, because Pentecost was a Jewish celebration. And so in our modern day of the New Testament church, we don't celebrate Pentecost in the way that the Old Testament Hebrews did.

Pentecost was the moment in history after Christ had ascended. And he had promised during the gospel narratives, during his earthly ministry, that he would leave, but that he would send the comforter, he would send the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). And it was at that moment in Pentecost where the Spirit came, and he empowered the early believers to be witnesses for Jesus. 

In Acts 2:1-13 we can read about the details of that historical moment. The Apostle Peter stands up and says, "And let me tell you about the Messiah, Jesus, who is the eternal protection for all of humanity. Let me tell you who he really is." And so Pentecost becomes this marker in history to what many people would say, "And that's the moment that THE Church is born."

It was on that day, the original day of pentecost, that thousands come into the faith. And Christianity goes from this little sect of believers who followed a Jewish rabbi from Nazareth who died and rose again, and suddenly the church breaks forth into the culture. Suddenly it is that unstoppable force that no one can really deny any longer. Pentecost has taken on a new significance for us. It, at one point, is just a historical memory. Now it is the living reality of the moment that the Spirit of God burst forth to give power and life to all of those who trust in Jesus for salvation.