Many Protestant denominations consider Pentecost the third most important date in the Christian calendar, after Easter and Christmas. It was the time, fifty days after Jesus鈥� crucifixion and resurrection, when the Holy Spirit landed on His disciples. They flopped around, laughing, crying, babbling incoherently 鈥� sometimes all at once 鈥� and people in the area 鈥� many of whom were visiting Jerusalem for what was then a Jewish religious feast -- assumed they were drunk.
That鈥檚 when the disciple Peter gathered himself together and stood up to the visitors. He told them they were witnessing the fulfillment of a prophecy spoken by the prophet Joel centuries before, saying that God 鈥渨ill pour out [His] Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams ... and whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.鈥� Peter then went on to berate the visitors for crucifying the Messiah but allowed that they really did not know what they were doing.
He spoke so forcefully and convincingly that three thousand people were touched to the core and became believers in Jesus on the spot.
So, who was this man who dared to lecture Jewish leaders about prophecy and the Messiah, and have the effrontery to point an accusing finger and then tell them they were forgiven?
It was the same man who, fifty days earlier, denied Jesus three times on the night he was arrested. The same man who realized that Jesus had predicted he would do that, and 鈥渨ent out and wept bitterly,鈥� according to Luke. But do you realize that from that time until the end of the Bible, Peter鈥檚 denials are never mentioned again? When Peter refers to Jesus, he doesn鈥檛 beat himself up in public for denying Him, although he certainly could have.
What happened in those fifty days?
Three things happened. First, Jesus鈥� sacrifice wipes the wrongs 鈥渙ff the books鈥� for anyone who believes. Second, He absolved Peter of the shame he felt by telling him, 鈥淚f you love Me, feed My sheep鈥�. He told him that three times 鈥� as many times as Peter had denied Him.
Third, Peter 鈥済ot it鈥�. He understood what it meant to be absolved. Only then could he get on with the task Jesus had assigned him.
The Christian idea of repentance and redemption is a two-way conversation for us today, as it was with Peter. We are expected to accept that we are forgiven, and are no longer the person who committed those wrongs.
It sounds simple, but it鈥檚 not easy. It means shutting out the Nattering Nabob of Negativism that never misses a chance to remind you what a jerk you鈥檝e been, the dumb things you鈥檝e done and how many people you鈥檝e hurt. The Nabob 鈥� some call him the enemy, some call him Satan 鈥� usually natters at me when I鈥檓 alone with my thoughts or trying to get to sleep, trying to drag me backwards with thoughts of things that can never be re-done. My defence 鈥� my only defence 鈥� is to remind him 鈥� and myself 鈥� that Jesus has absolved me of all that 鈥� just as He did Peter.
The devil is welcome to my past, but a vital part of being a Christian involves handing our present and future over to Jesus Christ. That requires faith in things unseen -- another vital part of being a Christian.
So, when we think of Pentecost, beyond thoughts of Holy Rollers and speaking in tongues, let鈥檚 consider the example it gives, of a man who 鈥済ot over it 鈥� and got on with it.鈥�
Drew Snider is a writer and former broadcaster who pastored for ten years on Vancouver's Downtown East Side. He's an occasional guest speaker at churches and writes a blog, "
You can read more articles from our multifaith blog, Spiritually Speaking,
* This article was published in the print edition of the sa国际传媒 on Saturday, May 19 2-18
