Pentecost (meaning “fiftieth”) comes 50 days after the Passover. It marked a Jewish festival variously called Feast of Weeks (Deut 16:10) or Day of First-fruits (Num 28:26) and was one of the great festivals during which all able-bodied men were required to complete a pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem.

Imagine, then, the scene: hordes of people packing the narrow cobbled streets and lanes. Down one alley and behind a closed door, a group of followers of the risen and ascended Jesus were gathered together and worshipping, when suddenly the Spirit came like a mighty wind and filled them with courage and power. Out they ran, into the streets crowded with people from around the Roman world. They began telling everyone they met about Jesus, regardless of mother tongue, to the amazement of all present. By the end of the day, 3,000 people had become believers in Jesus - the first-fruits of the Church. The whole imagination-stoking story is found in Acts 2.