Pentecost is the festival of the giving of the Law. But here we see God giving something else. We see him giving us a foretaste of the kingdom to come. It foreshadows what God will ultimately bring to completion in the Last Days: an ingathering of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation who will worship before the throne and before the Lamb (Rev. 7:9). But it is also a commission, for it is the church, now, that is called to proclaim the Good News of salvation to all people, so that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21).

Pentecost reminds us that we are both a saved people and a sent people. For Jesus said, “Just as the Father has sent me, so I am sending you” (John 20:19-31). We go forth in the power of the Spirit to share the Good News with the rest of the world. This is how we follow Jesus into our lives: we rely on the presence and power of the Spirit as we share the Good News with the world.