Counting to Pentecost: The Firstfruits of God’s Plan

Pentecost holds a unique place among God’s appointed festivals. Unlike other holy days with fixed calendar dates, Pentecost must be counted—beginning from the day of the Wave Sheaf offering during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And while most biblical feasts are known by Hebrew names, this day is widely remembered by its Greek name: Pentecost, meaning “the fiftieth day” (Thayer’s Greek Definitions).

This name directly connects to how the date is calculated:

“You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath,” God instructed Israel, and on that fiftieth day, they were to proclaim “a holy convocation” (Leviticus 23:16, 21).

This method of reckoning contrasts with fixed-date festivals like Passover or Trumpets and has sparked centuries of debate over its proper observance.

Clarifying the Count: Ancient Disagreements and Calendar Confusion

At first glance, the count to Pentecost might seem straightforward. But longstanding disagreements—especially between the Pharisees and Sadducees—reveal the difficulty in defining the “Sabbath” from which the count begins. Does it refer to the weekly Sabbath or a festival High Day?

The Pharisees began their count from Nisan 16, interpreting the “Sabbath” in Leviticus 23:11 as the first High Day of Unleavened Bread. This approach fixed Pentecost to the 6th of Sivan each year. But the Sadducees—and those following a more literal understanding of Scripture—held that the “Sabbath” refers to the weekly Sabbath, meaning the count always begins on a Sunday, and Pentecost always falls on a Sunday.

This view is supported by the Hebrew phrase in Leviticus 23:15: mimmacharat haShabbat (מִמָּחֳרַ֣ת הַשַּׁבָּ֔ת), literally “from the morrow after the Sabbath”—with the definite article indicating the weekly Sabbath, not a festival High Day.

Complicating matters further are the shifting civil calendars over history. The Jewish calendar has remained mostly consistent since its standardization, but the global transition from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar introduced misalignments with biblical observance. Many Christian traditions today observe Pentecost based on Easter—counting fifty days from Easter Sunday—detaching it from the agricultural and covenantal framework found in Scripture.

A Key Detail from Scripture

One biblical example for understanding a nuance in the timing of Pentecost comes from Joshua 5, where Israel keeps the Passover shortly after entering the Promised Land. This passage provides an important precedent:
They observed the Passover on the evening of the 14th, ate the produce of the land the next day, and the manna ceased the day after they ate the produce. According to Leviticus 23, the new grain could not be eaten until the Wave Sheaf offering was presented.

This account shows that the Wave Sheaf offering must fall within the Days of Unleavened Bread, even if the weekly Sabbath that triggers the count falls outside those seven days.

A Rare but Biblically Supported Scenario

In most years, the weekly Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread ensures the Wave Sheaf offering (the following Sunday) also falls within the Feast.
But in 2025, the calendar presents an uncommon situation:

• Nisan 14 (Passover) begins Friday evening, April 11, and continues through the daytime portion of Saturday, April 12 — the weekly Sabbath.
  
• Nisan 15, the first High Day of Unleavened Bread, begins on Saturday evening, April 12, and continues through Sunday, April 13.
  

This means the weekly Sabbath that precedes the Wave Sheaf offering technically falls just before the seven Days of Unleavened Bread.
Yet, following the biblical example in Joshua 5, the Wave Sheaf is still rightly offered on Sunday, April 13 — within the Feast — because the offering itself must take place during the appointed time, even if the Sabbath that precedes it does not.

Harvest and the Heart of Pentecost

Pentecost is also known as the Feast of Weeks (Exodus 34:22; Deuteronomy 16:10) and the Feast of Harvest (Exodus 23:16). It marked the first major harvest of the year—the early grain, or firstfruits.

This connection is emphasized in Numbers 28:26:

“Also on the day of the firstfruits, when you bring a new grain offering to the LORD at your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy convocation…”

The offering of firstfruits was more than a celebration of physical blessings—it pointed to something far greater. It symbolized a small beginning of a much larger spiritual harvest to come.

Acts 2: The Day the Harvest Began

Following His resurrection, Jesus ascended to the Father on the first day of the week—at the time of the Wave Sheaf offering—becoming “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). For forty days, He taught His disciples about the Kingdom of God (Acts 1:3), instructing them to wait in Jerusalem for what was to come.

“You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:5).

On the Day of Pentecost, 31 A.D., as devout Jews gathered to observe the Feast of Weeks, that promise was fulfilled. The Holy Spirit descended like tongues of fire, and the disciples began to speak in foreign languages (Acts 2:1–4). Thousands were moved by Peter’s message, repented, were baptized, and received the Holy Spirit.

The New Testament Church was born.

It was no coincidence this occurred on Pentecost. This day had been set apart from the beginning—not only as a harvest festival, but as a foreshadowing of God’s spiritual harvest. Many traditions also hold that the giving of the law at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19–20) occurred on the original Feast of Weeks, linking the giving of the Spirit to the giving of the law: one written on tablets of stone, the other on hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26–27).

What Pentecost Means Today

For Christians, Pentecost is more than a commemoration of the Church’s beginning. It reveals a foundational truth about God’s plan:

His Spirit is available to those who repent, are baptized, and choose to follow Him (Acts 2:38; Acts 5:32).

But there is more.

Pentecost teaches us that God works in phases. Just as a harvest begins with firstfruits, salvation does not come to all at once.

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him…” —John 6:44

Those who are called now—who receive God’s Spirit and walk in obedience—are the firstfruits of a greater harvest still to come. Their role is not only to grow spiritually but to prepare for the time when God will call all humanity.

A Holy Day With Eyes on the Future

In a world that often treats salvation as a now-or-never proposition, Pentecost quietly reminds us of something deeper:

God’s plan unfolds across generations, with purpose and timing.

It is the festival of the called, the harvest of the willing, the launching of the Church, and the promise of transformation.

And it all begins with a count—a quiet reminder that God’s greatest works often begin in patience, purpose, and preparation. reminder that sometimes the most meaningful things are worth waiting for.