John 7:37-39 – Pentecost (A)

On this episode of Preaching the Text, John Hoyum and Steve Paulson discuss the texts for Pentecost. On Pentecost, the church receives the gift of the Holy Spirit with tongues of fire, enabling the apostles to preach in many languages. Though many interpreters focus on the way in which Pentecost connects to the giving of the law at Sinai, or the reversal of Babel's confusion of tongues, this episode emphasizes how Pentecost marks a transition. Before, the coming of Christ was always future-tense: he's coming. But at Pentecost, the word changes: now Christ is here. At Pentecost we receive a present Christ, not an absent one.

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