The weekly Sabbath within the Feast of Unleavened Bread is crucial for determining the starting point of the Pentecost count, as it fluctuates on the Hebrew calendar, falling on Nisan 15, 17, 19, or 21. This varying date necessitates counting the fifty days to Pentecost, aligning with God's command to count. Using the holy-day Sabbaths of Unleavened Bread, which are fixed on Nisan 15 or 21, would result in Pentecost occurring on the same day each year, either Sivan 6 or 12, eliminating the need for counting and contradicting God's instruction. Only the weekly Sabbath within Unleavened Bread fulfills the requirement for counting as instructed by God. Additionally, the Hebrew definite article "ha" preceding "Sabbath" in Leviticus 23:11 and 15 consistently refers to the weekly Sabbath, supporting its use as the starting point for the count. The practice of the Sadducees, who were responsible for Temple worship, further corroborates this by using the weekly Sabbath within Unleavened Bread to determine both the Wavesheaf Day and Pentecost, always observing Pentecost on a Sunday. Scripture also shows that Jesus Christ's ascension, fulfilling the Wavesheaf offering, occurred on a Sunday morning after the weekly Sabbath during Unleavened Bread, verifying the correct Sabbath for counting. Moreover, Jesus Christ and His disciples observed Pentecost on the same day as the Jews of His time, who followed the Sadducean practice of counting from the weekly Sabbath within Unleavened Bread, resulting in a Sunday Pentecost.

In 2025, an unusual alignment occurred where Passover fell on the weekly Sabbath, an event that happens roughly once every decade. This alignment influenced the timing of the Pentecost count, which begins the day after the Sabbath within the Days of Unleavened Bread. This year, the Sabbath within Unleavened Bread coincided with the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, positioning the day after the Sabbath, known as Wavesheaf Day, just after the festival. The gospel accounts in the New Testament refer to the day of Christ's post-resurrection appearance with the phrase mia sabbaton, which translates literally from Greek as the first day of the weeks, indicating the first day of the seven-week count to Pentecost. This phrase designates Wavesheaf Day, which always falls on the day after a weekly Sabbath. In all four accounts of Jesus Christ's appearance after His resurrection, that Sunday following the Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread marked the day He appeared to His disciples and rose to be accepted by the Father as the First of the Firstfruits, initiating the count to Pentecost.

The instructions in Leviticus 23:15-16 regarding the counting to Pentecost do not directly specify that the Sabbath within the Days of Unleavened Bread is the anchor for determining Wavesheaf day. However, neither do they explicitly state that the morrow after the Sabbath must fall within Unleavened Bread. This ambiguity requires a deep examination of God's word to uncover the underlying principles and ensure a consistent understanding without contradiction. When Passover occurs on a Sabbath, the essence of Wavesheaf day, which centers on the individual act of harvesting, stands in contrast to the essence of a high day Sabbath, where such work would not be permissible for individuals, even if priests were blameless in their duties. Starting the count from the Sabbath within Unleavened Bread ensures that Wavesheaf day remains separate from a holy day, providing a consistent and straightforward approach regardless of how the days align in any given year.

In years when Passover falls on a weekly Sabbath, a unique situation arises concerning the weekly Sabbath within the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This occurrence, happening less than 13 percent of the time, results in the first day of Unleavened Bread, a high holy day Sabbath, being on a Sunday, and the last day of Unleavened Bread, another high holy day Sabbath, falling on the weekly Sabbath. In such years, the only weekly Sabbath within the Feast of Unleavened Bread is on the last day. To maintain a consistent and unchanging rule, the count to Pentecost begins the next day, which falls one day outside the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Nothing in Scripture has been found to countermand this rule. Passover, though it occasionally falls on a weekly Sabbath, does not qualify as a weekly Sabbath within the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Leviticus 23:5-6 clearly distinguishes Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month from the Feast of Unleavened Bread beginning on the fifteenth day. They are separate festivals with distinct teachings, and using Passover as the starting point for the count is inconsistent with the method applied in the majority of years. God uses the one weekly Sabbath falling within the seven days of Unleavened Bread as the marker for the following day to begin the count to Pentecost. Thus, in about 13 percent of years, the count may start on a Sunday outside the Feast of Unleavened Bread without disrupting its spiritual connection to Pentecost. The insistence on using the weekly Sabbath within the Feast of Unleavened Bread as the marker is rooted in the pattern set by Jesus, the true spiritual Wavesheaf, Who rose to heaven for acceptance before God on a Sunday morning after the weekly Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, as commanded in Leviticus 23. This vital element of the weekly Sabbath preceding Wavesheaf Day occurring during Unleavened Bread establishes the pattern to be followed in all years. Additionally, the date of the weekly Sabbath within Unleavened Bread varies annually based on when Passover falls, ensuring that Pentecost may fall on different dates, thus necessitating the count each year to observe it correctly.