Acts - 3

Acts – 3

Acts 2:1-13

Introduction

The foundation of the Bible is Genesis 1-11. Those chapters set out how all things began and where all things find their meaning. God creates the heavens and the Earth and all that inhabit them. He describes His creation as “good.” After creating our first parents, Adam and Eve, sin is introduced into the world through their rebellion against God’s commands. The consequences are devastating. Their relationships with God, with one another, with creation, and even with themselves are all broken. There is death, condemnation, and separation.

Humanity’s sin grows to such epic proportions that God sends the flood to wipe everything out except Noah and his family. But even after the flood recedes and life continues in the world, sin dominates. These foundational chapters of the Bible conclude with an event at the Tower of Babel.

Genesis 11:1-9 – Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” 5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.” 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

Due to mankind’s wickedness to create a “name for themselves” and to build a tower into the heavens (because they believed they belonged right there with God); God brings condemnation. That condemnation is shown in the confusion of languages. They no longer speak the same language. And that condemnation and confusion brought separation. Humanity is no longer united in their rebellion, or even in their language.

In the very next chapter, God begins a multiple-millennia process by which He will bring things back full circle. From its small beginning with Abraham in Genesis 12 by creating a new nation that will be God’s own possession in the world, all the way through Jesus at the cross, God’s work in the world has been to undo the condemnation and to bring salvation. That work of God culminates here in Acts 2. Instead of bringing condemnation on sin, God offers salvation from sin. Instead of confusing language, God will destroy the language barrier so the Gospel can go to the world. Instead of separation, God will unite people by His Spirit.

Acts 2:1-13 – When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

TS – let’s take the next few minutes and walk through all that God is doing here and then we will look at some takeaways for us today.

Pentecost is the NT name for the OT Jewish Feast of Weeks. It occurs exactly 50 days after Passover (Feast of Weeks because it is a week of weeks…7x7=49). It is an annual celebration that accomplishes two purposes for the Jews: 1) honors God’s faithfulness in the Spring harvest, shown by their offering to God of two loaves of bread from their recent harvest; 2) remember God’s convening of ancient Israel at Mt. Sinai after the Exodus to give them the Law.

So isn’t it interesting then, that when you read what happens at Pentecost, it definitely brings to mind images from Sinai. After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, God has them come to Mt. Sinai first. God calls Moses up to the top of the mountain where God will descend to meet him there and give him the Law. God’s presence on Mt. Sinai is marked by powerful winds in a thunderstorm, lightning, and fire.

In fact, these two miraculous phenomena that happen here, the wind and fire, are always indicative of God’s presence and power in the world. Fire typically signifies God’s presence. that happened on Mt. Sinai, it happened when God first called Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3. Wind, the same word for ‘breath’ and ‘Spirit’ typically signifies God’s miraculous power of creation.

- In Genesis 2 when God creates Adam out of the dust, Genesis 2:7 – then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.

- At Mt. Sinai, with the wind whipping the top of the mountain, God creates a new people on the Earth with Israel.

- In Ezekiel 37, at the Valley of Dry Bones, the prophet Ezekiel stands before a vast army of bones from an ancient battle that have been long dead. But God recreates them, as a promise for what He will do with His people

-

Ezekiel 37:1-10 - The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

- Now, here in Acts 2, God’s wind (Spirit) arrives in a powerful way to create. Here, God brings spiritual life as the Spirit enables the Gospel to go to the ends of the Earth. Here, God will create a new people that will be His own possession on the Earth: the Church.

As the Spirit falls onto these first Christians, no one gets left out. V. 3 – And divided tongues as of fire appeared and rested on each one of them. God’s offer of blessing, empowerment, and His presence is not only for some elite group. It is for everyone who places their trust in Jesus. V. 4 – and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. As we will see as we walk through the rest of chapter 2 in the coming weeks, the offer for God’s Spirit to come and bring new life to you, to resurrect your dead soul, to bring God’s own presence into your life, is an offer that is available to all who will call on the name of the Lord Jesus to be saved.

The Spirit of God does something here that is miraculous, and exceptionally unique. All 120 of these believers who are filled with the Holy Spirit are enabled by the Spirit to “speak in other tongues.” Just as these tongues of fire had rested on them to show God’s presence in their lives, the Spirit now manifests Himself in their actual tongues.

What does it mean to speak in tongues? There is so much confusion in the Church about this because too many believers have abused this gift, misunderstood this gift, or committed malpractice with this gift. Pausing here at Pentecost can bring some much needed clarity regarding speaking in tongues. The word for ‘tongue’ is the Greek word glossia, where we get our word ‘glossary.’ It simply means ‘language.’ Nothing else, nothing more. When this word is used in the Bible it is always to refer to human language.

As is made perfectly clear in the rest of the text, the languages these disciples speak are known, human languages. This is what makes the crowd so intrigued by what is happening. Just by looking at the disciples, it is easy to see they are from Galilee. So the crowd hearing what is happening asks a logical question in v. 8 – And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? There, ‘native language’ translates the Greek word: dialektos. Dialect. So the miracle that occurs here, the definition of speaking in tongues is this: a Spirit-enabled, miraculous ability to speak in a language that is unknown to the speaker, but is known to the hearer.

ILL – several years ago I was in India with Josh Howard and I had the privilege to lead a leadership seminar for pastors in Darjeeling (upper NE section, 30 miles from Nepal). About 25 pastors from the villages of that region were there. I was the only white guy in the room, the only American in the room. I was also the only one in the room who only spoke one language. Some of them spoke 9 different languages. Because each little region and village have their own dialect that is distinct from all the others. The gift of tongues is the ability to go into an environment like that and speak…and everyone would hear what I say in their own village dialect.

This miracle accomplishes two purposes: 1) it attests to the truth of what they are saying. That is actually the purpose of all the miraculous gifts given to those early Christians. They don’t have a divinely inspired Bible that is authoritative. They need miracles to prove that what they are saying is truly from God. The Apostle Peter will make this argument in his sermon that is right after this. V. 22 – Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signsthat God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know… The miracles Jesus performed are proof that what He was saying was truly from God. Jesus Himself says this in John 10:37-38 – If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.

The second purpose of this miraculous gift of tongues is practical…it overcomes the language barrier to the Gospel. Jesus gave the Great Commission in Matthew 28 to make disciples of all nations. He told these disciples in Acts 1:8 that they would be His witnesses to the ends of the Earth. How in the world are they going to do that? They are from Galilee and have never been outside of Israel. There are countless languages they don’t know. Fifteen of them are listed here in Acts 2. So how can the Gospel get past that language barrier? By the gift of tongues. It is an evangelistic gift to take the Gospel to those who have not heard it. This is why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:22 that tongues is a “sign for unbelievers.” So if God has gifted you with tongues, congratulations…He is calling you to the mission field.

This miracle is so profound that Luke captures the crowd’s reaction with 5 different verbs: v. 6 – bewildered; v. 7 – amazed, astonished; v. 12 – amazed, perplexed. They just don’t know what to do with this experience. And this is why they accuse them of being drunk. And this is why Peter stands up and preaches his great sermon. It explains what is happening and calls them to respond.

Two takeaways that change everything in our lives:

1. GOD DELIVERS ALL THAT HE PROMISES

These disciples have been patiently waiting. John the Baptist had promised in Luke 3 that Jesus would bring the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised them in Luke 24 and in Acts 1. After commissioning them to be His witnesses to the ends of the Earth, He told them to wait in Jerusalem for the Spirit to empower them. There are 50 days between Passover and Pentecost. Jesus was crucified on Passover. Rises on the third day. Then He appears to them and teaches them for 40 days. Then He ascends into Heaven. They have a full week left of just waiting. Feeling the ever-growing weight of the burden of their calling.

What if Jesus doesn’t deliver? What if they have to figure out how to get the Gospel to the world? If God doesn’t deliver on His promises, life is over. Yet, as He proves again here, He always delivers all that He promises. God has promised to save you. To love you. To forgive you. To adopt you into His family. To welcome you into eternity. What if you die only to find out that God forgot to put your name on the reservation list? What if you die only to find out that God changed His mind because you were too sinful? Even thinking about that creates anxiety. But we never have to worry about that. Ever. This is why the Bible says that those who hope in the Lord will never be put to shame, meaning they will never be let down. God does not disappoint. God does not let down. God always delivers on all that He promises.

2. GOD PROVIDES ALL THAT HE REQUIRES

God requires these disciples to be obedient to His commands. To actually take the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. No way they can get that done. It is literally impossible to overcome all the barriers in their lifetime, the language barrier being just one of those. So unless God provides some help, they won’t get it done. Without the Spirit arriving here and giving the gift of tongues, God’s requirement never gets met. But since the Spirit provides this gift here, the Gospel goes to the world. If you were to plot the 15 people groups listed here on a map, it is a perfect 360-degree circle around Jerusalem. The Gospel reverberates from this point and goes to the ends of the Earth. Here is the great thing about God…one of the great things…whenever He requires something of you, He never leaves it completely up to you. He always provides everything you will need to get done what He requires you to get done.

Ezekiel 36:25-27 - 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Philippians 2:12-13 - 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

2 Peter 1:3 - 3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence…

Conclusion

This is nowhere better seen than in salvation. God requires absolute holiness from you. God requires righteousness from you. God requires a perfect life of obedience from you. Any of you qualify? Of course not! We cannot provide what God requires. In response to our inability to live up to God’s requirements, He requires that we sacrifice to Him. Blood covers over sin. Someone has to pay the debt we owe to God for our failures. Not only can we not provide what God requires, we can’t even offer the sacrifice to cover it. We are utterly helpless and hopeless.

So what does God do? He does what He has always done! He provides what He requires. Let’s say John makes me mad and our friendship is at odds. In fact, what John has done is so grievous, he can’t hope to provide what I would require to reconcile. So here is what I do…I buy a gift for myself that is so outlandish that, had John given it to me, would reconcile the friendship. Then I give it to John and I say to him, “Give this gift to me and we will be all good.” How ridiculous! Yet, that is exactly what God has done. We cannot meet His requirements, so He meets them for us. Jesus lives in absolute holiness. He is perfectly righteous. He lives in perfect obedience. And then He goes to the cross to be the sacrifice God requires. God provides all that He requires.