PENTECOST

Wednesday’s With Pastor Steve

It’s been 50 days since Passover and Easter. I find that hard to fathom! It seems as though we’ve had winter, extreme summer, and now early spring - and it’s almost the end of May.

In many churches May 28 will be recognized as Pentecost (Pentecost (חג שׁבעת, chg shb't, “weeks”; πεντηκοστή, pentēkostē, “fiftieth”).

Ronald D. Roberts, “Pentecost,” in The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. John D. Barry et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

In the Jewish calendar, established by God for His people as they wandered in the wilderness, there were three significant worship festivals. First is Passover. In the first month of the Jewish calendar Passover is celebrated as an annual reminder of God’s deliverance from Egypt. Then comes Pentecost, or Feast of Weeks, 50 days after Passover which we will discuss in a moment. The third festival is called the Sukkoh, which means ‘Booths’ or ‘Tabernacles’ which reminded Israel of God’s provision during the 40 years of wilderness wanderings. This feast often occured at the height of harvest as God’s people enjoyed the fullness of God’s provision.

Let’s look at Pentecost.

Acts 2:1–4 HCSB

When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. And tongues, like flames of fire that were divided, appeared to them and rested on each one of them. Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, as the Spirit gave them ability for speech.

Last time we looked at the importance of Jesus’ ascension into heaven, which occurred 40 days after His resurrection. Ten days later, as Luke the historian records, was the day of Pentecost.

Before diving into the specifics of that day recorded in Acts 2, a word about the significance of Pentecost in the Jewish mindset is in order.

As Luke records in Acts 2:5, Jews from all over the world had gathered to celebrate this important worship festival. By the first century AD, Jews not only recognized Pentecost as the beginning of the harvest cycle, they also celebrated the giving and receiving of the Law of Moses at this festival.

Jews traveled from all over the Roman Empire to observe Pentecost - some may have been present even since Passover some weeks before.

The significance of Pentecost for Christians

The followers of Jesus had been patiently waiting as Jesus instructed: see Luke 24:49, and Acts 1:8. Jesus had not specified how long these followers were to wait. Ten days had passed. During those days they had been staying together in an upper room. All Luke tells us is that they were ‘united in prayer’ and that with Peter’s leadership they selected (with God’s direction) Matthais to take Judas Iscariot’s place.

Twice in just a few paragraphs, Luke records that these follower were all together, suggesting that this large group (some 120) were of one mind and one heart, seeking to receive what Jesus had promised.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, without warning a ‘sound like that of a violent rushing wind’ (HCSB), ‘a rushing mightyFrom the very opening pages of God’s Word the Holy Spirit has been associated with ‘wind, breath’ - (the OT word often translated ‘Spirit’ literally means ‘wind, breath’).

Those in that room would have quickly made the connection.

Then they saw what appeared to be tongues, like flames of fire rested upon each of them in the room.

This sight,

...describes the visible manifestation of the Spirit. The tongues of fire seem to be the fulfillment of John the Baptist’s proclamation that the Coming One would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Mt 3:11; Lk 3:16). Fire is often associated with the manifestation of God’s presence in the OT, such as at the burning bush (Ex 2).

Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, “Tongues of Fire,” in Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 2078.

Together these two phenomenon certainly gained the attention of those gathered in that room.

These two physical manifestations - visible and audible to everyone in the room - resulted in each of those followers being ‘filled with the Holy Spirit.’

This is what Jesus had promised - first to the twelve as they shared a Passover Meal prior to Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, trial, crucifixion, and ascension (see John 14-16).

What exactly does it mean - ‘to be filled with the Spirit?’

Let’s backtrack a bit. As John the Baptist called for repentance - and baptism as a sign of that repentance, he promised:

Luke 3:16 HCSB

John answered them all, “I baptize you with water, but One is coming who is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

This outpouring of the Holy Spirit had been spoken of by the OT prophet Joel when he wrote,

Joel 2:28 HCSB

After this I will pour out My Spirit on all humanity; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will have dreams, and your young men will see visions.

In the OT when God’s Holy Spirit came upon someone, ‘filling’ them, the result was prophecy - which means to announce, to speak forth, to proclaim.

Listen to what happened in Acts as these men and women were filled with the Holy Spirit:

Acts 2:4 HCSB

Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, as the Spirit gave them ability for speech.

Acts 2:6–11 HCSB

When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. And they were astounded and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? How is it that each of us can hear in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking the magnificent acts of God in our own languages.”

These men and women were ‘prophesying,’ announcing that in Jesus God had revealed Himself. Luke records the crowd’s amazement - and even more importantly Luke records more than a dozen people groups who heard the message of Jesus in their own language!

Pentecost - connected with Israel’s reception of God’s Law at Mt Sinai now becomes a reminder of the universal scope of God’s message through Jesus!

Throughout the rest of the New Testament (particularly in Paul’s writings) we are reminded of several important truths regarding the Holy Spirit:

no one can confess Jesus as Lord unless the Holy Spirit fills/empowers one to do so (1 Cor 12:3).

though the initial experience of the infilling of the Holy Spirit occurs once, we are to seek to live so that we are always being filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18).

ALL believers receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit at the moment of conversion (Acts 2:38).

CONCLUSION

Given the rest of Acts, it is best to think in terms of three categories of events: unique (unrepeatable), benchmark (repeatable at God’s initiative), and normative (repeatable as God’s mandate).

Allison A. Trites, William J. Larkin, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Vol 12: The Gospel of Luke and Acts (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2006), 387.

The events of the Day of Pentecost are unique and unrepeatable. What we celebrate when we talk of the Day of Pentecost is that God keeps His promises (see Joel 2, etc…) and that Jesus’ promise of an empowering is available for all believers.

We do not need ‘another’ Pentecost. What we need are followers of Jesus who are, in Paul’s words, not drunk with wine but ‘filled’ with the Spirit.

May we be those followers who having recieved the Holy Spirit live in step with the Spirit!