The Acts, Part 4
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Pentecost
Pentecost
1 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.
What is the day of Pentecost?
OT - Pentecost is the “50th” day after Passover. (Pentecost was a feast conducted in at the end of a period of time of seven weeks past the Passover.) It is only a one-day feast, although in the dispersion a second day is added because of difficulties in getting the calendar right.
NT - Luke introduces the story of the Christian Pentecost by linking it to salvation history in the phrase in Acts 2:1: “When the [promised] day of Pentecost had come”. The promise of Jesus in Acts 1:8 is now fulfilled. The account that follows stresses the gift of the Spirit, whose outpouring brings with it the ability to praise (v. 11) and to proclaim (vv. 14ff.), and the public birth of the church as a vital community (cf. 2:42ff.). The speaking in tongues (vv. 1 ff., 13) offers plain evidence of the Spirit’s descent and also serves as a prototype of world mission. The occurrence on the Day of Pentecost means that the Jewish calendar can be worked into the nexus of promise and fulfilment in salvation history.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Again we see the apostles gathered together. No doubt, there was a great multitude of people gathered together as this was one of three big annual feasts the Jews were expected to attend in Jerusalem - Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacle.
16 “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.
No doubt these people were from all over the region, many of whom would speak different languages or dialects. But, while they were all gathered together, notice what happened.
Sound from heaven - resembling a mighty rushing wind
Divided tongues - as of fire
appeared to them and rested on each one of them
filled with the Holy Spirit
Dr. Stanley Toussaint, DTS, makes this comment: “The filling with the Holy Spirit is separate from the baptism of the Spirit. The Spirit’s baptism occurs once for each believer at the moment of salvation (cf. 11:15–16; Rom. 6:3; 1 Cor. 12:13; Col. 2:12), but the Spirit’s filling may occur not only at salvation but also on a number of occasions after salvation (Acts 4:8, 31; 6:3, 5; 7:55; 9:17; 13:9, 52). An evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit was other tongues (heterais glōssais; cf. 11:15–16). These were undoubtedly spoken living languages; the word used in 2:6, 8 is dialektō, which means “language” and not ecstatic utterance. This gives insight into what is meant by “tongues” in chapters 2; 10; 19; and in 1 Corinthians 12–14. This event marked the beginning of the church. Up to this point the church was anticipated (Matt. 16:18). The church is constituted a body by means of Spirit baptism (1 Cor. 12:13). The first occurrence of the baptism of the Spirit therefore must indicate the inauguration of the church. Of course Acts 2:1–4 does not state that Spirit baptism took place at Pentecost. However, 1:5 anticipates it and 11:15–16 refers back to it as having occurred at Pentecost. The church, therefore, came into existence then.”
Spoke in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Three things occurred within the house at the coming of the sound: (1) there appeared something that looked like inverted, split tongues of fire that sat upon each one of them; (2) they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and (3) they began to speak in different languages as the Spirit gave them ability. There are important points to be made about each of these occurrences.
The tongues of fire that came down upon each head were a visible representation of the invisible descent of the Spirit. The fact that He had actually been given to them and that the promise was fulfilled was assured by this occurrence. The ability to speak in tongues was not the sign of the coming of the Spirit. The tongues of fire were the sign of the power with which they were being endued by the Spirit’s descent. This was the reception of the power mentioned in 1:8. The filling of the Spirit was universal; all 120 received it. This filling, symbolized by the fire, happened to enable them to speak in different languages. The tongues speaking was therefore not a sign of the reception and the filling, but was an outcome, a result of it. The ability made it possible for the 120 to speak in the native languages of all sorts of foreigners who had gathered together at Jerusalem for Pentecost. Charismatics who misunderstand the purpose of the ability to speak in foreign languages without having ever learned them usually say that the ability is a sign of the filling. That is not true. The ability was given for the practical purpose of using that ability, as the disciples did (vv. 5–11).
What exactly is the speaking in other tongues spoken of here?
Notice, this was not random babbling. This was not a “secret language” known only between man and God, it was not a single language that all understood, this was foreign languages being spoken so those in attendance could understand the Gospel Message in their own native tongues!
THIS is why the crowds were so astonished when they heard the disciples speaking their own language.
Crowd Responds
Crowd Responds
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.”
The “Jews” spoken of in verse 5 explicitly describes “godly residents of Jerusalem from every nation”. Therefore many languages would have been present. The way the authors have arranged the wording in the Bible, which adjusts the word order, makes clear, that the miracle is in the speaking, not in the hearing. Notice what happens - those hearing were astonished and amazed! This is a feeling of astonishment mingled with fear, the natural reaction to the totally unexpected, especially the miraculous. The latter, “amazement, marveling,” is often the reaction to a declaration of the mighty acts of God and the supernatural. Many different origins for the list of nations have been proposed: Hellenistic history, geography, or astrology; a Roman list of provinces; a Jewish list of Diaspora regions; a pre-Lukan tradition of the regions of Christian mission (Linton 1974:44). Though the “Jewish list” explanation is currently the most popular (e.g., Barrett 1994:122; Talbert 1997:42), even it does not explain all the names. A historical report of the Pentecost event itself is the best explanation. The exclamation renders a Gr. phrase that contains the object gleukos [TG1098, ZG1183] (sweet, or new, wine). Since the yearly vintage would not occur until after Pentecost, the wine referred to probably would have been kept sweet throughout the year (see Bruce 1988:59 for ancient methods for preserving sweetness). New wine, sweet to the taste, would have been a ready cause of drunkenness (Witherington 1998:133).
God had prepared a time for fulfillment: the Day of Pentecost, a celebration of the “firstfruits” of the Promised Land, God’s inheritance. What better time to send the p 387 Spirit, “the eschatological firstfruits” of God’s final salvation blessings. God had prepared his people. Obediently, in prayerful unity, the believers were meeting together in one place, probably the upper room, waiting for the Spirit’s coming.
God the Father marked the coming of the Spirit with his own presence. Suddenly there was a sound from heaven. Biblical theophanies are often accompanied by a loud sound (Exod 19:16, 19; 20:18; cf. Heb 12:19).
16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.
18 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off
19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.
That it is “from heaven” and is only “like” some earthly phenomenon points to its divine origin and supernatural character. The sound like the “roaring of a mighty windstorm” (pnoē) is reminiscent of the Old Testament pnoē of God: the “breath of his nostrils, his snorting,” which often brought devastating judgment (2 Sam 22:16; Job 4:9; 37:10; Isa 30:33). But here the sound fills the house in blessing, coming as the inescapable, overpowering, all-embracing presence of God.
16 Then the channels of the sea were seen; the foundations of the world were laid bare, at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
9 By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.
10 By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast.
33 For a burning place has long been prepared; indeed, for the king it is made ready, its pyre made deep and wide, with fire and wood in abundance; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it.
God visibly signaled the Spirit’s arrival by the appearance of flaming tongues. Though fire can often serve as a sign of divine presence (Exod 3:2; 13:21; Ezek 1:4), these tongues signify the Spirit in particular. Jesus, following John, promised that he would baptize with “the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16). In the Old Testament the Spirit came selectively and often temporarily on God’s people (1 Sam 11:6; 16:13–14; 2 Chr 24:20; Ezek 2:2). Now he would come indiscriminately and permanently, just as the tongues settled on each person gathered in the room.
2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.
21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.
4 As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal.
16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
God matched the outward sign with a corresponding inner reality. He filled all with the Spirit. This initial endowment of the church with its “power and life” as a “filling,” which will be followed by other fillings, is also an empowerment for witness. The outward manifestation of this filling is yet another miracle: the ability to instantly speak a foreign language. This gift came at the Spirit’s initiative and was inspired speech, as implied by the use of the Greek apophthengomai [TG669, ZG710] (“utter inspired speech”—see BAGD 102). This term is used sparingly but significantly in Acts. Through this miracle, the promised Spirit came to empower the believers to be witnesses to all peoples, even to the end of the earth (1:8).
What of Pentecost does God want the church to experience in its life today? What is repeatable? What is unrepeatable? 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). The unique and unrepeatable aspects of Pentecost fulfilled their purpose in signifying the inauguration of the Spirit’s empowering, missional presence indiscriminately among his people. The Spirit giving the early believers the ability to speak foreign languages fits this category (as in 2:4).
Benchmark events are featured repeatedly later in Acts and are analogous to some previous events. Pentecost is appealed to either by allusion or explicitly to legitimize claims that the Spirit is actually present in the lives of those experiencing the phenomena. What is important to note is that in each instance there is a specific, p 388 limited purpose for the presence of the feature, and the feature is not exactly but only analogously replicated. The shaking of the place where the believers are praying for the Spirit’s aid is analogous to but not exactly the same as the effects of the “sound from heaven” (4:31; cf. 2:2). The speaking in tongues done by the God-fearing Gentiles and Ephesian disciples of John the Baptist, which is probably ecstatic speech similar to that mentioned in 1 Corinthians 14, is analogous to the miraculous speaking in foreign languages (10:46; 19:6; cf. 2:4).
What is normative (repeatable as God’s mandate) is the filling of the Spirit. God desires that his people keep on being filled with—indeed, be full of—his Spirit so that they may be powerfully enabled to live for and bear witness to Christ and his gospel.
Pious Diaspora Jews (the arrogant of the Jews who were dispersed in other areas throughout the world) who had come back to Jerusalem were attracted to the “sound” and formed a crowd. They followed the believers, who had probably moved out of the house and through the city streets to the Temple. The attraction was immediately disorienting, however. The crowd was bewildered, beside themselves, and amazed at hearing these Galilean believers declare to each one, in his own language, the “wonderful things God has done!” (2:11). Galileans, with their indistinct pronunciation (confused or lost laryngeals and aspirates), were notorious for their lack of linguistic ability.
These events had such an impact that it took Luke five different words to express the crowd’s reaction. At first, the crowd was bewildered or confused (2:6, cf. the condition of the Ephesian and Jerusalem mobs described in 19:32 and 21:31). Then, when the full impact of the miracles struck them, they were beside themselves with wonder (see note on 2:7). After reflecting on the event (2:12), the crowd was still amazed (actually “astonished,” existanto [TG1839/A, ZG2014] is used again), and they were either perplexed or mocking in their assessment of what was happening (2:12–13).
The crowd’s bewilderment or confusion points to a reversal of Babel and makes for an interesting, contrasting parallel. According to Genesis, God confused the languages so that the people would not understand (Gen 11:7, 9 LXX suncheōmen … sunecheen [TG4797, ZG5177], “confound”).
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.
In Acts 2:6 the Spirit brings understanding, which causes the crowd to be confused. But the confusion is a function of the continuing effects of Babel. The crowd was expecting language barriers, not the miraculous suspension of them through a Spirit-empowered affirmation of linguistic—and hence cultural—diversity. Yes, this miracle affirms the universality of the gospel proclamation among all nations, but it does so in such a way that the integrity of each culture is embraced. God’s original design for humankind in the creation and post-Flood mandate was to spread out and fill the earth with a harmonious patchwork of diverse cultures. Now the Good News must be proclaimed and applied by his Spirit to persons in all those cultures.
As the people in the crowd enumerated their nationalities and places of origin, the true universal scope of the application of salvation comes clearly into focus. p 389 They began with the far eastern border of the Roman Empire: “Parthians, Medes, Elamites,” and moved westward through “Mesopotamia and Judea” (i.e., Israel, according to its God-given boundaries per Gen 15:18; Josh 1:4). The list then encompasses regions of Asia Minor in a circular, counterclockwise order, commencing with the east: “Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia.” It next notes southern regions of the empire: “Egypt” and west of it, “the areas of Libya toward Cyrene.” Completing the list and enhancing its comprehensiveness is “Rome,” the empire’s center, and inhabitants of two geographical extremities: “Cretans” (island dwellers) and “Arabs,” (denizens of the desert; cf. Ezek 30:5).
This miraculous ability of the apostles to speak in foreign languages enables all to hear in his or her own tongue the “wonderful things God has done” (ta megaleia tou theou). Often, Old Testament ascriptions of praise referred to God’s mighty acts of delivering his people with the word megaleia [TG3167, ZG3483] (LXX of Deut 11:2; Pss 71[70]:19; 105[104]:21; cf. 1QS 1:21). Now his witnesses sound forth his mighty acts in accomplishing salvation through the death and resurrection of his Son and applying it through the gift of his Spirit.
Those in the crowd quickly developed either an open or a closed stance toward what was happening. Some were thoroughly “perplexed” (diaporeō [TG1280, ZG1389], cf. Luke 9:7; Acts 5:24; 10:17). They admitted their inability to explain either the source or the significance of what they were seeing and hearing. But they were open to an explanation because they asked, “What can this mean?” Others, for whom much of the speech was gibberish, interpreted the believers’ exuberance cynically, mocking them for being drunk with sweet wine at this early hour. Such varied reactions, none of which show an understanding of the miracle, demonstrate graphically the communicative limits of the simple occurrence of a mighty deed of God. Without interpretation, the people were clueless and prone to misunderstanding.