We, The Church: The Arrival of The Power Acts 2:1-13

Introduction:

Lesson Premise: The Day of Pentecost was about God fulfilling His promise to the nation of Israel, spoken by the Old Testament prophets.

This means the modern caricatures we have attributed to the term Pentecostal cannot override the original meaning of the term or concept. Rather, we should return to an original meaning of the term to understand what Acts 2 is all about.

So what should we look out for in Acts 2:1-13?

The true meaning of Pentecost.

How does Pentecost relate to the biblical story of Israel?

How is the experience at Pentecost to be translated in the modern world?

Understanding Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4)

Acts for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1–12 Here Comes the Power (Acts 2:1–4)

For a first-century Jew, Pentecost was the fiftieth day after Passover. It was an agricultural festival. It was the day when farmers brought the first sheaf of wheat from the crop, and offered it to God, partly as a sign of gratitude and partly as a prayer that all the rest of the crop, too, would be safely gathered in.

Acts for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1–12 Here Comes the Power (Acts 2:1–4)

These festivals awakened echoes of the great story which dominated the long memories of the Jewish people, the story of the Exodus from Egypt, when God fulfilled his promises to Abraham by rescuing his people. Passover was the time when the lambs were sacrificed, and the Israelites were saved from the avenging angel who slew the firstborn of the Egyptians.

Acts for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1–12 Here Comes the Power (Acts 2:1–4)

Then, 50 days after Passover, they came to Mount Sinai, where Moses received the law. Pentecost, the fiftieth day, isn’t (in other words) just about the ‘first fruits’, the sheaf which says the harvest has begun. It’s about God giving to his redeemed people the way of life by which they must now carry out his purposes.

Two things we learn about Pentecost:

It was a festival used to bring the first sheaf of wheat from the crop as an offering to God—expressing gratitude and prayers for the remaining harvest.

It was also a festival that reflects upon the giving of the Old Testament law through Moses, as the Israelites gathered at the foot of Mt. Sinai to receive the law of Moses.

So then, the festival of Pentecost is about harvest and law-giving.

We should think through just what it must have meant to the apostles as they gathered on Day of Pentecost to receive the power of the Holy Spirit. What might they have assumed about this event?

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is going to grant a harvest of sorts—a harvest of believers and Jesus-followers.

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit brings with it a new law which can be followed by the new Jesus community.

Furthermore, the coming of the Holy Spirit is intended to parallel the ascension and descension of Moses. As Moses went up to the mountain and came back with the law, so does Jesus ascend and comes back in the person of the Holy Spirit with a new law.

John 13:34–35 “34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.””

Point 1: Many have succumb to a Pentecostal experience when they should be in a Pentecostal reality.

Luke imagines the new believers are embodying a part of Israel’s story. This is one of the ways in which Jesus claims that Scripture speaks of Him (see John 8:39-47).

Luke is trying to get individuals to see how the power of God’s Spirit being present in this new Christ community transforms everything from their relationship with God to their participation in creation. This power is supposed to infuse the earth with a tangible and very real or dynamic power.

Point 2: One of the central results of the presence of the Holy Spirit is unity.

John 17:20–21 “20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.”

Acts 2:1 “1 On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place.”

Speaking in Tongues

The Holy Spirit is proof that ordinary individuals can do miraculous things by the power of the Holy Spirit. One of these empowering activities was speaking in tongues.

Dictionary of Theological Terms Modern Tongues Not the NT Gift

The true gift of tongues in NT times was part of a much greater manifestation of the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit whose signs and wonders were intended to be a divine attestation of the gospel.

However, it should be known that Christian speaking in tongues was to be contrasted by that which was conducted by other religions. That is, speaking in tongues was not unique to Christians; pagans participated in such activities as well.

Speaking in tongues, or glossolalia, is not unique to Christianity and has been observed in various pagan religions throughout history[1][2]. This phenomenon involves uttering unintelligible sounds or ecstatic speech, often interpreted as communication with deities[2][3]. In ancient pagan contexts, it was practiced by spiritistic mediums, Muslim dervishes, and Indian fakirs, and was seen as a sign of divine presence[2][3]. The practice was also common in ancient Greek and Roman religious settings, such as with the Oracle of Delphi and pagan prophetesses[2][3]. However, it's important to note that the Christian understanding and practice of speaking in tongues, particularly as described in the New Testament, may differ from these pagan counterparts[3][4]. Some scholars argue that the specific form of tongues speaking described in early Christian sources, understood as inspired "languages," lacks clear parallels in Greco-Roman religion of the time[5].

[1] McCutcheon, L. (2009). Speaking in Tongues. Reformation Publishers. [2] Cairns, A. (2002). In Dictionary of Theological Terms (pp. 194–195). Ambassador Emerald International. [3] Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Tongues, Speaking In. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 2, p. 2076). Baker Book House. [4] Powers, B. W. (2008). First Corinthians: An Exegetical and Explanatory Commentary (p. 414). Wipf & Stock. [5] Keener, C. S. (2012–2013). Acts: An Exegetical Commentary & 2: Introduction and 1:1–14:28 (Vol. 1, p. 811). Baker Academic.

For instance, the term itself “speaking in tongues” is borrowed from the speech of pagans.

Dictionary of Theological Terms Heathen Tongues Speaking

“Virgil graphically describes the ancient pagan prophetess ‘speaking with tongues.’ He depicts her disheveled hair, her panting breast, her change of color, and her apparent increase in stature as the god (demon) came upon her and filled her with his supernatural afflatus. Then her voice loses its mortal ring as the god (demon) speaks through her, as in ancient and modern necromancy (spiritism).”

This reality of speaking in tongues has led to a debate among Christians: cessationist vs. continuationist.

Cessationist: the charismata—supernatural gifts of the apostolic church ceased with or soon after the days of the apostles.

Continuationist: the gifts of the spirit continued to this very day.

Despite the arguments, the biblical point seems to be the empowering of the apostles to communicate to unbelievers across the world the wonderful news about Jesus Christ.

Acts 2:5–13 “5 At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. 6 When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. 7 They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, 8 and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! 9 Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” 12 They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other. 13 But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!””

Point 3: Speaking in tongues is not as much about speaking in different languages as it is about prophesying.

Speaking in tongues was the Holy Spirit’s way of empowering believers to communicated an intelligible message to those who spoke known languages (Acts 2:7-8, c.f. 1 Corinthians 14:6-28). The question we should ask is if there’s a difference between tongues in Acts 2 and unknown tongues in 1 Corinthians 14?

The answer is there’s no difference. Rather, they both demonstrate that speaking in tongues was about providing a divine message by the supernatural ability of the Holy Spirit by speaking in a language that was unknown to the speaker, but known to the hearer.

Joel 2:28–32 “28 “Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. 29 In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on servants—men and women alike. 30 And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth— blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and terrible day of the Lord arrives. 32 But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape, just as the Lord has said. These will be among the survivors whom the Lord has called.”