What’s That Smell?

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.” But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ Acts 2:1-21

What’s That Smell?

Somebody tooted. Something died. Somebody burnt the toast. A skunk just went by. I had to throw that one in there with it being our annual Skunk Sunday. On the other hand, we have that of a lovely candle burning, a load of clothes washing with our favorite detergent, our favorite food cooking in the oven. We encounter a lot of smells throughout the day. Some pleasant, some not so pleasant. Well in our text for today, from the book of Acts, we encounter not so much a smell but a sound. Not the smell of the breeze but the sound of it. This morning as we explore this text together, may the Holy Spirit fill our hearts and souls anew. May we, as the body of Christ, be renewed, revived, and restored by the same Holy Spirit that blessed the church so long ago. And with that being said, may God bless the preaching of this, His Most Holy Word.

Our text for this morning begins by saying, “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.” The day of Pentecost was a major celebration. Warren Weirsbe explains this well. He writes, “Pentecost means “fiftieth” because this feast was held fifty days after the Feast of Firstfruits found in Lev. 23:15–22 or in our day in time, Pentecost comes fifty days after Easter. The calendar of Jewish feasts in Leviticus 23 is an outline of the work of Jesus Christ. Passover pictures His death as the Lamb of God, and the Feast of Firstfruits pictures His resurrection from the dead. Fifty days after Firstfruits is the Feast of Pentecost, which pictures the formation of the church. At Pentecost, the Jews celebrated the giving of the Law, but Christians celebrate it because of the giving of the Holy Spirit to the church.”

So here they are, all 120 of them, gathered together for this celebration, then we read in verse 2, “And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.” Have you ever been told that something was going to happen but weren’t given any details about when it would happen or how it would happen? I remember when I was going to St. Jude for radiation. The nurses and care team attempted in as many ways as possible to explain to me how all of the equipment would operate but until that first goround, I had no idea.

Well in our text for today, Jesus had told His followers that He would be sending them His Spirit, but they had no idea how this would manifest itself. Jesus said in Acts 1:8 “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.”” But as I said, they had no idea how this would occur. That is until, “suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.” No warning, no nothing. Just the sudden sound of a mighty, rushing wind. May we note here that the wind was not felt, only heard. Some things in our world today that we might can equate to this might be the sound of a jet, a tornado, or a waterfall. But let us not forget that as my New Testament professor would say, it was not wind, but it was “a sound like a mighty rushing wind.

Kenneth Gangel writes, “The word for wind is pneuma, the same word Jesus used in talking about the Spirit and the wind with Nicodemus (John 3:7–8). Wind filling the whole house reminds us of God’s presence filling the temple in the Old Testament. If you live in the south, the midwest, or parts of Canada, you might imagine a tornado inside the house. East coast and Gulf state people might recognize the experience of a hurricane, but again, inside the house. Luke was probably not present for this event, but we can imagine that he heard his colleagues describe it scores of times, for it was a day they could never forget.” And as I said, Kenneth also points out that we need to be careful with the language of the text. The sound was not a wind but like a wind.

What fascinates me about this is that it wasn’t a little puff of air that came into the room. It wasn’t a sigh that filed the room. No! It was massive. A sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.” God’s presence is mighty! Therefore, may we worship Him, revere Him, and honor Him for His strength and His might.

In addition to the wind, we read in verse 3, “And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.” So we have already seen one image of the Holy Spirit which is wind. That was heard.Now we move on to the second image, that of fire, which was seen. The visible representation of the Holy Spirit.

We read in Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist says ““I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Notice that in verse 3, the tongues as of fire appeared to them first and then rested on each one of them. Commentator Hackett writes, “the fire-like appearance presented itself at first, as it were, in a single body, and then suddenly parted in this direction and that; so that a portion of it rested on each of those present.” This one image of the fire of the Holy Spirit, united at first, but then spread upon all who were present.

Then, in verse 4, following the sound of the wind and the appearance of the flame, we read, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues [as the Spirit gave them utterance].” Wow! How amazing this must have been! Now, one of the first things to keep in mind here is that this is not the first time in which God has imparted His Spirit into a human being. One of the first individuals we find in the Bible who is said to have recieved the Holy Spirit is a man by the name of Bezalel. He was a craftsman for the items made for the tabernacle in Ex 31:1–11. We read in Exodus 31:2–5 “The LORD said to Moses,“See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.” Within the New Testament, one of the first we find is John the Baptist. We read in Luke 1:15 “for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.” However, this was the first time the Holy Spirit had come on such a large crowd.

And upon coming upon them, we read once again, they “began to speak in other tongues [as the Spirit gave them utterance].” The Bible Says Commentary reads, “The Spirit's role is to teach and to help the disciples preach the gospel, and immediately upon His arrival He prompts them to do just that, but in languages that they did not formerly speak, so that people from all over the world could hear about Jesus Christ.” If you have ever tried to learn a new language, you know how difficult it can be. And in addition, if you have ever attempted to communicate with someone of a different language, you know how confusing and difficult it can be. Yet there was no difficulty on this day. The language came instantaneously and clearly. Some might say that Pentecost was the opposite of the Tower of Babel. Therefore, may each of us today be vessels through whom the Holy Spirit uses to spread God’s Word to all.

So, what a powerful event. The Holy Spirit comes, all those gathered begin proclaiming the mighty works of God in tongues that they themselves do not understand. How amazing! How powerful! And yes, many thought so. In our text for today, we find words such as “bewildered”, “amazed”, “astonished”, and “perplexed.” This is how we should all be when we witness the moving, working, and power of the Holy Spirit at work. And no matter what language was present there that day, each one, as verse 11 puts it, could “hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” How often do we do this? Not as often as we should. So I encourage you today. Share the mighty works of God! They are many! So may we be about sharing His mighty works. What has He done in your life even today that you are grateful for?

This was an amazing event for many, yet not everyone felt that way. Picking up in verse 13, “But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.” Many times what is good and profitable in the eyes of the Lord and His people can be viewed differently by those of this world. In the eyes of this world, it looked as if nothing more than a bunch of drunkards. But Peter wouldn’t allow this ideology to last long.

Moving into the second portion of the text, we read in verse 14, “But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.” Peter addresses the doubts and skepticism of the people and immediately snuffs it out. Peter uses fact-based principles to prove to the people that these followers were not drunk for Peter says, it’s only 9am. Following this, Peter quotes the words of the prophet Joel to bring home what has just occured.

David Guzik writes, “In the midst of this great outpouring of the Holy Spirit, among signs and wonders and speaking in tongues, what did Peter do? Essentially, he said, “Let’s have a Bible study. This focus on God’s Word did not quench the moving of the Holy Spirit; it fulfilled what the Holy Spirit wanted to do. All the signs and wonders and speaking in tongues were preparing for this work of God’s Word.” How beautiful! Through this we can better understand the progression of events and why things occured the way they did. It was all leading up to this point.

The final verse of our text for today, verse 21 is one of my favorites and one that should bring everyone of us here today hope. It reads, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” It reminds me of the verse from Romans 10:9, which reads, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” This here brothers and sisters is our hope. Not only did the Holy Spirit come at Pentecost many years ago, but is promised to those of us here today who confess, repent, and believe. Won’t you invite Him into your heart today?

This morning we have seen the impact that the pouring out of the Holy Spirit had on the church so many years ago. Now, brothers and sisters, I feel very strongly that we should be praying for the Holy Spirit to move again amongst His people today. This country, states, and our cities are in desperate need of revival. Let us be about the business of praying for God to once again awaken, revive, and restore this land and us, the people. We have rebelled long enough. Let us now cast aside our selfish, sinful ways and return to our Lord and Savior and seek His Holy Spirit. May the Lord, through His Holy Spirit revive not only this great nation, but this church as well. And may it begin with you and with me. Come Holy Spirit!

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!