The Day of Pentecost
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The Day of Pentecost
The Day of 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. 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.”
Today we are looking at what for some has become a controversial text, but for all Christian is one of the defining moments in history.
What we have before us today is the beginning of the church era, where God by his Spirit dwells in His people. We see the Gospel message of Jesus Christ overcome all obstacles that can ever be laid in its way and overcome even a God ordained obstacle of Language.
The text we have before has so shaped and defined the church that to get it wrong would set you in the wrong direction with the wrong emphasis. This passage is so extraordinary and powerful… This passage makes much of God and the Gospel… This passage should put our attention on the Holy Spirit and not on ourselves. When we get it wrong we “put the emPHASIS on the wrong SylLAble”...
Growing up in a pentecostal environment we often heard this passage and had experienced weird things that was always ascribed to the Holy Spirit when in fact it was not that at all. I had a close friend explain it this way… When I was young it was always weird when the Holy Spirit would “show up” in church. It was kind of like being at a sports event when the mascot would wander through the crowd and mess with people… You would always want to see him mess with people and even be close to your section, but you never wanted him to mess with you.”
Maybe you have had an experience like this in a Charismatic church, maybe you have heard this passage preached on many times, and maybe this seems like it is very odd because you never heard of anyone having such strange experiences… Today we will look at the text and see what it say and deal with its implications.
1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.
day of Pentecost. Lit. the “fiftieth day” after the Sabbath of the Passover week (Lev. 23:4–7, 15, 16). Pentecost was celebrated on the first day of the week and was one of the three great annual feasts of Israel, preceded by Passover (Lev. 23:4–8; Num. 28:16–25) and followed four months later by the Feast of Booths (Lev. 23:33–43; Num. 29:12–38; cf. John 7:1–44). Pentecost is also called the Feast of Weeks, because it was celebrated seven weeks after Passover (Deut. 16:10); the Feast of Harvest, because the first fruits of the harvest were gathered then (Ex. 23:16); and the “day of the firstfruits” (Num. 28:26). In Jewish tradition this feast was associated with the giving of the law, since Israel reached Mount Sinai about two lunar months after crossing the Red Sea (Ex. 19:1).
Hold that thought… that it was associated with the giving of the Law. Please also notice that the 120 disciples along with the Apostles are all in one place… still… 10 days after Christ had ascended into heaven. They had remained faithful and obedient to the commands of Christ.
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.
Now if we simply read this passage without knowledge of the OT it is no doubt dramatic, yet we will miss something major. Let me ask you, why was there wind and fire that accompanied the inspired speech that we will get to in a moment?
Simply put this scene was a sign of God’s presence. They were waiting and wondering what Jesus meant by, Not many days from now you will be baptized by the Holy Spirit… This was first a sign to them… Jews who knew what God’s presence had been like in the past...
Let’s look at them individually… wind and fire...
Wind is a symbol of the Holy Spirit’s Presence
Wind is a symbol of the Holy Spirit’s Presence
These 120 Jewish Believers in Jesus the Messiah knew the stories of the OT, they were familiar with the Prophets and the scriptures. we see many places where Wind is mentioned but the most important comes from the Prophet Ezekiel...
In there is a Prophecy about a Vision that the Prophet has. God shows him a valley of dry bones and asks him “can these bones live”??? there has been some funny teaching on this, but it is a picture of God asking Man… Can dead people live again? In the natural the answer is NO, but it is actually a picture of Salvation and spiritual life. In this vision God tells the Prophet Ezekiel to breath on the dry bones and command the winds to blow...
eze37.
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.
Are you seeing it? the wind carries the Breath of God that makes the Dead Live again! Look what God goes on to tell the Prophet about this...
eze37.
13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”
IS this not a picture of Salvation? Ephesians says we were once dead but now alive in Christ… this picture God gives Ezekiel is a picture of God raising his people from the dead by the WIND carrying his Breath to them and from that point he said he will PUT HIS SPIRIT WITHIN US!!!!
So when the wind came it was more than a strong breeze… It was a picture of God breathing new life into his people.
Fire is a Symbol of Cleansing and Judgement
Fire is a Symbol of Cleansing and Judgement
Everywhere in scripture we see Fire it is representing either Judgement, Cleansing or refinement, and God’s Holiness.
And example of this would be at the Burning Bush… Moses sees a bush burning but not consumed… He is told to take off his sandals because it was Holy ground in the presence of God.
Fire was burning at the altar for sacrifices and represented God’s judgement in the temple. And Fire was exactly what one of the last and greatest Prophets told people Jesus would bring...
11 “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. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
While there is so much that could be said here, for sake of time I simply want to point out that while Fire represented God’s holy Presence and judgement, that John the Baptist prophesied that Jesus would do exactly what they were experiencing… Baptizing with the Holy Spirit and Fire.
So why was this important???
For those in that upper room to know that they were Filled with the Holy Spirit there had to be a sign of his Coming. There had to be something more than an inward change that we could point to as the exact moment when the Holy Spirit was poured out.
The Wind and the Fire was the Triumphant Arrival of the Holy Spirit!!!
The Wind and the Fire was the Triumphant Arrival of the Holy Spirit!!!
Remember when Jesus was Born? remember the signs of his coming? Born of a Virgin, A star would be seen? How about the Triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem? The sign was a king riding on a Colt and people spread out their cloaks and waved palm branches shouting Hosannah!
This scene before here is the triumphant entry of the Holy Spirit. Jesus has physically gone up to heaven and said that he was sending the Holy Spirit and this was the moment when everyone saw it.
So what would happen now that the Holy Spirit had come?
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
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Ok… Notice the language used here… what does it mean for a human being to be filled with something? it implies of something that happens on the inside and no one can see it happen. They were Filled, meaning something was now inside of them that wasn’t there before.
So if this is an internal thing that happens, how we be sure that something happened at all? Do we just have to take their word for it? that they felt different?
We know this happen because of a miracle that accompanied it… they had an Inspired speech… they spoke in tongues.
The word Tongues here is literally translated from the greek word Glossa meaning “other known Languages”. So, they may not have known it in that very first moment but we will see in a few minutes here that they were speaking in other known languages, and this was a sign that something new was inside of them enabling them to speak.
Please also notice it says “as the Spirit gave them utterance” meaning they did not control this gifting and couldn’t turn it on and off, but the Spirit directed it.
now the Big theological picture we need here is the difference between the Holy Spirit in the OT and now in the NT. It is important that you understand that the Holy Spirit was working in the OT, just that there was a significant difference. look at these passages...
10 The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim.
judges
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6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.
2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
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What do you notice about these OT verses about the Holy Spirit???
The Word Upon. In the OT we see the Holy Spirit operating but he comes and goes. The Holy Spirit would come upon God’s people but would not stay. Why?
Because there was Sin to be dealt with and before God’s presence could indwell his people their sin needed to be taken care of. That is why after the cross and resurrection the Holy Spirit can now come and live inside of God’s people. That is why it is called being FILLED with the Spirit… It is an internal thing that began on the day of Pentecost!
But again how can we know if something inside of someone was really there? do we just take this story at face value and end it here… there was wind and fire and inspired speech? The story does not end here, let’s keep reading.
5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.
The important thing to see here is that there are Jews from EVERY NATION in Jerusalem
Why is this important? Because it is all about timing. God was having them wait in the upper room, not just to test them and see if they were really faithful, but they had to be in the right place at the right time. This was the right place at the right time, because Jerusalem was filled with Jews from all over the world who had come to celebrate Pentecost.
So the question is, how is he going to intersect these people from all over with his 120 newly Spirit filled and empowered to witness people?
6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.
Now stop and think about this for a moment...
At this sound… What Sound? Well what sound are we told about in this story? The rushing mighty wind.
These people heard a loud sound of wind mixed with many voices speaking many different languages.
It says, “At this sound the multitude came together...” meaning these Jewish people from all over the world that were staying in Jerusalem for Pentecost heard the noise and came looking for what was going on.
I don’t know about you, but I always heard this story and thought that these people went running out into the streets preaching and grabbing everyones attention. But that is not what we see here. We see these people searching for God’s people… And they are Bewildered because they hear something unexpected… they hear their native languages in a foreign country.
Maybe you have never been in a foreign country before, but take it from me, when you hear someone speaking English in the middle of a thousand people who are not speaking English, you can easily spot it, and you will gravitate to it.
I would also draw your attention to the fact that they HEARD it. Why is that important?
The believers are all speaking in a language they do not know… they most likely do not know what they are doing. So the miracle isn’t meaningful until people who understand it HEAR it.
So let me ask you a question… When it comes to speaking in tongues in , is the miracle in the speakers or in the hearing? Think about it… if there is no audience to understand, what good is it?
Think about this… IF this was meant to be the main point or distinctive purpose of the Holy Spirit, then why do we see in a few verses that when Peter addresses the crowd he speaks in only one language?
The reason is this...
Miracles Validate the Message
Miracles Validate the Message
the miracle of speaking in tongues on the day of Pentecost was to validate the message that Peter will give to the people, who have been arrested by the miracle taking place before them.
In all the Gospels, every time there was a Miracle, Jesus spoke afterwards and taught the people. In fact through the rest of the NT, every time we see a miracle it is followed by the Gospel… The miracle always validated the message, everywhere the Apostles went.
It is no different here.... The Miracle of speaking in Tongues will be heard by people and they will then give their attention to the Gospel that Peter preaches to them.
But why is this so amazing to these people… I mean its great that they are hearing their own language but what is the big Deal???
acts2.7
7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
Now a little cultural note here… a Galilean would be easy to spot because of how they dressed and it is thought because they have an ascent when speaking too.
It was obvious to these people that this large group of 120 people are all speaking different languages and they are all from the same place.
Here is the thing about Galilee, it was known for being a working town with a lot of un-educated people. They were not exactly cranking out doctors and lawyers… they were fishermen, Carpenters, laborers, farmers, etc… How could these people all be schooled in other languages?
It was Amazing to them… But why? Because they were speaking all kinds of languages? How do you know what language someone else is speaking unless someone tells you… Look at the next verse...
8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?
They were all telling each other that they were hearing in their native language.
Now these Jews were traveling to Jerusalem from every nation because hundreds of years beforehand after Isreal came out of Exile and the Babylonians oppression, they were scattered all over the world and they lived in many nations. They kept to the traditions and traveled for Jewish Celebrations but they were living in other countries and they spoke other languages as well as Hebrew and Aramaic. So these people were at least Bi-Lingual or possibly Tri-Lingual. They would’ve been able to identify multiple languages.
But look at there question… HOW IS IT THAT WE HEAR OUR OWN LANGUAGE???
Hold that thought and look at how extensive this is...
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.”
acts2.9
The fact that all of the Jews present hear the believers speak in their own language points to Pentecost being a reversal of God’s Judgement at Babel...
Pentecost is the reversal of Babel
Pentecost is the reversal of Babel
in we see the story of the tower of Babel. and what we see is that God confuses the languages in an effort to keep people from doing evil things on larger scales.
The language barrier is a God ordained barrier. The language barrier is meant to keep Humanity in check, while keeping them separate from each other. God is the one separates us and gives us different languages and God is the one who can supernaturally reverse that barrier.
At Pentecost we see a reversal of this God ordained barrier.
At Babel they were scattered to prevent them from uniting around evil
At Pentecost they were united by God breaking his language barrier for the Sake of Preaching the Gospel!
And look at the end of verse 11
11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
What did they Hear? They were telling them of the mighty works of God… JESUS IS THE MESSIAH GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD TO FORGIVE YOU OF YOUR SINS...
Think about it… The very purpose for these tongues was to overcome the need for translation, not to require it. That is why we can say this is not a heavenly language that we are to seek to be able to speak. does not prescribe an initial physical infilling that every believer should be seeking because they experienced it. It was meant for a purpose and it is repeated only in the book of Acts as new people groups experience salvation and it becomes a sign to the Jews that God is saving Gentiles when they hear them speak in tongues. Let’s finish the passage....
12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”
acts2.
I would say that we should ask ourselves the very same question today… What did this mean that they were all proclaiming God’s mighty works in many languages?
Ultimately the meaning of all this will be seen in Peters sermon he is about to deliver, now that he has all these peoples attention. In the next 2 weeks we will be unpacking that sermon and see how this points us to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
But I will submit to you this is the Meaning of Pentecost...
God’s Spirit Fuels God’s Mission by Empowering God’s People
God’s Spirit Fuels God’s Mission by Empowering God’s People
The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in believers to Fuel the Mission of God… … Go into all the World and Make Disciples...
Jesus said that Holy Spirit would be Empowerment to be witnesses to the Gospel.
God’s mission for the church is to Preach the Gospel and Make Disciples, and now God’s Spirit dwells in us to help us do that. That is what we see first happens at pentecost.
13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
Finally others in the crowd mocked them… These were the religious leaders who put Jesus to death and wanted to squelch this movement… and the best they could come up with was… “They are drunk on wine” “Pay no attention to them”.
The interesting thing to see here is that even in the midst of miracles there will be those whose hearts are hardened and will opposing God and his people.
These same people continue to oppose the Apostles and God’s Church in progressively harmful ways. In chpt 4 they question them and threaten them… in chpt 5 they imprison them and inflict stripes on them. and in chpt 7 they begin to murder them. This is the devils unchanging strategy against Jesus and his followers and it continues to this day. Yet God is gracious and Faithful to his people.
Ultimately from this passage we can see that God will not allow anything to restrain the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
On the day of Pentecost the Church becomes worldwide!
On the day of Pentecost Language is no longer a barrier that will separate people from hearing the truth of the Gospel.
On the day of Pentecost God’s Spirit fuels God’s People by Filling them
On the day of Pentecost God’s mission beings to spread
On the day of Pentecost God’s church is launched
And On the day of Pentecost people still missed what God was doing
Today let us respond by feasting on Christ and singing in worship as we close in Prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to fill us fresh and new each day.