Salvation For His Enemies

God’s People Treasure The Work of the Holy Spirit

5.23.21 [Acts 2:1-24] River of Life (The Festival of Pentecost)

Complete strangers sometimes shout at my parents. My in-laws, too. It doesn’t matter where we are, either. The grocery store, grabbing a bite to eat, out on a hike, or just walking around a shopping mall. Complete strangers will come up to my mother in law and say “O-H” or my mom and say Geaux Tigers. They’ll stop my dad in the airport and say On Wisconsin! or my father in law and say Go Blue!

If you’re a college sports fan, you’ve probably already cracked the code. My dad is a fan of the Wisconsin Badgers. My mom, the LSU Tigers. Those teams rarely play each other. My father-in-law bleeds blue and maize, as they say, and roots for the Michigan Wolverines. My mother-in-law, and his wife of 40 years, roots for his team’s most hated rival, the Ohio State Buckeyes.

But each of the four of them root for teams outside of the states they live in. And that’s part of the reason why complete strangers come up to them. Because when you see a hat or a sweatshirt representing your favorite college team, you know you already have something unique in common with someone. It’s a little slice of the familiar, when you’re far away from home. And it can draw the attention and the adulation of complete strangers.

So it shouldn’t be completely strange to us what happens in Acts 2. When people from far and wide, residents of places like (Acts 2:9) Mesopotamia and Cappadocia, (Acts 2:10) Egypt and Rome, are (Acts 2:7) utterly amazed and (Acts 2:12) perplexed when they hear complete strangers declaring (Acts 2:11) the wonders of God in their own tongues, the languages of the land they were born.

The whole event is utterly amazing, isn’t it? The signs are spectacular. The (Acts 2:2) sound like the blowing of a violent wind from heaven. (Acts 2:3) The tongues of fire resting on each them. The apostles speaking in languages they’d not learned before. It is these striking details that are indelibly marked on the minds of all who know the details of the Day of Pentecost. But it’s not just that the signs were spectacular. The results were a resounding success. (Acts 2:41) About three thousand were added to their number that day. And it’s easy for us to feel a pang of evangelical envy when we think about that, isn’t it? Wouldn’t it be cool for God to work among us and accomplish so much?

But it wasn’t the wind or the fire that attracted the attention of these hearers. They say nothing about either. What grabbed their attention was that these Galileans were speaking in their heart languages about the heart of what God had done for his people. Speaking in their native tongues only perked up their ears. Speaking about the wonders of God perplexed their minds.

It was what the apostles said, more than how they said it, that left this crowd asking one another (Acts 2:13) What does this mean?

That’s what’s amazing about the Festival of Pentecost. While our attention gravitates towards the signs—the sound of the violent wind from heaven, the tongues of fire, the foreign languages—the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of our Triune God, points heaven’s white hot spotlight on Christ crucified.

While there were many wonderful things that God had done in creating the world, choosing the people of Israel as his very own special possession, redeeming them from slavery in Egypt, and gifting them a land flowing with milk and honey, and fulfilling all his many promises, it was all leading toward the one that Peter speaks of at the end of our text Jesus of Nazareth. Just as God had done for the apostles on this day, (Acts 2:22) Jesus was accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through him. Jesus (John 1:11) came to that which was his own, the people of Israel, but his own did not receive him. In fact, (Acts 2:23) you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him on the cross.

Slow down with me, and mull over what the Holy Spirit inspired Peter to proclaim. Jesus proved he was sent from heaven by doing miracles, wonders, and signs. God did these things through his Son among his people. Everybody knew this. And they still put him to death. Not because he had done anything wrong, but because he told them who he was, the Son of God. The miracles, wonders, and signs attracted crowds, but they didn’t change hearts. Because they’re not the right tools for the job. That’s the work of the Word.

We need to be reminded of that, again and again. Because there is a tendency for us to think that if we had a little more splash, a little more sizzle, the Church could really grow. Sometimes the splash and sizzle we seek, is something miraculous like what we see here in Acts 2. Sometimes the splash and sizzle we think we need is something more secular like a more cutting edge feel, more instrumental gifts, or just an impressive place to worship in. If the songs were better, if the seats were comfier, if the place were more magnificent then the people would come in droves.

We tend to think the Spirit needs a little extra something to supercharge his work. Sometimes we take that approach corporately—we look at our congregation as a whole. We think that our congregation is lacking some gift, some program, some individual to really do what we should. We also do this when we look in the mirror. We see others who are clever and convincing, others who are so naturally good at remembering where things are located in the Bible, and others who are so naturally good at listening to the brokenhearted and we think, if only I could be like that, I could really do what God wants.

Whenever we find ourselves thinking like that, we have underestimated the wisdom and the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not wrong to recognize that there are (1 Cor. 12:4-6) different kinds of gifts, service, and working in the kingdom of God. This is true in congregations and in individuals. But it is (1 Cor. 12:4) the same Spirit who (1 Cor. 12:11) distributes them to each individual, just as he determines.

This is the Spirit that God has (Acts 2:17) poured out on all people. By the power of the Holy Spirit, children become mouthpieces of the Most High, speaking of the wonders of God in simple ways. By the power of the Holy Spirit, young men and women see with clarity events that happened before they were born. They have assurance about the things they have only beheld through the eyes of faith. Each time we open up the Gospels, the record of the life of Christ, can’t you just picture your Savior in action? By the power of the Holy Spirit, old men and women dream of the glories of eternity of heaven. They look forward (Heb. 11:11) to the city whose architect and builder is God himself. long to go to a place they’ve never been, and could never imagine, because by the power of the Holy Spirit they trust that this place is their truest home. Each time we hear our Savior speak of his Father’s home, our confidence in what we hope for grows, doesn’t it?

This is what the Holy Spirit does. It’s so clear on Pentecost, isn’t it?

On this day, with all the striking signs: the sound of the violent wind, the tongues of fire, the speaking in far-flung languages, look at what the Holy Spirit is doing. That’s all we can do. It’s amazing. The Holy Spirit is fully God, and yet you cannot see him at all. And, yet, in another sense, you cannot miss him. Like a divine stage manager, the Spirit makes sure the sound is right—listen to Peter and you’ll hear why we need Jesus. The Holy Spirit makes sure the spotlight is squarely on our Savior. It is crystal clear that (Acts 2:21) everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved. He coordinates all the signs to point people to Jesus.

What Pentecost reveals to us is not what the Holy Spirit looks like, but what the Holy Spirit loves. The Holy Spirit empowers the people of God to bring the attention of the world to Christ-crucified.

This is what the Holy Spirit has done for us and this is what the Holy Spirit is doing through us. It is the Holy Spirit who has taken the living, breathing Word of God, (Heb 4:12) sharper than any two-edged sword, and divided soul and spirit, joints and marrow, judging the thoughts and attitudes of your own heart. The Holy Spirit has opened your eyes to see your own sinfulness and the seriousness of that sin.

So many people walk around in this world convinced they are a pretty good person. They tell themselves they’re been decent parents, better than average employees, good neighbors, and dependable friends. Just about everybody thinks this about themselves.

But look around. Are our schools flush with parents who are going the extra mile for their kids? Not at all. Plenty of parents say they back our teachers, but then criticize their own kids’ teacher when his or her back is turned. Can you throw a stone and hit a better than average employee? No. Hard to find good help these days, we say. Is everyone on your block a good neighbor? Nope, you can identify some blockheads. Are all your friends equally dependable? If they were, you wouldn’t have best friends. We can see this all so clearly in the people around us. And my point isn’t to drag them.

But look at how the Holy Spirit has worked through the Word of God to show you your own sinfulness. Because of the Holy Spirit’s power, you see your impatience is because of your sinfulness, not because someone else was getting on your nerves. Because of the Holy Spirit’s power, you see that your laziness is because of your sinfulness, not because nobody cares how hard you work. Because of the Holy Spirit’s power, you see that you can be selfish and rude, prideful and stubborn, dishonest and conniving—just like everybody else. Because of the Holy Spirit’s power you have confessed that you are a poor, miserable sinner who deserves eternal condemnation—not just somebody who isn’t perfect, or makes a few mistakes.

The Holy Spirit has exposed this to you. He has gone to great lengths to show you that you are by nature, blind to God’s goodness, suspicious of his plans, and dead in your transgressions. But this same Spirit helps us in our weakness. He calls and enlightens us by his Gospel. He opens our eyes through Word and Sacrament. He brings us to life just as he raised Jesus to life. He sanctifies and keeps us in the one true Faith as he creates in us a new heart and a new spirit.

And he doesn’t just work in us, he works through us. If the Holy Spirit found in necessary he could bless us with all the amazing signs that we see here in Acts 2. But, don’t forget, he distributes these gifts as tools, signs that point people to the Savior. And that is the work he has called us to. The Holy Spirit works through weak, sinful people like Peter and you and me to point people to Christ crucified. We don’t need miracles, wonders and signs. If we did, the Spirit could and would bless us with them. None of them have the power to save. That’s what Peter proclaimed to this Pentecost crowd: (Acts 2:38-39) “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins. Turn from your wickedness and find your salvation in the one you crucified as your enemy, Jesus Christ. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. What is this gift? It is nothing less than faith. Simple trust that God has kept and is keeping all his promises. Confidence that Christ is your Lord, your Savior, and your brother. This is faith is the finest gift the Holy Spirit gives to anyone. And he has given it to you. God has poured out his Holy Spirit on all people so that we know and speak the truths of God’s Word. God has poured out his Holy Spirit on men and women, young and old so that we might see wonderful things in his Word and long for a place we’ve never seen. The Spirit-filled church is the Christ-centered Church. These signs may be amazing, but the one they point to, Jesus Christ, is soul-saving and life-changing. Amen.