Sermon Tone Analysis

Scripture Reading

Acts 2:1–13 (ESV)

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.”

Main Point

The event we’ve come to know as Pentecost was a huge moment in redemptive history, and we should rejoice to know that God is now with us.

Message

1) What Happened?

The Structure of the Text

God’s Promise Manifest (v1-13)

v1-4 – God (Father and Son) sent His Holy Spirit, and the disciples were all filled with/by the Spirit of God!

v5-13 – Jews from “every nation” were in Jerusalem, they heard the “works of God” in their own language, and they variously responded to what they heard.

God’s Promise Explained (v14-47)

v14-36 – Peter explained what happened in the form of a sermon.

v37-41 – Some of the Jews responded to the sermon with repentance and faith.

v42-47 – Those new disciples joined the existing congregation; and all these Spirit-filled Christians shared fellowship, material goods, and the gospel of Christ.

We’re going to focus on v1-13 today

v1-4 – God’s Holy Spirit came!

It was the day of “Pentecost,” and “all” 120 disciples (Acts 1:15) were gathered “together” (v1).

There was a loud “sound,” like that of “a mighty rushing wind,” and “fire” that spread out among all who were gathered… and these both “came from heaven” (v2).

The promised Holy Spirit “filled” every single one of the disciples, and they all “began to speak in other tongues [or languages]” (v4).

v5-13 – Jews in Jerusalem variously responded.

There were “devout” or “God-fearing” Jews “from every nation under heaven” gathered in Jerusalem (v5).

Many might have lived in Jerusalem, but there were certainly many who had traveled to be there for the Passover and Pentecost days.

Luke notes several nationalities in v9-10 – “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…”

Every man heard the disciples speaking “in his own language,” even though the disciples were all from Galilea (v6-7), and the disciples were “telling… the mighty works of God” (v11).

Though Jewish in ancestry, these men were now living in “every nation,” and they spoke various “languages” or “dialects” known in their homelands.

All the Jews around the disciples’ house were “bewildered,” “confused,” “amazed,” “astonished,” and “perplexed” (v6-7, 12).

Some “mocked,” saying the disciples were drunk (v13).

Many wondered, “What does this mean?”

What does this mean?

Four implications of Pentecost:

The “day of the LORD” has come… and it will come.

God now dwells with His people, the new Temple/Tabernacle.

God is reversing the curse.

The Holy Spirit is God with us.

2) The Day of the LORD has come & it will come

Peter ANNOUNCED “the Day of the LORD is HERE”

v14-21 – This is the fulfillment of what the prophet Joel had said at least 600 years earlier.[1]

Peter quoted a particular prophecy of Joel, one concerning the coming “day of the LORD” (Acts 2:20).

Joel spoke of God’s judgment (both upon the world and upon Israel), and he also spoke of God’s salvation for His people… and both (according to Joel) would occur at the “day of the LORD” (Joel 2:31; cf.

1:15, 2:1-2).

Peter said, “This (Pentecost) is that (the day of the LORD)!”

v22-36 – Jesus of Nazareth was/is indeed the Messiah or Christ of God!

Jesus was “attested” by God Himself (Acts 2:22) and was supremely validated in/by His resurrection (Acts 2:24).

Jesus was “exalted at the right hand of God,” and is the rightful Davidic King (Acts 2:32; cf.

2:25-28).

The “pouring out” of the “Holy Spirit” is evidence that Jesus is reigning/ruling from heaven now, and that God is “making [His] enemies [His] footstool” (v33-35; cf.

Ps. 110:1).

The Messiah/Christ is the one who ushers in God’s judgment and salvation in the “day of the LORD” (Ps.

2; cf.

Ps. 110)… and that’s why:

the believing Jews responded, “What shall we do?” (Acts 2:37).

Peter warned everyone: “Save [themselves] from this crooked generation” (v40).

But the Day of the LORD is Not Yet Fully Here

The Already and Not Yet in the New Testament

It’s clear that the earliest Christians thought they would be alive to see God’s final judgment for the world and God’s restoration/salvation for His people (Rom.

13:13; Phil.

4:5; Heb.

1:2, 10:25; James 5:8; 1 Pet.

4:7).

AND it is also clear in the NT that the “day of the LORD” had not yet come… at least in some sense (2 Thess.

2:1-4; 2 Pet.

3:10).

The Already and Not Yet Today

Christ has come, the gospel has spread, and Christianity has impacted the world for both temporal and eternal good in numerous ways.

And yet, evidence of the curse is all around us… One example is that the wicked seem to prosper.

With the Psalmist, we too can still say, “I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek.

They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.

Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment… They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.

They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth… Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches” (Ps.

73:4–12).

The Apostle Peter said in his day that scoffers would say, “Where is the promise of [Christ’s] coming?

For ever since the [ancient times], all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:4)

But let us remember:

Peter also said that those who scoff… those who deny or forget that Christ is indeed returning to bring both judgment and salvation… they “deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.

But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly” (2 Peter 3:5–7).

Then Peter warns Christians, “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief [i.e., when you don’t expect], and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” (2 Peter 3:8–10).

Then Peter admonished Christians, “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be…” (2 Peter 3:11).

We are to live “lives of holiness” (v12), to “be diligent to be found in [Christ] without spot or blemish” (v14), and to be “at peace” (v14).

3) God Now Dwells with His People

Necessary Biblical Backdrop

One commentator says of this passage, "This visionary experience is best understood against the background of passages like Exodus 3:2–5; 19:18; 24:17; 40:38, where fire symbolizes the presence of the Holy One to communicate with his people and guide them."[2]

Fortunately for many of us, we have Exodus fresh in our minds![3]

We may remember that God first met with Moses in the manifestation of “fire” that did not “consume” (Ex.

3:2).

We may remember that God that God later met with all Israel in the manifestation of a “very loud” noise and a “fire” which “descended” on Mt.

Sinai (Ex.

19:16, 18).

We may also remember that the “glory of the LORD” was described “like a devouring fire” in the sight of the people of Israel when God completed His covenant-making ceremony with Israel (Ex.

24:17).

And we may best remember that last experience recorded in Exodus, when God’s presence finally came to dwell among His people in the tabernacle.

We read, in Exodus 40:34, “Then the cloud [another notable sign of God’s presence] covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle”!

Jesus Is/was Immanuel

In his Gospel, John tells us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was In the beginning with God.