Acts 2:1-21 - The Day of Pentecost
Acts 2: 1) When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2) And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3) Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4) All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. 5) Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6) And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7) Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8) And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9) Parthians, Medes, 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, both Jews and proselytes, 11) Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12) All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13) But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.” 14) But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15) Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16) No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17) ‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. 18) Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. 19) And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, fire, and smoky mist. 20) The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. 21) Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Pentecost: The second of the annual festivals of the Jewish faith is Pentecost, also called the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Harvest, and the Day of Firstfruits. It was and is celebrated 50 days after Passover. A harvest festival celebrating the barley and wheat harvests, Pentecost gave praise to God as the source of rain and fertility. It was celebrated as a Sabbath with rest from daily labor and sacrifices of thanksgiving. It included the eating of communal meals to which the poor and strangers were invited. Later traditions associated Pentecost with the giving of the Law at Sinai. Jews from all over the world traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate. That was the case in today’s lesson. In the New Testament, the Festival of Pentecost remembers God’s gift of the Holy Spirit and the initiation of the mission of the church. We sometimes speak of Pentecost of the church’s birthday.
The Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. It is the Spirit who enlivens, renews, inspires, empowers, directs, binds together and reveals God’s truth to human beings in both the Old and New Testaments. In the OT, the term
“Holy Spirit” occurs only in Psalm 51 and Isaiah 63. However, references to the Spirit of God abound from the moment of creation throughout the Scriptures. In the OT, the Spirit is depicted as a mighty wind, the same wind that parted the Red Sea, brought chaos into order at creation and inspired the prophets. In the NT, Christian understanding of the Spirit expanded. Elizabeth and Zechariah are told that their son, John the Baptist, will be filled with the Holy Spirit. When Gabriel comes to Mary with the revelation that she will give birth to Messiah, it is the Spirit who accomplishes this miracle. At his baptism, Jesus is anointed by the Spirit and thereby empowered and commissioned for ministry. All of the apostolic writers bear witness to the presence and the intimate power of the Holy Spirit in the church.
The Receiving of the Spirit: The New Testament is clear that the followers of Jesus received a new relationship with the Holy Spirit shortly after the resurrection. In John (see 20:22f) Jesus himself breathes the Spirit into his disciples. In Acts, the Spirit descends upon the gathered body at the Feast of Pentecost. The receiving of the Spirit, is for comfort, advocacy, inspiration and direction. The gift of the Spirit’s presence and power also carry a commissioning function. The Spirit prepares and sends us into mission. The Spirit also is the reconciling force of the world. The Spirit binds humankind into relationships and forms us into community.
The Gift of Tongues: the New Testament refers to the Spiritual gift of tongues in two ways. In Paul and the other early letters, tongues seems to refer to the experience of ecstatic speech that arises from intense religious emotion both in worship and alone. This manifestation is unintelligible unless there is someone present with the gift to interpret. Acts 2 provides the only instance in which tongues is understood as the miraculous ability to speak and/or understand foreign languages without training. The emphasis here is on the Spirit’s power to breakdown all human barriers and make one family out of a divided humanity.
The Day of the Lord: (“the Lord’s great and glorious day”) The Day of the Lord refers to the time when God reveals God’s sovereignty (rule) over human powers and human life. In the OT, it is deeply longed for and deeply feared. In a nutshell, it refers to God’s display of power that reveals God’s control of history, time and people. Israel believed that on that day Israel would be restored and vindicated. In the NT, the Day of the Lord quickly came to be associated with Christ’s final victory and the judgment of sinners. Some believe that it refers to the end time when Christ will return and establish his eternal kingdom. In whatever way we understand it, it is clear that the Day of the Lord points to the promise that God rules and that at some point in time that rule will become crystal clear.
Word Study
Vs. 1 – Pentecost – see above
Vs. 2 – heaven – This lovely word means the overarching and all-embracing realm above and beyond the earth. It is an active arena of God’s creation in the Bible where birds fly, clouds form, angels abide and the dead receive rewards. Paul is said to have been raptured into the third heaven and returned to earth. That is the realm
known as Paradise which is the understood as the state in which faithful souls live after death until the general resurrection when they are admitted into immediate communion with God in Christ, or to participate in the Tree of Life which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Rush – an interesting word from the root for ‘to bear fruit.’ It sometimes means to sustain or uphold. Other times is seems to mean ‘to cause to come or to be led in a direction.’ Here is seems to mean ‘to be carried or brought,’ almost as a mode of transport.
Wind – pneuma – wind, breath, the spirit that is invisible yet powerful.
Violent – this word is usually used of forceful or violent men.
Vs. 3 – Tongues – see above.
Vs. 4 – speak – means to talk at random, to articulate words as opposed to silence.
Other – another, foreign, strange.
Vs. 5 – devout – someone who takes things seriously and studies them carefully.
Vs. 10 – proselyte – literally refers to a stranger or foreigner who comes from his own people to another. It came to refer to potential converts who were moving from one religion to another.
Vs. 11 – deeds of power – something that is miraculous.
Vs. 14 – know – from one of the Greek words for to know. This word means to know, perceive, learn or recognize. It means to grasp the reality of something from personal observation.
Vs. 17 – last – eschatos – this word, when used of time, refers to that which concludes things, brings a certain time to a close.
Prophesy – this word refers to the ability to read the times so clearly that one can foretell what will happen in the future.
Old – presbus – The word from which we get Presbyterian. It referred to revered leaders who acted wisely on behalf of the people. In it not a chronological concept except that it was assumed that age and experience made one more fit to lead. Here is refers to the wise ones, elders, who lead the community forward.
Vs. 19 – portents – This word is often translated as wonders. It refers to something that ,due to its extraordinary character, is observed and kept in memory. Something startling and amazing.
Signs – This word refers to a miracle with an ethical end and purpose. It leads people beyond themselves to something more valuable.
Vs 21 – calls on – to invoke by name.
Saved – sozo – to be delivered from danger, to be released from bondage, to be made completely whole. This experience can happen in the here and now and lasts eternally.
Questions for Personal Reflection
1. How do you experience the work of the Spirit in your life? In the church? In the world? How do you receive inspiration?
2. To what, for what, or for whom, do you believe the Spirit is calling and empowering the church today? What do you think your roll is in the Spirit’s activity?