We will be looking at Acts Chapter two, which is the event called “Pentecost.”
Leading up to this event, we need to consider what was happening to the apostles after the crucifixion. They were confused and worried, at a loss as to what to do next. They gathered in a room to try to figure it out.
“But little did they know, their wildest dream wasn’t wild enough. Just as someone mumbles, ‘it’s no use,’ they hear a noise. They hear a voice.
“Peace be with you.” Every head lifted. Every eye turned. Every mouth dropped open. Someone looked at the door. It was still locked.
It was a moment the apostles never forget, a story they would never cease to tell. The stone of the tomb was not enough to keep Him in. The walls of the room were not enough to keep Him out.” 1
Here Jesus talks with them and then tells them to stay put until they receive the “promise of the Father.”
Acts 1:4-8 NIV
4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.
5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Then Jesus ascended to sit in Heaven!
Let me set the scene for our passage today.
A.D. 30. Birthday of the Church.
50th day after Jesus’s resurrection.
10th day after His ascension to Heaven.
Beginning of the gospel era.
Pentecost was also called Feast of First-Fruits, and Feast of Harvest. 2
Acts 2 New International Version (NIV)
The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost
1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues [languages] as the Spirit enabled them.
5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.
6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.
7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?
8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?
9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, [the Roman province by that name],
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome
11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
Peter Addresses the Crowd
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.
15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!
16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 ‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ [Joel 2:28-32]
22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.
23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, [of those not having the law (That is, Gentiles.)] put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
25 David said about him:
“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’” [Psalm 16:8-11]
29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.
30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.
31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.
32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.
33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.’”[Psalm 110:1]
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “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.
39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
The Fellowship of the Believers
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.
44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.
45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Max Lucado, in his introduction to Acts, states the following:
“They aren’t the same men.
Oh, I know they look like it.
They have the same names. The same faces. The same mannerisms.
They look the same. But they aren’t. On the surface they appear no different.
Peter is still brazen. Nathanael is still reflective. Philip is still calculating.
They look the same. But they aren’t.
They aren’t the same men you read about in the last four books. The fellows you got to know in the Gospels? These are the ones, but they’re different.
You’ll see it. As you read you’ll see it. In their eyes. You hear it in their voices. You feel it in their passion. These men have changed….
They are different. They have stood face to face with God. They have sat at the feet of the resurrected King. They are different.
Within them dwells a fire not found on earth. Christ has taught them. The Father has forgiven them. The Spirit indwells them. They are not the same.
And because they are different, so is the world!” 3
Alexander Bruce gives us this definition:
“Power from on high:” means: All that the apostles were to gain from the mission of the Comforter – enlightenment of mind, enlargement of heart, sanctification of their faculties, and transformation of their characters, so as to make them whetted swords and polished shafts for subduing the world unto the truth; these, or the effect of these combined, constituted the power for which Jesus directed the eleven to wait…In a word, they were to be less like their past selves and more like their Master. 4
2 Timothy 1:6-7 NIV
6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
A statement in the Radio Pulpit booklet:
“When you believe in Jesus Christ, you belong to the ultimate health club. No matter how sick you are, no matter how afraid you are, there is great hope if you believe in the resurrected Savior. God will transform your lowly body.” 5
1 John 2:3-6 NIV
3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.
4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.
5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him:
6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
Another statement, this from Wycliffe Bible Commentary:
“Joyfulness and generosity of heart were two of the outstanding characteristics of the early Christians.” 6
This Thanksgiving Sunday, we need to thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit which energizes us to be bold in our faith and Christian walk!
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