Pentecost
Bible Text: Acts 2:1-13 | Speaker: Logan Mauldin | Series: Acts: Jesus Builds His Church | Our text in Acts 2:1-13 describes something entirely new and amazing. And yet what we read should not come as a complete surprise. We might compare the Pentecost event to having a birthday. You know that your birthday is coming and that someone who loves you has a present for you. You are not sure exactly what the present is, but they’ve told you that you will really like it, and you don’t know exactly when you will receive it. You know it is something good, and that it is coming soon.
The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is like the birthday party for the church. They have been waiting for this surprise party knowing that the Father and Jesus had a gift for them that was going to be incredible.
As we approach Luke’s description of the Pentecost event, we should do so fully aware that those who experienced it had been prepared for its arrival, even though they did not know exactly what it would be like. Remember back to Luke’s gospel and how he recorded John speaking about the Baptism that Jesus would use versus his own? Luke 3:16:
John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
John contrasts his baptism with that of Jesus. John baptized with water, but Jesus would baptize with the Spirit and with fire. Jesus will reinforce these words, and it is clear that the message is that the baptism of Jesus is vastly superior to that of John, just as Jesus is vastly superior to John.
Also, just a few verses after this, we see Jesus’ Baptism with the voice out of the cloud “This is my Son with whom I am well pleased,” and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. This is the time when our Lord was filled with power from the Holy Spirit to carry out His earthly ministry. Remember, it was immediately after His baptism that Jesus faced Satan in the wilderness and then commenced His ministry.
You might be saying, “Why are we talking about the Baptism of Jesus? We’re supposed to be talking about Pentecost. What do these two things have to do with each other?” And I think that is a great question and we’ll get to it in just a few minutes.
For now, let us also remember that Jesus taught his disciples to pray for the Holy Spirit with the assurance that their prayers would be answered: Luke 11:13
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
And remember just a few weeks ago we saw Jesus in his final instructions before his ascension. He tells His disciples that their mission is to be witnesses to His resurrection and to the good news of the gospel. They are to take the gospel to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. But he also tells them to wait in Jerusalem until they are clothed with power from on high. That’s Jesus reminding them that the Birthday present is coming and it is going to be great. Today, they are going to get that present at Pentecost.
Setting the Scene for Pentecost
Acts 2:1-2, “Now when the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a violent wind blowing came from heaven and filled the entire house where they were sitting.”
Alright, the first question you should be asking when you come to this text is “What is Pentecost?” This was a traditional Jewish festival celebrated 7 weeks and one day after Passover. Can my math whizzes tell me what 7 weeks plus one day is? Fifty. Any guesses what Pentecost means? Fifty that’s right. This was a holy celebration for the Jews going all the way back to Exodus and Leviticus.
It was not a coincidence that Jesus’ sacrifice occurred on Passover and it is not a coincidence that the coming of the Spirit occurs at Pentecost. There is a great connection between the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost and the Old Testament Feast. But like the connection with Jesus’ baptism, I will get to it in just a few minutes.
The setting Luke describes is very basic. He tells us simply that “they were all together in one place.”
I think from this, we are supposed to understand that they did not bring God down by their actions; God came down upon them unexpectedly. God is not a vending machine, and he doesn’t want us to get the impression that if we simply push the same buttons that the disciples did then we can have the same experience. This was a once in an eon event, not to be repeated and it was all God’s doing.
To emphasize this point, let’s look at two words in verse 2. Notice the word suddenly at the beginning of verse 2.
The Spirit did not come after some agonizing effort on the part of the believers in Jerusalem; He came suddenly, surprisingly, unexpectedly. Second, Luke informs us that the Spirit came while they were “sitting.” Now why would he bother to include such a detail as this? Perhaps it was because one usually sits when he is inactive or at rest. If they were sitting, the inference may be that they were not doing anything to induce the Spirit to come. Let’s continue reading.
The Spirit Arrives
Acts 2:3-4 “And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
Nothing like this has ever happened before. While a few incidents are described later in the Book of Acts that remind the believers of Pentecost, only here do we read of the “sound of a violent wind” and the appearance of something like tongues of fire being distributed on those present. Only here is there a large gathering of devout Jews from various parts of the world. Only here do those looking on hear the praises of God in their own mother tongue.
In an age before the wonders of the moving picture or sound systems, God is putting on a show. An auditory and a visual spectacle accompany the filling of the Spirit. This awesome sound drew people from all over the city of Jerusalem.
This isn’t in the text, but I have to wonder who could see the tongues of fire. If they stayed there all day, I think we would have some reference from those in the crowd about this. So it was probably only seen by the disciples who were present. Perhaps, this frightened them and they ran out of the place they were gathered and into the street where the crowds began to gather to find out what all the commotion was about.
If you are a good reader, you might be asking yourself, “Why wind and fire? What do these phenomena symbolize?” (I thought about making an Earth, Wind, and Fire joke but after my ADD bomb, I decided not to.) I should begin by pointing out that in both Hebrew and Greek (the languages in which most of the Old and New Testaments were written) the word for “spirit” is the same as the word for “wind.” Rhema in Hebrew, Pneuma in Greek and wind is often a symbol associated with the Spirit of God.
We see the Holy Spirit in Ezekiel and the Valley of Dry Bones as a breath and a wind. But the most striking reference is in Jesus’ words in John 3:5-8 as he was speaking to Nicodemus:
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
It would seem, therefore, that the sound like a violent wind signaled the descent of the Spirit in a mighty way. Luke is careful to inform us that the sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven. All of this is to make it very plain that what is happening has originated with God.
Second, fire is frequently a symbol of God’s presence. We see it when Moses encounters the burning bush in Exodus 3. We see it again with the fire at Mount Sinai in Exodus 19:18. We see it in the pillar of fire that accompanied the Israelites. And from the account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, we see that fire is also a means of divine judgment. If we jump back to Jesus’ baptism again, we can see that John the Baptist associated the baptism of fire with judgment.
Luke 3:17, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Also, apart from divine intervention, the human tongue as described in James 3 is a destructive fire, but once the heart is renewed and the Spirit empowers the tongue, it becomes an instrument of salvation? Thus, tongues of fire seem to symbolize the tongues of the apostles, empowered by the Spirit, which speak of the glory of God, and this leads to the conversion of thousands.
Speaking of the tongues of the apostles, let’s talk about the languages that they spoke. The words that they spoke were in languages unknown to the speakers, but which are the native languages of the hearers.
I have tried to mentally picture what must have taken place at Pentecost. The awesome noise (like a violent wind) attracted the crowds. They heard those who were empowered by the Spirit speaking in various foreign languages. I can imagine individuals hearing their own native tongue somewhere in the crowd, and after a search, finding the speaker. I can likewise imagine the speaker, wondering what he is saying. Since they could communicate in a common tongue (Aramaic or Greek?), they could discuss what was being said, and thus the hearer could inform the speaker about what he was saying, and even the language in which it was spoken. What a wonder that must have been for both speaker and hearer.
Audience Response
Acts 2:5-13, “Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 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, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
Where did all these “devout Jews” come from? Where were these many “devout Jews” in the Gospels? Why did they not protest when Jesus was on trial? And yet Luke writes that there were devout Jews from every nation staying in Jerusalem at this time. Where were they before this?
Some of them were probably Jews who made their way from distant lands to come to Jerusalem to observe the Feast of Pentecost (see Acts 20:16). I suppose that some might have come for Passover and stayed on until Pentecost. We know that many did make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the feasts, especially the three mandatory feasts of Passover, Firstfruits, and Pentecost.
Passover and the following weeks were a time of impressive celebration. Jews had been scattered all over the world and this was an occasion for them to return to the holy temple and worship and celebrate the harvest. From all over the Mediterranean world, Jews who had settled or foreigners who had embraced the Jewish religion came to celebrate. Nobody knows exactly how many came. Most estimates say that Jerusalem swelled from its normal 30,000 residents to over 2 million at this time of year. The city itself couldn’t hold everyone, and they filled the surrounding villages and set up tent villages outside the city walls. It would have been a sight to behold.
I also don’t think that it is beyond the realm of possibility that God had increased the turnout for this particular year. This was the fullness of time, the display of the long-awaited messiah to the world. I can see God speaking to his people all over the Mediterranean reminding them to make plans to go to Jerusalem this year, getting their finances in order, opening their calendar. God was putting on a show and he wanted an audience present. Because not only did these people come and see, but afterward they would go home and tell of what they saw.
Think, too, of the things which had taken place in recent times. Surely word must have gotten out about the birth of Jesus and about the magi who came from afar to worship Him (Matthew 2:1ff.). Then John the Baptist came, promising that Messiah would soon appear (Matthew 3:1-2). He drew crowds, even in the wilderness. Jesus then commences His public ministry, which is authenticated by many miracles (Matthew 4:23-25). For three years, His ministry continues. His appearances in Jerusalem created a considerable stir.
Then Jesus is crucified just seven weeks before this, and a number of very unusual things occurred, things which could not be quickly and easily explained away: the temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom. There was a great earthquake, Tombs were opened and dead saints came back to life and went into the city and appeared to many people.
All of these things would have put a buzz in the air and probably drawn a lot of curious onlookers. Messianic expectation was at an all-time high. Word about Jesus had spread abroad. Surely the “devout Jews” heard of such things, and just as surely, they would have made every effort to relocate to Jerusalem, hoping to be on hand when the kingdom of God was inaugurated.
Here, as before, the response of the audience was mixed. The “devout Jews” sensed that there was spiritual significance to these events, and they sought to know what it was: “What does this mean” (verse 12)? But others dismissed these miraculous events as the babblings of those who were drunk: “They are drunk on new wine!” (verse 13)
What does Pentecost Mean?
Let us consider what Pentecost means. In the coming verses of Acts 2, Peter will explain the meaning of Pentecost for those who witnessed it. These were folks who needed to place their trust in Jesus as the promised Messiah. But Luke wrote the Book of Acts for folks like us, many of whom have trusted in Jesus. What is the meaning of Pentecost for us?
I will attempt to explore the meaning of Pentecost for us by examining from three dimensions:
(1) Its similarities to the baptism of our Lord by John.
(2) Its relationship to the Feast of Pentecost.
THE BAPTISM OF JESUS
Consider the similarities between our Lord’s baptism by John and the baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
In Luke 3, the Spirit comes upon Jesus after He has been baptized by John and while He is praying. In Acts, the apostles and others have also been praying, and the Spirit comes upon them.
In Luke, a voice (the voice of God the Father) comes from heaven; in Acts 2, a great noise comes from heaven.
In Luke, the Spirit comes in the form of a dove and rests upon Jesus. In Acts 2, the Spirit’s coming is seen in the likeness of tongues of fire, which come upon all those gathered together.
The coming of the Spirit upon Jesus in Luke 3 is the event that preceded the commencement of our Lord’s ministry, a ministry which was marked by manifestations of power. In Acts 2, Pentecost is the event that preceded the going forth of the apostles in power, as they proclaimed the gospel.
The baptism of our Lord in Luke 3 is essential and foundational to our understanding Pentecost. In our Lord’s baptism, we see God identifying Himself (Father and Spirit) with the Son, and with His ministry. We see that it is from this point on that Jesus is endowed with power from on high to conduct His earthly ministry. When we come to Pentecost in Acts 2, we see a similar event taking place with our Lord’s earthly body, the church. At Pentecost, God identifies Himself with the church, the body of Christ. Just as Jesus did not begin His public ministry until the Father identified Himself with Him by bestowing His Spirit on Him, so the apostles were told to wait until He identified Himself with them at Pentecost.
From Pentecost on, God has come to dwell in His people, God now identifies Himself with His people in a most intimate way more than we ever find in the Old Testament. This is only possible because our sins have been dealt with on the cross of Calvary. Pentecost can come because our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.
THE FEAST OF PENTECOST
In addition to Jesus’ Baptism, we can also see a lot of significance to the events of Pentecost based on our understanding of the Jewish Feast of Pentecost. It is a fulfillment of the Old Testament feast. Paul calls attention to this relationship between Old Testament institutions and New Testament realities in Colossians 2:16.
Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
The writer to the Hebrews says the same thing in Hebrews 10:1.
For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.
Let’s read one of the Old Testament Texts that speaks of Pentecost or as it was more commonly known, the Feast of Weeks. There are several in Exodus 34, Leviticus 23, and Deuteronomy 16. Let’s read Deuteronomy 16:9-12.
You shall count seven weeks. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the Lord your God blesses you. And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there. You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.
The Jewish feasts are observed according to the Jewish calendar. As many know, the Jewish calendar is very different from our own. The first spring holiday is that of Passover. Passover commemorates God’s deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage at the exodus. Passover recalls the ten plagues, the observance of the first Passover meal (by means of which the firstborn males were spared), and the crossing of the Red Sea. Passover begins on the 14th day of the first month of Abib, which falls in our months of March or April.
The day after Passover, the 15th day of the month, was the beginning of a one-week celebration of the “Feast of Unleavened Bread.” All leaven was to be removed for a period of one week. One of the seven days of the “Feast of Unleavened Bread” would naturally be a Sabbath or Saturday.
The day following this Sabbath there was to be the celebration of the beginning of the harvest. They would bring the first sheaf of the spring barley crop to the priest who would wave the offering before the Lord. Just a little note that I realized while studying for this sermon, that this offering of firstfruits would have been given on the Sunday morning when Jesus rose from the dead.
Jesus died on Passover as our sacrificial Lamb and rose on the day of firstfruits to show that he was the firstfruit of the resurrection of the dead, the beginning of God’s harvest of souls.
The Feast of Pentecost (or, more commonly in Old Testament terms, the “Feast of Weeks”) was to be celebrated 50 days after the offering of the first fruits. It occurs in the third month of the Jewish calendar, which would be during the months of May or June on our calendar.
There are several things I believe to be significant about this holiday which serve to foreshadow the Pentecost of Acts 2. First of all, Pentecost was the celebration of the completion of the barley harvest and the transition to the wheat harvest. This could be used to symbolize that God was not transitioning from the Old Covenant of dealing with the Jews to establishing his church.
But more likely, Pentecost had come to be celebrated by the Jews as a commemoration of the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai and the coming of the Holy Spirit shows the fulfillment of the New Covenant where God will write the law on our hearts instead of tablets of stone.
Passover clearly anticipated the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and His saving work on the cross of Calvary. He is our Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7). The Feast of Unleavened Bread follows Passover, and all leaven must be removed. The death of our Lord Jesus at Calvary removes the guilt of our sins, and thus we must come to hate sin and desire that it be put far from us.
Fifty days later, it was the time when God identified Himself with the church, the time when He endowed the saints with power so that they could carry out the Great Commission. It was the time when God came to indwell His saints in a way that was more intimate than any saint had ever experienced it. It was the time, thanks to the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, when God could now indwell those who were not yet free from sin and its corrupting influences. God dwells among and in His people, sinful though they will be, because of the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus.
Matthew’s Gospel began by telling us that Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. When the Gospel of Matthew ends with the Great Commission, we find Jesus reassuring His disciples that He will be with them always, to the end of the age.
Now in Acts 2, Pentecost tells us how our Lord is now present with His church – through the Holy Spirit, whom He has sent. Pentecost assures us that God is present with His people, even though we are not yet sinless. We are forgiven sinners, who will one day be freed from the suffering and groaning that is the result of sin. But through the atoning work of Christ and the abiding of the Spirit, God is with us in a way that no Old Testament saint ever knew. He is with us, not only to teach, comfort, and guide us, but also to empower us to carry out the Great Commission. This is good news and a good reminder for us today.