14 Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: 17 ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on 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 on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke; 20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
22 Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know - 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning Him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. 27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
29 Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptised 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 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptised, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Pentecost means “fiftieth” and refers to the Feast of Weeks or Harvest, which was celebrated 50 days after Passover, so it was an ancient festival, but on this particular occasion recorded in Acts 2, everything changed.
Luke, the author of the book of Acts, explains what happened on this day of Pentecost, 50 days after the death and burial of Jesus Christ. The disciples were gathered in one place to worship God and to have fellowship with one another.
Luke begins this story with the words “When the day of Pentecost arrived.” The day of Pentecost was a day of profound religious importance to the Jews. The Passover celebration had a specific connection to the time of the Exodus and the freedom from slavery in Egypt. In Israel’s history the Passover Feast was associated with the Day of Atonement as well as a feast that marked the beginning of the harvest season. Pentecost was the Greek term for the Jewish feast of Weeks. It is called Pentecost because it falls on the fiftieth day after the Passover. Even today, Pentecost Sunday is 50 days after Good Friday. Pentecost marked the beginning of the offering of first fruits.
The New Testament uses the term Pentecost to refer to this ancient Jewish feast. But since the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church occurred on the day of Pentecost, we now recognise and celebrate the events described in Acts 2 as Pentecost – the birth of the Church as God’s Spirit empowered those early Christians to impact their world.
The Day of Pentecost was of such great importance in the Jewish calendar that every able-bodied Jew was required to go to Jerusalem for this occasion. Historians have estimated that up to a hundred thousand people would journey to Jerusalem from all parts of the world to participate in these annual festivities. This explains why so many people were gathered in Jerusalem at this crucial time of the Holy Spirit’s intervention in the life of the Church.
It was then that God chose to empower the Church to become agents of His grace and redeeming love for the salvation of all mankind. By sending His Holy Spirit, God spoke in a language that we could understand. Even today God speaks to us in a language that we can understand. He does so through the Bible, His written word. As Peter explained these strange events to his hearers, he used the Scriptures to make his point.
Luke explains the phenomenon of the Holy Spirit in a way that would spark familiar images for the people in the early Church. For example, from the Old Testament Creation account we understand that the Spirit of God was present. The divine power that was present from before the foundations of the earth were laid is also referred to as the Breath of God (from the Hebrew ruach). It was when God breathed His Spirit into Adam and Eve that a living relationship between the Creator and His creatures came into being.
The reference to the sound of the blowing of a mighty wind sparks images of God breathing new life into His Church. The breaking in of God’s Spirit on the Day of Pentecost was felt by “the whole house” - that is, everyone who had come to share in fellowship, prayer and worship.
Luke also makes reference to the tongues of fire that were seen on the heads of the people that day.
Fire has special significance in the Bible. For example, we are reminded of God’s call and commissioning of Moses when the Lord spoke to him through the burning bush. We’re reminded of God’s presence and guidance through the pillar of fire when the people of Israel wandered in the wilderness.
However, fire also speaks of God’s wrath and judgment. We see the images of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And we also hear the prophesies of the end-time judgment that will bring the purifying fury of an unquenchable fire.
We’re also told in Acts 2 that those who were there at Pentecost came under the control of the Holy Spirit. This was not just a brief feel-good session with no lasting consequences. Rather, it was the event that set God’s historic plan of salvation into action for all people, regardless of race, gender or any other difference. And, everyone who was gathered there surrendered completely to the Spirit of God.
Acts chapter 2 begins with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Church. It was Pentecost - a dramatic day when the Spirit swept through the Church like a mighty wind, tongues of fire fell on the people who were there, and they were given the ability to speak in foreign languages that they had not learned. In verses 5 to 13 of chapter 2 we read, “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.’”
Our reading earlier is Peter’s response to the question asked in verse 12: “What does this mean?” This is a question we will be answering today.
There are many who say the meaning of Pentecost is that we should have the same experience as the disciples, in other words, that we should be seeking baptism of the Holy Spirit and should be speaking in tongues.
Most Christians have been asked the question, “Have you received the baptism of the Holy Spirit?” And there are some who believe that if you haven’t spoken in tongues, then there is something missing in your life as a Christian.
This is why we need to have Biblical answers to these things which have caused much controversy and even division in the Church. We need to be able to answer the question, “What is the meaning of Pentecost?” Or, as the people asked that day, “What does this mean?”
What happened at Pentecost needs to be understood in terms of what happened in chapter 1:4-8. The context is the day of Jesus’ ascension, 10 days before Pentecost. “While staying with them He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, He said, ‘you heard from me; for John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’ So when they had come together, they asked Him, ‘Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’”
Just as the ministry of Jesus depended on the Holy Spirit descending on Him at His baptism, so the ministry of the disciples depended on them receiving the Holy Spirit and relying on His power. The indwelling of the Spirit and His power would become a permanent reality, and this event took place at Pentecost. What happened in Acts 2 is a unique historical event. It signified a new era in how God deals with His people. Pentecost signalled the dawning of the age of the Holy Spirit, and this is the age of the Church in which we are still living today. The fullness of the Spirit in Christians and in the Church is given in order to empower us and the Church to be effective witnesses of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The meaning of Pentecost is God equipping His Church with the power of His Spirit so that He will be glorified.
The point of Pentecost is mission, and the goal of mission is that the Gospel of Christ would be proclaimed throughout the earth.
Up until this point, God’s people consisted exclusively of the nation of Israel, the Jews, but now, as the Christian Church came into existence, Jews and Gentiles were included in the Church as equals. We need to try and understand just how radical this new beginning was. For thousands of years, God had worked out His covenant purposes through His chosen people, but now, suddenly, everything changed. The apostle Paul called this inclusion of the Gentiles in the Church a mystery. He wrote in Ephesians 3:6, “This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.”
It is important for us to bear in mind that our purpose as the Church is not to focus on ourselves and our own agendas. Charles Spurgeon once said, “The Church is a body created of the Lord to answer His own ends and purposes, and it exists for nothing else.” We are here to be part of the commission Jesus has given His Church - to share the Gospel, and in so doing to spread the knowledge of God to all the nations, beginning here in our own “Jerusalem.”
In Acts 2:9-11, we are given are long list of nations who were in Jerusalem for the annual feast of Pentecost. This list represents the nations that God wants to reach. Verse 5 says, “Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.” These devout men were in Jerusalem at the time of Pentecost, the festival of the harvest. However, they did not know at the time that the long-awaited Messiah had come and had been sacrificed, which was the whole point of Peter’s sermon that day.
There is also an interesting parallel here with the events at the Tower of Babel in Genesis 10. At Babel God judged the pride of those men by confusing their languages, but on the day of Pentecost, by His grace, God performed a miracle by turning a confusion of languages from all the surrounding nations by making it possible to hear what was being said in their own languages.
This gift of speaking in tongues was a miracle which also reinforced God’s intention for those early Christians to take the Gospel to all the nations. It enabled the Church to be established in those foreign lands when these men returned home. They heard the Gospel being preached in their own languages, which then made it possible for them to pass on that same message to their own people. So again, the Gospel message was not for the Jews only, but the Gentiles too.
The Gospel is for all the nations. Revelation 5:9-10, speaking of Jesus, says, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
The task of the Church remains the same today - to take the hope and truth of the Gospel to all. The big question is, how do we do this?
The answer is that the power we need to fulfill God’s plan for His Church comes in and through His Holy Spirit. We must remember that the Holy Spirit is not just a force. He is the third person of the Trinity. We know that He is a person, because Ephesians 4:30 tells us we should not grieve the Holy Spirit. You cannot grieve a force or an impersonal entity. You can only grieve a person.
In Acts 5:3 Peter accused Ananias of lying to the Holy Spirit and then in verse 5 he says, “You have not lied to men but to God.” The message is clear: The Holy Spirit of God is a person.
Before the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit indwelt and empowered people to serve God for specific purposes and at specific times. In Psalm 51:11, David cries out, “Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.” The truth is that for Christians today, it is unnecessary for us to echo this prayer.
In the days of the Old Testament, the Spirit did not permanently indwell all believers, but this all changed at Pentecost. At the Last Supper, the night before Jesus was crucified, He said to His disciples, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17) This promise was fulfilled at Pentecost, and it is a promise which stands to this day. At the moment of your conversion, as God declared you to be fully justified in His sight, you receive the Holy Spirit in all of His fullness.
All who believe in Jesus Christ receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation. Romans 8:9 says, “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.” You’ll remember from our series on Romans that the indwelling of the Spirit is the seal which guarantees our salvation. As a Christian, the Spirit of God dwells within you in all of His fullness, so to seek “baptism of the Holy Spirit” after being saved is not only unnecessary, but a mistake.
This is where we see some of the confusing and controversial teachings on this issue.
In Acts 1:5 Jesus promised that the apostles would be baptised by the Holy Spirit, which occurred on the Day of Pentecost. Baptism in this case refers to being totally identified with the Spirit and to the initial reception of the Spirit. Paul wrote to the Corinthian Church in 1 Corinthians 12:13, “In one Spirit we were all baptised into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” It’s important to note here that the Christian Church in Corinth had some serious issues. They were immature, spiritual babes, so to speak, so if the baptism of the Spirit is a special experience for the spiritually elite, Paul would not have said such a thing to the Corinthians. Not only that, but nowhere in Scripture are we commanded to be baptised with the Holy Spirit, since it is not an experience we are to seek. Rather, it is something God does in a Christian at the moment of salvation.
That being said, we are though commanded to be filled with the Spirit, which means to be controlled by the Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 says, “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.” The disciples on the Day of Pentecost were filled with the Holy Spirit. So baptism of the Spirit is a once-off event, at the moment of salvation, but being filled with the Spirit happens repeatedly. To be filled with the Spirit, we must empty ourselves by confessing our sin and by dying to self. We need to learn to yield completely to God and depend on Him step by step. This is what “walking in the Spirit” is all about.
Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” This is much the same thing. As the word of Christ dwells in us richly, we are yielding to the work of the Spirit in our lives. The opposite of this is suppressing the work of the Spirit. This happens to us all of the time, due to our ongoing struggles against sin and temptation.
The result of a consistent daily walk in the Spirit will be the fruit of the Spirit which manifests itself in our lives and our relationships. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
Getting back to our question earlier, what does this mean?
In other words, how does Pentecost apply to us today? Is this merely a place we come to for an hour a week, or is this a place where we are connecting with our Christian brothers and sisters, praying for each other and encouraging one another to be faithful to Jesus’ command to go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and are we teaching them to obey everything He has commanded us?
The real message of Pentecost is not that it was just a wonderful day and the official birth of the Christian Church. The real message is that we are duty and honour bound to seek God’s face, to seek the same passion for the Gospel of those early Christians, and in so doing make ourselves available to God so that He can use His Church today to bring glory to Himself.
Jesus told His disciples, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth.” That message has not changed, and it still applies to us today: It is not a repetition of Pentecost or a new Pentecost that we need, but rather the realisation that Pentecost has never ended.
Homegroup Study Notes
Read Acts 2:1-12
Pay particular attention to the question asked in verse 12.
What does Pentecost mean to the Church, and what does it mean to you as an individual believer?
Discuss some of the radical changes we see in the first disciples in the book of Acts.
How have you experienced the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit?
Without the power of the Holy Spirit, the Church would be completely ineffective in the world today, yet Pentecost is generally not regarded as crucial to the history of the Church and the life of a Christian as say, Christmas and Easter. Why is that?
Discuss some events where the Holy Spirit has been active in the life of the Church.
As a congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ, we are commissioned to be actively involved in the life and witness of the Church.
In which areas do you feel we are succeeding, and where do you believe there are areas for growth and improvement?