Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ,
What are the major moments of salvation history? Creation / the Fall / The first coming of Jesus / the Second Coming of Jesus.
And if we zoom in a little to the first coming of the Lord Jesus? His Birth / Crucifixion / Resurrection / Ascension
But we really must add Pentecost to this list. The Bible itself demands this:
- The opening words of our text are, “When the day of Pentecost came,” or, literally, “When the Day of Pentecost was fulfilled.” This is prophetic fulfilment language. It is the same sort of language we find in Matthew and Luke in relation to the time of Jesus’ birth.
- But there are also some striking parallels between the Book of Acts and the Book of Luke.
- Luke begins by telling of John the Baptist who says that one is coming who “will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
- Next, Jesus is baptized with the Holy Spirit.
- Then, Jesus preaches a sermon that ‘spells out His programme.’
- And then we see Him moving about speaking to Jews, Galileans, and Samaritans.
- And here in Acts:
- In 1:5, we read about John’s prophecy of one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit.
- And then in v4 of our text, the disciples are filled with the Holy Spirit.
- And then from v14, Peter preaches a sermon that ‘spells out the gospel’s programme.’
- And then we see the disciples go and speak to the Jews, and then to Samaritans, and then even further afield.
- And this repeated pattern is another indication that Pentecost is one of the major moments of salvation history.
So we are going to take some time today to consider this major moment in salvation history under two headings:
First, we consider Pentecost Explained. We will look at these verses to make sure we understand the biblical significance of this event and how it is described. And then in the second place, we want to think about the Lessons of Pentecost.
- So firstly then, Pentecost explained.
- Verse 1 says, “When the day of Pentecost came.”
- The Greek word, Pentecost, simply means ‘fiftieth day.’ It had been 50 days since Jesus rose from the dead.
- But this was not the first Day of Pentecost. The Day of Pentecost was an annual feast day in the OT Jewish calendar. There had been a Day of Pentecost ever since the people of Israel left Egypt. And this was so for two reasons:
- I won’t distract you with all the calculations, but it was 50 days after the Israelites left Egypt when God gave them the 10 Commandments at Sinai. So Pentecost Day for the Jews was a reminder of when they received the Law.
- But it was also on this day that the Jews celebrated the Feast of First-fruits. 50 days after the Sabbath of Passover week, they were to present the first of their harvest to the Lord.
- But this was not the first Day of Pentecost. The Day of Pentecost was an annual feast day in the OT Jewish calendar. There had been a Day of Pentecost ever since the people of Israel left Egypt. And this was so for two reasons:
- The Greek word, Pentecost, simply means ‘fiftieth day.’ It had been 50 days since Jesus rose from the dead.
- Verse 1 says, “When the day of Pentecost came.”
- So this is why there were so many Jews in Jerusalem as the events recorded in Acts 2 took place.
- Next we read, “They were all together in one place.”
- And the “all” refers to all of the Jerusalem believers, basically the whole church of that time.
- And the “one place” is probably the upper room that they were in in chapter 1.
- And what happens is that the Lord Jesus fills His disciples with the Holy Spirit. And we read about the three observable signs that accompanied the pouring out of the Holy Spirit:
- First of all, there was a “sound like a blowing of a violent wind that came from heaven and filled the house.”
- And the three parts of this sign were that it was sudden, that it was “like the blowing of a violent wind,” and that it came from heaven. And in Bible math this is 1+1+1=supernatural!
- Here in Auckland, the weather can change pretty quickly. Right? But this is not just a sudden weather change! This is sudden; instant. Bang! This violent wind comes.
- And it comes from heaven, not from the south like one of our southerlies, but from heaven. Again, this is clearly supernatural.
- And note that it is not a violent wind but like a violent wind; again, this is plainly something from God.
- And Brothers and Sisters, this is basically Sinai all over again. Boys and girls, do you remember that when God gave the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai, there was wind and thunder and lightening and earthquake and fire and smoke? And this was because God Himself was present on the mountain. Well, God is present here in the person of the Holy Spirit.
- The Hebrew word for wind and Spirit is Ruach – it’s the same word for both. And the Greek word for wind and Spirit is Pneuma – it too is the same word for both.
- So this wind is not just a strong breeze but the Spirit of God appearing on earth at this major moment in biblical history.
- First of all, there was a “sound like a blowing of a violent wind that came from heaven and filled the house.”
- But the second sign is “what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.”
- And again, note that they don’t see tongues of fire, but what seemed to be or something like tongues of fire. Again, this is supernatural. A heavenly fire comes into the room and separates into tongue-like flames that attach themselves to each person there.
- And supernatural fire also reminds us of Sinai. The people were terrified! And do you remember the OT account of Nadab and Abihu? They offered strange incense to the Lord and fire came out of the tabernacle and consumed them.
- But this fire, here in Acts, is not the fire of Judgment; it is the fire of the presence of the Lord. It is like the Burning Bush. Holy ground – God was present there.
- And remember also, from our Gospel of John studies, that John the Baptist said that while he baptized with water, Jesus would baptize “with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” And here it is. These disciples are being baptized with fire. And because they are believers, this fire is not a symbol of God’s judgment but of His presence.
- And then the third sign is that they were “filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
- The prophet Joel spoke about a time when God would pour out His Spirit on all people and they would prophesy and He would “show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke.” And this is part of the fulfilment of that prophecy.
- And we simply have to make a few comments here about the modern tongue-speaking movement. Brothers and Sisters, the speaking in tongues here is the miraculous ability to speak in other languages without having learned that language. If you have heard the modern version of so-called tongue-speaking, it is a kind of ecstatic, unintelligible speech. But that is not what was heard here.
- The Greek word glossa that is translated as tongues is only used in the Bible to describe a known language.
- And if this were an ecstatic speech in view, there would be no need for the word ‘other’ or ‘different’ in front of tongues.
- This is the disciples being given the miraculous ability to speak in different languages without ever having learned them.
- So let me ask you, when you hear about ‘different languages,’ what does that remind you of from the Bible? Babel. We read about the Tower of Babel That is where different languages confused people and caused them to separate. But here, different languages are used to bring people together through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ! Babel is being undone!
- But we have also made a couple of references to Sinai and the Ten Commandments. The Bible itself does not say this, but according to Jewish history, when God spoke the Ten Commandments to His people, He spoke them in the 70 languages of the nations that made up the whole world, both because of the foreigners who lived with the Israelites, and to show that His law was a universal law. In fact Philo, who was a Jewish historian from around this time, says this about the giving of the law, “Then from the midst of the fire that streamed from heaven there sounded forth to their utter amazement a voice, for the flame became the articulate speech in the language familiar to the audience.” Again, this is not recorded in the Bible. But if it is true, what we read here is another NT echo of an OT event.
- So putting it all together, the wind, the flames, and the tongues are all demonstrating or proving or confirming the presence of God and His Word of salvation. Clearly, this is a major moment in salvation history!
- Well, not much more needs to be said about vv5-12. They are fairly straightforward. A crowd assembled having heard the noise of all this. And they were astonished to hear them speaking in their own languages. They said, “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?” Pretty much every country in the world has one region where all the people from that region are viewed by the others ‘red-necks’ – a bit backward and uneducated. Here in NZ, that region is Australia. Right? J Well, the rest of Israel viewed the Galileans that way.
- And then Luke provides a list of nations that broadly moves from the East to the West. He wants his readers to know that there were people there from all over the Roman world. So again, Babel is being undone. The separation of ethnicity is undone by the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ.
- So we read that the crowd, which by now has probably moved into the temple area, is in “bewilderment,” and they are “utterly amazed,” and “amazed and perplexed.” And then the accusation of drunkenness is levelled at the disciples. This is an astonishing scene. And so the people wondered, “What does this mean?” And this is, indeed, a good question! What does all this mean? Well, because this is a major moment in salvation history, let’s take some time to think about the lessons of Pentecost.
- Pentecost Day was the day of celebrating the Feast of First-fruits. Well, on this Pentecost Day, the disciples were the first to be filled with the Spirit.
- In v13 we read, “Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
- But at the end of ch. 2, we read that some 3000 accepted Peter’s message and were baptized that day. So they too were filled with the Holy Spirit.
- This means then that at this day of Pentecost, some heard the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ and put their faith in Him, while others refused to believe and wrote it off as drunkenness. Which is it for you? And it all comes down to one thing, doesn’t it: Who is Jesus? Do you believe that Jesus is your Saviour? If so, then you are a part of the salvation harvest that began with the disciples on this first Pentecost Day.
- But secondly, for the Jews, Pentecost was a celebration of receiving the Law. But for us, as NT believers, Pentecost is a celebration of receiving the Holy Spirit.
- And this cannot be emphasized enough. The coming of the Holy Spirit is the essential difference between the OT and the NT. Life for OT believers was law centred and law Life for NT believers is Christ-centred and Spirit-directed.
- The problem with a law-centred and law-directed life is the temptation to think that a person can earn his or her salvation. And this was the trap that virtually all the Jews of Jesus’ day and all the Jews since then have fallen into. But what the NT makes clear is that the Law can only reveal our sin; it cannot save us. The Christian life is Christ-centred and Spirit-directed. We come to the Law as the law that Christ fulfilled and as the living Word that the Spirit uses to direct our thankful obedience.
- This was the message in today’s bulletin meditation:
As we say yes to the Holy Spirit, He produces new fruit in our hearts: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control … This change within us changes the way we respond to the things around us. And this is the fruit that results: Kind people look for ways to do good. Patient and faithful people don’t run away when people mess up. Loving people serve even when sinned against. Gentle people help a struggler bear his burden … We must reject a view of the Christian life that emphasizes what we should do more than what God is doing in us by his Spirit … We should reject any perspective on the Christian life that minimizes the war that rages in our hearts every day— or ignores the fact that God is fighting it for us and with us [by His Spirit]! The biblical picture is that God meets us in the trials of life, and he doesn’t just give us rules— he gives us his Son!
- And what you need to understand today is that your life in Christ will grow only as you understand and experience the person and power of the Holy Spirit within you.
- And if you wonder what it means to experience the person and power of the Holy Spirit then I direct your attention to your Bible. Spirit & Word. Spirit is not some isolated magic. He does His work through the reading and preaching of the Bible.
- BB Warfield, “I find that if I do not talk to my Bible, my Bible does not talk to me.” I would edit it slightly and say, If I do not meet Christ in His Word, then His Spirit does not speak the Word of Christ to me.
- This is why we encourage you to be part of at least one regular Bible study.
- Well, thirdly and finally, Pentecost Day was the beginning of the reversal of Babel. Babel was where mankind was ethnically separated. But it is by the gospel that we are woven back together in congregations by the Holy Spirit.
- Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
- Revelation 5:9 reveals that in heaven there will be people from “every tribe and language and people and nation.”
- So it stands to reason that there should be ethnic diversity in our churches.
- And it follows that we should hate any form of racism. No jokes. Respect others.
- It needs to be said that culture is not evil. We do not all have to sound the same or have the same customs and traditions; there can be diversity even within our unity. But I am going to ask you this, What colour is your hospitality? Do you deliberately invite people of other languages and skin colours to your place? Do the people you talk to in the hall all look and sound just like you? It is easy to just seek out people who look and sound like we do but it should be that our fellowship is multi-ethnic.
The Day of Pentecost was a major moment in salvation history. It is repeated every time someone puts their faith in the Lord Jesus. And it will have its perfect fulfilment when we are the people from every tribe and language and people and nation who are gathered around the throne of the Lamb in heaven. Amen.
Stand and recite answers 49 and 52 of the Heidelberg Catechism as our response.