Text: “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place” (Acts 2:1).
Pentecost is one of the annual Jewish festivals and is held in Jerusalem. This is one of the three annual festivals or celebrations that all Jewish men were required to attend. The three festivals were: Passover; Pentecost, and Tabernacles.
Passover is celebrated to remind the Jewish people how God set them free from Egyptian slavery. The Passover feast consists of unleavened bread, bitter herbs and lamb. The unleavened bread reminds them of their hasty departure. They had no time to wait for the bread to rise.
The bitter herbs are a grim reminder of the suffering they endured under Egyptian rule while the lamb reminds them of how they were saved by the blood of the lamb. The homes that had the sacrificial blood of the lamb on the doorpost were “passed over”.
In Old Testament times, Pentecost was an agricultural celebration whereby thanks were given for the “first fruits” of the spring harvest. The Feast of Tabernacles was a celebration occurring at the end of the harvest season in the fall of the year.
Pentecost occurs seven weeks and one day after Easter Sunday or the seventh Sunday after Easter. If Easter is counted as the first day, then Pentecost is 50 days later.
After the suffering Jesus endured, the crucifixion, and the resurrection, He showed Himself to His disciples at various times over a forty day period.
Scripture tells us “He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).
Although Jesus spoke about the gift they would receive in the very near future, the disciples thought worldly and surmised He was going to restore the kingdom of Israel. The gift Jesus spoke of was the Counselor or Comforter that would forever be with them. He was speaking of the Holy Spirit.
John recorded these words spoken by Jesus: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17).
Jesus said to the disciples, “For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5).
The disciples wanted Jesus to stay with them on earth, but they did not realize that had He done this, He could physically be in only one place at a time. You and I can be in only one place at a time. The disciples could be in only one place at a time. If the Gospel was to spread throughout the entire world to all mankind, something miraculous must take place.
This miraculous event was going to take place ten days after Jesus ascended into Heaven. This event would give the disciples power they had not known.
Jesus said, “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” (Acts 1:8).
The power Jesus was talking about was much more than what the disciples could comprehend. It was not just the power of strength, but it was a power that would enable them to minister beyond their imagination.
This power would be in their heart and would give them insight, courage, self-assurance, certainty, permission, bravery and much more. This power would come from the Father, through the Son and would be in the Person of the Holy Spirit.
Scripture tells us: “After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight” (Acts 1:9).
Jesus was taken up to Heaven right before the very eyes of the disciples. The ascension had taken place and the disciples just stood their gazing up into the sky. The Ascension was planned just as it happened, at this specific time and at this place which was on The Mount of Olives. This event left no doubt or uncertainty in the minds of the disciples that Jesus was truly God and that He had to return to His home which was in Heaven.
Just imagine being there and watching this miraculous event unfold before your very eyes. What would you have thought? Would you have been sad? Would you have thought that all hope was lost? Would you have felt let down?
As the disciples stood there gazing up into the heavens, Scripture tells us that two men, really two angels, stood there and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
The disciples were assured that things were going to be all right. Jesus would appear sometime in the future the same way He ascended into Heaven. With this assurance, they were able to return to Jerusalem and wait for the promise concerning the power that would come upon them.
The disciples spent many hours in prayer and during this prayer time chose a person to take the place of Judas Iscariot. During this prayer time, the eleven disciples, with the help and guidance of God, the Father, chose Matthias to fill the vacancy left by Judas.
I have tried to give you a little bit of background leading up to the day of Pentecost. To understand Pentecost, I believe we have to understand how it came about as well as the definition of the word.
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place” (Acts 2:1). The day of Pentecost came ten days after Jesus ascended into Heaven. We are not told the exact place or location where the disciples were meeting, but we do know it was in Jerusalem because this is where the Jewish feast was taking place.
I don’t want to confuse you, but the Jewish feast or Pentecost was being celebrated in remembrance of the Law given on Mount Sinai which was 50 days after the Israelites were set free from slavery in Egypt. It was on that day that God engraved the Ten Commandments in stone with fire and gave the tablets to Moses. The word “Pentecost” means fiftieth day.
God chose an excellent time for the coming of the Holy Spirit, because there were many people in Jerusalem attending the Pentecost feast. This would be a positive moment in the eyes and minds of the people and would enhance the spread of the Gospel.
On this particular day, the disciples were all gathered together in prayer in a place in a room somewhere in Jerusalem. They were not in the temple. Jesus chose this time and place to illustrate He is present at various places and not just in the temple.
As the disciples were gathered together in this place something very unusual took place. “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:2).
Notice that the wind was not a violent wind as we are accustomed to feeling, but “like a blowing wind.” Jesus makes reference to the Sprit when He says, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).
When we are in the house and we have the window open and the wind blows the curtain, we cannot see the wind, but we can see the curtain blow. We can also feel the gentle breeze upon our skin.
The disciples saw something they had never seen before. “They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them” (Acts 2:3). This was not real fire, but it was like fire. This type of fire was a symbol of the divine presence of Almighty God just as it was in the in the days of Moses.
Remember the story of the burning bush. Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law when suddenly there appeared right before his very eyes a burning bush. The bush was on fire, but it did not burn up. God was present and communicated with Moses through the burning bush. God was not visible to Moses and God was not visible to the disciples who were gathered together in this room. In each case, His presence was made known through what appeared to be fire.
The moment this event took place, each one present was “touched by the Spirit”. The tongue enables us to speak and to communicate and this was God’s way of giving the disciples a means to communicate the Gospel throughout the land.
The fire was a symbol indicating a change in the life of each one “touched by the Spirit”. When the disciples were “touched by the Spirit” their life was changed, cleansed, and each had a burning desire to share the Gospel with others. “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:4).
God does not always appear to people in such a dramatic way. Most of the times, He speaks to our hearts in a very gentle whisper. It is up to us to listen when He speaks to us.
Story: “There for the Taking”
I left the prayer meeting and crept out into the night. As I walked I said, “O my God, if there is a man who needs the power of the Holy Spirit to rest upon him it is I; but I do not know how to receive Him. I am too tired, too worn, and too nervous and down to agonize.”
A voice said to me, “As you took forgiveness from the hand of the dying Christ, take the Holy Spirit from the hand of the living Christ.”
I turned to Christ and said, “Lord, I breathe in this whiff of warm night air, so I breathe into every part of me Your blessed Spirit.”
I felt no hand laid upon my head, there was no flame, there was no rushing sound from Heaven; but by faith, without emotion, without excitement, I took, and took for the first time, and I have kept on taking every since.
----------F.B. Meyer, in The Overcomer
The disciples spoke in various languages or in tongues. I believe God enabled them to do so because of the many people present and the many different languages being spoken among these people. The disciples were not just uttering or making meaningless sounds, but they were speaking languages that the various people understood.
The disciples were speaking the Word of God and they were speaking words of praise to God Almighty. The words and the language coming from the mouth of the disciples were those given them by the Holy Spirit. The disciples were given the ability to preach the Gospel because “the Spirit had been poured out upon them” or “they were touched by the Spirit.”
Many of the people present were amazed and could not believe what was happening. They could not believe that these Galileans were speaking in the various languages of other people. People did not know what to think and they did not know the meaning of what had just taken place. In fact, “Some, however, made fun of them and said; “they have had too much wine” (Acts 2:13).
We do that same sort of thing today. When we don’t understand why some people worship differently than us, we tend to make remarks about their mannerisms. Some people don’t pray the same way we do, so we think they are strange. Some kneel to pray; some stand; some close their eyes; some face a certain direction; some lie on the floor, and some raise their arms above their heads. These people are not drunk or strange they are following what is in their heart.
“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. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel when he said God would pour out His Spirit on all people’” (Acts 2:14-16).
When Peter mentioned Joel, he was bringing into focus Old Testament prophecy and this is what the Jews were accustomed to. He was saying that Joel’s prophecy had been fulfilled in Jesus Christ because He is the Messiah, the risen Christ and He could change their lives.
Jesus was no longer walking the earth in bodily form, but Pentecost brought about the realization that He lives within each one of us in the Person of the Holy Spirit. This great and glorious day, Pentecost, was the beginning of the Christian era and the beginning of the Christian Church which was brought about by the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
Story: “The Holy Spirit’s Work”
In St. Peter’s, Cologne, there are two pictures of the crucifixion of Peter, that stand side by side, and the existence of these two pictures is explained in this way.
In the beginning of the 19th century, when Napoleon came and ransacked the city, he robbed St. Peter’s of one of those two pictures – the original – and took it away. While the first picture was taken away from the city, the artist, in the absence of the original, painted another picture.
In time the original was restored, and the two were placed side by side. Experts now say that there is so little difference between the two pictures you cannot tell which is the original. In the absence of the original, the artist painted another picture of Peter.
Now, that is the glorious work of the Spirit. The Original is absent. Jesus is in heaven. But the Holy Spirit is here, and He is the master Artist and in the absence of the Original, He is painting the likeness of Jesus upon the unworthy canvas of your life and mine.
May we be worthy copies of the Original and conformed to His likeness.
-----Herbert Lockyer, in The Heritage of Saints
Would you agree, we, as Christians, have been “touched by the Spirit?”
Amen.
