The revamped Canadian Wheat Board is starting the first day of the new crop year with a grain-handling deal with one of the country’s largest agribusinesses. Winnipeg-based International Richardson says it will accept grain deliveries from farmers with wheat board contracts at all its locations in Western Canada. Federal legislation is now in effect that takes away the wheat board’s monopoly on western wheat and barley sales. That means western farmers can sell their grain to whomever they choose, whenever they choose. (http://business.financialpost.com/2012/08/01/canadian-wheat-board-signs-major-grain-handling-deal-as-monopoly-ends/)
In Ancient Israel, following Passover by fifty days, was a harvest festival, a joyous time at which the early harvest that followed the Mediterranean winter rains was celebrated with much singing and ceremony led by the Levites. Devout Jews, recognizing the requirement of Exodus 23, gathered at the temple in obedience to this commandment, as they did at the Feast of Unleavened Bread (which commenced with Passover) and at the Feast of Tabernacles (or booths). So God, in His perfect timing, chose an occasion when there was an audience ready and waiting, an audience of devout Jewish (by persuasion, for their number included Gentiles—v.10) men from the four corners of the Roman Empire. The apostles, too, were ready; they had prayed and they had tarried, waiting on the Spirit. Significantly, too, it was a harvest festival; and the apostles were about to start harvesting where they had not sown, just as Jesus had predicted (John 4:38)! God started to gather His eternal harvest of Christian souls on His harvest festival, and He had a rich harvest of souls waiting to be harvested!( Mills, M. S. (1998). The Acts of the Apostles. Dallas: 3E Ministries.)
The harvest begins when one is surrendered to the harvester, the Holy Spirit. Once someone is surrendered to the Holy Spirit, He comes alongside. Paráklēsis is a combination of pará, “beside,” and kaléō, “to call to one’s side.” But it also means to exhort. When the Spirit comes into us, He is Companion and Friend in life’s challenges, but loves us so much that He burns away what will debilitate us or prevent us from fully becoming the persons we were meant to be (Ogilvie, L. J., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1983). Vol. 28: Acts. The Preacher’s Commentary Series (58). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.).
In Acts 2:1-13, the harvesting of souls can be seen in 1) The evidence of the Spirit’s Coming (Acts 2:1–4), 2) The Effect of the Spirit’s Coming (Acts 2:5–11), and 3) The Explanation of the Spirit’s Coming (Acts 2:12–13).
1) The Evidence of the Spirit’s Coming (Acts 2:1–4)
Acts 2:1–4 1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. (ESV)
The coming of the day of Pentecost found the believers all together. This togetherness was more than just colocation. It is also know of being of one accord. The word translated with one accord (Gr homothymadon), meaning likemindedness, occurs twelve times in the New Testament, eleven of which are found in the book of Acts. This shows the unity of purpose among these early disciples (KJV Bible Commentary. 1994 (E. E. Hindson & W. M. Kroll, Ed.) (2130). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.).
They were in one place, undoubtedly the same upper room described in Acts 1:13. That room was located just inside the Eastern Gate, probably in the vicinity of the temple. There is no reason to restrict all to the twelve apostles. It encompasses the entire gathering of 120 believers (1:15).
Poem: God through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the mission of the church reaps the first fruits of his spiritual harvest. Henry Alford, the nineteenth-century British poet, and commentator, put this truth in song:
All the world is God’s own field,
Fruit unto his praise to yield;
Wheat and tares together sown,
Unto joy or sorrow grown:
First the blade, and then the ear,
Then the full corn shall appear:
Lord of harvest, grant that we
Wholesome grain and pure may be.
(As recorded in Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953-2001). Vol. 17: Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles. New Testament Commentary (84). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)
The Spirit’s coming on that day was linked to the pattern of feasts in the Old Testament. It was on the day of Pentecost that God’s sovereign timetable called for the Spirit to descend. It should be noted that the Spirit was not induced into coming because the believers prayed, remained, or met certain spiritual requirements. Luke’s account points only to the sovereign timing of God as the cause of the Spirit’s descent. Even though Acts is a historical book, Luke omits references to exact dates. Scholars generally agree that in the chronology of Acts the feast of Pentecost was celebrated in A.D. 30 in the last week of May (Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953-2001). Vol. 17: Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles. New Testament Commentary (74–75). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.).
Verse 2 records that Suddenly there came from heaven a sound/noise like a mighty/violent, rushing wind. Luke’s use of the word suddenly emphasizes the element of surprise. Even though the believers knew the Spirit’s coming to be imminent (cf. 1:5), they were nevertheless caught by surprise. The same will be true when the Lord returns to earth. Believers will know from the signs that His coming is imminent. Yet He will still come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night (1 Thess. 5:2; cf. Matt. 24:44). Those gathered in the upper room could not have expected the dramatic signs that accompanied the Spirit’s coming.
Please turn to Ezekiel 37 (p.725)
By describing the sound/noise as originating from heaven, Luke emphasizes that this was a supernatural action. That it was not a weather phenomenon, a physical mighty/violent, rushing wind is evident from the use of the term like. The supernatural activity of God is so utterly beyond the grasp of humans that the Bible writers have to employ similes to describe His manifestations to men (cf. Ezek. 43:2; Rev. 1:15). When Ezekiel, by divine command, prophesied to the wind and called it to blow on the dead bodies in the valley of his vision, it was the breath of God that breathed into them and filled them with new life (Ezek. 37:9–14) (Bruce, F. F. (1988). The Book of the Acts. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (50). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
Ezekiel 37:9-14 [9]Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live." [10]So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. [11]Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.' [12]Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. [13]And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. [14]And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD." (ESV)
• The dry bones symbolized the defeated, dejected people of Israel in exile in Ezekiel’s day. They needed the Spirit for life to come into them again. Jesus used the image of the wind for the Spirit when He said to Nicodemus, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:7–8). (Ogilvie, L. J., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1983). Vol. 28: Acts. The Preacher’s Commentary Series (57). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.)
In both Hebrew and Greek, the words for wind and spirit are the same. Wind is frequently used as a picture of the Spirit (cf. Ezek. 37:9ff.; John 3:8). Although the sound of the heavenly wind may have attracted the crowd that soon gathered, the Spirit’s presence filled only the whole house where the believers were sitting. They alone received the promised baptism with the Spirit (Acts 1:4–5; 11:15–17). That they were sitting offers further proof that they were not praying for the Spirit’s coming.
After the auditory manifestation of the Spirit’s arrival came a visual one in verse three(cf. Luke 3:22). And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. That these were not flames of literal fire, any more than the wind was moving air, is clear from the use of the phrase as of. Fire as a symbol of the divine presence was well known among first-century Jews (cf. the burning bush [Exod 3:2–5], the pillar of fire that guided Israel by night through the wilderness [Exod 13:21], the consuming fire on Mount Sinai [Exod 24:17], and the fire that hovered over the wilderness tabernacle [Exod 40:38]) (Longenecker, R. N. (1981). The Acts of the Apostles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume 9: John and Acts (F. E. Gaebelein, Ed.) (270). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
That the tongues as of fire…rested on each one of them shows that all who were present received the Spirit in that moment. Thus the gift of the Holy Spirit is both corporate and personal. The Spirit comes upon the community to energize its life and mission, but is received individually. He is not so much a general spiritual power or force, as a personal, indwelling companion. Further, His gifting is inclusive of each one/all the disciple company, and hence as truly to women (like ‘Mary’), as to men (like ‘Jesus’ brothers,’ 1:14); as truly to leaders (like Peter, 15) as to ‘led’ (like the many nameless ones in the one hundred and twenty, 15) (Milne, B. (2010). The Acts of the Apostles: Witnesses to Him ... to the Ends of the Earth. Focus on the Bible Commentary (57). Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications.)
We must note that this was a uniform, sovereign work of God on all collectively, not something sought individually. At this point, by the baptism with the Spirit, they were all made into one spiritual body—the body of Christ. Also significant is Luke’s statement that these tokens of the Spirit’s presence “separated and came to rest on each of them.” This seems to suggest that, though under the old covenant the divine presence rested on Israel as a corporate entity and upon many of its leaders for special purposes, under the new covenant, as established by Jesus and inaugurated at Pentecost, the Spirit now rests upon each believer individually. In other words, though the corporate and individual aspects of redemption cannot actually be separated, the emphasis in the proclamation of redemption from Pentecost onward is on the personal relationship of God to the believer through the Spirit, with all corporate relationships resulting from this (Longenecker, R. N. (1981). The Acts of the Apostles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume 9: John and Acts (F. E. Gaebelein, Ed.) (270). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.).
Why tongues, and why like fire? When the heart overflows with grace and power, the tongue is kindled into utterance. So all are to have the Spirit, to confess, to pray, and to praise. Firelike tongues may well recall the altar with its holy fire which send the offering up to God. Fire is also a symbol of purity and purification. Each disciple is to make his confession, prayer, praise, testimony a pure offering coming from a holy altar that is burning with sacred fire (Lenski, R. C. H. (1961). The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles (59). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House.)
Unlike the baptism with the Spirit, (which is a sovereign, single, unrepeatable act on God’s part by which Christ places believers into His body; Rom. 6:4–6; 1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27) being filled with the Holy Spirit in verse four, is an experience and should be continuous. Whenever baptism with the Spirit is mentioned after Pentecost, it is never an experience of believers who have already been baptized once with the Spirit but only of new groups of people who are brought to faith in Christ.”(George E. Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), p. 345.)
It is important to note in being filled with the Holy Spirit of both a passive and active component. The emphasis here in Acts 2, is on the passive verb “they were filled,” for it was Jesus who filled the disciples with the Spirit; the aorist simply states the great fact. This is the realization of the promise, “he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:5) At one time the Spirit descended upon Jesus in a wondrous manner; in an analogous way the Spirit came upon and filled all these disciples of Jesus. Through the Spirit Jesus became the Christ (the Anointed), through the same Spirit his disciples become Christians (people anointed) (Lenski, R. C. H. (1961). The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles (60). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House.).
As we saw two weeks ago in the study of Ephesians 3, we saw the active component, of those who would be filled with the Holy Spirit must first empty themselves. That involves confession of sin and dying to selfishness and self-will. To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to consciously practice the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ and to have a mind saturated with the Word of God (Colossians 3:16–25).
How does the active and passive components of being filled with the Holy Spirit work? The word “filled” is eplērōsen. The use here in the Greek is that of a definite act at a specific time in the past, eplēsthēsan, in the passive voice. The Spirit had filled the room; now He filled the ready disciples and followers whose preparation had made room for Him. The Greek means that they were filled to the full, or made full. The result was that they were Spirit-filled, as a vessel is filled.
What does this mean? The best way to explain is to consider the human vessel which was filled. As human beings they had minds, brains, wills, emotions, and physical bodies. To be filled to the full, as the Greek implies, means that the Spirit invaded every facet, function, and facility of their nature. The entry was through their spirits, the conscious self. Then the tissues of their brains were engendered with the Spirit, which made possible an emotional response, and their bodies were energized, producing a physical radiance and energetic movements. Their minds were captured by the truth of the Spirit, their brains thought it out, and their nervous system channeled it, with every part of the body responding in unity and oneness. All that they were was infused by the all-powerful Spirit of the Lord. Praise was the undeniable evidence (Ogilvie, L. J., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1983). Vol. 28: Acts. The Preacher’s Commentary Series (61–62). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.)
After being filled with the Spirit, they began to speak in/with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Far from being ecstatic speech, the tongues spoken on the Day of Pentecost were known languages. The term for “tongues” (glōssai) is often used to speak of languages used throughout the world, and here the context dictates that this meaning is intended. Here were twelve men who by a miracle of God were speaking in languages they should not have known (Gaertner, D. (1995). Acts. The College Press NIV Commentary (Ac 2:4). Joplin, MO: College Press.).
Being given the ability to speak in languages is associated not with the baptism with the Spirit but here with the filling with the Spirit. Speaking in languages was not the normal response to being filled with the Spirit. Acts 4:8, 31, 6:5; 7:55; 9:17; and 13:9 all record instances where speaking in tongues did not accompany the filling with the Spirit. Paul taught that the filling of the Spirit should result in many things, such as worship, thankfulness, love, submissiveness, and obedience—but not speaking in tongues (Eph. 5:18ff.).
Those who spoke the languages at Pentecost did not have to be taught how to do so by reading a book, attending a seminar, or being coached by other people. Nor did they have to develop the gift through repeated practice on their own. Rather, they spoke as the Spirit gave them utterance. Luke used an uncommon Greek word in the phrase “as the Spirit gave them utterance/enabled them.” This rare word means to utter, to declare, to speak with gravity and is used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament for prophesying (cf. 1 Chr 25:1; Ezek 13:9; Mic 5:12) (Polhill, J. B. (1995). Vol. 26: Acts. The New American Commentary (99). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
The Holy Spirit was in total control of the situation. They simply received what He gave. The evidence of the Spirit’s coming was unmistakable. He manifested His presence to the ears, eyes, and mouths of the believers. But it didn’t stop there. His coming had a profound effect on the people of Jerusalem as well. The believers were now equipped and prepared to begin carrying out the assignment that the Lord had given to his church. The dramatic signs—the sound, the fire, the ability to speak in other tongues—were signs of that. Such signs did not always accompany the preaching of the apostles or the testimony of other believers. However, the Spirit sent by Jesus is always present and active when the gospel is spoken. He gives the Word its power, and he gives believers the power to speak the Word (Balge, R. D. (1988). Acts. The People’s Bible (23–24). Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Pub. House.)
Poem: In applying this, John Wesley said:
O Thou who camest from above
The pure celestial fire to impart,
Kindle a flame of sacred love
On the mean altar of my heart!
Jesus, confirm my heart’s desire
To work, and speak, and think for Thee;
Still let me guard the holy fire,
And still stir up Thy gift in me.
(As recorded in Barton, B. B., & Osborne, G. R. (1999). Acts. Life Application Bible Commentary (23). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.)
2) The Effect of the Spirit’s Coming (Acts 2:5–11)
Acts 2:5–11 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” (ESV)
When we understand the complicated mechanism of articulation through the system of the brain, we begin to see what a phenomenal thing happened to the Lord’s people. The cerebral cortex of the brain sends a signal to the Brochas speech center where words are formulated. This area lies on the lateral side of the dominant brain. With the aid of the motor cortex on both sides of the brain, messages are sent deep into the brain where the medulla lies. Here two cranial nerves, the twelfth, which controls the tongue, and the seventh, which controls the mouth, are stimulated into action. At the same time, the cerebral motor cortex takes over voluntary control of respiration from the medulla oblungata, where the involuntary respiratory center usually controls respiration. Signals are sent down the phrenic nerve to the diaphragm and to the thoracic nerves to cause the person to exhale on command. The combination of all this produces speech. That we can think and then express our thoughts in words in our own language is evidence of the wonder of our creation.
But what about “other” tongues? Luke tells us that the praise of the Spirit-filled believers was spoken in the languages of the people gathered in Jerusalem. This is an indication of how completely “filled” and under the influence of the Spirit they were. The magnificent mechanism of speech was utilized by Him to enable the believers to think and articulate in languages they had not learned previously (Ogilvie, L. J., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1983). Vol. 28: Acts. The Preacher’s Commentary Series (62–63). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.).
At the time, Pentecost was one of the three major feasts of the Jewish calendar, and all Hebrew males were expected to celebrate it in Jerusalem. Consequently, there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews at the time of Pentecost, who were devout men from every nation under heaven. Those who went to the trouble to make the pilgrimage were obviously devout men. The phrase from every nation under heaven is an idiomatic expression meaning “from many lands,” or from all of the nations where Jews had been dispersed.
When they heard the sound recorded in verse 6, of the rushing wind (Rather than the sounds of the languages), the multitude came together in the vicinity of the upper room. What they found when they arrived astonished and bewildered them. The Greek term used here (sugcheo) is drawn from the Septuagint account (The Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament (Genesis–Malachi) begun around 250 BC. Sometimes abbreviated with the Roman numeral for 70 (LXX) based on the tradition that 70 translators participated) of the Babel incident (Barry, J. D., Grigoni, M. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Ac 2:6). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.).
Each one was hearing them speak in his own language. The verb for “hear” (ēkouon) is in the imperfect tense, suggesting that their hearing took place over a period of time—perhaps first in the upper room itself, then in adjacent lanes and courtyards, and finally in the temple precincts (Longenecker, R. N. (1981). The Acts of the Apostles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume 9: John and Acts (F. E. Gaebelein, Ed.) (272). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
Each heard “in his own language”. The use of the word “language” (dialektos) in verses 6 and 8 can only refer to a language or dialect (Gangel, K. O. (1998). Vol. 5: Acts. Holman New Testament Commentary (26). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
The supernatural signs had their desired effect, and the attention of the crowd was riveted on Peter and the others. What amazed them the most in verse 7, was that all those who were speaking were Galileans. That was shocking to the sophisticated city dwellers, who viewed rural Galileans as ignorant and uneducated.
• God is in the habit of using the humble people of the word to shock and astonish the arrogant. God does so to show His power.
The sight of the supposedly ignorant Galileans speaking so many languages caused the astonished crowd to exclaim in verse 8, how is it that we each hear each of us in his own language? Language is the vehicle of communication which for each person is his native tongue. When the alien residents of Jerusalem hear the language they learned in the country where they were born and reared, they are utterly amazed. Linguistic barriers that hinder effective communication are removed when the Holy Spirit enables the believers to convey God’s revelation in numerous languages (Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953-2001). Vol. 17: Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles. New Testament Commentary (81). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.).
That this supernatural communication was known human languages, not ecstatic speech, becomes clear as the list of the specific tongues is enumerated in verse 9. Parthians lived in what is modern Iran. They had never been conquered by the Romans and remained their bitter enemies. Medes, partners in empire with the Persians in Daniel’s time, were now part of the Parthian Empire. Elamites lived in what is now southwestern Iran. They, too, were part of the Parthian Empire. The residents of Mesopotamia lived between the two great rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates (Mesopotamia means “between the rivers”). Great numbers of Israelites had been deported to that region by the Assyrians and Babylonians. Not all had returned to Palestine at the time of Cyrus’s decree (2 Chron. 36:22–23). Judea should probably be construed in the broadest sense as all the region once controlled by David and Solomon. That would explain the absence of Syria from the list. Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, and Phrygia and Pamphylia in verse 10 were all regions in Asia Minor. They had a large Jewish population, as did Egypt, particularly in the city of Alexandria. It was in that city that the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, had been produced. The parts/districts of Libya belonging to/around Cyrene were west of Egypt on the African coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Josephus mentions a Jewish population there. That there were Jews in Rome, as well as Gentile proselytes as verse 11 records, is obvious from the Emperor Claudius’s expulsion of them some years later (Acts 18:2). Cretans were from the island of Crete, off the southern coast of Greece. Arabians were Jews living in the kingdom of the Nabatean Arabs, located south of Damascus (cf. Gal. 1:17). Luke seems to group the nations in linguistic categories, for his objective in this Pentecost account is to emphasize that the Good News transcends linguistic barriers (Bruce M. Metzger, “Ancient Astrological Geography and Acts 2:9–11, ” in Apostolic History and the Gospel, ed. W. Ward Gasque and Ralph P. Martin (Exeter: Paternoster; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970), pp. 123–33.).
This multilingual witness fits together with the universal offer of salvation in the church’s message and its consequent worldwide mission. It also highlights the church’s multicultural character. God affirms people as cultural beings. As many a Bible translator knows, our native language and culture is natural, necessary and welcome to us as the air we breathe. No wonder that when persons receive a Scripture portion in their own language, they rejoice: “God speaks my language!”( Larkin, W. J., Jr. (1995). Vol. 5: Acts. The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (Ac 2:5). Downers, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
Please turn to Psalm 107 (p.506)
The content of their speech is identified by Luke as telling/speaking in our own tongues the mighty deeds of God (cf. Ex. 15:11; Isa. 25:1; Pss. 26:7; 40:5; 77:11; 78:4; 89:5; 96:3; 107:8, 21; 111:4)..
Psalm 107:8-21 [8]Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! [9]For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things. [10]Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, [11]for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. [12]So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help. [13]Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. [14]He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart. [15]Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! [16]For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron. [17]Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; [18]they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. [19]Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. [20]He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. [21]Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! (ESV)
Having used the sound of the wind to gather the crowd, the Spirit now convinces them that these believers in Jesus Christ were devoted to praising the one true God. Blasphemers, as many thought them to be, could not be extolling the greatness of God. The Holy Spirit had equipped the apostles to proclaim God’s great saving work in many languages. The confusion of tongues that resulted at Babel when men tried to glorify themselves by building a great tower (Genesis 11:1–9) was reversed on Pentecost. On the Day of Pentecost, the Spirit moved men to glorify God in languages that were understood by all who heard. (Balge, R. D. (1988). Acts. The People’s Bible (25). Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Pub. House.)
• When we communicate the former misunderstood gospel to people who either do not know or even mock the world of God, we declare and live out the mighty deeds of God. We proclaim His glory and honor Him, regardless of the response.
Illustration: Holy Spirit
At the close of World War II, two pictures appeared in a magazine showing a soldier in conflict with a tank. The first showed a huge tank bearing down on a tiny soldier, about to crush him. The picture was proportioned to show the odds involved when a footsoldier with a rifle faced a tank. The next picture showed what happened to that soldier’s odds with a bazooka, or rocket launcher, in his hands. This time the tank appeared to be shrunken in size and the soldier at least equal in size, if not a little larger. Without the power of God released in our lives, when in conflict we are like an infantry soldier in the presence of a tank. We cannot do a thing. But by trust in the power of the living God at work in us, we can (can do all things through Christ who strengthens us) (Michael P. Green. (2000). 1500 illustrations for biblical preaching (189). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.).
3) The Explanation of the Spirit’s Coming (Acts 2:12–13)
Acts 2:12–13 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.” (ESV)
Please turn to 1 Corinthians 14 (p.960)
Paul states the purpose of speaking in languages in 1 Corinthians 14:21–22: they were to be a sign to unbelieving Israel. They were the links given to show that Jews, Gentiles, and Samaritans were all equal in the church (Acts 15:8–9). Having thus fulfilled its purpose, the gift of languages passed from the scene, just as 1 Corinthians 13:8 said it would. That fact is confirmed by church history. Speaking in tongues was unknown from the close of the apostolic era until the beginning of the 20th century, except in heretical groups.
1 Corinthians 14:21-22 [21]In the Law it is written, "By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord." [22]Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers. (ESV)
As is regularly the case when God’s truth is presented, some in the crowd accepted it, while others rejected. The former were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” An imperfect is added which describes the condition of perplexity which could not get beyond the question as to what this thing could intend to be (Lenski, R. C. H. (1961). The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles (68–69). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House.)
At the same time, verse 13 records that the others mocking said, “they are filled/full of new/sweet wine.” Here for the first time appears a motif that runs throughout Luke-Acts—in itself, without the element of personal faith and experience, even the most profound aspects of the good news are not self-confirming but can lead to skepticism and even rejection (cf. Luke 24:11; Acts 17:32; 26:24) (Polhill, J. B. (1995). Vol. 26: Acts. The New American Commentary (104). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Like the Pharisees who heard Jesus’ claims and saw the confirming miracles, but concluded He was of the devil (Matt. 12:24ff.), these scoffers rejected the evidence that this was a work of God. Instead, they proposed the ridiculous hypothesis that the apostles were full of new/sweet wine. They tried to explain away the miracle of speaking in languages as a drunken frolic. Tragically, their skepticism was to harden into full-fledged opposition toward the message and the messengers (cf. 4:7ff.; 5:17–18, 40; 7:58–60). However, no amount of opposition could stop the work of God that began at Pentecost.
(Format note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1994). Acts. MacArthur New Testament Commentary (37–45). Chicago: Moody Press.)
