Last week we took a look at the Ascension of Christ into heaven and the promise of the Holy Spirit.
So, they went to Jerusalem and they waited as Jesus commanded them to do and here’s what happened!
Acts 2:1-13
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
“They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them.
“Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.
“Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
“Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own languages!
“Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, ‘What does this mean?’
Some, however, made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine.’”
First, let’s set the stage …
What are the five W’s and an H of investigating a story?
Who, What, When, Where, Why and How?
We’ll be taking them out of order today but … let’s take a look at and remember what happened that great Pentecost Day almost 2000 years ago.
Where were they?
Before Jesus ascended into heaven left He gave them this instruction …
Acts 1:4b-5
“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift My Father promised, which you have heard Me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
And Acts 2:1 says
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.”
This is a place we call the upper room and it was in Jerusalem!
Who was there?
Acts 1:13b-14
“Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.
“They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.”
So, you’ve got the 11 remaining apostles, women who had been supporters of Jesus’ ministry, Mary the mother of Jesus and Jesus’ brothers, James, Joseph, Simon and Judas.
Now, there were more because it says in Acts 1:15 that there were about 120 of them gathered at one time.
There was also another group there - not in the house but in Jerusalem:
Take a look at this map as I read the listing of people arriving for the Festival from verses 9-11
“Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome; Cretans and Arabs.”
When did this occur?
Once again we go back to Acts 2:1.
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.”
At Pentecost! Isn’t God’s timing awesome?
The Passion, the torture and crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ took place in Jerusalem at the time of the Passover when Jews from all over the known world were in Jerusalem and now it was the Feast of Pentecost with the same people gathering once again.
So, let’s review … they were in Jerusalem, in an upper room, on the day of Pentecost and there was a huge crowd of Jews gathering from all over the known world for the feast.
So, we know who was there and when it took place, but, what happened?
Actually, there were a series of events!
Act 2:2 says,
“Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.”
Some translations say it was like a violent rushing wind or a rushing mighty wind.
The amazing thing is that it was only the sound of a violent rushing wind. There was no accompanying air movement! Just the sound and as if that was not strange enough, look what happened next!
Acts 2:3 says,
“They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.”
The KJV calls these cloven tongues of fire meaning that they split away from each other and came to rest on each person. We who have been in the church for a long time know what the word cloven means because of the ancient Jewish dietary laws but most people in today’s society would not understand.
The NASB says it like this
“And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.”
I used to think that the tongues of fire just popped up on each person’s head but this indicates that tongues of fire divided and went to each individual person! Can you imagine witnessing such a thing!?!
And then … Acts 2:4 says,
“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues (or languages) as the Spirit enabled them.”
So, what happened next?
A crowd of people for the festival heard what was going on and gathered around!
Did they hear the wind or did they hear the noise of all of the 120 believers shouting the glory of God in various languages? Whatever it was it attracted a crowd and not just a couple of dozen people as we will see from the results of the sermon the Lord gave through Peter!
Looking at verses 9-11 we can see that there were at least 15 different people groups in the crowd most of whom had their own distinct languages.
The people in the crowd recognized that all of those speaking were Galileans so how could they know all of these languages?
I guess you’d have to call this the gift of ears!
Acts 2:7-8, 11b says,
“Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? … we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!’”
Do you know that this is the ONLY instance in the entire Bible where the gift of speaking in tongues or other languages is entirely made plain for all to see?
In Corinthians we see a great deal written about the gift of speaking in tongues and the difficulties it was causing in the church. (explain history as to why this was so, i.e. the oracle of delphi)
Now, here’s a synopsis of what happened:
The Holy Spirit was poured out on those in the prayer meeting
They began speaking in languages they did not know
They used these languages to glorify God
People were attracted to the sound of what was going on
Each person heard what was being said in their own native language
The Holy Spirit was the enabler of the speakers and the interpreter for the hearers.
It was a miracle!!!
Then Peter started preaching and 3000 were saved that day?
Don’t you wonder what language Peter was speaking?
Don’t you wonder what language each person was hearing?
Now, let’s just back up a little … to verse 13
Acts 2:13
“Some, however, made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine.’”
Some still have that opinion today.
When I was reading this week I came across a passage saying that some modern “scholars” say that all of this was completely unnecessary. They maintain that all of the folks who were going to Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost would have been conversant in either common Greek and/or Aramaic which were the trade languages of that day. Therefore, the disciples could have proclaimed the glories of God in either of these languages with the same effect.
What must it be like to think that you are smarter than God Himself?
They seem to say that if God actually did it as it is written in the second chapter of Acts, He is the one Who must have been drunk.
The audacity of such a thing.
It was the sound of a mighty rushing wind without any wind that caught their attention! A miracle of God!
It was the proclamation of the believers in joyous shouting that drew them in!
It was the astonishment of hearing these Galileans speaking each hearers native language that shocked them! Another miracle of God!
So, what does this all mean to us today?
What are the functions of the Holy Spirit?
First to convince and convict the world of sin!
John 16:8 says,
“When [the Holy Spirit] comes, He will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment …”
We can see exactly how this was accomplished on the day of Pentecost! People were filled with the Holy Spirit which caused them to exclaim the glories of God and speaking the truth with boldness!
This is prevenient grace - grace that goes before us, showing us the need for salvation!
We, if we are filled with the Holy Spirit will be conduits for God’s prevenient grace just as the disciples of Christ were on that Day of Pentecost!
They exclaimed the wonders of God!
Acts 2:11b says,
“…we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own languages!”
There is a quote often attributed to Francis of Assisi which says, “Preach the Gospel, if necessary use words.”
I wonder how many Christians have used those words to avoid declaring the wonders of God to those who need to hear them?
In Acts 1:8b Jesus says,
“…you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
In 2 Timothy 4:2 Paul instructs Timothy to
“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction.”
Romans 10:14
“And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?”
God gave us the Holy Spirit so that when we do proclaim the glories of God we don’t mess it up!!!
By the way … Francis of Assisi was known to preach up to 5 times a day and I’m pretty sure he used words … Just sayin’ …
The Holy Spirit also functions to lead us to and through salvation, to enable us to be set apart for the Lord, that is to sanctify us and to teach us what we need to know as mature Christians.
But today being Pentecost Sunday, through the Scriptures, we experience once again the gift of the Holy Spirit and the effect He can have on peoples lives.
Invitation if the Lord is leading …
