Read:
Reflect:
The waiting was over. The promised day had arrived. And what a day of celebration it was! For Jews Pentecost was a harvest festival observed 50 days after Passover in which the first fruits were brought in with the hope that the rest of the crop would be gathered later. Now, reminiscent of that celebration, a new wind of Pentecost was blowing; 50 days after Jesus’ death and resurrection the Holy Spirit was poured out on all the gathered believers. The power of the Holy Spirit which Jesus had promised (Acts 1:8) was unleashed with the dramatic force of rushing wind and flaming fire. In his ascension Jesus had gone bodily into heaven, uniting the earth with the heavenly realm. Now he brought heavenly power back to earth in the outpouring of the Spirit, reconnecting heaven and earth by launching a new creation, which first came to expression in the transformed lives of his followers.
The first effect when they were all filled with the Holy Spirit (v 4) was that they began to speak in other tongues. Most likely this phenomenon was not ecstatic utterances (such as are described in 1 Corinthians 14), but people hearing the mighty works of God (that is, all the remarkable things God had done in and through Jesus as noted in Acts 10:38-43) in their own dialects (vv 6-8, 11). It appears that this was a miracle which reversed the confusion of languages that occurred at the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). Now people from many different regions of the Roman Empire were hearing the message miraculously delivered in their own tongues. No wonder there was amazement and perplexity in the general public as they observed this unusual event, with some even mocking it as drunkenness (v 12).
Peter, with the eleven, immediately countered the cynical accusation of drunkenness with a declaration that this was a fulfillment of Scripture. It should have been expected by people, as the lengthy quotation from Joel 2:28-32 shows. God had now brought into reality what he had promised long ago. Three things stand out as of particular importance in Peter’s initial explanation. First, the giving of the Spirit launched the era of the last days (v 17). From now on the Spirit would be intimately involved in the kingdom rule of God until the final day of consummation at the Lord’s return (v 20). Second, the Spirit was poured out on all flesh (v 7). In the old covenant era the Spirit came upon some individuals for specific tasks and then left. Now the Spirit was given to all believers and stayed with them without distinction. Old and young, slave and free, male and female, sons and daughters, all alike received the abiding presence of the Spirit and were all commissioned to prophesy (v 18); to declare the mighty works of God (cf. v 11). Third, the Spirit launched a renewed era of salvation. The Holy Spirit always highlights the person and work of Jesus, so everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (v 21). Note how Lord (God’s covenant name, Yahweh) is now identified as Jesus. The truth that Jesus is the only Savior is an exclusive claim made later by Peter:
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)
Though this claim is often resisted, the Holy Spirit continues to bring people to the conviction that it is true, as they are embraced by our loving Savior in whom they come to trust. Has the Holy Spirit prompted you to call on the Lord for your salvation?
Respond:
As we celebrate the gift of the Spirit this Pentecost Sunday, may our prayer echo that of Paul when he asked that God would:
16…grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19)