Birth
of the Church, Part 1
This week our text was taken from Acts 2:1-21 which contains the first
part of the narrative recording what transpired that first Pentecost, 50 days
after Jesus’ death and burial at Passover. Remember what Jesus had instructed
his followers to do—stay in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit, then
they were to become witnesses of the resurrection beginning in Jerusalem and
reaching “to the ends of the earth.”
We will examine Acts 2:1-21 in four steps: (1) The Coming of the Holy
Spirit; (2) The Correction; (3) The Connection; and (4) The Call to Faith.
1) The Coming of the Holy Spirit
(Acts 2:1-4)
A) Symbolized in Wind & Fire
When the day of Pentecost arrived,
they were all together in one
place.
And suddenly there came from heaven
a sound like a
mighty rushing wind,
and it filled the entire house
where they were sitting.
And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them
and rested on
each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and
began to speak
in other tongues
as the Spirit gave them
utterance.
Pentecost
The promised Holy Spirit came upon the followers of the risen Christ in
power on Pentecost (lit. the 50th
day) which was the day after the seventh Sabbath following Passover. Originally
celebrated as the Feast of Weeks, spanning from the firstfruits of the barley harvest
at Passover to the completion of the wheat harvest (Ex. 23:16; Lev. 23:17-22;
Num. 28:26-31), but had become more of a remembrance and renewal of the Law given
to Moses at Mt. Sinai. Expositors Bible
Commentary aptly notes, “Whereas Pentecost was for Judaism the day of the
giving of the law, for Christians it is the day of the coming of the Holy
Spirit.” The Law told people how to live but didn’t enable us to keep it. The
Holy Spirit empowers Christians to live faithfully in the love of Christ.
We see that the account of this “coming” emphasizes God’s action to
fulfill his promise and the apostles’ availability you receive it. However I am
intrigued by the symbolism of the wind and the fire.
Wind
While many commentators speak of the house being filled with a great
wind, that is not what the text says. If we read with an eye for detail we see
that the house was not filled with wind, but with “a sound like a mighty rushing wind.” A physical
wind might have been thought to be just that, but the sound of a violent wind
with no wind…now that points to the Spirit! You see, in the Old Testament the
Hebrew word for “breath” and “wind” was ruach,
which was also the word for “spirit”. In Genesis God “breathed” into the man
that he had made and he became a living creature. Later in Ezekiel 37 there is
the famous vision of the Valley of Dry Bones which the Lord planned to bring
back to life. In 37:9 the prophet was instructed, “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.”
Ruach is both “breath” and “winds” in
this verse. God can take what is dry and dead and bring it back to life. Likewise,
in the New Testament, the Greek word pneuma
also meant “breath,” “wind,” and “spirit.”
What better way to communicate the presence of the Spirit of God at such
a moment of change than in the sound of a great wind? The sound of the wind
completely filled the house.
Fire
The “tongues of fire” that appeared would probably have reminded the
men and women gathered in the house that morning of the fire on Mt. Sinai at
the giving of the Law (appropriate given the seasonal emphasis) and the pillar
of cloud/fire that manifested the presence of God with his people in the exodus
and beyond as noted at the dedication of the Tabernacle in the wilderness,
Then the
cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of
the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting
because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the
tabernacle. Throughout
all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the
tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud
was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken
up. For
the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in
it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their
journeys. (Exodus 40:34-38)
And at the dedication of Solomon’s
Temple after the Ark of the Covenant was placed
in the Holy of Holies,
And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the
house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because
of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of
the Lord. (1
Kings 8:10-11)
While in the OT the fire/cloud was a sign of the Lord’s presence in the
midst of the people, here there is a difference. The tongues of fire “rested on each one of them.” God’s
presence was not only externally and corporately with them but internally and
personally indwelling and empowering them. The symbolic fire might also allude
to the scene in Isaiah 6:1-8 when Isaiah needed to have his “unclean lips”
cleansed by a fiery coal from the altar of God before he volunteered to be the
one sent by the Lord to prophesy to the people. In the Gospels, John the
Baptist proclaimed that the coming Messiah would baptize the people with the Holy
Spirit and with fire (Matt. 3:11; Luke 3:16).
Psalm 104:3-4 certainly a familiar passage to the disciples, poetically
ties both symbols together in a way that relates not only to the presence of
the Spirit but to the commission Jesus had placed upon them,
“He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;
he makes the clouds his chariot;
he rides on the wings of the wind;
he makes his messengers winds,
his ministers a flaming fire.”
he makes the clouds his chariot;
he rides on the wings of the wind;
he makes his messengers winds,
his ministers a flaming fire.”
In keeping with the tabernacle and Temple passages, the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit. They weren’t
just sprinkled, splashed, or shampooed with the Spirit but filled to the brim and
spilling over with the presence of God. What did they do as a result? They
spoke (in other languages) as the Spirit gave them utterance! We should note that the use of “utterance” (apophtheggomai)
signals
that this wasn’t “everyday speech but one ‘belonging to dignified and
elevated discourse’" (also verse 14). From this small detail perhaps we might learn
that each Spirit-uttered word has weight to it. But so far the text hasn’t told
us what it was that they were saying.
The result of their filling was they were free to love and free to
praise in a whole new way.
When filled with the Spirit what kinds of things would they speak in those
languages?
This “coming of the Holy Spirit” on that Pentecost morning was not
without a ripple effect of responsive “comings” as we will see.
B) Coming of the multitude (v.5-8)
Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews,
devout men from
every nation under heaven.
And at this sound the multitude came together,
and they were bewildered,
because
each one was hearing them speak in his
own language.
And they were amazed and astonished,
saying,
“Are not all these who are
speaking Galileans?
And how is it that we hear,
each of us in his own native
language?
Such an unusual occurrence began
to draw a crowd. “At this sound” they
came, but were they drawn by the sound of the wind or the words that were
spoken, or maybe both? What we know is that “devout men” or “God-fearing men”
(lit. those who “take well [carefully], i.e. circumspect religiously, pious)
came to investigate. They were likely Jews from the Diaspora (when the Jews
were scattered throughout the world under Assyrian and Babylonian domination,
they put down roots where they were planted and many remained there even after some
returned to Jerusalem after the exile (Ezra, Nehemiah, etc.). These men would
have either been pilgrims in town for the holy festival or men who had grown
up abroad but had returned to live in Jerusalem. The point is that there were
people there representing all the known nations (pas ethnos). In Genesis 11, we read of the Tower of Babel where the
one people were separated by the confusion of their languages. Here we have the
many languages hearing the one message by the Holy Spirit.
These people were not prepared for what they would experience. It was
outside of their cultural/theological experience. The text uses three different
terms to describe their reaction: they were bewildered (sün-khe'-ō, to pour together, to confound. Used only
five times, all in Acts), amazed (exístēmi,
to throw out of position,
displace, astounded), and astonished
(thaumazō, to wonder or marvel). Such a three-fold description magnifies
their paradigm shift! It reminds me of the Portland Trailblazers’ announcer who
sometimes uses three allterative terms to describe what an opposing coach might
be feeling after the Blazers break the game open (e.g., “He’s confused, confounded, and consternated!”). The thing that
freaked them out was that no matter what their background was, or what language
they spoke, they heard the witnesses of the resurrection speaking to them in what
today we might call their “heart language.” While they might have understood
the message if spoken in Greek, it meant so much more in the language of their
heart.
C) Coming of the world (2:9-11a)
Parthians
and Medes and Elamites
and residents of Mesopotamia,
Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus
and Asia,
Phrygia and
Pamphylia, Egypt
and the parts of
Libya belonging to Cyrene,
and visitors from Rome, both
Jews and proselytes,
Cretans and Arabians—
As we have noted, in a proleptic way, the commission to preach the
gospel to all the world was fulfilled on Pentecost. It was like a down payment on
their calling to be witnesses. God initially brought the world to them, and
through these initial conversions opened the door for the Gospel to be
proclaimed in many lands and to many peoples. Today, we are experiencing something
similar in many cities and suburbs around the country as we have a tremendous
influx of immigrants, which if we recognize it will be an unparalleled mission
opportunity!
So what were the disciples saying as the Spirit gave them utterance?
D) Coming of the message (v. 11b-12)
we hear them telling in our own tongues
the mighty works of God.”
And all
were amazed
and perplexed,
saying to one another, “What does this mean?”
They heard them speaking “the mighty works of God” certainly in terms
of the birth, life, teaching, miracles, death, resurrection, and ascension of
Jesus Christ! This was really messing with their comfortable religious
understandings. In addition to the previously used word, “amazed", Luke adds perplexed (diaporeō, to be entirely at loss; also
used only five times and all in Luke/ Acts). Has God ever spoken the truth into
your life—so much so that you were entirely at a loss as to how to process it? At
the church where I served for many years, we would often have people enter the
building and as the congregation sang praise to God they sensed the Holy Spirit
meeting them in a powerful way and would often burst out in tears of repentance
and joy.
But there are always “others” who instead of marveling, try to cover up
their own inability to process by resorting to mocking.
2) The Correction: “No,
it’s not That!” (v.13-15)
But others mocking said, “They are filled
with new wine.”
But Peter, standing with the eleven,
lifted up his voice
and addressed them:
“Men of Judea and all who dwell in
Jerusalem,
let this be known to you, and give
ear to my words.
For these
people are not drunk, as you suppose,
since it
is only the third hour of the day.
The “third hour” would have
been 9:00AM, before the Jews would have breakfasted or consumed wine. This
answer by Peter, “Nine O Clock in the
Morning “ would one day become the title
of the late Rev. Canon Dennis Bennett's autobiographical account of how a
high church, Anglo-Catholic Episcopalian was drawn to the Pentecostal
experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit attended by speaking in unlearned
tongues and how the Charismatic renewal spread in the 1960s.
Do you find it ironic that the first church sermon came in response to
skeptical mocking?
Peter used their musing, misunderstanding, and mocking to propel him
into a doozy of a message!
3) The Connection: “This
is That!” (v. 16-20; Joel 2:11-14, 28-32)
Peter began that first evangelistic sermon by connecting the dots
between what the multitude was observing and the Old Testament prophecy of Joel
2.
The context of Joel’s prophecy was
a devastating locust plague (possibly serving as an object lesson predicting an
invasion by enemy armies). After the locust come, land, and eat everything…then they
lay eggs. Then there is a terrible time of waiting for the larvae to hatch and
eat anything that remained or was starting to grow back.
If we go back and read Joel
2:11-15 we can see the true character of the Lord revealed, even if there was
uncertainty over deliverance from any specific circumstance. The Lord is
relational and his call was for them to return to him.
The Lord utters his voice before his
army,
for his camp is exceedingly great;
he who executes his word is powerful.
For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome;
who can endure it?
for his camp is exceedingly great;
he who executes his word is powerful.
For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome;
who can endure it?
“Yet even now,” declares
the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the Lord your God?
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the Lord your God?
And then in v. 17 the priests’
prayer, “Spare
your people, O Lord…” is
recorded. Do we ask God for mercy today? Only if we know we need it! You see, a
request for mercy is a confession of a need for mercy. In Joel’s day, they were
making a bet based on an incomplete understanding that gave room for doubt, “Who
knows?” … perhaps the Lord will spare us.
Peter, in addressing the multitude, actually quoted Joel 2:28-32 in Acts
2:16-20,
But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
“‘And in the last days it shall be, God
declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
even on my male servants
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
even on my male servants
and female servants
in those days
in those days
I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes,
And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes,
the great and magnificent day.
Peter connected the dots between the prophecy in Joel 2 and what they were
seeing and hearing that day—namely that the Holy Spirit was being given to
everyone who would believe and receive him. We need to take note of the
inclusive language used here. “All flesh” indicates that all races/ethnicities
will be included, the mention of both male and female recipients indicates the
coming of the Spirit was not gender restricted, young and old indicates that it was not
generationally bound, and finally the mention of servants indicates that this
Pentecostal experience was not based on socio-economic strata. This inclusive
manifestation of the Spirit is crucial to our understanding of the church. The
Spirit breaks down the dividing walls of society in a continuation of the work of Christ
according to the heart of the Father.
While the last part of the Joel quote containing the apocalyptic imagery
did not happen immediately, as perhaps Peter suspected, it would happen shortly
in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem AD 70. The descriptions are
consistent with the dust of armies moving and the smoke of the city burning. In 2002 we were
visiting family in Southern Oregon and because of smoke from a large wildfire
we didn’t see the sun for a week. I finally caught a glimpse that looked like a
dim red traffic light in the sky. Other places on earth (e.g., Beijing) often
have a degree of air pollution severe enough to hide the sun and moon. Josephus
the first-century historian vividly described the fall of Jerusalem in similar
terms.
However, whether or not Peter expected such apocalyptic signs to be
fulfilled in the near future or not, he quoted the whole passage from Joel most
likely to get to the last line found in v. 21.
4)
The Call to Faith (v. 21)
And
it shall come to pass that
everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord
shall
be saved.’
This is the verse
to which Peter was headed. The call to the Lord in faith will certainly be
answered. We can have absolute confidence in the salvation made available by
the Lord if we ask. However, this doesn’t mean that we will be spared (in this life) from all the
consequences of our actions (e.g., speeding tickets, flunked tests, or investment
losses).
In conclusion, let’s ask ourselves
a few questions:
What is this
Pentecost experience? God pouring out the Holy Spirit on all who respond.
What kind of
God is he? “He is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and
abounding in steadfast love.” (Joel 2:13)
Where does he
come to dwell? The Holy Spirit dwells not merely in our midst, but within our
hearts!
When filled
by the Spirit, what do we speak? The mighty works of God!
What do we
hear? God speaking to us in our heart language.
In faith do
we ask honest questions, seeking understanding? Or merely spew ad hominem attacks (Latin, “against the
man”) demonizing what is outside our own experience?
Jesus, in conversing with the teacher Nicodemus said, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its
sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with
everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)
Jesus was born of the Spirit
The Church was born of the Spirit
Individuals come to faith and are “born again” in the Spirit.
Right to the very end of the
Bible, we find the wind of the Holy Spirit blowing...
The Spirit
(pneuma) and the Bride say, “Come.”
And let the one who hears say,
“Come.”
And let the one who is thirsty come;
let the one who desires take
the water of life without price. (Rev. 22:17)
Have you called on the name of
the Lord in confession and faith?
