20230806 Acts 2:1-13 Pentecost, The Witness Begins
Acts 2:1-13 marks the end of the Old Covenant era. Continuity marks the whole Bible. Since the first sin, forgiveness was only ever through faith. The only way, a dead sinner could believe the promises of God was by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. A difference between the Old Covenant and the New is where the Holy Spirit dwells. In the Old Covenant, God’s Covenantal presence was in the temple. In the New Covenant, he indwells individual Christians (John 7:39).[i] The Holy Spirit empowers the church to bear witness to the resurrected king to spread his kingdom to the ends of the earth. In line with Jesus’ commission of Acts 1:8, the church's witness begins in Jerusalem. It then continues in Judea-Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 2 begins the witness in Jerusalem. It was at the time of the feast of Pentecost. Jews and converts to Judaism were visiting Jerusalem from all over the known world. This means that from the outset, the gospel goes to the nations. We will look at the feast of Pentecost (Acts 2:1), the coming of the Holy Spirit with power (Acts 2:2-4), and the witness to the ends of the earth (Acts 2:5-13).
The NT shows us how Christ fulfilled OT feasts. The people of Israel slaughtered the Passover lamb on a Friday. Saturday was the first day of Passover. Sunday was the feast of the first fruit. 7 weeks later is Pentecost or the feast of the harvest. Christ was the Passover lamb. In Christ, we celebrated the greater Exodus from the bondage of sin. The feast of First Fruits was the third day after the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. Jesus was raised from the dead on this day. He is the First Fruit from the dead (1 Cor 15:20)! 50 days after Passover, Christ fulfills the Feast of Harvests, or First Fruits or Feast of Weeks. Jesus spoke of a harvest. In Matt 9:36-38, Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” The harvest is people. In 2 Thess 2:13, Paul calls Christians, the firstfruits. He writes that God chose them to be the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. The New Covenant fulfills the feast of weeks/harvest/first fruit. In Acts 2:41, the harvest goes from 120 to 3000. Following the first Pentecost at the giving of the law, Israel created a golden calf. As a result of this sin, 3000 were put to death (Exod 32:28). At the greater Pentecost about 3000 find eternal life!
The wind symbolizes the Holy Spirit. Both in Hebrew and Greek, the word for wind and spirit is the same. In John 3:8, Jesus connects the activity of the spirit with the sound of the wind.
The image of fire resting on the disciples evokes other biblical images. In Exodus 3, God speaks to Moses in a burning bush. When the people of Israel come out of Egypt, God leads them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exod 13:21). When the people finished the Tabernacle, the cloud of the Lord was on the Tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night (Exod 40:38). In 1 Kings 8, the cloud fills the Temple once it is complete. We see that the cloud and the fire in these passages refer to the presence of God.
The presence of God is mediated first by a portable tent, the tabernacle, and then the temple. In the gospels, Jesus makes it clear that he is the temple of God. At his baptism, the Spirit comes upon him. Jesus refers to his body as a temple (John 2:19). His name is Emmanuel, God with us. When he is taken up, he sends his Spirit to live in his followers. In the New Covenant, the temple of God is the body of Christ, which is the church, as well is each individual Christian. When fire rests on the disciples this is a clear sign that they are the new temple of God.
Today, we are the temple of God. A first application comes from 1 Cor 3:16-17 which reads, “Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.” This means that we must treat each other like the temple of God. This does not mean this does not apply outside the church, but now particularly how does a grudge stand against a fellow Christian if we remember they are the temple of God. How can we speak negatively about vessels who contain the Holy Spirit?
A second application comes from 1 Cor 6:19-20 which reads, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” Paul is addressing sexual misconduct. Our bodies are the temple of God, the house of the Holy Spirit so we need to be careful about what we do with our bodies. There are many reasons to not misuse sex. We may want to avoid diseases or social harms. But, the most important reason is that Christians are God’s house!
A third application of God living in us is that we must live for God alone. He lives in us so we live for him. Our goals must fit with God’s will for the world. We accomplish God’s will by relying on his work in our lives. We must prioritize communion with God in prayer. We must worship him with his people. We must study his Word to seek his guidance in all things. As we do this, God works through his church. People are saved through the church. People find wholesome community and relationships in the church. People grow in holiness through the church. The more we live in light of the fact that we are the temple of God the more the work of the church and the work of God become synonymous because he is at work in us.
Acts 2:9-11 lists the places where they were from. The list has theological aspects to it. First, the list of nations is closest to the list of nations in Isaiah 11:10-13. Isaiah 11 portrays a new Exodus in which the diaspora of Jews returns to Jerusalem from exile. The new Exodus, the return from exile is complete in Christ. A second theological aspect is the area those places cover. It corresponds to the whole land God promised Abraham in Gen 15:18. This hints at the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel and their restoration.[iii] When the converts go home, Spirit-filled people will be in the whole land that God promised Abraham. A third parallel is the story of Babel. At Babel, God confused the language. At Pentecost, God does not reverse but heals Babel. Through the miracle of tongues, people were hearing a unifying message of the great deeds of God. The Holy Spirit empowers the 120 disciples to bear witness to the crucified messiah to people from the ends of the earth.
Acts 2:12-13 shows two responses to the gift of tongues. Some are amazed and want to know more. Others think they are drunk.
The following are four applications. First, we live in a world that divides over worldview, politics, and preferences over so many things. This text presents people from all nations under heaven gathering (Ac 2:5). God communicated the gospel to them in their own languages. This is the miracle of tongues. This means that people from all over the world, languages, and cultures can gather around the gospel. We need to celebrate the uniqueness of what we experience in the church. Every local church belongs to God’s church, which is to date the biggest international and multicultural organization of all time. Jesus is for all people.
Second, in the book of Acts, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues will occur again. Jesus commissioned his followers to spread the gospel in Jerusalem, Judea-Samaria, and to the end of the earth. In the first century, from the Jewish perspective, there were four categories of people. There were Jews, Samaritans, Gentile God-fearers, and Gentiles. At Pentecost, the Spirit fell on Jews in Jerusalem. A similar event occurs in Samaria in Acts 8. God-fearers experience the same pouring out of the Holy Spirit in Acts 10. They also speak in tongues (Acts 10:44-48). Finally, the non-God-fearing Gentiles also receive the Spirit in Acts 19. They also spoke in tongues. The repetition of the giving of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues shows the common experience among the different groups. The Gospel tears down the social divide. In Christ, all people unite. All can be full members of God’s people. This is going to be one of the big issues in the rest of the NT. We try to divide; we try to create different classes of God’s people. In the first century, there was a divide between Jews and Gentiles. We create division over politics. Christians separate over race or economic status. We even create spiritual separations with spiritual gifts, or "second blessings." The outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh shows that none of this can stand. Our human nature divides, but any form of discrimination is anti-gospel.
Third, the disciples did not have to do anything extraordinary. God gave them tongues to speak. Before this, the disciples obeyed Jesus by remaining in Jerusalem. They remained devoted to prayer (Acts 1:14). Then God acted. We must pray and seek to obey God in all of life. Acts 2:41-47 shows that God acts when a community is devoted to the apostles' teaching, prayer, communion, and fellowship. God uses the church to witness to all people.
Fourth, the text ends with two responses. The gospel message leads to two responses. When Jesus taught in parables, there were two responses. Some asked questions. Others left. With the speaking in tongues, some think they are drunk, and others ask, what does this all mean? God draws some and not others. We cannot explain why the Spirit draws some and not others. From a human standpoint, exploring Jesus always confronts our sins. Jesus is light so he will expose the darkness within us. Some who hear cannot stand to be found out for who they are. Sometimes we are not ready to deal with our own sinfulness. For this reason, the self-righteous will not want anything to do with Jesus. Not everyone will respond favorably to the gospel. In the same way, people ridiculed the disciples, people will think faith in Christ in 2023 is laughable. The Holy Spirit is the greatest evangelist. Some hearts will remain hardened. Those who mocked heard the Holy Spirit-inspired preaching of God’s mighty deed, the resurrection of Jesus. They still mocked. Today, expect curiosity and hardness to the gospel message.
[i] James M. Hamilton, “He Is with You and He Will Be in You: The Spirit, the Believer, and the Glorification of Jesus” (Thesis, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2003), 205.
[ii] Bruce, The Book of the Acts. Acts 2:1.
[iii] L. Scott Kellum, Acts, Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, Forthcoming). Acts 2:9-11.
Acts 2 begins the witness in Jerusalem. It was at the time of the feast of Pentecost. Jews and converts to Judaism were visiting Jerusalem from all over the known world. This means that from the outset, the gospel goes to the nations. We will look at the feast of Pentecost (Acts 2:1), the coming of the Holy Spirit with power (Acts 2:2-4), and the witness to the ends of the earth (Acts 2:5-13).
1 Acts 2:1 Background: The Significance of the Feast of Pentecost
Acts 2:1 tells us, it was the day of Pentecost. Pentecost was an OT feast before it became the birthday of the New Covenant Church. The word pentekostos means 50th in Greek. It occurs on the 50th day after the first day of the Passover feast. Pentecost is the feast of weeks (Exod 34:22; Deut 16:10), and the “day of the firstfruits” (Num 28:26, Exod 23:16). On that day, the people presented “the firstfruits of wheat harvest” (Exod 34:22) to God. Later, God’s people also celebrated the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai at Pentecost. It fits the timeline. According to Exod 19:1, the people arrived at Sinai on the third new moon after their departure from Egypt. This is around 45 days after the first Passover.[ii] Theologically, the giving of the Spirit connects to the giving of the Law. God spoke through Jeremiah saying, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts” (Jer 31:33). While the old covenant contained law on tablets, the new covenant has law on hearts. In the parallel New Covenant text in Ezekiel 36:26-27, the prophet speaks of putting his Spirit within them.The NT shows us how Christ fulfilled OT feasts. The people of Israel slaughtered the Passover lamb on a Friday. Saturday was the first day of Passover. Sunday was the feast of the first fruit. 7 weeks later is Pentecost or the feast of the harvest. Christ was the Passover lamb. In Christ, we celebrated the greater Exodus from the bondage of sin. The feast of First Fruits was the third day after the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. Jesus was raised from the dead on this day. He is the First Fruit from the dead (1 Cor 15:20)! 50 days after Passover, Christ fulfills the Feast of Harvests, or First Fruits or Feast of Weeks. Jesus spoke of a harvest. In Matt 9:36-38, Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” The harvest is people. In 2 Thess 2:13, Paul calls Christians, the firstfruits. He writes that God chose them to be the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. The New Covenant fulfills the feast of weeks/harvest/first fruit. In Acts 2:41, the harvest goes from 120 to 3000. Following the first Pentecost at the giving of the law, Israel created a golden calf. As a result of this sin, 3000 were put to death (Exod 32:28). At the greater Pentecost about 3000 find eternal life!
2 Acts 2:2-4 The Event: The Coming of the Spirit
In Acts 2:2-4, the 120 disciples are in the upper room and the Spirit comes upon them. Luke notes “a sound like a mighty rushing wind” and “different tongues or languages like fire, appeared to them and rested on each one of them.” Acts 2:4 interprets the event, “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” Luke describes the indescribable.The wind symbolizes the Holy Spirit. Both in Hebrew and Greek, the word for wind and spirit is the same. In John 3:8, Jesus connects the activity of the spirit with the sound of the wind.
The image of fire resting on the disciples evokes other biblical images. In Exodus 3, God speaks to Moses in a burning bush. When the people of Israel come out of Egypt, God leads them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exod 13:21). When the people finished the Tabernacle, the cloud of the Lord was on the Tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night (Exod 40:38). In 1 Kings 8, the cloud fills the Temple once it is complete. We see that the cloud and the fire in these passages refer to the presence of God.
The presence of God is mediated first by a portable tent, the tabernacle, and then the temple. In the gospels, Jesus makes it clear that he is the temple of God. At his baptism, the Spirit comes upon him. Jesus refers to his body as a temple (John 2:19). His name is Emmanuel, God with us. When he is taken up, he sends his Spirit to live in his followers. In the New Covenant, the temple of God is the body of Christ, which is the church, as well is each individual Christian. When fire rests on the disciples this is a clear sign that they are the new temple of God.
Today, we are the temple of God. A first application comes from 1 Cor 3:16-17 which reads, “Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.” This means that we must treat each other like the temple of God. This does not mean this does not apply outside the church, but now particularly how does a grudge stand against a fellow Christian if we remember they are the temple of God. How can we speak negatively about vessels who contain the Holy Spirit?
A second application comes from 1 Cor 6:19-20 which reads, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” Paul is addressing sexual misconduct. Our bodies are the temple of God, the house of the Holy Spirit so we need to be careful about what we do with our bodies. There are many reasons to not misuse sex. We may want to avoid diseases or social harms. But, the most important reason is that Christians are God’s house!
A third application of God living in us is that we must live for God alone. He lives in us so we live for him. Our goals must fit with God’s will for the world. We accomplish God’s will by relying on his work in our lives. We must prioritize communion with God in prayer. We must worship him with his people. We must study his Word to seek his guidance in all things. As we do this, God works through his church. People are saved through the church. People find wholesome community and relationships in the church. People grow in holiness through the church. The more we live in light of the fact that we are the temple of God the more the work of the church and the work of God become synonymous because he is at work in us.
3 Acts 2:5-13 The Effect: Witnessing in Power to the Mighty works of God
In Acts 2:5-13, we have Jews and converts to Judaism from the known world in Jerusalem who hear the gospel. The sound of other tongues or languages (Acts 2:4) causes a crowd to gather. This crowd includes Judeans and devout men. According to Acts 2:5, they were from all nations under heaven. They were in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost. The word devout refers to Jews or converts to Judaism.Acts 2:9-11 lists the places where they were from. The list has theological aspects to it. First, the list of nations is closest to the list of nations in Isaiah 11:10-13. Isaiah 11 portrays a new Exodus in which the diaspora of Jews returns to Jerusalem from exile. The new Exodus, the return from exile is complete in Christ. A second theological aspect is the area those places cover. It corresponds to the whole land God promised Abraham in Gen 15:18. This hints at the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel and their restoration.[iii] When the converts go home, Spirit-filled people will be in the whole land that God promised Abraham. A third parallel is the story of Babel. At Babel, God confused the language. At Pentecost, God does not reverse but heals Babel. Through the miracle of tongues, people were hearing a unifying message of the great deeds of God. The Holy Spirit empowers the 120 disciples to bear witness to the crucified messiah to people from the ends of the earth.
Acts 2:12-13 shows two responses to the gift of tongues. Some are amazed and want to know more. Others think they are drunk.
The following are four applications. First, we live in a world that divides over worldview, politics, and preferences over so many things. This text presents people from all nations under heaven gathering (Ac 2:5). God communicated the gospel to them in their own languages. This is the miracle of tongues. This means that people from all over the world, languages, and cultures can gather around the gospel. We need to celebrate the uniqueness of what we experience in the church. Every local church belongs to God’s church, which is to date the biggest international and multicultural organization of all time. Jesus is for all people.
Second, in the book of Acts, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues will occur again. Jesus commissioned his followers to spread the gospel in Jerusalem, Judea-Samaria, and to the end of the earth. In the first century, from the Jewish perspective, there were four categories of people. There were Jews, Samaritans, Gentile God-fearers, and Gentiles. At Pentecost, the Spirit fell on Jews in Jerusalem. A similar event occurs in Samaria in Acts 8. God-fearers experience the same pouring out of the Holy Spirit in Acts 10. They also speak in tongues (Acts 10:44-48). Finally, the non-God-fearing Gentiles also receive the Spirit in Acts 19. They also spoke in tongues. The repetition of the giving of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues shows the common experience among the different groups. The Gospel tears down the social divide. In Christ, all people unite. All can be full members of God’s people. This is going to be one of the big issues in the rest of the NT. We try to divide; we try to create different classes of God’s people. In the first century, there was a divide between Jews and Gentiles. We create division over politics. Christians separate over race or economic status. We even create spiritual separations with spiritual gifts, or "second blessings." The outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh shows that none of this can stand. Our human nature divides, but any form of discrimination is anti-gospel.
Third, the disciples did not have to do anything extraordinary. God gave them tongues to speak. Before this, the disciples obeyed Jesus by remaining in Jerusalem. They remained devoted to prayer (Acts 1:14). Then God acted. We must pray and seek to obey God in all of life. Acts 2:41-47 shows that God acts when a community is devoted to the apostles' teaching, prayer, communion, and fellowship. God uses the church to witness to all people.
Fourth, the text ends with two responses. The gospel message leads to two responses. When Jesus taught in parables, there were two responses. Some asked questions. Others left. With the speaking in tongues, some think they are drunk, and others ask, what does this all mean? God draws some and not others. We cannot explain why the Spirit draws some and not others. From a human standpoint, exploring Jesus always confronts our sins. Jesus is light so he will expose the darkness within us. Some who hear cannot stand to be found out for who they are. Sometimes we are not ready to deal with our own sinfulness. For this reason, the self-righteous will not want anything to do with Jesus. Not everyone will respond favorably to the gospel. In the same way, people ridiculed the disciples, people will think faith in Christ in 2023 is laughable. The Holy Spirit is the greatest evangelist. Some hearts will remain hardened. Those who mocked heard the Holy Spirit-inspired preaching of God’s mighty deed, the resurrection of Jesus. They still mocked. Today, expect curiosity and hardness to the gospel message.
4 Conclusion
Pentecost begins a new era in God’s redemptive history. It is our era. Believers are empowered by the Holy Spirit. We are witnesses to the resurrected Christ. We bear witness to the kingdom of God. We testify that God has conquered death. This kingdom unites all kinds of people from all kinds of places. One of the biggest challenges is to read a text like this and we may wonder, why we are not experiencing things like this. We have family members we wish would become believers. Perhaps they are colleagues, friends, or a spouse. We need to rethink the powerful works of God today. Greg Boyd published a book called “Letters to a Skeptic.” It is a dialogue between Greg and his Atheist father. His dad became a Christian at 74. We do not need books or the internet to hear of God’s work. If we listen to the testimonies of those in our church, we will see that God has performed a miracle in everyone’s life. It is a miracle every time he causes one to be born-again. Our church exists because God’s church has witnessed. Some had believing parents who raised us up in the ways of the Lord. This is part of the great commission. Others befriended Christians which led to conversations and then to faith. Others started reading the Bible or attending church and had an encounter with the living God. God is alive and he works mighty ways. As followers of Jesus, our job is to be intentional with our faith. The church is the house of God. God works through the church. Make this a vibrant community. If you can, Host meals. Outside of Church, let people know you believe in Jesus. Risk being laughed at. Perhaps, some will ask what does this all mean?[i] James M. Hamilton, “He Is with You and He Will Be in You: The Spirit, the Believer, and the Glorification of Jesus” (Thesis, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2003), 205.
[ii] Bruce, The Book of the Acts. Acts 2:1.
[iii] L. Scott Kellum, Acts, Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, Forthcoming). Acts 2:9-11.
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