Transcript

One author paints the following picture of Acts 2. It was a hot morning late in the month of May when the day of Pentecost came that year. The Judean sun was already high above the horizon.

In the stillness of the mid-morning air, the Temple morning service could be heard as it concluded—the blast of silver trumpets, the thunder of worshipers praying in unison, the solitary voice of the reader chanting from Ezekiel and Habakkuk.

Throngs of Jewish worshipers crowded the Temple courts. Since Pentecost was a pilgrim holiday, many were visiting from other countries throughout the Middle East, Northern Africa, Europe, and Asia.

Suddenly, from high overhead, the roar of a violent windstorm was heard. But how could this be? There were no clouds and there was no breeze. The worshipers stood confused, searching the cloudless sky to find the source of the disturbance.

From the lofty vantage point of the Temple, flashes of what seemed like swirling bits of fire from one of the nearby houses below caught their attention. The men paused while shouting and pointing toward the house. What could this wind and fire mean?

The crowd pushed onward, determined to know the matter. In a few moments they reached the house and were pounding on the door. Twelve men from inside pushed their way to the street.

The twelve immediately began to address a barrage of excited queries from the crowd. But to the astonishment of the crowd, the twelve answered in the various native languages of those within the crowd. This caused an uproar of discussion.

These twelve were obviously Galilean, but who had ever heard of an educated Galilean?

Many pressed for answers while others began to mock and accuse the men of drunkenness. Peter lifted his hands to quiet the crowd.

The crowd fell silent and fixed their gaze upon Peter as he began to speak.

“Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

“But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

“And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

“The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:14-21).

As chapter 2 begins we learn that “when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.”

The “they” hearkens back to the record of chapter one. The “they” were the twelve apostles and the rest of the 120. The “one place” they all were located was in the upper room, which we learn about in Acts 1:13.

Since Christ had ascended, the apostles obeyed His words to stay at Jerusalem and to wait for the promise of the Father.

With the rest of the 120 followers of Christ, they had been praying together and they had appointed Matthias as the twelfth apostle of the kingdom.

The day of Pentecost, or feast of weeks, arrived. The time was fully come and had arrived for the fulfillment of the promise of the Father, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:2 states, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.”

There wasn’t an actual wind or moving of air that accompanied the Holy Spirit when He came. Instead, it was just the sound of a mighty rushing wind, and it happened very suddenly. Notice too that if came “from heaven” indicating the origin was from God.

Wind normally blows in a horizontal direction, but this sounded like a wind suddenly blowing down from heaven and this sound of a rushing wind filled all the house where the 120 were sitting. This sound was not a gentle breeze, but a rushing mighty wind, indicating the power with which the Spirit was to work among Israel.

Along with this sound, “there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them” (Acts 2:3).

After the auditory manifestation of the Spirit’s arrival came a visual manifestation. The word “cloven” means to be divided or to distribute.

The way I understand this is that the fire-like appearance presented itself at first in a single form, and then suddenly parted in this direction and that; so that a portion of it was distributed and rested on each of those present in the upper room.

So it’s not that each tongue that sat upon them appeared divided, but that each tongue divided off from one place, and each separate tongue looked like fire, not real fire.

These tongue-shaped, flame like appearances “sat upon each of them,” as no one was excluded in the upper room.

Then Acts 2:4 teaches, “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Being filled with the Holy Spirit at that time enabled all 120 people in the Upper Room to speak in tongues.

A tongue-shaped fire sat upon each of them, and then they were able to speak in tongues, or other languages of the world that before had been unknown to them.

We know they were known languages because when the crowd of people in Jerusalem that were from all over the world came to the house, verse 6 says, “every man heard them speak in his own language.”

The reason that the gift of tongues was given to these Jewish believers by the Spirit was because they were to take the message of salvation at that time, the gospel of the kingdom, beyond Israel to “the uttermost parts of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

God enabled them, by the Spirit, to speak in the language of any country into which they went to spread the gospel.

They did not have to pray for the Holy Spirit to come. They did not have to pray for the ability to speak in other languages.

Nor did they gradually learn how to speak in tongues or be fluent in another language. “Tongues” was an instantaneous gift performed in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Christ had told His apostles that they would “receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” And the gift of tongues was a manifestation of the Spirit’s power then.

As these Jewish believers were filled with the Holy Spirit back then, the Spirit controlled them and His power was revealed by performing miraculous signs and wonders, healings, and speaking in tongues through them. All this enabled Israel to fulfill their great commission and be witnesses of the risen Messiah.

But after Israel’s rejection of Messiah and her fall and casting away was complete, Paul now exhorts the Body of Christ under grace to “Be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18).

The filling of the Spirit is different now than it was then. To be filled with the Spirit is something to be attained by faith.

Obeying the instruction to be filled with the Spirit is about being filled with His Word, yielding to the Spirit’s instruction in it, living the Christian life in His strength, allowing Him to have more of us so that He might produce His fruit in our lives and so we might be conformed to the image of Christ and transformed by God’s grace.

The Spirit indwells us and we have the Spirit in His fullness, but does He have us fully is the question? That’s what being filled with the Spirit is about under grace.

After word spread in Jerusalem, and a great crowd of people heard about the 120 speaking with other tongues, they came together to the house.

These people who were from all over the world, marveled how the apostles were speaking to them in their own tongue. Verses 9-11 refer to 15 different countries that these visiting Jews to Jerusalem had come from.

An Englishman, a Frenchman, a Spaniard and a German are all standing watching a street performer do some excellent juggling.

The juggler notices that the four gentleman have a very poor view, so he stands up on a large wooden box and calls out, “Can you all see me now?” They responded, “Yes,” “Oui,” “Si,” “Ya.” That’s 4 different languages.

These Jews at Pentecost from 15 different countries heard the apostles and the rest of the 120 speaking in the languages from all these places. They were amazed and were in doubt as to its meaning. Others mocked and accused them of being drunk.

All of the apostles stood up and were prepared to answer the accusation about the group being drunk, but Peter served as the spokesman for the rest. This was because he was our Lord’s chosen leader of the kingdom saints.

Christ had told him, “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven…” (Matt. 16:19). This is the reason Peter, and his ministry, is given such prominence in early Acts until Israel fell in unbelief. Then you see a shift to Paul’s ministry in Acts.

But here, Peter, who in his weakness had denied the Lord three times with oaths and curses, having now been filled with the Spirit, he becomes lion-like, a force for God, and boldly speaks in the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost began by him addressing the crowd, “Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem…” (v. 14). Later in his sermon in verse 22, he says, “Ye men of Israel” and in verse 36, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know.”

The only Gentiles present at Pentecost were those who were converts to Judaism, called “proselytes” (2:10). They were proselytes to Judaism, not proselytes to Christianity!

Peter’s sermon is addressed to the “men of Judaea” and “ye men of Israel.” It is not addressed to Jews and Gentiles in the Body of Christ.

If God was beginning a new Church here with no difference between Jew and Gentile, then why did Peter address his message only to “ye men of Israel,” and “ye men of Judea” and never once mention the Gentiles?

Peter reassured the crowd that the unusual event of hearing them speak in their languages was not the result of being full of new wine. After all, he told them, it was only 9 a.m.

The true explanation was that the Spirit of God had been poured out.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit, and having been instructed by the risen Savior for forty days of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, Peter knew exactly what was happening and how he and his fellow believers could speak in these foreign languages miraculously.

And he boldly asserts in verses 16 and 17, “But THIS IS THAT which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh…”

In other words, what everyone was seeing was a specific fulfilment of prophecy from Joel about Israel’s “last days,” prior to the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom.

The signs which were to precede Messiah’s return to judge and reign were beginning to appear, starting with the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.

According to Joel’s prophecy, the signs of Pentecost were to be followed by signs both in heaven and on earth, and the pouring out of the Spirit was to be followed by the pouring out of God’s wrath.

But the predicted wrath being poured out upon the world in the Tribulation period has not yet come. Instead, it was interrupted and delayed.

When Israel stood by what they had done in crucifying their Messiah and would not repent or accept Jesus as their Messiah, God temporarily set Israel aside in unbelief, and in grace, saved Saul, and ushered in the dispensation of grace.

But notice that in Peter’s message on the day of Pentecost he proclaimed that Israel’s “last days” had arrived. He did not say that the pouring out of the Spirit was the first days of the Church, the Body of Christ, but the last days of God’s program with Israel.

Pentecost was the beginning of something, just not the church. It was the beginning of the last days of Israel’s program, those days which would immediately precede the coming of Christ to judge the world and to establish His millennial kingdom.

Acts 2:22-24: “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

“Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that He should be holden of it.”

The purpose of Peter’s sermon at Pentecost was not to preach the death of Christ as the payment for sin that has been paid for all and to trust Him alone as Savior as Paul later did.

Instead, Peter preached the death and resurrection of Christ to convince the Jews that the Christ was their promised Messiah, King, and the Son of God.

This was for the purpose of bringing them under conviction for their guilt, as a nation, in rejecting Christ and having the Him crucified.

The terms of the gospel of the kingdom were manifold. They had to repent, confess their sins, sell all they had, be water baptized, and they had to believe.

What they had to believe was tied to the identity of Jesus Christ. When Christ asked His disciples: “Whom say ye that I am?” Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” That is what Israel had to believe to be saved.

Faith in His name, believing that the Lord Jesus Christ was Israel’s promised Messiah and King and the Son of God, this brought life eternal to those who believed.

Peter’s message at Pentecost is focused and zeros in on this: to convince Israel that Jesus is the Christ, their Messiah, the Son of the living God, and to realize that they had crucified their Messiah and King and needed to repent of it.

Thus, as you go through the message, such as in verses 22-24, you see Peter pointing out the “miracles and wonders and signs” that Christ did. He reminds Israel that they were done “in the midst of you, as ye yourselves know.”

So many in Israel saw it with their own eyes. These powerful miracles, wonders, and signs of healings, casting out demons, and raising the dead showed Israel and left her without excuse that Jesus of Nazareth is her Messiah and the Son of God.

By the Spirit, Peter fearlessly pointed his finger straight at the house of Israel present that day and pierced their consciences, accusing them that even knowing what He done in their midst, they still took, “and by wicked hands have crucified and slain” their Messiah.

Then Peter confronts his hearers with the truth that the One whom they had slain was risen from the dead, that He whom they had stooped so low in wickedness to rid themselves of had come forth with power from the grave.

I like how Peter puts Christ’s resurrection, by the Spirit, that “it was not possible,” that death should hold Him. He could not remain captive in the grave.

He is the Author of life; He is the Resurrection and the Life. Christ could not be overcome by death. On the contrary, He had come into the world to meet death, grapple with it and overcome and crush it. Death has been swallowed up in victory thru Christ.

In light of Christ’s resurrection, Paul taunts death in 1 Corinthians 15: “O death, Where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”

Death could not hold Christ. Sin results in death, but sin was completely defeated by Christ’s death and perfect payment for sin. Thus, death could not hold Him. It was impossible for Him to be holden of it, and so God raised from the dead.

The resurrection proves beyond any doubt that Jesus Christ is Israel’s Messiah and the Son of God.

Acts 2:32-33: “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.”

verses 25-35, Peter appealed to the Scriptures and the prophecies given by David concerning Israel’s Messiah that were fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Quoting first from Psalm 16:10, “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell [hades] neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption” (v. 27), Peter reasoned that since David was dead and buried and his tomb was with them until that day, his body did suffer corruption.

And since David knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that of his seed He would raise up the Messiah to sit on his throne, he could not have been speaking of himself but prophetically of the resurrection of Christ.

By the Spirit, Peter applied this prophecy directly to Jesus Christ, stating, “He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell [hades], neither his flesh did see corruption” (v. 31).

Then in verses 34-35, Peter quoted from Psalm 110:1, where David wrote: “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on My right hand, Until I make Thy foes Thy footstool.”

Peter pointed out in verse 34 that David is not ascended into the heavens. Hence it was Jesus Christ who, according to David’s prophecy, was to be raised from the dead and ascend to heaven to God’s right hand.

The crowd of people had asked the apostles regarding the 120 speaking in their languages, “What meaneth this?” And here Peter gives them the answer: “Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear” (Ver. 33).

The ascended Lord was actively demonstrating the fact and truth of His resurrection by the wonders of Pentecost, the pouring out of the Spirit on believers and their miraculous ability to speak in tongues and languages of other nations.

The explanation for the wonders which Peter’s hearers now saw and heard on that day, was that Christ had died, was risen from the dead, ascended into heaven, and sent the Holy Spirit as He had promised.

And Peter further tells the crowd, “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.” Referring to the 11 men standing beside him, Peter tells the crowd that Jesus Christ is risen and we are all witnesses of it. We saw Him with our own eyes.

Acts 2:36-38: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

The climax of the sermon and Peter’s main point that he aimed to prove is summed up in verse 36: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Peter powerfully demonstrated that by Jesus of Nazareth’s miracles and wonders, His death, resurrection, ascension, and prophecy being fulfilled in Him, all these things declare that Jesus is both Lord and Christ, that He is Lord over all, God in flesh, and the Messiah. This is what Israel needed believe in to be saved.

As a result of Peter’s powerful sermon, his hearers were brought under conviction by the Spirit of crucifying their Messiah, King, and God’s Son and they then ask Peter and the apostles, “What shall we do?”

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

Acts 2:38 means exactly what it says. When you rightly divide the Word, you don’t need to change it at all. Israel needed to repent of crucifying their Messiah. They needed to be water baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and then they like Peter and the apostles would “receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

At Pentecost, water baptism was required for their salvation, and believers were water baptized for the forgiveness of sins and to receive the Holy Spirit.

But that is not how we receive the forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit. Today, under grace, we receive these blessings by faith alone.

The moment we trust that Christ died for our sins and rose again, we are forgiven all of our sins and the Holy Spirit immediately indwells us.

But at Pentecost, verse 41 says, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”

Notice how the Holy Spirit inspired those words to be written: “the same day there were ADDED unto them about three thousand souls.” Added unto who? Added unto what?

There was already a church in existence at Pentecost. Acts 2 does not teach that believers were formed into the church. It says that they were “added” to the church (2:41). And a thing must first exist before anything can be added to it.

Believers on the day of Pentecost were added to the 120 in the upper room. They were added to the little flock, the existing kingdom church that had trusted in Jesus Christ as Israel’s Messiah and had been water baptized.

The Lord addressed this church in Luke 12:32: “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

At Pentecost “there were added about three thousand souls” to the kingdom church and “the Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved” verse 47 says.

So what happened in Acts 2? At Pentecost, the believing remnant of the little flock, the true Israel, was added unto by 3000 members when they believed Jesus as Lord and Christ, repented of crucifying their Messiah, and were water baptized.

What didn’t happen in Acts 2 is that the Church, the Body of Christ was formed and began. The Body of Christ began later with the salvation of Saul of Tarsus, the chief of sinners, on the road to Damascus.