The Day of Pentecost

A promise kept. Jesus had told His friends, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8). A few days after Jesus went back to heaven, on the Day of Pentecost, that promise came true. Together. “They were all with one accord in one place” (2:1). One accord means they were united. They had been praying together, just as Jesus told them to wait (Acts 1:14). A sound like wind. “A sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind” filled the whole house (2:2). Jesus once said the Spirit is like the wind. You cannot see the wind, but you can hear it and see what it does (John 3:8). Flames like fire. “Divided tongues, as of fire” rested on each one (2:3). John the Baptist had said Jesus would baptize “with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16). All filled. “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (2:4). Not only Peter and the leaders, but every believer in the room. A Person, not a force. The Holy Spirit is not a thing or a feeling. He is God, and Jesus called Him “the Helper” (John 14:26). He teaches, He guides and He comforts. What this means for you. Everyone who trusts Jesus has the Holy Spirit living inside (1 Corinthians 6:19). He gives you power to live for Jesus and to tell others about Him.

Pentecost (2:1). The Greek word pentekoste (say: pen-tay-kos-TAY) means fiftieth. Pentecost was the Feast of Weeks, held fifty days after Passover (Leviticus 23:15-16). Jesus died at Passover. Fifty days later the Spirit came. Wind and breath (2:2). The Greek word pneuma (say: NOO-mah) can mean wind, breath or spirit. The Hebrew Old Testament uses one word for all three as well. At creation “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). The rushing wind showed that the same Spirit who gave life at creation was giving new life now. Fire (2:3). At Mount Sinai “the Lord descended upon it in fire” (Exodus 19:18), and the people trembled at a distance. At Pentecost the fire rested on each believer. Many Christians see this as God showing that He now lives in His people, who are “the temple of God” (1 Corinthians 3:16). Tongues (2:4). The word for tongues also means languages. Verses 6-8 show these were real languages that the visitors understood. Another Helper. Jesus called the Spirit the Helper, which means one called to your side to help: “He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever” (John 14:16). Another means one just like Jesus Himself. The Spirit is a Person who teaches (John 14:26) and guides “into all truth” (John 16:13). Why it matters. Jesus finished the work of saving us on the cross. The Spirit now brings that salvation to life inside every believer and gives power to tell others (Acts 1:8).

Before Jesus went back to heaven, He made a promise. He said the Holy Spirit would come to His friends. He told them to wait in Jerusalem. On the day of Pentecost, Jesus kept His promise. The Holy Spirit is not a wind or a fire. He is God, and He is a Person. The wind and the fire were signs that He had come. The Holy Spirit filled every believer in the room. Not one person was left out. He gave them power to tell others about Jesus. The Holy Spirit lives in everyone who trusts Jesus today. He helps us love God and do what He says. You are never alone when you belong to Jesus.

Jesus kept His promise and sent the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God, and He is a Person. He lives in everyone who trusts Jesus.

From every nation. “There were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven” (2:5). Devout means they loved God and tried hard to keep His law. They had come to Jerusalem for the feast. Their own language. Each visitor heard the believers speak “in his own language” (2:6). God did not make them learn a new language first. He met them in the language they grew up with. God's wonderful works. They heard “the wonderful works of God” (2:11). The believers were not bragging about themselves. They were praising God for what He had done. Babel turned around. Long ago at Babel, “the Lord confused the language of all the earth” and scattered the people (Genesis 11:9). At Pentecost God used many languages to bring people together around Jesus. Many Christians see Pentecost as God beginning to undo Babel. Curious or mocking. Some asked, “Whatever could this mean?” (2:12). Others laughed and said, “They are full of new wine” (2:13). The same miracle made some people want to know more and made others laugh. What this means for you. Jesus is for every country and every kind of person. When you tell others about Him, some will listen and some may laugh. Keep telling the good news anyway, with kindness.

The visitors (2:9-11). Parthians, Medes and Elamites came from far to the east, past Mesopotamia. Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia are in what is now Turkey. Egypt, Libya and Cyrene are in North Africa, Rome lay far to the west, Crete is an island, and Arabia lay to the south. People came from every direction of the known world. Jews and proselytes (2:10). Many visitors were Jews whose families had lived outside Israel for generations. Proselytes were Gentiles who had turned to the God of Israel and joined His people. Hearing God speak (2:8). The visitors asked, “How is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?” The Spirit gave the believers words, and the visitors heard God praised in the language of their childhood. Babel and Pentecost. At Babel people tried to make a name for themselves, and “the Lord confused the language of all the earth” (Genesis 11:9). At Pentecost people from many languages heard the praise of one name, the name of Jesus. Many Christians see this as the start of God undoing Babel. Revelation 7:9 shows the end of that story: people from every nation and language worshiping the Lamb together. Two responses. “Whatever could this mean?” was an honest question. “They are full of new wine” was mockery. Peter answered the honest question, and the mockery did not stop him (2:14-15). Why it matters. The good news is not owned by one culture or language. Jesus' words in Acts 1:8 begin to come true here: His message will go “to the end of the earth.”

Jerusalem was full of visitors for the feast. They came from countries all over the world. Each one heard God's people speaking his own language. Nobody had to learn a new language to hear about God. God spoke to them in the words they knew best! This shows that God loves people from every country. He loves every language, every color and every family. The good news about Jesus is for the whole world. Some people made fun of the believers that day. But God's work keeps going. We can keep telling others about Him with kind words.

God helped the believers speak many languages. People from far away heard about God. God wants every person to know Him.

Brave Peter. Just weeks before, Peter had said three times that he did not know Jesus. Now Peter, “standing up with the eleven, raised his voice” (2:14). Jesus had prayed for him: “I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail” (Luke 22:32). God's promise in Joel. Peter said, “This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel” (2:16). God had promised, “I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh” (2:17). All flesh means all kinds of people: sons and daughters, young and old, men and women. God's plan. Jesus was handed over “by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God” (2:23). Foreknowledge means God knew it ahead of time. The cross was not an accident. God planned it to save us. Death could not hold Him. God raised Jesus, “because it was not possible that He should be held by it” (2:24). David pointed ahead. David wrote, “Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption” (2:27). Corruption means rotting in the grave. David died and stayed in his tomb, but Jesus rose (2:29-32). Lord and Christ. “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (2:36). Lord means the One who rules over everything. Christ means the King God promised to send. What this means for you. The Holy Spirit made Peter brave and pointed him to Jesus. He can do the same for you when you are afraid to speak up.

Not drunk (2:15). “The third hour of the day” was about nine in the morning. Peter answered the mockers calmly and turned them to Scripture. The last days (2:17). Joel said “afterward”; Peter, filled with the Spirit, said “in the last days.” The last days began when the Spirit was poured out, and they continue until Jesus returns. Witnesses (2:32). “This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.” The Greek word martys (say: MAR-toos) means a witness, someone who tells what he has seen. Stephen and James later gave their lives for this witness (Acts 7; 12:2). Psalm 16. David wrote, “You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption” (Psalm 16:10). Sheol in the psalm and Hades in Acts 2:27 both mean the place of the dead. David's tomb was still in Jerusalem (2:29), so David was speaking as a prophet about the Christ (2:30-31). Psalm 110. “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand’” (Psalm 110:1). In this psalm God speaks to David's Lord. David did not go up into heaven (2:34), so his Lord must be someone greater: Jesus, raised and seated at God's right hand (2:33). Lord and Christ (2:36). Lord is the same title the Greek Old Testament used for God's own name. Christ means the Anointed One, the Messiah God promised. Peter gave both titles to the Jesus they had crucified. Why it matters. The Spirit does not point to Himself. Jesus said the Spirit would testify of Him (John 15:26), and Peter's Spirit-filled sermon is all about Jesus.

Not long before, Peter had been very afraid. Three times he said he did not know Jesus. Now Peter stood up in front of a huge crowd. He was brave because the Holy Spirit filled him. Peter did not talk about himself. He talked about Jesus. He showed the people that God had planned it all. Joel and David had written about it long before. Jesus died on the cross for sinners. Then God raised Him from death. Now Jesus is Lord over everything. The Holy Spirit can make shy people brave too. He helps us tell others about Jesus.

Peter told everyone about Jesus. Jesus died on the cross. God raised Him from death. Jesus is Lord!

Cut to the heart. “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart” (2:37). The Holy Spirit showed them their sin. They knew they had rejected God's own Son. The big question. “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (2:37). It is the most important question anyone can ask. Repent. Peter answered, “Repent” (2:38). To repent means to turn around: to turn away from sin and turn to God. It is more than feeling sorry. Be baptized. Each one was to be baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ” (2:38). Baptism follows believing. It is an outward picture of an inward change: the old life buried, and a new life raised with Jesus (Romans 6:4). Baptism does not save anyone. Jesus saves. A gift. They would be forgiven and “receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (2:38). A gift is free. No one earns it. For you too. “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off” (2:39). That includes you. A great harvest. “Those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them” (2:41). What this means for you. If you have never asked Jesus to forgive you, you can call on Him today. He promises to save everyone who calls on Him (2:21).

Pierced (2:37). Cut to the heart means pierced or stabbed inside. The truth about Jesus went straight to their hearts. Jesus had said the Spirit would show the world its sin (John 16:8). Repent (2:38). The Greek word metanoeo (say: meh-tah-noh-EH-oh) means to change your mind, and so to change your direction. Joel had called God's people, “Return to the Lord your God” (Joel 2:13). Baptism and forgiveness. Peter joined baptism with “the remission of sins” because baptism is how a new believer says in public, I trust Jesus to forgive me. Forgiveness itself comes through faith, “not by works of righteousness which we have done” (Titus 3:5). In Acts 10:44-48 the Spirit came on Cornelius and his family before they were baptized. Romans 6:4 shows what baptism pictures: buried with Christ and raised to “walk in newness of life.” Far off (2:39). “All who are afar off” reaches beyond Israel to the Gentiles. Ephesians 2:13 uses the same picture: “you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Saved from (2:40). “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Perverse means twisted. God calls people out of a twisted world and into His family. Gladly received (2:41). “Those who gladly received his word were baptized.” No one was forced. They heard the good news, believed it and obeyed with joy. The church began that day, and “the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (2:47).

The people were cut to the heart. That means they felt very sorry inside. They asked, “What shall we do?” Peter told them to change their hearts and lives. That means turning away from sin and turning to God. Then they would be baptized. Baptism does not save us, because only Jesus saves. Baptism is a picture of a new life with Jesus. Going under the water is like the old life ending. Coming up is like starting a brand new life. Jesus forgives everyone who trusts Him. Forgiveness is God's free gift. Peter said the promise was for their children too. That means it is for you!

The people were sorry for their sins. They turned to God and trusted Jesus. God forgave them, and they were baptized.