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The apostles had received Christ’s commission and seen his ascension. The apostolic team is complete again, ready to be his chosen witnesses. Only one thing is missing: The Spirit has not yet come. Though the place left vacant for Judas has been filled by Matthias, the place left vacant by Jesus has not yet been filled by the Spirit. So, we leave Luke’s first chapter with 120 people waiting in Jerusalem, preserving in prayer (very important) and with one heart and mind (very important again) poised ready to fulfil Christ’s command just as soon as he has fulfilled his promise.

On the stage in today’s study we have the Apostle Peter, where he opens the doors of the Kingdom. We probably recall when Peter confessed that Jesus was the Christ (the long waited for Messiah) the Lord Jesus Christ then asked him:

“But who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matt.16:15-19)

At Pentecost, Peter uses the keys that were given to him, and he is opening the doors of the Kingdom of God for people from all corners of the earth.

The main character of the book of Acts is not Peter or Paul but Christ working through the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, Christian discipleship would be impossible. There can be no life without the life-giver. As a body without breath is a corpse, so the church without the Spirit is dead.

As the Spirit came upon Jesus to equip him for his public ministry, so now the Spirit was to come upon his people to equip them for public ministry. After Jesus’s baptism, Dr Luke tells us “the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove…” (Luke 3:22) And in Luke 4:14-15 he says: “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, … And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.”

As the Lord Jesus Christ came in the flesh to our earth only once, so we need to think about the Day of the Pentecost in the same manner. It was, in many ways, a one-off event.

The Pentecost event itself

Acts 2:1 says: “When the day of Pentecost arrived …” What is the Day of Pentecost? This term is derived from the Greek word meaning ‘fiftieth’, because the festival was celebrated on the fiftieth day after the Passover (in Jewish reckoning, part of a day was counted as a day). It was also called the Feast of Harvest, because it celebrated the completion of the grain harvest, or the Day of the First Fruits or the Feast of the Weeks.

It was one of the three major Jewish pilgrimage festivals. Deuteronomy 16:16 says: “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths [Tabernacle].”

On the Day of Passover, Christ was sacrificed for sins. The Holy Spirit came ten days after the ascension. Jews of many nations had gathered in Jerusalem for this festival. Thus, Peter’s sermon (2:14-37) was given to an international audience, and it resulted in a worldwide harvest of new believers (3000) — the first such converts to Christianity.

Nothing happens haphazardly … it is all purposeful … if you ever think that the events of your life are random and unrelated, let me assure you, they are not. The Lord might be leading you into something great for your benefit. I believe that all the experiences that I had in my life have led me to the point where I am now.

Verses 2-3 say: “And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

There are three supernatural phenomena here:

1. A sound: the wind
2. A sight: the fire
3. Strange speech: tongues

So what are these three phenomena? Let us follow that rule of “Scripture interpret Scripture”, so …

This was a fulfilment of John the Baptist’s words about the Holy Spirit’s baptizing with fire. John the Baptist proclaimed: “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”  (Luke 3:16).

Peter explained the prophet Joel’s words about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit:

 “And it shall come to pass afterward,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;

your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

your old men shall dream dreams,

and your young men shall see visions.

Even on the male and female servants

in those days I will pour out my Spirit.” (Joel 2:28-29)  

1. The sound: the wind

In Ezekiel 37:9,14 we read: “Then he said to me, “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.” “And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live…”

So, the wind was a symbol of the Spirit of God

2. The sight: the fire

Fire symbolizes God’s purifying presence, which burns away the undesirable elements of our lives and sets our hearts aflame to ignite the lives of others. On Mount Sinai, God confirmed the validity of the Old Testament law with fire from heaven. Exodus 19:18 says: “Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire.” At Pentecost, God confirmed the validity of the Holy Spirit’s ministry by sending fire. At Mount Sinai, fire came down on one place; at Pentecost, fire came down on many believers, symbolizing that God’s presence is now available to all who believe in him.

3. The strange speech: the tongues

Tongues refer to speech which communicates the gospel. This communication was conveyed to 15 different nationalities, “from every nation under heaven” – not just to the Israelites under the old covenant. A new dawn was arising, with a covenant that was written not on tablets but on human hearts.

Look at our church. We have people from many countries: Australia, Britain, Indonesia, India, China, Turkey, Egypt, Germany, Austria, Ghana, Malawi, Brazil, USA. I have mentioned all the continents of the world. We also have people from Hindu background, Buddhist background and even Muslim background.

Let us not take that for granted; it is God’s grace that brings us together. This is a taste of heaven, as portrayed in Revelation 7: 9-14,

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” … “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

You know when politicians speak about multiculturalism, it was all from the Bible, not from Karl Marx. Western civilisation was based on Christian values. Let’s pray and act that it stays this way.

These 120 people were completely under the control of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enabled them to speak in languages they had not previously learnt. God made his presence known to this group of believers in a spectacular way—violent wind, fire, and his Holy Spirit. Would you like God to reveal himself to you in such recognizable ways? He may do so, but be wary of forcing your expectations on God. In 1 Kings 19:10-13, Elijah also needed a message from God. First came a great wind, then an earthquake, and finally a fire. But God’s message came in a “gentle whisper.” God may use dramatic methods to work in your life—or he may speak in gentle whispers. Wait patiently and always listen.

Speaking in tongues is mentioned in the New Testament four times: here in Acts 2; then Acts 10:44-46 at Cornelius’s house: “the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

Again, it was Peter, still opening the Kingdom with the keys that were given to him by the Lord Jesus Christ. But this time was to the Gentiles not the Jews as in Chapter 2. So, the Kingdom is coming together. No Gentile, no Jew, no man, no woman, not free nor enslaved; no category of aged, young or children. All are included.

And in Acts 19:6 we read: “And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.” This incident featured Paul, an apostle who participated in a mini-Pentecost.

Does this have to happen every time there is a conversion? The answer is no. Why? Because in Acts 2 the Jews who heard Peter did not speak in tongues nor the Ethiopian Eunuch in chapter 8 nor the people who heard Paul in Athens in chapter 17. There are far more examples of people that never spoke in tongues than those who did.

Finally, there is 1 Corinthians 12-14. Now the big question is ‘Are the phenomena mentioned in Acts 2 and 1 Corinthians the same or different?’ The majority of churches and Bible commentators believe they were different. How? Let’s make three observations here:

Conclusion

These people literally spoke in other languages—a miraculous attention-getter for the international crowd gathered in town for the festival. All the nationalities represented recognized their own languages being spoken. It was, however, more than miraculous speaking that drew people’s attention; they saw the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. The apostles continued to minister in the Holy Spirit’s power wherever they went.

When the gathered crowd recognized that something supernatural was taking place, they naturally wanted an explanation. At this point, Peter stepped forward and explained the truth about God. This should be the pattern in our lives as well. Hopefully we are living in such a way that people will see Christ in us. If we do shine and sparkle (Matthew 5:14; Philippians 2:15) and if we are “salty” (Matthew 5:13), we will get the attention of others. They will surely want to know what is so attractive and different about us. Then we can explain our “hope” (1 Peter 3:15). What is different about your life? What supernatural evidence would cause someone to stop you and say: “What does this mean?”

Now we have the Word of God, the Bible, which is sufficient to our salvation. God has already poured His Holy Spirit on the apostles, and also for us to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Verse 39 says: “For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 1 Corinthians 12:3 says that “no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:4-5 says of God: “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.”

If you are born again, the Holy Spirit Himself will be dwelling in you. If you are in doubt of that, I encourage you to seek Christ. The Holy Spirit joins us to Christ. Then be encouraged that you have the power of the Holy Spirit to witness to him with boldness. You have been commissioned and equipped with the power of the Holy Spirit.  

– Ramy Nakhil