Text: Acts 2
1. The Prophecy of Pentecost.
Acts
2:1 says, “And when the day of Pentecost
was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” Pentecost is a
Greek word meaning “fiftieth day.” It marks fifty days after Passover. It is
still celebrated by the Jews as Shavuot. The previous Jewish holiday, called
The Feast of the Firstfruits, is celebrated on the Sunday following the
celebration of Passover, which is quite significant since this feast comes on
the day Jesus rose from the dead! His day celebrates the first fruits of the
barley harvest. The Lord Jesus celebrated First Fruits in the appropriate
manner by rising from the dead on that day. He also gave the Father His proper
First Fruits offering; graves were opened and dead people rose and were seen
after His resurrection in Jerusalem (Matt. 27: 52,53). “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But
every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are
Christ’s at His coming” (I Cor. 15:22–23). The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost
is the celebration of the first fruits of the wheat harvest. Now we celebrate
the beginning of the great harvest of the church, “…all things are ready…” (Matthew 22:4b). “…Look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest…” (John
4:35b). Pentecost was the day the Jews originally celebrated when Moses was
given the Law on Mount Sinai. Pentecost now becomes the day when we commemorate
the beginning movement of the church! This is reminiscent of Ezekiel’s vision
of the dry bones that became animated: “Thus
saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into
you, and ye shall live” (Ezekiel 37:5). “For
the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John
1:17). Jesus died for our sins. Three days later He rose from the dead; then
another forty days later He ascended to the right hand of the Father (Luke
24:50-52) and ten days after that He sent the Holy Spirit on the Day of
Pentecost. And now the covenant of New Testament of Jesus Christ is in full
force! “For where a testament is, there
must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of
force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the
testator liveth” (Hebrews 9:16,17).
2. The Participation of Pentecost.
Luke
goes on to tell us in the latter part of verse 1, “…they were all with one accord in one place.” It was no mere
coincidence that these words are recorded in Holy Writ. God reveals that when
God’s people get along it is like the sweet perfumed air when the anointed
priests were together in the corporate worship in Jerusalem. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for
brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1). Whether it is Old
Testament or New Testament, the Lord extends a blessing of His own presence in
a powerful way when God’s people get along.
3. The Posture of Pentecost.
“And suddenly there came a sound from
heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were
sitting” (Acts 2:2). God can do anything He
wants to do, anyway He wants to do it, but I always like it when He does a good
thing in a sudden or immediate way. “…And
immediately his leprosy was cleansed” (Matthew 8:3b). “…And immediately their eyes received sight…” (Matthew 20:34b). “…And immediately the fever left her…”
(Mark 1:31b). “And immediately he arose…”
(Mark 2:12a). “…And immediately he received
his sight…” (Mark 10:52b). “And his
mouth was opened immediately…” (Luke 1:64a). “…And immediately her issue of blood stanched” (Luke 8:44c). The
main emphasis I want you to see here is the Holy Spirit came while they were in
a posture of rest, “…where they were
sitting” (Acts 2:2c). The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost is spoken of in
Exodus 34:21,22: “Six days thou shalt
work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest
thou shalt rest. And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits
of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.” God is
giving us insight to how the harvest is to be gathered. In the same way this
holiday of harvest is commemorated by resting, the Lord tells us in Hebrews
4:9,10, “There remaineth therefore a rest
to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased
from his own works, as God did from his.” “…Not by might, nor by power, but by
my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6c).
4. The Power of Pentecost.
In
verses 3 and 4 we learn that tongues of fire hovered over these one hundred and
twenty disciples in the upper room. I believe it was the same upper room where
the disciples partook of the Lord’s Supper. What a sight this must have been!
Fire has long been a symbol of God’s presence and God’s power. Exodus 13:21
teaches us that God led the children of Israel with a pillar of fire by night.
On Sinai, God came down: “And mount Sinai
was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the
smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked
greatly” (Exodus 19:18). This reminds us that in Acts 4:31, the place was
shaken when the people were filled with the Holy Spirit. “The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of
the fire” (Deuteronomy 5:4). “And the
angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a
bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was
not consumed” (Exodus 3:2). In Acts 2:4, the Bible says, “And they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost….” Earlier John 20:22 records, “And
when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the
Holy Ghost.” Years ago I heard it said that Jesus exhaled and on them and
on the Day of Pentecost, the church inhaled.
5. The Purpose of Pentecost.
For
the remainder of the chapter, verses 5 through 47, we see the resulting effect
of the Day of Pentecost. In Acts 2:8 every man heard the Word of God in his own
tongue. Acts 2:13 shows us the disciples were under the influence of God so
strongly that their behavior was modified. In Acts 2:32 the disciples were
consumed with getting out the message of “This
Jesus….” We come to the end of this great day with these final words, “…And the Lord added to the church daily
such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47b). The result of the Day of Pentecost
was people were saved. This is the supreme purpose of the empowering of the
Church: that people might be saved and that the Great Commission could more
effectively be carried out. The Holy Spirit purifies, sanctifies and energizes
the Church. He gives gifts to the church as mentioned in Romans 12, I
Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4. There is a phrase found in Scripture that
points out that this gifting “…maketh
increase of the body…” (Ephesians 4:16c). When we are operating in the
fullness of the Spirit there is an increase in the Body of Christ. Acts 1:8
spells out the purpose of the power of Pentecost: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea,
and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Oh that we might
be consumed with the purpose of God in our ministry, i.e. the salvation of lost
souls and their discipleship!
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