The disciples and followers of Jesus devoted themselves to meeting together constantly in prayer, along with the women, Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in Jerusalem, just as they had been gathering daily since his ascension, waiting for the promised Counselor Jesus had told them about.
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
Acts 2:1 (NIV)
What was this Day of Pentecost?
Pentecost means “fiftieth day,” marking the start of a Jewish holiday that fell fifty days after Passover. It was also known as the Festival of Weeks (Deut 16:10), because it came seven weeks after Passover, and as the Festival of Harvest (Exod 23:16), because it celebrated the end of the barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest. In Jewish tradition, Pentecost was seen as the day Moses received the Law on Mount Sinai. But now it would be remembered as the day the Spirit came to fulfil what God had promised through the Law and the Prophets—the day of firstfruits, when God gave the Holy Spirit to the believers. A sound of a violent wind filled the house, and out of it came what looked like tongues of fire, separating and resting upon each person gathered there.
Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Acts 2:2-4 (NIV)
Why do you think the gift of languages was given to believers first?
Jesus had promised them the Counsellor, and He had told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem and not venture out on their own. On this day, they received the Spirit, and with Him came the gift of languages. Rather than being sent out into the world, they were kept in Jerusalem, where Jews from every nation had gathered for the festival. It was there that they became witnesses to this supernatural event, as everyone in the crowd heard the good news spoken in their own language.
The crowd included Parthians, Medes and Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs. People from these different nations were hearing the disciples declare the wonders of God in their own languages.
This was, in effect, the reverse of the Tower of Babel. At Babel, God separated the people and scattered them by confusing their tongues, because mankind was pursuing its own will in building the tower. But on Pentecost, right after Jesus’s resurrection, everything was reversed. The world was brought together through the gift of tongues, and everyone was able to understand the good news in their own language. When mankind had set out to do its own will, their tongues were changed and they were divided. Now that the believers had gathered together, ready to do the will of God, God gave them a unified tongue.
Peter Addresses the Crowd
Not everyone who witnessed this responded the same way. Some genuinely wanted to know what it meant, while others rejected the supernatural event and mocked those who were speaking as being drunk.
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel…”
Acts 2:14-16 (NIV)
It was Peter who seized the opportunity to address the crowd about what they were witnessing. The people knew their prophets and their teaching, but they had only ever viewed those words theoretically. No one had witnessed the work of the Spirit at this level before, and so they were unable to connect the prophecies to what was unfolding right in front of them.
It is here that the illiterate fisherman who had travelled with Jesus for three years stepped in and explained the Scriptures to a crowd that would surely have known those very Scriptures far better than he did. Quoting the prophet Joel, and going on to give proofs from the Scriptures about how David himself had written about the Messiah, Peter took what had only ever been theory to them and showed them that it was standing fulfilled before their eyes.
Peter did not stop at proving from the Scriptures who Jesus was. He brought the crowd to the realisation that the Jesus whom they had rejected and crucified was the one God had raised from the dead. What they were witnessing was not simply an unusual event but the fulfilment of what God had promised through the prophets. He urged them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, so that they too would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.
Acts 2:38-39 (NIV)
This promise was not confined to the crowd standing before Peter that morning. It reached forward to their children and outward to all who were far off—a promise extended to every generation the Lord would call to Himself. Peter continued to warn them and urge them to break away from that corrupt generation and be rescued.
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Acts 2:41 (NIV)
About three thousand responded that day, and this newly formed body did not scatter as individuals once the crowd dispersed. Instead, they bound themselves together at once, devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.
From Fishermen to Fishers of Men
There was also a remarkable change in Peter himself. Only weeks earlier, Peter had denied even knowing Jesus three times, afraid to be associated with Him while He was on trial. Now, on the day of Pentecost, the same Peter stood before thousands and boldly proclaimed Jesus as Lord and Messiah. The man who had once been afraid to admit that he knew Jesus was now unashamed to speak about Him publicly. The arrival of the Spirit visibly transformed Peter. His fear turned to courage, his confusion to clarity, and the Scriptures he had heard throughout his years with Jesus were now brought together into a powerful and coherent message.
All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
Acts 2:44-45 (NIV)
Their devotion did not stay confined to gathering and worship; it spilled over into radical, practical generosity. They held nothing back for themselves, selling property and possessions so that no one among them would be left in need. They considered themselves one family in Christ and treated what they had as something that could be used for the good of others.
Praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2:47 (NIV)
This is what Pentecost ultimately gave us—not merely a single supernatural morning of wind and fire, but the manifestation of the Spirit of the LORD taking root in the daily life of His people. The same Spirit that had descended and rested on each of them in tongues of fire now rested visibly on their life together—in their unity, their generosity, their prayer, and their joy. The same disciples who had gathered together waiting for the promised Counsellor were now living together as a Spirit-led community, devoted to God, committed to one another, generous with what they had and willing to make Jesus known.
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