Pentecost

On the Day of Pentecost, the time of fulfillment arrived when Jesus bestowed the Gift of the Spirit on his Body, the Church – Acts 2:1-4. The Book of Acts stresses the theme of fulfillment. The things foreshadowed in the Hebrew scriptures found their substance when the disciples were “filled with the Spirit and began to speak in other tongues.” This was the seminal event that marked the inauguration of the Church and the Age of the Spirit, and especially the start of the Final Harvest.

With the outpouring of the Spirit, Christ’s commandment to wait for empowerment from on high bore fruit - “Tarry in Jerusalem until you receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, then you will be my witnesses… to the ends of the Earth” - (Acts 2:1-4).

[Photo by Boudewijn Huysmans on Unsplash]

The Church’s proclamation of the Gospel began in Jerusalem following the receipt of the Spirit, and the Book of Acts concludes with Paul proclaiming the “Kingdom of God” to Jews and Gentiles alike in Rome, the center of the Empire.

The Messiah of Israel was now the Lord of all the Earth reigning from God’s very presence; therefore, he exercised his authority over the nations by sending his “Good News” across the planet through his Spirit-filled Assembly, “beginning in Jerusalem”- (Psalm 2:6-9, Matthew 28:18-20, Revelation 1:4-6).

In Ancient Israel, the Feast of Pentecost celebrated the completion of the barley harvest. It occurred fifty days after Passover, hence the Greek name ‘pentekosté.’ It was known also as the “Feast of Weeks,” and the “Feast of Harvest, the first fruits of your labors” - (Leviticus 23:11-16, Deuteronomy 16:9-10).

The Greek noun translated as “Pentecost” means “fiftieth.” The highlight of the feast was the offering of the first sheaf in the Temple, the “first fruits” of the coming harvest.  Every male able to do so was required to appear in the Temple during the Feast - (Exodus 34:22-23).

On this occasion, the entire congregation of 120 disciples was assembled in the city “in one accord.” The number 120 is a multiple of twelve (12 x 10), the number of the twelve tribes of Israel. Just as the apostles elected a twelfth member to complete their number, Matthias. The entirety of the new covenant community was gathered in anticipation of the Spirit’s arrival – (Acts 1:15-26).

The granting of the Spirit on that day was no coincidence. Its theological significance is indicated by the Greek verb ‘sumpléroō’, which is translated as “fully come” and similar terms in several English translations. It signifies something that has been “filled up completely” - to fill a vessel to the brim to the point of overflowing.

What the Levitical feast symbolized arrived as the age of the Spirit dawned.  God gave the “first fruits” of the end-time harvest that was foreshadowed in the ancient ritual, namely, the Gift of the Spirit and the resulting harvest of 3,000 souls that same day - (Romans 8:23, Luke 24:49).

The men present that day heard “a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind.” The event was described with two analogies - “like a wind” and “tongues like fire.” At the end of his sermon on Pentecost, Peter described how the newly exalted Jesus had “poured this forth, which you see and hear.” The arrival of the Spirit was confirmed by audible and visible signs – (Acts 2:33).

The visible tongues that appeared like fire were “parting asunder.” This rendering represents the Greek verb ‘diamerizô’, “to cleave asunder; cut in pieces.” The image is of “tongues of fire” being separated from a single flame and distributed to each of the 120 men and women who received the Spirit and “began to speak in tongues.”

The significance of the “tongues of fire” is not readily apparent, and Peter made no reference to them in his sermon. Likewise, the crowd reacted to hearing the disciples “speaking in tongues,” but nothing is said about the “tongues of fire” or the wind-like sound (“They were confounded because every man heard them speaking in his own language”).

However, the “tongues of fire” recall the prophecy of John the Baptist that the Messiah would baptize Israel “in Spirit and Fire,” and Acts referenced this very thing in its opening verses – (Matthew 3:11, Acts 1:5: “For John indeed baptized with water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days hence”).

SPEAKING IN TONGUES

“They began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” The Book of Acts provides only a few details about this phenomenon. The disciples did not speak languages they knew already - this was a supernatural occurrence – nor did they speak gibberish.

The crowd near the Temple was composed of pilgrims from several nations, and they understood the words of the disciples (“Because that every man heard them speaking in his own language… And how we hear every man in our own language wherein we were born?”).

This is the only instance in the New Testament where “speaking in tongues” is identified as a known human language. Elsewhere, the gift is described as speaking in “unknown” tongues, and even “tongues of angels” – (1 Corinthians 13:1, 14:1-9).

There is a distinct experiential aspect to this story as told to us. The Book of Acts is not only presenting theological propositions about the Gift of the Spirit, but it also describes what the 120 disciples experienced, and what the crowd of pilgrims observed.

The events that day included visual and audible phenomena that were unusual enough to cause confusion and excitement among the men who observed this incident but did not themselves experience the outpouring of the Spirit. They were struck by what they “saw and heard.”

The outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost was a life-changing and epochal event, the arrival of the long-promised Gift of the Spirit, the empowerment of the Church for ministry, and the commencement of the period known in Scripture as the “Last Days.”

[PDF Copy]

SEE ALSO:

• Wait in Jerusalem - (Jesus commanded his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received the Spirit, empowering them to be his witnesses on the earth- Acts 1:1-11)

• The Full Number - (Between the Ascension and the outpouring of the Spirit, the Apostles prayed and appointed Matthias to complete their number - Acts 1:12-26)

• The Final Harvest - (The description of the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost stresses the theme of fulfillment, including the start of the Final Harvest)

• Attendre À Jérusalem - (Jésus a ordonné à ses disciples d'attendre à Jérusalem jusqu'à ce qu'ils reçoivent l'Esprit, leur donnant le pouvoir d'être ses témoins - Actes 1:1-11)