A PENTECOSTAL CHURCH
George Butterfield
May 18, 1997
A. The story in Acts 2 is one of the most important ones in all of scripture. Jesus has formed a band of disciples. He has lived with them for 3 years demonstrating the love of God. Jesus has been the bearer of the Holy Spirit, the very presence and power of God. And he has promised his disciples that his Father would send them the same Spirit to dwell in his Church forever. Jesus died, he was raised and then for 40 days appeared to his disciples. Before he ascended to the Father, he told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until God fulfilled his promise, the promise to baptize them in the Holy Spirit. After 10 days of waiting and praying, the events of Acts 2 unfold.
B. Acts 2:1-21.
I. A Look at the Text.
A. V. 1-
1. "day of Pentecost"-
a. Pentecost was one of the three main feast days in Judaism. It was one of the feasts that Jews would try to celebrate in Jerusalem. Thus, there would be a lot of pilgrims in the city.
b. It was known among Hebrew-speaking people as the "feast of weeks" and also as "the day of the first-fruits" because it was the day when the first-fruits of wheat harvest were presented to God.
c. It was celebrated with great joy because it was the completion of a lot of hard work in harvesting the crops.
d. Pentecost was also inevitably an occasion for covenant renewal. Year by year as the Israelites participated in this agrarian festival they gave thanks to Yahweh for showing his faithfulness by providing another harvest to sustain them through the coming year, and they thereby affirmed their covenant bond to him.
e. Finally, in the inter-testamental period and later, Pentecost was regarded as the anniversary of the giving of the law at Sinai. Thus, today it functions for modern Jews as a "confirmation day" in which a faithful Jew reaffirms his commitment to the law of God.
2. "they were all together"- is this the 120 or the 12? We don't know, although we do know that the promised Holy Spirit was for all of Jesus' disciples.
B. Vv. 2-4-
1. What do they experience? Wind, fire, filled with the Spirit, and other languages.
2. Wind and fire are symbols of the divine presence. We are reminded of Ezekiel's dry bones and the breath of God coming into them and giving them life. We think of Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus about the Spirit being like the wind. We remember the fire of the burning bush and the baptism of fire preached by John the Baptist.
3. And then they begin to speak in other languages. Without getting into a lot of the controversy that surrounds this gift from God let me simply say that
a. I believe that the gift of tongues that is described by Paul in 1 Corinthians is different than the gift mentioned here.
b. What you have in this text is clearly foreign languages.
C. V. 5-
1. "devout"- Here, as in the gospel, he points out that God works through the pious who are not necessarily the famous.
2. "living in Jerusalem"- Whether these residents were pilgrims to Jerusalem because of the Feast of Pentecost or permanent residents from the communities of Diaspora Jews is not clear. The term may indicate only temporary abode. Some could have been in the city since Passover.
D. Vv. 6-8-
1. "sound"- the language of the apostles, not the wind.
2. "the crowd gathered"- probably in the temple.
3. Notice that what they experienced was bewildering. They were amazed and astonished.
4. You would not expect a group of Galileans to be able to speak all of the languages that were present (vv. 9-11a).
E. V. 11- "God's deeds of power"- The praises of God in various tongues were heard frequently in Jerusalem during the great festivals, when so many pilgrims from the Diaspora were present in the city. Now, to their surprise, these pilgrims heard the praises of God in all the tongues of the Diaspora being uttered by Galilaeans of all people! It definitely got their attention.
F. Vv. 12-13- meaning? Sweet wine?
G. Vv. 14-21- Peter's sermon is divided into two main sections: an explanation of the phenomenon that had drawn the wondering multitude together (vv. 14-21) and an outline of the kerygma, the apostolic proclamation (vv. 22-36). We will look at the first section only this morning.
1. V. 15- "drunk/nine o'clock"- This was the hour of prayer after which Jews would take their first food. People generally need more time to get drunk. Peter is probably being humorous, contrasting spirits and the Spirit.
2. V. 17-
a. "in the last days"- The outpouring of the Spirit was proof that the last days had begun.
b. During the Old Testament period the Spirit of God would come upon some and not all. On one occasion, the Spirit came upon some men unexpectantly and the leaders went to Moses all concerned about it. His response was almost prophetic when he said, "Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!"
c. Joel had prophesied that this would happen in the last days. Peter quotes him. The Spirit would be poured out upon "all flesh."
(1) He goes to great lengths to emphasize what he means by "all flesh" (vv. 17-18).
(2) Though all flesh presages the conversion of the Gentiles, it is obvious Peter did not think of them because of the many ways God had to nudge him into going to them with the gospel (Acts 10).
3. Vv. 19-20- Joel says that this day is a day of cataclysmic consequences. And he uses apocalyptic language to express the significance of these events. Things will never be the same after this Pentecost.
4. V. 21- "calls"- What was a call to repentance in Joel becomes a call by Peter to accept Jesus (vv. 36, 38), a call to repent and become one of Jesus' disciples.
II. What is the Significance of Pentecost for Us Today?
A. In Genesis 11:1-9 humanity, disobedient to God, was dispersed by the confusion of tongues. At Pentecost the curse of Babel was reversed, and the fragmentation caused by sin was countered by the unity effected by Christ. Through the Spirit, humans can speak the same language again. The Book of Acts is the story of the Spirit breaking down dividing walls and making diverse people one. The Spirit brings unity, not division. Vv. 17-18- "all flesh."
B. For Luke, Pentecost is the climax of all that has gone before.
1. From the start of the ministry of Jesus we are pointed forward, not to the death of Jesus, but beyond that to the baptism which he would give (Luke 3:15-17).
2. And even at the ascension we are still looking forward to that baptism, still unfulfilled (Luke 24:44-49). Just from reading Luke I think you'd conclude:
a. There's something more.
b. This story is not finished.
3. Peter makes this same point in his Pentecost sermon (Acts 2:29-33).
a. The climax and purposed end of Jesus' ministry is not the cross and resurrection, but the ascension and Pentecost.
b. It was only at Pentecost by the gift of the Spirit that the benefits and blessings won by Jesus in his death, resurrection and ascension were applied to the disciples.
(1) One scholar has said, "Calvary without Pentecost would not be an atonement *to us*."
(2) Another has said, "Jesus' death and resurrection go for nothing and are wholly ineffective without the gift of the Spirit."
C. Pentecost is a new beginning - the inauguration of the new age, the age of the Spirit - that which had not been before.
1. Although Pentecost is the climax of all that went before, it is not merely a continuation of what went before.
2. During his ministry Jesus has been the man of the Spirit, the bearer of the Spirit, but not yet Lord of the Spirit (2:33). He is not yet the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit.
3. But on Pentecost Jesus is revealed in all his glory and the prophecy of John the Baptist is fulfilled when he pours out the Holy Spirit into the Church.
4. The Church of Jesus Christ is a Spirit-filled Church. That's why I used "Pentecostal" in my sermon title. I don't believe that we should allow others to steal all the good words!
a. "Pentecostal" is a good word. On Pentecost the new age began.
b. "Charismatic" is another good word. It refers to a church that receive gifts from God through his grace.
c. I'd better get off of my soapbox or I'm liable to start talking about other stolen terms such as "catholic" and "orthodox."
d. Brothers and sisters, let's quit being so reactionary.
(1) This is true of words. It's also true of other things (e.g., prayer postures such as kneeling or raising one's hands).
(2) Fear of what others will think is not a mark of the Spirit. Where the Spirit is there is freedom, boldness and joy.
D. Pentecost inaugurates the age of the Church.
1. Whose birthday is it today?
2. For Luke, the church is a missionary body (Acts 1:8). Not even the first stage of the campaign is begun until the Spirit is given. But when the Spirit comes, the worldwide mission starts at full gallop. The Church of Jesus Christ now has the power to be the redemptive community that Jesus called her to be.
3. Churches of Christ are struggling. We are not an evangelistic people. Our missionary endeavors are often very weak. Our response? Tweak the message or the forms when what we really need to do is be dependent again upon the Spirit of the living God.
a. The early church was a missionary people. The early church was a praying people. The early church was a Spirit-filled people. Are we?
b. Can we who were born on Pentecost rediscover the power and mission of the Spirit who was poured out upon us on that day? By God's grace, I believe we can.
Conclusion
A. May we be a people who are filled with the Holy Spirit and produce the fruit of that indwelling.
B. Where there is disunity, may we be people of the Spirit and work for unity.
C. A new day has dawned. The Spirit has been given. May we live in the power, the joy, and the boldness of this new age.
D. Happy birthday Church of Jesus Christ. May we be renewed and rediscover our calling, our mission, and the Spirit who makes all things new.