title page. lesson eleven acts 2:1-4 1 and when the day of pentecost was fully come, they were all...

Title Page

Lesson Eleven

Acts 2:1-4

Acts 2:1-41 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 2:5-8

Acts 2:5-85 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?

Acts 2:14-16

Acts 2:14-1614 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

Acts 2:17-18

Acts 2:17-1817 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.

Focus Verse

Acts 2:1-2And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of

a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

Focus Thought

The events that transpired on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 were predicted by prophets, illuminated by Israel’s chronology of feasts and rituals, and authenticated by Jesus Himself. The

Pentecostal experience of receiving the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with other tongues is essential to the new-birth experience,

and it brings joy, power, and revival.

IntroductionIntroductionJesus Christ called the apostle Peter to an important responsibility. After Peter had made his notable profession of the identity of Christ, which Jesus observed had come by revelation and not the flesh (Matthew 16:13-17), Jesus declared that He would build His church on the foundation of that revelation (Matthew 16:18).

IntroductionFurther, He gave the keys of the kingdom of heaven to Peter and charged him with the responsibility of facilitating the establishment of the church (Matthew 16:19).

IntroductionIt is no coincidence that the apostle Peter was the featured speaker on the Day of Pentecost. He preached Jesus Christ crucified and declared the fulfillment of Christ’s promise to all believers—the inaugural message of the fledgling apostolic church. The church was born!

IntroductionFrom a feast that celebrated the firstfruits of the harvest to the beginning of a brand new church era, God unveiled a new thing and presented to all people the significance of the Day of Pentecost.

I. The Significance of Pentecost (A-C)

The Significance of Pentecost

A. The Feast of Pentecost

The Feast of Pentecost was one of three pilgrimage festivals held each year in Jerusalem (Exodus 23:17; 34:22-23). It originally was known as the Feast of Weeks because it occurred after the passing of seven weeks, or forty-nine days, after the offering of the firstfruits on the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.


The Feast of Weeks has been understood in many ways throughout the millennia. Some have seen it as the completion of the Passover festival, while others have seen it as an independent feast.


More at issue has been the significance of the feast. The Feast of Weeks was an agrarian festival celebrating the completed barley harvest as well as the firstfruits of the incoming wheat harvest. (See Exodus 34:22; Leviticus 23:15-16; Deuteronomy 16:9-10.) The Feast of Weeks was designated as a Sabbath, and therefore no work could be done (Leviticus 23:21; Numbers 28:26).


One of the principal parts of the celebration was the presentation of two loaves of leavened bread made from the firstfruits of the wheat harvest (Leviticus 23:17). The Feast of Unleavened Bread and other occasions called for unleavened bread, so the use of leaven was unique to the Feast of Weeks.


Unleavened bread became a part of Israel’s ritual life at the original Passover when they were to eat and leave in haste (Exodus 12:39). They did not have time to wait for the dough to rise, so they baked bread without leaven. Since unleavened bread was associated with Egypt, it was known as “bread of affliction” (Deuteronomy 16:3). Some have suggested that unleavened bread was the usual diet in Egypt.


The offering of leavened bread, therefore, was a demonstration that the people of Israel were no longer eating “bread of affliction,” nor were they fleeing in haste; rather, they were eating the fruit of the land—the result of planting and harvesting with their own hands.


In addition to the prescribed offerings, they offered a freewill offering “according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee” (Deuteronomy 16:10). It was therefore a time of great rejoicing as well as a time to reflect on their former slavery in Egypt (Deuteronomy 16:11-12).


Much later, the feast was referred to in the Greek-speaking world as the Feast of Pentecost, or simply Pentecost. Pentecost means fiftieth, a reference to the fiftieth day after the offering of the firstfruits on the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.


B. The Law Given Fifty Days after the First Passover

When God gave instruction to Moses to celebrate the Feast of Weeks, He mentioned nothing about the commemoration of the law; rather, it was an agrarian feast. Interestingly, the Jews have a tradition of celebrating Pentecost as the day the law was given on Sinai.


According to the New International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, the first person on record to make the association between Pentecost and the giving of the law was the great Jewish rabbi Moses Maimonides (1135-1204).


Though the Feast of Weeks is not declared in Scripture as a commemoration of the law, it seems that the feast occurs approximately the same number of days after Passover as did the events at Sinai. Passover is the fourteenth day of the first month (Exodus 12:18; Leviticus 23:4-5; Numbers 28:16); Israel departed from Egypt on the fifteenth day of the first month (Leviticus 23:6; Numbers 28:17); they arrived at Sinai on the first day of the third month, where they heard the voice of God on the third day (Exodus 19:1, 10-17).


Although it can be complex, it is possible to calculate these dates and arrive at a date for Sinai that is about fifty days removed from their departure from Egypt.


C. The Jerusalem ExperienceJesus was crucified during the Passover festivities, and on the Day of Pentecost that followed, the Holy Spirit was poured out in Jerusalem. The passing of forty-nine days was ample time for the events recorded in Scripture to occur: Christ’s time in the tomb, the forty days He spent with His disciples after his resurrection (Acts 1:3), and the days the 120 spent waiting for the coming of the Spirit (Acts 1:12-14).

I. The Significance of Pentecost (A-C)After the passing of forty-nine days, Pentecost, the fiftieth day, came. As the 120 sat in the upper room, God poured out His Spirit, inaugurating a new age in the plan of God. On that day three thousand believers present at Pentecost were filled with the Holy Spirit.

I. The Significance of Pentecost (A-C)The events that transpired were so notable that they reshaped the meaning of Pentecost, and thus the Day of Pentecost is not merely an agrarian festival or a commemoration of the law given at Sinai. It is the birthday of the New Testament church!

II. The Events of PentecostThe Events of Pentecost

The Holy Spirit was ushered in on the Day of Pentecost with great power. The Spirit was preceded by the sound of a great wind that filled the house, tongues of fire that sat upon each person, and speaking with other tongues as they received the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:1-4).

II. The Events of PentecostJust as the giving of the law at Sinai ushered in a new era, so the coming of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost ushered in a new era. The parallels between Pentecost and Sinai are remarkable! On Sinai, God spoke in a voice; at Pentecost, believers spoke in other languages as God enabled them.

II. The Events of PentecostOn Sinai, there was lightening; at Pentecost, there were cloven tongues like fire. On Sinai, there was the sound of thunder; at Pentecost, there was the sound of a rushing, mighty wind.

II. The Events of PentecostBoth the Day of Pentecost and the giving of the law on Sinai occurred fifty days after Passover. On Sinai, the law was written on tables of stone; at Pentecost, the law was written on the hearts of the people. On Sinai, three thousand were killed because of rebellion; at Pentecost, three thousand were filled with true life because of their obedient faith.

II. The Events of Pentecost (A-C)

A. The Sound of Wind

The first miraculous event on the Day of Pentecost was “a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind,” which “filled all the house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:2). Sounds of wind usually come from a horizontal direction: north, south, east, or west. But this sound came from heaven. Although there is no definitive explanation of the wind at Pentecost, it was understood to be of heavenly origin. Wind is an uncontrollable force of Creation, which can be steered by God alone.


The sound of wind coming from heaven and filling the room would certainly have arrested their attention as an act of God. Further, God had used wind on numerous occasions in Israel’s history.


God used wind to dry the waters after the flood (Genesis 8:1); an east wind brought the locust plague upon Egypt (Exodus 10:13); an east wind rolled back the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21); God used wind to supply quail to the Israelites in the wilderness (Numbers 11:31).


In both the Greek and Hebrew languages, the same word is used for wind, spirit, and breath. In John 3:8, Jesus told Nicodemus, “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” It seems that Jesus was speaking of the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit.


On another occasion, Jesus breathed on His disciples. “And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost” (John 20:22). This incident appears to be a prophetic saying of Jesus, for the disciples did not at that time receive the Holy Ghost; they received it at Pentecost.


The purpose of Jesus breathing on the disciples and commanding them to receive the Holy Spirit was (1)to show them the necessity of receiving the Holy Spirit by making it a command, (2)to signify the yet futuristic nature of the command and promise, and (3)to demonstrate the source of the Holy Ghost; i.e., it was to come from Him just like His own breath.


When the sound of wind was heard at Pentecost, the disciples probably recalled the words of Jesus and realized that what was happening was the fulfillment of His promise: “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (John 14:18). The Spirit they received was the very Spirit of Christ.


B. Tongues like Fire

In the Old Testament, the presence of God often was symbolized by fire not ignited by man. The appearance of fire evidently assured them of the presence of God.

II. The Events of Pentecost (A-C)Tongues like fire also appeared on the Day of

Pentecost when the Holy Ghost came upon the believers. Perhaps it caused the believers present to associate the coming Holy Spirit with the God of the Old Testament who also often announced Himself with fire. The Holy Ghost was the very Spirit of God—the same Spirit that appeared to Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and the high priests.

II. The Events of Pentecost (A-C)The tongues like fire also indicated that Spirit

baptism is not a corporate experience, but a personal one. The sound of the wind filled the room, but the tongues like fire sat on each believer, indicating the individual nature of Spirit baptism.

II. The Events of Pentecost (A-C)Although a large group may receive the Holy Ghost

simultaneously as they did on the Day of Pentecost, it is a personal experience. Not only had the promise arrived, but it had come to each individual who had obeyed the words of Jesus. The fire personalized the arrival of the Spirit.


C. Speaking with Other Tongues

Speaking with tongues was the only unique manifestation on the Day of Pentecost. The wind and fire associated what was about to take place with historical manifestations of God. They were a prelude to the coming of the Holy Spirit. Speaking with tongues, however, was the only sign that signaled the initial arrival of the Holy Ghost within each individual.


While commenting on the tongues like fire that sat on each of the 120, one commentator accurately observed the significance of each of the three phenomena at Pentecost: “They had heard the sound, now they see the tongues of fire, and then they feel the Spirit working in them” (Pulpit Commentary: Acts, 48, emphasis in original).


The sequence of events at Pentecost is fundamental to understanding the significance of these events: (1)the 120 gathered in the upper room to wait for the promised Spirit, (2)there came a sound of a wind from heaven,(3)split tongues like fire came upon each one,(4)they all were filled with the Holy Ghost, and(5)they all began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave the utterance.


Clearly, speaking with other tongues is the initial evidence of Spirit baptism; it was the only sign that occurred subsequent to receiving the Holy Ghost.

III. The Day of Pentecost Was . . . (A)

The Day of Pentecost Was a Fulfillment

of ProphecyA. Joel

It is clear in Acts 2 that speaking with other tongues is what caught the attention of the feast-goers. Their question “What meaneth this?” was their response to hearing the 120 believers speaking with other tongues.


Peter explained, “For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams” (Acts 2:15-17).


Peter, therefore, associated this phenomenon of speaking with tongues with the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy.

III. The Day of Pentecost Was . . . (B-D)

B. Other Prophets

Isaiah prophesied of a time when God would speak to His people through foreign languages (Isaiah 28:11-12). This prophecy’s immediate context was the Babylonian captivity in which God chastised His people through a foreign government.

III. The Day of Pentecost Was . . . (B-D)However, the last portion of the prophecy clearly

pointed to a fulfillment that transcended the Babylonian captivity: “To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear” (Isaiah 28:12).

III. The Day of Pentecost Was . . . (B-D)Paul cited this prophecy as being fulfilled in the

experience of speaking with other tongues, resulting from receiving the Pentecostal experience of being filled with the Holy Ghost. (See I Corinthians 14:21.)

III. The Day of Pentecost Was . . . (B-D)Jeremiah 31:33 and Ezekiel 36:26-27 predicted a

time when the law no longer would be on tables of stone, but it would be written in the hearts of God’s people. They referred to a time when God would put His very Spirit in the hearts of men and women. (See II Corinthians 3:3.) Thankfully, we live in the era that continues to enjoy the fulfillment of these prophetic voices!


C. John the Baptist

The baptism with the Holy Spirit was an integral part of John the Baptist’s message. He preached, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire” (Matthew 3:11). John foresaw the coming Pentecostal experience when believers would receive the presence of God into their lives.


D. Jesus Christ

The Holy Spirit baptism that first appeared on the Day of Pentecost was also part of Jesus’ message. He often referred to the Spirit that was to be poured out, the promise of the Father, and the coming Comforter. (See Luke 24:49; John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7.)

III. The Day of Pentecost Was . . . (B-D)John recorded Jesus’ proclamation at a public

celebration: “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38).

III. The Day of Pentecost Was . . . (B-D)When John recorded this event many years later,

after having experienced the Day of Pentecost, he added an interpretive statement: “(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” (John 7:39).

IV. Requirements for Pentecost

Requirements for Pentecost

The Day of Pentecost is as unrepeatable as is the day that God gave the law to Moses on Mount Sinai. The Day of Pentecost ushered in a whole new era, and that day could only occur once in history.


Accordingly, many of the circumstances surrounding Pentecost were unique to that particular day in history. The 120 had waited in Jerusalem for several days (Luke 24:49), for they could not receive the Holy Spirit until the Day of Pentecost was fully come. (See Acts 2:1-4.) Consequently, they were waiting for the coming of the Spirit.


Now that the Spirit has come, it is not necessary to wait in order to receive the Holy Ghost. As Peter and the apostles preached, repentance and faith are the only prerequisites to receiving the Holy Spirit. New Testament believers need not be in a particular place or in a group.


The Holy Spirit can be received anywhere, at any time—among a crowd or alone. Likewise, we do not expect the literal sound of wind or literal tongues like fire. These were phenomena that ushered in the new age of Pentecost.


Speaking with tongues, on the other hand, is the initial evidence that an individual has received the Holy Ghost, and this evidence continued throughout the Book of Acts and will continue until the last days are fulfilled.

V. Peter’s Explanation (A)Peter’s Explanation

Not only did this experience bring the joy of receiving the Spirit, but it was also a verification that everything in which they had placed their faith was absolutely true, and Jesus Christ was indeed Lord of all. He had sent the Comforter just as He said He would! This joyous response caused others to mock the believers and accuse them of being drunk.

V. Peter’s Explanation (A)A. The Heart of Peter’s MessagePeter addressed the crowd by dispelling the allegation of intoxication. His explanation was that the 120 had received the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy; namely, that God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh. Peter went on to preach Jesus Christ as the risen Messiah. His message was typical of the sermons preached in the Book of Acts, proclaiming the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

V. Peter’s Explanation (A)The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ is the core of the gospel message (I Corinthians 15:1-4), and it is the starting point for saving faith. People should seek to receive the Holy Ghost only after first hearing and believing the gospel message.

V. Peter’s Explanation (B)B. The Crowd’s ResponsePeter’s message was of the crucified Christ and His fulfilling His promise by pouring out the Holy Spirit upon the believers. The crowd responded naturally, “What shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). God always acts first by giving mankind the opportunity for redemption, and then it is up to mankind to respond to His grace by expressing faith in Him.

V. Peter’s Explanation (B)Peter had led the crowd to faith in Jesus Christ through his powerful preaching. Now that they believed in Jesus Christ as the Messiah, Peter told them how to act upon their new faith to receive God’s free salvation: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).

VI. Results of Pentecost (B)Results of Pentecost

The Pentecostal experience of being filled with the Spirit empowered the disciples for Christian mission. Jesus had promised, “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” (Acts 1:8). They now had more than a historical story to offer; they had a life-transforming experience.

VI. Results of Pentecost (B)More than a decade later, Paul was able to point Gentile Christians back to their own experience of Spirit baptism: “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” (Galatians 3:2).

VI. Results of Pentecost (B)Nineteen hundred years later at Azusa Street, the Pentecostal experience was claimed afresh—so much so that hundreds of millions have experienced Spirit baptism throughout the world. Today, the word Pentecost does not evoke ideas about an agrarian celebration. No, the power of the Spirit has forever changed the meaning of Pentecost, and even more so, it has changed the life of every believer who has been filled.

ReflectionsOn the Day of Pentecost, God fulfilled His long-standing promise by pouring out His Spirit upon the waiting believers—commencing the church age and a new spiritual experience of empowerment. Joel had prophesied about the coming of the Holy Spirit. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel had predicted it as well. In the New Testament, John the Baptist and Jesus Himself had also spoken of the promise that was to come.

ReflectionsGod had promised to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, taking away the stony hearts and replacing them with new hearts of flesh. He had assured His people that He would no longer write His laws on tables of stone but on every believer’s heart by the Holy Ghost!

ReflectionsAs Peter assured the crowd on that day, so it is true still today: the promise of Pentecost is for as many as the Lord shall call. The promise is to all! (See Acts 2:39.)

title page. lesson eleven acts 2:1-4 1 and when the day of pentecost was fully come, they were all...

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