Acts of The Apostles (#2)

Acts 2:1-47

Sermon by Pastor Sylvia Chan

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In Acts chapter 1 we saw that after the resurrection, the Lord Jesus appeared to the eleven apostles (minus Judas) for a period of forty days. He taught them many things concerning the kingdom of God. He told them to stay in Jerusalem to wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and then to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. The apostles returned to Jerusalem, and they chose another disciple Matthias to replace Judas. Today we continue to study Acts chapter 2.

The baptism of The Holy Spirit at Pentecost

^ESV Acts 2:1-13 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³ And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. ⁵ Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. ⁷ And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? ⁹ Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, ¹¹ both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” ¹² And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³ But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.” (Act 2:1-13 ESV)

Here it says in verse 1, “When the day of Pentecost arrived”; the word “Pentecost” (πεντηκοστή) means the fiftieth (50^th) day, which is the Jewish harvest festival held on the fiftieth (50^th) day after the Passover. It is the second of the three great Jewish festivals celebrated at Jerusalem yearly. The Jews from different parts of the world would come to Jerusalem to celebrate this festival.

On the day of Pentecost, the disciples of the Lord Jesus were gathered together in one place, when suddenly a strong wind filled the whole house. Then what seemed to be tongues of fire came to rest on each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages. When the other people heard the violent sound, they came out to take a look, and they heard these Galileans speaking in their own languages declaring the mighty deeds of God. The people were amazed, and said to one another, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?” But some people mocked the disciples, saying, “They are filled with new wine.”

Please take notice here, that from these few statements we see that the languages that the disciples spoke were intelligible words to hearers; this is very different from the speaking in tongues today, where quite often both the people who speak in tongues and the hearers don’t know the meaning of what they are speaking.