Acts  Sermon Series

Wheelersburg Baptist Church 1/28/2001 Brad Brandt

Acts 2:1-13 "What Really Happened at Pentecost?"**

I. Consider the event of Pentecost (1-4).

A. There was a unique sound (2).

1. It was like powerful wind.

2. It came from heaven.

B. There was a unique sight (3).

1. It was like fire.

2. It came on each of them.

C. There was unique speaking (4).

1. It resulted from the Spirit’s filling.

2. It resulted in other languages.

II. Consider the effects of Pentecost (5-13).

A. Many were amazed (5-12).

1. They came together (5-6).

2. They asked questions (7-10).

3. They heard the wonders of God in their own language (11-12).

B. Some were amused (13).

1. They ignored the message.

2. They mocked the messengers.

III. Consider the explanation of Pentecost (14-41). – next time

Implications: Pentecost guarantees us the following…

1. The Holy Spirit has come.

2. If we have Christ, we have the Holy Spirit.

3. We can fulfill our mission.

The day began as normal. The sun broke through the darkness in the eastern sky. Most people took a business as usual approach throughout the city. Life in Jerusalem had pretty much returned to the way it had been before the earth-shaking events hit the city seven weeks earlier.

The crowds that had cried, "Crucify Him!" were now silent. And though reports were circulating that Jesus of Nazareth had risen from the dead and had even been seen by His followers, there had been no news for ten days now. It had been quiet since the day He left the earth in a cloud.

For the inhabitants of the world, the tenth day began as a very ordinary day. And even for the small band of Jesus’ followers—some 120 of them—the day began as the previous nine days had. They were meeting together in a upper room, waiting for something special to occur. They knew it was coming. They just didn’t know when.

Though they didn’t know it when they woke up, today would be the day. And this day would be a day that would change not only their lives, but the world forever.

Nearly two thousand years have passed, and without question that day is one of the most significant days in the history of the world. Yet also without question, it has become one of the most controversial days.

I’m speaking of the day of Pentecost. Pentecost. The word itself means
"The Fiftieth." It was so called because it was a holiday that fell on the fiftieth day, a week of weeks, after Passover.

There were three Jewish festivals to which every Jew living within thirty miles of Jerusalem was legally bound to come—the Feast of Tabernacles, Passover, and Pentecost. The Passover fell in the middle of April. That meant that Pentecost occurred at the beginning of June. That also meant that at least as many Jews came to Jerusalem for Pentecost as they did for Passover, since the time of the year afforded the best traveling conditions.

As William Barclay observes, "Never was there a more international crowd in Jerusalem than at the time of Pentecost." Jews from literally all over the known world made the trip to the House of God for this yearly feast.

Historically, Pentecost commemorated the giving of God’s Law to Moses at Mount Sinai. Furthermore, it had agricultural significance. At Passover, the Jews offered the year’s first omer of barley to God, while at Pentecost they offered Him two loaves of bread in appreciation for the harvest.

That’s why the Jews also referred to Pentecost as the Feast of Harvest (Ex 23:16) and the Feast of Weeks (Deut 16:10), as well as the day of first-fruits (Num 28:26). For nearly fifteen centuries, since God gave the command to Moses in Leviticus 23:15-16, the Jews had observed the holy day called Pentecost.

But this Pentecost would be unlike any other. Why? What made it so unique? We’ll find out this morning as we open our Bibles and investigate the account of Acts 2.

Jesus, of course, died as the Passover Lamb. Three days later He conquered death and appeared to His followers in His resurrected body.

For the next forty days He met with His followers. He taught them about the kingdom of God (3). Then He gave them two specific commands.

First, He told them to wait. They were to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit (4-5). Then, secondly, after the Spirit came, they were to stop waiting and start witnessing. "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses (8)."

Those were His final instructions. And Jesus’ followers took them to heart. According to verses 12-26, they waited. They returned to the upper room in Jerusalem and waited. The ten day waiting period was hardly a time of inactivity, for while waiting they prayed, pondered Scripture, and prepared for their mission by selecting an apostolic replacement for Judas.

Then it happened. Pentecost came. It’s unfortunate, but many believers today don’t know what really happened at Pentecost, and why it happened. Still others shy away from the subject of Pentecost. "That’s the day they spoke in tongues, isn’t it?" Yes, it is, but tongues-speaking was just one visible effect of something very amazing that occurred. And sadly, because of the misunderstandings and abuses associated with Pentecost, we have shortchanged ourselves.

Know this. You wouldn’t be here today were it not for Pentecost. You wouldn’t have the ability to live the Christian life were it not for Pentecost. You couldn’t appropriate the benefits of Christ and experience His life-changing presence were it not for Pentecost.

So what really happened at Pentecost? We need not wonder for God’s Word tells us very clearly, not only what happened, but why it happened.

We must pay close attention to the text of God’s Word as we approach this subject. In Acts 2:1-41, Luke explains what really happened at Pentecost. He clarifies three aspects of Pentecost for us. We’ll examine the first two aspects today by looking at verses 1-13 as we address the question, What happened? Next time, we’ll see Why it happened? as we investigate verses 14-41.

In referring to the event of Pentecost, I have in mind the particular Pentecost that occurred in the year A.D. 30. Luke begins the narrative in verse 1, "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place."

According to scholar, Joachim Jeremias, the city of Jerusalem had about 55,000 inhabitants. But during special feasts, the number grew to some 180,000. So it’s likely that on this particular Pentecost the city of Jerusalem was jam-packed with Jews from all over the world.

Those who believed in Jesus were meeting together, Luke says "in one place," as they had been for ten days now. Waiting. Then it happened. Not gradually, but according to verse 2 suddenly. The Holy Spirit came, just as Jesus promised. His coming was accompanied by three features.

A. There was a unique sound (2). "Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting."

The first special feature of Pentecost was a unique sound. The disciples heard something. The author of Acts, Luke, informs us of a couple of characteristics of this sound.

1. It was like powerful wind. It wasn’t wind, but rather like wind. "There came a sound from heaven like a rushing mighty wind," as the KJV puts it. This was more than a gentle breeze. The sound was loud and forceful, with the intensity of a tornado.

It’s significant that in both Hebrew and Greek, the words for "wind" and "spirit" are the same. The followers of Jesus no doubt caught the connection.

For instance, the prophet Ezekiel used the term ruah six centuries earlier to describe the Spirit of God moving over a valley of dry bones. Do you recall the scene? In a vision, Ezekiel saw a valley full of lifeless bones, symbolizing the dead condition of his people. God told him to prophesy, and as he did he heard a noise, a rattling sound. The bones came together, bone to bone (7). Then tendons and flesh appeared on the bones, and skin covered them, but there was still no "breath" (ruah) in them.

Until Ezekiel called out at God’s command (9): "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breath into these slain, that they may live." And breath (ruah) entered them, and they came to life!

What did the believers hear that day? The sound of a mighty wind. They certainly recalled Jesus’ words to Nicodemus in John 3:8, "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." A second characteristic of the sound…

2. It came from heaven. Luke says the sound "came from heaven and filled the whole house." This was a heaven sent sound. The source of this sound was heaven itself, the dwelling place of God. Yes, it was a unique sound.

A second feature accompanied the Holy Spirit’s arrival. The first feature affected the auditory, the second the visual.

B. There was a unique sight (3). "They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them." Notice two things about this sight.

1. It was like fire. Throughout the Bible, fire is a symbol of God’s presence. In Exodus 3:2-4, God appeared to Moses in the burning bush. In Exodus 24:17, when God gave the Ten Commandments there was a consuming fire on Mount Sinai. And so, when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, there was the visual presence of fire.

But what does fire actually do? I’m indebted to observations by James Boice at this point. He rightly notes that fire produces two things: light and warmth.

We tend to forget that fire is a source of light because we live in an age of electricity. When we think of light, we think of flipping a switch on a wall. Not so in the ancient world. Light came either by sun or by fire.

When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, the result was spiritual illumination. From that point forward, wherever the gospel of Christ went it brought enlightenment. It transferred people out of darkness and into the light. Do you remember the day the Spirit caused the light to shine in your life?

Fire also brings warmth. The problem isn’t just that the world is in darkness. It’s also as cold as ice. To live without God is to be numb. The world is impersonal, harsh, and unloving. And the hearts of men are cold.

But when the Holy Spirit works, He warms cold hearts. He did in John Wesley’s life. When the Lord reached Wesley in that little chapel at Aldersgate in London, Wesley testified in response, "My heart was strangely warmed."

But it wasn’t just fire they saw at Pentecost. Luke says, specifically, they saw what seemed to be "tongues of fire."

What do we do with our tongues? We speak with them. Which is exactly what Jesus’ followers will do as a result of the Spirit’s coming. They will be empowered to speak as we shall soon see. Notice something else about this fire.

2. It came on each of them. The tongues of fire entered the room, separated, and came to rest on each of those present. No one was missed. All 120 believers experienced the same thing.

Don’t miss that. The Holy Spirit didn’t come on the most spiritual, but on all of them. The coming of the Spirit brought unity, not division.

A third feature came next. Following the unique sound and unique sight…

C. There was unique speaking (4). "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

Notice please that all of them participated in this unique speaking. No one was left out. In addition, we learn two specific facts about this unique speaking in verse 4.

1. It resulted from the Spirit’s filling. And…

2. It resulted in other languages. More about that in a moment, but first allow me to clarify something. Please realize that the Holy Spirit was not induced into coming because the believers prayed. Jesus had already promised the Spirit would come. He didn’t tell them that they needed to pray to receive the Holy Spirit. He just told them to wait and it would happen.

There are some today who believe and teach that receiving the Holy Spirit involves a second work of grace. That is, you become a Christian when you believe in Christ, but to receive the Holy Spirit, you must do something else—namely, earnestly seek Him through prayer and the prayers of others.

That’s a popular teaching in our day, but is that what the Scriptures teach? The answer is no. The New Testament nowhere commands believers to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Holy Spirit was a historical event that occurred in the book of Acts.

Just as Christ died once, rose again once, and ascended to heaven one time, so the Holy Spirit came one time. And He hasn’t left since. At Pentecost He baptized all the followers of Christ, even including those who would come later, into one body, the body of Christ.

Let me say it again. We are not to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It’s a "done deal." If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you’ve already been baptized by the Spirit into Christ. Paul makes that clear in 1 Corinthians 12:13, "For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews of Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink." A person experiences the benefit of the baptism of the Holy Spirit at the moment of regeneration (that is, when he is "born again").

It saddens my heart that so many people are seeking something they already have. Know this. If you have Christ, you have the Spirit. You have been baptized by the Holy Spirit, and He will never leave you.

But the "filling" of the Spirit is different. Unlike the baptism of the Spirit which occurred once, being filled with the Spirit is something continual. It’s possible to be a believer and not be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Answer this. Was the apostle Peter filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost? Yes he was according to verse 4. But Acts 4:8 says he was filled again. Indeed, many of the same people who were filled with the Spirit in Acts 2 were filled again in Acts 4:31. Stephen was a man "full of faith and the Holy Spirit," according to Acts 6:5. But Acts 7:55 states that he was filled again.

Follow me. There is no command to be baptized by the Spirit—since that’s already happened. But the Bible does command us regarding the filling of the Spirit. Paul says in Ephesians 5:18, "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit."

But what does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? Look again at verse 4. What happened to the believers at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit filled them? They began to speak. Don’t miss that. In the New Testament, there’s a strong connection between the filling of the Spirit and speaking.

In the NT, when the Holy Spirit filled someone, they began to speak. When the Holy Spirit filled the believers in Acts 4:31, they "spoke the word of God boldly." It was because of the Spirit’s filling of Stephen in Acts 7:55 that he testified verbally about Christ, even though it cost him his life.

Even in Ephesians 5 we see this connection. In verse 18 Paul commands us to be filled with the Spirit. What does he say will happen if we are? According to verse 19 it will show up in our speech: "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord."

When people are filled with the Spirit, it affects their mouths. They speak in ways that bring attention to Christ. That’s exactly what happened in Acts 2. The Spirit-filled believers began to speak.

Let’s make it personal. If you want to know whether a person is filled with the Spirit, here’s the test. Check out their speech. A Spirit-filled person will speak, as James Boice puts it, "often and effectively about Jesus."

Jesus made that connection in His final words (1:8), "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses." In other words, Jesus was saying, when the Holy Spirit comes you will use your mouths to tell others about Me.

Is that happening in your life? We all have neighbors who need Christ. Have you told them about the Savior? Perhaps you’ve been fearful. Or maybe you just don’t know what to say. Start here. Ask God to fill you with His Spirit, and then look out! The Holy Spirit will enable you to speak for Christ in ways you could never do in your own strength.

He certainly did in the early church. Within one generation, He used a group of ordinary, blue-collar-type people to fill the Roman Empire with the message of Christ.

And it all began in Acts 2. At Pentecost there was unique speaking which resulted from the Spirit’s filling.

But there was something peculiar about how they spoke. This unique speaking, secondly, resulted in other languages.

Luke says they spoke in "other tongues." The Greek term is glossa. It clearly refers, not to some sort of gibberish, but to other languages. In fact, Luke actually uses another, more specific term in verses 6 & 8, translated "language" in the NIV. It’s the Greek term dialekto, from which we get the English word "dialect." Luke uses the terms glossa and dialekto interchangeably.

Perhaps you’re wondering, "Does the Holy Spirit still enable Christians to speak in ‘tongues’ today?" Though opinions abound, I believe the answer is no. Granted, the Spirit enables us to speak, but not to speak in glossa. That unique mode of speaking fulfilled a special purpose in the transitional period between the day of Pentecost and the completion of the canon of Scriptures.

But that purpose has been completed. We don’t need to speak in tongues. You say, "Well then, why did the Holy Spirit enable the believers at Pentecost to speak in other languages?" Peter himself answered that question in his sermon which begins in verse 14. We’ll consider his answer when we get to that section next week.

Back to our initial question. What really happened at Pentecost? In short, at Pentecost the church was born. Pentecost is indeed the birthday of the church. On the day of Pentecost, God baptized His people into one spiritual body, the body of Christ. It was a one time, historical event. The baptism occurred as the sovereign work of God, not because people sought it.

The tongues of fire separated and came to rest on each of Jesus’ followers. There was no hierarchy, no spiritually elite group in the church. They all received the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not the possession of some advanced, more "spiritual" group of individuals. If Jesus is your Savior, you have the Holy Spirit.

On the day of Pentecost, God the Holy Spirit came to this world, baptized His church, and began this unique period of time in God’s redemptive plan known as the church age.

Are you a part of the church? The church is at the center of what God is doing in the world today. I hope you cherish the church.

We’ve considered the event of Pentecost. Now let’s consider…

What happened as a result of the Spirit’s coming? His coming produced two different effects in the lives of people. First…

A. Many were amazed (5-12). Luke explains in verses 5-6, "Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language."

Remember, there was never a more cosmopolitan gathering in Jerusalem than during one of the holidays like Pentecost. But as a consequence of the Spirit’s arrival three things happened to this diverse crowd.

1. They came together (5-6). They heard the sound, probably referring to the sound of the violent wind, and they came together in search of an explanation.

By this time, the disciples had moved from the room to the streets. When the crowd came upon them, they were startled by what they heard. Each one heard his mother tongue being spoken. So not surprisingly…

2. They asked questions (7-10). "Utterly amazed, they asked, ‘Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egpyt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs."

Notice their first question. Aren’t these men Galileans? Galilee, of course, was located in the north near the Sea of Galilee. The Galilean dialect was noted for its confusing of the various gutteral sounds. The typical stereotype of a Galilean was that he was an ignorant, unsophisticated country bumpkin who had a funny accent.

But now, all of the sudden, these uneducated "hicks" are speaking with amazing linguistic power. And they were speaking in dialects from all over the world!

In fact, Luke lists 15 different language groups, ranging from the Parthians (in modern Iran) to Phrygia and Pamphylia (in Asia Minor) to Libya (in northern Africa) to Rome (in Europe).

What’s the point of the list? It’s to show that people from all over the world were there. When you stop and think about it, the church of Jesus Christ still speaks in many tongues. Yet it’s one church.

What happened at Pentecost was the reversal of Babel. At the Tower of Babel, God confused languages and separated people. But at Pentecost, He restored languages and brought people together. Such is the power of the Spirit!

3. They heard the wonders of God in their own language (11-12). "We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues! Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, ‘What does this mean?’"

Yes, at Pentecost many were amazed. But not everybody.

B. Some were amused (13). "Some, however, made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine.’"

There always seems to be a few in the crowd who won’t get serious about anything. They saw the same evidence the others saw, but they wrote it off. In short…

1. They ignored the message. They heard the wonders of God the disciples proclaimed, but they turned a deaf ear to it. Instead…

2. They mocked the messengers. That’s a common response to this day. Perhaps it’s what you’re doing. You can’t ignore the message of God’s Word, so you mock the messenger.

Know this. You can mock God’s work, but you can’t stop it! What happened at Pentecost was just the beginning. The band of 120 wouldn’t stay small for long. And the mocking of the amused would soon turn into all out assault. Such was the effect of Pentecost.

We’ll do that next time, but first let’s ponder some implications.

I’d like to mention three guarantees.

1. The Holy Spirit has come. We celebrate Christmas, the coming of the second person of the Trinity to the world, and so we should. But why not Pentecost? At Pentecost, the third person of the Trinity came to the world.

Let that sink in, beloved. The Spirit has come! People tend to go to one of two extremes. They either tend to ignore the Spirit or be enamored with Him. Both are wrong. Thank God today that the Holy Spirit has come.

2. If we have Christ, we have the Holy Spirit. Make it personal. If you have Christ, you have the Holy Spirit living in you.

The Holy Spirit is the giver of life, real life! But to experience His life, there’s a requirement. What is it? It’s the same thing that characterized the first 120 followers on the day of Pentecost. It’s emptiness. It’s the acknowledgement that we need Christ.

Kent Hughes is right when He says this of God, "He will not fill our sails with the wind of the Holy Spirit unless we admit that the sails are empty." And that requires humility, brokenness, and emptiness.

Hughes continues, "The key to the Spirit-filled Christian life is found in a paradox: cultivating an attitude of perpetual emptiness brings with it a perpetual fullness."

Will you admit today that you are empty? If you will, He will fill you up.

It’s significant that the Spirit came on the holiday, Pentecost, a day when Jews offered to God their first-fruits. Indeed, on this day of Pentecost the Spirit came as the first-fruits of the believers’ inheritance. He "has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (2 Cor 5:5)." Or as Paul puts it in Ephesians 1:14, He "is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory."

Simply put, what that means for us is this. Guarantee #3…

3. We can fulfill our mission. Realize this. When God sent the Spirit on Pentecost, it was His guarantee that He would complete His work. When the 120 believers were baptized by the Spirit on that day, they were just the first-fruits of the full harvest of believers to come.

And indeed the harvest came. First, there were 120 Spirit-baptized followers of Christ. A few hours later there were 3,000 (41). Within a matter of days the number grew to about 5,000 (Acts 4:5).

Fellow Christians, we have a mission and because the Spirit has come, we can fulfill our mission. Resolve today to keep in step with the Spirit.

Acts  Sermon Series