The Coming of the Spirit
Acts 2:1-21
1 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.”
Now I don’t know if you’re aware of this but this moment in history some 2000 years ago
that we’ve just read about is a game changing moment. (I’d attempt to illustrate the
phrase ‘game changing moment’ by mentioning a famous… Texas A&M athlete who is a
game-changer (if he gets to play) but that would be to severely depreciate the ministry of
the Holy Spirit.) The divinely powerful Spirit of God, sent from heaven by the Lord Jesus
Christ, has entered the “game.” And everything is different.
The enablement we have for obeying God’s commands is different.
The assurance that we have that we really are God’s special people is different.
The way we fight sin is different.
The way we become like Christ is different.
The empowering that we have to witness for the Lord Jesus Christ and do ministry for
Him is different.
The divinely powerful Spirit of God, sent from heaven by the Lord Jesus, has entered the
“game” and everything is different.
The coming of the Holy Spirit into the “game” fulfills Moses’ wish in Numbers 11:29…
Would that all (Yahweh’s) people were prophets, that (Yahweh) would put his
Spirit on them!”
It fulfills Isaiah’s prophecies in Is. 32:15 and 44:3. Let me put them on the screen.
POWERPOINT
Isaiah 32:14-15 (ESV)
14 For the palace is forsaken, the populous city deserted; the hill and the watchtower
will become dens forever, a joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks; 15 until the
1
Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.
Isaiah 44:3 (ESV)
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will
pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
Finally it fulfills Ezekiel’s prophecy in Ezekiel 36:27…
POWERPOINT
Ezekiel 36:27 (ESV)
27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be
careful to obey my rules…
The divinely powerful Spirit of God, sent from heaven by the Lord Jesus, has entered the
“game” and everything is different.
_____________
Well let’s dig in to this important text.
Luke begins in verse 1 When the day of Pentecost arrived.1
Now Pentecost (literally ‘the fiftieth part’2) celebrated the end of the Jewish barley
harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest.3 So it was essentially a harvest festival.
It’s called the Feast of Weeks4 in the Old Testament because it occured 7 weeks (or 50
days) after the Sunday that came after Passover.
There were 7 Jewish feasts.5 Let’s look at them on the screen.
7 Jewish Feasts
Trumpets
Tabernacles
Passover
Firstfruits
1
3
5
7
Weeks
Unleavened
Day
of
4
2
(Pentecost)
Bread
6
Atonement
First
Month
Third
Month
Historically
Fulfilled
Seventh
Month
To Be
Fulfilled
1
It refers to the morning of the full day of the feast, not the evening of the day before, when the feast began.
Schnabel, page 113
3
Bruce, page 49, “The day of Pentecost was so called because it fell on the 50th day after the presentation of the first sheaf to be
reaped of the barley harvest, that is, the 50th day from the first Sunday after Passover. Among Hebrew and Aramaic speaking Jews it
was known as the ‘feast of weeks’ (Ex. 34:22a; Deut. 16:10) and also as the ‘day of firstfruits’ (Num. 28:26; Ex. 23:16) because on
that day the first fruits of the wheat harvest (Ex. 34:22a) were presented to God.”
4
Schnabel, page 113 “Festival of New Grain” Exodus 23:16, Ex 34:22, Lev. 23:15-16; Ex. 34:22; Deut. 16:9-10; 2 Chronicles 8:13
5
Chumney, The Seven Festivals of the Messiah and Leviticus 23
2
2
As you can see on the slide, three of the feasts occur in the first month of the Jewish
calendar—Passover6, the Feast of Unleavened Bread7 and Firstfruits.8
One feast occurs in the third month of the calendar, the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost
which is the focus of our passage and it came 50 days after ‘Firstfruits’.
And three more feasts or festivals occur in the seventh month of the Jewish calendar.
Now I don’t know if you know this but it’s believed that these feasts picture God’s
ministry through Jesus the Messiah. The first 3 feasts pictured his death, burial and
resurrection—his death (Passover), his burial (unleavened bread) and his resurrection
(first fruits).
Let me focus in on the third feast or festival, ‘First Fruits.’ It came just a few days after
Passover. The scriptures tell us in fact that the feast of First Fruits occurred on the day
after the Sabbath.9
So that would mean the festival of First Fruits occured on what we know as a Sunday,
and thinking about the year that Jesus died, we have a special name for the Sunday after
Good Friday. What is it? Easter or Resurrection Sunday.
So Jesus was resurrected on the feast of First Fruits. Jesus was resurrected from the
dead, the first fruits of many resurrections to follow. Listen to I Corinthians 15:20…But
in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen
asleep. As the hymn says, Jesus lives and so shall I.
Now the fourth feast, Weeks or Pentecost, a harvest festival occurring 50 days after the
presentation of first fruits in the temple, just so happens to be the date that Jesus sent the
Holy Spirit. And what a harvest the Spirit began to reap when he came!
So these first four festivals have been fulfilled in the first coming of Jesus. (HIT
ENTER- Historically fulfilled) And that means the last three festivals up on the screen
will be fulfilled when Jesus comes again. (HIT ENTER- To Be Fulfilled)
And that reminds me of the words that the men in white robes said back in Acts 1, after
Jesus ascended—This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the
same way as you saw him go into heaven.10
You see, all that is happening here in Acts is the fulfillment of God’s plan and we can be
assured that those aspects of His plan that are still future, will occur. He will come again
in the same way that he went into heaven.
6
Nisan 14
Nisan 15-21
8
Nisan 17 (from Chumney’s book) or ‘on the day after the Sabbath’ (Lev. 23:11)
9
Leviticus 23:11
10
Acts 1:11
7
3
Now before we leave this slide, let me make one other comment.11 Three of the seven
festivals are considered pilgrimage festivals when Israelite men (and their families) were
to come back to Jerusalem. Pentecost is one of those three festivals and that means that
Jerusalem was filled with pilgrims from all over the known world who had come back for
the festival. Some scholars estimate that one million pilgrims visited Jerusalem for
Pentecost.12 One writer said it this way… “It is appropriate that the event that was going
to propel the gospel to the ends of the earth took place at a time when people from the
ends of the earth were in Jerusalem.”13
Passover
First Fruits
Let me put up another slide that summarizes some of what I’ve said (or as the old song
leader said, “Second verse, same as the first”
Unleavened
Bread
3
40
Spirit Comes
10
Ascension
Calvary
Resurrection
Jesus ascends
Pentecost
The Feasts occurred in this order—Passover (fulfilled in Good Friday or Calvary), The
Feast of Unleavened Bread, a 7 day feast began on the day after Passover. The feast of
First Fruits occurred on what we know as Resurrection Sunday. Forty days later Jesus
ascended. Ten days later, when Jews celebrated their ‘harvest’ festival, Weeks or
Pentecost, the Holy Spirit returned and the harvest began. And if it all feels like and
looks like a perfectly executed and engineered plan, that’s because I think it is… Behold
our God!
And if looking back we can see God’s incredible plan with such clarity, we can be
confident looking forward as we wait for the return of Christ.
Well verse 1 of chapter 2 doesn’t tell us who was in the room at the time or in which
room they were. ‘They’ is probably the 120 believers mentioned in Acts 1:15. And
given no other information, readers would probably assume that this is the upper room
that Luke mentioned in Acts 1:13.14
I’m purposely choosing not to comment on the fact that Pentecost, around the second century, became associated with the giving of
the law because Luke doesn’t make that connection. Marshall says, ‘in second-century Judaism Pentecost was regarded as the day
when the law was given at Sinai’, page 68; Bruce, page 50 adds, “At a later date it was reckoned to be the anniversary of the giving of
the law at Sinai—a not unreasonable deduction from Ex. 19:1, according to which the Israelites arrived in the ‘wilderness of Sinai’ on
the third new moon after their departure from Egypt (ie. At the beginning of Siwan, about 44 days after Passover.”). Stott says, “So we
cannot be sure whether (Pentecost begin associated with the giving of the law) was important to him, even though Jewish tradition
associated wind, fire and voices with Mount Sinai, the three phenomena which he is about to describe.” (Stott, page 62
12
Schnabel, page 116
11
13
14
Fernando, page 87
Schnabel, page 113
4
2 And
suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind15, and it
filled the entire house where they were sitting.
What might that have sounded like? Let’s see. (Audio clip)
Now what would you be thinking and feeling? (Get Feedback) “This is different. This is
disorienting. This is unsettling. This is mysterious”
In the scriptures wind is an emblem of the powerful presence of God (I Kings 19:11) and
the mighty acts of God (2 Samuel 22:16, Psalm 33:6, Ezek. 37:9-10). In the gospel of
John, Jesus likens the movement of the Spirit to the wind…. 8 The wind blows where it
wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where
it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)
Now look at verse 2 again. Where did the sound come from? It came from heaven Luke
tells us. And there’s more to those two words “from heaven” than meets the eye. Just as
Jesus ascended to heaven (Acts 1:11), the sound came from heaven (Acts 2:2). And if
this is a new thought to you, Luke will explicitly tell us that Jesus sent the spirit in Acts
2:33 but we’re building to that.
3 And
divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.
The apostles didn’t just hear something, they saw something. It appeared as if there were
tongues of fire sitting on each of their heads. If you and I had been I think that we would
have gotten the impression of a spreading fire ‘which divided up into bits of flame for
each person.”16
What is the presence of fire an emblem for in the scriptures?
Well it’s clearly associated with judgment (Is. 4:4, Jer 7:20; Mal. 3:2-4; 4;1)17 John the
Baptist even said that the Messiah would baptize Israel ‘with the Holy Spirit and with
fire’ (Luke 3:16; Mt. 3:11) and the emphasis there seems to be a purging judgment.
But fire is also a sign of God’s presence. God’s presence came with fire at the burning
bush (Exod. 3:2) and the pillar of fire that led the Israelites through the wilderness
(Exodus 13:21).18
And given the context of Acts it seems that judgment has been mercifully delayed while
the apostles preach repentance and offer the hope of salvation to all. So it’s probably best
to see that the fire symbolizes the presence of God to communicate with his people and
guide them19
The Greek term (‘pneuma’) which means both ‘spirit’ and ‘wind’ is not the term used here.
Bock, page 97
17
This list from Peterson, page 132
18
Also the call of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1;13-14, 27) and Elijah’s ministry (1 Kings 18:38)
19
This idea from Peterson, page 133
15
16
5
Now think with me about the picture of tongues of fire sitting on each person’s head in
the room. Couldn’t that look backward to Acts 1:8 – you will be witnesses, you will use
tongues to speak of me when the Holy Spirit has come on you? And couldn’t it look
forward to what happens in the next verse, verse 4 as the 120 speak in foreign languages
to the gathered crowd?
Over and over in Acts people are filled with the Spirit to witness.
4 And
they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as
the Spirit gave them utterance.
Now Luke says they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. It’s important that we look at
how Luke uses the word ‘filled’ so we can bring clarity to what is happening here.
Luke, in the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts uses the word filled in primarily two
different ways:20
1) to describe being filled with certain emotions or qualities21…for example, Acts 3:10…
And they were all filled with wonder and amazement… (So that’s one primary way
Luke uses filling.)
The second way…
2)…he uses the word “filled” to describe the filling with the Holy Spirit22… as we have
just read in verse 4.
Now with respect to the second group of uses, ‘the filling with the Holy Spirit’,
sometimes it can mean a person’s initial reception of the Spirit in a couple of places23.
But other times it refers to a special inspiration for witnessing (Luke 1:41, 67; Acts 4:8,
31; 13:9).
But there’s another interesting point that should be made. Someone who is filled with the
Holy Spirit can receive a further filling or enabling for a particular ministry. Close to
the end of chapter 4, we run across this verse, Acts 4:31….31 And when they had
prayed—and “they” is the apostles plus others--the place in which they were gathered
together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to
speak the word of God with boldness.24
So those who were filled with the Spirit in Acts 2 (we just read it in verse 4) are filled
again in Acts 4. Does the Holy Spirit leak out? No. But it drives home an important
point. Normally when we speak of a “filling with the Holy Spirit” we are speaking of a
20
Peterson, page 133-134
Luke 4:28; 5:26; 6:11; Acts 3:10; 5:17; 13:45; 19:29
22
Luke 1:15, 41, 67; Acts 2:4;4:8, 31; 9:17; 13:9
23
Luke 1:15; Acts 9:17
24 The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001
21
6
temporary empowering for ministry explaining “why a person might be filled with the
Spirit on many occasions while at the same time remaining ‘full’ of the Spirit.”25
That being said, let’s make a final point that might at first glance seem to muddy the
water but I think in the end it will be helpful. Ready? This particular famous event in
Acts 2 that we’re reading about is elsewhere called a ‘baptizing’ (in Acts 1:526--back in
Acts 1:5 didn’t Jesus say wait for the baptism of the Spirit?), a “pouring out” (Acts
10:45) and a ‘receiving’ (Acts 10:47). Now I believe that each of those terms—baptizing,
pouring out, and receiving—speak of the permanent reception of the Spirit. In other
words when someone is baptized by the Spirit, the Spirit indwells them and stays forever.
And then he is repeatedly filled with the Spirit for ministry and witness.
You see for each Christian there is one baptism27 and many fillings.28
The believers in Acts 2 were baptized with the Holy Spirit but Luke is silent about that at
least in chapter 2. He calls it a baptism in chapter 1 and chapter 11 but he’s silent about
that in chapter 2. Instead he says they were filled with the Holy Spirit and I think he
uses that term because they are being empowered to witness.
4 And
they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as
the Spirit gave them utterance.
Now we’ll learn down in verse 11 that these other tongues are other known languages.
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.
Now Luke isn’t completely clear about what happens here but it seems that the 120
believers pour out of the upper room into the street and perhaps even into the outer
courtyard of the temple where they encounter devout Jews from every nation under
heaven. Later in the chapter we’ll read that 3000 hear Peter preach are converted and put
their faith in Christ so it has to be some larger area.29
And who were these devout Jews in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven? You
remember that when the southern kingdom of Judah was captured by Nebuchadnezzar,
the Jewish people were forced to leave Judah, and many were sent to Babylon.30
Evidently these Jews spread all over. It’s called the Jewish Diaspora. Well over time
many Jews from these other countries around the Mediterranean Sea did come back to
Schnabel, page 115 Schnabel also says this about ‘filled’ in Acts 2:4: “The verb ‘fill’ is a more intense form. Luke uses the aorist
indicative form with genitive divine Spirit to designate ‘short outbursts of spiritual power/inspiration, rather than the inception of long
term endowment of the Spirit, a fact that explains how a person might be filled with the Holy Spirit on many occasions while at the
same time remaining ‘full’ of the Spirit.
26
Acts 11:16
27
One baptism—Rom. 6:3; 1 Cor. 12:13; Col 2;12
28
Many fillings—Acts 4:8; 31; 6:3, 5, 7:55; 9:17; 13:9, 52
29
‘We must assume that at some point the disciples moved outside from the upper room and came in contact with the crowds
assembled in Jerusalem for the feast.’ Marshall, page 70
30
It appears that there were three deportations, 587, 586, and 582. The term diaspora is used of these Jews.
25
7
Jerusalem, some to end their days there.31 But it’s also true that the term ‘dwelling’ in
verse 5 is flexible enough to have a more temporary nuance and so pilgrims who came
for the feast of Pentecost could also be in view.32 And as I said earlier, some scholars
estimate that one million pilgrims visited Jerusalem during Pentecost.33 (After preaching
the message I ran across much lower numbers)
Isn’t it profound that Jewish pilgrims from all over the known world would be present
when these Galilean Jews poured out of the upper room speaking in the 15 or so
languages they spoke in? You remember we asked last week, how could a bunch of
Galilean fishermen be witnesses to the end of the earth? Well God made a way for it to
begin in grand style!
Luke goes a long way to record the reaction from the crowd about all that was happening.
In verses 6-12, he uses five different verbs to describe the reaction of those in the street.34
In verse 6 they were “bewildered”35
In verse 7 they were “amazed”36 and “astonished.”37
In verse 12, they were ‘amazed’ and ‘perplexed’38
And in verse 13 some of them were ‘mocking’
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?
7 And
Aren’t these backward Galileans? Listen to this sentence: Galilean speech was
‘distinguished by its confusion or loss of laryngeals and aspirates.’39
I love sentences like that. I love saying sentences like that. I just wish I knew what they
meant! I even tried to figure it out but didn’t make any headway.
But we can say this much… Galileans spoke differently—you could tell when it was a
Galilean speaking to you. How do we know that? Well there’s that scene on the night
before Jesus was crucified when Peter was surreptitiously hanging out around the fire in
the courtyard of Caiaphas’ place. He was trying to be as anonymous as he could be.
People kept asking if Peter was one of ‘them’, one of Jesus’ band of disciples. Finally,
the bystanders came up to him and said, “Certainly you too are one of them for your
accent betrays you… I guess he could have said, “there is a certain confusion about
your laryngeals and aspirates” but none of us including Peter would know what he
meant.
31
Marshall, page 70
Peterson, ‘Their staying in Jerusalem could have been temporary, to enable them to participate in the festival of Passover and
Pentecost.’ Page 135
33
Schnabel, page 116
34
This list from Schnabel, page 116-7
35
‘to be amazed, surprised, excited, agitated’
36
‘to be out of one’s normal state of mind, be amazed, astonished’
37
“astonished – ‘to be extraordinarily impressed or disturbed by something, wonder,marvel, be astonished’
38
to be greatly perplexed, to be at a loss
39
Bruce, page 54
32
8
8 And
how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?
Here’s the point. Palestinian Jews were generally multilingual. It’s possible that they
would have spoken Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. But they wouldn’t have been able to
speak the languages native to the countries that these Jews came from. Let me put up a
map from the ESV Study bible…
The Nations at Pentecost…
Nations at Pentecost
So here is a map of the nations at Pentecost and the names in bold come from verses 9
and 10. If you count them up, you get about 15 nations. If you add “visitors from
Rome” at the end of verse 10, which would be Italy, you get 16 nations. So the point is
each of those ‘nations’ had their own language. Yes they could probably speak Greek or
Aramaic but they also had a native language that was unique to their nation. And it’s
those unique languages that the Galileans began speaking as they poured out into the
street.
Well in verses 9-10, Luke lists the nations that the Jews were from and he begins in the
east and moves in a general counterclockwise motion and again this is a list countries
where Jews had come from and which potentially be impacted by the witness of the
Galileans.40
9 Parthians
and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and
Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, (you can see we’re kind of moving counterclockwise) 10
Schnabel, page 118; “In Parthia Jewish communities have been attested in Adiabene; in Media, some of the Israelites who were
deported by the Assyrians lived in Media (2 Kings 17:6; 18:11). Jews have also been attested in Ecbatana; in Elam, a Jewish
community has been attested in Susa; in Mesopotamia, when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem in 586 BC, he deported the
population to Babylonia, i.e. to Mesopotamia. Jewish communities are attested in Babylon, Ctesiphon, Dura-Europos, Edessa,
Nehardea, Nisibis, Seleuceia, and Spasinou Charax.” Schnabel, page 118-9’ “In Cappadocia, Jews are attested in Casearea Mazaca
and Tyana; in Pontus we find Jews in Amisus. If Pontus stand for the Roman province of Pontus-Bithynia, Jewish communities are
further attested in Amastris, Calchedon, Claudiou Polis, Nicaia, Nicomedia, and Sebastopolis;. In the province of Asia, Jews are
attested in numerous cities including Ephesus, Miletus, Philadelphia, Priene, Sardis, Smyrna, Tyatira, Troas, and on the islands of
Chios, Samos, Cos, and Rhodos; in Phrygia, Jews were living in Aizanoi, Akmonia, Antioch, Apamea, Dokimeion, Dorylaion,
Iconimu, Laodicea, and Synnada; in Pamphylia, the coastal region that was also a Roman province Jews lived in Aspendos, Perge,
Side, and Sillyon. “In Cappadocia, Jews are attested in Casearea Mazaca and Tyana; in Pontus we find Jews in Amisus. If Pontus
stand for the Roman province of Pontus-Bithynia, Jewish communities are further attested in Amastris, Calchedon, Claudiou Polis,
Nicaia, Nicomedia, and Sebastopolis;. In the province of Asia, Jews are attested in numerous cities including Ephesus, Miletus,
Philadelphia, Priene, Sardis, Smyrna, Tyatira, Troas, and on the islands of Chios, Samos, Cos, and Rhodos; in Phrygia, Jews were
living in Aizanoi, Akmonia, Antioch, Apamea, Dokimeion, Dorylaion, Iconimu, Laodicea, and Synnada; in Pamphylia, the coastal
region that was also a Roman province Jews lived in Aspendos, Perge, Side, and Sillyon.
40
9
Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and
visitors from Rome, (look at that phrase visitors from Rome... in other words these
pilgrims were in Jerusalem from Rome for the feast of Pentecost. It’s believed that
“Rome was a city of about 1 million inhabitants in the first century and that it had a
large Jewish community somewhere between 10,000 and 60,000 Jews. There is evidence
of 11 or 12 synagogues in the city, at least four of which existed in the first century”41
And given that the book of Acts ends with Paul in Rome, Luke may be hinting that the
Jewish Christian community in Rome began because Jews were in Jerusalem at
Pentecost.42
Continuing in verse 11 both Jews and proselytes (proselytles were Gentiles who had
become Jews) , Cretans and Arabians43—we hear them telling in our own tongues
the mighty works of God.” We hear them talking about God’s interventions in
history.44
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.”45
Now Pentecost occurs in late May. But the grape harvest occurs in August. So it was too
early for new wine, wine that had been partially fermented. What are we to make of that?
Well there were ways to keep wine all year without it going bad.46 But it’s probable that
the crowd is just slamming the believers like we could imagine someone saying ‘Been
sipping the eggnog, eh?’ when it’s not even the season for spiked eggnog. 47
Peter, standing with the eleven (Isn’t that a great picture? 12 newly empowered
witnesses standing together!), (he) lifted up his voice (he) raises his voice because he
wants to be heard and addressed48 them:
14 But
“Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give
ear to my words. Listen to me!
15 For
these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of
the day. These men aren’t controlled by wine, as you suppose! It’s only 9 in the
morning! It’s too early to be intoxicated!
No…
16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: Peter says that what the
crowd has just experienced is the fulfillment of prophecy. It’s a fulfillment of a prophecy
from the minor prophet Joel—Joel 2:28-32a
41
Schnabel, page 119
Schnabel offers this idea, page 119
“The connection between the Cretans and Arabs can be explained in the context of the table of nations in Genesis 10, a text that
provided the basic framework for Jewish geography. Both peoples are descendents of Mizraim (Egypt).” Schnabel, page 120
44
Schnabel makes this point and mentions Deut. 11:2 and Ps. 71:19 in the LXX
45 The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001
42
43
46
Bruce observes that the keeping of wine all year round is described by Cato, On Agriculture 120(Str-B 2:614)
Schnabel, page 121
48
Bock, page 110, The verb for address was used in Acts 2:4. It is another term that only Luke uses in the New Testament and it refers
to Spirit inspired utterance.
47
10
Let’s read it…
17 “
‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on
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 even on my male servants
and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood,
and fire, and vapor of smoke; 20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to
blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 21 And it
shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved.’49
Notice that there are a couple of time referents that bookend the prophecy that Peter
quotes from Joel.
Verse 17 Peter mentions the ‘last days’
And then in verse 20 he mentions that the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to
blood before ‘the day of the Lord’ comes.
So it’s pretty clear that the ‘last days’ lead up to the ‘day of the Lord’ …the great and
magnificent day of the Lord.
Now let me put that up on the screen with kind of a definition for each time referent.
“last days”
The
ministry,
death,
resurrection,
ascension of Jesus,
the coming of the Spirit,
wonders in heaven above
and
signs on earth below
“day of the Lord”
The day of
judgment
for
God’s enemies
but
salvation
for
God’s people
Some argue that the ‘last days’ began here in Acts 2 with Pentecost.50 But it seems better
to argue that the ‘last days’ began with the appearance of Jesus Christ on the earth.51 The
last days began with Jesus’ birth and included his ministry, death, resurrection, ascension,
the coming of the Spirit (and following along with the prophecy of Joel here), wonders in
heaven above and signs on earth below (which we’ll talk about in a moment).
49 The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001
50
Bock, page 112
51
Bruce, page 61, Schnabel, page 135, Peterson, page 141
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The phrase ‘day of the Lord’ has a rich background in both the Old Testament and the
New Testament.52 It refers to a day in which the Lord’s presence and activity is
obvious—in other words it’s no longer man’s day but it’s the Lord’s day. Specifically it’s
a day in which the Lord intervenes to judge his enemies.53 But it’s also a day that
salvation is held out to the faithful. That’s why I have it written the way I have it on the
slide,The day of judgment for God’s enemies but salvation for God’s people.
Well with those bookend time references from Joel’s prophecy… the ‘last days’ and ‘the
day of the Lord’… let’s look at Peter’s use of Joel’s prophecy.
17 “
‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on
all flesh—
The verb ‘pour out’ suggests an unprecedented deluge of God’s Spirit.54 The image is of
a torrential downpour that is poured out on a parched earth.55
And the Spirit won’t be poured out on just a few people. It will be poured out on all
flesh.
●Now in Joel’s context ‘all flesh’ denotes the people of the southern kingdom of Judah.
●In Peter’s use of Joel’s text, ‘all flesh’ are the Jews listening to his sermon who will
choose to believe in the Messiah.
●And as we move through the book of Acts we’ll see that ultimately ‘all flesh’ includes
Gentiles, people like you and me, who believe in the Lord Jesus.56
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see
visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and
female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
Both genders, sons and daughters, shall prophesy. Every age group, both young and
old will prophesy. (Seeing visions and dreaming dreams were prophetic activities in the
Old Testment)57 And even male and female servants will prophesy. God will have a
special relationship even with servants, even with those who normally don’t show up on
the radar screen.
19 And
I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood,
and fire, and vapor of smoke; 20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to
blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
The phrase “day of the Lord” appears in these verses: Is. 13:6, 9; Jer. 46:10; Ez. 13:5; Ez. 30:3; Joel 1:15; Joel 2:1, 11, 31; Joel
3:14; Amos 5:18-24; Obad. 15; Zeph. 1:7,8,14; Mal. 4:5; Acts 2:20; 1 Cor. 5:5; 1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Thess. 2:2; 2 Pet. 3:10
53
Constable’s notes from Joel
52
54
Peterson, page 141
Bock, page 113
56
Schnabel, page 136
57
Peterson, page 141
55
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I want to come back to these verses next week. I’ve always seen these cataclysmic signs
and wonders as something that is still future. I’ve been reading that others see them as
taking place at the death of Christ. So I want to look at that more next time.
So what does this have to do with you and me?
1. We live at a privileged time!
We’re living in the ‘last days.’ And God’s empowering and transforming presence has
come!
The Holy Spirit lives within us! We are His temple! He prays for us with groanings too
deep for words! He guides us! He is our comforter! He is the seal that we are owned by
God! He empowers our obedience! He empowers our worship! He empowers us to
witness! He empowers our fight with sin! He empowers our sanctification! He assures
us that we are really sons of God!
We live at a privileged time.
2. We can be certain that God’s purposes are being fulfilled.
When we looked at Acts 1:8, and the call of the apostles to be witnesses to the end of the
earth, we wondered out loud how some local yokel Galileans could pull this off.
It was a moment like so many moments in the gospels…
It was a moment like that moment when Jesus said to Peter, who had fished all night and
caught nothing, “Put into the deep and let down your nets for a catch!” Really?
But when they had done it they enclosed a large number of fish—so large that their
nets were breaking…
It was a moment like the moment when Jesus suggested “Let’s feed this crowd of 5000
with this little boy’s lunch.” Really? And you know the rest of that story.
So here in Acts Jesus says “When the Spirit comes upon you, you will be witnesses to the
end of the earth!” Really?
And then we see in our text today, the Spirit of God came down powerfully, and the local
yokel Galileans exited the upper room powerfully, and they opened their mouths
powerfully proclaiming the ‘mighty works of God’, and they found the city of Jerusalem
filled with (quote) ‘devout men from every nation under heaven’ (Acts 2:5)
We can be certain that God’s purposes are being fulfilled.
3. What hinders us from getting involved in the mission of God?
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Christ did rise from the dead.
Christ did ascend to heaven.
Christ is building his church.
The end of time is coming closer.
What hinders you from getting involved in the mission of God?
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