1 Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and one sat on each of them. 4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.
The Feast of Pentecost
- One of the three feasts God ordained for all able-bodied male Israelites (Lev 23)
- Comes 50 days after the feast of First-Fruits
- Often called Feast of Weeks
- One feast God required Israel to include “leaven” in the offering
The Real Power of Pentecost
- The “real” power is a Person - the Holy Spirit, the 3rd member of the Godhead
- The “lasting” power is the unhindered work of the Holy Spirit
- We are all baptized in the Holy Spirit upon saving faith
- In the Greek, baptized is in the aorist tense (1 Cor 12:13)
13 In him you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.
- God shows up in many ways
- The Hebrew word “Ruah” means spirit, wind, or breath
- The Greek word “Pneuma” means spirit, wind, or breath
- Hebrew & Greek have no interdependence or relation whatsoever
The Manifestation of Tongues of Fire
- physical manifestation of the Holy Spirit
- why fire? God makes mamy appearances in the form of fire in the OT
- the burning bush
- the Shekinah Glory of God - God manifested Himself to Israel by a cloud by day and a fire by night
- it gave the Apostles the supernatural ability to speak in a language unknown to the speakers but understood but the listeners
5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky. 6 When this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language. 7 They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Behold, aren’t all these who speak Galileans? 8 How do we hear, everyone in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabians: we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!” 12 They were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 Others, mocking, said, “They are filled with new wine.”
- On this day there were Jews from Media, Persia, Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and Libya, some from Rome and even some Cretans and Arabs
- the gift of tongues appears to be the exact reversal of the Tower of Babel
- God didn’t scatter the people at Babel because they were trying to build a tower “to heaven,” they were building a ziggurat to see the stars like the Aztecs and the Mayans (in the future). He scattered them because they wouldn’t spread out
Summary and Significance
The Father sends the Holy Spirit to seal and endow the Church with spiritual power, that we might be the Body of Jesus Christ on the earth…
- The gift of tongues was and is man speaking to God, not the other way around
- The Day of Pentecost is a picture of God’s amazing grace to save the lost