Introduction
In verse 4 of Acts 1, the Lord Jesus, before his ascension, instructed the apostles not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the gift his Father had promised and which they had heard him speak about. When the Lord Jesus spoke about the promised gift, he was referring to the Holy Spirit, who is the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. So, there’s the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and they are one God in three persons. And the Lord Jesus was saying to his apostles: Don’t leave Jerusalem, but wait there for the Holy Spirit whom God the Father has promised to give you. And today’s passage from Acts 2 is about the time when they received the promised Holy Spirit. And so, in the passage we read a moment ago, we read about the sound of a wind and the tongues of fire and how the believers were filled with the Spirit and began to speak in other languages. And then Peter stood up and quoted from the Old Testament prophet Joel to explain what had just happened.
And when we think of that day — the Day of Pentecost — we normally think of those things: the sound of a wind and the tongues of fire and the speaking in other languages and the Holy Spirit. And yet the remarkable thing is that most of what Peter says to explain what had happened is about, not the Holy Spirit, but it’s about the Lord Jesus Christ. We tend to associate the Day of Pentecost with the Holy Spirit. But in Peter’s mind, the Day of Pentecost was about Christ.
But before we get to Peter’s explanation, we need to think about what happened. And so, let’s focus first on verses 1 to 13.
Verses 1 to 13
Luke tells us in verse 1 that when the Day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. He means that all the believers were together. In verse 15 of chapter 1 he told us that there were about 120 believers in those days. And when the believers were together, suddenly there was a sound which came from heaven and it was like the blowing of a violent wind. And this sound filled the whole house where they had gathered. And not only did they hear this sound, but they also saw something. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated from one another and rested on each of them. And in verse 4 Luke says that all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. And so, the sound of the violent wind was an audible sign and the tongues of fire were a visible sign of the coming of the Holy Spirit, who normally works silently and invisibly in the hearts of men and women. But this time, he made his presence known.
And Luke tells us of another audible sign of his coming, because he tells us that when they were filled with the Spirit, they began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. So, the Holy Spirit enabled them to speak in other languages. That’s what Luke means when he refers to tongues. They were able to speak in different languages: languages that they had never known before.
And Luke then tells us in verse 5 that there were all these visitors in Jerusalem: God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. They had come to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost, which was one of annual festivals which the Jews were required to celebrate each year. And so, Jerusalem was filled with all these visitors who had come for the festival. One of the commentator suggests that there were perhaps one million visitors in Jerusalem for this festival.
And perhaps you’ll remember from your Old Testament history, that at the time of the exile, God’s people were taken from the Promised Land of Canaan to Babylon. And while many of them returned in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, not all of them returned. And that meant that there were now Jews living, not only in the Promised Land, but in many other nations around the Middle East. And as those people had children, their children grew up speaking the national language and not the language of Israel.
Now they had come to Jerusalem for this annual festival. And on this particular occasion, all these God-fearing Jews from other nations who had gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost were surprised to hear these Galileans speaking their language. Luke tells us in verse 6 that they heard the sound: not the sound of the violent wind, but the sound of the 120 believers speaking in different languages. And a crowd of them gathered and they were bewildered and amazed because of what they heard. ‘Aren’t these Galileans?’ they asked. Perhaps the believers were speaking in their own Galilean accent. And since they were Galileans — since they grew up in Galilee — how come they were able to speak all these different languages? And all the different languages which could be heard are listed there in verses 9 and 10 and 11. There were fifteen of them.
And what were the believers saying in these different languages? Right at the end of verse 11 the visitors to Jerusalem say that the believers were declaring the wonders — or the mighty works — of God. That presumably means they were proclaiming what God has done to save sinners through Christ’s life and death and resurrection.
And Luke tells us in verse 12 that they were amazed and perplexed. ‘What does this mean?’ they asked. What they have heard is extra-ordinary. It’s remarkable. So, what does it mean? What does is signify? What’s going on? Some though mocked and said that they’re not really speaking other languages; they’re only drunk with cheap wine.
Verses 14 to 21
And so, that’s what happened: the sound of the wind and the tongues of fire and the speaking in different languages signified the presence of the Holy Spirit who had come to fill the believers. And this was the fulfilment of what the Lord said in chapter 1, when he told them that they would receive the gift the Father promised to give them. The promised gift is the Holy Spirit.
And since the people were wondering what it meant, Peter stood up and began to address the crowd which had gathered. And first of all, he debunked the claim that the believers were only drunk. They couldn’t possibly be drunk because it’s only 9 am. No one gets drunk at that time of the day.
And so, what is the explanation for what had happened? That’s when Peter quotes from the Old Testament prophet Joel. He’s saying that what God announced through Joel has now come to pass. The coming of the Spirit at Pentecost is the fulfilment of what God promised through the prophet Joel and how, in the last days, God would pour out his Spirit on all people.
We’ve come across the phrase ‘the last days’ before. The last days began with the Lord’s resurrection and ascension to heaven and they will continue until he comes again in glory and with power to judge the living and the dead. So, the apostles were living in the last days and we’re still living in the last days. These are the last days because, in a sense, there’s nothing on God’s calendar between the time of the Lord’s ascension to heaven two thousand years ago and the time when he comes again.
And before the last days began, the Holy Spirit was at work among the Jews only. He was at work among them, enabling them to believe God’s promises and enabling them to walk in his ways. But according to God’s promise through Joel, the day would come when God would pour out his Spirit, not only on the Jews, but on all people. In other words, he would pour out his Spirit on all kinds of people. Not just on the Jews, but on Gentiles as well.
Before the last days began — so before the Lord’s resurrection and ascension — God revealed himself and his willingness to save sinners to the Jews only. But after the Lord’s resurrection, he commanded the apostles to go into all the world and to make disciples or believers in every nation. Salvation used to be for the Jews only. Now it is for everyone who believes in Christ. And in anticipation of that day, God promised through Joel that the time would come when he will pour his Spirit on all kinds of people: on people in every nation to enable them to believe the good news of salvation and to walk in the ways of the Lord.
God went on to speak through Joel about sons and daughters and young men and old men prophesying and having dreams and visions. What he meant is not that all kinds of people will be able to prophesy. What he meant is that the Holy Spirit will enable all kinds of people to know him and his will. In the past, God revealed his will through prophets. Now — now that we have the Bible — he reveals his will through the reading and preaching of his word. And his Spirit enables all kinds of people to believe and obey it.
And God spoke through Joel about showing signs and wonders. That’s perhaps a reference to the signs and wonders which the Lord Jesus performed while he was on the earth. And then, in this prophecy, God jumps forward in time to speak about the end of the last days and to the time when Christ will come again. And so, right before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord — that day when Christ returns in glory and with power to judge the living and the dead — there will be blood and fire and billows of smoke and the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood. There will be these cosmic signs to signify his coming. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord — on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ — will be saved. They will be saved from God’s wrath and curse on the day of judgment, because whoever calls on the Lord Jesus Christ — whoever calls out to him for salvation — will be pardoned and acquitted and will receive the free gift of eternal life.
And so, Peter quotes the prophet Joel to explain to the crowds in Jerusalem that the coming of the Spirit on the believers in Jerusalem is the fulfilment of God’s promise. God promised that in the last days he will pour his Spirit on all kinds of people. And the last days have begun.
Verses 22 to 36
And the last days have begun because the Lord Jesus Christ is now installed in heaven as king over all. That’s what Peter goes on to explain in the remainder of his speech.
So, in verse 22 he tells them that the man Jesus of Nazareth was accredited by God by the miracles and signs and wonders he performed. In other words, the miracles he performed when he was on the earth made clear that he had come from God. But instead of believing in him, the people handed him over to the Romans to be crucified. However, Peter also makes clear that this was according to God’s set purpose and foreknowledge. That is to say, God knew it would happen, because God had planned that it would happen. God planned that they would hand the Lord Jesus over to the Romans to be crucified, because in the way the Lord Jesus would give up his life as the ransom to pay for our sins. And so, the Jews in Jerusalem handed over the Lord Jesus to the Romans. And together they put the Lord to death by nailing him to the cross. So, they killed him. But — and this is verse 24 — God raised him from the dead. They killed him, but God raised him. And Luke tells us that God freed him from the agony of death because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
Why was it impossible for death to keep its hold on him? It was impossible for death to keep its hold on him because of what God promised him in Psalm 16. And Peter goes on to quote from Psalm 16 in verses 25 to 28 and he applies what David said in Psalm 16 to the Lord Jesus Christ. So, as we read these words which Peter quotes, we’re to imagine the Lord Jesus saying these things. And he’s saying about himself that he is not shaken because God the Father is with him. And his heart rejoices and he has hope because God the Father will not abandon him to the grave. And God the Father will not let the Lord Jesus, his holy one, see decay. On the contrary, God the Father will lead the Lord Jesus along the paths of life and will fill him with joy in the presence of his Father in heaven.
And Peter goes on in verse 29 to make clear that the psalm cannot be about David. It cannot be about David, because David died and his body was buried and his tomb is still there in Jerusalem. And, although Peter doesn’t say this, he means that if you were to open up the tomb, you’d see that David’s body did decay and the only thing left of David are his bones.
And so, the psalm isn’t about David. It’s about the Lord Jesus. And therefore David spoke as a prophet about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. God the Father didn’t abandon him to the grave and God didn’t let his body see decay, because God the Father raised him from the dead to everlasting life. And Peter adds that he and his fellow apostles are witnesses to the resurrection.
And having been raised from the dead, God the Father exalted the Lord Jesus to the right hand of God. So, he lifted him from the grave and he lifted him to heaven. And having been exalted to the right hand of God, the Lord Jesus has received from his Father the promised Holy Spirit. And he has now poured out the Holy Spirit on his people and produced what they now see and hear.
And Peter then quotes another psalm of David in verse 34. This time he quotes from Psalm 110 where the Lord God Almighty spoke to David’s Lord. In other words, in the psalm God the Father is speaking to the Lord Jesus Christ. And God the Father invited the Lord Jesus to sit at his right hand in heaven as king over all.
Peer is saying that Psalm 110 is about the Lord Jesus. It’s about his ascension to heaven. And how do we know that Christ has ascended to heaven and that this psalm has been fulfilled? How do we know that Christ is now sitting at God’s right hand as king over all? We know it because of what has happened at Pentecost. We know he has sat down at God’s right hand as king over all, because the Spirit has come. And the Spirit has come because Christ sat down at God’s right hand and he received the Spirit from the Father and he has poured the Spirit on his people.
And so, the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is really about the Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of the Spirit at Pentecost makes clear that God has made this Jesus both Lord and Christ. He is the Christ: God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King who came into the world to deliver his people from our sin and misery. And he’s the Lord. He’s Lord of all so that he possesses all authority in heaven and on earth and is now enthroned as Lord over all. And how do we know that he is Lord and Christ and king over all? Because as Lord and Christ he has poured out his Spirit upon his people.
Verses 37 to 41
Luke tells us in verse 37 that when the people heard this, they were cut to the heart. In other words, they were convicted by what they heard, realising that it was all true. And so, they asked Peter and his fellow apostles what they should do. Since it’s true that the Lord Jesus, whom they crucified, is now the Lord and Christ over all, what should they do?
And Peter replied and told them they should repent and be baptised for the forgiveness of their sins. Repentance means turning from our sins and turning with faith to Christ. So, having realised that we’ve done wrong and that there’s no excuse for what we have done, and hating our sins and hating all the ways we’e fallen short of doing God’s will, we turn from our sins and shortcomings and we confess them to God and we trust in Christ for mercy. That’s repentance. And Peter also mentions baptism because baptism is a sign which God has given to his church to signify and to reassure us of his willingness to wash away our guilt because of Christ who died for sinners. Just as water washes away dirt from our bodies, so God is willing to wash away the guilt of our sins. And he’s able to do so because of Christ who shed his blood to cleanse us.
And so, what should we do? We should repent and we should be baptised. And God is indeed willing and able to forgive us, because Christ has paid for our sins and shortcomings with his life which he gave up for sinners on the cross. By offering himself as the perfect sacrifice for sins, he has made up for all that we have done wrong and he has made peace for us with God.
And Peter says you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, of course, is the one who enables sinners to repent and to believe. And having repented and believed, God fills his believing people with his Spirit to enable us to walk in his ways. The Holy Spirit renews us inwardly and restores us in the image of God. Slowly but surely he transforms us into the kind of people we were always meant to be, which are people who love God and who want to do his will here on earth.
And Peter adds that this promise of forgiveness and the promise of the Holy Spirit is for who? It’s for you, he says. In other words, it was for those God-fearing Jews from every nation who had gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost. And it was for their children. And it was for all who are far off. In other words, it’s for all who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Before the last days began, salvation was for the Jews only. But now it’s for everyone who believes in Christ. And that means it’s for us. It’s for you and it’s for me. The promise of forgiveness and the promise of the Spirit is for everyone who trusts in the Saviour. And so, if Jesus Christ is your Saviour, if you’re trusting in him and in him alone, then God forgives you for all that you have done wrong; and he gives you his Spirit to renew you in his image and to help you walk in his ways and to do his will each day.
And Luke tells us that with many other words he warned them and he pleaded with them. Presumably he warned them of what would happen if they didn’t call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and how they would suffer God’s wrath and curse when Christ comes again to judge the world. And he therefore pleaded with them to believe. And look at verse 41: those who accepted his message were baptised. And about three thousand people were added to the church that day.
Conclusion
Luke says they were added to the church. They were added to the church by whom? Who added them? Luke means they were added to the church by the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember the book of Acts is not so much the book about the acts of the apostles, but it’s the book about the acts of the Risen and Exalted Lord Jesus Christ through his apostles and by his Spirit. And so, from his throne in heaven, the Risen and Exalted Lord Jesus added these people to his church which he’s building throughout the world. He added them through the apostles who proclaimed his word to the people. And he added them by the Holy Spirit who enables sinners to repent and believe.
And we should pray to the Lord asking him to keep doing the same thing in our day so that the gospel will be proclaimed throughout the world; and that he will send his Spirit on all kinds of people, so that they’re able to repent and believe for salvation and are renewed in God’s image more and more. And we should pray for the Holy Spirit to renew us more and more in God’s image: to help us to fight against our sinful desires and to help us to do God’s will while we wait for Christ our Saviour and King to come again.
Sermons and Stuff 