The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. AMEN.
Acts 2:1-21 “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue [c]rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out. 5 Now there were Jews residing in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together and they were bewildered, because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 They were amazed and astonished, saying, ‘Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? 9 Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty deeds of God.’ 12 And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean? 13 But others were jeering and saying, ‘They are full of sweet wine!’ 14 But Peter, taking his stand with the other eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: ‘Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this, and pay attention to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you assume, since it is only the third hour of the day; 16 but this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel: 17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters will prophesy, And your young men will see visions, And your old men will have dreams; 18 And even on My male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, And they will prophesy. 19 And I will display wonders in the sky above And signs on the earth below, Blood, fire, and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood,
Before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. 21 And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”
Good Friday, Easter, and the Ascension had come and gone. Good Friday dealt with the atonement for our sins. Easter-the resurrection and new life in Christ. Ascension– Christ seated at the right hand of God the Father to rule over both heaven and earth. Each of these events fulfilled its purpose in the economy of God’s salvation.
The time had come for the church to take it’s place and fulfill the purpose for she had been called into existence. It was the Day of Pentecost. Pentecost means “50” in Greek. Pentecost had a two fold purpose. Originally the Festival of Pentecost was the harvest festival for the winter wheat. It took place 50 days after the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Second in the rabbinic tradition, Pentecost also celebrated the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai to Moses 50 days after the exodus.
So on Pentecost Sunday in Acts chapter two God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit “re-purpose” the Festival of Pentecost turning it from a festival for wheat and bread and the commemoration of the giving of the Torah to a festival of the Holy Spirit and the commissioning and debut of the New Testament Christian Church. Pentecost for is the new wine in the new wine skin.
As with all things in the Bible there is a reason why God does what He does. There’s a connection between the New Testament and Old Testament. One-hundred and twenty Christians were gathered inside a large room when “suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.”
At the time of the exodus the presence of wind and fire were the signs that God was with and protecting His people. Pillars of fire went before and followed after the Hebrews as they fled Egypt. God was in the fire protecting His children from the Egyptians and leading them to Mt. Sinai.
It was the wind, the breath and Spirit of God that hoovered over the waters at creation. It was the wind and the breath of God that parted the Red Sea and allowed the Hebrews to cross over on dry land.
By sending tongues of fire, the rushing wind, and the Holy Spirit into that room on Pentecost, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were declaring that these people, these Christians were His new creation. Peter would write in his first epistle, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10)
When God sent the Holy Spirit, the wind, and fire He was declaring publically before the whole world that these Christians were His chosen people and a holy nation. These people were His apostles, pastors, and faithful servants and they had been endowed with the forgiveness of sins, the Gospel, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They now would to the four corners of world and preach the Law and Gospel and bear witness to Jesus Christ.
When John the Baptist showed up on the banks of the Jordan river, God the Father had John pass on a promise concerning Christ and the Holy Spirit. He promised that Jesus would “baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Luke 3:16). On Pentecost, that promise was fulfilled. The Holy Spirit came in the wind and what seemed like tongues of fire which came to rest on all one hundred and twenty Christians in the room.
As that was happening the people on the street who were passing by heard the sound of rushing wind and shortly thereafter Peter and the others emerged from the house and began to speak in different languages. Each person would hear the Law and Gospel in their own tongue. The people said, v. 11, “We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues.”
Some in the crowd accused Peter and the apostles of being drunk. Peter deals with the accusation with humor, then tells them what they have witnessed is the fulfilment of the prophecy. Some of what Paul includes in his sermon doesn’t sound like it belongs to Pentecost. It seems more fitting for a sermon on the second coming of Christ.
But there are two parts of the Joel quote that Peter brings to bear directly on Pentecost. The first part and the last part of the Joel verses. The first part: “I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters will prophesy, And your young men will see visions, And your old men will have dreams; 18 And even on My male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, And they will prophesy. ” The last part of the quote: “It shall come to pass that whoever call on the Name of the Lord shall be saved.”
The use of the prophet Joel spoke to the significance of what was taking place in that moment. God the Father and God the Son had promised that to pour out His Spirit on male and female servants. Both groups would speak the Gospel to others. God was pouring out His Spirit, not just on these few people on Pentecost, but upon all flesh through the Word and Sacrament ministry of the church.
Through the work of the apostles, the sent ones and all who followed them, the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit would be received by people from every tribe and every nation. Even those who are not apostles, pastors, bishops, and the like will tell carry the message of the Gospel and through them others will believe and become temples of the Holy Spirit.
Now not all sons and daughters prophesy in the same fashion. The word “prophesy” here is used as a general term that denotes speaking the Word of God, the Law and Gospel given in both the Old and New Testaments. The prophecy from Joel means both men and women, sons and daughters will faithfully speak the Gospel to their own families, friends, and neighbors and people will believe and be saved.
The Spirit given on Pentecost did not come once, never to come again. The coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost in such a visible and dramatic way does not indicate as some teach that there are two different kinds of indwelling of the Holy Spirit. One kind of indwelling and gifts for basic Christians and a second kind of indwelling for those who seek and invite access to some greater spiritual power. I once wrote a long time ago that Pentecostal Christians, including those who call themselves Lutheran have an unholy desire for holy power. These groups have their that backwards. They think that Jesus is the means to the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the end, Jesus just the way.
The Christian faith of the Bible teaches that Jesus is the alpha and Omega, he beginning and end. The Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies us in truth Christian faith in Jesus Christ.
The Bible teaches that the speaking, reading, and communication of the words of God is always accompanied by the Spirit. The Spirit has bound Himself to the Word, so that where it is taught in its purity, there the Holy Spirit is working to convict, to forgive, to convert, to regenerate, to sustain, to protect us
The language of the church is the language of the Bible, the words of God. The language of the Church, no matter the tongue in which it is spoken, is always the same. It sounds like what Peter preached on Pentecost. “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” (Acts 2:38-39).
There you go. Full circle. Peter preaches the Word of Law (your sins crucified the Lord God’s Savior) and the Gospel, the forgiveness of sins to all those who repent, trust in Christ, are baptized, and receive the Holy Spirit in the preaching of the Word and in the waters of Holy Baptism.
The promise of the Holy Spirit is not to speak in tongues, nor miracles of healing, nor special knowledge or prophecies apart from the words of the Bible. The promise is that every time we hear the Word of God, confess our sins, receive the baptism and the Holy Supper, the Holy Spirit is active. He is calling, gathering, enlightening us with Christ’s Word, and sanctifying us. He is guiding us into all truth.
On that day when God the Father fulfilled the promise He made through the Prophet Joel Peter preached the Law and Gospel and the Holy Spirit would convict the people of their sins and create in them true repentance, that is true faith, and they were saved. Thus Pentecost Day became the beginning of far–far greater. It is the fulfillment of another great promise. John 14:12 “Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I am going to the Father.”
Pentecost Sunday became a celebration of the harvest of souls made possible by the words of Christ spoken by men, the promises of God the Father and the power and working of the Holy Spirit so that those who have ears to hear do. “The natural person [Paul wrote] does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them…” (1 Cor. 2:14) “No one says, ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Cor. 12:3)
The Holy Spirit’s principle job is to create and sustain true faith, to comfort us in times of trouble and sorrow through the use and reliance of God’s word, enable us to confess our sins and receive absolution. It is as the prophet Joel and Peter said, “It shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” And so you are.
Amen.
May the peace that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.