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SCRIPTURE: Acts 2:1-21
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The complete exegesis, as published in SermonWriter
A sermon, "The Gift of Fire," by the Rev. Dr. David E. Leininger
A sermon, "When the Fire Grows Cold," by Dr. Philip W. McLarty
A sermon, "Finding Our Own Voices," (Acts 2:1-11) by the Rev. Charles Hoffacker
A sermon, "Danger: High Voltage," (Acts 2:1-4) by Dr. Philip W. McLarty
CONCISE EXEGESIS:
LUKE-ACTS: PENTECOST IN ITS LUKE-ACTS CONTEXT
Luke wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles –– the Gospel being the story of Jesus and Acts being the story of the early church. It is unfortunate that the two books are separated in the New Testament by the Gospel of John, because placing Acts directly after Luke would help us to see how one flows into the other –– how the Acts of the Apostles picks up where the Gospel of Luke leaves off. This is significant to the story of Pentecost, because the first Christian Pentecost is deeply rooted in the Gospel of Luke.
VERSES 1-4: WIND & FIRE
1When the day of Pentecost had come (Greek: sumplerousthai –– was fulfilled), they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind (Greek: pnoes –– wind, breath), and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3Divided tongues (Greek: glossai), as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages (Greek: glossais), as the Spirit gave them ability.
Luke began his Gospel with the story of Jesus' birth. He begins the book of Acts with the story of the church's birth. First came the Messiah; now comes the Holy Spirit.
"When the day of Pentecost had come" (sumplerousthai –– was fulfilled) (v. 1a). The "fulfillment" language is important here. Jesus promised, "You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now" (Acts 1:5). Now his promise is fulfilled.
Pentecost is also known as the Feast of Weeks. Leviticus 23:15-21 requires Jews to observe the Feast of Weeks fifty days after the offering of the barley sheaf at the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Numbers 28:26-31 and Deuteronomy 16:9-12 provide details about offerings to be offered and persons to be included.
The word "Pentecost" is Greek, meaning fifty, reflecting the fifty-day countdown. It is one of three great pilgrimage festivals (the others being Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles), which Jews living near Jerusalem are required to attend and to which Jews from other nations make pilgrimage as they are able.
"they were all together in one place" (v. 1b). These events take place in Jerusalem. The people who are gathered together in 2:1 are presumably the 120 disciples mentioned in 1:15.
"And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind…. Divided tongues (glossai), as of fire, appeared among them…. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages (glossais), as the Spirit gave them ability" (vv. 2-4). Christians retreated into hiding after the crucifixion and waited quietly for God to act. Now the time has come! The heavens roar! Fire burns! The Spirit of God fills! Disciples preach! Crowds wonder! "The first gift of the Spirit is the gift of speech, the gift of speech in different languages…, and the first fruit of the Spirit (is) the gift of proclamation" (Willimon, 30).
Note the wordplay in verses 3-4 between tongues (glossai) of fire and speaking in other tongues (glossais) –– a subtlety sometimes obscured in translation.
"the rush of a violent wind.... Divided tongues, as of fire" (2-3). Wind and fire, two great symbols of Pentecost, testify to God's presence among these disciples:
• At the creation of the world, " the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7). Then God breathed breath into Israel, the first people of God, and their dead bones came to life (Ezekiel 37:7-10). Now at Pentecost God's great wind/breath breathes life into the new people of God –– the church.
• For Old Testament references to God's use of fire, see Genesis 15:17; Exodus 9:23-24; 13:21; 19:18; 24:17; 29:18; 32:20; 1 Kings 18:17-40). Now, at Pentecost, tongues of fire draw the crowds to the disciples and the message that they proclaim.
"All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit" (v. 4a). This is a theme that recurs throughout the Acts of the Apostles (2:38; 4:8, 31; 6:3, 5; 7:55; 9:17; 11:24; 13:10).
Peter is the great preacher this day, but note the emphasis on the community of faith. "They were all together" (v. 1). "A tongue rested on each of them" (v. 3). "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak" (v. 4). The gift of the Spirit is not a gift for special believers only, but is instead a gift to all within the believing community.
Speaking in "other languages" at Pentecost is different from the speaking in tongues that Paul addressed in his epistles:
• At Pentecost, speaking in other languages is for the purpose of communication, making it possible for each person to understand in his or her own language. No interpretation is required. There is no record of apostles using this gift elsewhere in their missionary work, probably because it was unnecessary. Most Jews spoke and/or understood Aramaic and Greek.
• The speaking of tongues of which Paul speaks is ecstatic speech that hinders communication unless an interpreter is provided (1 Corinthians 12-14). Paul regards it as a legitimate gift, but neither as the greatest gift nor as essential (1 Corinthians 13:1).
The question is whether Pentecost involved a miracle of speaking, hearing, or both. Verses 4 and 6 suggest that both are true.
VERSES 5-13: THE NATIVE LANGUAGE OF EACH
5Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11Cretans and Arabs –– in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power." 12All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" 13But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine."
This first call to discipleship takes place to "devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem" (v. 5). The time will come when Peter will proclaim Christ to Gentiles, but the first appeal is to Jews (Romans 1:16; 2:9).
"And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each" (v. 6). Pentecost reverses the curse of the Babel story, in which "the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and…scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth" (Genesis 11:9).
Amazed, the people asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?" (v. 7). Judea, home of Jerusalem, is urbane, but Galilee is the "sticks." The crowd does not expect sophisticated language from Galileans, but that is what they get. Like the sound of wind and tongues of fire, these languages attract people's attention.
"Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs" (vv. 9-11a). To see the scope of the nations involved, look at a modern map of the area. Start with Rome, and move east to Turkey –– then move south and east through Iraq and Saudi Arabia –– then move west through Egypt and Libya –– and then move north across the Mediterranean to Rome. You will find that you have traced a rough circle with Judea and Jerusalem at the center.
"in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power" (v. 11b). All are amazed to hear in their own languages. It is clear that they understand, because they speak of a message of "God's deeds of power" (v. 11). However, while they understand the language, they are not sure of its meaning (v. 12).
Some of them mock the disciples, saying, "They are filled with new wine" (v. 13) –– grape juice that has not had time to ferment –– alcohol-free wine. Their mockery discounts the disciples in an attempt to diminish their authority.
VERSES 14-15: LISTEN TO WHAT I SAY
14But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning.
"But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them" (v. 14a). It is interesting that Peter should be the preacher on this great occasion. Only seven weeks earlier, he denied Christ three times (Luke 22:56-62). During those seven weeks, Peter and the other disciples were transformed by their encounters with the risen Christ. Now, in Jerusalem, Peter and the disciples are filled with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the power behind this sermon. The Spirit is responsible for the crowd's overwhelming response.
"Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning" (v. 15). Peter deflects humor with humor, saying that it is much too early in the day to be drunk. This is "the hour of morning prayer, before which a Jew would not eat" –– much less get drunk (Macgregor, 43).
VERSES 16-21: SPOKEN THROUGH THE PROPHET
16No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17'In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
18Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
19And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day.
21Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'
Peter quotes Joel 2:28-32, where Joel prophesied that God would pour out his Spirit "upon all flesh" (v. 17b). Peter reinterprets Joel's words to point to the salvation that comes to "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord" (v. 21).
"in the last days it will be" (v. 17a). "The 'last days' began with Christ's appearance on earth and will be consummated by his reappearance; they are the days during which the age to come overlaps the present age. Hence the assurance with which Peter could quote the prophet's words and declare, 'This is it'" (Bruce, 61).
"I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh" (v. 17b). These words of Joel embrace a wide spectrum of people (vv. 17-18). When he speaks these words, Peter is still a Jew addressing Jews, and his vision does not yet include Gentiles. The Holy Spirit inspires him in chapter 2 to say words that open the door farther than he understands.
"Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (v. 21). The fulfillment of this prophecy begins within the hour when three thousand people call upon the name of the Lord and are saved (v. 41). That will be just the beginning. These three thousand are from "every nation under heaven" (v. 5). The majority, probably two thousand, are pilgrims from other lands. They will return to their homes, forever changed by their Pentecost baptism. The spark that they carry in their hearts will spread Pentecost fire far and wide.
• Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, The Acts of the Apostles (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 1953)
Boice, James Montgomery, Acts: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House Co., 1997)
Bruce, F. F., The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Book of Acts (Revised) (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988)
Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; McCann, J. Clinton; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV, Year C (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994)
Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holliday, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, C (Valley Forge: Trinity Press, 1994)
Faw, Chalmer E., Believers Church Bible Commentary: Acts, (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1993)
Ferris, Theodore P. and Macgregor, G. H. C., The Interpreter's Bible: Acts-Romans, Vol. 9 (Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1954)
Kee, Howard Clark and Gomes, Peter J., Proclamation 2, Pentecost 1, Series C (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980)
Ogilvie, Lloyd J., The Communicator's Commentary: Acts (Waco: Word Books, 1979)
Pelikan, Jaroslav, Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible: Acts (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2005)
Pohill, John B., New American Commentary: Acts (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1992)
Randolph, David and Kingsbury, Jack, Proclamation, Pentecost 1 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975)
Walaskay, Paul, Westminster Bible Companion: Acts, (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998)
Wall, Robert S., The New Interpreter's Bible: Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Vol. X (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002)
Willimon, William H., Interpretation, Acts (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)
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