At last, the waiting is over! The apostles and disciples had been through so much - the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus and then waiting for the promise of the Father. And now it happens - in ways beyond their expectation!
In this chapter, Luke records the event of Pentecost, the explanation given by Peter and then the effects of that explanation on those who heard. We're going to look at vv.1-13 but before we do so, it's important to notice that, although there is much we can say from these verses, their significance is only truly opened up in Peter's speech. Here are events that need explanation! (see vv.12,13)
1. What happens on the Day of Pentecost
Luke is careful to tell us that it was the day of Pentecost, a Jewish feast day associated with harvest but also with the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. Just as God had given his law to Moses with wind and fire, so now he gives his Spirit to his people with wind and fire.
A new age is dawning, a new stage in God's plan to save a fallen world. Here he is fulfilling ancient promises, as Peter will make plain in his speech.
On the mountain, there was real wind and flames but notice that here Luke tells us the sound was "like the blowing of a violent wind" and that "they saw what seemed to be tongues of fire" - this event is impossible to fully describe. It is like certain things but not the same as them.
What is clear, however, is that the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples. He was the reality they experienced. They "were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit enabled them".
There is a lot here to unpack and comment on since these events are so important to many Christians today. We'll look at these events and think through what they should mean for us.
i) Filled with the Holy Spirit - Jesus told them they would shortly be "baptised with the Holy Spirit"; here Luke says they were "filled with the Holy Spirit". Are they the same thing?
Certainly, this is what Jesus meant when he said they would be baptised with the Spirit. That speaks of being drawn in and made a part of something. Luke speaks of filling, emphasising they were being empowered for their new task. So here the two words describe the same event, but it is important to understand how the words are used elsewhere in the NT.
Nowhere is 'baptism' used to describe subsequent experiences of the Holy Spirit, although 'filling' is used in that way. Being baptised with the Holy Spirit is what happens to a person when they become a Christian, the initial receiving of the Spirit. 'Filling' speaks of our need to have the Spirit go on working in us, to make us more like Jesus and to equip us to serve him.
NT teaching: every Christian has been baptised with the Holy Spirit, it is not a subsequent event to conversion; all believers need to go on being filled by the Spirit for maturity and service.
ii) Speaking in other tongues - But what about speaking in tongues? This has been, and still is, quite a contentious issue in modern church life, which is strange because relatively little is said about it in the NT.
What is happening here? Clearly, those who had been filled with the Spirit were enabled by him to speak other languages, real languages that were recognised by those who heard them (vv.8,11). And it would seem reasonable to conclude that those who spoke knew what they were speaking.
Is this (speaking in tongues) something that always goes with being baptised with the Spirit or being filled by him? There is nothing in the NT to suggest that to be so.
How does this relate to what Paul says in 1 Cor. 14 about speaking in tongues? The main points seem to be these:
- tongues are real languages;
- those who speak them know what they are saying but unless their words are translated, no-one else benefits from it (vv.4,14);
- in a public situation, unless they can be translated (v.28), they should rarely if ever be heard (v.18f), and not when someone else is praying (vv.16,27);
- they are a sign for unbelievers - of judgement upon Israel for her national pride and the fact that the gospel is now going to the nations (v.21f).
The gift of tongues was given for a specific purpose at Pentecost and seems to have continued in the early church. But the use of tongues was clearly regulated and didn't form a particularly significant part of early Christian experience.
2. Witnesses Empowered!
We've looked at those questions because they're important in our modern context but for Luke there were more important things to speak about here. Here is the first instance of the disciples being empowered for the divinely-given task of witnessing to the Lord Jesus.
As we saw in 1:8, the work of the Holy Spirit is indispensable for the ministry of the church in proclaiming the Lord Jesus and here we see that he has been given to the church and is given to every believer. How encouraging that is! He came upon them and they went out, telling "the wonders of God".
There is much here that is unique to the occasion but it assures us that we too can know the help of God's Spirit for our own task of living for him and sharing him with others.
The Lord promised to help and he keeps his word! We are not witnesses of the resurrection but we can speak from personal experience of the saving grace of God. To do so with power, we need the Spirit's help. This event tells us that God is intent on helping us to do just that. He has given his Spirit!
3. Wonders for the World!
The final thing I want to mention from this event is that it speaks to us of God's purposes in Jesus for this world. Here you have a group of "God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven" and they hear the wonders of God being proclaimed in their native languages!
What does that say to us? It shows, in quite graphic form, that it is God's purpose, in and through Jesus, to overcome the curse of Babel. You remember how when mankind rebelled against him that the Lord came down and confused their languages. Here we see that barrier removed - the diversity is still there but it is no longer a hindrance to joyfully receiving the gospel message and coming to share in its reality.
We live in a world that is fractured and deeply troubled. Peoples war with each other, there is precious little peace and harmony, only uneasy tolerance at best. What can overcome the prejudice and fear, the sinful arrogance and pride of man? The grace of God, enacted in his Son, applied by his Spirit.
This event is not sufficient in itself. It needs to be explained and, in his speech, Peter focusses on the Lord Jesus Christ; he doesn't major on the phenomena. And when Jesus is lifted up, he draws all people to himself, from all nations.
How we can praise God for his purposes and the way they are being worked out through the powerful work of his Holy Spirit! And we can pray that we will know his Spirit at work in us to that end.
