Pentecost | Acts 2:1-4
Pentecost | Acts 2:1-4
INTRODUCTION
Pentecost Sunday is more than a commemoration, it is a divine invitation. It marks the day when heaven touched earth, when the promised Spirit of God descended upon ordinary men and women and transformed them into bold witnesses of the gospel. The same Spirit who hovered over the waters in Genesis, who empowered the prophets of old, now fills His church with power, unity, and purpose.
When Jesus instructed His disciples to wait in Jerusalem, it wasn’t a passive waiting; it was a posture of prayer, expectation, and unity. What followed was a moment that turned fearful disciples into fiery evangelists, and a scattered group into a Spirit-empowered church.
Today, we don’t gather merely to recall a historic event. We gather with the hunger to experience what they did. For the Spirit of Pentecost is not a relic of the past but the ever-present Person of God who desires to fill, lead, and empower us today.
PENTECOST
Acts 2:1-4
- Promise of Pentecost
- Preparation for Pentecost
- Proofs of Pentecost
- Peoples of Pentecost
- Prophecy of Pentecost
- Preaching of Pentecost
- Power of Pentecost
Acts 2:1-4
1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Peter’s message
37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Promise of Pentecost
Acts 1:4-8
4On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Jesus tells the disciples not to leave Jerusalem until they have received power from high.
Application: Before we can carry out our mission, we need the power to do it.
The power that Jesus expresses to the disciples is the power of the Holy Spirit. This would have been dramatic to the disciples because many people believed that the Spirit was no longer active in the same way the Spirit was in the OT prophets. That is why, in Acts 2 when the verse is quoted form Joel it says:
Acts 2:17
“‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
In other words, the Spirit was something that belonged especially to the end time. Jesus was letting the disciples know, “Yes he is the Messiah, and therefore the foretaste of the Kingdom has already come among them.” They said:
Acts 1:6
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
Jesus said:
Acts 1:7-8
7He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The Spirit was associated with the end time, but also the Spirit was also associated with the prophets. When the Jewish people thought of the spirit, they specially thought of the Spirit who empowered the prophets to speak for God.
It would be like Jesus pointing to His disciples and saying, “You’ll be like Jeremiah. You’ll be like Isaiah. You’ll be like Deborah. And you’ll be like Miriam.”
When God has given us the Spirit, He’s given us the power to speak for Him. And in verse 8, it says that this power is not just in some generic sense, but the power is to speak for God, to be witnesses for Christ across all cultural barriers: Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth.
Preparation for Pentecost
He goes on then to the preparation for Pentecost.
a. Restore Leadership
They have to restore the leadership structure of the church. Scandals are not just a new problem, there was a scandal in Jesus’ day. One of His own chief disciples deserted Him. So the disciples needed to get another disciple so their number would be restored to twelve, for the mission again to Israel.
But there’s another aspect of that preparation that’s very important for us as well, and that is in chapter 1:14.
b. Unity & Prayer.
Acts 1:14
They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Acts 2:1
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
We read that the disciples were praying together. And then in chapter 2 and verse 1, we read again that they were together in one place in unity.
What that tells us is that the whole part of the preparation for Pentecost was framed by the disciples being together in unity and in prayer. As we are seeking for the outpouring of God’s Spirit in our lives, we see something that runs throughout Luke-Acts. Jesus says in Luke 11:13 that if you ask for the Holy Spirit, your Father will give that.
Luke 11:13
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
And in various places in the book of Acts, people are praying when the Spirit of God comes.
Proofs of Pentecost
We also learn about the proofs of Pentecost. Some of these are dramatic:
a. The fire and the wind: Like at Mount Sinai and other theophanies, other revelations of God in Scripture.
But the third proof of Pentecost is perhaps the most climactic, and that’s where the disciples begin praising God in other people’s languages.
b. Speaking in tongues. They begin speaking in tongues. Unlike the other two events; this happens two other times when the Spirit is poured out in the book of Acts. Luke wants to emphasize this point.
Why would Luke emphasize praying in tongues when the Spirit comes in the book of Acts? It has to do with the particular aspect of the Spirit’s ministry that Luke is emphasizing. In chapter 1:8, the Spirit comes on us to give us power to be witnesses among the nations. What greater sign could God give to His church that He was empowering the church to reach the nations than to enable us to worship God in other people’s languages?
Now, this is not to enter into debates about how often today this happens when people are filled with the Spirit. It’s just to make the point that God was saying to the church, “I’m giving you the power of the Spirit for this purpose: To cross all cultural barriers, to reach all nations, to speak for Me.”
Peoples of Pentecost
And then he goes on from the proofs of Pentecost to the peoples of Pentecost, carrying on with the same point that was illustrated by the speaking in tongues. We see Jewish people from every nation under heaven. Now, they were Jewish, but this was the closest way that God could foreshadow on the day of Pentecost what the power of the Spirit was for. Already on the day of Pentecost, God was bringing together representatives from all peoples with the good news of the gospel.
Reversal of Babylon. And many scholars see this as a reversal of Babel. This is one of many allusions. But here also, a reversal of Babel so that the good news goes out to all the nations; here in a preliminary way, but ultimately continuing in our own day, this mission to all the nations. The original apostles were the first witnesses, and we continue to carry on this mission.
Prophetic Empowerment. We see back in chapter 1, with the promise of Pentecost, when Jesus is ascending to the Father, He gives them the promise of the Spirit. This is just like when Elijah was ascending, he promised Elisha a double portion of his spirit, the prophetic empowerment.
Prophecy of Pentecost
Peter interprets what’s happened in light of the book of Joel, Joel chapter 2.
Joel 2:17-18
17“‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
These were activities that were often associated with prophets in the Bible. And then Peter adds in another line that’s not even there in Joel: “And they will prophesy.” This is driving home the point that the same Spirit who empowered the prophets is the same Spirit who now empowers us to declare the Word of the Lord; the good news of the gospel, the good news of Christ to the ends of the earth.
Preaching of Pentecost
Which brings us then to the preaching of Pentecost, because the last line that Peter quotes before moving on to his sermon is:
Acts 2:21
And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Whoever calls, in Hebrew, it was, “Whoever calls on the name of Yahweh will be saved.” But Joel went on, and Peter finishes part of that quotation later in his sermon: Acts 2:39 For all whom the Lord our God will call.”
In between, Peter is doing a good Jewish midrash (commentary); that is, he’s interpreting the last line that he quoted. And he interprets it by weaving together texts with some related wording to show that the name of the Lord on whom we’re to call for salvation in this era of salvation is Jesus of Nazareth.
So he says in the climax of his sermon:
Acts 2:38-40
38Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (In other words, the name on whom we are to call for salvation is none other than Jesus Christ, the One who was empowering His church.) 39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
Power of Pentecost
But finally, we come to the power of Pentecost, because Pentecost was not just about the gifts of the Spirit, not just about power to speak prophetically for God. Pentecost was about the fruit of the Spirit. It was about the long-range impact of the Spirit among God’s people.
We see this in 2:41 & 47: The church was growing.
Acts 2:41
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Acts 2:46-47
46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
The church was growing. In verse 41, that their number came to 3,000 because of Peter’s preaching. But in verse 47, the church was growing—people were being added every day because of the way God’s people were living.
And we see it again in some of the verses sandwiched in between verse 42 and then again in verse 46, that they were meeting together, they were praying together, they were carrying one another’s needs, they were listening to apostolic teaching together. Being together as God’s people is also a witness, just like the proclamation.
And we see that Peter quotes Jesus:
John 13:35
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love another.
Love is also a great way of preaching.
Acts 2:44-45 (the centre of the last section in the power of the Spirit)
44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
This really challenges us deeply. That is that God’s people loved one another so much, so deeply, that they were prepared to sacrifice their possessions for one another. They loved people more than they loved possessions. They were selling their goods as anyone had need.
This also fits what it means to have a repentant lifestyle throughout Luke-Acts.
Acts 16 the Jailer asked:
Acts 16:30b-31
what must I do to be saved?”
31They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
But there are also other aspects of the answer to that question to be saved.
In Luke chapter 3, people asked John the Baptist:
Luke 3:10-11
10“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
11John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
How shall we show our repentance?” He says, “If you have two cloaks, give one to the person who has none.” Share your possessions.
Luke 18:18
A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Luke 18:22
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
And so Peter has called on the people to repent, but in their repentance it went so deep that it touched every aspect of their lives. When Jesus Christ becomes Lord of our life, when we are really filled with the power of His Spirit, we will proclaim His message to other people, and we will serve one another and care about one another’s needs.
That also is an expression of the power of the Spirit, and it was a great way to begin the first church and the day of Pentecost. When the day of Pentecost came, God’s power fell upon them and God forces His people to cross cultural barriers and reach all peoples with the good news of the gospel.
CONCLUSION
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was not meant to be a one-day revival but the beginning of a Spirit-filled movement that continues today. As we reflect on the Promise, the Power, the Preaching, and the Proofs of Pentecost, we must ask ourselves: Are we living as people filled with the Holy Spirit?
God desires a church that prays together, loves one another deeply, serves sacrificially, and boldly proclaims Christ. The same Spirit that fell on the early believers is available for us today if only we ask, receive, and walk in obedience.
Let us not leave this day unchanged. May we be a people marked by the fire of God, set apart, empowered, and sent out for His mission.
LIFE APPLICATION POINTS
Wait on God with Expectation and Unity
Make personal and corporate prayer a priority. Be part of the praying, waiting community.
Be Filled with Holy Spirit Daily
Begin each day asking the Lord to fill you afresh with the Holy Spirit to live and witness for Him.
Be a Bold Witness for Christ in Every Sphere
Share the gospel with someone this week; at work, school, at our neighbourhood.
Live in Genuine Fellowship and Community
Don’t live a private Christian life. Get involved in your church family. Join a small group, serve, fellowship, and grow.
Practice Radical Generosity and Compassion
Meet a need in someone’s life; whether financial, emotional, or spiritual.
Pursue Holiness and Repentance Continually
Ask the Lord to search your heart. Repent of anything that hinders His Spirit from moving freely in you.