The Work of the Holy Spirit

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The text for today is our first reading, Acts 2:1-21.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Pentecostal movement raised a question for biblical interpreters. They studied the events of the Day of Pentecost and concluded that every Christian’s life should imitate the early Christians' experience on that day. Most pointedly, they concluded that all Christians should speak in tongues or prophesy as described in Acts 2.

In contrast, most commentators view these events as unique and miraculous—not something Christians must imitate. Like all epoch-making works of God, Pentecost was accompanied by a spectacular, miraculous occurrence which both authenticated this event as an act of the God of Israel and served as a meaningful symbol of the earth-shaking change taking place in world history. It is a symbol lifted straight from the prophetic word of the Old Testament prophets.

So, who’s got it right? Let’s go back to Scripture and then check a few other ancient Jewish sources to better understand the context and setting for the miraculous events of the Day of Pentecost. It is my prayer that we would all gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for this remarkable event.

Pentecost is the Greek name for the important Jewish observance of the Feast of Harvest (Exodus 23:16), or as it was also called, the Feast of Weeks (Exodus 34:22). Pentecost means “50^th,” for the feast took place 50 days after the Passover Sabbath (Leviticus 23:11, 15, 16). Every pious Jew tried to be in Jerusalem for this feast. Those who could not come to Jerusalem observed it in the synagogues throughout the Roman Empire and beyond.

According to Josephus (War 6:299), on Pentecost eve, the priests began to gather at the inner court of the temple. Jewish people from around the ancient Near East would already have filled the city, because they could not travel far on the previous day, the Sabbath (Ant 13:251-52).

On Pentecost morning, farmers from around Jerusalem gathered baskets with several types of food (see Mishnah Bikkurim 1:3, 10). A flute player led the farmers up Mount Zion as they sang the Song of Ascents (Psalms 120-136). This liturgy of procession and psalms was known as the Great Hallel. Psalm 136 served as a climax of praise to God, “who alone does great wonders” (v. 4) such as creating the earth, delivering the people out of Egypt, and conquering the Promised Land from which the farmers now gathered their offerings. As they neared the city, officials went out to join the procession up to the Temple Mount. The king placed a basket of food on his shoulder and led the people into the temple courts as the Levites sang Psalm 30, written for the temple dedication.

In the temple courts, the farmers would present their baskets before the priests. Each farmer would step forward and say the liturgy of recitation: “I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our fathers to give us” (Deuteronomy 26:3). He would remove the basket from his shoulder and tip it toward the priest. The priest took hold of the basket, and the two of them swayed it back and forth as a “wave” offering. Then the farmer would recite in Hebrew, “A wandering Aramean was my father …” (Deuteronomy 26:5-10a). He would leave the basket, bow, and make way for the next farmer.

But a controversy arose about the recitation. The priest would have to lead the people who could not speak Hebrew. He would say a part in Hebrew, and the person making the offering would repeat it. This apparently embarrassed non-Hebrew-speaking people. They stopped bringing their offerings. As a result, the priests decided that they would lead the people in the recitation, whether they knew Hebrew or not. In this way, they continued to receive everyone’s offering, but also retained Hebrew as the official language of temple services.

According to Deuteronomy 26:11 and 16:11-12, “rejoicing” and “remembering” followed the offering. The priests led the people in prayer according to the daily prayer customs. This likely included recitation of the 18 Benedictions and the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) and the festival psalms known as the Egyptian Hallel (Psalm 113-18).

A service of covenant renewal called by King Asa during the third month of the year is described in 2 Chronicles 15:10-15. It is likely that this renewal was during the Festival of Pentecost. Later Jewish tradition made an oath to the covenant part of the Pentecost celebration. The people promised to follow the teachings of the covenant each year on Pentecost.

The way the Festival of Pentecost was observed in the Old Testament gives us a better understanding of the events described in Acts 2. For example, Jewish people who spoke a variety of languages would have gathered in the temple courts to make their offering and to repeat the recitation in Hebrew. They would sing psalms extolling the wonders of God and participate in a renewal ceremony. The miraculous gift of languages in Acts 2 demonstrated to everyone who heard them that God desires all people to have His Word, not just the Hebrew speakers.

Peter’s sermon culminates in a renewal service: Baptism in the name of the Savior Jesus Christ! Make no mistake about it: it had all been for this. To pour out the Spirit, Jesus first, by that same Spirit, had taken flesh from the holy Virgin. To pour out the Spirit, Jesus had been anointed with the Holy Spirit in His Baptism. To pour out the Spirit, Jesus had been led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan for forty days. To pour out the Spirit, Jesus had been anointed by the Holy Spirit to preach Good News to the poor (Luke 4:16, 21). To pour out the Spirit, Jesus had lived that life of love, suffered and died, descended to hell, and rose in victory on the third day. To pour out the Spirit, Jesus had ascended into heaven and was seated at the right hand of the Father.

Fifty days after He rose from the dead, Jesus kept His promise to pour out His Spirit and the Spirit rushed into human history like never before. He came with a startling suddenness that was impossible to miss. The Holy Spirit came that morning in wind and flame and the miracle of the apostles proclaiming God’s mighty works in languages they’d never learned.

But as Peter preached, he invited the people not to wait around for another miracle. Rather, he pointed them to where they (and every generation since) may receive the Holy Spirit, perhaps less dramatically, but certainly no less powerfully than the apostles had: “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. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.”

This victorious Jesus is also the one who, together with the Father, sends the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist announced about Jesus: “I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:8). This “baptism in the Holy Spirit” is the impartation of the Holy Spirit that is given to people when they are converted to faith in Christ, either through the Word (Acts 10:44-45) or through Baptism (Acts 2:38-39), because this special gift comes from Christ and distributes the forgiveness of sins won by Christ’s glorification and ascension (John 7:39; 16:7). As Hengstenberg says: “It was only after God’s relation to the world had been changed by the death of Christ that the Spirit of Christ could be bestowed.”

With this in mind, what happened on Easter evening when the resurrected Jesus appeared to His disciples makes perfect sense: “And when [Jesus] had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld’” (John 20:22–23).

But the Spirit’s connection with Jesus is not just a matter of being sent by Him. When the Spirit works among people, the Spirit seeks to magnify Jesus, not Himself. The Spirit is happy to remain in the background as Jesus is glorified. When Jesus predicted the coming of the Spirit, He said, “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me” (John 15:26). In the same discourse, Jesus continued: “He will glorify Me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:14).

It is instructive to see how things went on the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit was poured out. His presence was visibly evident with the sound of wind, tongues of fire, and speaking in tongues. Then Peter got up to preach. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter does not elaborate on who the Holy Spirit is and how others could speak in tongues and enjoy the special visible evidences of His presence. Rather, Peter directs people to the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, and he encourages his listeners to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. They will receive the promised gift of the Spirit (Acts 2:22-39).

No less than three thousand people were baptized that day. They received the same Spirit that had fallen on the disciples earlier. “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” And He came bringing joy abounding.

Your Baptism is not only your personal Easter, joining you to Christ’s death and resurrection; it is also your personal Pentecost—renewal and rejoicing. Baptism is where you go to receive in Jesus’ name forgiveness for all your sins and a share in the promised Spirit.

And how we need the Holy Spirit! We cannot by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ or even come to Him. But the Holy Spirit has called [us] by the Gospel, enlightened [us] with His gifts, sanctified and kept [us] in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.

As we are reminded of the Spirit’s rich work, we can also be encouraged to seek a fuller measure of the Spirit as He comes through the Word and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Every Christian is baptized in the Holy Spirit at conversion, but the New Testament talks about believers having moments when they are “filled” in a special way with the Spirit (Acts 4:8, 31; 7:55; 13:52; Ephesians 5:18).

The Spirit can always be received to a greater degree, and Jesus promises that the Father likes to send the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him for the Spirit: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him” (Luke 11:13)! One Christian author mentions a commendable practice: “It has been my practice for many years to pray every day that God will fill me with His Spirit and cause more of the Spirit’s fruit to appear in my life.”

Yet, when we receive the Spirit in greater measure, the Spirit never becomes the focus because the Spirit testifies about Christ and glorifies Christ (John 15:26; 16:14). The result is that we love Jesus more and more and we want to share the message of Jesus more and more with people of all nations.

Go in the peace of the Lord and share the Good News! Christ has lived for you. Christ has suffered and died for you. Christ has risen and ascended for you. Christ has sent His Holy Spirit for you, to bring His forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. You are forgiven for all your sins.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.