The Giving of the Holy Spirit: On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Disciples and those with them. 7 Days after the Ascension of Jesus. Behold I send the promise of My Father upon you, but tarryor waitin the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. When you read what Peter said about these prophecies from Joel and the Psalmstrust me, folks, Peter's sermon would not have passed doctrinal review by the Jewish doctrinal committee of that day. Labor in the Word, meaning to read the Word, and to learn it, and to soak it in and drink it in; and to live the Word, this past year. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and . The decision to proceed with the process of replacing Judas was seen as obedience to Psalm 109:8, thus leading to its fulfillment. Jesus informed them that they had (or would have) all the knowledge they needed. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who were redeemed from the earth. Saints Community Church - Instagram What we have in verses 12-14, then, is a description of where the apostles stayed and what they did from the time of our Lords death till Pentecost. Now, it was all beginning to come together. Acts 2. From this, we can infer that Jesus unbelieving brothers (John 7:5) had come to believe in Jesus, no doubt largely due to His resurrection. That's what the gift of the Holy Spirit is for us. The selection of Matthias as the twelfth apostle is clearly a before, clearly an Old Testament method of seeking Gods will. Put another way, the same Holy Spirit who empowered Jesus as He gave the Great Commission is the One who will empower the apostles (and the church) to carry out this command. This makes sense, given both their impulsiveness and their lack of faith. These were redeemed from among men being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. We get on to verse 40, the wrap-up: "With many other words, he testified and exhorted them saying, Be saved from this perverse generation, that those who were, who gladly received his word were baptized; about 3,000 souls were added to them. 1 Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And so I made a certain few inquiries, I got on the bus, didn't miss it. He also is a residentfaculty member at the Ambassador Bible Center teaching Acts, Fundamentals of Belief and World News and Prophecy. Acts is not the account of God choosing the best and most talented and godly people on the face of the earth, so that He can accomplish the Great Commission. In Ephesians 2, Paul contrasts the Gentiles in their unbelief with the Gentiles as saints, now a part of the church. In times past, though I have not seen this as much lately, we saw the before and after of advertising for weight gain. In verse 38, after everyone has calmed down, they realize theyve been involved and they were responsible for the death of Jesus. So that when they came to that morning of Pentecost and this mighty event takes place, they were ready then to move into the experience provided, and that extra dimension of power that the Spirit of God would give them and did give to them, and Peter takes the lead to give the sermon of his life. Anyone anywhere in the world with an Internet connection will be able to use and print out the NET Bible without cost for personal study. As we came here this morning, to services, and as we gathered here this morning ourselves, there is a very important lesson for us to learn as well. I didn't know how to read a board to tell me these things. I would suspect that it may have been during that 40-day interval between our Lords resurrection and His ascension. He was the one who was the leader of that doubt and fear and terrified approach, because he denied Christ three times, and he had to be pointedly taught by Jesus. In the end, I think we must acknowledge that we must read between the lines a great deal to conclude that the replacement of Judas was wrong. All of these qualities are to the divine nature, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love. Verses 40 to 47 is a summary of one of the most remarkable periods of the church experience. 4 Now we have such confidence in God through Christ. It's God's Spirit that is the only thing that we can have to overcome those fears, because really, it's all the Church of God has ever had. This process will never be seen again in the rest of the New Testament. First, the replacement of Judas occurs prior to Pentecost. They might have fidgeted a bit and wondered, "Well, should we go fishing?" 28For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to usnot to place any greater burden on you than these necessary rules: 29 that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what has been strangled and from sexual immorality. What was the doubt that was nagging away at them even as they saw Him, and even worshiped Him, knowing that they as they did know that He had died, and yet there was doubt? There they encountered the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. Pentecost is the festival when Christians celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. This unique feast occurred 7 weeks after Passover (49 days), culminating with the actual feast on day 50 (hence, the New Testament term "Pentecost"). But on that 50th day, from the morning after Christ's resurrection, a lot had happened. Pentecost is a Christian holy day that celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit 50 days after Easter. They determined that others needed to be appointed to oversee this ministry. Show them otherwise what had been done, rebuke their unbelief, as it goes along here. If I were to summarize it, it would probably be like this: Your mission until I return is to preach the gospel to all nations. Before Pentecost: What Were They Thinking. Peter was quoting Scripture and applying it to something that had happened and that is Jesus, His death and His resurrection. And when those come in, how do we process them? 4This is much like Adam and Eve, who sought knowledge outside of the boundaries of their authority. Pentecost is one of the Great feasts in the Eastern Orthodox Church, a Solemnity in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, a Festival in the Lutheran Churches, and a Principal Feast in the Anglican Communion. 3 And tongues spreading out like a fire appeared to them and came to rest on each one of them. Not many days, we would look at it roughly 10 days from that 40-day period. They had come up against the two most powerful authorities of their day in their world. In days gone by, I have sided with those who found the selection of Matthias as an example of fleshly action hastily taken. As we have received the gift of God's Spirit, as those on that first day of Pentecost received the gift of the Holy Spirit were brought into the Church, they became, and so are we, partakers of the divine nature. The Bible teaches the following concerning how the Holy Spirit was involved with the formation and the functioning of the church. Let me explain why I have reached this conclusion. What I would like to underscore is the role of the Holy Spirit in our Lords giving of the Great Commission. We can take on that nature and we can live. Some of the women mentioned in Acts 1:14 may well have been those who accompanied Jesus and His disciples, and who also contributed to His support (Luke 8:1-3). Ascension | Description, Significance, Feast, & Art | Britannica 2 While they were serving the Lord and fasting,the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. 3 Then, after they had fasted and prayed and placed their hands on them, they sent them off. It sounded like a very strong wind, and it looked like tongues of fire. The reason is that Luke ceases to use the termdisciplesto refer to the eleven or twelve in the Book of Acts. He was just [snaps fingers] gone, He was there. The church, the body of Christ, began on the Day of Pentecost by the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third part of the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - which is. No lots were cast here, nor did they need to be. Before Pentecost: What Were They Thinking? - United Church of God And I sat, and I sat, and I thought somebody will come along and tell me what to do. Bible Chronology - The Day of Pentecost in 1971. Now all of a sudden, as Peter steps forward, and of course, you know the story of Peter. The religious leaders were quick to take note of the limitations of the apostles, and yet had to reluctantly acknowledge something powerful about their ministry: 13 When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and discovered that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized these men had been with Jesus. The apostles then found themselves speaking in foreign languages, inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Jewish authoritiesthe Sanhedrin, the Scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadduceesthat authority was intact in Jerusalem, running the temple, running the religious side of the culture and the social life of Judea under the Roman cap, and it too was a very, very powerful force you didn't run up against. We take that for the story that it is, and the gift of tongues, and the speaking of tongues that the Scriptures talk about but we don't see that as what we need to be doing in practice or in faith, but it is a dramatic story. One of the popular themes in contemporary advertising is that of before and after. There are the weight loss programs, which exhibit the most unflattering photo they can find to present as before their program was attempted. Jesus persuades them to leave what they are doing to travel with him and help to share . Not only did Jesus give them 40 days of continual confirmation of His resurrection; He also gave them His Spirit, who likewise bears witness to the resurrection through them. And then they had seen that He was resurrected. (I wonder if they were waiting for that cloud to move out of their line of sight. The apostles stayed in Jerusalem, as instructed, and they devoted themselves to prayer, along with those who were closely associated with Jesus in His earthly ministry. First, there was an unmistakable "sound like a mighty rushing wind" that "filled the entire house" where the believers had gathered. And it is also the mission of the Church, we see right here, it has begun. The Holy Spirit would internally indict sinners regarding the righteousness of Christ because He cannot be seen any longer. The Cross And Christs Suffering For Sins (1 Peter 3:18-22), 6. And let's look at it beginning in verse 36, this is after His resurrection, "As they said these things," this is the two that He had appeared to on the road to Emmaus, "Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and said to them, 'Peace to you.' At the end of John, you remember, John says, there were so many other things that He did in his life and no doubt probably part of that 40-day period that it would take volumes to teach it, and to record it during this period. Though a miracle had taken place in front of them, that still wasn't enough to remove the doubt and fear. Pentecost is celebrated 50 days after Easter and is when Christians remember the gift of the Holy Spirit. What Is the Day of Pentecost? Bible Story Study Guide - Learn Religions The Day of Pentecost Explained The Book of Acts - Pentecost 15 likes, 0 comments - Saints Community Church - COM (@saintscommunitychurchofficial) on Instagram: "Have You Prophesied Since You Believed (4)? In the midst of all of the gnats, let us not miss the camel of this text, namely that the Holy Spirit was soon (not many days from now, verse 5) to come upon them, empowering them to carry out the Great Commission. We often think a miracle would be just what we need. Two things we can summarize to show what was the key to bring about this scene that we see here at the end of chapter 2 in Acts. They had a lot of fear. Pentecost always occurs 50 days after the death and resurrection of Jesus, and ten days after his ascension into heaven. The betrayal of our Lord was no accident, and it did not catch God off guard. He quotes Joel, he quotes Psalms and he gives interpretations upon those scriptures, here in chapter 1, no one had ever heard of before. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.". And when they saw Him they worshiped him. It is not my purpose here to allow these matters to sidetrack our consideration of the argument of this text. We are told in verse 2 that Jesus gave orders by the Holy Spirit. Number one was the Roman Empire. Luke chapter 24. I wonder if more people came to Jerusalem for Pentecost in that year because of what had happened 50 days earlier, plus three, and they had heard about that. You know, before we ever get to that rushing wind that came in, it's good to think about this question, because it has a direct application to you and I today. The feast has been celebrated 40 days after Easter in both Eastern and Western Christianity since the 4th century. Now it has become popular to carry this theme over to homes, where pitiful or plain houses are transformed into palatial homes. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. "And all who believed were together and they had all things in common. There was doubt. Did they doubt what they were seeing? Church services on this day are marked by red robes and banners signifying the fiery winds of the Holy Spirit. 1. Then what looks like tongues of fire rests on the followers of Jesus, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And you can begin to imagine how this dynamic begins to must have been being set up within the disciples, because when you begin to doubt one another, you begin to lose trust. "Standing with the Lamb on the Mount of Olives," in Revelation 14:1, "144,000 with the Father's name written on their foreheads. What is Pentecost? Meaning of Pentecost Sunday 2023 - Christianity.com People need to see that Spirit within us. Day of Pentecost And Skepticisms Again, nothing like this had been a part of their frame of reference before. And they're seeing that, and it's the final time. The following is an excerpt from "A Year of Grace: Collected Sermons of Advent through Pentecost" written by Bo Giertz and translated by Bror Erickson (1517 Publishing, 2019). So He begins to teach them from the Scriptures that they might understand, and that they might comprehend what He was and how He had fulfilled everything that they would have understood to one degree, and then even more they had begun to develop a fuller understanding of the prophecies of Isaiah, or Joel, or Jeremiah, or Ezekiel, the statements about the Messiah. Jesus was coming back, just as they saw Him depart. These were not terrified, doubtful people. I believe that when the Spirit came upon the apostles, they received the authority they needed to carry out the Great Commission. At the end of the 40 days, Jesus was taken up into heaven. Go, therefore, make disciples of nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded, and lo, I am with you, always, even to the end of the age.'" Like others, I have pointed to Paul as the most likely candidate for Judas replacement. That they're not drunk, that this is of God. Pentecost: The Coming of the Holy Spirit - Bible Story & Meaning 30 He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:26-31). They watched Him rise until a cloud obscured their vision. Darris is the Associate Media Producer for the Church. The translation project originally started as an attempt to provide an electronic version of a modern translation for electronic distribution over the Internet and on CD (compact disk). And this dramatic miracle, but beyond that, 3,000 people being added to the Church, and then a community being developed. He said He wouldn't and He didn't, even though there was a moment in time when they thought that they were orphaned, as they stood gazing up and looking and wondering, "What do we do next. Read more. People should see God in the firstfruits. We will handle them by the Word of God and the Spirit of God. It was the Roman soldiers that had carried out the death of Christ and had sealed the tomb and a Roman guard had been placed there. And they chose Matthias by casting lots. And one set upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." In 2 Corinthians 3 and 4, Paul makes the same point, showing how much more glorious the New Covenant is to the Old and that New Testament ministry is to the old, because of the Holy Spirit. The publication of this material is a grace ministry of Community Bible Chapel. The Cross And Our Response to Trials (1 Peter 4:12-19), 8. But I had to go to St. Louis about 100 miles north of my hometown and pick up what they called an express bus, that would go through the larger cities. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. You ever been in that type of situation where you don't know what to do next? If all the facts were known, I believe that these two accounts would perfectly compliment each other. Ascension and Pentecost - The liturgical year - BBC Bitesize Furthermore, He no longer comes and goes but rather remains permanently. Pentecost occurred 50 days after Easter Sunday or 50 days after Jesus rose from the dead. This is Peter's first sermon since Jesus left for heaven. 9He does not forbid taking any action until Pentecost; He merely forbids the apostles to leave Jerusalem (in carrying out the Great Commission) until after Pentecost. By inference, this second volume is the account of all that Jesus continued to do and to teach, through His apostles. They'd likely not seen it. 14 All these continued together in prayer with one mind, together with the women, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers (Acts 1:12-14). How do we handle them? Instead, He would come and go. Sunday Before Pentecost - 1517 And more specifically for this group that they would be witnesses of Jesus in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth being fulfilled. 1 Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen (a close friend of Herod the tetrarch from childhood) and Saul. 12 Then when the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, because he was greatly astounded at the teaching about the Lord. Here,the twelveaddressed a problem of inequity in the care and feeding of their widows. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. And yet some doubted. Lukes Great Commission (unlike those in the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, and John) was given just prior to His ascension. Finally, verses 15-26 are the account of the selection of Matthias as the twelfth apostle, a replacement for Judas. Unmistakable. We know that unified prayer preceded this process (1:14); indeed prayer was a part of the process (see 1:24-25). Ben Hadad, the king of Syria, was threatening war against Israel and its King, Ahab. That's what this day is all about as a firstfruit. And I was going to go out to California, my first trip to California, visit my brother for about three weeks. After Jesus' ascension, his followers, about 120 of them, continued to meet in Jerusalem. "And they looked steadfastly in toward heaven," verse 10, "as He went up, and behold two men stood by them in white apparel." For if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. And when they reached their decision, they made it clear that their decision was guided by the Holy Spirit. Prior to His death, the disciples were constantly with Jesus. The Holy Spirit designated Barnabas and Saul. Our sins will find us out. I like that phrase. What is Pentecost? Why Does It Matter? - Mark D. Roberts 2. Preparation for Pentecost (Acts 1:1-26) | Bible.org And so Christ gives them teaching and He gives them understanding. Red flowers may adorn alters and other areas. My point here is that Luke links the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of our Lord in the Gospels to the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church in Acts. Not only the wording of verse 13, but also what we know of these 40 days, suggests that this is where the apostles had been staying since our Lords death. The second power that they'd run up against was that of the Jewish authorities. It goes on, "When He had spoken these things," in verse 9, "they watched and He was taken up in a cloud, received Him out of their sight. We have a very involved, and very good, and a very detailed review process at many different levels of our writings, of our speaking in the United Church of God today. They were going up against a lot, just as we go up against our world today, and ourselves, and what Satan might throw at us. In Revelation chapter 14, we are given an image of the firstfruits, called the 144,000 in this part of the Revelation. Then follows a marvelous after photo, which displays a beautiful person, so different from the before photo. And Peter thence begins to quote Scripture. And so two things create this vision and this mission. The apostles were witnesses of our Lords resurrection (1:8, 22; 2:32; 3:15; 5:32; 10:39-41; 13:30-31). But let's go back, let's look at a few of these scriptures in a little bit more detail and see exactly what had been taking place among the disciples during this period of time, that brought them to that morning of Pentecost. He made it clear that the Holy Spirit played a key role in their appointment. A photo of the proverbial 90-pound weakling was followed by the after of an awesome, muscle-flexing Charles Atlas physique. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to In his last face-to-face meeting with the Ephesian elders, Paul spoke to them about their responsibilities as shepherds. Let me last observe that Acts 1 is the beginning of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in Acts. Christians celebrate Pentecost 50 days after Easter Sunday to commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples.. The Greek word means "fifty" and refers to the fifty days that have elapsed since the wave offering of Passover. During those 40 days, He provided them with many convincing proofs that He had indeed risen from the dead. In the Great Commission of Matthew 28, Jesus claimed all authority, and He based His command to proclaim the gospel to all nations on this authority: 18 Then Jesus came up and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. "Also for this very reason, giving all diligence into your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, the divine nature. Pentecost is a happy festival. Sunday Before Pentecost. He had a long way to come to be the one to stand up and to give the sermon on this day, but he did it. Let us eagerly look forward to the changes Pentecost will bring for the better..