A Sermon on Pentecost
Scripture Reading 1: Jeremiah 6:16
Scripture Reading 2:Joel 2:28-32
Introduction:
[Title Slide]
This lesson is designed to show us three things:
1. Why this incident is so miraculous and important to Christianity
2. Peter’s sermon on Pentecost is the pattern by which the lost can find hope
3. God has made one name and one pattern by which all of mankind can find hope
Before we dig into the text, let’s set the tone for the atmosphere. It is really important for us to capture the sheer wonder and excitement of this very special time in history. This isn’t some mere secular historical event; this is the beginning of Christ’s church and the changing of the entire world as we know it! Think about it for a moment, everything around you today from the fundamentals of how we treat one another as a community (the “golden rule”), to the core principles of our country’s very foundation are the direct result of the spiritual revolution that took place with this one event.
Though I would contend that those who were there on Pentecost had no clue of the reverberations that would be felt throughout the ages, everyone present understood something very special, very amazing, very miraculous was taking place and I hope that you will keep that in mind as we go through our entire Gospel Meeting because it’ll do us some good to remember:
[Slide: Psalm 40:5]
We do serve a wondrous and miraculous God.
I.Pentecost & the Holy Spirit
[Slide: Acts 2:1-4]
Acts 2:1-4 says, “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
A. What is Pentecost?
[Slide: What is Pentecost?]
a. Pentecost is the Greek name for a Jewish festival which had other names in the Old Testament: The Feast of Harvest (Exodus 23:15 calls it), The Feast of Weeks (according to Ex. 34:22; 2 Chron. 8:12ff) and The Day of First Fruits (Num. 28:26). It was one of three festivals at which every Israelite male was expected to appear before God at the place of God’s choosing and we can read about that in Exodus 23:14-17 and Deuteronomy 16:16.
b. It was the completion of the Barley harvest-an occasion to “rejoice before Jehovah;” though the time is difficult to determine, Leviticus 23:15ff seems to put the festival seven weeks (or fifty days) after the beginning of Passover, thus why it is often called the “Feast of Weeks” and “Pentecost” which means 50th day.
c. Pentecost was certainly an appropriate time for the events that are described to us in Acts 2. Peter’s accusation would first diminish the joy felt over the harvest, but that let-down would then be overshadowed by the greater joy of the Good News of forgiveness in Christ.
[Slide: Illustration Quote by L. A. Mott Jr.]
The Old Testament prophecies of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit promised a harvest of spiritual fruits in Isaiah and Joel. L. A. Mott Jr. writes “Pentecost would see the bringing in of the first-fruits of the gospel.” The New Bible Dictionary connects the festival with the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai though neither the Old nor New Testaments ever do, but an interesting comparison is made that “as the Law had gone forth from Mt. Sinai, Pentecost would see the NEW law of the Lord go forth from Jerusalem.”
B. Out Pouring of the Holy Spirit
[Slide: Why the Holy Spirit?]
a. The Holy Spirit was sent to equip the apostles for their special work as witnesses of Christ. So Jesus instructed them to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Spirit according to Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:4-5. From there they were to carry their message “unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem” according to Luke 24:47.
Remember: At this point all they had was their memory of Christ’s teachings and the Old Testament. What the Jews possessedwas the foretelling of Christ’s coming, but the apostles were going to need to bring it all together for them in a meaningful way if they were to convince them. Without God’s intervening on mankind’s behalf with His Spirit the likelihood of the apostles ever being able to convey the Good News is zero.
b. Today of course we have the written Word of God here for us to turn to for God’s guidance so we are no longer “filled with the Holy Spirit” in the same context used here. If we were to choose to not heed the Holy Spirit’s works though then the likelihood of us actually converting anyone to Christ are the same as the apostles trying to preach the Good News on Pentecost without the Holy Spirit’s aid.
Time and time again we see the proof of God’s people trying to go it alone and time and time again the Words of Christ are proven true, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
Fortunately the apostle’s are patient and obedient.
c.And they are baptized into the Holy Spirit. I’m sure many of us are familiar with the term baptism meaning to plunge, immerse, overwhelm…Here it is used a bit more figurative in the sense that it refers to the effect that the Holy Spirit would have on the minds of the apostles. They were to be immersed or overwhelmed in the Spirit. It was He that allowed them to do the miraculous deeds that lent credence to what the Holy Spirit was instructing them to say.
[Slide: Acts 2:5-13]
Acts 2:5-13 “Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. (6) And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. (7) They were amazed and astonished, saying, "Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? (8) "And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? (9) "Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, (10) Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, (11) Cretans and Arabs--we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God." (12) And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" (13) But others were mocking and saying, "They are full of sweet wine.”
Now it is certainly possible to learn a foreign language and speak it fluently. But these speakers had not learned any foreign languages so this would have to be something different, something superhuman if you will. Two passages really expose the purpose of tongues in that Matthew 16:17 calls them a “sign.” As of a highway sign that points to something. Then 1 Corinthians 14:22 says, “Tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to the unbelieving.”
This is the door that opens up for the apostle Peter to rise and preach the first Gospel Sermon using prophecy to explain what’s happening.
II. The Last Days
[Slide: The Last Days]
The prophecy that Peter uses to springboard from is found in Joel 2. The mysterious event that has just taken place is given context here as it was foretold. We’ve spent a bunch of time going over the Holy Spirit for a reason. It is the driving force behind the miraculous nature of what is taking place on Pentecost. There is a lot of ambiguity today surrounding the Holy Spirit. There are a lot of people that base much of their faith around the idea that the Holy Spirit is jumping inside people, wearing them like a meat suit and driving them around like a Cadillac. That was not the case then and it is not the case now. He is still active, but not in the same way that He was during the foundation of the church.
Joel’s prophecy concerns “the last days.” There are three distinct hallmarks of the Last Days.
[Slide: List-3 Advances]
1.) Pouring Forth of the Holy Spirit
2.) The Judgment to Come
3.) Salvation in the Lord
[Slide: Acts 14-24]
Acts 2:14-24 “But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: "Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. (15) "For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; (16) but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: (17) 'AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' God says, 'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; (18) EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT And they shall prophesy. (19) 'AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. (20) 'THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME. (21) 'AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.' (22) "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know-- (23) this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. (24) "But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”
[Slide: Pour Forth…]
A. Pouring Forth of the Spirit
a. God promised to pour out His Spirit on all of mankind with the effect that people from all classes would “prophesy”-that is speak the Word of God by the power of the Spirit as it says in,
[Slide: Proverbs 1:23]
Proverbs 1:23 "Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.”
b. What we see in Joel 2:28-32 was only partly fulfilled on Pentecost, there was clearly still more to come.
[Slide: Judgment…]
B. Judgment to Come
a. Peter uses the same language as Jesus hadconnected with the destruction of Jerusalem in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 which was an event that would take place during that generation. Such language was often used throughout the Old Testament to describe the destruction of some great city. We see this language all throughout Isaiah and Ezekiel as well.
b. This means that what Peter is saying may not necessarily be pointed towards the end of the world, but rather the destruction of Jerusalem which would later be a MAJOR event in the new Messianic era. It would mark the transition from Judaism to Christianity.
[Slide: Illustration]
For Example: “Blood, and Fire, and vapor of smoke”some folks get the impression that it some supernatural event where God is having an effect on the natural order of creation with dramatic signs and wonders leading up to the final judgment.
[Slide: Illustration]
But this figurative language is indicative of war conditions-bloodshed, burning cities and rising smoke from the devastation.
c.Joel’s prophecy looked for the pouring out of the Spirit; with a great judgment from God on the horizon, preceded by various warnings. The biggest difference between the final judgment and the “day of the Lord” concerning the destruction of Jerusalem is seen clearly in that we are told in Scripture,
[Slide: 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3]
“…the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, ‘peace and safety!’ then the destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.” 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3
Compared to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD that Christ spoke of,
“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation’ which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place…then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.” Matthew 24:15-16.
We can see very clearly the only warning signs anyone would receive were before the destruction of Jerusalem and we will receive NO warning when the Messiah comes to judge. There is clearly a distinction.
In the meantime, “whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved…”Peter says, because there is salvation found in no other name under heaven. According to Peter, the pouring forth of the Spirit on Pentecost marked the beginning of the age of fulfillment, the age of the Messiah.
C. Salvation in the Lord
[Slide: Salvation in the Lord]
[Slide: John 14:6]
Salvation is found only in Jesus Christ the Son of God because He said it Himself, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
Here is where the fire really gets burning (if you pardon my figure of speech). This is where the question needs to be asked, not only by those standing there before the Apostle Peter, but you who may be sitting here this morning wondering whether or not Jesus is even real; or if you’re sitting here this morning with some ideas that might be different from some of what I’ve preached this morning; or you have no idea at all who this Jesus character is,
[Slide: Questions]
Who is this Jesus?
Why should I even care?
[Slide: Acts 2:22-14]
(22) "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know-- (23) this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. (24) "But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”
At this point Peter mentions Jesus to them for the first time in a quick summary of recent events.
[Slide: Highlighted Scripture]
a. This highlighted portion of the text shows us that the miracles that He performed showed God’s approval of Him;
b. yet they had crucified Him, but this was no mere victory for those who had Christ killed because it was all a part of the plan. God had predetermined that event as Ephesians 1:4 says, “…before the foundation of the earth…” Again though, this was no victory for evil because “…God raised Him up again…” since it was impossible for “…Him to be held in its power.”
c. The human brain can still function until about six minutes after the heart stops, though depending upon the cause it could be less. After six minutes the brain starts to die without oxygen or glucose. It isn’t very long (a matter of mere minutes really), before “brain death” sets in and the entire brain including the brain stem, has irreversibly lost all function. We can perform CPR to greatly increase the odds of bringing the person back with minimal brain damage. Defibrillators have raised the odds of saving someone’s life and bringing someone back after cardiac arrest. Amazing technology is saving lives all across the globe, but there are limits.
Jesus’ body, after suffering one of the most heinous and disturbing deaths mankind could conjure up, lay in a guarded tomb for three days before He rose from the dead and walked among His creation for 40 days. This was no secret event, He showed Himself publically to witnesses and it is recorded for us not only in the Bible, but also in historical documents.
d. The point here is between the prophetic words written hundreds of years before Christ was even born which Peter references in verse 25-35, the historical evidence, both Roman AND Jewish historical documents, we can rest assured that it happened and it happened for a reason.
III. The Reason Why
[Slide: Why…]
A. Why? Why was all of this necessary?
[Slide: Sin]
The simple answer is sin.
a. Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden had a choice to make. Up until that point God had provided them with everything that they needed that was good for them. He gave them life, food, purpose. God had provided everything for them and had given them one command…
[Slide: Scripture Quotation]
“…do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil…” The choice was whether or not they were going to trust God’s definition of good and evil, or to determine for themselves what was good and what was evil.