Pentecost and the Holy Spirit

This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost (literally “fiftieth day”). Pentecost (sometimes called “Whitsunday” in the UK) comes 50 days after Easter. In the Hebrew Bible, the Feast we call Pentecost was called Shavuot, or the Feast of Weeks, which originally marked the beginning of the wheat harvest. It was also one of three feast days on which all Jewish males were required to come to Jerusalem with an offering (Exodus 34:22-23). Eventually the Feast of Weeks became the day that the Jewish community celebrated the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Over time, the giving of the Law became the primary focus of the celebration in the Jewish community, and that is how the Jewish community celebrated Pentecost in the first century and continues to celebrate Pentecost today.

According to Acts 1-2, Jesus ascended 40 days after the first Easter (we celebrated Ascension Day last Thursday), and, before ascending, he instructed his disciples not to leave Jerusalem, “but to wait there for the promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4).

So, on Pentecost, which, again, came on the fiftieth day after the first Easter, the disciples were gathered together, and the Holy Spirit descended on them in an extraordinary way. There was first a “mighty, rushing wind,” and then “tongues of fire.” Remember that the word for “spirit” in both the Greek and the Hebrew can also mean “wind.” In Genesis 1 we read that “a wind from God swept over the face of the water” (Genesis 1:2). The word translated “wind” in the NRSV could also be translated as “Spirit” or “breath.” The ESV, NIV, and KJV all have “Spirit of God” (note the capitalization of “Spirit”). Also, when God created the first human in Genesis 2, God breathed the “breath of life” into him. The Greek word that is used to translate the Hebrew word for “breath” is the same Greek word that Luke (the author of Acts) uses to describe the “wind” that came on Pentecost.

Pentecost, then, continues the work begun at the resurrection, when the Spirit of God raised Jesus’ dead body to a new kind of life. Now, through the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ followers can share in that same life.

Concerning the tongues of fire, it’s important to remember that John the Baptist said that Jesus would baptize “with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Luke 3:16). Some biblical scholars believe that the “fire” mentioned by John is in contrast to the Holy Spirit, representing judgment as opposed to the grace and renewal of the Spirit. Other scholars, however, have suggested that the Holy Spirit and fire are in parallel, part of the same event. In the Old Testament fire is sometimes used to communicate judgment, but can also mean either purification (Malachi 3:2-4) or the manifest presence of God (Exodus 13:21).

The fire of Pentecost is connected to “tongues.” It’s important to remember that the word “tongues” in Greek means “languages.” When the disciples received these “tongues,” then, they were able to speak in other languages, enabled by the Spirit. The miracle of Pentecost is that when the disciples began to speak, the “devout Jews from every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5) gathered in Jerusalem testified that, “in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power” (Acts 2:11).

This, of course, calls to mind another event from Genesis, the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). One of the results of God’s judgment against the Tower of Babel was the scattering of people and confusion of language. God’s image-bearers, intended by God to have dominion over the creation, were now alienated from, and also divided by geography and language. On Pentecost God begins the undoing of the judgment of the Tower of Babel. Again, the new creation begun in the resurrection of Jesus was continuing.

At this point, Peter stands up and addresses the crowd. Remember that this is same person who denied Jesus three times just eight weeks before. Now he is standing up and declaring the truth of the gospel, understanding that the same religious and political authorities who put Jesus to death would no doubt react against him for doing so. He sought to interpret what had happened to those gathered, and he did so by connecting this miracle to the Old Testament prophecy of Joel chapter 2, in which the prophet foresees a day when all of God’s people—no longer just prophets, priests, and kings—would receive the Holy Spirit and be empowered to announce the truth of God. He connects this event to the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, concluding his sermon by declaring that Jesus, who was handed over to death by the religious leaders, was now seated at the right hand of God proclaimed as both Messiah and Lord.

The progression, then, is this: The disciples receive the Spirit, they are supernaturally empowered to announce the good news about Jesus (which is focused on his death, resurrection, and ascension), and then those to whom they preach respond. Some are open to this message, asking Peter what they might do, while others respond with derision (i.e., “They’re drunk!”) or even hostility. To those who are open, Peter invites them to repent and be baptized.

Finally, as people respond to the good news about Jesus with repentance and baptism, they experience forgiveness of their sins and also the gift of the Spirit, the same Spirit that the apostles received. This led to the creation of a community, gathered around “the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42) and marked by both “signs and wonders” and sharing possessions (Acts 2:43-44).

It is in and through the Holy Spirit that we experience the present reality of God’s kingdom. Through the Spirit we are able to proclaim the gospel in ways that people from all cultures, languages and lands can hear and receive, and it is through the Spirit that people respond. It is through the Spirit that the Christian community is empowered and sustained. Our life as the church should be characterized by signs and wonders—healing, deliverance and forgiveness—as well as an ethic of worship, study, prayer, fellowship (connected to having “all things in common”), and service to the world.

My hope and prayer is that we would be a congregation that is open to experiencing and living in the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit—not just on Pentecost Sunday, but every day, because, if we are to be the church that God is calling us to be, we need the Spirit’s presence and power. Let’s open ourselves to Him, knowing that, as we do, good things will happen.

Peace,

Chris