The Bible Book

282

J

ust as thunder, lightning,

and dense cloud accompany

the giving of the Torah in

Exodus, so dramatic phenomena

accompany the giving of God’s

Spirit at the beginning of Acts.

This happens during the feast

of Pentecost, or Shavu’ot—one of

three great pilgrimage festivals

that each year brought throngs of

Jews from across the known world

to Jerusalem. Also in Jerusalem,

according to Acts, is the core group

of Jesus’s disciples, who have met to

pray, as they have done regularly

since His ascension, ten days

previously. Suddenly, a noise like

that of a strong wind fills the house

where the disciples are meeting

and tongues of fire come to rest on

their heads. Impelled by a strange

inner power, the disciples find

themselves speaking in languages

they do not know.

A great confusion

The disciples make so much noise

that a crowd gathers, including

many of the pilgrims who have

come to Jerusalem from other parts

of the world. These foreigners are

astonished because the disciples,

who by now appear to have spilled

out onto the street, are miraculously

speaking to them in their native

languages, telling them about the

“wonders of God.”

In response to these strange

happenings, some of the onlookers

are skeptical and dismissive,

accusing the disciples of being

Celebrating the ascension (top)

and Pentecost, this miniature is from

La Somme le Roi, an illuminated

manuscript produced in France

between 1290 and 1300 and now

held in the British Museum.

IN BRIEF

PA S SAGE

Acts 2:1– 47

THEME

The day of Pentecost

SETTING

c. 29 ce Jerusalem. The city

is full of Jewish pilgrims,

who converge there annually

for the feast of Pentecost

(Shavu’ot), seven weeks

after Passover.

KEY FIGURE

Peter Despite his denial

of Jesus following Christ’s

arrest, Peter is again leader

among the core disciples.

Other disciples According

to Acts, the male disciples

number about 120. Alongside

them are Jesus’s mother Mary

and the other female disciples.

EVERYONE WAS

FILLED WITH

AWE AT THE MANY

WONDERS AND SIGNS

ACTS 2:43, THE DAY OF PENTECOST

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283

See also: The Calling of the Disciples 200–03 ■ The Crucifixion 258–65 ■ The Empty Tomb 268–71 ■

The Great Commission 274–77

ACTS, EPISTLES, AND REVELATION

drunk. At this point, Peter, the

leader of the disciples, stands

up and addresses the crowd.

The strange phenomena they

are witnessing, he announces, are

not the result of drunkenness, but

they are the work of God—as

foretold by the Prophet Joel in the

Hebrew scriptures. He reminds his

listeners of Jesus, who was God’s

prophet and Messiah and whom

the people of Jerusalem have

recently killed. This same Jesus,

God has now raised from the dead.

Peter’s speech has an

electrifying effect on the crowd,

many of whom are “cut to the

heart” and beg to know what they

can do in an attempt to make things

right. Peter exhorts them to repent

and become baptized. According

to the Book of Acts, some 3,000

pilgrims follow his command,

creating a massive increase in

the number of believers.

The Pentecost event

Acts presents Peter’s speech as

a work of the Holy Spirit. At His

ascension, Jesus promises that the

Spirit would empower His disciples

to be witnesses to His resurrection,

beginning in Jerusalem (Acts 1:8).

At Pentecost, God gives His Spirit—

dramatically and emphatically—

to the disciples. Just as the Spirit

enabled the disciples to speak in

other languages, so He inspires

Peter’s speech to the people of

Jerusalem. Some scholars, however,

think that Luke—the author of

Acts—employed a literary device,

common among ancient Greek

historians, in which speeches are

put into the mouths of leading

figures in order to comment upon

the events they describe.

Peter’s speech begins with

the words of the Prophet Joel, who

said the Spirit would be poured out

on God’s people at a critical point

in history: “Even on my servants,

both men and women, I will pour

out my Spirit in those days, and

they will prophesy. ... And everyone

who calls on the name of the Lord

will be saved” (Joel 2:18–32). Peter

goes on to argue that God had

empowered Jesus’s life and ministry,

leading to His crucifixion. He quotes

David’s words that God would not

abandon His holy one to death

(Psalm 16:8–11), noting that while

David’s body was still in its tomb,

God had raised Jesus and poured

out His Spirit as promised. Jesus

had then risen into heaven in

fulfillment of God’s command that

the Messiah sit at His right hand

until God defeated all the Messiah’s

enemies (Psalm 110:1). Luke reports

that 3,000 of the assembled people

of Jerusalem, convinced by Peter’s

words, repent their sins and receive

forgiveness and the Holy Spirit. ■

The early Christian

community

Luke’s account of the events of

Pentecost concludes with a brief

description of the community

that emerged in Jerusalem as a

result of that day’s conversions.

This is marked, says Acts, by

four elements: teaching by the

Apostles; fellowship; the

breaking of bread; and prayer.

The fellowship is radical: the

believers are said to have

owned everything in common,

selling their possessions and

distributing the money that

they raised according to people’s

needs—all in a spirit of gladness

and generosity.

All four elements were no

doubt present in the early

Christian community of

Jerusalem, but later in Acts,

Luke reveals tensions among

them as well. Attempting to

win unwarranted regard, some

lie about their generosity and

are judged by the Holy Spirit

(Acts 5:3–5). For Christians

since, it has remained an

inspiration and a challenge.

The Apostles Going Forth to

Preach, a 15th-century miniature

by the Limbourg brothers, shows

the Christian community at work.

All of them were

filled with the Holy

Spirit and began

to speak in other

tongues as the Spirit

enabled them.

Acts 2:4

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