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MAY 11, 2008
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God." And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" But others mocking said, "They are filled with new wine." But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: "'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'
Acts 2:1–21
We are all familiar with the Apostles’ Creed. In the second article, we say of Jesus:
He was . . . “conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell, the third day he rose again from the dead, he ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead.”
You, no doubt, realize that since he has ascended into heaven and is, even now, sitting at the right hand of the Father, the only thing that remains until the end of all things is his final coming. That is to say, with every tick of the clock we are always just a millisecond away from eternity. For the unbeliever, he is always a millisecond away from eternal damnation. For us believers, we are always a millisecond away from the kingdom of glory — and all the treasures that the kingdom brings!
There is only one question remaining to be answered. In the millisecond that remains before the end, who will repent, trust in Christ, and so be saved? This is the preeminent question of human existence. God thought this so important that he began these “last days,” i.e., the New Testament era, with a bang, so to speak.
That bang is called Pentecost. At Christmas we celebrate the love of the Father in giving us the baby Jesus; on Easter we sing hallelujahs to the risen Son; and on Pentecost we rejoice as we behold the converting and sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit.
I would like to take you back in time to the day of Pentecost. It took place 50 days after Easter Sunday. On this day Jews from near and far had traveled to celebrate the Jewish Pentecost — a harvest festival — coming 50 days after Passover.1 The word Pentecost means fiftieth.2 During this festival season, the population of Jerusalem typically increased from 30,000 to about one million.
Suppose you were in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. The first thing you would notice was that the city was in an uproar. For the past seven weeks there had been only one topic of conversation, Jesus of Nazareth. No one could doubt that he had done mighty miracles. Thousands had seen his power. But the Jewish leaders had him crucified because he was a threat to their power and because he claimed to be the Son of the living God.
But something strange had happened. Many reliable witnesses were saying that this Jesus didn't stay dead, that he rose from the grave, and that he had shown himself alive to his disciples and to many others as well.3 And now — now rumors were circulating that just ten days ago he ascended visibly into the heavens. And this, too, happened in the presence of many witnesses!4
And so there are two burning questions that you and your fellow Jews are asking:
But, then, suddenly, a strange sound pierced the air. It was loud and violent, like the rush of a mighty wind. Yet, there was no wind, just sound. It seemed to be coming from one place. It was eerie. Everyone was rushing to investigate. You do the same.
The great sound had drawn the Jews to where the apostles were. And with this great multitude around them, they began to bear witness to Jesus, the Christ. This was the purpose of the mighty signs, to draw these Jews to the place where they could hear the Gospel. The Spirit came miraculously and powerfully. But the Spirit comes not to draw attention to his own miracles. Rather, he comes to draw attention to the miracle of the incarnate, crucified, risen, and ascended Messiah. He comes to point us poor sinners to “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”5 And he comes to say, “Trust in this Christ, for he is your only righteousness, your only hope, indeed, mankind's only Savior.” Yes, behold the Spirit as he upholds the righteousness of Christ for all eyes to see.
Yes, the Spirit came in power with miraculous signs to draw attention to the Gospel. But not only did he come in power, he also came to empower. He came to empower the apostles to speak the “mighty deeds of God.”6 And speak they did. These Jewish foreigners, who were gathered before them, represented at least 15 different nations.7 And they heard, many for the first time, the Gospel in its truth and purity. They heard that Jesus was the Promised One, the son of David and the Son of God, the Immanuel who had, indeed, ransomed captive Israel.
But the foreigners were amazed and bewildered, for each person, no matter where he was from, was now hearing the Gospel in his own native language!
How could this be? Were not all the apostles Galileans? Yes, they were. And no, they hadn't previously learned the languages that they were now speaking. But the Holy Spirit had filled them, empowering them to speak as they had never spoken before. The disciples weren't filled with the Spirit because they were so pious or so religious. No, they were filled because, in God's great timing, the critical, never–to–be–repeated moment had come. The nations were assembled. And God had chosen this day, a day above all others, to proclaim the forgiveness earned by Christ through the lips of his disciples to the world.
This was a day like no other. The nations had come to Jerusalem to celebrate a Jewish harvest.8 The Spirit had come to Jerusalem this day for a harvest also, but for a far greater harvest, a harvest of souls.
Now it is obvious that the Spirit gave the disciples the ability to speak in different languages. But we sometimes forget that he also empowered them to speak out in the face of adversity. And boy, they needed that!
Before Pentecost, their record was miserable. They all fled for fear when Jesus was arrested. None of them spoke up for him during his trials. Even worse, while their Master hung on the cross, all but one distanced themselves from him lest they should suffer the same fate.9 Cowards! That’s what they were! But I am quite certain that I would have joined their number.
But now, watch them during and after Pentecost. Peter is now the steadfast one who delivers the most remarkable of sermons. With the Spirit empowering them, Peter and John, in the face of a hostile command to silence themselves, boldly insist, “We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”10 And then there was Stephen. He went to a martyr's death because his adversaries “could not resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.”11
Yes, on Pentecost we behold the Spirit coming in power. We also behold him coming to empower. And the world has not been the same since! It was a day like no other.
It is God's desire in these last days that all people should call upon the name of the Lord, i.e., to recognize their own sinfulness and to embrace Christ as the only one who forgives and saves.
On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit got personal. Peter spoke to the crowd, telling them that Jesus was the Messiah. Then he said, “You crucified him!”12 When they heard this, “they were cut to the heart” and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”13 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.”14 On that day about 3000 people came to faith in Christ. And in these “last days” we also have come to trust in him.
Without Pentecost, the Gospel would have probably stayed in Israel. The Christian movement would have likely fizzled out within a generation or two. That would mean, of course, that we would all be spending eternity in the “smoking section.” But on Pentecost, a day like no other, the Spirit was poured out on all the nations such that “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”15
My friends, it’s always just a millisecond before eternity begins. What shall we do? That’s easy: We continue our discipleship by continuing to trust in Christ and his righteousness.
But suppose you have a specific vocation or calling. How does that work? Well, since today is Mothers’ day, let’s consider the spiritual work of a being a Christian mother. Knowing that her children are sinners, she will have them baptized as soon as possible, for baptism is as St. Paul says, “the washing of water with the word.”16 He furthermore says that holy baptism is “the washing of rebirth and renewing by the Holy Spirit.”17 Yes, she wants them reborn in baptism.
She will, also, nourish her children’s baptismal faith by reading them Bible stories and teaching them the faith. In this way she is bringing up her children in “the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”18 As they grow and learn to read, she and her husband will instruct them in the teachings of Scripture. They will be regular in divine Service and in Sunday school. In this way the parents lay a solid Biblical foundation.
To one and all, I say, “Thank God, if you have a mother like that!” And, today, two young confirmands will stand before this assembly to confess their faith in Jesus. This would not have happened if their parents had not nourished their baptismal faith.
On this day of Pentecost, it is fitting that we thank the Holy Spirit for bringing our confirmands to — and preserving them in — the one, true faith, even as he has done the same for us.
Indeed, without the Holy Spirit we could never hope that, at the end of our life’s story, the last words would read, “And they lived happily ever after.”
That, too, will be a day like no other!
In the name of Christ, the crucified, risen, ascended, and returning Lord. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Endnotes
2 See ISBE entry at http://www.bible-history.com/isbe/P/PENTECOST/.
3 See 1 Corinthians 15:3-8.
4 See Acts 1:4-12.
5 See John 1:29.
6 See Acts 2:11, NASB.
7 See Acts 2:9-11.
8 The Jewish Pentecost was also a harvest festival.
9 The apostle John was a happy exception. He was beneath the foot of the cross. See John 19:26-27.
10 See Acts 4:20.
11 See Acts 6:10. For larger context, see Acts 6:10-8:1.
12 See Acts 2:36.
13 See Acts 2:37.
14 See Acts 2:38.
15 See Acts 2:21.
16 See Ephesians 5:26.
17 See Titus 3:5.
18 See Ephesians 6:4.
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