They
Okay, let me rock your world right off
the bat today. If you are like me, when
you think of Pentecost you probably envision Peter and the other 11 appointed
apostles suddenly coming under the power of the Holy Spirit and speaking “in
tongues.” But who’s to say only the 12
were affected? Read Acts 2.
It says “they.” When we hear “they,” we must go back in the
text to find out who the “they” means.
We continue to find “they” as we backtrack through Acts until we reach
Acts 1:15 where we see the identity of “they.”
Peter came among the brothers (a number of 120). A true reading of the Greek and English in
this passage would indicate that all 120 of the brethren received the Holy
Spirit!
This is confirmed by Acts 2:14 where
Peter and the 11 stand up and say “these people are not drunk.” If it were just the 12 apostles who received
the Holy Spirit, would Peter not have said “we are not drunk?” No, Peter is talking about a much larger group
speaking in the tongues of the world than the 12 apostles who got up before the
crowd.
Why spend all this time on this
matter? Again, it takes us back to the
priesthood of all believers. Peter was
there with the other 11. Among them no
doubt were some men – a few of which we know their names and who were likely
present for such an important festival: Cleopas, Barsabbas, Lazarus, Jesus’
brothers, etc. Among them no doubt were
women – a few of which we know their names and who no doubt were also present
for such an important festival: Mary Magdalene, Mary Jesus’ mother, Joanna,
Mary and Martha, etc. It is most likely
that the Holy Spirit came upon all these people and they all began speaking in
the foreign tongues of other nations.
There was no hierarchy present. There was no established human system of
qualification for receiving the Holy Spirit.
No, the Holy Spirit came upon all who followed Christ and who were
present for Pentecost. When God works,
He works with all who are willing, not just the ones we “ordain” as being
worthy because they meet our human qualifications. That’s an incredibly huge point of emphasis.
Speaking in Tongues
So let’s move on to this “speaking in
tongues.” This story is often seen as a
reversal of the Tower of Babel (See Genesis 11:1-9). At the Tower of Babel, the sin of pride
brings about a separation of people and a scattering of the nations and their
tongues. Here, a humble act of praising
God through Jesus Christ gathers people together and God overcomes the
difference in tongues.
Furthermore, this can be seen as God’s
power overcoming the effects of sin. If
sin drove humanity apart, only God can overcome this sin and make it possible
for us to come together in order to proclaim the Gospel everywhere. This is enhanced by the fact that the crowd
identifies the followers of God as being “Galileans.” The Galileans were a people
noted primarily for being rebels, for being uninformed, and for being radical
religious folks who want to free Israel from Rome under a true Messiah. Galileans would not want to bring people
together – they would want to drive them apart!
Thus, here we see God’s hand at work: people who are ill-suited for God’s
purpose are being masterfully used to display God’s power and bring people
together.
So what is the role of tongues in this
passage? Primarily, tongues display
God’s power of uniting people under God.
As a part of that process, tongues allow for the proclamation of God’s
Word. There’s a good understanding on
speaking in tongues.
Mocking
However, this should not overlook the
fact that while some respond to what God is doing, others mock what is going on. Even when God displays His power, some people
will choose to remain blind. It is not
our fault, nor is it God’s fault. All
people have the freedom to choose to accept or deny God’s power in their
life. Accept it or mock it, it is a
choice all people will make at some point.
Peter
Okay, my time is short and I haven’t
even talked about Peter’s speech yet.
I’ll try to do so quickly. First,
understand that Peter is using these quotes from the Hebrew Scriptures (see
Acts 2:14-21 especially) to indicate that a Day of the Lord has come – but not
necessarily the ONLY Day of the Lord.
Through Jesus’ life stars have appeared (birth), the heavens were opened
(baptism), the sky has turned black (cross), and there were earthquakes
(cross). A Day of the Lord has come, and
God is doing the new thing as promised.
These are the days of the Holy Spirit.
What is really neat in this passage is
that Peter specifically says “your sons and daughters will prophesy.” What is a prophet? A prophet is someone who brings God’s Word to
their contemporaries. Part of the new
thing that God is doing is including women in the proclamation of God’s
grace! It fits with the beginning of
Acts where all who were gathered received the Holy Spirit.
The second part of Peter’s speech (Acts
2:22-36) has a number of important points.
First, the cross was no accident – it was God’s plan. Second, the fact that it was God’s plan does
not excuse anyone who played a role contrary to God’s ways. Third, the cross is the fulfillment of
scripture. Fourth, although the cross is
the fulfillment of scripture and likely the most important event in history –
it is not the end of the story. We are a
people born out of the resurrection. We
have repentance for which to call grace to proclaim people!
Peter’s speech has multiple effects
(See Acts 2:37-41). Hearing truth cuts a
person to the heart. Truth is oppressive
until it is accepted and repentance occurs.
And that’s a good thing, because repentance changes how God relates to
us. No longer are we “guilty;” we are
“justified through Christ.” Sure, we
still deal with the temporal consequences.
But after repentance God relates to us as spiritual beings and not a
“condemned creation.”
Finally, let’s look at the gathering
that happens in Acts 2:42-47. Here’s a
brief list of the qualities we see among the people of God:
- They are a learning church – devoted to the teaching of the apostles (which was given to them by Christ).
- They are a fellowship church – they did more than worship together. They actually enjoyed the company of each other!
- They were a worshipping church – they had communion (breaking of the bread) in remembrance of Christ’s death as Christ commanded.
- They are a praying church – They understood that they needed to rely upon God’s strength to get through life as individuals and as a community.
- They are a reverent church – they understood the proper role for awe and fear of the Lord.
- They were a happening church – signs and wonders actually occurred. Their gatherings were not rote and ordinary but filled with evidence of the Holy Spirit.
- They were a sharing church – when one had legitimate need, the need was met by the community.
- They were a happy church – they came together with joy instead of obligation.
- They were an irresistible church – people who came in contact with members of this church wanted to join them!
Oh … if we could only be like that
first church, eh? It’s a tall order, but
through the power of the Holy Spirit it is possible!
<><
No comments:
Post a Comment