This was just three and a half years, and in really a few weeks, seven weeks and a day of intense thought, emotion, that they had to grapple with and deal with as they came into the presence of one another on the morning of Pentecost. 28For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to usnot to place any greater burden on you than these necessary rules: 29 that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what has been strangled and from sexual immorality. 4 While he was with them, he declared, Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait there for what my Father promised, which you heard about from me. This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way you saw him go into heaven (Acts 1:1-11). Somebody will tap me on the shoulder and tell me what to do next, but you know what? At the end of the 40 days, Jesus was taken up into heaven. A violent wind sounds. Pentecost occurred 50 days after Easter Sunday or 50 days after Jesus rose from the dead. The Cross And Our Response to Trials (1 Peter 4:12-19), 8. Between the Easter and Pentecost, there's a span of 50 days. 14 And because they saw the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say against this (Acts 4:13-14). The Jewish authoritiesthe Sanhedrin, the Scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadduceesthat authority was intact in Jerusalem, running the temple, running the religious side of the culture and the social life of Judea under the Roman cap, and it too was a very, very powerful force you didn't run up against. It had been organized quite well and in that remote backwater of Judea, the Roman government kept things in order. The Greek word means "fifty" and refers to the fifty days that have elapsed since the wave offering of Passover. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. I didn't know how to read a board to tell me these things. Peter's Life Before Christ. It is a remarkable period of church history, because right here we have a vision being fulfilled that Jesus Christ has for His Church. We are not, however, given any indication as to just what things Jesus taught them. Finally, verses 15-26 are the account of the selection of Matthias as the twelfth apostle, a replacement for Judas. And then it came to an end, it came to a close. The Holy Spirit will come upon you shortly to empower you to carry out this task, so wait in Jerusalem until you receive this power.. Why did the apostles speak of the coming of the kingdom of God as its being restored? They also point out that Lukes account depicts this selection in a favorable light, and that nothing negative is said about the action taken here. Show them otherwise what had been done, rebuke their unbelief, as it goes along here. We are going to be taking giant steps toward creating that kind of Church that we read about here in the book of Acts, that has been imbued with the power of the Holy Spirit, and changes are being made. To seek this knowledge is to go outside the boundaries of their authority.4. Acts 2:1-13 records the events of this Pentecost, about 10 days after Jesus' ascension. And to live with the reality that there is a God who judges, who sees, and who knows. The apostles did as the angels implied; they returned to Jerusalem to wait. You ever been in that type of situation where you don't know what to do next? They'd likely not seen it. Volume 1 the Gospel of Luke is the description of all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after he had given orders by the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen(verse 1b-2a). Ascension, in Christian belief, the ascent of Jesus Christ into heaven on the 40th day after his Resurrection (Easter being reckoned as the first day). I think it was because Jesus had revealed the mystery of the church to them. And this dramatic miracle, but beyond that, 3,000 people being added to the Church, and then a community being developed. He understood that, and again, He is just laying it out that they were troubled and there was doubt. He had a lot to come back, he was at the back of the pack. He and his wife, Debbie, have served in the ministry for more than 43years. Ministers in church often wear robes with red in the design as a symbol of the flames in which the Holy Spirit came to earth. There is additional evidence that our Lord spoke to the apostles about the mystery of the church during these 40 days. Pentecost will instead be fulfilled at the Rapture of the Body of Christ The Mystery Age - One New Man, the Church, the Bride of Christ During the period until Israel does accept Jesus as Messiah to bring about His return, the time of preparation of a bride for Christ has been extended and the mission to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ continues. ), Two angels suddenly appear near them. Anyone anywhere in the world with an Internet connection will be able to use and print out the NET Bible without cost for personal study. The bonds of trust among the disciples were beginning to be frayed. Because Pentecost is the day on which the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary received the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we tend to think of it as an exclusively Christian feast.But like many Christian feasts, including Easter, Pentecost has its roots in Jewish religious tradition.The Jewish Pentecost fell on the 50th day after Passover, and it celebrated the giving of . What do I do about calling a priest father at my Catholic University? Verses 15-26 immediately precede Pentecost, but do not appear to have any profound impact on the apostles or on the community of believers. They had a lot of fear. But they were terrified, and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit." What did they do during that 10 days? 7 Days after the Ascension of Jesus. He seals us in Christproof of the promise that we are forever in God's presence ( Ephesians 1:13-14 ). It would further seem that this is the room where the apostles had been staying the previous 40 days. One of these qualifications was that each man manifested evidence of the Spirits presence in his life. Luke begins by informing his readers that the Book of Acts is the second volume of his account of the life and ministry of Jesus. Some Christian denominations consider it the birthday of the Christian church and celebrate it as such. The church acknowledged the leading of the Spirit and laid their hands on these men, and then sent them off. Our Lord saw to it that these witnesses had more than enough evidence of His resurrection, and added to this was the witness of the Spirit to the resurrection: 7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I am going away. Lukes account of our Lords ascension is brief, but informative: 9 After he had said this, while they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud hid him from their sight. Verses 40 to 47 is a summary of one of the most remarkable periods of the church experience. The Feast of Weeks celebrated the end of the grain harvest. And if those are the weapons of our warfare, then we can handle them. That is the vision that Jesus has for His Church as articulated by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:16, and they had it at this moment. And so Luke's account brings this together. The before and after theme is found frequently in the media. Some say that they wound up in the temple precincts; could very well be. And speaking about the deep things of the Kingdom of God to prepare them for what they were to take part in, and what they were to be a part of. And they're seeing that, and it's the final time. Jesus was appearing to the apostles for 40 days until His ascension, and so there had to be 10 days left until Pentecost. He was interested in the gospel, but a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus (or Elymas) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the truth. Sunday Before Pentecost. And perhaps like you and I would today, we might look at it as a little bit odd. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who were redeemed from the earth. What I would like to underscore is the role of the Holy Spirit in our Lords giving of the Great Commission. And I didn't know how to make a connection. It is the Spirit of God working through weak and even foolish (in the eyes of the world) men that reveals the power of God, and brings glory to Him, not us: 26 Think about the circumstances of your call, brothers and sisters. And second, the replacement of Judas is carried out in a way that is very Old Testament.. Peter and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James were there. And they did, and thousands were added to the Church that day. Every minister's dream, to give one sermon and thousands of people get baptized and join the Church in one day, every minister's fantasy. Number one was the Roman Empire. Pentecost is a special day for any Christian, but it is emphasised particularly by Pentecostal churches. Because Ruth saw in Naomi, God, an example that she wanted to be a part of. Lukes Great Commission (unlike those in the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, and John) was given just prior to His ascension. The Roman Empire was not anything to fool around with. But on that morning as they gathered, made their preparations, put on their clothes, walked to the location where they all were gathered, and they were about 120 disciples as chapter 1 of Acts tells us, they no doubt had a lot on their mind. But isnt Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit really a matter of authority, a legitimate matter of authority? And allows us to then grow, because the next few verses here of 2 Peter speaks to a process of spiritual empowerment and growth and development. Luke chapter 24. Pentecost is a happy festival. Go, therefore, make disciples of nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded, and lo, I am with you, always, even to the end of the age.'" In days gone by, I have sided with those who found the selection of Matthias as an example of fleshly action hastily taken. It is also called Whitsun, but does not necessarily coincide with the Whitsun Bank Holiday in the UK. So there is going to be a gap. We get on to verse 40, the wrap-up: "With many other words, he testified and exhorted them saying, Be saved from this perverse generation, that those who were, who gladly received his word were baptized; about 3,000 souls were added to them. They have two sons, who are both married, and four grandchildren. The religious leaders were quick to take note of the limitations of the apostles, and yet had to reluctantly acknowledge something powerful about their ministry: 13 When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and discovered that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized these men had been with Jesus. But they saw Him for a period of time, and that's how I like to imagine it. By inference, this second volume is the account of all that Jesus continued to do and to teach, through His apostles. We learn that it was Peter who provided the leadership (1:15). As we have received the gift of God's Spirit, as those on that first day of Pentecost received the gift of the Holy Spirit were brought into the Church, they became, and so are we, partakers of the divine nature. Let us consider what some of these lessons might be. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. I kind of think that He kind of, you know, elevated, and rose, and they saw Him, and they saw Him and the clouds, and the clouds, and then all of a sudden just like that, [snaps fingers] He was gone, kind of like in a "Star Trek" just a flash of light. It appears to me that this upper room may well be a place well known to the apostles, perhaps a room owned by someone close to Jesus. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. We give ourselves to that devotion, to that devoted study and the process of taking on the nature of God. First, the replacement of Judas occurs prior to Pentecost. First few verses of Acts chapter 1, beginning in verse 3, Luke in his prologue to the account as he writes to this man named Theophilus, about all that had been done by Jesus until the day in which He was taken up through the Holy Spirit and had given commandments to the apostles, whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during 40 days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God., So Luke gives us an explicit reference point that this went on. After Pentecost: Every believer has received the Holy Spirit. The Chapel believes the material presented herein to be true to the teaching of Scripture, and desires to further, not restrict, its potential use as an aid in the study of Gods Word. Let us eagerly look forward to the changes Pentecost will bring for the better.. 5In this regard, it is similar to the words of the two angels to the women at the tomb, as seen in Luke 24:4-7. Jesus promised authority within the boundaries of what God purposed, because the coming of the Spirit was the promise of the Father (verse 4). They saw it in different ways and understood it completely different from anything from our frame of reference and they were ascribing, would have been ascribing then even to Jesus something that was not of God, which in itself can be a problem. We just get a few snippets from the gospel accounts, at least, of this 40-day period. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth . It was a gentle rebuke, if a rebuke at all. "And He said to them, 'Thus it is written, thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer, to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and the remissions of sins would be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem, and you are witnesses of these things. Pentecost is regarded as the birthday of the Christian church, and the start of the church's mission to the world. "And they looked steadfastly in toward heaven," verse 10, "as He went up, and behold two men stood by them in white apparel." When the apostles3press Jesus to tell them the time when the kingdom of God will be established, Jesus graciously refuses by informing them that this information is outside their authority there is no need to know so far as they are concerned. Acts 2. There was doubt. This is implied in Acts 1:3, but it is clear in particular instances, such as when Jesus appeared to the disciples who went fishing with Peter in John 21. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting, and it appeared to them, divided tongues as of fire. He was seen by them over a forty-day period and spoke about matters concerning the kingdom of God. As the passover feast celebrated the exodus of the Israelites from the slavery of Egypt, so Pentecost celebrated God's gift of the ten commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai. In verse 38, after everyone has calmed down, they realize theyve been involved and they were responsible for the death of Jesus. Darris McNeely works at the United Church of God home office in Cincinnati, Ohio. Acts 2:17-18 KJV [17 . 6We can easily deduce this since Pentecost was 50 days after Passover. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. The apostles stayed in Jerusalem, as instructed, and they devoted themselves to prayer, along with those who were closely associated with Jesus in His earthly ministry. And that power would be what would begin to banish the fear, the troubling, doubt, that they had, coupled with the Word of God that they were to have. What we read about back in Matthew 28:19 of the gospel being taken to the world. From this point on, with very few exceptions (Acts 14:14; 15:12, 25), it was always Paul and Barnabas, or Paul and Silas, orPaul and his companions.It was evidence of the Spirits working through Paul that seems to have triggered this exchange in roles of Paul and Barnabas. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and . Not completely unraveled, but the doubt and the disbelief has an impact. During those 40 days, He provided them with many convincing proofs that He had indeed risen from the dead. Some of the women mentioned in Acts 1:14 may well have been those who accompanied Jesus and His disciples, and who also contributed to His support (Luke 8:1-3). We, again, don't necessarily always pause and think about this, in these hours and days following Christ's resurrection. And that is of people led by the Holy Spirit, knit together, everyone providing that which they can toward a community of faith, power, and love, sharing, looking out after one another and caring for one another. So there was still this not fully developed confidence and faith in what had happened, and so He goes even further and asks for some food. If we can borrow a phrase that we've used over the last two years, two phrases, they labored in the Word and they lived in the Word. Because they were seeing Christ risen and they saw Him in a bodily form, but then they were attributing something different to that. And this express bus took Route 66 out of St. Louis all the way to Los Angeles, my first time to get on that fabled highway, Route 66. A further matter of interest is that during this 40-day period, our Lord spoke with the apostles concerning the things pertaining to the kingdom of God (1:3). Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. Instead, He would come and go. After seeing how God works through His Spirit in Acts 2 and beyond, who would ever want to go back to the old? The betrayal of our Lord was no accident, and it did not catch God off guard. The Holy Spirit is the third part of the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - which is. Up until this point, Paul (known as Saul until now) was clearly Barnabas assistant. It comes from the ancient Christian expression pentekoste hemera, which means . Again, nothing like this had been a part of their frame of reference before. Peter was quoting Scripture and applying it to something that had happened and that is Jesus, His death and His resurrection. That's an important trait for a firstfruit, for a firstfruit to have in their life, and in their approach to life. We often think a miracle would be just what we need. Everybody who gets up and gives a sermon in a congregation, that sermon before it's ever posted on a website, has been reviewed or at least approved by individuals within the congregation. Let me explain why I have reached this conclusion. I began this lesson by suggesting that it is an example of a before and after presentation. And yet some doubted. He was the one who was the leader of that doubt and fear and terrified approach, because he denied Christ three times, and he had to be pointedly taught by Jesus. I believe that this upper room became headquarters for them during the entire 50-day period after our Lords resurrection. 13 When they had entered Jerusalem, they went to the upstairs room where they were staying. Then follows a marvelous after photo, which displays a beautiful person, so different from the before photo. We should also observe that among this group were the brothers of our Lord (Acts 1:14). When the Jerusalem Council met to determine what should be required of Gentile converts, they determined that Gentiles must not be placed under the law, and that they observe only a few restrictions.
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