Acts 1 tells that after His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His apostles several times over a 40-day period. The gospels say that these days were divided between Jerusalem in Judaea, and in Galilee. His first appearances occurred over eight days in Jerusalem; then the disciples went back to Galilee and He appeared to them there. However, He (and they) returned to Jerusalem from where He ascended back to the Father. Jesus was very specific: They were to remain in Jerusalem until they were “endued with power from on high.”
The power which was to come upon them was the fulfillment of a promise of John the Baptist. To those who gathered around John in his personal teaching, he said of the person who was to come after him, that while he (John) baptized with water, He who was coming after him would baptize those who assembled with him with the Holy Spirit and with fire. That “coming One” was Jesus. Jesus, during His personal ministry, also promised His apostles that although He would leave them, He would send them the Comforter who would guide them into all truth and remind them of things He had taught them. But before Jesus and John had mentioned the coming Spirit, Joel prophesied that in the last days God would pour forth His spirit upon all flesh (Joel 2:28-32). The apostles sorely needed the help of the Comforter; and just as He comforted them with His revelations, so He still comforts us now through the inspired writings of the apostles.
It was about ten days from the Lord’s ascension until the Jewish feast called Pentecost. This was one of the feasts which was highly attended by Jews from all over the world. The feast of Acts 2 was no exception. Jews from “every nation on earth” were there and God knew they would be. God also knew that sending His Spirit on that day would greatly advance the knowledge of the gospel of His Son. When the day was over, 3,000 had been baptized, and it is very likely that number included people from various nations who would carry the news of the gospel back to their foreign lands. As Jesus had promised, the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles, empowering them to inerrantly teach the gospel of Christ. Pentecost was also significant because it marked a “new order of things,” the beginning of the long-promised and long-anticipated kingdom. Peter later spoke of that day as the “beginning” (Acts 11:15).
As the day dawned all the apostles were together in one place and with one accord. Acts 2:1 relates, “And suddenly there came from heaven the sound as of a mighty, rushing wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.” The apostles were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began “to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:2, 4). The descent of the Spirit, coupled with the words the apostles spoken in languages they did not know, caused astonishment on the multitude who did understand the apostles’ words (Acts 2:6-7, 11) — and they pondered what these things meant. Others mocked the apostles, saying, “These men are filled with new wine.”
Peter stood, dismissed the charges of drunkenness, and explained that what the people heard and saw was the fulfillment of Joel 2:28. With that, Peter preached the first gospel sermon, greatly abbreviated in Acts 2:22-36. In that sermon Peter introduced Jesus as a man of whom God had approved by the mighty works, wonders, and signs He gave him to do, and yet, despite God’s clear approval of Jesus, the people had wickedly crucified Jesus (Acts 2:23). However, to these people’s astonishment, Peter announced that God had raised Jesus from the dead — all the apostles standing before them had witnessed the resurrected Christ. He said, “Whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death because it was not possible that he should be holden of it whereof we all are witnesses” (Acts 2:23-24). Peter reminded the multitude that, just as the Scriptures predicted Jesus’ death, they also predicted His resurrection, quoting Psalms 16:8-10 which affirmed that God would not allow His Son to remain in Hades. He would not allow the flesh of His Son to see corruption. He would raise Him from the dead!
Then Peter further added that God had highly exalted His Son, giving Him a name above every name, setting Him at His right hand and making Him Lord of all. David prophesied this in Psalms 110:1: “The Lord said to my Lord, sit thou on my right hand till I make all thy enemies the footstool of thy feet.” Then Peter said, “Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified” (Acts 2:36). These accusing words pierced the hearts of many of these hearers. They said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brethren what shall we do?” Peter answered by saying, “Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins …” (Acts 2:37-38).
Three thousand souls “gladly received his words that day and were baptized.” These 3,000 souls had been “converted” — they had turned from opposers of Jesus to His disciples. The words of Jesus to Nicodemus were very much in place: “Except one be born of the water and of the Spirit, he shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). They had been born again, they had been born of the Sprit because the Spirit directed Peter as he spoke (Acts 2:4, 14). These had heard Peter’s Spirit-directed words, which pricked their hearts. They not only heard Peter’s words, they believed them. They manifested their faith by being baptized, just as Peter commanded (Acts 2:41). They had been born of the Spirit. They had been born of water. They had been born again. They were in the kingdom of God. They had been converted. They had “turned again” to God.
Jim McDonald