Acts 2:1-16 (Wednesday Evening Bible Study

Acts 2:1-16

• Context:
  • Chapter 2 of Acts opens with the day of Pentecost which meant 50th of something.  Specifically 50 days from the Passover feast.  This feast is also called the feast of weeks or feast of first fruits.  It always fell on the 1st day of the week Sunday. It was also the anniversary of the beginning of the Law of Moses.  Because of the timing of the feast in the warm time of year it made travel safer by ship consequently it was the best attended feast of the 3 God commanded for the Jews.
    • Do you remember what the apostles were to wait for?
    • What did Jesus want the apostles to be for Him?  
• Act: 2:1-4
• When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. 3 They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them. 4 Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them.
• Just as Jesus had promised, the Holy Spirit was about to come on the apostles in a dramatic way
  • The day on which this occurred was the Day of Pentecost. In the Jewish calendar, Pentecost was the second of the three major feasts
  • More important than the day in the Jewish calendar was what Pentecost came to represent. With eh giving of the Spirit, this day became the birthday of the church. As James D.G. Dunn observes, Pentecost was the dividing line between the Old Covenant and the New
  • The ascension recorded in Acts 1 serves to prepare for the momentous event of Pentecost in Acs 2. Pentecost, says Dunn, “inaugurates the age of the Church”
• The place in which they were gathered may have been the upper room referred to in 1:13
• The group that was gathered is spoken of as “they”
  • It is not easy to decide whether this pronoun describes only the apostles or also the 120 believers. Grammatically speaking, the nearest antecedent is “the apostles” in 1:26
  • This reference also seems likely in light of the promise Jesus made to the apostles that they would receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit to become His witnesses
  • Some scholars, however, point to the prophecy of Joel in Acts 2:18 as an indication that women were included in the group which gathered at this time. They also find in the gathering of the great crowd an indication that the Spirit fell on more than just the twelve apostles
  • What was experienced is recorded in some detail
    • The Holy Spirit was poured out from heaven. He arrived in a manner that was both seen and heard
      • A sound suddenly filled the room, which reminded them of a powerful, roaring wind from heaven
      • Flames (glõssai) of fire appeared which seems to shoot out and hover above the head of each one there
  • The significance of these elements is first in the fact that they are miraculous displays of divine power
    • More particularly, the experience was a reminder of the numerous times that the Spirit was compared to the wind
      • Ezekiel spoke of how the wind blew and God breathed life into the dry bones
      • Jesus told Nicodemus that the Spirit, like the wind, produces results which are obvious though no one seems Him
      • John the Baptist had predicted that Jesus would soon baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire
  • Along with these sings of the Spirit’s coming there also came the ability to speak with “other tongues”
    • The term for “tongues” (glõssai) is often used to speak of languages used throughout the world, and here the context dictates that this meaning is intended
    • The crowd was amazes that these Galileans could speak words in so many languages spoken outside of Galilee. Here were twelve men who by a miracle of God were speaking in languages they should not have known
  • The explanation of this miracle is included in the narrative
    • “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit” in such a way that the Spirit “enabled them” to speak the languages of the audience which had gathered
    • Little detail is supplied here regarding the mechanics of this miracle of speech
      • The term “enabled” does not appear to include the idea of ecstatic speech, though it does carry the idea of speaking in an inspired way
      • The filling of the Spirit is mentioned in Acts 9:17 in the case of Saul of Tarsus. For the apostles it corresponds to the promise of the baptism of the Spirit. The language of Acts 11:16-17 suggests that the experience of the apostles and that of Cornelius established an expectation that the Spirit, in some form, would be given to all believers. Acts 2:39 reinforces this wide availability of God’s Spirit 
  • The mention of speaking in these languages invites comparisons with Paul’s words in I Corinthians 12:14
    • Many commentators argue that what is there referred to as “spiritual gifts” is not the same phenomenon described in Acts. The basis for the distinction is the tPaul’s language characterizes “speaking in tongues” as a “praise language” addressed only to God and  unintelligible to everyone else
    • By contrast, Acts 2 portrays speaking in tongues as languages understood by those who were visiting in Jerusalem
    • Both passages, however, use the term glõssa in reference to the gift. In 2:11 the content of their speaking in tongues is “declaring the wonders of God,” a phrase that bears similarities with Paul’s description in I Corinthians 14:13-17 
• Acts 2:5-8
• 5 Now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem, devout people from every nation under heaven. 6 When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 They were astounded and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 How is it that each of us can hear them in our own native language?
  • The commotion caused by the Spirit’s descent could not be hidden
    • Whether it was the sound of the roaring wind or the noisy speaking from the apostles, a crowd began to gather, probably from eh temple area This location would be the only place where 3,000 people could assemble
  • How did those witnessing this event respond?
    • Bewildered & utterly- flabbergasted & amazed… This is a Wow! Moment, that don’t know what to make of this.
  • What are these people hearing?
    • Their own language human language … the scripture seems to indicate the miracle is not in their hearing but in the speaking right down to the dialect.
  • The 3 times we hear of tongues in Acts, it was used by God to validate SPECIFIC GROUPs:
    • The Apostles- 
    • Cornelius and his gentile household- 
    • And Christian baptism over John’s baptism in Acts 19.  
    • So in Acts Tongues are used has a sign. In I Corinthians tongues are used as a gift to serve the congregation.  Remember Paul called this the least of gifts from the Spirit and that not everyone can expect to receive the gift of tongues.
  • What do those hearing the apostles speak, notice about them?
    • “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?   Why & how did they notice that?  The dress of the apostles… maybe their accents came thru. People from Galilee were considered Hillbillies of the Jews. They would not be expected to know foreign languages.
• Acts 2:9-13
• 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts), 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues.” 12 They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But some sneered and said, “They’re drunk on new wine.”
  • Where are these Jews from?
    • To emphasize the far-reaching nature of these languages, Luke now includes a list of nations represented in the gathering
      • He reports that in Jerusalem resided devout Jews from every nation under heaven. Whether thee residents were pilgrims to Jerusalem because of Pentecost or permanent residents form the communities of Diaspora Jews is not clear. Whichever the case, these Jews were startled to hear the apostles speaking in languages other than Aramaic, Hebrew, or Greek
    • God brings the Jews back to hear the gospel… many will take back to the people in their communities.
    • There 14 people groups within the names nations mention but only 12 men speaking, how do we explain this? Some of the groups spoke the same language
      • The list of nations here is a rough sweep that begins in the eastern part of the Roman world and works its way west. The list begins in present-day Iran (Parthia) and mentions Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, all territories which are located east of the Euphrates River
      • These areas held large concentrations of the Jews since the days of the exiles
      • The next areas mentioned are located westward and northward. Judea is given, possible as a substitute for Syria. Then attention swings north to Cappadocia and Pontus, territories in central and northern Turkey
      • Next comes Asia on the western coast, followed by Phrygia and Pamphylia farther inland
      • Now a full circle is completed with the mention of territoris in North Africa. Egypt and Libya are included at this point in the list. Then comes the mention of Rome, the island of Crete and finally Arabia, the first-century Nabatean kingdom east of the Dead Sea
      • Plenty of evidence has been found to establish the presence of Jews in all of these locations sufficient for the account given here by Luke. In additions to Jews, 2:11 suggests that Gentiles were a part of the audience hearing the apostles
  • What are the apostles speaking about in these foreign languages?
    • Look at verse 11 we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues.
  • What do you have to do to become a convert to Judaism?
    • Converts to Judaism 3 different levels.  Highest level is being circumcised. You are a Jew.  Greeks and Romans were not willing to this often… Lovers of Yahweh they refused to be circumcision.  Were called proselytes of the gate.  They could not go pass the gate in the court of Gentiles.  Another level was to Gentiles paid for sacrifices to be made…showed respect, but were not really converts.
  • What is the question that comes to the mind of the people hearing all this?
    • What does this mean?  A better translations of the Greek is “What will become of this?”
  • Who is it that is not amazed about all this?
    • See verse 13  The critics… Some here means, “Not some of the same type”- These were others.   The apostles are being accused of being drunk.  The wine the Jews drank especially if you were poor was very diluted with water… so the critics could be calling them wimps when it came to drinking wine or real drunks.  
• Acts 2:14-16
• 14 Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning. 16 On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
  • Why does Peter speak up first?
    • Matthew 16:18-19 
    • “18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven.”
    • Peter was given the keys to the kingdom… the Gospel message about Jesus and what He did on the cross for us and His resurrection.
  • What is Peter’s defense to that they are drunk?
    • Too early in the morning… and this is from God, Joel the prophet spoke about it.
• TAKE AWAY
  • Does Jesus Keep His promise? See John 14:15-17 & John 15:26-27
    • John 14:15-17
    • 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him, because he remains with you and will be in you.
    • John 15:26-27
    • 26 “When the Counselor comes, the one I will send to you from the Father —the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 You also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.
  • Did Jesus kept His promise!
    • Is this a big deal?  The Holy coming makes the birth of the church possible, just like the Holy Spirit was behind the birth of Jesus.
  • Will the Holy Spirit work differently going forward than in the Old Testament?
    • Yes …there is no indwelling of the Holy Spirt until after Jesus ascended.