1When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
With the number of apostles now brought back to twelve, the movement is ready for the coming of the kingdom (Matt. 19:28). The rushing wind brings to mind Ezekiel’s vision of the Lord breathing into the dry bones of Israel (Eze. 37). Clearly, as the story unfolds, God once again offers the kingdom restoration to Israel, but just as they had rejected the King by crucifying Him, they will continue to reject the kingdom, as expressed in Peter’s message. Nonetheless, this is as real a beginning as the triumphal entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem before His rejection. They were so close to fulfillment of all the prophecies regarding the Messiah and the glorious kingdom, yet they were so far because of the hardness of their hearts.
Fortunately, there were some who believed the signs God gave on the day of Pentecost. But the full realization of the kingdom had to wait, as Jesus said, “[F]rom now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” (Matt. 23:39, cf. Ps. 118:26).
The feast of Pentecost is what was originally the Feast of Weeks (Lev. 23:15–16, Deut. 16:9–12). The word “Pentecost” comes from the Greek word “fiftieth,” that is, the fiftieth day after Passover. By the time of Luke’s writing, Pentecost came to signify the anniversary of the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. Hardly can we avoid the contrast with the giving of the Spirit to believers in Jesus Christ. On Pentecost, Jews remember the Law, Christians the Spirit. That signals the fundamental difference between the two!
The details of what took place in the upper room are well known. A visual phenomenon appeared, described as tongues of fire. While we might imagine this to be “flames,” the Greek word is “glossa,” the same word used of the miraculous language in verse 4. We take this to be symbolic of the Spirit coming upon all one hundred and twenty in the room, for “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” Surely, no one can deny a true miracle was taking place. This is what Jesus had told them to wait for (Acts 1:5, 8)! They were miraculously speaking in languages they had never spoken before (“other tongues”). And, as we shall see, this was very useful in communicating the gospel message, and it signaled the epochal change in God’s dealings with humanity.
Lord, help me see clearly the graciousness of the gospel and not live by law.
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