Church tradition has led to the identification of many days as times of special emphasis. Occasions such as Christmas and Epiphany may fall on any day of the week, but two related biblical events – Easter and Pentecost – always fall on a Sunday. Easter took place on the first day after the Passover Sabbath observed by Jews, and Pentecost (from the Greek for “fiftieth”) took place seven weeks and one day after the Passover Sabbath, which initiated the Feast of Weeks. 

 

Many Protestant churches do not observe Pentecost, but those that follow the liturgical calendar may drape the pulpit or communion table with red. Ministers wear scarlet stoles, and congregants are often encouraged to wear red, as well. 

 

The color reminds worshipers of the tongues of fire that marked the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence in the lives of those who experienced the first Christian Pentecost. It is a day for celebrating the amazing gift of God’s Spirit.

 

 

 

The story is familiar but worth a closer look. First century Jerusalem was a cosmopolitan city with residents from many different countries. During the Feast of Weeks, the population swelled with Jewish pilgrims who flocked to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Weeks. [DD]

 

The story begins with “When the day of Pentecost had come” (NRSV), but the word translated “had come” could also mean “was fulfilled,” an expression that suggests more than a date on the calendar. Jesus began his ministry by saying “the time is fulfilled” (Mark 1:15, using a related word), and he had spoken earlier of prophecies concerning the coming of the Spirit being fulfilled (Acts 1:4-5, 8). 

 

The previous chapter speaks of 120 followers of Jesus who had gathered in the upper room of a large house as they contemplated the meaning of Christ’s ascension, heard Peter speak, and chose Matthias to replace Judas as the twelfth apostle (1:12-26). Perhaps we are to imagine the same assembly when v. 1 says “they were all together in one place.” 

 

During that morning meeting, Luke says, “suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting” (v. 2). 

 

The “violent wind” was apparently experienced more as sound than fury. The NRSV’s “rush of” (NET “blowing”) translates a verb that normally means “bringing” or “carrying.” The whistling sound did not indicate the movement of air as much as the arrival of something remarkable. 

 

That something, we will learn in v. 4, was the Holy Spirit. In another sign of the Spirit’s presence, tongues of flame appeared and hovered over the heads of all who were gathered there (v. 3). Ordinarily, one would think that a sudden wind would blow out small flames: this wind blew them in. 

 

Both wind and flame were common symbols of a theophany, the presence of God. [DD] Author Luke understood the presence of God to be in the form of the Holy Spirit (v. 4), sent in fulfillment of Jesus’ promise (1:8). [DD] 

 

In a further sign of the Spirit’s presence, the gathered believers began to speak “in tongues.” In Greek, the same word (glossa) is used for the tongues of flame and the other tongues with which they spoke, clearly suggesting that there was a spiritual component to the speech. Although the familiar King James Version uses the word “tongues” in v. 4, “languages” would be a better translation, since the following verses indicate that people from other lands heard them speak in their own languages. [DD]

 

 

 

With v. 5, Luke shifts the scene from events inside the room to a great crowd that had gathered outside. [DD] As modern folk hearing a crash or explosion might rush to see what had happened, people walking or living nearby apparently heard the same “sound like the rush of a violent wind” that had filled the house, and they came to see what the excitement was all about. If they could have seen the flames reportedly hovering over those inside, they might have been even more amazed that the building was still standing.

 

Luke does not locate the building, but the size of the crowd gathered outside (from whom 3,000 were baptized, according to 2:41), suggests that it must have been on the edge of a large public square or some other open space, possibly near the outer courts of the temple.

 

Luke also says nothing about how the diverse multitude was able to hear the newly in-spirited persons as they spoke in languages that every person present could understand. Did the empowered believers rush from the building to mingle with the crowd and testify to Christ’s mighty works? [DD] Did some of the group stand on steps or a raised platform? Peter reportedly addressed the entire crowd while standing with the other eleven disciples, apparently in view of those gathered (2:14).

 

The people expressed bewilderment, not so much at what the disciples said, but that they could understand what they said, since all of the speakers were from Galilee (vv. 6-7). Jesus had called his first disciples in Galilee, where most of his active ministry took place, and had many followers beyond the twelve. 

Galileans were known for their distinctive regional accent (see Luke 22:59), yet on the Day of Pentecost, people throughout the international audience heard them speaking in their own native languages. 

 

Scholars and others have long debated whether the miracle that day was one of speaking or of hearing. Were the disciples given the ability to speak (and presumably understand) a known language, or were they uttering some sort of heavenly language that their audience could miraculously understand? The text could lend itself to either interpretation, but the plainer sense suggests that they were speaking known languages.

 

Modern field workers on mission in non-English-speaking countries often spend the first two years of their assignments in language school, learning to communicate with the people they hope to reach. Because of Pentecost, the first wave of missionaries required no such preparation. 

 

Note how Luke combines the observations of many people into what appears to be a single speech as he lists the nations represented that day. Though from different parts of the world, members of the crowd apparently shared a Jewish heritage – but not the same response. Though “all were amazed and perplexed” by the events, wondering what it was all about (v. 12), “others sneered and said, ‘They are full of new wine’” (v. 13). 

 

Some interpreters see evidence in v. 13 that the disciples were speaking in glossolalia, or unknown tongues, and that some could understand it, while it sounded like gibberish to others. It’s also possible that people could have been overhearing other foreign languages that they did not understand, which could also have sounded like nonsense. Cynically, they accused the speakers of being drunk on new wine. [DD]

 

 

 

Peter was generally the most outspoken of the disciples, so it’s not surprising that he offered a quick response, forcefully addressing the crowd as “You men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem” challenging them to “listen to what I say” (v. 14). 

Charges of drunkenness could easily be dismissed, as Peter said it was only 9:00 a.m. (v. 15). Wine often accompanied evening meals but was not commonly consumed in the morning. Those who were speaking in new languages were not inebriated by spirits, but inspired by the Spirit. 

 

Peter spoke as if his listeners should not be surprised by what they saw. Quoting a familiar scripture, he described the miraculous movement of the Spirit as nothing more than the fulfillment of Joel’s ancient prophecy that a time would come when God would pour out his Spirit on all people, so that people of every race and gender and age would experience God’s Spirit and express their faith through prophecy (vv. 17-18).

 

Peter reminded his hearers of how Joel had indicated that the day would be marked by signs in the heavens and on earth – signs much like those that had accompanied Christ’s death on the cross (vv. 19-20). Likewise, he pointed to Joel’s prediction that such an event would throw open the gates of heaven, so that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (v. 21).

 

Our text ends at v. 21, but Peter’s sermon continued through v. 36 as he quoted psalms attributed to David. [DD] Peter argued that David had predicted the coming of a messiah and called him “Lord,” which would connect back to the closing line of the quote from Joel, that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

 

As we celebrate Pentecost today, we need not expect to experience wind and flames, for the Spirit of Christ has not left the earth and does not need to be “prayed down” again. Pentecost remains a reminder of the power and importance of our witness, however. The Spirit is still active in the lives of those who seek to see and respond to the world as Jesus did, leading us to  show love and grace in such surprising ways that others may still be amazed.