The book of Acts lays stress on fulfillment. The things foreshadowed in the Hebrew scriptures are actualized when the disciples are “filled with the Spirit and spoke in other tongues” on Pentecost. This is the seminal event that marks the inauguration of the Church, the age of the Spirit, and the commencement of the final harvest.
With the outpouring of the Spirit, what
Jesus commanded his disciples to do comes to fruition - “tarry in Jerusalem
until you receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you” - (Acts 2:1-4).
The proclamation of the gospel began in the
city of Jerusalem, and Acts concludes with Paul proclaiming the “kingdom
of God” in Rome, the center of the Empire.
The Messiah of Israel is now the Lord of
the earth, and therefore, he exercises his messianic authority over the nations
by propagating his “good news” across the earth through his Spirit-filled
church - (Psalm 2:6-9, Matthew 28:18-20, Revelation 1:4-6).
FEAST OF PENTECOST
In Israel, the feast of Pentecost celebrates
the completion of the barley harvest. It occurs fifty days after Passover,
hence the Greek name ‘pentekosté.’ It is
known also as the “feast of weeks,” and the “feast of harvest, the
first fruits of your labors” - (Leviticus 23:11-16, Deuteronomy
16:9-10).
The Greek noun rendered “Pentecost” means
“fiftieth.” The highlight of the feast is the offering of the first sheaf in
the Temple, the “first fruits” of the coming harvest. Every male who
is able is required to appear in the Temple - (Exodus 34:22-23).
And so, on this occasion, the entire
congregation of 120 disciples is assembled in Jerusalem, “in one accord.”
‘120’ is a multiple of twelve (12 x 10), the number of the twelve tribes of
Israel. Just as the apostles elected a new twelfth member to complete their number,
Matthias, the entirety of the new covenant community is gathered in
anticipation of the Spirit’s arrival – (Acts 1:15-26).
The granting of the Spirit on that day is no coincidence, and its theological significance is indicated by the Greek term sumpléroō, which is rendered “fully come” in several English translations. It has the sense of something being “filled up completely” - to fill something to the very brim.
What the Levitical feast symbolizes comes to
fruition as the age of the Spirit dawns and progresses. On Pentecost, God gives
the true “first fruits” of the end-time harvest that was foreshadowed in
the ancient ritual - (Romans 8:23, Luke 24:49).
SOUNDS AND SIGHTS
And they heard “a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind.” The event is
described with two analogies - “like a wind” and “tongues like fire.”
Later, at the end of his sermon, Peter describes how the newly exalted Jesus “poured
this forth, which you see and hear. Thus, the arrival of the Spirit is
confirmed by audible and visible signs – (Acts 2:33).
The tongues like fire were “parting
asunder.” This rendering represents the Greek verb diamerizô, “to
cleave asunder; cut in pieces.” The idea is “tongues of fire” being
separated from a single flame and distributed to each disciple.
The significance of the “tongues of fire”
is not readily apparent, and Peter makes no reference to them in his sermon.
Likewise, the crowd reacts to hearing the disciples “speaking in tongues,”
but nothing is said about the “tongues of fire” or the wind-like
sound (“They were confounded because every man heard them speaking in his own language”).
The “tongues of fire” is related to
the words of John the Baptist that the Messiah would “baptize in the Spirit.”
His statement is quoted at the start of Acts when Jesus commands the
disciples to “tarry in Jerusalem” - (Luke 3:16-17).
In the Greek text, both “Holy Spirit” and “fire” are modified by a single preposition, en or “in.” The sense is NOT “in Spirit or in fire,” as if there are two distinct baptisms, but “in-spirit-AND-fire.”
The clause presents two sides of the same
coin. Precisely what is meant by “fire” is not clear, though in the
context of Luke, it must include an element of judgment (i.e., “The chaff he will burn up with
unquenchable fire”).
TONGUES
“They
began to speak in other tongues.” Unfortunately, the book of Acts provides
only a few details about this phenomenon.
Clearly,
the disciples did not speak languages they knew already - this was a
supernatural occurrence. And they did
not speak gibberish. The crowd was composed of pilgrims from many different nations,
and they understood their words (“Because that every man heard them speaking in his own language… And
how hear we every man in our own language wherein we were born?”).
This is the
only instance in the New Testament where “speaking in tongues” is
identified as a known human language.
Elsewhere, the gift is described as speaking in “unknown” tongues
– (1 Corinthians 13:1, 14:1-9).
Considering
the call to proclaim the gospel to the “uttermost parts of the earth,”
and the description of Jewish pilgrims being present from many nations, Acts
may intend for us to hear echoes of two prophecies from the Hebrew Bible - (Isaiah
66:15-20, Ezekiel 37:9-10).
There is a distinct experiential
aspect. Acts is not just presenting a theological proposition about the
gift of the Spirit. It is describing what the disciples experienced, and what
the crowd of pilgrims observed. The event includes visual and audible phenomena
that are unusual enough to cause confusion among observers of the event.
Hence, the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day
of Pentecost was a life-changing and epochal event - the arrival of the
long-promised gift of the Spirit and the commencement of the “last days.”