The Holy Spirit Comes

THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES

An Exposition of Acts 2:1-21

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date: February 23, 2025

Series: The Book of Acts

Note: Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

THE SCRIPTURAL TEXT

Holy Scripture says:

¹ When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³ And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

⁵ Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. ⁷ And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? ⁹ Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, ¹¹ both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” ¹² And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³ But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

¹⁴ But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. ¹⁵ For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. ¹⁶ But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷ “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
    and your young men shall see visions,
    and your old men shall dream dreams;
¹⁸ even on my male servants and female servants
    in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
¹⁹ And I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,
    blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
²⁰ the sun shall be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood,
    before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
²¹ And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ (Acts 2:1-21)

A MOMENTOUS OCCASION

The events of Acts 2 are among the most important events in the entire Bible. We could rightly apply the words historic, momentous, and epoch-making to these events. What happens in Acts 2 is the first and defining day of the rest of human history.

Jesus had ascended into heaven in Acts 1:9-11. That was also a really big deal. And some day in the future, Jesus is going to return from heaven. He is going to come again. But in between His ascension to heaven and His return from heaven, the exalted Lord Jesus Christ is exercising His kingly rule through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. And that first coming of the Holy Spirit, about one week after Jesus ascended into heaven, is the defining feature of this present age. When I say this present age, I mean the age between Jesus’ ascension and His second coming. And this entire age between Jesus’ ascension and His second coming is called “the last days” (v. 17).

The prophet Joel prophesied this day: “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh” (v. 17). The prophet Ezekiel prophesied this day: “I will put my Spirit within you” (Ezekiel 36:27). The prophet Isaiah prophesied this day: “I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring” (Isaiah 44:3). John the Baptist prophesied this day: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 3:16). The King Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, prophesied this day on multiple occasions: “I will send [the Helper] to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth” (John 15:26). And as we heard Jesus say in Acts 1: “you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Acts 1:5) And “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8).

All of these threads of biblical prophecy converge upon a small group of disciples gathered together in Jerusalem about one week after our Lord ascended into heaven, and about 50 days after our Lord was crucified on that most holy Passover. In the 1^st century, the Jews observed the feast of Pentecost 50 days after their celebration of Passover. So the timeline is: Jesus was crucified on Passover. On the third day, He rose from the dead. Then for a period of 40 days the risen Lord ministered to His disciples, taught them about God’s kingdom, and prepared them for their upcoming mission. At the conclusion of that 40 days, Jesus ascended into heaven. And then for a period of about one week the disciples had to prayerfully wait in Jerusalem for the outpouring of the promised Holy Spirit.

What a remarkable 50-day period! When our Lord was crucified, just 50 days before the events of Acts 2, the disciples were crushed. They thought that their hopes had died with the Lord’s death. But Jesus had told them: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” (John 16:20) When the Lord rose from the dead and appeared to His disciples, the disciples were renewed with great joy. Now their hope was anchored in the great victory that Jesus had achieved over death. And their global mission was about to begin in just seven weeks from the day of resurrection, and they would devote the rest of their lives to witnessing to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. But in order to do it, they would need sovereign assistance: they would need the indwelling empowerment of the Holy Spirit. And so, they waited.

ALL TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE (v. 1)

After Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples had “returned to Jerusalem” (Acts 1:12). Then Acts 1:14 told us that they praying in unity with one another: “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.” (Acts 1:14) Their togetherness and unity are emphasized again at the beginning of Chapter 2: “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.” (v. 1) All together in one place.

The “they” likely refers to the entire group of about 120 disciples, as indicated in Acts 1:15. There were twelve apostles (as Matthias replaced the apostate Judas in Acts 1:15-26, bringing the number of apostles back to twelve), plus about 108 other disciples, for a grand total of about 120 disciples.

Twelve, the number of apostles, is a significant number. Just as Jacob’s twelve sons were the building blocks of the first Israel way back in the Book of Genesis, so now Jesus’ twelve apostles are the building blocks of the renewed Israel that God had promised through the prophets. The twelve apostles represent renewed Israel in seed form.

Further, when you have a significant symbolic number such as twelve, and then multiply it by a factor of ten, you ramp up the symbolic value of the number. It functions as a highlighter. Pay attention! Here in this group of not 12 but 120 disciples, you have the tangible embodiment of the hope of Israel, for the Old Testament foretold that Israel would be renewed “in the last days”, and these days are now upon us in Acts 2. The entire group of disciples represents renewed Israel in seed form.

And this renewed Israel is about to be multiplied exponentially, not by physical generation but by spiritual generation. But in order to draw more and more Jews into renewed Israel, the gospel had to be proclaimed to them. And there they are, a ready audience, in verses 5-13. (I’ll come back to verses 2-4 in a moment.)

A READY AUDIENCE (v. 5-11)

Verse 5 says, “Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.” This information is very important. Back in the Old Testament, the Jews had been sent into exile. They had been repeatedly unfaithful to the Lord, and eventually the Lord kicked them out of their homeland and scattered them among the nations. In due course some Jews returned to the land, but other Jews remained in exile among the nations. But the Old Testament looked forward to a day when the exiles of Israel would return to the land and experience a spiritual renewal.

The new covenant, which Jesus secured with His own blood on the cross, was promised in the Old Testament. It is very interesting to look at the context of the new covenant promises given in the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Although the new covenant promises extend to Gentiles (the term ‘Gentiles’ means ‘non-Jews’), the new covenant promises begin with Israel: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah” (Jeremiah 31:31). And this new covenant is made with “the remnant of Israel” (Jeremiah 31:7) gathered from the nations: “Behold, I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth” (Jeremiah 31:8).

The same flow of thought is found in Ezekiel 36. The promise of the new covenant is given in the context of the fact that Israel had been scattered among the nations: “I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them.” (Ezekiel 36:19) A few verses later, the Lord promises to renew the nation and pour out the Holy Spirit upon them:

“I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.” (Ezekiel 36:24-28)

These things are now coming to pass in Acts 2. What is happening in Acts 2 is the proclamation of the new covenant amid a gathering of Jewish exiles, from all the nations, who had either come to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost or had resettled in Jerusalem prior to Pentecost.[1] Unbeknownst to them, they had been gathered together to hear the gospel, to hear the good news of salvation, and to hear that the Holy Spirit is promised to all who call upon the name of the Lord. At this feast of Pentecost, thousands of Jews were “dwelling in Jerusalem” (v. 5): Jewish exiles “from every nation under heaven”. They had come from the east: “Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia” (v. 9). They had come from nearby: “Judea” (v. 9). They had come from the north: “Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia [that is, Asia Minor], Phrygia and Pamphylia” (v. 9-10). They had come from the southwest: “Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene” (v. 10). And they had come from the far west: “visitors from Rome” (v 10). This multi-national group consisted of “both Jews and proselytes” (v. 11). Proselytes were Gentiles who had converted to the Jewish religion: though proselytes were ethnically non-Jewish, they were religiously and culturally Jewish. So even though the audience in Acts 2 consists mostly of ethnic Jews, there are some Gentile converts among them, and this anticipates the flooding in of Gentiles that will eventually take place. Finally, there were “Cretans and Arabians”: Cretans from the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea, and Arabians to the southeast of Jerusalem. All these had converged upon Jerusalem, and they had no idea what was about to take place. They had either already resettled in Jerusalem or had come to Jerusalem to observe the feast of Pentecost, a holy day on the Jewish religious calendar. God had something remarkable and extraordinary planned on this day of sacred assembly.

And so, the formation of God’s new covenant people begins with a renewed Israel, just as the Old Testament promised. In Acts 2:17-21, the apostle Peter recites a prophecy from Joel 2:28-32. Similar to the Jeremiah and Ezekiel passages that I mentioned earlier, so the prophecy in Joel is set in the context of a restored Israel. Joel 2:27 says, “You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame.” (Joel 2:27) The rest of Joel 2:32 (which is not quoted by Peter) says, “For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.” (Joel 2:32) As Peter proclaims the good news of salvation in Acts 2:14-36, he is consciously addressing the people of Israel. Peter says, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem” (v. 14). Peter says, “Men of Israel, hear these words” (Acts 2:22). Peter says, “Let all the house of Israel therefore know” (Acts 2:36). Thus begins the familiar pattern of gospel proclamation in the New Testament: to the Jews first, and then also to the Gentiles.

Many of the Jews who were dwelling in Jerusalem will, in fact, put their faith in Jesus, as we shall see in Acts 2:22-41, when we get to that passage. But first we have to consider how the message of salvation got communicated to this multi-national group of Jews. And this brings us back to verses 2-4. For the message of salvation was going to be communicated to the thousands of Jewish exiles through the small group of 120 disciples who were waiting to receive the Holy Spirit.

THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (v. 2-13)

So, let’s ponder the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon this small group of disciples in verses 2-4. In order to appreciate what is happening here, it is worthwhile to compare it with God’s work in the Old Testament through his prophets.

Comparing Acts 2:2-4 with the call of the prophet Ezekiel

Take Ezekiel, for example. The Book of Ezekiel begins with the priest Ezekiel being transported into the heavenly places through a larger-than-life transcendent vision of the glory of God. One man on earth, is transported into the heavenly places, and he is being summoned to divine service. The Lord God is calling Ezekiel into prophetic ministry. The priest Ezekiel becomes a prophet, and he will bear God’s message to rebellious house of Israel, and the rebellious house of Israel will not listen. Ezekiel is not given an enviable task. God calls one man to the solitary task of preaching His Word to people who won’t be transformed by it.

But contrast the call of Ezekiel with the empowering of the 120 disciples in Acts 2:2-4. First, the 120 disciples are not transported into the heavenly places. Instead, the power of heaven is transported to them! These 120 disciples “were all together in one place” (v. 1), in a “house” (v. 2) in the city of Jerusalem. They are not carried away to some other place; instead, God visits them where they are! “And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.” (v. 2) The power of heaven fills a house on earth.

Ezekiel’s vision involved both wind and fire: “As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal.” (Ezekiel 1:4) But whereas Ezekiel was transported to the wind and the fire, in Acts 2 the wind and the fire are transported to the disciples. Heaven is visiting earth.

Then “divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them” (v. 3). While the fire itself manifests the transcendent glory of God, the fact that the fire visited them in the form of “divided tongues” points to the fact that the fire is intended to set the disciples’ tongues ablaze with the message of salvation. The fire is not a spectacle, but a transforming and empowering agent.

Ultimately, the sound from heaven and the tongues of fire signal the presence of God, as the coming of the Holy Spirit in verse 4 makes clear.

Another important contrast between the call of the Old Testament prophets like Ezekiel and the empowering of the 120 disciples in Acts 2, relates to the number of people empowered for ministry. In the case of Ezekiel, he was just one man, entrusted with the Word and empowered by God, to take the message to all the people. Prophets like Ezekiel were solitary figures, quite often aloof and alone, misunderstood and maligned. But something new is taking place here in Acts 2. It isn’t one man being empowered to be God’s mouthpiece. It isn’t even twelve men being empowered to be God’s mouthpieces. Instead, it is the entire group of 120 disciples, both men and women, who are being empowered to be God’s witnesses to Israel and to the whole world. And it won’t stop at 120, for the same Holy Spirit who came upon them is promised to all who call upon the name of the Lord.

Moses desired this day

Moses desired this day. The Spirit of God rested on Moses. In Numbers 11, the Lord also put His Spirit on seventy others, and they prophesied. Then the Lord put His Spirit on two men, Eldad and Medad, who hadn’t gone to the place where the seventy others had received the Spirit. And Eldad and Medad were prophesying in the camp. The news came to Moses: “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” Moses’ assistant Joshua told Moses: “My lord Moses, stop them.” And then in a moment of refreshing humility and grace, Moses said to Joshua: “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” (Numbers 11:29) When Moses thought about the prospect of God’s Spirit resting on all of God’s people and thus enabling all of God’s people to speak forth God’s precious words, Moses thought: that would be wonderful! Beware of those who want a corner on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Beware of those who want a corner on the ministry of proclaiming God’s truth. This domineering and controlling spirit is not the Holy Spirit, but a sinister spirit in the heart of sinful mankind.

Each and every disciple was empowered by the Spirit

In due course, what Moses desired was prophesied by Joel and came to fulfillment here in Acts 2. Notice that the tongues of fire “rested on each one of them” (v. 3). Each and every disciple was receiving transformation and empowerment from God’s holy fire; the mouth of each and every disciple was being summoned to divine service. And so, “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit”. Back in Acts 1:8, the Holy Spirit comes to empower God’s people to be His faithful witnesses. The Holy Spirit empowers Jesus’ disciples to carry out their mission. This same connection between the Holy Spirit and evangelistic mission is evident in Acts 2:4 – “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Note well that the “[speaking] in other tongues” was not a spectacle for the disciples themselves to indulge in. Instead, the “[speaking] in other tongues” was designed to get God’s message to the Jewish exiles in their own native tongue, even as it was also a sign to the Jewish exiles that something extraordinary was taking place.

The listeners were perplexed

The God of heaven visits His humble people on earth in order to empower them to be effective participants in His mission to the world. And God’s design in verses 1-13 is to get the attention of the Jewish exiles who are mentioned in verse 5. The sound of 120 disciples uttering God’s message got their attention: “And at this sound the multitude came together”. But the phenomena perplexed them, because each and every exile – from Parthia in the east to Rome in the west, from Pontus in the north to Arabia in the south – each and every exile heard the message “in his own native language” (v. 8). What this means is that when the Holy Spirit was supernaturally enabling the 120 disciples “to speak in other tongues”, the Holy Spirit was enabling them to speak in the languages of the people who were listening. Ordinary disciples from Galilee, who didn’t naturally know languages such as Arabic and Egyptian and Median and all the rest, were supernaturally empowered to proclaim God’s message in those languages. This dumbfounded the audience: “and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.” (v. 6) They continued their reflection in verses 7-8: “And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?” Then after calling to mind all the different language groups represented, they said at the end of verse 11: “we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” We don’t know exactly what the 120 disciples said, but we certainly know their topic: God’s mighty works.

When something bewildering takes place, you try to make sense of it. In verses 12-13, the Jewish exiles attempted to make sense of this strange and unexpected experience: “And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”” (v. 12-13) The mockers statement is one of those dismissive statements that makes no sense: how exactly could an excess of wine loosen the tongues of ordinary uneducated Galileans to speak fluently and coherently in languages that they couldn’t have naturally known? But the question “What does this mean?” is a very good question, and this question sets the stage for Peter’s sermon in the verses that follow.

PETER EXPLAINS WHAT IS HAPPENING (v. 14-21)

Peter, standing alongside the other eleven apostles, addresses the crowd (v. 14). He calls them to attention: “Men of Judea, and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.” (v. 14) He then assures them that this group of 120 disciples is not under the influence of alcohol: “For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.” (v. 15) The phrase “the third hour of the day” means 9:00am, which, generally speaking, is not the time of day when people get drunk. Far from a natural occurrence like drunkenness, what is really happening is the supernatural fulfillment of one of the high points of Old Testament prophecy: “this”, Peter says, “is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:” (v. 16).

Peter proceeds to call attention to three specific promises that were uttered through the prophet Joel. These promises have begun to be fulfilled on this day of Pentecost, this pivotal day that marks the beginning of a renewed Israel.

The first promise: the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (v. 17-18)

The first promise, highlighted in verses 17-18, is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all of God’s people regardless of sex or age. The phrase “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh” doesn’t mean that every single human being receives the Spirit. It is only believers in Jesus – only disciples of Jesus – who receive the Spirit. The emphasis of “all flesh” in verses 17-18 is that the Spirit is given to all of God’s servants regardless of physical circumstances. Who receives the Spirit? Sons and daughters, young men and old men, male servants and female servants.

The group of 120 disciples, which consisted of both men and women, and no doubt a variety of ages, stood forth as a concrete fulfillment of Joel’s promise. God poured out His Spirit on these 120 disciples, and they prophesied, they shared God’s message, they declared “the mighty works of God”. Indeed, prophesying is mentioned twice as the result of receiving the Spirit: “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy” (v. 17); “even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy”. To “prophesy” in this context isn’t about predicting the future but means to set forth God’s message, and to prophesy rightly means to set forth God’s message by the power of God’s Holy Spirit.

In addition to prophesying, Joel and now Peter mention that the gift of the Holy Spirit will also mean that God’s people have visions and dreams: “your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams”. Although visions and dreams aren’t necessarily present in Acts 2, multiple visions do take place throughout the Book of Acts. God works through visions and dreams in order to direct His people in the fulfillment of their mission to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. If you read a book such as “The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected” or “With Two Hands: True Stories of God at Work in Ethiopia” or hear testimonies about the expansion of the gospel in the Muslim world, you will understand that God continues to work through visions and dreams in conjunction with the spread of the gospel and the growth of the church.

Let’s say yes and amen to David Peterson’s comment: “Whereas the Spirit especially designated and empowered the prophets and other leaders of Israel under the Old Covenant, God promises that ‘ “all” ’ his people will be possessed by the Spirit in the last days.”[2] These are the days in which we now live. The Spirit’s empowering presence isn’t the privilege of a select few, but is the privilege of every believer.

The second promise: wonders and signs (v. 19-20)

The second promise, highlighted in verses 19-20, is that God will “show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.” “[The] day of the Lord” refers to that future glorious day when the Lord returns to judge the wicked and vindicate His people. This in-between time, this time between His ascension into heaven and His future return, will be characterized by wonders and signs: “wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below”. This is previewed in Acts 1-2 itself: in Acts 1:9-11, “a cloud took him [Jesus] out of their sight” and Jesus went “into heaven” (Acts 1:9, 11); and in Acts 2, the “sound like a mighty rushing wind” and tongues of fire and the Holy Spirit came from heaven (Acts 2:2-4), and the 120 disciples miraculously and supernaturally proclaimed God’s message in languages they didn’t know. These signs and wonders testify to the fact that Jesus is King, that the day of salvation is at hand, that Jesus has disarmed the evil powers and principalities, that He has been enthroned at the Father’s right hand, and that His heavenly kingdom is breaking through the darkness of this present world to draw more and more sinners into His forever family. These two words “signs” and “wonders” are paired up in several passages in Acts: here in Acts 2:19, then in Acts 2:22, Acts 2:43, Acts 4:30, Acts 5:12, Acts 6:8, Acts 7:36, Acts 14:3, and Acts 15:12 – and so they are one of the themes that runs through the book.

These wonders and signs point back to the “mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through [Jesus]” (Acts 2:22). These wonders and signs also point to the earth-shattering, world-redefining, devil-destroying, sin-atoning, death-defeating, and new-creation-inaugurating events of the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, the fruit of which is the Holy Spirit now being poured out on God’s people. These wonders and signs are not only wonderful things, but also put the world on notice that judgment is coming: there is a weightiness to these wonders and signs, for they take place “before” and in anticipation of “the great and magnificent day [of the Lord]” when He comes to judge the world. Not only will there will be healings and miracles in the Book of Acts, but also judgments: Ananias and Sapphira will be struck down, King Herod will be struck down, Elymas the magician will be struck blind.

Should we expect signs and wonders today? Of course! The logic of the passage is clear: Peter is describing the turning point that began on the day of Pentecost and will continue until “the day of the Lord”, the day when the Lord Jesus returns. Should we expect the Holy Spirit to be poured out on God’s people until the end of this present age? Yes! Should we expect “that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (v. 21) until the end of this present age? Yes! Should we expect divinely wrought wonders and signs to be manifest to us until the end of this present age? Yes!

The third promise: salvation (v. 21)

The third promise, which I just mentioned, is highlighted in verse 21: “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” This is the promise of salvation for everyone who trusts in the Lord. Peter will unpack this in much more detail in verses 22-36. The pouring out of the Holy Spirit, and the manifestation of wonders and signs, are not random occurrences; they are occurrences that take place in connection to the proclamation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ; they are occurrences that take place in connection to faith in the name of Jesus. Jesus is the King who has conquered sin and death and has been enthroned at the Father’s right hand. Jesus is the mighty King who demonstrates His power and authority through wonders and signs, just as He is the generous King who bestows His Spirit on everyone who turns to Him.

Will the Jewish exiles who hear Peter’s message respond in faith and be incorporated into this renewed Israel, this new covenant community that God is forming? Acts 2:22-41 awaits us, two weeks from now.

A REALITY CHECK

But in the meantime, we need the reality check that Acts 2:1-21 gives us: belonging to Christ is not a tepid, lukewarm, unenthusiastic sort of thing. Belonging to Christ involves receiving His Spirit and becoming an active participant in His mission. Subsequent passages in Acts make it clear that this promise is not only for the house of Israel, but also for Gentiles. The whole thing – salvation, discipleship, evangelism, mission – is supernatural from start to finish. The whole thing is generated and sustained by the Holy Spirit of the living God. As far as being a Spirit-empowered participant in God’s mission, it doesn’t matter whether you are male or female, and it doesn’t matter whether you are old or young. Nor are you limited by your natural skill set. If hicks from Galilee can speak fluently in the languages of the known world in Acts 2, there is no telling what the Lord might want to do through you, through us, in this time and place.

Just recently I read about a physically crippled believer who followed the call of God to a violent tribe in Ethiopia. He hobbled through the villages and cattle camps preaching the gospel. In one year’s time, hundreds came to faith in Jesus and five local congregations were started.[3] 

When we analyze things based on human ability and human reasoning, we get stuck. The problem is that we too often calculate only what we think can be done without the Holy Spirit, and leave it at that. But that is not thinking biblically, not thinking Christianly, not thinking spiritually. When a small group of 120 people like we see in Acts 2 are joined together in one place, looking heavenward with earnest expectation, trusting in the Lord Jesus and His mighty promises, and are then filled with His Holy Spirit, there is no telling what will happen. There is no telling how “the mighty works of God” might be proclaimed to the Oxford Hills through this humble congregation. There is no telling how many people out there might wonder what in the world has gotten into us. There is no telling who out there might be perplexed enough to ask a really good question like, “What does this mean?” And then we can tell them!

ENDNOTES

[1] David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles (The Pillar New Testament Commentary). Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009: p. 135.

[2] Ibid. p. 140-141.

[3] Rebecca Davis, With Two Hands: True Stories of God at Work in Ethiopia. First Published in 2010, © Rebecca Davis. Printed by Christian Focus Publications (Ross-shire, Great Britain) in 2016 and 2019. See Chapter 12, “The Crippled Missionary,” p. 103-110.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Patrick Schreiner, Acts (Christian Standard Commentary). Holman Reference, 2022.