The Coming of the Age of the Spirit

It was in Jerusalem, on the Jewish feast of Pentecost (see Exodus 23:16) 50 days after Passover, where the promised Holy Spirit came. The witnesses of Jesus were all together in one place (at least 120). So Luke records for us, “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

It is worth noting four things about the experience. It was audible as the early disciples gathered, they heard a sound like the great wind, and they heard each other speak in the tongues of the nations. It was visible they saw what looked like tongues of fire rest on each of them. It was public not only the insiders were alerted to something extraordinary happening but outside the Jewish pilgrims from all the nations celebrating Pentecost were drawn in. It was universal the Spirit enabled the outsiders to hear God glorified in their native tongue. “We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”. It is worth understanding the experience of Pentecost was an external, verifiable, audible, visible, public experience, not the internal mystical experience of a guru or a group hallucination. As Luke interviewed those who were there, can you imagine how they described the moment?

Peter makes sense of the experience for the outsiders by interpreting it by the scriptures Joel 2:28-32, Psalm 16:8-11, Psalm 110:1. Peter stood up and addressed the crowd: Peter argues from Joel that Pentecost means the Old Testament promises of the new age of the Spirit have been fulfilled. Peter argues from Psalm 16 that Pentecost means Jesus has been raised to new life and ascended to his father’s side. God raised Jesus from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death. Peter argues from Psalm 110 that Pentecost means God has raised this Jesus to life to be king over the nations and, “we are all witnesses of the fact. Jesus was exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.”

In the end it is crucial for us to see that Pentecost is not about the Spirit coming to us so we might have an extraordinary religious experience, it is about the Spirit coming to us to point us to the Lordship of the Risen Jesus. Peter concludes his Pentecost speech by,  “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. As New Testament believers we rejoice at being born into the age of the Spirit when we turn from our old ways and claim Jesus as our king. Pentecost reminds us the Spirit points us to our king Jesus. Rejoice!