Chapter 3
V1 The birth of the Church came on Pentecost. Pentecost was the fourth of the annual Jewish feasts. (Passover, Unleavened bread, First fruits then Pentecost) It came 50 days after First Fruits. Pentecost was the Greek name for the Jewish Feast of Weeks, so called because it came seven (a week of) weeks after First Fruits. It celebrated the wheat harvest (Ex 23:16).
Jesus was crucified at Passover time, He ascended 40 days after His resurrection. The Holy Spirit came 50 days after the resurrection, 10 days after the ascension. So this tells us that the Apostles and the others who were with them waited and prayed together 10 days after Jesus left them. Pretty good prayer service I’d say. Imagine what they prayed about?
Jewish holidays had much significance to their culture and were anticipated with joy and reverence much like Christmas and Easter were to Christians before commercialism (greed) took over.
The King James says they were together in one accord. So they were not only gathered in one spot, they were like minded about the purposes and things of God; we should take lesson from them and recognize that rituals should not replace a right minded, unified God focused service. We should not just go through the motions of worship.
Vs 2 The sound from Heaven was like wind but it was not wind. It was loud because it drew others beyond the group. It was also loud because it was a proclamation of the arrival of God on the scene. It was loud because of the Power emitted by God’s entrance.
Please give me leeway for a little imagery here to make a point: Westerners tend to ignore the spirit world that is beyond what our five senses can detect. Think with me for a moment; (Put on your spiritual glasses) Do you think that Satan was just going to stand by and watch this happen without revolting in some puny way? He certainly did not want this to happen. A third of the angels were kicked out of heaven when Lucifer was struck from Heaven as a lightening bolt. Can’t you just imagine the forces of darkness lined up to take a stand against the Lord? As scary as they may seem to people, they were nothing but a big noise when the King marched through! I can just imagine demons scattering in all directions trying to get out of the way of the Holy Spirit when He came to dwell in human hearts. That sound may have been the sound of those demons beating feet to get out of the way. We should not discount that there is another very active world beyond what we can see or hear. There are spiritual battles being fought all the time that we can’t even imagine; some within our own lives.
Metaphorically speaking about the sound; It was a storm that would change the world by empowering believers with a force greater than nature itself; the indwelling of God Himself in human hearts. Wow!! If we would ever get a grip on that it would change us dramatically.
(A sound like a roar; a roar of the Lion of the tribe of Judah)
Vs 3 John the Baptist prophesied about a Baptism of fire in Luke 3:16. This is a purifying fire that purges undesirable elements of believer’s lives. It is also a fire that ignites others with belief of the Gospel through us sharing our testimony. The King James says clove tongues meaning split. A cloven hoof is one that is in two parts like a sheep or a goat. We’ll see in the verses to follow that they communicated in other languages that they did not know.
VS 4-11 They were filled, then they spoke. If we would only follow that pattern i.e. be filled before we speak. There was an international gathering of Jews from around the Mediterranean Sea that had come to Jerusalem for the feast. When they heard the sound they came to see what was going on.
They were astonished when they heard others who could not speak to them in their own language speaking where they could understand.
They spoke in langauges that other humans understood. It was not a “Heavenly language” that no one but God could understand.
It was languages that others who could not understand the language or dialect that the Apostles (and others with them) spoke could understand.
The speakers did not know the languages and could not understand the words but the hearers (Audience) could understand in their own language or dialect. (We always think of English but English was not even invented at that point.) We must put this in context of an ancient world of uneducated, unsophisticated people. (In comparison to us) {They may have been much better off than us}
They were perplexed and in awe but there is no mention of fear. Notice that after a great outpouring of God doubt and mockery immediately sets in. Some non-believers said they were just drunk. Satan will always try to discredit God’s works. Just because we can’t or don’t understand it does not make it untrue.
Speaking in tongues as we know or hear of it today is a phenomenon that divides the Body of Christ. I can neither prove nor disprove speaking in tongues today. I don’t think it is my place to do so. I know, as stated, that when speaking in tongues in the Bible occurred it was language that a human could understand even if the speaker could not understand it. I don’t take issue with those who claim to speak in tongues today; that is between them and God. To try to refute something they believe so passionately in just causes division. I don’t understand it and have never experienced it but I won’t waste time arguing over it. We have better and more important things to do.