Acts 2:1-21
We have now passed through the first half of the church year, punctuated especially by the four chief festivals of Christ: Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, and Ascension. These festivals mark vitally important events in the earthly life of our Savior.
Today – the Day of Pentecost – is the chief festival of the church of Christ. Jesus had departed from the earth as far as his visible presence was concerned.
But he had promised that he would be with his disciples always, even to the end of the age. And he had also promised that he would send the divine Comforter, or Helper, to be their companion and guide in the important mission that he had entrusted to them. That’s what happened on the first Christian Pentecost.
This was not the first time that the Holy Spirit was present in this world. He had always been present. King David, in a prayer of repentance, had implored God the Father, “take not Your Holy Spirit from me.”
But now, on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came afresh in a new and different way. He came to create and empower the church, and to energize the mission and ministry of the church.
And he came to stay. He is still among us, and within us: building up our faith, emboldening us in our confession of faith, and inspiring within us the fruits of faith. And so we pray, as all Christians in all generations have prayed:
“Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Your love.” Amen.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Jesus had told his disciples that they should remain in Jerusalem until they had received power from on high. And this is what happened to them on the Day of Pentecost.
Some pretty spectacular things did occur on that day. In today’s text from the Book of Acts, St. Luke describes these events:
“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
For many people, these things – the flames of fire resting on the apostles, and especially the speaking in tongues – are chiefly what is associated with the Day of Pentecost. In the twenty-first century, the most popular and fastest-growing churches in the world are in fact those churches that directly identify with these extraordinary “Pentecostal” events, and that seek to appropriate for themselves these and similar “charismatic” phenomena.
They believe that speaking in tongues – as they define it – and similar extraordinary signs, were and are evidence of the presence of God’s Spirit, and of the working of God’s power. And they believe that Christians who are able to experience these kinds of things today, can and will tap into this divine power for their lives today.
Churches like ours, where these things are not going on, are seen to be quite dull and lifeless. The word “dead” is often used to describe congregations that do not actively seek after such spectacular miracles.
Is it possible that we are missing out on something that God wants us to have? If miracles like speaking in tongues occurred among the first Christians on the Day of Pentecost, might it be so, that such miracles should be occurring among us too – so that we can have a stronger faith, and a greater confidence in the presence and operation of the Holy Spirit among us?
Well, before we go down that road, let’s make sure we understand what was really happening on the Day of Pentecost. Was the power that was received on Pentecost really connected primarily to those extraordinary phenomena? Or was the power of Pentecost primarily connected to something else?
It is certainly true that some remarkable events did happen on the Day of Pentecost. And those remarkable events definitely did get the attention of the crowd. But how beneficial was the speaking in tongues, in itself, for the spiritual life of those who heard and witnessed this?
Were the people who heard the tongues touched by God’s Spirit through that experience, in such a way that they could see right away that this was evidence of God’s power? Did they immediately fall to their knees in repentance, and put their trust in Christ? St. Luke tells us what the reaction of the crowd was:
“And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. …they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘Whatever could this mean?’ Others, mocking, said, ‘They are full of new wine.’”
The reactions included everything from confusion and perplexity to mocking derision. But nobody – I repeat, nobody – was brought to a state of repentance and faith as a direct result of the tongues and the other extraordinary occurrences that took place.
This does not mean, though, that the Holy Spirit did not work on the Day of Pentecost, to call people to repentance, and to instill a saving faith in them. Actually, about three thousand people became devout followers of Christ on that day.
But it was not on account of the speaking in tongues. It was on account of the deeper and more profound “miracle” of preaching. After the speaking in tongues got the people’s attention, St. Peter rose up to preach a Biblically-based, Christ-centered, law-gospel sermon.
He pointed out that the prophet Joel had predicted the events of this day, and that these events marked the beginning of “the last days” of the world’s existence. He went on to tell them about the life, death, and resurrection of Christ – declaring that Jesus was “delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God”; and also declaring that God raised him up, “having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.”
After a couple references to the Psalms of David, with explanations of what those Psalms mean, Peter finally concluded his sermon with these words: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
A few verses beyond the place where the lesson appointed for today ends, St. Luke describes the reaction to this sermon:
“Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.’”
“And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, ‘Be saved from this perverse generation.’ Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.”
That’s quite a different reaction than the reaction they had to the speaking in tongues. Instead of confusion and perplexity, Peter’s sermon brought the crowd to see their need to repent of their sins.
Instead of an attitude of mockery and derision, the people are now filled with the joy and peace of divine forgiveness, as they embrace and experience the blessings of Holy Baptism, and as they are incorporated into the ongoing liturgical and sacramental life of the Christian community.
The Day of Pentecost was indeed characterized by great miracles. But the speaking in tongues was not one of them. To be sure, this was a miracle, brought about by God for his own purposes on that day.
But it was not one of the great miracles of that day. The phenomenon of speaking in tongues, all by itself, did not result in the salvation of even one soul.
The great miracles on the Day of Pentecost were the preaching of the gospel and the administration of the sacrament of Holy Baptism, and what God did in and through those seemingly ordinary and unspectacular actions, in the hearts of more than three thousand people.
Through these means of grace, those people were saved from their sins, and destined for eternal life. They were born again, and were filled with the living presence of God himself.
On the Day of Pentecost, the working of God’s Spirit for the creation of faith and the saving of souls, was linked, not to the tongues, but to St. Peter’s Biblically-based, Christ-centered, law-gospel sermon. The reception of the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the forgiveness of sins, were linked, not to the tongues, but to Baptism, administered by the authority of Jesus according to his institution.
What does this mean for us? A lot! If you want to taste and experience the miracle-working power of Pentecost, don’t seek out that power in the spectacular claims of modern-day TV preachers and flashy mega-churches.
Instead, seek out that power where that power resided on the Day of Pentecost: in the preaching of the gospel. A biblically-based sermon that declares God’s judgment against sin, and that points you to Christ as your only hope, is a sermon through which the Holy Spirit is working, even if it is not accompanied by external signs and wonders.
Listen, too, to the hymns that we sing. Many of our hymns are really just sermons, written in poetic form and set to music. That’s why all of you should join in the singing, as well as you can. It doesn’t matter if you’re a good singer or not.
When you sing one of those hymns, you’re not performing for people – and you’re not performing for God, either. Basically, you’re preaching – to the people sitting around you, and to your own soul. And it is through the preaching of the gospel that the Holy Spirit works faith and spiritual strength in the heart – just as on the Day of Pentecost.
When you join in the singing of a hymn that is addressed to God, you are thereby being taught how to “call on the name of the Lord,” and thus to “be saved.” And you are helping those with whom you are singing in their prayer, and encouraging them in the exercise of their faith.
Likewise, as St. Peter pointed the penitent crowd to Baptism on the Day of Pentecost, so too are we, in our penitence, pointed by God’s Word to Baptism.
Those who have not yet been baptized are pointed forward to their baptism, with the expectation that a great blessing will be received in that sacred washing. Those who have been baptized are pointed back to their baptism, so that they can be comforted to know that the gift of God’s Spirit has been sealed to them, and that the gift of God’s forgiveness has been bestowed on them.
We are weak in many ways. Sometimes we are emotionally weak, as we struggle with our fears of the future, with our regrets of the past, and with the uncertainties of life in general. Sometimes we are physically weak, as we are afflicted with various infirmities that sap our bodily strength and rob us of our health.
As we are, over time, “worn down” by such discouragements, we can be tempted to be led astray by the “siren song” of spectacular miracles, and by the claims of those who say that we can receive such miracles through them.
Now, when it is his will to do so, God certainly does occasionally perform extraordinary miracles of healing, for those who are in physical need. We would never deny that God is able to show mercy to people in these ways.
But the chief miracle that God wants to perform in your life – in the lives of all of you – is something different. It is the healing of your soul, through the forgiveness of sins. The deepest need of all people, whether they are weak or strong, is the need for reconciliation with God, and eternal life with God.
And God’s Spirit performs that miracle – over and over again – in the ministry of Word and Sacrament that he offers to us in the fellowship of the church. God’s Spirit performs that miracle through the message of Christ crucified for sinners, brought to us, and applied to us, in both sermon and Supper.
After the events of the Day of Pentecost, the Christians in Jerusalem “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” This was not a let-down or a “low,” after the “high” of Pentecost. This was, instead, a continuation of the true power of Pentecost.
The apostles were teaching the people – expounding the Scriptures to them, and recalling the life and deeds of Jesus for them. The members of the congregation were sharing together in the breaking of bread – the sacramental bread of Christ’s body in the Eucharist.
And through these simple yet profound activities, God’s Spirit was working, vigorously and effectively, to draw the people ever closer to their Savior, and ever closer to each other.
As they continued in “the prayers” – that is, the ordered discipline of public prayer that the early Christian liturgy provided for the people – they were built up in their faith.
And all of this is available to you, too. All of it. Even after two thousand years, the true power of Pentecost is still here, alive and well, in the church of Jesus Christ.
Extraordinary and spectacular miracles come and go. But they’re not really all that important anyway, in the eternal scheme of things. The enduring miracles of Pentecost are not those – not the speaking in tongues, and not a temporary healing that may prolong a life on earth for a few years or decades.
The enduring miracles of Pentecost are the deeply refreshing, deeply moving miracles of faith and hope, heavenly peace and everlasting life, which God’s Spirit gives us in the preaching of the gospel and in the administration of the sacraments.
In Christ we are not confused and perplexed by these wonders, and we certainly don’t mock and ridicule them. These miracles, in all of their exhilarating power, remain among us today.
As God’s Word comforts us, and as God’s sacraments seal to us the pledge of his forgiveness, we know and experience, now and always, the true power of Pentecost. We close with these words from the hymnist Henry Hallam Tweedy:
O Spirit of the living God, thou light and fire divine,
Descend upon thy church once more, and make it truly thine.
Fill it with love and joy and power, with righteousness and peace;
‘Till Christ shall dwell in human hearts, and sin and sorrow cease. Amen.