Today, I am reading and commenting on  Acts 1-3.

I want to start with something from the account of what happened at Pentecost, or perhaps a couple of somethings.  The first part was the sound which was the first thing that happened which made that day unique from other times when Jesus’ followers had gathered since His ascension.  The sound of a violent wind is what drew the crowd to which Peter preached.  The second thing is that Luke writes that “each one heard their own language being spoken.”  He does not write that Jesus’ followers spoke in those languages.  Rather, the people heard their own language.  Each of the people heard what they were saying in their own language.  When the Holy Spirit came upon this gathering of Believers, He did not cause them to speak in various languages.  He caused the people listening to hear them in their own language.  It seems likely that the disciples would not have realized that anything unusual was going on in their speech if the crowd had not brought it to their attention.

Which brings me to the two sermons Peter preached in today’s passage.  One on the day of Pentecost, to the crowd which gathered to see what had caused the sound of a violent wind (when, apparently there was no wind).  The other at the temple after he and John had healed a man who had been lame since birth.  In the first, after using Scripture to explain what was going on, Peter told the crowd that it was all about Jesus, whom they had crucified.  He very explicitly held them responsible for Jesus being crucified.  Then at the temple, Peter once again told the crowd that they were responsible for Jesus’ death.  That they had killed Him.  He did not candy coat it, or try to avoid offending them.  Now, we can easily take the wrong point from this.  The point is not that we need to be brutally honest with people, or that we must speak with a total disregard for whether we offend our listeners, although there are times when that is indeed the case.  No, the point here is that we need to acknowledge that we are responsible for Christ’s death.  Our actions led to His crucifixion.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Acts 1-3.

I truly believe that the Church in America has lost something by its diminished interest in eschatology.  On the other hand, I remember from when I was growing up that many in the Church also tried to read the eschatological prophecies so as to determine WHEN Christ would return.  In today’s passage, Jesus tells the disciples, and through them, us, that it is not for them, or us, to know the times and dates.  So, we need to study the eschatological writings in the Bible, we need to see what God has told us about His plans for the end of this world, but we also need to recognize that they were not written to allow us to figure out exactly when Jesus will return.  We also need to welcome the Holy Spirit into ourselves and use the power He gives us to be Christ’s messengers to the ends of the earth.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Acts 1-3.

I have often tried to picture what happened on that day of Pentecost described here from the perspective of those outside of the house where the believers were meeting.  Sometimes I imagine that the people were drawn by the 120 different believers speaking loudly at the same time.  However, currently I believe that people were drawn to the area by the sound of violent wind which Luke describes.  I think people gathered expecting to find destroyed buildings, and perhaps people in need of rescue.  When they got there they bewildered by what they heard: they heard a bunch of people speaking in their native tongue (these were people from all over the world who spoke different languages in their homes).  Until recently I always assumed that different ones of the believers were speaking in different languages.  Recently someone pointed out to me that the wording suggests that each of the listeners heard each of the believers speaking in their native tongue.  I was unsure of it at the time, but as I read the passage today I believe that he was correct.  It seems to me that the disciples were speaking in their native tongue (my understanding is that would have been Aramaic).  So, from this perspective, the believers who were sharing the Gospel were completely unaware that they were speaking in anything other than their native language.  The Spirit had not caused them to speak any differently than they normally did, it was those hearing them whom the Spirit changed.  Which gives yet another reason to speak the Gospel to those around us, the Spirit changes those who hear the word of God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Acts 1-3.

On the day of Pentecost, the Believers were gathered together in one place when the Holy Spirit descended upon them.  The first thing of importance I want to note is that when they began speaking in tongues, it was in languages they had never learned but understood by people who were nearby.  I am not quite sure what happened here, but whatever it was it attracted to attention of people outside of the building they were meeting in.  As I tried to understand it today, it struck me that as people came to investigate the loud wind they heard, different ones among the disciples began explaining to them, in their native language, what had happened.  Before long, people began to notice that the speakers were all from Galilee and one or more of them was speaking in every language represented by those who came to investigate (or maybe just to gawk).  Which attracted still more people so that  things became very chaotic.  At which point, Peter and the Eleven (side note: even though they had appointed Matthias to replace Judas Iscariot as one of the Twelve a few days earlier, it was still “the Eleven”) stood up to bring order to what was going on.

So, points about this rather chaotic event I want to point out.  When the Holy Spirit caused the disciples to speak in tongues it was in order for them to speak to those who were present.  When things became chaotic, the leaders worked together to make things more orderly.  Finally, Peter promises that everyone who repents and is baptized in the name of Jesus Christ will receive the Holy Spirit, not just those present, but their children and those far off, all who God will call.  This always reminds me of how weak my faith is.  This account, and other passages in the New Testament, convince me that the Holy Spirit will work miracles through those who receive Him in accordance with their faith.  I have never witnessed anything close to the working of the Holy Spirit described here and elsewhere and I know that is because I lack sufficient faith to truly believe it can happen to me.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Acts 1-3

Today’s passage contains two sermons by Peter.  The first was on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples.  The second was in the Temple after he and John had healed the man who had been lame from birth.  What struck me about both of these sermons was that Peter made no attempt to avoid offending his audience.  On the day of Pentecost, Peter told his listeners, “you nailed Him to the cross and killed Him.”  Then, after healing the man who had been lame, he told them, “You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer.  You killed the author of life,…”  He did not sugar coat it.  We, also, should not sugar coat the Gospel message that all people are sinners who deserve death.  It is only after people admit their sins that they can repent of them.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Acts 1-3

I am not sure I ever thought about the fact that even after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the apostles still thought He was going to overthrow the Roman Empire and re-establish the Kingdom of Israel.  Yet, a short time later, on the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached a sermon which appears to show that he understood that the Kingdom of Heaven was outside of geopolitics.

I had never before really thought about what happened on the Day of Pentecost from an outside perspective.  In the past I always thought about what happened from the perspective of those gathered, but today I wondered what drew the crowd?  It would be easy to think that the crowd gathered because they heard the disciples speaking in various languages, but that makes me wonder, how did they hear that.  However, the passage tells us that the Holy Spirit coming upon the disciples generated a loud noise (the description suggests that it would have sounded like an explosion).  Which leads me to think that the crowd came to see what caused the noise and began asking the disciples what had happened.  The disciples all began answering in the native tongue of their interlocutors.  However, the members of the crowd would have had trouble understanding the answers they received, because, to be perfectly honest, the disciples would not have fully understood and the would not have known how much the person they were speaking to knew of the backstory.  Finally, Peter realized what was going on with the mixed messages being given and got everyone’s attention in order to give a coherent explanation (the Holy Spirit played a significant role in both Peter’s understanding of what was going on and in the explanation he gave).