Waiting for something that has been promised can sometimes test one’s patience. Will it come? Can I trust and believe the one who made the promise? How long do I have to continue to wait? What do I do in the meantime? Will I even recognize it when it arrives? These questions might have gone through the disciples mind while they waited for what the Lord Jesus had promised would come. Our Scripture today gives the account of when His promise did arrive, and what happened then.
Shortly before our Scripture passage begins, Jesus had taken His disciples to Mt. Olivet, and gave them a few instructions before He ascended into heaven. One of these was to remain in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit would come upon them (Acts 1:4-8). So they waited and they waited. Several days passed, and nothing happened. There are some people who would begin to get impatient. Had Jesus forgotten? They had no one to ask about this. Rather than lose patience, give up, and just go back to their former life, the disciples got it right. They spent the time in prayer together while they waited (Acts 1:14). Whenever we don’t know what to do, whether the situation is stressful or not, such as this time, prayer is always a good choice.
While they waited, the Jewish festival of Pentecost approached (vs. 1). The Greek word “Pentecost” means “50th day”. This festival occurs 50 days following Passover. It was also known as the Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot in Hebrew. It was a festival of celebration to the Lord for the beginning of the harvest, falling between May and June, where an offering of fruits and vegetables was made to the Lord (Exodus 34:22-23; Leviticus 23:20). That holy day was a celebration of thanksgiving for God’s provision, and devout Jews would come from all over the world, bringing their offerings of the first fruits of their crops (vs. 5). The Holy Spirit came on this day as symbolic of the first-fruits of the believer’s inheritance.
While the disciples were gathered together in prayer on the festival of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon them in a dramatic way. There was the sound of rushing wind, “tongues of fire” appeared upon them, and they were able to speak with “other tongues” (vs. 2-4). This was a fulfillment of John the Baptist’s words about the Holy Spirit baptizing with fire (Luke 3:16), and the Prophet Joel’s words about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28-29).
Before Pentecost, the Holy Spirit’s work had come from without, outside of the person. It was temporary, and only occasional. After Pentecost the Holy Spirit now indwelt believers. The Holy Spirit permanently remained, indwelling Christians, and would work in and through committed believers regularly.
Why “tongues of fire”? Tongues symbolize speech, and the communication of the Gospel. Fire symbolizes God’s purifying presence, which burns away the undesirable elements of our lives. The Holy Spirit sets our hearts aflame to ignite the lives of others as we speak and share the Good News of Jesus with them.
One very noticeable effect of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost was the speaking with other tongues. What they spoke that day were the dialects of the people from other nations who had come to Jerusalem for the holy day. Scripture says that the people “heard them speak in his own language” (vs. 6). We see listed some of the countries and areas around the Middle East and Mediterranean world whose languages were miraculously being spoken by the disciples (vs. 8-11). They did not speak meaningless babble, or some unknown language. Rather, they spoke the established languages of the people visiting Jerusalem. This was a miraculous occurrence, enabling the disciples to speak a language they hadn’t learned, in order to tell of the wonderful works of God, giving a witness for Jesus.
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a one-time occurrence, and happens when a person is saved. God puts His Spirit in the believer, and they become part of His Body. The Filling of the Holy Spirit is a different thing. This is something that happens over and over. It is an ongoing process that happens as believers yield themselves to the Holy Spirit’s control in their life. As they yield themselves to the Lord, He fills them with His Spirit. If they ignore the Lord in their life, and instead live for themselves and the world, the Holy Spirit’s power in their life is weakened and depleted, but He still remains indwelling them if they are a genuine Christian.
As we see in this passage, there were many different languages, from all around the known world at the time, that the Holy Spirit enabled the disciples to speak. Christianity is not limited to any race or group of people. Jesus offers salvation to all people, without regard to nationality. Come to Him today!
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