One
of the fascinating things about God is that he is not concerned with keeping
holy days exactly the same throughout the years. God does not mind change. God does not mind changing the significance
of one holy day to another holy day. We
see Jesus born on Rosh Hashanah, Tishri 1, also known as the Feast of Trumpets,
the Jewish New Year. Also on this day, evidence
indicates that Noah came out of the ark.
We see Jesus die at Passover as the Passover lamb, the day that commemorates
the Jews in captivity, and their protection from the devourer. Passover then
became the religious New Year celebration according to Moses. And then there is Pentecost, the day the
Jews celebrated the first fruits. 50
days from Passover, and the birth of the church. Also, Pentecost is suspected to be Enoch’s
birthday and Enoch’s translation day. It is also the day Moses gave the law to
the children of Israel. I would say that if God intended us to only celebrate
the original holy day as is, he would not have added events to those days worth
celebrating. When God changes something,
he simply changes it.
As
we considered last week, the disciples left Jerusalem after Jesus was
crucified. They went to Galilee, and
Jesus met them there. They came back to
the Mt of Olives, near Jerusalem where Jesus gave his last instructions to the
disciples. Jesus said to wait in
Jerusalem. If we remember, the
controversy of Jesus’ missing body was being blamed on Jesus’ disciples. The priests told the guards to spread that
rumor. The disciples were technically wanted men. But at the time of Jesus’ ascension, Jesus
told them to wait in Jerusalem, so they stayed in an upper room at night but
went to the temple for the hours of prayer until Shavuot. On
Shavuot, men were required to appear before the Lord in Jerusalem, it was a
pilgrimage feast. This means that lots
of different people from the region would be in Jerusalem and in the temple.
Ex
34:22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat
harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end.KJV
Deut
16:9-10 Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven
weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn.10 And
thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God with a tribute of a
freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God,
according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee KJV
Deut
16:16-17 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy
God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and
in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not
appear before the Lord empty:17 Every man shall give as he is able, according
to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee.KJV
Lev
23:15-16 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from
the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be
complete:16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number
fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord.KJV
These
were the requirements at that time for all practicing Jews. It is interesting that bribery and lying were
not a big deal to the priests, as they accused the disciples of taking Jesus’
body. There certainly was a lack of
holiness and a vein of corruption among the top Jewish leaders, but they held
the common man to the laws. Hypocrisy; nothing has changed in two thousand
years. During these 50 days, Jesus
appeared to the disciples, the disciples went to Tiberias, then came back to
Jerusalem as far as Bethany, watched Jesus ascend, then stayed in Jerusalem
until the day they were to present themselves to God in the temple.
John
20:19-24 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when
the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews,
came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.20
And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were
the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.21 Then said Jesus to them again,
Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.22 And when he
had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy
Ghost:23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose
soever sins ye retain, they are retained.24 But Thomas, one of the twelve,
called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.KJV
Jesus
was preparing his disciples to receive the Holy Spirit. Remember how people angrily demanded to know
how Jesus had power to forgive sins? Now the disciples would be given the power
to forgive sins. Thomas wasn’t with them, but he too would have the power to
forgive sins.
John
20:25-31 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord.
But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails,
and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his
side, I will not believe.26 And after eight days again his disciples were
within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood
in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach
hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust
it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.28 And Thomas answered and
said unto him, My Lord and my God.29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou
hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet
have believed.30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his
disciples, which are not written in this book:31 But these are written, that ye
might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye
might have life through his name.KJV
For
eight days the disciples stayed in Jerusalem after the crucifixion. Then, after Jesus appeared to Thomas, they
went to Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee.
At this time I don’t think they knew what to expect so Peter decided to
become productive and go fishing. We
have to continue to keep in mind that Jerusalem and Tiberias are 100 miles
apart. This was a good place to get away
from the corruption in Jerusalem. As we
looked at Paul’s documentation last week, this is probably the place Jesus was
seen by more than 500 people.
Matt
28:16-20 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which
Jesus had directed and made appointment with them. 17 And when they saw Him,
they fell down and worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18 Jesus approached and,
breaking the silence, said to them, All authority (all power of rule) in heaven
and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Go then and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, 20 Teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you,
and behold, I am with you all the days (perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion),
to the [very] close and consummation of the age. Amen (so let it be). AMP
All
the other people who left Jerusalem and Samaria, and went with the disciples to
Galilee were there to keep away from the persecution and to see Jesus as the
disciples had seen Jesus in Jerusalem.
Here Jesus gives them all a great commission. This is why, when we looked at Phillip (the
deacon not the disciple) in Samaria last week, there were great miracles done
there, Phillip the deacon did what Jesus commanded. Let’s notice something else, Peter and John
came from Jerusalem with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the eleven apostles
went to Jerusalem and received the baptism of the Holy Spirit along with others
there, but not everyone received the baptism of the Holy Spirit who went out to
make disciples all over the world. There were some people who did not go to
Jerusalem that day. That seems like a
contradiction since devout Jews were to present themselves at the temple with
their offerings, but people also worshipped at the temple in Samaria, or on the
mountain in Samaria as we looked at last week.
Remember, at this time, the temple in Jerusalem was Herod’s temple. The
tabernacle of Moses moved around. It was
first in Shiloh (Samaria), not far from the temple that was built there. After
the Philistines destroyed Shiloh, the tabernacle moved to Nob (north of
Jerusalem), and then to Gabaon (still north of Jerusalem). The temple was built in Jerusalem by Solomon
in 953BC. In 167BC Antiochus desecrates the temple, and in 30 BC Herod built
the temple again. Because of the history of movement of the temple and
tabernacle, I would think people felt they could worship in a temple other than
in Jerusalem. But God chose Jerusalem for the start of a new holy day. When
Jesus appears at Tiberias, Thomas is now with Peter and the other disciples.
John
21:1-14 After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the
sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.2 There were together Simon
Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the
sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.3 Simon Peter saith unto them,
I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and
entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.4 But when
the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not
that it was Jesus.5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They
answered him, No.6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the
ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to
draw it for the multitude of fishes.7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved
saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the
Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast
himself into the sea.8 And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they
were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net
with fishes.9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals
there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.10 Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the
fish which ye have now caught. 11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land
full of great fishes, and hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were
so many, yet was not the net broken.12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine.
And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the
Lord.13 Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish
likewise.14 This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his
disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.KJV
This
is such a wonderful story of how Jesus loved his disciples. Peter, naked, jumping into the water with his
coat tied around him. The disciples
counting 153 fish, and rowing to shore in the dingy dragging the net of
fish. They all knew it was Jesus. Jesus was alive for forty days as Luke
records. As John mentioned earlier,
Jesus did a lot of signs during that time.
No one should ever discard the words of the disciples since they were
with Jesus in his resurrected body.
Jesus probably told them all sorts of things, just like the two people
on the road to Emmaus. This would have
been a wonderful forty days for the instructing of the disciples.
Acts
1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible
proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to
the kingdom of God: KJV
Just
as God seems to re-use holy days, he also re-uses numbers. Noah was in the ark forty days, and Jesus was
in the desert for forty days. Moses
received the commandments and was on Mt Sinai for forty days fasting as well.
Goliath taunted the Israelites for forty days.
Now Jesus is in a resurrected body, which does have flesh and bone, and
is capable of eating, for forty days. Yet
now, Jesus has somehow become inter-dimensional. He can pop in and out at any time.
Luke
24:44-53 Then He said to them, This is what I told you while I was still with
you: everything which is written concerning Me in the Law of Moses and the
Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. 45 Then He [thoroughly] opened up
their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 And said to them, Thus it is
written that the Christ (the Messiah) should suffer and on the third day rise
from (among) the dead, [Hos 6:2.] 47 And that repentance [with a view to and as
the condition of] forgiveness of sins should be preached in His name to all
nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And
behold, I will send forth upon you what My Father has promised; but remain in
the city [Jerusalem] until you are clothed with power from on high. 50 Then He
conducted them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up His hands, He invoked a
blessing on them. 51 And it occurred that while He was blessing them, He parted
from them and was taken up into heaven. 52 And they, worshiping Him, went back
to Jerusalem with great joy; 53 And they were continually in the temple
celebrating with praises and blessing and extolling God. Amen (so be it). AMP
Luke
tells us that they were continually in the temple. For the next ten days you could find the
disciples either in the upper room or in the temple. They didn’t go fishing, or find other things
to do during that ten day period. But
for ten days, prior to the feast of weeks, the disciples were in the temple
praising and blessing God. They were expecting something to happen. They didn’t know exactly what day it would
happen, but as Jesus told them, they were expecting to receive the Holy
Spirit. God just so happened to pick a
day that was already a holy day, and a place that others would see what was
going on. It would have been difficult for the hypocritical religious leaders
to see the disciples continually in the temple at the hours of prayer, and yet
it would have been hard for them to plot against them as the feast was
approaching and all Jewish men were required to present themselves and their
offerings in the temple. I’m sure they
slept in the upper room at night and then went to the temple during the
day.
The
hours of prayer were morning, afternoon, and evening as the Patriarchs
instituted. Abraham instituted Morning
Prayer, while Isaac instituted afternoon prayer, and Jacob evening prayer. The purpose of prayer was not to change God or
change God’s mind, but was to change the individual by judging oneself. The idea was to change to become connected
with God in relationship. On the other
side of Pentecost it is easier to establish a relationship with God by the help
of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Today we
are the temple of the Holy Spirit, so therefore wherever we are, the temple is,
and we do not have to physically travel to Israel to connect with God. We see this thought prevalent in the writings
of Brother Lawrence where the hours of prayer for him became his time of
“fellowship” with God, rather than the time to recite repetitious prayers and
chants.
Acts
1:12-14 Then [the disciples] went back to Jerusalem from the hill called
Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, [only] a Sabbath day's journey (three-quarters
of a mile) away. 13 And when they had entered [the city], they mounted [the
stairs] to the upper room where they were [indefinitely] staying — Peter and
John and James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James
son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas [son] of James. 14 All of these
with their minds in full agreement devoted themselves steadfastly to prayer,
[waiting together] with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His
brothers. AMP
A”Sabbath’s
Day’s Journey” was less than half a mile.
That was the distance one could travel on the Sabbath day. Although the laws were skillfully amended
with different variants, one was not supposed to travel on the Sabbath
day. Olivet is about 400 yards, or .23
miles from Jerusalem, so the disciples did not violate this law as they walked about
a quarter of a mile. While they were in the upper room they voted in a new
disciple, as Judas had committed suicide.
The women were in the upper room as well. Women were not allowed in the
same place as the men in the temple. The
Court of Women in Herod’s temple was accessed by the Beautiful Gate. This
later would be the place Peter and John would heal the lame man. The outer area was the Court of the Gentiles;
the Beautiful Gate led into the Court of Women, and then from there was the
Court of Men or Israel (for Jewish men).
Somewhere, in one of these areas, the Court of the Gentiles, or the
Court of Women, the disciples assembled on the day of Pentecost. Let’s break down some of these Hebrew words.
Acts
2:1 AND WHEN the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all assembled
together [3661] in one place [1909],
NT:3661
homothumadon (hom-oth-oo-mad-on'); adverb from a compound of the base of
NT:3674 and NT:2372; unanimously:KJV - with one accord (mind).(Biblesoft's New
Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew
Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International
Bible Translators, Inc.)
NT:1909
epi (ep-ee'); a primary preposition; properly, meaning superimposition (of time,
place, order, etc.), as a relation of distribution [with the genitive case],
i.e. over, upon, etc.; of rest (with the dat.) at, on, etc.; of direction (with
the accusative case) towards, upon, etc.:KJV - about (the times), above, after,
against, among, as long as (touching), at, beside, have charge of, (be-, [wherefore-]), in (a
place, as much as, the time of, -to), (because) of, (up-) on (behalf of), over,
(by, for) the space of, through (-out), (un-) to (-ward), with. In compounds it
retains essentially the same import, at, upon, etc. (literally or
figuratively).(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with
Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc.
and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Acts
2:2 When suddenly there came a sound [2279]from heaven like the rushing [5342]
of a violent tempest[4157], blast [972]
and it filled[4137] the whole house [3624]in which they were sitting[2521].
NT:2279
echos (ay'-khos); of uncertain affinity; a loud or confused noise
("echo"), i.e. roar; figuratively, a rumor:KJV - fame,
sound.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with
Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc.
and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
NT:5342
phero (fer'-o); a primary verb (for which other and apparently not cognate ones
are used in certain tenses only; namely, oio (oy'-o); and enegko (en-eng'-ko);
to "bear" or carry (in a very wide application, literally and
figuratively, as follows):KJV - be, bear, bring (forth), carry, come, let her drive, be driven, endure, go on, lay,
lead, move, reach, rushing, uphold.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers
and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003,
2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
NT:4157
pnoe (pno-ay'); from NT:4154; respiration, a breeze: KJV - breath,
wind.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded
Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and
International Bible Translators, Inc.)
NT:972
biaios (bee'-ah-yos); from NT:970; violent: KJV - mighty.(Biblesoft's New
Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew
Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International
Bible Translators, Inc.)
NT:4137
pleroo (play-ro'-o); from NT:4134; to make replete, i.e. (literally) to cram (a
net), level up (a hollow), or (figuratively) to furnish (or imbue, diffuse,
influence), satisfy, execute (an office), finish (a period or task), verify (or
coincide with a prediction), etc.:KJV - accomplish, after, (be) complete, end, expire, fill (up),
fulfil, (be, make) full (come), fully preach, perfect, supply.(Biblesoft's New
Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew
Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International
Bible Translators, Inc.)
NT:3624
oikos (oy'-kos); of uncertain affinity; a dwelling (more or less extensive, literal
or figurative); by implication a family (more or less related, literal or
figuratively):KJV - home, house (-hold), temple.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive
Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary.
Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible
Translators, Inc.)
NT:2521
kathemai (kath'-ay-mahee); from NT:2596; and hemai (to sit; akin to the base of
NT:1476); to sit down; figuratively, to remain, reside:KJV - dwell, sit (by,
down).(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with
Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc.
and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
If
you haven’t studied this in the Greek, it is a great study. Here we see that the place they were sitting
was completely filled with a loud sound and a strong wind. The place they were sitting could be the
temple, as the definition points to the word being obscure as a house or a
temple, probably the House of God. Since Luke tells us they were continually in
the temple, and this was the day of the feast when everyone has to present
themselves to God with their offering, it is unlikely that they were in the
upper room of someone’s house. It was
9:00 A.M., one of the hours of prayer; therefore the disciples would have been
praying in the temple. As verse 5 tells
us, there were devout men dwelling in Jerusalem from every nation. The multitude of devout Jews came together to
hear what was going on. The place the
disciples were sitting became very loud; not an upper room behind closed doors,
but an open place where there were other people. Also, there was a wind;
typically no one would notice a wind inside an upper room. From the outside you couldn’t tell if a
violent wind was blowing inside a room.
However, if one was outside, one would know there was a violent tempest
all around them.
Acts
2:3 And there appeared to them tongues resembling fire, which were separated
and distributed and which settled on each one of them. 4 And they were all
filled (diffused throughout their souls) with the Holy Spirit and began to
speak in other (different, foreign) languages (tongues), as the Spirit kept
giving them clear and loud expression [in each tongue in appropriate words]. 5 Now
there were then residing in Jerusalem Jews, devout and God-fearing men from
every country under heaven. 6 And when this sound was heard, the multitude came
together and they were astonished and bewildered, because each one heard them
[the apostles] speaking in his own [particular] dialect.
If
people from every country under heaven were hearing the disciples speak their
own language, they could not have been in an upper room, but they must have
been in a public part of the temple so that people, the devout Jews, would go
to find out what the noise was all about.
Have you ever been to a large outdoor festival and a smaller group of
people within the festival started doing something that caused a commotion and
noise? That is what was going on
here. So as people went to see what the loud noise
was about, they heard their homeland languages being spoken. The disciples were either in the Court of the
Gentiles or the Court of Women when the Holy Spirit came on the day of
Pentecost, as the women were part of the “they all” of verse 1.
Acts
2:7 And they were beside themselves with amazement, saying, Are not all these
who are talking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that we hear, each of us, in our
own (particular) dialect to which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and
Elamites and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and [the
province of] Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya about
Cyrene, and the transient residents from Rome, both Jews and the proselytes [to
Judaism from other religions], 11 Cretans and Arabians too — we all hear them
speaking in our own native tongues [and telling of] the mighty works of God! 12
And all were beside themselves with amazement and were puzzled and bewildered,
saying one to another, What can this mean? 13 But others made a joke of it and
derisively said, They are simply drunk and full of sweet [intoxicating] wine. AMP
The
disciples were from Galilee, and Galileans dressed differently, just as nations
today sometimes dress differently. There
was no sea or lake in Jerusalem so fishermen would have dressed differently and
possibly had darker skin from working on the water year round. Fishermen (as we saw previously with Peter)
wore a fisherman’s garment but seemed to work on boats naked. Today, one can
usually tell where someone is from by their hairstyle, clothes, shoes, and language
dialects or accents. What did those
people from other countries hear? Those people all heard about the mighty works
of God. When we see how many people from
various nations heard the mighty works of God, we have to realize that those
people would go back to their homeland with a story to tell. None of the devout Jews or Priests knew what
was going on, so the typical response would be to minimize the situation. But
Peter told them all about what was happening.
Acts
2:14-39 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed
them: You Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem let this be [explained] to
you so that you will know and understand; listen closely to what I have to say.
15 For these men are not drunk, as you imagine, for it is [only] the third hour
(about 9:00 a.m.) of the day; 16 But [instead] this is [the beginning of] what
was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17 And it shall come to pass in the last
days, God declares, that I will pour out of My Spirit upon all mankind, and
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy [telling forth the divine counsels]
and your young men shall see visions (divinely granted appearances), and your
old men shall dream [divinely suggested] dreams. 18 Yes, and on My menservants
also and on My maidservants in those days I will pour out of My Spirit, and
they shall prophesy [telling forth the divine counsels and predicting future
events pertaining especially to God's kingdom].
Peter
recites Joel’s prophecy which includes women; therefore women would have
received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost in the
temple, during the feast of Shavuot.
Remember what the devout men from every country heard? They heard them
speaking in every language the wonderful mighty works of God. Peter goes on
speaking about the Day of the Lord, the day Jesus comes back on earth with his
army to eliminate the enemy.
Acts
2:19 And I will show wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth beneath,
blood and fire and smoking vapor; 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness and
the moon into blood before the obvious day of the Lord comes — that great and
notable and conspicuous and renowned [day]. 21 And it shall be that whoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord [invoking, adoring, and worshiping the
Lord — Christ] shall be saved. [Joel 2:28-32.]
Whoever
means whoever. There was no pre-qualifying condition. Remember the hours of prayer in the temple
were for personal relationship with God.
That is why everyone went to the temple, and on this day, a required day
for bringing an offering, this offering was to remind everyone of God’s
provision. God poured out his provision,
changing this holy day. Just in case anyone
didn’t know about Jesus, Peter tells everyone about him.
Acts
2:22 You men of Israel, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man
accredited and pointed out and shown forth and commended and attested to you by
God by the mighty works and [the power of performing] wonders and signs which
God worked through Him [right] in your midst, as you yourselves know — 23 This Jesus, when delivered up according to
the definite and fixed purpose and settled plan and foreknowledge of God, you
crucified and put out of the way [killing Him] by the hands of lawless and
wicked men. 24 [But] God raised Him up, liberating Him from the pangs of death,
seeing that it was not possible for Him to continue to be controlled or
retained by it. 25 For David says in regard to Him, I saw the Lord constantly
before me, for He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken or overthrown or
cast down [from my secure and happy state]. 26 Therefore my heart rejoiced and
my tongue exulted exceedingly; moreover, my flesh also will dwell in hope [will
encamp, pitch its tent, and dwell in hope in anticipation of the resurrection].
27 For You will not abandon my soul, leaving it helpless in Hades (the state of
departed spirits), nor let Your Holy One know decay or see destruction [of the
body after death]. 28 You have made known to me the ways of life; You will
enrapture me [diffusing my soul with joy] with and in Your presence. [Ps
16:8-11.]
What
a great speech and reminder of Psalms, but there is more.
Acts
2:29 Brethren, it is permitted me to tell you confidently and with freedom
concerning the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb
is with us to this day. 30 Being however a prophet, and knowing that God had
sealed to him with an oath that He would set one of his descendants on his
throne, [2 Sam 7:12-16; Ps 132:11.] 31 He, foreseeing this, spoke [by
foreknowledge] of the resurrection of the Christ (the Messiah) that He was not
deserted [in death] and left in Hades (the state of departed spirits), nor did
His body know decay or see destruction. [Ps 16:10.] 32 This Jesus God raised
up, and of that all we [His disciples] are witnesses. 33 Being therefore lifted
high by and to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the
promised [blessing which is the] Holy Spirit, He has made this outpouring which
you yourselves both see and hear.
As
we have studied previously, the grave could not hold Jesus, and Jesus made
Paradise open to those who believe on Him.
Acts 2:34 For David did not ascend into the
heavens; yet he himself says, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand
and share My throne 35 Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet. [Ps
110:1.] 36 Therefore let the whole house of Israel recognize beyond all doubt
and acknowledge assuredly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ (the
Messiah) — this Jesus Whom you crucified.
Can
you imagine what was going on? The very priests who set Jesus up for
crucifixion, and who tried to blame the disciples for “stealing” Jesus’ body,
were now standing with Peter’s finger pointing right at them in front of the
devout Jews from all over the world, hearing these words. When these devout Jews went home, this story
would have been told to everyone all over the world. The devout Jews were cut
to the heart, and wanted to get right
with God. They were there, at that time,
to get right with God; so the timing of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was
perfect.
Acts
2:37 Now when they heard this they were stung (cut) to the heart, and they said
to Peter and the rest of the apostles (special messengers), Brethren, what
shall we do? 38 And Peter answered them, Repent (change your views and purpose
to accept the will of God in your inner selves instead of rejecting it) and be
baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
and release from your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39
For the promise [of the Holy Spirit] is to and for you and your children, and
to and for all that are far away, [even] to and for as many as the Lord our God
invites and bids to come to Himself. [Isa 57:19; Joel 2:32.] AMP
This
was incredible. We have minimized the
Day of Pentecost to a “nice church service” without understanding the
incredible importance of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. All the great celebration party songs should
be sung on Pentecost, along with balloons, cake, streamers, cotton candy, and
festive music. What a great day for
water baptism services and repentance celebrations. There should be dancing
along with banners, flags. and streamers on Pentecost because it is the day,
the holy day, that God chose to give you the Holy Spirit, along with the rest
of the world. Whoever wants to receive
can receive.
Acts
2:40 And [Peter] solemnly and earnestly witnessed (testified) and admonished
(exhorted) with much more continuous speaking and warned (reproved, advised,
encouraged) them, saying, Be saved from this crooked (perverse, wicked, unjust)
generation. 41 Therefore those who accepted and welcomed his message were
baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls. 42 And they
steadfastly persevered, devoting themselves constantly to the instruction and
fellowship of the apostles, to the breaking of bread [including the Lord's
Supper] and prayers. 43 And a sense of awe (reverential fear) came upon every
soul, and many wonders and signs were performed through the apostles (the
special messengers). 44 And all who believed (who adhered to and trusted in and
relied on Jesus Christ) were united and [together] they had everything in
common; 45 And they sold their possessions (both their landed property and
their movable goods) and distributed the price among all, according as any had
need. 46 And day after day they regularly assembled in the temple with united
purpose, and in their homes they broke bread [including the Lord's Supper].
They partook of their food with gladness and simplicity and generous hearts, 47
Constantly praising God and being in favor and goodwill with all the people;
and the Lord kept adding [to their number] daily those who were being saved
[from spiritual death]. AMP
Three
thousand people repented and were baptized, and filled with the Holy
Spirit. Then the Lord added to those
numbers. Why would we celebrate anything
else on Pentecost, other than the infilling of the Holy Spirit. There were great signs and wonders that
day. God changed the meaning of that
holy day to a day for everyone, rather than just the Jews. This is how we connect with God in
relationship, with the Holy Spirit inside of us. What a day for celebration.
