Acts - Week 3 (2:1-21)
Acts 2:1-21
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Acts 2:1-21
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Acts 2:1-21 〰️ Acts 2:1-21 〰️
This week, we get into some fun stuff in Acts! There’s so much for believers to love in this book, but this passage is one of my favorites, as we see the baptism of the Holy Spirit (v1-4), the unity of those present (v5-13), and the beginning of Peter’s sermon (v14-21), which led to thousands joining the numbers of the early church (2:41).
This passage opens with the day of Pentecost (also known as the Festival of Weeks in Leviticus 23:15–16), fifty days after Passover, where a great number of Jews gathered to celebrate and remember the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. As we look at the grand picture of these holidays and their meaning for us now, it’s so cool to see the imagery and intentionality from our Lord. On the day God’s people were to gather to celebrate His meeting with His people on Sinai, God sent His Spirit to dwell within them! God’s presence, formerly separated from His people due to their sin, is now swelling within them because of the death of Jesus. Christ paid the price, and so we can now commune with the Lord, unhindered. No longer do God’s people have to come to Him in the temple, because He came to us. The Spirit of God came like a rushing wind from heaven, filling the room and resting on each of them. This was a dramatic and important aspect for them, and not something we see now, because they were the first group and first wave of Spirit-dwelling Christians. Today, we proclaim faith in Christ, receive the salvation He offers, and then have His Spirit within us. There is such a dramatic event here because those present saw the miraculous works of Jesus, believed, and then waited. It was only in the Lord’s timing that this first group received the same Holy Spirit that now dwells within us.
Verse 4 then continues on to tell us that, “Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them.” I want to emphasize this last portion because a passage like this can bring up some baggage for some believers. We want to clarify and remove any doubt that might come from a passage like this, because this verse has been specifically used to make some unbiblical claims. Some Pentecostal circles believe— because of how v4 is laid out— that if someone can/does not speak in tongues, they do not have the Holy Spirit within them. And more specifically, if they can/do not speak in tongues, they are not saved. The fortunate reality is that nowhere in Scripture does it say that an absence of the gift of speaking in tongues equals an absence of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In some parts of the Bible, speaking in tongues is mentioned as a sign that the Holy Spirit is present. However, it’s important to understand that this is just one possible sign, not the only or required proof of the Holy Spirit. Speaking in tongues can be a result of the Spirit’s work, but it is not what defines whether someone has the Holy Spirit or not. In several places, we see God’s Word encourage the use of speaking in tongues, as well as other gifts such as interpreting tongues, prophecy, healing, discernment, and more. Paul wrote about this to the church in Corinth, and I think it’ll prove helpful for us as we navigate this passage:
“Now concerning spiritual gifts: brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you used to be enticed and led astray by mute idols. Therefore I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord. And there are different activities, but the same God works all of them in each person. A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good: to one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another, faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another, the performing of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, different kinds of tongues, to another, interpretation of tongues. One and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as he wills.” (1 Corinthians 12:1-11).
As we can see, the Spirit of the Lord gives all of these gifts to His people as he wills. By the logic of those we mentioned above, we might surmise that God gives spiritual gifts to unbelievers. If I am given the gift of faith or the spirit of discernment, but not the gift of tongues, then I am not a saved child of God. Logically, we can reason that this is ridiculous. I hope that if you or anyone in your group has ever come across this heretical doctrine, this passage brings some clarity and relief. Nowhere in Scripture does God’s Word tell us that we must do something to merit our salvation. Christ’s finished work is our salvation. We only need to repent and believe.
With that in mind, we can now jump to v5-13, where it gets really interesting. In v6, we read that “a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language.” Everyone present was from a different region, having come together for the Festival of Weeks, and miraculously, they were able to understand one another. Whether this was the sudden gift from God of the ability to understand one another, despite linguistic differences (this reminds me of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11), or to speak a new, heavenly language, it’s clear that the Lord granted this community the unity of speaking the same language. This was so confusing to those around them that some believed them to be drunk on wine (at 9am, no less), but Peter refutes this, recalling the words of the prophet, Joel. “In the last days” refers to the end of the age, that is, after Jesus’ ascension and before his return (hint: that’s where we are now!). In this prophecy from Joel, we read of what was to come: God’s Spirit being poured out on all His people, both Jew and Gentile.
There’s a lot more that we could cover in this passage, as there are so many connections and layers to understanding a conceptually massive part of the New Testament narrative of the early church. Our big takeaway should be that God’s Spirit lives within us and unifies us. Without the Spirit of God within us, we are powerless (Acts 1:8). But God, in His mercy, placed His Spirit within all who believe so that we might make His name known to the ends of the earth. It might feel hard to see the connection now, but we are part of the same church as the one here in Acts 2. We have the same Holy Spirit within us and the same gift of unity.
Discussion Questions
Could someone read Acts 2:1-21 for us?
What stood out to you from the passage?
Does this passage remind you of another part of Scripture?
Do you have any questions?
Why was the setting of the day of Pentecost significant?
What do we see the Holy Spirit doing through the people in v5-13?
What does this passage tell us about who God wants to reach? (We can also read Acts 1:8)
How might it look for us to speak in someone’s “own native language” (v8) when witnessing to them?