Read or listen The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 2 online (ESV, Bible Gateway)

The Greek word for Pentecost (pentekostee) actually means fifty. Pentecost is the 50th day after Easter. Pentecost was and still is also a Jewish festival. Or, in fact, the Jews celebrate a weeklong festival at Pentecost. It is one of the three great Jewish festivals; the other two are Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles.

The Jews celebrated the Feast of Weeks as a thanksgiving feast for the wheat harvest (compare Leviticus 23:15-21). After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (in 70 AD), sacrifice became impossible, and so the Feast of Weeks also became a thanksgiving feast for the giving of the Law at Sinai.

Luke writes that "they were all together in one place". Apparently "all" refers to the group of 120 disciples mentioned in verse 1:15. The house may be the upper room where the first Christians are known to have gathered. Linguistically, it is possible that "in one place" could also refer to the temple in Jerusalem.

When the Holy Spirit was poured out on these 120 disciples, something happened that human words cannot fully describe. Luke speaks of "tongues as of fire." We should remember that our imperfect language cannot describe all of God's activity, and our imperfect thinking cannot comprehend it all (cf. 2 Cor. 13:4).

The disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit took them into his power and use. It is good to note that the gift of the Holy Spirit was not given to be enjoyed, but to be used. The disciples went out of the house to proclaim the mighty works of God (verse 11).

The disciples spoke in different languages ​​by the power of the Holy Spirit. So it was not a question of speaking in tongues that requires an interpreter (1 Cor. 12:10, 14:26-28).

The Jews were scattered all over the known world at that time. There were many merchants and craftsmen among them who lived in the cities of that time. During the great festivals, large crowds of them gathered from all over the known world at that time in Jerusalem. There were also those who had moved to live permanently in Jerusalem. Apparently, the apostles’ audience included both Jews who had come for the festival and Jews who had moved permanently to Jerusalem.

Apparently all the listeners were Jews, since verse 10 specifically mentions "proselytes", that is, Gentiles who had converted to Judaism. In the New Testament, the division between Jews and Gentiles is not racial (Jews - other nations), but religious (Jews - Gentiles). Those who converted to Judaism from other nations were also counted as Jews.

Conversion to Judaism took place in two stages:

1. At first, the Gentile became "God-fearing" (Acts 10:2): he committed himself to keeping the Sabbath and the 10 Commandments.

2. However, he only became a Jew, or proselyte, when he committed himself to following the entire Law of Moses (and the interpretations of it made by the scribes).

The most interesting of the peoples mentioned is "and visitors from Rome" (verse 10). It has even been speculated that the Roman church was born in a way on the first Pentecost, when those Romans who heard Peter's sermon returned to their hometown. Be that as it may, the Roman church was born very early, apparently as early as the 30s AD.

Miracles are not enough

But miracles alone were not enough then, and they are not enough today. The miraculous events did cause confusion (verse 6), but they did not inspire faith. Faith was only brought about by Peter's Pentecost sermon. Some even mocked the Christians, claiming that they were drunk (Acts 2:13).

Jesus' commission (Matthew 28:18-20) to preach the gospel to all nations had begun to be fulfilled. Even today, it is important that all people hear the gospel in their own language. That is why missionaries learn many small languages ​​whose speakers would understand more commonly spoken languages, but not as well as their own native tongue.

The first Christian sermon - Acts 2:14-40

In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke alternately tells about the actions of the apostles and their speeches. Of course, Luke could not have told all the speeches he knew, but he had to choose the most important ones. We will notice that Luke often chose a speech that was about to begin a new period in the spread of the gospel. Now we hear the first Christian sermon to the Jews
Acts 10:34-43 sermon in the house of Cornelius = speech to the Gentiles
Acts 13:16-41 Paul's sermon on his first missionary journey, etc.

We can divide the speech into three parts, which apparently recurred very often in the first Christian sermons:

1. Introduction (verses 14-21)

2. Testimony of Jesus (verses 22-36)

- especially worth noting is the use of quotations from the Old Testament. The Old Testament was the "Bible" of the first Christians
- verses 17-21: Joel 2:28-32
- verses 25-28: Ps 16:8-4
- verses 34-35: Ps 110:1

3. The call to repentance and baptism (verses 37-40).

The end time has begun

In the introduction, Peter refutes the accusations of drunkenness, since it was only the third hour, or 9 a.m. in our time. The first meal was eaten at 10 a.m. on weekdays and 12 p.m. on the Sabbath, so the wine used as a meal drink had not yet been consumed.

The prophecy of Joel had been fulfilled. The last days (verse 17) had begun: God had fulfilled His promise of the Messiah. Everything necessary for salvation had been done, all that remained was the period of proclaiming God's work of salvation.

The Joel quote is accompanied by a verse that has been called the simplest doctrine of salvation in the Bible (verse 21):

"Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

A new opportunity for the Jews

When telling about the life of Christ, Peter emphasized that the miracles and signs performed by Jesus were generally known. So was the fact that the Jews handed him over to the Romans to be killed (verse 23). But despite the Jews' hard hearts, God wanted to give them a new opportunity: the way to Jesus was still open.

Verse 27 is one of the few passages in the New Testament that mentions the word Hades.

The phrase "I make your enemies your footstool" in verse 35 refers to the warfare of that time: the commander of the losing side had to bow down and the victorious commander put his foot on the neck of the defeated. Christ has also gained victory over his opponents, but only at the end of time will it be known to everyone. In this time it is possible to walk among Jesus' opponents, that is, on the losing side.''

In fact, the entire first half of Acts deals with this question: which side the Jews will take: Jesus or the Enemy of the Soul. It is not until chapter 13 that the actual description of the Gentile mission begins. Until then, Luke tells how the Jews ultimately rejected Jesus.

Through baptism into the Church of Christ

When the audience asked what they should do, Peter replied:

“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
(verse 38)

This is the first passage where baptism in the name of Jesus Christ is mentioned. It is good to note that Peter uses the passive: "Your sins are forgiven". When the Bible uses the passive voice, it usually means God's action. Salvation is an act of God - not man.

The Holy Spirit himself is the gift of baptism (verse 38). In the New Testament, baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit are always linked together. We will see many more examples of this.

Since the first Pentecost, baptism has been the only gateway to the Christian church. In some old churches, this is reflected in the baptismal font being located near the front door.

An overview of the lives of the first Christians - Acts 2:41-47

Three times Luke creates a kind of summary, an overview of the life of the early church in Jerusalem (Acts 2:42-47, 4:32-35, and 5:12-16).

It may be that this first summary is also an indication that the events of chapter 3 took place some time later, and not immediately after the first Pentecost.

After Peter's Pentecost sermon, about 3,000 people were baptized. Luke mentions that the number is imprecise, so it is worth remembering that at that time it was difficult to accurately count large numbers. In any case, a congregation of dozens of Christians had become a congregation of thousands of Christians in a day.

No actual baptismal teaching was needed this time - after all, the converted Jews were familiar with the Old Testament writings. Now they had only learned that the prophecies spoke specifically about Jesus.

In fact, the Acts of the Apostles shows us that the early Christians considered themselves the new, true Israel. They went to the temple to pray (verse 46) until they were no longer allowed there. Christians did not separate from Judaism, but were separated.

Luke mentions four things that were fundamental to Christian congregational life (verse 42):

1. apostolic teaching
2. fellowship
3. breaking of bread
4. prayer

It is known that the first Christians had both so-called Agape feasts (communal meals shared among Christians) (1 Cor 11:20-22) and Holy Communions. Often the Agape feasts was also accompanied by the celebration of Communion, in the same way that Jesus had enjoyed communion on Maundy Thursday at the end of the meal.

The prayers referred to the daily prayer times known from Judaism, which - if possible - were held in the temple (verse 46).

The shared property of Christians

This period has sometimes been called "early Christian communism." But Christians were not forced to give up their possessions - as were the members of the Qumran monastery and members of communist systems - but the giving up was voluntary (Acts 5:4). All property was seen as a loan from God to man, therefore it was intended to be used in such a way that it served its owner - that is, God - in the best possible way.

Why were there many poor people in the Jerusalem congregation? Especially later, the reason was that the Jews would separate a convert from his family, which meant that he/she was also excluded from all financial support. For some, practicing a profession became impossible - not only for members of the Jewish clergy, but also for merchants, with whom the Jews did not want to have anything to do. But such problems were only to come later. Now the connection between Christians and Jews was good.

The mention of the sale of farms (verse 45) may be the key to the problem. Many Christians moved from the country (especially from Galilee) to Jerusalem, where there was a church. But not everyone could find work, so others had to help them. Perhaps the reason for this is that it was especially the poor who converted to Christianity. In the early days, the church was famous for its poor members. The rich, on the other hand, did not find the gospel appealing.

People's favor or God's favor?

Luke mentions (verse 47) that the Christians were popular with the people. However, we soon find that popular favor turned to persecution and distress.

Today too, it is worth remembering that popular favor must never mean that the church would give up its message and faith in order to preserve it. This danger constantly haunts the church and the individual Christian. Therefore, we must pray for our church and all its members, that they will not exchange God's favor for popular favor.