Act 2:1-11 | KingComments | STEP | The believers still come together in the upper room. Then comes the day of Pentecost. On that day they receive an answer to their prayers, praying among other things for the Holy Spirit ( ). Luke says of this day that it “had come”. This day of Pentecost is foretold in the Old Testament ( ). It was one of the “feasts of the LORD”. The feast of Pentecost took place fifty days after the feast of the first fruits ( ). The sheaf of the first fruits speaks of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. He is “the first fruits of those who are asleep” ( ). At the feast of Pentecost a ‘new grain offering’ of two loaves of bread was brought. Those two loaves of bread symbolize Jew and Gentile who have been baptized into a unity by the coming of the Holy Spirit. Just as we see that what the Passover represented was fulfilled in the death of Christ, so we see that what the Feast of Pentecost represented is fulfilled in the coming of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps during the time that the disciples waited for the fulfillment of the promise, they spoke with each other about Leviticus 23. On this day of the fulfillment of the promise, they are all gathered together. They are together because they have a common interest that they want to share with each other. It is a special privilege, characteristic of the church, to come together to share the common faith in the Lord Jesus ( ).

‏ Acts 2:1-11

The Day of Pentecost

The believers still come together in the upper room. Then comes the day of Pentecost. On that day they receive an answer to their prayers, praying among other things for the Holy Spirit (Lk 11:13). Luke says of this day that it “had come”. This day of Pentecost is foretold in the Old Testament (Lev 23:15-21). It was one of the “feasts of the LORD”. The feast of Pentecost took place fifty days after the feast of the first fruits (Lev 23:9-14). The sheaf of the first fruits speaks of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. He is “the first fruits of those who are asleep” (1Cor 15:20).

At the feast of Pentecost a ‘new grain offering’ of two loaves of bread was brought. Those two loaves of bread symbolize Jew and Gentile who have been baptized into a unity by the coming of the Holy Spirit. Just as we see that what the Passover represented was fulfilled in the death of Christ, so we see that what the Feast of Pentecost represented is fulfilled in the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Perhaps during the time that the disciples waited for the fulfillment of the promise, they spoke with each other about Leviticus 23. On this day of the fulfillment of the promise, they are all gathered together. They are together because they have a common interest that they want to share with each other. It is a special privilege, characteristic of the church, to come together to share the common faith in the Lord Jesus (1Cor 11:20 ; 1Cor 14:26).

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit did not come in a visible, human form like the Lord Jesus. He could have come unseen and unnoticed, but God wanted His coming to be noticed and He used visible, outward signs to do so. From heaven, that is, from God, comes a noise like a violent rushing wind.

The wind is heard, not felt. The noticing of the coming of the Holy Spirit is not based on emotion, but on perception. Something is heard (Acts 2:2), something is seen (Acts 2:3) and there is a result (Acts 2:4). The whole house is filled. We can well imagine that all who are present in the house are immersed, baptized, with the Holy Spirit.

In filling the whole house (Acts 2:2) we see a picture of the truth that the Holy Spirit dwells in the church as a whole (1Cor 3:16). In Acts 2:3 He comes to each of them in a phenomenon that resembles tongues of fire. In it we see a picture of the truth that the Holy Spirit also dwells in each individual believer (1Cor 6:19).

The coming of the Holy Spirit into the church to take up His residence and dwell in it is a one-time event. It takes place here. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is a one-time event, just as the work of Christ on Calvary is a one-time event. The coming of the Holy Spirit into the individual believer, i.e. coming into the body of the believer as a dwelling place, happens at the moment that someone believes the gospel of his salvation (Eph 1:13). So this is something that happens just as often as people come to repentance and faith.

After noticing the noise of the coming of the Spirit with the ears, something is perceived with the eyes. Those present see tongues as of fire that distribute themselves and rest on each one of them. Here the baptism with the Holy Spirit takes place, to which reference is made in 1 Corinthians 12 (1Cor 12:13). This is not baptism with fire. That is for the unbelievers. When John addresses a group of believers and unbelievers, he mentions both baptisms (Mt 3:11-12; Lk 3:16-17).

The tongues that are placed on each of them are tongues “as of fire”. So it is not fire, but it does remind of it. Fire represents judgment. Although it is not a baptism of fire, which means judgment, this baptism of the Spirit with which believers are baptized in a certain sense has to do with judgment. Indeed, it indicates that the coming of the Holy Spirit is the judgment of the flesh. Where the Holy Spirit comes, the flesh is no longer allowed to assert itself and must be kept in death. The tongues point to our speaking, to what we say. If the Holy Spirit dwells in us, it must be reflected in our whole behavior.

Fulfillment with the Spirit must be distinguished from the outpouring or baptism with the Holy Spirit. If someone is filled with the Spirit, it means that he comes under the power of the Spirit in order to fulfill a particular service. Thus, fulfillment with the Spirit can happen several times. As already mentioned, baptism with the Holy Spirit is a one-time event at the birth of the church, just as receiving the Holy Spirit is a one-time event that takes place in someone who repents.

N.B. “Fulfillment with the Holy Spirit” still occurs in the New Testament in Lk 1:15 ; 41 ; 67; Acts 4:8 ; 31 ; Acts 9:17 ; Acts 13:9. ‘Full of the Spirit’ indicates a state of permanently being filled with the Holy Spirit. We see this in the Lord Jesus (Lk 4:1) and in Stephen and Barnabas (Acts 6:3 ; 5 ; Acts 7:55 ; Acts 11:24).

Another accompanying and perceptible phenomenon is that they “speak with other tongues” or better: “speak in other languages”. The different languages are a consequence of sin and lead to division. The languages spoken by the Spirit remove the effects of sin. The believers thereby understand each other and they result in unity.

Here the judgment of the confusion of languages that God had exercised because of the building of the tower of Babel is removed (Gen 11:1-9). There, the proud building of a human structure was ended by the judgment of the confusion of languages, while God here shows the beginning of His spiritual building. At Babel there was scattering, here is uniting.

One of the characteristics of a Spirit-filled believer is that he speaks about the Lord Jesus. This happens here in an abundant and special way. The believers speak in languages about the great deeds of God (Acts 2:11). To the Jew, it was unthinkable that God could be spoken of in a language other than Hebrew. That this happens here means that in making Himself known, God no longer limits Himself to one people, but that the gospel is for the whole world.

Speaking in Other Languages

The wonder of the coming of the Holy Spirit is not limited to the upper room in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was inhabited by Jews from every nation under heaven. Because they are further referred to as “devout men”, they will have returned to the city of God out of their love for it. When this wonder is heard in the city, it attracts the crowds.

After all the turmoil of the trial against and crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, everyone will have taken up the thread of daily life again. For fifty days nothing spectacular has happened. The claims of Jesus as Messiah were carried to the tomb with Him, one must have thought. The soldiers have spread the lie about stealing His body (Mt 28:12-15) and that lie will be widely believed. The service in the temple will have returned to its normal course.

Then suddenly this event takes place and later even the conversion of several thousands of people. Everyone in the crowd, consisting of all kinds of nationalities, hears speaking in their own language. This confuses them. No mention is made of the fiery tongues on the disciples. It seems that the crowd has not seen them. In any case, the amazement is great. The poor handful of illiterate disciples, recognized as coming from the backward Galilee, emerges from the obscurity and oblivion into the open and gives testimony with irresistible force in languages they have not learned.

In the crowd, people talk to each other about the fact that everyone hears them speaking in the language in which they were born. Luke lists the peoples where these Jews came from. It gives an impression of the vastness of the scattering. But the fact that God makes His greatness and majesty known to all these peoples in the language of their native land, the language with which they grew up, is an unprecedented victory of God’s grace. He had to scatter His people because of their unfaithfulness. Now He is merging them because of the greatness of His Son’s work.

The disciples speak these different languages and even dialects without having learned them. It is a wonder of speech and not a wonder of hearing. The disciples know how to express themselves perfectly with the right accent in the language of each country where emigrants have come from.

N.B. Twice before, there has been talk of speaking in a language without having learned it. Adam and Eve are the first to speak a language without having learned it. The second case is the confusion of languages that God gave on the occasion of the building of the tower of Babel.

Again (Acts 2:7 ; 12) Luke tells what an enormous impression this event makes on the crowd. Every time he points out what it causes in the crowd. The coming of the Holy Spirit to earth is an event that does not take place in silence, but is accompanied by the necessary and appropriate display. Those who are impressed are those who have come from other countries and hear here the language of the country of their origin.

There are also “others” (Acts 2:13). They probably belong to the indigenous Jews who do not understand these languages. They do not show themselves to be devout, but mock what is happening. For them it is the language of the drunk.