Pentecost Inaugurates the Renewal of Israel (Acts 2)
After the ascension of Jesus to the right hand of the Father, one hundred and twenty disciples, including the mother of Jesus, were gathered together in one place (ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ). They were all devoted (προσκαρτεροῦντες) to praying and waiting for the promised Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14-15).
On the day of Pentecost, they were all together again in one place (ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ) when suddenly they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak about the wonders or mighty acts of God by the power of the Spirit (Acts 2:1, 4, 8).
As a crowd gathers, they hear about the wonders of God in their own native languages. They are amazed but puzzled. “What does this mean?” they ask. Some, however, dismissed them as attention-seeking drunks. “They are filled with new wine” (Acts 1:7,11-13).
In response, Peter announces that they were not filled with wine but with the Holy Spirit. This is no stunt schemed by charlatans. Rather, it is the work of the Spirit whom God has poured out on Israel—but not only Israel, but also on the gentiles (“all flesh”), women, and slaves. The pouring out of the Spirit announces salivation to all who call on the name of the Lord and empowers this new community to hear the voice of God through dreams, prophecies, and visions. The Spirit of God now dwells with Israel in a way that will lead Israel to the inclusion and empowering of the gentiles, women, and slaves as well as free Jewish men (Acts 2:14-21).
Led by the Spirit, Peter tells the story of Jesus of Nazareth. Through Jesus, God worked “deeds of power, wonders, and signs” by the power of the Spirit. These mighty acts of God testified to the reality of the kingdom of God and anointed Jesus as God’s representative. However, the leaders of Israel handed him over to the gentiles for execution. But God raised him from the dead and seated him at God’s right hand, and this exalted king has poured out the Spirit upon the disciples. God has made Jesus of Nazareth both Lord and Messiah (Acts 2:22-36).
Three thousand responded to this message on that day. They repented of their sins, were immersed for the remission of their sins in the name of Jesus, and given the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-41).
From one hundred and twenty to three thousand, a new community emerges. It is the beginning of the restoration of Israel; it is the inauguration of the kingdom of God on the ground at work in a visible community of people. They are gathered together in one place (ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ; 2:44).
What does this community look like? What is the kingdom of God on earth like? Acts 2:42-47 offers a snapshot, but a picture to which the rest of the story in Acts points back.
“They devoted themselves (προσκαρτεροῦντες) to the teaching of the apostles and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.”
Just as the one hundred and twenty were devoted to prayer as they waited for the promised Spirit, now the three thousand plus devote themselves to communal practices led and filled by the Spirit.
- The teaching. What did the apostles teach? The book of Acts contains their speeches, and the message of Peter illustrates their focus: it is the story of Israel through whom God sends the Messiah, raises him from the dead, and enthrones him at the right hand to renew or restore all things through the power of the Spirit.
- The fellowship. This new community shared life together. Their fellowship (κοινωνίᾳ) included the sharing of their possessions. They held all things in common (κοινὰ), that is, they did not possess their wealth as an absolute right or claim sole ownership but shared it with each other as people had need.
- The breaking of bread. Remembering Luke’s first volume, this phrase evokes Jesus as the living host of a table where he shares bread (life) with his disciples (Luke 9:16; 22:17; 24:30-35). This new community shared meals together; they shared food with each other. These meals, however, were not mere moments of nutrition but also remembered, honored, and experience the presence of the living Messiah who is the host of the table in the kingdom of God (Acts 2:46).
- The prayers. The one and hundred twenty devoted themselves to prayer before Pentecost, and this continues with the coming of the Spirit. As we read Acts, we see prayer is a core practice of the community, and this included joining Israel in the temple for “the prayers” (as we see in Acts 3).
This devotion was a daily practice. Whether they gathered in the temple for teaching (Acts 5:42) and prayer (Acts 3:1) or gathered daily in homes for sharing resources and meals, they devoted themselves to the teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer.
This new community, though it would suffer opposition soon enough, was a source of light in Jerusalem. It had “the goodwill (or grace, χάριν) of all the people.” And every day the Lord added to their number, that is, those who gathered “in one place” (ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ). The initial response on the part of “all the people” was amazement, curiosity, and perhaps a desire to participate. Maybe they were saying, “I want some of that, too” (Acts 2:47).
May we become a community of people who find “grace” with others and are moved by our Spirit-filled practices to become part of the Lord’s kingdom.