Acts 2:1-21 "The Coming of the Last Days" April 8,2007 Introduction: Easter and Pentecost You might be wondering why the pastor is preaching on Pentecost. It's Easter! Then again, when you look out the window, you might think it was Christmas! Am I just being a crotchety Presbyterian who doesn't pay attention to the church calendar? I suppose I'm partly that way. But then again, I timed my series on Acts to land us on chapter 2 on Easter Sunday. Too often we think of the death and resurrection of Jesus as the salvation event, and the outpouring of the Spirit is just the result of the gospel. That's why I wanted us to start with Leviticus 23. Passover occurs at the beginning of the barley harvest. While the text does not say this explicitly, the feast of firstfruits is connected with the Passover, and the barley sheaf was always offered during Passover week in Jerusalem. Passover was the feast commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egypt; but Pentecost was the feast that commemorated Israel's being brought into the land it is a harvest feast celebrating God's provision. Some rabbis even called it "the closing season of the Passover" because Pentecost brings Passover to completion. After all, when you end the feast of Passover, where are you? In Exodus 12-13, Passover ends, and Israel is still in Egypt, awaiting the coming of the LORD awaiting the death of the firstborn son of Pharaoh. And the timing of Pentecost is totally dependent on Passover. The barley sheaf is waved on the day after the Sabbath during Passover. (In other words, it is waved on Sunday) And then you count 50 days (7 weeks) until the day after the seventh Sabbath (in other words, Pentecost is always on a Sunday). Pentecost is the fulfillment of Passover it brings Passover to its completion, as the firstfruits offered in Passover week come to fruition in Pentecost. Acts 2, then, shows us how Pentecost fulfills Passover in the new covenant as well. The feast of Passover was the feast of the firstborn and of deliverance from bondage. It perfectly sets up the death and resurrection of Christ, as he, the firstborn of the Father becomes the firstborn from the dead. He is the firstfruits of the resurrection harvest. But Pentecost is not some afterthought to the resurrection. It is the fulfillment of the resurrection. We'll deal with this more next week, but Peter says in verse 33, being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. Indeed, if the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are properly seen as one event, then we should also see the ascension of Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as equally parts of that one redemptive event. At the beginning of Acts, Luke reminded Theophilus that his first book (the gospel of Luke) dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach. Now, Luke is telling Theophilus all that Jesus continues to do and teach through his apostles. How does Jesus do and teach through the apostles? By the power of the Holy Spirit. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (1:8) The coming of the Holy Spirit is the coming of the exalted Christ to empower his servants to proclaim the gospel to Jerusalem, to all Israel (Judea and Samaria) and to all the nations (the end of the earth) otherwise known as Rome! Our passage is too extensive to cover in one sermon, so today we'll look at the introduction and the first part of Peter's sermon, and next week we'll look at the last two parts of Peter's sermon, and the following week we'll look at the consequences of Peter's Pentecostal Preaching. The structure of the passage is pretty clear: each section begins with a term of address: "Men of Judea..." in verse 14 "Men of Israel..." in verse 22 and "Brothers..." in verse 29 each section also concludes with a quotation from the scriptures: Joel 2 in verses 17-21 Psalm 16 in verses 25-28 and Psalm 110 in verses 34-35. The outline of the passage is as follow: Introduction: The Coming of the Holy Spirit 1. The Coming of the Holy Spirit Is the Beginning of the Last Days (Joel 2)... 2. Because Jesus Could Not Be Held by Death (Psalm 16)... 3. And Therefore the Gift of the Holy Spirit Demonstrates that Jesus Is the Christ (Psalm 110) Conclusion: How Can You Participate in Pentecost? Luke's Introduction: The Coming of the Holy Spirit (2:1-11) What is going on here at Pentecost? There is a sound from heaven, like a mighty rushing wind. There are tongues of fire, and the Holy Spirit fills all of Jesus' disciples. the Spirit and fire baptism that Jesus had promised! And then every one began to speak in "other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." What is going on? To understand this we need to understand what people were expecting. The Jews had been expecting the coming of the kingdom to bring deliverance from Rome. The Jews were looking for a messiah who would destroy all their physical enemies. But Jesus overthrows the power of sin, death and the devil. And in doing so, Jesus brings a new creation, a new age, the day of the Lord, in which the power of the Holy Spirit was unleashed upon the church. I said new creation for a reason. because there is a parallel between Genesis and Acts. In Genesis 1:2, it says that the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters before the creation This could also be translated, "the wind or breath of God was blowing over the waters." God's Spirit appears as the first movement of creation. This breath, or Spirit, is then breathed into Adam when he is created. The Hebrew word in Genesis 1:2 and Genesis 2:7 is the same word, ruach. Adam received the breath of God that had been blowing over the waters, and he became a living soul. Now, here at Pentecost, the wind of God is blowing once again. Suddenly! a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. and the Spirit of God came upon them. Just as he had hovered above the waters in the creation of this age, so now, the HS hovers over the apostles, bringing the power of the age to come. Just as he had given life to Adam in the garden, so now, the Holy Spirit gives life to those who are in Christ--the second Adam. Brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, we have entered into the last days! If you are in Jesus Christ, then you have entered into this new creation! And if this is true of you, then you no longer belong to the old order. You no longer belong to this age. If you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and his breath has breathed new life into your soul, then you are living in the last days. Further, Pentecost is an unrepeatable event. Many people appeal to Acts 2 as a justification for all sorts of "pentecostal" or "charismatic" experiences. But this misses what Pentecost is all about. As we walk through the passage, we will see that Pentecost is a unique event in the history of redemption --as unique as the death and resurrection of Christ. First, I have already pointed out the connection between Pentecost and Creation. The coming of the Holy Spirit marks the beginning of the new creation in Christ. and the new creation only happens once! Second, let us look at these tongues of fire. In Luke 3:16-17, John the Baptist predicted that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. But John said that this baptism would "burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Here in verse 3, the fire is pretty harmless. What has happened? Jesus has taken the heat. In Luke 12:49-50, Jesus said, "I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed." He was speaking of his death. John said that Jesus' baptism is a baptism of spirit and of fire; But you see, if Jesus had baptized you with the Spirit and with fire, you would be burnt to a crisp. Because Spirit and fire baptism is a baptism of judgment. The Holy Spirit cannot dwell in anyone who is evil. When the holiness of God comes in contact with the sinfulness of man, man gets singed. When the glorious presence of the Holy Spirit encounters wickedness, wickedness is utterly destroyed. So the only way that Christ could baptize his people with the Spirit and with fire, was for him to take that baptism upon himself, first. He had to take the test for us. He had to undergo trial by fire --the fires of hell itself. He underwent all the miseries of this life, the suffering and agony of the cross, and then descend into hell itself for us. He took the fire--and in his enduring the fire, received the promised Holy Spirit. He was baptized with the Spirit and with fire. And because the fire of God's wrath was satisfied, when Jesus baptized his people with the Spirit and with fire, the fire of judgment did not touch them. But this Pentecostal baptism is unique. It only happened once. It only could happen once. Because Jesus only died once for all. and he was raised from the dead once for all, and he ascended to the Father once for all, and he received the Holy Spirit from the Father once for all, so he poured it out upon the church once for all. Peter goes on to quote Joel at length, in order to demonstrate that this outpouring of the Spirit is the signal of the coming of the last days --and the great and glorious day of the Lord. And the day of the Lord only comes once! But then you have this marvelous event described in verse 4. All these people start speaking in languages they do not know! The crowds wondered to hear the wonders of God proclaimed in their own languages! When they asked what does this mean, Peter responded by pointing to Joel's prophecy of the coming of the last days. To expect this to happen in all times and places is to miss the point of Pentecost. When the Holy Spirit is poured out, God comes to dwell with his people, and the gospel is preached to the nations. The gospel is preached to the nations. Well, how did the nations come into existence? Why do we have so many different languages? Remember the story of Babel--where God mixed up the languages? At Pentecost, the curse of Babel is undone! Just as God had confused the languages of men as a judgment against their arrogance, at the beginning of this age. So now by the power of the Holy Spirit, the gospel of God's gracious salvation is proclaimed to the heirs of Babel at the beginning of the age to come. There are all sorts of questions we could ask about these "tongues"-- but we will find no safer guide as to the meaning of this event than the apostle Peter. What does Peter say is the meaning of Pentecost? We only have time today to look at Peter's first point. 1. The Coming of the Holy Spirit Is the Beginning of the Last Days (2:12-21) According to Peter, the last days have begun in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. You are living in the last days! Some of us grew up in dispensational churches where we were constantly being told that we were living in the last days, and that some Soviet premier or other was the antichrist! So when you hear a preacher say, "you are living in the last days," you probably start getting a little antsy! But Peter says that the coming of the Holy Spirit signals the beginning of the last days. This is the message of the apostle Peter's sermon on Pentecost. Verses 17-21 are a quotation from the book of Joel. The prophet Joel had said that the day of the Lord would be the day of judgment, the day when God would restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, and destroy all their enemies. Joel declared that in the last days, God would pour out his Spirit upon all people, an event that would be accompanied by all sorts of great wonders: visions, prophecies, miracles, and judgments. (look at the list in vv19-20) This would be the turning point in human history, the coming of the great salvation which God had promised. This was described in terms of two ages: This age, which is characterized by sin and death-- the curse of God, and the age to come, which is marked by righteousness and life-- the blessing of God. The day of the Lord, or the last days, according to the prophets, marked the transition between these two ages. But the prophets seem to have expected this to be a rather short time, and even the apostles in Acts 1:6 asked Jesus, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" In other words, are you bringing the age to come? Jesus' response tells them to look to Pentecost: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." In other words, the last days is the era marked by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and the preaching of the gospel throughout the world. The Jews expected the first age to come to sudden stop when the Messiah came, But Jesus taught his disciples that although the new age --the kingdom of God--had come, this age is not yet over. In verse 21, Peter gives us the reason why we have this blending of the two ages: because in that time, "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." In the coming of the Holy Spirit, the last days have come, but God in his mercy is allowing the "last days" to take a long time so that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord may be saved. Now, some of you may be wondering, if Pentecost only happens once, then what does it have to do with me? That is like asking, if Jesus only died once, what does it have to do with me? If Jesus rose from the dead 2,000 years ago, so what? There are two ways that people have looked at Pentecost. Some have said that we are to repeat the experience of Pentecost, that it is somehow the prototype, or model for Christian experience. But this misses the real meaning of the sending of the Spirit. I can no more "repeat" Pentecost, then I can repeat the death of Christ. Pentecost is not the model for the Christian life, rather it is source of the Christian life. We are not to go back to Pentecost, but we are to go onward from Pentecost, living by the power of the Holy Spirit. Conclusion So, finally, we see in Pentecost the source of our life--what it means to live in the last days. There are three things this passage teaches us about last-days-living: first, you participate in Pentecost. After all, if the death/resurrection/ascension/and outpouring of the Spirit are all one event-complex, then if we have been united to Christ in his death and resurrection, we must also participate in Pentecost! Verses 17 and 18 speak of the pouring out of the Spirit on all people. this is not merely all people who happen to be in Jerusalem on Pentecost Sunday in the year 30. this means all people who trust in Christ (as he makes clear in verse 38) In the Old Testament, the gift of the Spirit was given to a few people, but not everyone. In the middle of one of his most frustrating moments, Moses cried out: "I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them." (Num 11:29) In Pentecost Moses' wish has been granted, and all of you have received the Holy Spirit. Which means that, second, you have been made a prophet That may strike you as a little odd. It doesn't mean that you are all inspired by God, and can receive new revelations. What Peter is saying in verses 17-18, is that the special relationship which God had with the prophets in the OT, is now yours as well. This is not limited to men --this is not limited to adults --this is not limited by any human standard. God communicated to his prophets by visions and dreams; now all of you receive God's communication directly. How? As the author of Hebrews puts it: "In the past God spoke to our forefathers at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son." You who have believed in Christ, NOW have received that word, and are indwelt by his Spirit. Therefore, you are a prophet, and together you must interpret that Word, given to us in Scripture, by the power of that Holy Spirit. third, in the middle of the last days wrath of God, you have been offered salvation. verses 19-20 set forth a violent picture of the dreaded wrath of God, "I will show wonders in the heaven above, and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and glorious day of the LORD!" John Calvin comments on this vivid description: "There is no question that, by setting forth this dreadful picture, God's intention is to stir up all the godly that with a still more fervent desire they may seek for salvation. It is for the same purpose that Peter quotes it, so that the Jews may know of the dreadful calamities in store for them unless they receive the grace of the Spirit that is offered to them." This whole world will face God's judgment, you can either face it as one who has been united to Christ, or all by yourself, as one who has rejected Christ Calvin continues his commentary on the horror of verses 19-20 "Just as God urges us forward like lazy donkeys by threats and intimidation to seek salvation, so after wrapping heaven and earth in darkness, He yet reveals a way whereby salvation may shine before our eyes: namely, if we shall call upon Him." Lazy donkeys, eh? We are like donkeys, aren't we? You know your own heart. Don't you find all sorts of ways to avoid having to deal with God. You may say, O, I'm too busy but are you really? Or are you just lazy? Donkeys are stubborn. They are pretty sturdy animals, --and can carry huge burdens, without complaining. But they are also pretty ornery. If you want a donkey to move, and the donkey doesn't want to move, you may be in for a long afternoon. You can yell and shout, and beat it with a stick, and that donkey will just stand there and look at you. and if your not careful, he'll give you a swift kick! But he won't move. Isn't that a pretty good picture of your heart? You know what the grace of God has accomplished through Jesus Christ. You know that you have been set free from the power and guilt of sin. You know that you have been commanded to walk according to the Spirit, and not according to the flesh. But you're stubborn. In some passages of Scripture God speaks soft, gentle words of comfort. Here, he uses a stick. WAKE UP!!!!! The LAST DAYS HAVE COME! Hell is going to break loose on earth, and when it does, you'd better be covered by the blood of Jesus. As Peter pleaded with the crowds two thousand years ago, "Be saved from this corrupt generation!" It is going to be burned with fire --don't get caught in the great conflagration! There may be those of you who have been in Christ for many years, and are wondering, "what does this have to do with me? I'm saved." Yes, But you are never so secure that you do not need to call upon the name of the Lord daily. You are never so holy that you do not need to cast yourself before the Lord and repent of your sin. Beware of false pride, and humble yourself before your Savior and Lord. The call of the gospel is "repent and believe." There will be no other call as long as you live. The only other call you will ever hear, is the call of our Lord Jesus Christ when you come into his presence on that final day, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter now into your rest." Until then, Repent and Believe! Let us pray, Almighty Father, Grant to us your grace, so that we who are called by the name of your Son Jesus Christ, might walk by the Spirit, and not by the flesh. Forgive us Father for being so complacent and forgetful of the wonderful things which you have done for us. Soften our hearts, and open our eyes that we might truly see the staggering grace which you have bestowed upon us by the death and resurrection of Christ. And fill us with your Spirit, whom you poured out upon your church, that we might love you and glorify your holy name. Show us the hatefulness of our sin, and grant that we might put to death the deeds of the flesh, so that we may walk in the righteousness and holiness of our blessed Savior, Jesus Christ--in whose name we pray, Amen.