So as these tongues of fire rested upon the disciples and they were filled with the Holy Spirit, they began to speak in other languages they hadn’t known before. Remember, people from all over the world were in Jerusalem for Pentecost, so the disciples went outside and began talking to them all in their own native languages, sharing the gospel of Jesus.
The people were amazed and confused, and some even accused them of drunkenness because the languages sounded like gibberish in their ears. Peter got up to address the crowd with an epic first sermon, to explain what was taking place before their eyes. He said:
Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out My Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens 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. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. But God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him.
David said about Him: ‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, because You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, You will not let Your holy one see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence.’
Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and His tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that He would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that He was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did His body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to Heaven, and yet he said,
‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah. — Acts 2:14–36 NIV
When the people before him asked what they ought to do in response to this message, Peter told them:
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. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call. — Acts 2:38–39 NIV
Peter wasn’t telling them to convert to a new religion like we may expect a preacher to do today. No, his audience was Jewish, and he was showing them how Jesus was the next step in their faith. Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah their ancestors had spoken of long ago. For the first decade after the ascension, the entire church (though it wasn’t even called “church” yet) was made up of Jewish people who believed their Messiah had arrived.
The Bible says three thousand people were added to the followers of Jesus on Pentecost, and then many, many more in the following days.
This is a story of redemption.
The Kingdom of God is here.
And just as Jesus taught His disciples to pray, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven (Matthew 6:10), we have the responsibility to merge Heaven and earth. It’s no longer about our wills and desires and choices about right and wrong. No, to live in the Kingdom of God means going back to God’s original plan, learning how to be obedient to Him, fearing Him, and spreading His love, justice, and mercy all throughout the earth.
To take the world back from the Enemy and bring light to the darkness.
Bringing God’s Kingdom to the kingdoms of the world.
Every person who receives the Holy Spirit is the new temple of God. The goal is to make the whole world His temple. It began with the disciples in the house on Pentecost, and it continues with us today. One day, Jesus will complete His work. But as long as we are here on earth, we have a job to do.
So as these new converts left Jerusalem and brought the gospel of Jesus back to their cities, the Kingdom began to spread. Jesus was now King of the world. And these followers were living like it.
This story is the birth of the church. Followers of Jesus were tasked with the responsibility to spread the gospel message around the world, and that’s exactly what we see them doing, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
One-Sentence Recap
The Holy Spirit arrived with great power on the day of Pentecost, and Peter delivered a powerful message to everyone in Jerusalem, making this day the launch of the church.
How to Apply This Lesson to Your Life
As followers of Jesus who received the Holy Spirit, we are now mini temples all over the world—and as we follow God’s will for our lives each day, we expand the Kingdom of God here on earth.
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