A Study of Acts: The Holy Spirit Comes
Acts 2:1-4 - The manifestation of the Holy Spirit in the disciples is completed on the day of the Festival of Weeks (Pentecost). He is with us now!
“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”
Acts 2:1-4 NASB1995
The beginning of Acts 2 is of incredible importance to the Christian faith. This is when the Church led by Christ was born. Pentecost was one of the festivals in the Jewish calendar. In Hebrew, it is known as Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks and it occurs fifty days after Passover, celebrating the day of the first fruits of the wheat harvest (and much more). Here is a good description from Enduring Word:
The Day of Pentecost: This was a Jewish feast held 50 days after Passover. It celebrated the firstfruits of the wheat harvest.
In the Jewish rituals of that time, the first sheaf reaped from the barley harvest was presented to God at Passover. But at Pentecost, the firstfruits of the wheat harvest were presented to God; therefore, Pentecost is called the day of the firstfruits (Numbers 28:26).
Jewish tradition also taught that Pentecost marked the day when the Law was given to Israel. The Jews sometimes called Pentecost zman matan torah or “the season of the giving of the law.”
On the Old Testament Day of Pentecost Israel received the Law; on the New Testament Day of Pentecost the Church received the Spirit of Grace in fullness.
“It was the best-attended of the great feasts because traveling conditions were at their best. There was never a more cosmopolitan gathering in Jerusalem than this one.” (R. Kent Hughes)
Leviticus 23:15-22 gives the original instructions for the celebration of Pentecost. It says that two loaves of leavened bread were to be waved before the Lord by the priest as part of the celebration. “Were there not two loaves? Not only shall Israel be saved, but the multitude of the Gentiles shall be turned unto the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Charles Spurgeon)
So not only is this feast the day of the first fruit of the wheat harvest, it is also the day that the Law was given to Israel. I also like the commentary from Spurgeon in that the two loaves of leavened bread are waved before the Lord. Leaven, of course, represents sin and the two loaves could represent the people of Israel and the Gentiles petitioning before God.
From Gotquestions.org here is also a superb explanation of the major festivals and how they line up with events in the NT and future events; links go to Gotquestions.org and BibleRef.org:
Passover reminds us of redemption from sin. It was the time when Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, was offered as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. It is on that basis alone that God can justify the ungodly sinner. Just as the blood of a lamb sprinkled on the doorpost of Jewish homes caused the Spirit of the Lord to pass over those homes during the last plague on Egypt (Exodus 12), so those covered by the blood of the Lamb will escape the spiritual death and judgment God will visit upon all who reject Him. Of all the Jewish festivals, Passover is of the greatest importance because the Lord’s Supper was a Passover meal (Matthew 26:17–27). In passing the elements and telling the disciples to eat of His body, Jesus was presenting Himself as the ultimate Passover Lamb.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread followed immediately after Passover and lasted one week, during which time the Israelites ate no bread with yeast in remembrance of their haste in preparing for their exodus from Egypt. In the New Testament, yeast is often associated with evil (1 Corinthians 5:6–8; Galatians 5:9), and, just as Israel was to remove yeast from their bread, so are Christians to purge evil from their lives and live a new life in godliness and righteousness. Christ as our Passover Lamb cleanses us from sin and evil, and by His power and that of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we are freed from sin to leave our old lives behind, just as the Israelites did.
The Feast of Firstfruits took place at the beginning of the harvest and signified Israel’s gratitude to and dependence upon God. According to Leviticus 23:9–14, an Israelite would bring a sheaf of the first grain of the harvest to the priest, who would wave it before the Lord as an offering. Deuteronomy 26:1–11 states that, when the Israelites brought the firstfuits of their harvest before the priest, they were to acknowledge that God had delivered them from Egypt and had given them the Promised Land. This reminds us of Christ’s resurrection as He was the “firstfuits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). Just as Christ was the first to rise from the dead and receive a glorified body, so shall all those who are born again follow Him, being resurrected to inherit an “incorruptible body” (1 Corinthians 15:35–49).
The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) occurred 50 days after the Firstfruits festival and celebrated the end of the grain harvest (the Greek word Pentecost means “fiftieth”). The primary focus of the festival was gratitude to God for the harvest. This feast reminds us of the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to send “another helper” (John 14:16) who would indwell believers and empower them for ministry. The coming of the Holy Spirit 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection was the guarantee (Ephesians 1:13–14) that the promise of salvation and future resurrection will come to pass. The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in every born-again believer is what seals us in Christ and bears witness with our spirit that we are indeed “joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:16–17).
After the spring feasts conclude with the Feast of Weeks, there is a period of time before the fall feasts begin. This time is spiritually symbolic of the church age in which we live today. Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection are past, we have received the promised Holy Spirit, and now we await His second coming. Just as the spring feasts pointed toward the Messiah’s ministry at His first coming, the fall feasts point toward what will happen at His second coming.
The Feast of Trumpets was commanded to be held on the first day of the seventh month and was to be a “day of trumpet blast” (Numbers 29:1) to commemorate the end of the agricultural and festival year. The trumpet blasts were meant to signal to Israel that they were entering a sacred season. The agricultural year was coming to a close; there was to be a reckoning with the sins of the people on the Day of Atonement. The Feast of Trumpets signifies Christ’s second coming. We see trumpets associated with the second coming in verses like 1 Thessalonians 4:16, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” Of course, the sounding of the trumpet also indicates the pouring out of God’s wrath on the earth in the book of Revelation. Certainly, this feast points toward the coming Day of the Lord.
The Day of Atonement occurs just ten days after the Feast of Trumpets. The Day of Atonement was the day the high priest went into the Holy of Holies each year to make an offering for the sins of Israel. This feast is symbolic of the time when God will again turn His attention back to the nation of Israel after “the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and . . . all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:25–26). The Jewish remnant who survive the Great Tribulation will recognize Jesus as their Messiah as God releases them from their spiritual blindness and they come to faith in Christ.
The Feast of Tabernacles (Booths) is the seventh and final feast of the Lord and took place five days after the Day of Atonement. For seven days, the Israelites presented offerings to the Lord, during which time they lived in huts made from palm branches. Living in the booths recalled the sojourn of the Israelites prior to their taking the land of Canaan (Leviticus 23:43). This feast signifies the future time when Christ rules and reigns on earth. For the rest of eternity, people from every tribe, tongue, and nation will “tabernacle” or dwell with Christ in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:9–27).
This alignment is so amazing, but that’s God! We have been through the festivals of the Spring through His crucifixion and Resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit and are now awaiting the festivals of the Fall when Jesus returns again.
The group is gathered together as one (probably in that same Upper Room) when suddenly, there is a noise from heaven like a violent, rushing wind (it wasn’t a wind but it sounded like a rushing wind). Some translations use the word mighty instead of violent, but the Greek word root is the same. The group is taken by surprise and it is a dramatic scene! Here is what Enduring Word says about this:
Suddenly there came a sound from heaven: The association of the sound of a rushing mighty wind, filling the whole house, with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is unusual. But it probably has connection with the fact that in both the Hebrew and Greek languages, the word for spirit (as in Holy Spirit) is the same word for breath or wind (this also happens to be true in Latin). Here, the sound from heaven was the sound of the Holy Spirit being poured out on the disciples.
The sound of this fast, mighty wind would make any of these men and women who knew the Hebrew Scriptures think of the presence of the Holy Spirit.
In Genesis 1:1-2, it is the Spirit of God as the breath/wind of God, blowing over the waters of the newly created earth.
In Genesis 2:7, it is the Spirit of God as the breath/wind of God, blowing life into newly created man.
In Ezekiel 37:9-10, it is the Spirit of God as the breath/wind of God, moving over the dry bones of Israel bringing them life and strength.
This single line tells us much about how the Holy Spirit moves.
Suddenly: Sometimes God moves suddenly.
Sound: It was real, though it could not be touched; it came by the ears.
From heaven: It wasn’t of earth; not created or manipulated or made here.
Mighty: Full of force, coming with great power.
The Holy Spirit is manifested by this sudden mighty sound from heaven for the believers gathered in that room. This is augmented by the appearance of tongues of flame resting over their heads and they began to speak in other languages (tongues). Well, I don’t know about you, but this type of manifestation has never happened to me and I’m betting that most believers have not had similar experiences.
I have a theory that I want to share after reading many commentaries on this event: All of these early believers sitting in that upper room already had the Holy Spirit in-dwelling within them when they declared their belief in Jesus as their Savior. This unique Pentecostal occurrence was necessary for that power and fulfillment (baptism) of the Holy Spirit to be seen and recognized by the disciples and by those who are nearby who see and hear this supernatural event. This starts the power of the Spirit to lead those in His church to preach God’s word to the ends of the Earth. You cannot keep praying for the Holy Spirit to come to you. He comes to dwell in you when you receive Jesus as your Savior and believe. But you can pray for power through Him, which is the on-going process of the filling of the spirit. In the OT the Holy Spirit rested upon a nation; now, at the beginning of the church, it rests with each believing individual. I like this commentary from Gotquestions.org on when and how the Holy Spirit comes:
The apostle Paul clearly taught that we receive the Holy Spirit the moment we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior. First Corinthians 12:13 declares, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” Romans 8:9 tells us that if a person does not possess the Holy Spirit, he or she does not belong to Christ: “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” Ephesians 1:13-14 teaches us that the Holy Spirit is the seal of salvation for all those who believe: “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
These three passages make it clear that the Holy Spirit is received at the moment of salvation. Paul could not say that we all were baptized by one Spirit and all given one Spirit to drink if not all of the Corinthian believers possessed the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:9 is even stronger, stating that if a person does not have the Spirit, he does not belong to Christ. Therefore, the possession of the Spirit is an identifying factor of the possession of salvation. Further, the Holy Spirit could not be the “seal of salvation” (Ephesians 1:13-14) if He is not received at the moment of salvation. Many passages make it abundantly clear that our salvation is secured the moment we receive Christ as Savior.
The ministries of the Holy Spirit are often confused. The receiving/indwelling of the Spirit occurs at the moment of salvation. The filling of the Spirit is an ongoing process in the Christian life. We hold that the baptism of the Spirit also occurs at the moment of salvation. Some other Christians do not, believing that the baptism of the Spirit comes subsequent to salvation.
In conclusion, how do we receive the Holy Spirit? We receive the Holy Spirit by simply receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior (John 3:5-16). When do we receive the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit takes up permanent residence in us the moment we believe.
In case anyone wants to know the expertise behind Gotquestions.org, here is a Link to the theological training that is represented by those contributing to this large on-line Biblical ministry. I also want to link to this message from John Piper on Desiring God on how to seek the Holy Spirit. It’s too long to excerpt here, but it is truly wonderful!.
The speaking of tongues is an interesting side effect of this supernatural event. I will cover more about that in my next devotional, when I look at Acts 2:5-13, when bystanders to this event register their reactions (amazement, mockery).
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I pray for the continued power and fulfillment of the Holy Spirit in my life. He has been with me since I came to believe in Jesus, but I am still a work in progress. I am thankful for the many gifts that You give us with Your presence! Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission.
Precept Austin was accessed on 7/21/2024 to review commentary for Acts 1:1-4.
Gotquestions.org was accessed on 7/21/2024 to answer the questions “What are the different Jewish festivals in the Bible?”and “When and how does the Holy Spirit come?”.