Call to Commitment

 

Acts 2:1-13

 

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit

1.      When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 

2.     And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 

3.     Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 

4.      And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 

5.     And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 

6.     And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 

7.     Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 

8.     And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? 

9.     Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 

10.  Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 

11.  Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” 

12.  So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” 

13.  Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”  

The expression, “When the day of Pentecost was fully come,” described the counting of 50 days from the Feast of Firstfruits, marking the fact that the required 50^th day had arrived since Firstfruits. I will attempt to show the entire law, concerning this Old Testament feast day, as a background to our present study of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost (Gr. Fiftieth) was the Greek term, for which the Hebrews called the Feast of Weeks. The purpose of the feast was a joyful celebration for the first fruits of the wheat harvest.

 You may study the sequence of events leading up to Pentecost in Leviticus 23:5-16. Passover took place on the 14^th of the first Jewish month, The day after Passover, the 15, was the Feast of Unleavened Bread and on the following day, the 16^th of the month began the counting of seven weeks, or 49 days, and the following day after the seventh week, the 50^th day, was the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost.

 Several times, the Old Testament mentions that every Jewish male must be present in Jerusalem three times a year… “All your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles” (Dt. 16:16). According to our calendar, these feasts occurred in March, May and September.