Presented to each the
Nipawin and Tisdale Corps 12 August 2007, Swift Current Corps 23 May 2010
and 17 May 2015, Corps 614 Regent Park Toronto 04 October 2015 and Alberni Valley Ministries, 12 June 2022 by Captain Michael Ramsay
For those of us following along in our
Boundless Bible Reading Challenge we are looking at the Book of Acts right now.
Acts is a neat book. Did you know that it is the only history in the NT? Luke
and Acts also were written by the same author and these books actually come
together as sort of a two volume set that many scholars like to call
‘Luke-Acts.’ Together this set comprises more than 30% of the NT. Luke-Acts is
thus important for us to understand.
Acts always reminds me of a play. Maybe
it’s the name (Act 1, scene 2). But particularly in the first part, Acts
reminds me of a Shakespearian play. Anyone remember studying Shakespeare in
school?
All right, here’s a quiz for you. Who can
name the play these quotes are from:
1) ‘Friends, Romans, countrymen lend me your ears;’
2) “to be or not to be, that is the question” – here’s an easy one –
3) “Romeo, Romeo, where art thou Romeo”? [Answers below]
Shakespeare wrote very dramatic plays and
some of the tragedies are pretty tragic like Hamlet. Remember, his ‘to be or
not to be’ speech where, of course, he is either pretending to be insane or
actually goes insane, while trying catch his father’s killer who happens to be
his uncle and is also married to his mother. (Sounds like a soap opera
actually) And in the end - everybody dies…
Or on a happier note, there is Romeo and
Juliet. Young love. But their parents object so they sneak around for a while
and then eventually (pause) kill themselves…okay so not a lot of happy
endings…but they are very dramatic and neat stories nonetheless.
Shakespeare was a master playwright. And
Acts reminds me of Shakespeare’s work, only better! God uses Luke to communicate
the VERY dramatic REAL events that happen here and Luke attributes to Peter
some amazing speeches that could cause the post-modern reader to recall Mark
Anthony, Lady Macbeth, or Hamlet.
And he uses the scenes and speeches that we
will look at today to tell the readers how God’s Spirit comes at Pentecost and
releases the disciples to proclaim the gospel of Jesus’ death, resurrection and
the forgiveness of sins.
As the curtains open on Acts 1’s scene one.
The narrator recaps the miracles of the end of Luke (1:1-5) and the
resurrection. He explains Jesus’ ascension to heaven (1:6-12) and we now are
invited to watch as the disciples, men and women alike (1:14), gather around in
the upper room (1:13) casting lots to learn who God has chosen in place of
Judas Iscariot; the gruesome details of whose death unfold for the audience as
the protagonist, the Apostle Peter [1] takes to the stage with this opening
address (vs. 15-20):
"He
was one of our number and shared in this ministry.” With the reward he got for
his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst
open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about
this, so they called that field in their language, Akeldama, that is,
Field of Blood.
Peter - in his address - shows how Judas’
death fulfils the scriptures of Psalms 69:25 and 109:8.[2] And then as he
finishes speaking, the stage fades to black, ending Acts 1.
Now just before we open the curtain on Acts
2, you should know a bit about the way the stage is set. When the curtain comes
up not only will all the disciples still be together. But also in the scene
will be ‘Jews from every nation under heaven (2:5)’ and they have come to
celebrate Pentecost.[3]
These Jews on the scene in Acts II here are
very familiar with the tradition of the Messiah because they have been looking
for someone to deliver Palestine from the evils of the occupation. They have
been looking for someone who could offer them freedom for Judea. They have been
looking for someone who can provide salvation for the Judeans (cf. psalm 72, 2
Samuel 9). They have been looking for the Messiah, the Christ, the Saviour of
Israel. It is upon this crowd that we gaze as the curtain rises on scene one in
Acts II:
When the day of Pentecost came, they were
all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing [sound effects] of
a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were
sitting. They saw what seemed to be (pillars) tongues of fire that separated
and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them.
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews
from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came
together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own
language. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking
Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native
language?
And this is the dramatic scene in the
opening of Acts 2. And if this were a Shakespearean play, now, hundreds of
years later, there would be - Cole’s Notes! - so that we can all understand the
nuances of what is happening before us and there are many nuances…
If we had our Cole’s Notes with us today
there would probably be an asterisk beside the word ‘Pentecost’ (vs. 1) because
when we think of Pentecost we usually think of this very moment: the arrival of
the Holy Spirit in Acts – but it is more than that.
Your Cole’s Notes would probably say that
Pentecost is also known by various other names: feast of weeks (Ex 34:22; Dt
15:10, 16:9-12; Nu 28:26-31), feast of harvest (Ex 23:16), day of first fruits
(Exod 34:22; Nu 28:26; Lev 23:9-14) and this is neat: Pentecost occurs on the
50th day after the Sabbath Passover (Ex 19:1)[4] and here, in Acts II, it is
about 50 days after Jesus was crucified.
Now this Jewish festival [5], Pentecost, is
a time to celebrate God giving the Law to Moses on Mt Sinai:[6] Remember the
Ten Commandments and how Moses climbs the Mountain (twice; Ex 19-20, 31, 34; Dt
4-5, 10) and God writes the 10 commandments on the stone tablets[7] with his
very own finger (Ex 31:18; Dt 4:13, 10:1) and when Moses returns from the
Mountain his face is literally radiant (34:29-35): it’s shining.
In our text it is now about 50 days after
Jesus was crucified.[8] And as Pentecost is about the Ten Commandments, the
covenant and an empowering of the Israelites for their new life outside of
Egypt[9], here now with the coming of the Spirit in Acts II the disciples are
empowered for their new life in the Kingdom of God (Lk 24:49).[10]
This event certainly does link Jesus to
Moses as a deliver of his people – and those present in this scene are probably
beginning to understand that Jesus is that deliverer.
There is even more though for the curious
reader here to link Jesus to Moses (verse 3): the tongues or pillars of fire
above their heads. Remember as God was leading Israel away from Pharaoh’s Army,
He parted the Red Sea for them. Remember as He led them around the desert for
that generation (Ex 23:21, 33:14; Dt 4:7) what did God lead them with? …: A
pillar of cloud by day and a pillar (or tongue) of fire by night. And here we
have pillars of fire linking our minds again to Israel’s delivery and Israel’s
covenant with God. There is even more when the Bible speaks about the coming
baptism of fire. Here it is [11]; isn’t that neat?
And even more – you see the Bible is REAL.
These things really did happen but it is also a literary masterpiece with
symbolism everywhere –would we expect anything less from God’s own Word?
Look at 2:6: “each one heard them speaking
in his own language;” some have compared this to an un-doing, as it were, of
the tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-9). Do you remember that story? The people provoke
God through staying to build this tower and as a result, all of a sudden they
are babbling in different languages. God confuses their talk. It is kind of
hard to work together when you don’t understand what other people are saying –
but now what happens? In Acts II, it is reversed. Instead of language being
confused, people can actually now hear the Gospel proclaimed in their OWN
language. And they are again to go and fill the earth, this time with the Good
News of Christ.
Further, some people even relate this event
again to the giving of the Law at Sinai as, according to Jewish tradition, at
that point every people heard the law in its own language.[12]
And now certainly we, as well as the much
earlier readers of Acts, can understand the implicit symbolism representing the
truth that Jesus, like Moses, is deliverer of his people[13] - and actually he
is the one they have been waiting for.
But more than that: Your Cole’s notes would
probably also have an asterisk beside the words ‘the violent wind’ [14] in
Verse 2 where it says, “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind
came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting” The
passage does not claim that the Holy Spirit is a wind; rather the Holy Spirit
is like the sound wind makes but, this is neat, the word here for wind is the
SAME word for Spirit in the original Greek (cf. Gen 1:2; Ez 37:9, 14; Jn 3:8)
so the SPIRIT (or wind) is coming like the WIND (or spirit) and this same play
on words occurs in the creation story of Gen 1:2[15] where it says that the
Spirit (or wind) of God hovered there - over the waters. This passage is about
a beginning, a creation, a new Kingdom, if you like, and Jesus here is not only
linked to man, he is also linked to God. This very real act of the Spirit
coming on Pentecost unites the symbolism of the Messiah and of God himself
[16].
So lets recap: they are all together in one
place. The Spirit blows in, sound like a violent wind, tongues of fire are
settling on people -- Now lets join the scene in Acts 2:17: the Apostle Peter
stands up with the 11 (2:14) to make his speech (Acts 2:17-21) in which he
quotes the Prophet Joel (Joel 2:28-32) [and Psalm 16:8-10]:
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. (It
will be) the coming of the great and glorious Day of the Lord. And everyone who
calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
As if in a Shakespearian soliloquy, Luke
records here what Peter explains from Scriptures. He explains exactly what we
can see unfolding the scene before us. He explains that Jesus is from God and
Jesus is Lord [17] and he explains that ‘everyone who calls on the name of the
Lord will be saved.’
And in case we missed it still Peter says
from Verse 22 onwards – Jesus was a man accredited by God to you by miracles,
wonders, and signs…and now, if not before, now people get it and so Peter turns
to the common everyday people listening and says: Jesus was accredited by God
and you … Verse 23… you and wicked men put him to death by nailing him to the
cross. You killed him.
This is tragic. This is as tragic as any
play. The people get it now that Jesus was the Messiah (and Peter goes on about
it more in the rest of the chapter). They get it. He was the one who was
supposed to deliver them. He was the one who was supposed to save them. He was
the one who was supposed to lead them into the Kingdom to come. But there is
one problem: he died. And not only that, ‘you’, Peter says, ‘you killed him.’
Can you imagine the sorrow, the guilt, the
pain? It must be like Romeo and Juliet’s parents: they loved their children
with everything in them. They pinned their future hopes on their children and
now because of their actions, their un-forgiveness, their very loved children
are dead.
Jesus was to be our deliver, Peter says,
and you killed him. You wanted a deliver. You had a deliver and you killed him!
But there’s more. Peter makes it clear to us that ‘you’ killed the Messiah but
he also makes it clear (vs.22-23) that he ‘was handed over to you by God’s set
purpose and foreknowledge;’ He was ‘accredited by God with miracles, wonders
and signs which God did.’ And, Verse 24, God raised him from the dead. Jesus is
inextricably linked to God and you killed Him and he was raised from the dead.
This not necessarily understood as good news
yet for those listening [18] - The Judeans know that God is just. And so this
could be a little scary really. They here are waiting for their deserved
penalty for killing their Messiah [19] and remember they already saw what
happened to Judas after he betrayed Christ (Acts 1:16-20).
This is a part of the world and
understanding of the Jews. They understand that there is a punishment for sin.
[20] They understand that there is a penalty for killing Jesus, whom those here
–from what we’ve examined today – are rightly convinced is Messiah.
These people are now standing in front of
Peter – like repentant children in front of the principal, realising that
they’ve done something terribly wrong, hoping against hope to somehow make it
right and maybe even avoid their punishment (cf. Jn 21:15ff.): Verse 37, “When
the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the
other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?””
What can we do? We killed Jesus. We killed
our Messiah. We killed God’s son. He died for our sins. He’s now raised from
the dead. Is there anything we can do to be forgiven by Him and by God and be
accepted into His Kingdom?
Peter says, Verse 38, “Repent and be
baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins.” Now this is significant. You see, as we looked at in Luke, Jesus is
ushering in this Kingdom of God. And earlier in this chapter we saw the Spirit
of God himself come down from Heaven (Acts 2:1-4, Lk 24). We saw the power of
God manifest to announced the Kingdom of God is coming now; it is here.
And what does this Kingdom look like? It is
a Kingdom of forgiveness. It is a Kingdom –like the Lord’s Prayer says - where
we forgive those who do things against us and God forgives us what we have done
– even our sending [as was his purpose and with God’s perfect foreknowledge
(vss. 22-23)] God’s own son to die on the cross.
What is it that one must do to be a part of
this Kingdom? We just have to repent (This doesn’t just mean change your way of
acting – it means change your whole way of thinking) – You must repent – you
must now believe that Jesus died for our sins, rose from the dead and Jesus is
Lord. You must believe and be baptised (which here is an initiation ceremony);
you must be initiated into the Kingdom of Forgiveness of Sins and the Kingdom
of God, in the name of Jesus – and that’s it. [21]
Peter says then “you will receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit.” This same Holy Spirit that came down on Pentecost and even more than
that he assures us that this promise isn’t just for them. “The promise is for
you and your children and for all who are far off —for all whom the Lord our
God will call.” And, like we read earlier, “everyone who calls on the name of
the Lord will be saved”
And look what it says, just before the
curtain closes on our scene here. It says in verse 47 “day by day the Lord
added to their number those being saved.” And may it be continue to be so. Come
and pray for the Spirit in our lives.
Benediction: Galatians 5:22-26a.
---
ANSWERS TO THE QUIZ
‘Friends, Romans, countrymen lend me your
ears;’ - Mark Anthony in 'Julius Caesar'
“to be or not to be, that is the question”
– Hamlet in 'Hamlet'
“Romeo, Romeo, where art thou Romeo”? -
Juliet in 'Romeo and Juliet'
_______________________________________________________
[1] After Acts 15, Paul becomes the central
apostle, whose acts we are following.
[2] “For,” said Peter, “it is written in
the book of Psalms, “ ‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell
in it,’ (Psalm 69:25) and, “‘May another take his place of leadership’ (Psalm
109:8).
[3] These Jews are probably members of the
Diaspora: shortly after Jesus died, there was an unsuccessful Jewish rebellion
(68-73 CE) against the Romans [which led to the destruction of the temple (70
CE).] As a result, many Judeans had to flee for their lives. This dispersion
was throughout the Mediterranean world and these dispersed Jews are members of
the now commonly called Diaspora. However, “We have seen that this Dispersion
had [actually] begun six centuries before in the Babylonian Captivity, and had
been renewed in the settling of Alexandria.” Will Durant, Caesar and Christ.
(TSC 3: New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1944), 545. Those present here would
be from the earlier group as Acts is set before the destruction of the temple
and some even argue that the scene in Acts 2 actually takes place in the
temple.
[4] Thus the name Pentecost from the Hebrew
he pentekoste "fiftieth"
[5] There is much discussion about whether or not Luke
was making specific reference to this event at the time of his writing;
regardless of whether this was an intentional parallel drawn by the author of
Luke, the symbolism seems to be divinely intentioned. Cf. Robert W. Wall, Acts.
(NIB 10: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 2002), 57-58, for a thorough
discussion of this.
[6] This continues to this day. Also cf.
R.C.H Lenski, The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles. (Minneapolis,
Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 57.
[7] The first time (Exod. 31:18); The
second time, according to the Exodus account, Moses is required to do the
writing himself (Exod. 34:1; but cf. Dt. 10:1)
[8] In John’s narrative (John 20:19-23),
The disciples receive the gift of the Holy Spirit before Jesus has gone to ‘his
Father’s house.’ This may be a different record of the same event; however, it
may not. This appearance of the Holy Spirit is not an act unique to Acts II.
[9] Robert W. Wall, p. 54. : [Some]
interpreters posit a new dispensation has dawned when the Holy Spirit through
the Messiah mediates a new covenant. (cf. Jer. 31:31-34; Rom. 8:2).
[10] Cf. Willimon, p. 28.
[11] These tongues are also an obvious
fulfilment of Luke 3:16: ‘He shall baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with
fire.’” They may however also represent the altar with its holy fire. Fire is
also a symbol of purity and purification, cf. also Lenski, p. 59.
[12] Fredrick Frye Bruce, The Book of Acts.
(TNICNT: Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988),
54.
[13] Certainly readers of Matthew would
understand this, as one of the themes of Matthew is that Jesus is ‘the new
Moses.’
[14] Jesus himself compares the coming of
the Spirit to the wind, see John 3:8.
[15] R.C.H Lenski, p. 58: “This mighty
sound was surely a symbol of power, and we may recall that both the Hebrew and
the Greek words for Spirit, Ruach and IIamven denote wind or breath.” Some also
suggest that the ‘whole house’ referred to in this verse here may actually be
an allusion to the Temple, which was destroyed in 70 AD.
[16] See John 3:8 where Jesus himself
compared the coming of the Spirit to the blowing of the wind.
[17] It is significant here, I believe,
that Luke quoted the Greek text. He was able to thus make a strong intentional
link then with the word ‘Lord’.
[18] This is reminiscent of Jesus’
appearance to Peter right after Peter had denied him and he was crucified.
[19] Cf. Robert W. Wall. pp. 66-67.
[20] Cf. NT Wright, The Problem of Evil and
the Justice of God.
[21] Ibid.
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