Reading for today: Acts 2:1-13
Pentecost was a harvest festival among the Jews. In the Old
Testament it was referred to as the Feast of Weeks because there was
a week of weeks (7 weeks) between this festival and Passover. That's
where the name comes from, "Pentecost" meaning 50.
Ten days have now passed since the ascension of Jesus, and the 120
disciples (both men and women) are still together in that upper
room, waiting and praying. That in itself is pretty remarkable
obedience! But that obedience is about to be rewarded.
First of all, a sound like a violently blowing wind filled the room.
And then they saw what appeared to be tongues of fire that separated
and came to rest on each of them. Now, it is interesting that these
2 physical phenomena appear in conjunction with the Holy Spirit only
this one time. From here on, throughout the rest of the book of
Acts, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on people, these 2
phenomena do not take place.
And then all of the 120 were filled with the Holy Spirit, and as a
result they began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled
them. Now, this particular phenomenon is repeated throughout the
book of Acts whenever people were filled with the Holy Spirit. In
fact, it still is to be the expected happening today when believers
are filled with the Holy Spirit.
In this particular outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the 120 disciples
who spoke in other tongues were heard by the crowd that had gathered
to be speaking in languages that they understood! Many had come from
other nations to celebrate this festival, and now they hear the
"locals" speaking in languages that they recognize as their own. But
how did these people know those languages? Obviously, they didn't!
They were simply speaking what the Holy Spirit enabled them to speak.
This amazed the crowd. They started questioning how this could
happen. But some in the crowd thought they had the answer: these
people were speaking this "nonsense" because they were drunk!
Somebody needed to explain what was going on. But who will dare to
speak to such a throng as this?
Tomorrow: The "wimp" of yesterday becomes the "powerhouse" of today
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Acts - Week 1 / Tuesday
Reading for today: Acts 1:12-26
Following the ascension of Jesus back into heaven, the followers of Christ returned to Jerusalem, and went to an upstairs room where they prayed and waited obediently for the promise of the Father, which was the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Sometime during these 10 days in which they waited, Peter declared that there was a need to replace Judas, the disgraced disciple who had betrayed Jesus. But the man who was to replace him had to fulfill some essential qualifications. He must be someone who had been with the disciples the whole time from Jesus’ baptism to His ascension. In particular, he must have been an eyewitness of the resurrection of Jesus, just as the rest of the disciples were.
Two men best met these conditions, Joseph called Barsabas, and Matthias. To make the choice between these two men, the disciples first prayed, in recognition that God knew which one He wanted as the twelfth apostle. Then they used the Old Testament method of casting lots.
It should be noted here that they did not cast lots haphazardly. They first selected the two men whom they judged the most worthy to fill the vacancy. Then they prayed about the matter. It may well be that there was nothing to choose between these two men---they were both qualified to fill the position.
In that case the casting of lots, which had very respectable precedent in Hebrew sacred history, was a very reasonable way of deciding on one of the two. Proverbs 16:33 says, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” They believed that God would overrule the laws of chance and show His choice by this means. So, they cast lots, and Matthias was chosen to fill the vacancy left by Judas’ defection.
It is interesting to note that this method is never mentioned again in Scripture. After Pentecost the followers of Christ would rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance in these kinds of decisions. The Holy Spirit’s arrival was about to change a lot of things!
Tomorrow: The Holy Ghost blows into town!
Following the ascension of Jesus back into heaven, the followers of Christ returned to Jerusalem, and went to an upstairs room where they prayed and waited obediently for the promise of the Father, which was the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Sometime during these 10 days in which they waited, Peter declared that there was a need to replace Judas, the disgraced disciple who had betrayed Jesus. But the man who was to replace him had to fulfill some essential qualifications. He must be someone who had been with the disciples the whole time from Jesus’ baptism to His ascension. In particular, he must have been an eyewitness of the resurrection of Jesus, just as the rest of the disciples were.
Two men best met these conditions, Joseph called Barsabas, and Matthias. To make the choice between these two men, the disciples first prayed, in recognition that God knew which one He wanted as the twelfth apostle. Then they used the Old Testament method of casting lots.
It should be noted here that they did not cast lots haphazardly. They first selected the two men whom they judged the most worthy to fill the vacancy. Then they prayed about the matter. It may well be that there was nothing to choose between these two men---they were both qualified to fill the position.
In that case the casting of lots, which had very respectable precedent in Hebrew sacred history, was a very reasonable way of deciding on one of the two. Proverbs 16:33 says, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” They believed that God would overrule the laws of chance and show His choice by this means. So, they cast lots, and Matthias was chosen to fill the vacancy left by Judas’ defection.
It is interesting to note that this method is never mentioned again in Scripture. After Pentecost the followers of Christ would rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance in these kinds of decisions. The Holy Spirit’s arrival was about to change a lot of things!
Tomorrow: The Holy Ghost blows into town!
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