It is critical to understand the reasons behind the arrival of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost in Acts, chapter 2. Failure to do so has resulted in severe confusion and disagreement among Christians. There are few issues that have divided believers so much as Acts 2 and its interpretation. Consider, first of all, what made the day of Pentecost the Day of Pentecost. It was not the arrival of the Holy Spirit. It was not the rushing mighty wind, and it was not the speaking and hearing in languages not previously known. While it’s true these all occurred on this day of Pentecost here in Acts 2, yet none of them, nor all of them, made this the Day of Pentecost. Then, what did? The Jewish calendar. This day, like the Day of Atonement, like the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Passover, they all arrived at the same time on the Jewish calendar every year. What made this Feast of Pentecost very unusual was that it was not merely an annual feast day or the calendar. This day of Pentecost, here in Acts 2, was as none other. The Holy Spirit chose an already established and well-fixed date to make His presence known. The prophet Joel told Israel this day was coming several hundred years earlier in Joel 2. But there was no hint as to when the day would be.
Peter tells his audience, “This is it. This, which you now see and hear, is that which was spoken of by the Prophet Joel.” So, now we have a Jewish apostle named Peter addressing a crowd of several thousand Jews in the complex of the Jewish temple talking about the Jewish Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, regarding a promise given by the God of the Jews who delivered the promise through the pen of Joel, a Jewish prophet. Does it strike you that this is an exclusively Jewish situation? A careful reading of the context will confirm that it is precisely that. This was a continuing opportunity for the nation of Israel to reverse themselves and embrace Jesus, whom they crucified, as their long-awaited Messiah sent from God.
Miracles of the caliber that Jesus performed would remain to be performed by the followers of Christ in the presence of the community of Israel. These are all recorded in the first half of the Acts of the Apostles. It appears that as long as the possibility of Israel accepting Jesus as their Messiah was in question, the miraculous manifestations of the Holy Spirit continued. When that option expired due to their continued unbelief, the miracles ceased. The Holy Spirit had a very strategic role to fulfill during this critical transition phase in the life of Israel, and it was all in fulfillment of a divine promise recorded in Joel’s prophecy, chapter 2.
CC-07-12
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