The Mystery & Answer of Pentecost
Notes
Transcript
Dear Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
So much freight loaded on this one day of Pentecost… ceelbration of barley festival, but then of Covenant with Noah and his offspiring, and then of Sinai -fiery appearing of God and festival celebrating God giving Moses not the Spirit but the LAW. So much God was doing in fulfilling all the old meaning of Pentecost - with what Jesus promised would happen when he ascended, send His Holy SPirit and make his followers witnesses to all nations. Fulfillment of the picture John the baptist gave - baptize with fire and the Hoy Spirit and their is the myertious God-given pciture of Petnecost - rushing wind, like Spring smeel it, like wind ofver first Creation, now over Second Creation, New Creation… and Fire.
But this years’s celebration of what Jesus is doing in Pentecost we will follow the Apostles Peter’s lead in focusing on just two mysteries of Pentecost and the interpretation the answer to what those mysteries mean. And begfore we start I want you to know these two mysteries are God-given and they are the heart of the gospel. Amazing - some can preach a Jesus who Son o fGod, dies on Corss, but Resurrectio, Ascension, whole purpose and culmination of his work is left out. But not so with Peter as he begins preaching the gospel. Peter had encountered the Risen Jesus. Peter knew the Rsien Jesus well. He knew him three half years of Public minsitry, but also those 40 days. Not only saw him, but just like he ate, table fellowship big E concept - come into hosts room, intimate personal fellowship - Peter when explaining the gospel says - big deal not only saw Jesus alive but look when Corneliious had summoned him. Tell me the good news angel told me to ask. Peter says: Acts 10:41b
not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
ANd he spells out to Cornelius how he, a Roman officaial no less - can have that symobli of intimate fellowship with th Risen Ascended Jeuss too. That’s the goal of his gospel. And on the day of Petnetecost, he uses these two mysteries that God gave in Pentecost - and he examines the answer the world is giving and then offers God’s interpretation form Holy Scripture. A form of teaching that propehst, Jesus Himself in parabeles, at Qmran - Raz (mystery) - pesher for answer Interpretation.
So what are the two great mysteries at Pentecost that Peter zeroes in on? They are the speaking in tongues, the people think drunk on sweet wine early in the morning. And the other mystery a little harder to pick out, especially in our day when we livve so far from the plitical times of ANE, is the One Sitting on the Throne of David. Acts 2:30
Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,
There was aprophesy about David’s throne being filled, but David hasn’t ascended to it, he’s dead, not ascended, his body suffering corruption, awaiting day of resurrection even if Spirit with the Lord. So who is on thre throne of David, on that Pentecost - and the people would say: Herod. Idumena, wickeed, insane. So do you see the msyteries, - The people speaking wonders of God but in forgeing tongue,s, and this throne of David. Peter with all boldness summons the peopel to think on these mysteries, consider the world’s answers and then consider God’s answer and that’s what we must do this Pentecost too!
A. We will take the first mystery first. i. Forgeign tongues. ii. worlds explanation - drunk on sweet wine - Satan’s imitation - Kuiper…
iii. But now hear Peter expalin God’s answer to what goes on at Pentecost - Context of Joel - last days - pouring out of SPirit only a part of bigger picture - judgment coming - but in that period of the last dayS, there is a turning of everyone who calls uopo the nae of the Lord. Context is a plague of locusts… But before final judgment… there is this mystery -what’ the reality
Not just wonder and miracle - but Joel describes work of Messiah, and then this result - prophetic ministry of Holy SPiirit continue - wonders of God in every language…
Luke is hwoing whole rest of the book really about just as Jesus did signs wonders, taught the kingdom, - so now that he has accomlished salvation on Cross, and not just stayed there, but loosing the pangs of death Acts 2:24 because death couldn’t hold him down, Raised and sent Spirit for all to declare good news - the paths of life made known to Christ in our humannature, the full GLADDNESS WITH VERY PRESENCE OF GOD!
B. ut then a secon dmystery which though harder to get .. is equally important in udnerstanding the gospel . We think of Jesus Christ - being like a last name, or title of Christ as Messiah who would die. But look at Psalm118:22 made Lord and Christ, his birth .. but world says in death … done, but now ascended and in heaven in new way as God-man… and there is the gospel - not just forgiveness and tickett to heaven, but made him reign on David’s throne - What happens on that throne ascended to in heaven - very real rule - not just emotional feelings thing - but reign of grace and truth. Pentecost in OT celebration was gift of the Law from Moses, but understand the msytery of Pentecost now fulfilled - gift of the Spirit from Christ ascneded on the throne - full of grace and gtruth - recieve grace upon grace. How - he’s gone. .. not physically with us - well look at Peter’s answer from God’s interpretation Acts 2:33
Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
C. And here comes the real kicker if you get these two mysteries - be asking this Pentecost - if Spirit really poured out on these followers of Jesus, if Jesus treally on David’s throne already - waht should we do?
REPENT - means Herod, Caesar, money, relkgious rituals, dreams f this world, sweet wine not contorl and master of my life - Thi Jesus as lord of my life - 180 - realign all for Him - MY LORD
Baptism of forgiveness
align yourself - not generation of the lost - but found in Christ
And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit - be part of this new community - you your children , those God is calling out of unbelief around us ..
Petnescostal is to solve these two mysteries… may not be foreign tongues, but is God’s oeple speaking wonders of Word, sharing it with each other. And secondly it is solving the sytery of the throne of David - Jesus really reigns already -
Raz-Pesher: Qmran- The Habakkuk Commentary offers interpretations on the biblical text. The members of the community believed that these interpretations (called pesher) of mysteries (called raz) were revealed to the chosen interpreter, the Teacher of Righteousness.[124] But in addition the community thought it stood in the prophetic line of Daniel;[125] Daniel wrote, "None of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise (maskilim) shall understand" (Dan. 12:10). They believed they were in the end times and that they were the maskilim, for secrets and their interpretations were revealed to them.
APPLICATION: Peter's life. Being full of the Spirit, it was just as if Christ were speaking in person. That is why the sermon was so great.
In applying this to our own lives, we must realize that there is an intimate connection being being filled with the Spirit and being filled with the Word. Ephesians 5:18-19 says,
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.
Colossians 3:16 adds:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
As we fill ourselves with God's Word and yield to it, we make ourselves available for the filling of the Spirit. Acts 2:14
It would be wonderful to hear a great sermon like Peter's, but it is even better to hear a sermon that is great because of what it does to us. It is entirely possible to hear good teaching or preaching for years and never personally hear it in the great way the 3,000 did. Acts 2:14
The age of fulfilment has come! (2:14-21)
The age of fulfilment has come! (2:14-21)
Peter, like all fishermen, was a down-to-earth fellow. He shows a bit of the street-preacher's art when he takes his cue from the scoffers’ charge that their speaking in tongues was a result of their being drunk. F. F. Bruce sees this exchange in terms of good-natured jesting on both sides.2 Peter does not, however, appear to be using the language of banter. He rises to speak with all the authority of one who is filled with the Holy Spirit. And if there is a wryness to his riposte, he certainly does not make light of the spiritual blindness of the scoffers: ‘Listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning!’ (2:14-15). He simply reminds them of the absurdity of their charge-the barb, of course, being that they must face the fact that there is a far more serious meaning to this phenomenon and it has implications for their own lives and relationship to God! With no beating around the bush, Peter makes his real point, which was not to defend the apostles but to emphasize that what was happening was the fulfilment of what had been prophesied centuries before. This, says the apostle, ‘is what was spoken by the prophet Joel’ (2:16). He then goes on to quote Joe 2:28-32. R. C. H. Lenski notes that the construction in the original Greek text-the passive ‘what was spoken’ together with ‘by (or “through”) the prophet …’-wherever [it] occurs in Scripture, state[s] in brief the entire doctrine of verbal inspiration, to wit, that in all Scripture the real speaker is God, and that the holy writers are only his media, instruments, mouthpieces.’
The quotation from Joel's prophecy is remarkable, not only because of the fact that Pentecost is its specific fulfilment, but also because it is an example of the divinely inspired interpretation of prophecy. We are not left to wonder if ‘this’ is a prophecy of ‘that’. We are told very simply and with all the authority of revealed truth that ‘this’ is indeed ‘that’! Hence Peter's modification of Joel's text, with the replacement of ‘After this …’ with ‘In the last days …’ and the addition of ‘God says’ (2:17; cf. Joe 2:28) and ‘and they will prophesy’ (2:18; cf. Joe 2:29). The thrust of all this is sevenfold:
1. Joel foretold the coming of the Holy Spirit in connection with the promised revival of the covenant people of God (2:17).
2. That outpouring of the Spirit is fulfilled from Pentecost on. The expression ‘in the last days’ refers to a period of time. From that Day of Pentecost until the completion of the ‘last days’, the Holy Spirit would be with the true people of God (2:17).
3. The Holy Spirit would touch men and women of all nations and not just the covenant people, the Jews. At Pentecost the universality of the gospel became an irrevocable fact for the whole human race (2:17).
4. The coming of the Holy Spirit would be evident among God's people, in terms of certain gifts of the Spirit. Old and young, male and female-‘my servants’-will variously ‘prophesy … see visions … dream dreams’ (2:17-18). Joel was referring to the fact that God revealed himself in these ways in his (Old Testament) day and only by a very few prophets. Peter is saying that henceforth (the New Testament era), all believers will be prophets, in that they will have a full understanding of the revelation of God in Jesus Christ (Je 31:34).
5. The ‘last days’ will be marked by certain signs and wonders (2:19-20). The entire period is telescoped within these verses. The signs of Pentecost and the signs of the last day of all appear to merge in this verse. Again, ‘signs’ are associated with periods of new revelation-namely, at the first coming of Christ, culminating in Pentecost, and at the second coming of Christ, which will be the culmination of human history.
6. The ‘great and glorious day of the Lord’ (2:20) is most naturally associated with the Day of Judgement and the Second Coming of Christ. Many commentators, including John Calvin, Matthew Henry and Keil & Delitzsch, see this as a reference to the kingdom and rule of Christ as his judgements go forth in parallel with the ministry of the Holy Spirit. All of his judgements, from the destruction of Jerusalem to the last great day would be included. The text just does not tell us enough to resolve this question-it is certain, however, that history will answer it for us in due course.
7. During this period of the ‘last days’, the Lord will save people from their sins-for ‘Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved’ (2:21). Lenski calls this ‘the really important statement in Joel's prophecy’. The ‘last days’ are pre-eminently the era of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Salvation, not judgement, is the leading motif. This is pre-eminently the age of salvation, the era of the outpouring of the love of God in Jesus Christ!
The gospel call to salvation (2:37-41)
The gospel call to salvation (2:37-41)
The balance of law and gospel has often been a hard one to strike. Suffice it to say that where there is no declaration of God's law and the consequences of breaking it, the gospel is reduced to little more than a programme of psychological enrichment-a cure, perhaps, for bad feelings and social ineptitude, but certainly no salvation from the just judgement of God and a lost eternity. Where the law is over-preached, the gospel recedes to distant impotence, overwhelmed in the experience of the hearers (if any can bear to sit under such dismal preaching) by a depressed sense of helplessness, without the rising hope of redemption and victory. Where the issues of sin, death and hell are squarely faced and the good news about Jesus Christ as Saviour is proclaimed, the Holy Spirit changes lives. In this respect, the Day of Pentecost was indeed a model for the church for ever after: preach Christ and people will be saved!
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