what happened before pentecost

It comes from the ancient Christian expression pentekoste hemera, which means . The church acknowledged the leading of the Spirit and laid their hands on these men, and then sent them off. Jesus persuades them to leave what they are doing to travel with him and help to share . This process will never be seen again in the rest of the New Testament. We've just read it. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty people) and said, 16 Brothers, the scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit foretold through David concerning Judaswho became the guide for those who arrested Jesus 17 for he was counted as one of us and received a share in this ministry. 18 (Now this man Judas acquired a field with the reward of his unjust deed, and falling headfirst he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. And when they reached their decision, they made it clear that their decision was guided by the Holy Spirit. For if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. Verses 40 to 47 is a summary of one of the most remarkable periods of the church experience. 2Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the NET Bible. The "before" and "after" theme is found frequently in the media. So the Word of God is what Jesus took and explained, it is what the Church went to, to explain what was happening, and then, it is the Spirit of God. They immediately began telling others about Jesus. 7 Days after the Ascension of Jesus. Not completely unraveled, but the doubt and the disbelief has an impact. Jesus promised authority within the boundaries of what God purposed, because the coming of the Spirit was the promise of the Father (verse 4). 19952023 All correspondence and questions should be sent to info@ucg.org. Acts 1, consistent with the rest of the Book of Acts, reminds us that it is not about us; it is about God. PrivacyPolicyTerms ofUse. John has another set of accounts, and then he kind of ends and he leaves it wide open. Darris McNeely works at the United Church of God home office in Cincinnati, Ohio. The coming of the Spirit is described as: (1) the promise of the Father (verse 4); (2) that which the apostles heard from Jesus (verse 4); and, (3) that which John the Baptist foretold (verse 5). The following is an excerpt from "A Year of Grace: Collected Sermons of Advent through Pentecost" written by Bo Giertz and translated by Bror Erickson (1517 Publishing, 2019). They had been told to be there, to wait in Jerusalem until that day. Bob is a pastor/teacher and elder at Community Bible Chapel in Richardson, Texas, and has contributed many of his Bible study series for use by the Foundation. Between the Easter and Pentecost, there's a span of 50 days. They might have fidgeted a bit and wondered, "Well, should we go fishing?" Others have sought to justify this action on the part of the apostles. And you will be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Some Christian denominations consider it the birthday of the Christian church and celebrate it as such. The church, the body of Christ, began on the Day of Pentecost by the work of the Holy Spirit. We, again, don't necessarily always pause and think about this, in these hours and days following Christ's resurrection. The apostles were all Galileans (see Acts 1:11; 2:7; see also Matthew 26:73), so they could not stay in their own homes. This is the dimension that was given on Pentecost, and what this day is all about for those of us who are the firstfruits. And so they had become a part of something that again, they were still trying to understand. They were alone. Some say that they wound up in the temple precincts; could very well be. What did they do during that 10 days? "Standing with the Lamb on the Mount of Olives," in Revelation 14:1, "144,000 with the Father's name written on their foreheads. Behold I send the promise of My Father upon you, but tarryor waitin the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. The Church was given favor, we're told, as they demonstrated these fruits and others were added. Pentecost is the festival when Christians celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. Then follows a marvelous after photo, which displays a beautiful person, so different from the before photo. It appears to me that this upper room may well be a place well known to the apostles, perhaps a room owned by someone close to Jesus. When the apostles3press Jesus to tell them the time when the kingdom of God will be established, Jesus graciously refuses by informing them that this information is outside their authority there is no need to know so far as they are concerned. As I read the early verses of chapter one, I am also impressed with the realization that Luke provides us with some powerful evidences of the resurrection of our Lord from the dead: To the same apostles also, after his suffering, he presented himself alive with many convincing proofs. Everybody who gets up and gives a sermon in a congregation, that sermon before it's ever posted on a website, has been reviewed or at least approved by individuals within the congregation. Even though they had seen miracles, again, another indication to us always to remember that miracles are important, miracles can be faith-builders, but miracles by themselves will not do it all. Verses 15-26 immediately precede Pentecost, but do not appear to have any profound impact on the apostles or on the community of believers. What we have in verses 12-14, then, is a description of where the apostles stayed and what they did from the time of our Lords death till Pentecost. Sunday Before Pentecost. You know, before we ever get to that rushing wind that came in, it's good to think about this question, because it has a direct application to you and I today. No lots were cast here, nor did they need to be. This is Peter's first sermon since Jesus left for heaven. That's been the hallmark of our feature. While it is not plainly stated, it would seem that from a human point of view the events at Pentecost were partially a response to the prayers of these saints. And allows us to then grow, because the next few verses here of 2 Peter speaks to a process of spiritual empowerment and growth and development. The gospels and the book of Acts tell us that would-be zealots and messiahs had come and gone. When you read what Peter said about these prophecies from Joel and the Psalmstrust me, folks, Peter's sermon would not have passed doctrinal review by the Jewish doctrinal committee of that day. In particular, Judas death was seen to be a part of the divine plan. 2 While they were serving the Lord and fasting,the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. 3 Then, after they had fasted and prayed and placed their hands on them, they sent them off. Based upon Pauls words in Ephesians 3, I am inclined to assume what a portion of this conversation may have been: 4 When reading this, you will be able to understand my insight into this secret of Christ. And they're seeing that, and it's the final time. We should also observe that among this group were the brothers of our Lord (Acts 1:14). They had come up against the two most powerful authorities of their day in their world. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and other disciples following the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ (Acts of the Apostles, chapter 2), and it marks the . We're no different than them. That is the vision that Jesus has for His Church as articulated by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:16, and they had it at this moment. [Darris McNeely] On the morning of Pentecost 31 AD, what do you think was going through the minds of the assembled disciples in Jerusalem? This then begins to be the anchor and the soil into which they can anchor a life of faith that they were to have and to develop. Christians celebrate Pentecost 50 days after Easter Sunday to commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples.. There they encountered the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. Now all of a sudden, as Peter steps forward, and of course, you know the story of Peter. And then even when we see in the days after Jesus' final ascension, a roughly 10-day period, when they came to make a decision to replace Judas, they read Scripture, they applied it properly, God blessed the decision. Our Lord saw to it that these witnesses had more than enough evidence of His resurrection, and added to this was the witness of the Spirit to the resurrection: 7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I am going away. It's the fourth of the spring feasts that marked the end of the barley harvest and the start of the wheat harvest (usually around June). And I didn't know how to make a connection. In the end, I think we must acknowledge that we must read between the lines a great deal to conclude that the replacement of Judas was wrong. 3 To the same apostles also, after his suffering, he presented himself alive with many convincing proofs. And more specifically for this group that they would be witnesses of Jesus in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth being fulfilled. That He had to rebuke them and teach them. 4 Now we have such confidence in God through Christ. Back in Mark's account, chapter 16 of Mark, we see that the same thing lingered among the wide group of people there. It goes on, "Jesus came and He spoke to them saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. "He appeared first to Mary Magdalene out of whom He had cast seven demons. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and . Peter says, "Repent, believe, be baptized, you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." 24 Then they prayed, Lord, you know the hearts of all. It says, "The eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. Articles that are published in our magazine or scripting for our television programs goes through a very, very thorough review process. This is the threefold commission that is given to this group of disciples where they are to be witnesses of Him in the city of Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samariathe wider region of the country, look at it as kind of the wider counties of the country of Israel at the timeand then ultimately, to the end of the earth, to take the Gospel and to be a witness of God, to do this. Mark chapter 16, verse 9, now, "When He rose early on the first day of the week," speaking of Christ's resurrection. These events happened in the book of Acts within the Bible and proved a major turning point in the New Testament. Did they doubt that it was real? "Makeover" programs turn proverbial ugly ducklings into swans. It's an encouraging sermon, it's very pointed and direct, that includes a dramatic call to repentance. 8We do, however, find a reference tothe twelvein both Acts 6:2 and 1 Corinthians 15:5. Show them otherwise what had been done, rebuke their unbelief, as it goes along here. When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. An eyewitness account, there was a lack of belief that put them in the situation here that they did not understand and didn't believe that had actually happened. 9 But Saul (also known as Paul),filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at him 10 and said, You who are full of all deceit and all wrongdoing, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousnesswill you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? 9. He also is a residentfaculty member at the Ambassador Bible Center teaching Acts, Fundamentals of Belief and World News and Prophecy. Put another way, the same Holy Spirit who empowered Jesus as He gave the Great Commission is the One who will empower the apostles (and the church) to carry out this command. Somewhere along the line, the apostles were enlightened by our Lord concerning the mystery of the church. Where do we go from here? In 2 Peter chapter 1, 2 Peter chapter 1, Peter writes, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you and the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. By inference, this second volume is the account of all that Jesus continued to do and to teach, through His apostles. Acts is the record of how our Lord is fulfilling the Great Commission by using weak and fallible men. Church services on this day are marked by red robes and banners signifying the fiery winds of the Holy Spirit. The translation project originally started as an attempt to provide an electronic version of a modern translation for electronic distribution over the Internet and on CD (compact disk). Then what looks like tongues of fire rests on the followers of Jesus, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I believe the first chapter of Acts could be titled Before, because it precedes Pentecost in chapter two, and from there on it is definitely after. While we may be eager to get to Pentecost, let us pause long enough to consider Lukes introduction to the Book of Acts and to the transforming power of Pentecost. Read more. He was seen by them over a forty-day period and spoke about matters concerning the kingdom of God. He now consistently refers to them asapostles.The termdiscipleis now employed when reference is made to new believers in Acts. We will handle them by the Word of God and the Spirit of God. From this point, they had only 10 days. During the 50 days after Jesus' death, He had many interactions with his Disciples and followers, providing them with guidance and . Jesus' followers were all together when a sound like the blowing of a mighty wind came from heaven and filled the place where they were staying. And God will expose sin, ours to ourselves, sometimes to others. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Verses 1-11 describe what happened during that 40-day period between our Lords resurrection and His ascension. And so I made a certain few inquiries, I got on the bus, didn't miss it. In the Great Commission of Matthew 28, Jesus claimed all authority, and He based His command to proclaim the gospel to all nations on this authority: 18 Then Jesus came up and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. The Roman Empire was not anything to fool around with. And it is in that, we reach the real nexus, the real critical point of our life before God, where we recognize that, with the Holy Spirit, we are taking on the very nature of God, the divine nature. Let me last observe that Acts 1 is the beginning of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in Acts. Prior to His death, the disciples were constantly with Jesus. I've got to find out where that next bus leaves, and what time." In the context of Acts (and the Epistles), we should see that the Holy Spirit is a significant part of the enablement we need. I must tell you that the most problematic passage in Acts 1 is the final paragraph which describes the selection of Matthias as the twelfth apostle. This is implied in Acts 1:3, but it is clear in particular instances, such as when Jesus appeared to the disciples who went fishing with Peter in John 21. He certainly became one of the boldest witnesses for the faith. Think about that among our own relationships with each other. We give ourselves to that devotion, to that devoted study and the process of taking on the nature of God. What were they standing there for, looking into the sky? Why, then, does Luke include these verses? Why are you standing around gazing? They were kind of like this, and like this. I believe that among the many things we see in these early verses, we find that the Holy Spirits ministry in Acts a dominant theme in this book is linked to His ministry through the person of our Lord. They call attention to references tothe twelveafter this (Acts 6:2; 1 Corinthians 15:5). Because Pentecost is the day on which the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary received the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we tend to think of it as an exclusively Christian feast.But like many Christian feasts, including Easter, Pentecost has its roots in Jewish religious tradition.The Jewish Pentecost fell on the 50th day after Passover, and it celebrated the giving of . And yet Peter does, and he gives a bold sermon. And had they seen anything near that type of an ecstatic demonstration, it might have been in a form by someone doing something by their form of religion that they didn't identify with. Today's Scripture reference comes mainly from Acts 2:12-21. Luke begins by informing his readers that the Book of Acts is the second volume of his account of the life and ministry of Jesus. Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More, concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. What they needed was power, power to proclaim the gospel so that men would believe and be saved. He made it clear that the Holy Spirit played a key role in their appointment. He understood that, and again, He is just laying it out that they were troubled and there was doubt. They didn't believe that He had risen, they didn't believe that they had been seen, that He had been seen, and therefore, then they would not believe these eyewitnesses. Pentecost, also called Whitsunday, (Pentecost from Greek pentecost, "50th day"), major festival in the Christian church, celebrated on the Sunday that falls on the 50th day of Easter. We are further told that the Great Commission was an order given to the apostles who Jesus Himself had chosen. So there was still this not fully developed confidence and faith in what had happened, and so He goes even further and asks for some food. Pentecost was the celebration of the beginning of the early wheat harvest, which meant that Pentecost always fell sometime during the middle of the month of May or sometimes in early June. Some of the women mentioned in Acts 1:14 may well have been those who accompanied Jesus and His disciples, and who also contributed to His support (Luke 8:1-3). So if I can come back to the question that I asked, what was going through their mind on that morning of Pentecost? It is the Word of God and it is the Spirit of God that did it for them, and will do it for you and for I today as we live our lives, as we go about our lives. Acts is not the account of God choosing the best and most talented and godly people on the face of the earth, so that He can accomplish the Great Commission. I remember taking my little bag and walking over and kind of looking around, and sitting down on a bench. The Chapel believes the material presented herein to be true to the teaching of Scripture, and desires to further, not restrict, its potential use as an aid in the study of Gods Word. And not for the reality that the 1st century world would have known and experienced, that other dimension. Luke then tells his readers that these two men were sent out by the Holy Spirit. First, there was an unmistakable "sound like a mighty rushing wind" that "filled the entire house" where the believers had gathered. 8 And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong concerning sin and righteousness and judgment 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned (John 16:7-11, emphasis mine). And then they had seen that He was resurrected. During the Temple period, the first fruits of the harvest were brought to the Temple, and two loaves of bread made from the new wheat were offered . And so Luke's account brings this together. I would like to look at Acts 1 in three segments: Verses 1-11 From Christs Resurrection to His Return, Verses 15-26 Filling the Vacancy left by Judas. In his last face-to-face meeting with the Ephesian elders, Paul spoke to them about their responsibilities as shepherds. And to live with the reality that there is a God who judges, who sees, and who knows. We get on to verse 40, the wrap-up: "With many other words, he testified and exhorted them saying, Be saved from this perverse generation, that those who were, who gladly received his word were baptized; about 3,000 souls were added to them. The selection of Matthias as the twelfth apostle is clearly a before, clearly an Old Testament method of seeking Gods will. But on that 50th day, from the morning after Christ's resurrection, a lot had happened. So that when they came to that morning of Pentecost and this mighty event takes place, they were ready then to move into the experience provided, and that extra dimension of power that the Spirit of God would give them and did give to them, and Peter takes the lead to give the sermon of his life. And this express bus took Route 66 out of St. Louis all the way to Los Angeles, my first time to get on that fabled highway, Route 66. 28For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to usnot to place any greater burden on you than these necessary rules: 29 that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what has been strangled and from sexual immorality. And the tomb was empty, and the disciples had seen Jesus, and the authorities were beside themselves trying to figure it out, looked for the body. The apostles did as the angels implied; they returned to Jerusalem to wait. 30 He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:26-31). And He leaves them on the Mount of Olives, which is a very, very significant geographic feature there on the east of Jerusalem across from the city, and through the Kidron Valley and up on this Mount called Olives. ), and the Holy Spirit (1:2, 5, 8, 16). He seals us in Christproof of the promise that we are forever in God's presence ( Ephesians 1:13-14 ). We are no exception today, as we wait and look for the time when the Kingdom will be restored. It's an informed sermon. That power would come in the form of the Holy Spirit. Send inquiries regarding the operation of this Web site to webmaster@ucg.org. We know that unified prayer preceded this process (1:14); indeed prayer was a part of the process (see 1:24-25). And those days you didn't fear getting on a Greyhound bus, and you could go all over the country on a very cheap pass. Let us give thought to the way Luke prepares us for what is yet to come. They stood there, transfixed. What we are seeing here is again, the power of the Word of God. I began this lesson by suggesting that it is an example of a before and after presentation. 2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Again, nothing like this had been a part of their frame of reference before. They remind us that most of the twelve apostles disappear in Acts and the Epistles, and not just Matthias. And so Christ gives them teaching and He gives them understanding. The elixir, the antidote to our faith, to every one of our problems, if we could see a miracle; and we like signs, but miracles, well, they're a little harder to come up with. As I was sitting there gazing around, nobody came. The Day of Pentecost is celebrated 50 days after Easter in Western branches of Christianity. They understood their problem, in verse 38, "He said to them, 'Why are you troubled and why do doubts arise in your hearts?'" The Holy Spirit would internally indict sinners regarding the righteousness of Christ because He cannot be seen any longer. The ministry of the Holy Spirit does not commence in Acts, it continues in Acts. But the Holy Spirit enabled Paul to see what this false prophet was doing and prompted him to pronounce a curse on Bar-Jesus. What do I do about calling a priest father at my Catholic University? It is. I was going to get on a Greyhound bus. It had been organized quite well and in that remote backwater of Judea, the Roman government kept things in order. We take that for the story that it is, and the gift of tongues, and the speaking of tongues that the Scriptures talk about but we don't see that as what we need to be doing in practice or in faith, but it is a dramatic story. As we came here this morning, to services, and as we gathered here this morning ourselves, there is a very important lesson for us to learn as well. He said He wouldn't and He didn't, even though there was a moment in time when they thought that they were orphaned, as they stood gazing up and looking and wondering, "What do we do next. A firstfruit is one who follows Christ. My point here is that Luke links the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of our Lord in the Gospels to the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church in Acts. If all the facts were known, I believe that these two accounts would perfectly compliment each other. Pentecost was unmistakable because of its three distinct phenomena, which served to make it perfectly clear that Jesus had indeed come to His people by His Spirit. Lukes Great Commission (unlike those in the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, and John) was given just prior to His ascension. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.". Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. But I had to go to St. Louis about 100 miles north of my hometown and pick up what they called an express bus, that would go through the larger cities. I happen to think that they, no doubt during this period of time, as the days go on they talked and they read. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up," and this is through the account here in Luke, then, would be the final bodily appearance of Jesus to them. They'd likely not seen it. There is a theme which dominates the 40-day period between the resurrection and ascension of our Lord. And you have to understand that and realize that, that's what they were doing during that period of time as well.

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