Deo Gloria
May 28, 2023
Sermon for Pentecost Sunday
Pastor Martin Bentz
Text: Acts 2:1-21
Theme: God Pours Out His Spirit on His People!
- To equip them to proclaim his Word
- That others may believe and be saved
Imagine you applied for a summer job at Target. And you were hired. You were pretty excited about your new job. You knew it might be challenging at times and you might have to put in some long days, but you were ready for the challenge and you needed the money. Then came the first day of work. You showed up a little early just to be safe. The boss greeted you at the door and said, “Well, you’re it today. A number of people are gone on vacation and the rest called in sick, so you’re it. I’ll be back at 9:00 tonight to help close up.” And with that he left. You would have stopped him and asked a few questions, but you were too busy picking your jaw up off the floor. “What? How in the world?” you ask yourself. “How can I run the cash register, help the customers, stock the shelves and retrieve the shopping carts from the parking lot—all at the same time! It isn’t possible. The job is too big for me, too big for anyone.”
That’s probably how the disciples felt when they thought about the mission Jesus had given them: to go and make disciples of all nations. How could they ever accomplish such an awesome task? On their own, of course, they couldn’t. But God didn’t expect them to do it on their own. He sent someone to help them, to empower them, to equip them for their all-important task. He sent them the Holy Spirit. That’s what Pentecost is all about: Jesus kept his promise and sent the Holy Spirit to his disciples. Today we remember what God did for his disciples then and what he still does for his disciples today. God pours out his Spirit on his people, to equip them to proclaim his Word, so that others may believe and be saved.
As Luke tells us, the disciples were meeting together in the city of Jerusalem. Where and why they were meeting we aren’t sure. Were they meeting in the Upper Room, the very same room where they had celebrated the Passover with Jesus? Or were they perhaps meeting in the home where Jesus appeared to them on that first Easter evening? We don’t know. But we do know what happened while they were meeting. “Suddenly,” Luke tells us, “a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting”(v. 2). Ever heard the sound of a tornado? They say it sounds like a freight train, barreling right down your street. That’s the kind of sound the disciples heard: the sound of a violent, rushing wind. And “they saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them”(v. 3). John the Baptist had predicted that Jesus would baptize his followers with the Holy Spirit and fire. And that’s what the disciples saw: tongues of fire that came to rest on each of them. And “all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them”(v. 4).
This speaking in tongues was not some sort of unintelligible gibberish. How do we know? Because of what happened next. Again Luke tells us:
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?” (vv. 6+8)
What an amazing miracle! The Holy Spirit enabled the disciples to speak in other languages, so they could communicate the message of God’s Word to the people who had come to Jerusalem for the festival of Pentecost.
Pentecost, you see, was an important Jewish festival. We might compare it to Thanksgiving Day today. It was one of three annual festivals when every faithful Jew was supposed to make the trip to Jerusalem and worship at the temple. And many Jewish people had come, from all over the world: from as far away as Africa and even from Rome. This was the occasion when God chose to pour out his Spirit on his disciples, when all these people from all these different countries were gathered in Jerusalem. And the Spirit made it possible for the disciples to communicate with these people, to speak in their own languages, so they could tell them about the wonderful things God had done for them in Jesus.
And notice something else as well. Notice the courage and the confidence of the disciples. I mean wasn’t this the same Peter who had been afraid to confess Jesus as his Savior before a group of soldiers? And weren’t these the same disciples who on that first Easter evening met together behind locked doors for fear of the Jews? But look at them now, boldly standing up in front of a large crowd of people, boldly proclaiming the good news of salvation in Christ. Where did they get such courage, such boldness, such confidence? From the Spirit. The Holy Spirit gave them the courage to speak out publicly about Jesus, when before they had been afraid. The Holy Spirit gave them the confidence to stand up in front of this large crowd of people and tell them about Jesus and what he had done for them.
The Spirit does the same for Jesus’ disciples today. Yes, God has poured out his Spirit on us as well, perhaps not in as dramatic a fashion as he did on that day of Pentecost. But nevertheless, he has poured out his Spirit on us. He did so at the time of our baptism, when we too were baptized not just with water, but with the Spirit, when the Holy Spirit descended on us and filled our hearts, when the Holy Spirit set our hearts on fire with faith and love for Jesus.
And just as he equipped the disciples back then to proclaim God’s Word, so he does the same for us. He equips us so we too can proclaim God’s Word. No, he may not have given us the ability to speak in different languages, languages we have never studied before. Not that he doesn’t do that anymore. I believe he still does with our missionaries. When he enables them to learn a foreign language so they can tell the people in Africa or South America or Indonesia or Japan the good news about Jesus, he is doing the same thing he did on the day of Pentecost. But do you and I need such a gift? Do we need to be able to speak in a foreign language in order to tell other people about Jesus? Not at all. There are all kinds of people we can tell about Jesus and the vast majority of them speak English, people we know, people we work with and go to school with, people who live just down the street from us.
Our problem is not an inability to communicate with such people. Our problem is our own reluctance and fear, and our misplaced priorities. We aren’t afraid to tell our co-workers about our fishing trip or about our plans for the weekend, but can we tell them about Jesus? We aren’t afraid to talk to our neighbors about the deck we’re building or about the car we’re working on, but can we tell them about Jesus? We aren’t afraid to talk to our friends about the latest movie we saw or a series we’ve been watching on Netflix, but can we tell them about Jesus? Are we afraid of what people might think of us if we did start talking about Jesus? Are we afraid we might look silly or foolish? Are we afraid that our friends might reject us and not want to be our friends anymore? Or is it really not that important to us? We aren’t concerned about doing the work Jesus has given us, because we’re more concerned about doing what we want to do. May God forgive us for such sins, for being so timid and fearful at times, for being so foolish and unconcerned about the important mission our Lord has given us! May God have mercy on us and forgive us for the sake of Jesus Christ our Savior!
For his sake, let’s speak up. You and I can talk to others about Jesus with the same courage and the same confidence as Peter, because we have been given the same Spirit. God has poured out his Spirit on us too, on all his people, to help us and equip us to proclaim his Word. Look to the Spirit for help. Look to him for wisdom and guidance and courage and confidence. He will help you just as he did Peter and the other disciples. He will help you proclaim God’s Word and speak up for Jesus, so that others too might believe and be saved.
That’s the goal, isn’t it? That’s why the Spirit does what he does, why he equips God’s people and enables them to proclaim God’s Word, so other people might believe and be saved. Let’s listen again to Peter as he explains all of this to the people in Jerusalem:
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd:
Fellow Jews and all of you who are in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “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”(vv. 14-18).
The Scriptures came true again. How many times don’t we read that concerning the life and ministry of Jesus? How many times don’t we hear that phrase: “All this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet”? Every significant event in God’s plan of salvation was foretold in the Old Testament Scriptures. And every one came true: that he was born of a virgin, that he was born in Bethlehem, that he was raised in Nazareth, that he suffered and died for the sins of his people, that he was laid in a tomb, that he rose again on the 3rd day, that he ascended once again to the right hand of the Father. And now one more has been fulfilled: God has poured out his Spirit on his people, just as he promised.
You know what that means, right? Peter connects the dots for us. It means there’s only one main event left: Judgment Day.
I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.(vv. 19+20)
The end is coming. As surely as Jesus lived, as surely as he died on the cross, as surely as he rose again on the third day, as surely as he poured out his Spirit on the day of Pentecost, so you and I can be absolutely sure that Jesus will come again, that the great and glorious day of the Lord is coming! And who can stand? Who can stand on the great and glorious day of the Lord? Who can stand before the Judge of heaven and earth and not be condemned for his sins? Peter gives us the answer: all those who believe, all those call on the name of the Lord, who confess him as their Lord and Savior, will be saved. And those who don’t, won’t.
Now do you see the importance of your mission? God sent his Son to suffer and die for the sins of the world that we might not be condemned but might live with him forever in heaven. And now he has given us his Spirit so that we can share this message of forgiveness and salvation with others, so that friend of ours, that co-worker of ours, that neighbor of ours might also come to know Jesus as their Savior, that they might call on his name—not Allah’s name, not Buddha’s name, not their own name, but Jesus’ name—that they might call on his name and be saved.
And look at the opportunity God is giving us to carry out that mission, very similar to the opportunity he gave his disciples. Jesus told them to go and make disciples of all nations. But on the day of Pentecost they didn’t have to go anywhere, because he had brought the people to them, right there to the city of Jerusalem. All they had to do is speak up and tell them, and the Spirit enabled them to do so. God is doing the same today. We don’t have to go very far either to find people from many different countries and many different nations. God is bringing them here, to our schools and our universities, to our places of work and even to our neighborhoods. Many are even willing to risk their lives to come here. In many cases, they already know English or want to learn English so they can live and work here and raise their families. Do you think all of that is just an accident, a mere coincidence? I don’t. I believe it’s all part of God’s plan, to give his people, people like you and me, the opportunity to share his Word with people from all over the world, that others too might believe and be saved.
What a job our Savior has given us, not a summer job or a weekend job, a life-long mission! And what a privilege! Yes, at times it may seem a bit overwhelming, more than you or I could do; but don’t worry. God has given us all the help we need. He has poured out his Spirit on his people, to help us share his Word with others, that they too might believe and be saved. Amen.