Tasting the Day of the Lord (Acts 2:1-13)
Introduction
Christ promised his disciples power from on high. This power? The Holy Spirit would come upon them and empower them to carry the gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. But how do we know this promise is real? How do we know that Christ is truly with us until the end of the age? How do we know that Christ is my Christ? The answer begins at Pentecost, where heaven broke open upon a small, crowded city, and history was radically changed.
What are these tongues?
The city is packed. People from all over the world fill the streets. Then, all of a sudden, wind and fire descend on the gathered disciples. One might think this is just a storm. However, one quickly realizes that this is God's visible presence. This is what we call a theophany: a visible manifestation of God himself.
The rushing wind echoes Ezekiel's breath of God giving life. The fire recalls every terrifying moment in Scripture when people either encounter God or are consumed by him. We think of Mount Sinai and the burning bush. We think of fire falling on Sodom and Gomorrah, or the judgment that came upon those who offered false worship. This kind of fire has a way of reducing things, and people, to ash.
Which makes the next detail stunning: the disciples were not consumed. The fullness of God's glory fell upon them, and they were not reduced to a pile of ashes. The tongues of fire did not destroy them, but equipped them to bring the gospel to the nations. This is the great declaration of Pentecost: the people of Christ have passed through the first phase of the day of the Lord. The fire of judgment fell, and they are still standing. Those who bow the knee to Christ pass through fiery judgment, and emerge as heralds.
Why the International People?
Pentecost is the Feast of Weeks, one of the great pilgrim feasts of Israel. Jerusalem would have been packed with Jewish pilgrims from across the known world making this an international gathering. When the Spirit fell, these Galilean fishermen began proclaiming the gospel in the native languages of their listeners, Galilean accent and all. The crowd was dumbstruck. This was no language course. This was God reversing Babel.
Remember the scene at Babel? The earthlings tried to capture God, to harness his power for their own glory. God responded by scattering humanity and confusing their language. Now, at Pentecost, he calls the nations back together. God does this by his own gracious condescension. The gospel is not the property of one nation or one nationality. It goes to all nations, in every tongue, because the God of Israel is the God of the whole earth.
Why the double reaction?
The crowd split. Some were amazed and perplexed. They could not explain what they saw, but they knew it was the Lord's doing. Others were dismissive, accusing those speaking in tongues of having had too much to drink. We are invited to ask ourselves: what is your reaction? Is this the Lord's divine blessing at work? Or does it seem like a strange, drunken spectacle?
There are two reactions to one event. This pattern runs through the whole book of Acts and through all of Christian history. The seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent will always be at war until the final day of the Lord. But even now, we already taste the spiritual blessings of Pentecost, as Paul says the first fruits of the final victory harvest, and we wait for the full physical blessings when Christ returns to fulfill Zechariah 14.
Conclusion
Pentecost is the bridge between heaven and earth. It is the moment God accomplished in Christ what humanity attempted at Babel and failed. Man will not capture God, but God captures man. The glory of God does not stay locked away in the highest heaven. By the Spirit, God's glory dwells within his people. Our God is sanctifying us, uniting us to our Savior, and sending his people out with a gospel that reaches to the ends of the earth. Let us see the beauty of that. Let us draw near to the Christ who has drawn near to us.