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Acts 2:1-21—When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³ And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

⁵ Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. ⁷ And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? ⁹ Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, ¹¹ both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” ¹² And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³ But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

¹⁴ But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. ¹⁵ For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. ¹⁶ But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷ “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;

¹⁸ even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

¹⁹ And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;

²⁰ the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

²¹ And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today is Pentecost Sunday which marks the beginning of the last days. God’s Spirit who was there at the beginning of creation hovering over the face of the waters is now sent spreading the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus to all mankind which comes through the waters of baptism (Act. 2:38).

Pentecost, as you have heard in years past, was initially a Jewish festival which remembered when God descended on Mt. Sinai in fire and cloud in order to give the Ten Commandments which was God’s covenant with the people of Israel. In our text, God again descends in fire with the New Covenant to God’s people which replaces the old covenant. God gives this New Covenant in Christ’s blood to all humanity So the disciples speak about Jesus and the Gospel.

The Jewish festival of Pentecost was celebrated fifty days after Passover. At Passover, the people of Israel remembered how God had protected them from the angel of death by the blood of the lamb smeared on their doorposts. They remembered how Pharaoh and his army had been defeated by drowning in the Red Sea. Fifty days later on the day of Pentecost, the Israelites remembered how they assembled before Mt. Sinai which was covered in fire and smoke. They stood far off from the mountain out of fear of God’s command to not touch the mountain. They remembered how God’s terrifying voice spoke to them the words of His law, His Torah.

In our text, it has been fifty days since Christ’s Passover. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world has been slain. Fifty days before this day the angel of death descended upon Christ as He hung on the cross. Now the voice of God comes again to His people assembled around His holy mountain – Mt. Zion. The enemies of sin, death, and the devil have been defeated. The voice of God comes to them, and they cannot help but spread the Good News of the voice of God to all the people assembled in Jerusalem.

Jesus had promised the disciples, “Repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in [My] name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Lk. 24:47). Now we see how easy God made it for this to happen. Rather than the disciples having to travel to every corner of the earth, God brings “devout men from every nation under heaven” to Jerusalem to stand right before the disciples so they can hear. Paul reaffirms this in Ro. 10:18 saying that the Gospel of Christ has indeed gone throughout the earth even to the ends of the world.

Peter, and those who were with him, were accused of being drunk with new wine because of how they prophesied, preaching about the mighty acts of God which Christ had done.

Peter says that what is happening at the Pentecost is that the last days have come. God has poured His Spirit out on all flesh. So all sorts of people are prophesying about what God has done with sin – He has condemned sin in the flesh (Ro. 8:3) of Jesus.

Peter uses these words from Joel 2:28-32 to say that the events of Pentecost are God’s activity in the last days. A new age has arrived (I. H. Marshall).

To understand all of this, it is important to know context of the verses from Joel. In Joel, a plague of locusts has come and gone, and Joel is now calling the people to repentance before the day of the Lord comes.

Jesus spoke about how the judgment of the world had come in His cross (Jn. 12:31). God’s judgment against the sin of the world all falls on Christ as God pours out all His wrath against sin upon Christ. That’s why, as Peter continues his sermon after our text (which will be one of our texts next week), Peter speaks about Christ and the cross.

Peter speaks about how Christ did many miraculous signs among the people, yet He was delivered to sinful men to be crucified and killed. However, God did not allow Jesus to see corruption, but raised Him from the dead. Jesus then ascended to the Father where He sits ruling as Lord over all creation.

The people are “cut to the heart” because of this message. So the Holy Spirit directs Peter to prophesy the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name.

This message is for you here today. God gives an urgency to this message because these are the last days. God’s final attack on sin has occurred in the person of Jesus Christ. Therefore, be united with Him through baptism. Are you already baptized? Good; remember the promise God made to you there. His promise is that He has forgiven your sins, made you His child, and ushered you into His presence now and forever. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.