The Mission

Pentecost: The Apostles Begin Their Work

Picture: Pentecost: The Apostles Begin Their Work 4TC 19.1

This chapter is based on Acts 2:1-41.

As the disciples returned from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, the people expected to see confusion and defeat on their faces, but they saw gladness and triumph. The disciples had seen the risen Savior, and His parting promise echoed in their ears. 4TC 19.2

In obedience to Christ’s command, they waited in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit’s outpouring, where they were “continually in the temple, praising and blessing God” (Luke 24:53). They knew they had an Advocate at the throne of God. In awe they bowed in prayer, repeating the assurance, “Whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you” (John 16:23). They extended the hand of faith higher and still higher. 4TC 19.3

As the disciples waited, they humbled their hearts in repentance and confessed their unbelief. Truths that had passed from their memory God brought again to their minds, and they repeated them to one another. Scene after scene of the Savior’s life passed before them. As they meditated on His pure life, they felt that no work would be too hard, no sacrifice too great, if only their lives could bear witness to the loveliness of Christ’s character. If they could live the past three years over again, they thought, how differently they would act! But the thought that they were forgiven comforted them, and they determined, as far as possible, to make up for their unbelief by bravely testifying about Him before the world. 4TC 20.1

The disciples prayed with intense earnestness to be fitted to meet people and speak words that would lead sinners to Christ. Putting away all differences, they came close together. And as they drew nearer to God, they realized what a privilege they had had to associate so closely with Christ. 4TC 20.2

The disciples did not ask for a blessing just for themselves. They felt a great burden for the salvation of others. In obedience to the Savior’s word, they offered their requests for the gift of the Holy Spirit, and in heaven Christ claimed the gift so that He could pour it on His people. 4TC 20.3

How the Holy Spirit Came on the Apostles

“When the Day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.” The Spirit came on the praying disciples with a fullness that reached every heart. Heaven rejoiced in being able to pour out the riches of the Spirit’s grace. Words of repentance and confession mingled with songs of praise. Lost in awe, the apostles grasped the gift they had been given. 4TC 20.4

And what followed? The sword of the Spirit, newly edged with power and bathed in the lightnings of heaven, cut its way through unbelief. Thousands were converted in a day. 4TC 20.5

“When He, the Spirit of truth, has come,” Christ had said, “He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come” (John 16:13). 4TC 21.1

When Christ entered the heavenly gates, He was made king amid the adoration of the angels. The Holy Spirit descended on the disciples, and Christ was truly glorified. The Spirit’s outpouring on the Day of Pentecost was Heaven’s announcement that the Redeemer had been inaugurated. The Holy Spirit was sent as a sign that as Priest and King, He had received all authority in heaven and on earth and was the Anointed One. 4TC 21.2

“Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” The gift of the Holy Spirit enabled the disciples to speak fluently languages that they had not learned. The appearance of fire signified the power that would accompany their work. 4TC 21.3

What the Genuine Gift of Tongues Accomplished

“There were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.” Scattered to almost every part of the world, they had learned to speak various languages. Many of these Jews were in Jerusalem, attending the religious festivals. Every known tongue was represented. This diversity of languages would have greatly hindered the preaching of the gospel. So God miraculously did for the apostles what they could not have accomplished for themselves in a lifetime. Now they could accurately speak the languages of those for whom they were working—a strong evidence that their calling came from Heaven. From this time onward the language of the disciples was pure, simple, and accurate, whether in their native tongue or in a foreign language. 4TC 21.4

The people were “amazed and marveled, saying one to another, ‘Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language?’” 4TC 21.5

The priests and rulers were furious. They had put the Nazarene to death, but here were His servants telling the story of His life and ministry in all the languages then spoken. The priests claimed that they were drunk from the new wine prepared for the feast. But those who understood the different languages testified that the disciples spoke these languages accurately. 4TC 21.6

In answer to the accusation, Peter showed that this fulfilled Joel’s prophecy. He said, “These are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 4TC 22.1

‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy’” (See Joel 2:28, 29.) 4TC 22.2

Conviction That Jesus Was the True Messiah

Peter bore a powerful witness to the death and resurrection of Christ: “Jesus of Nazareth ... you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.” 4TC 22.3

Knowing that his hearers’ prejudice was great, Peter spoke of David, whom the Jews thought of as one of the nation’s greatest leaders. “David says concerning Him, ‘I foresaw the Lord always before My face, for He is at My right hand, that I may not be shaken. ... You will not leave My soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’ ... 4TC 22.4

“Let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.” “He ... spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.” 4TC 22.5

The people pressed in from all directions, crowding the temple. Priests and rulers were there, their hearts still filled with lasting hatred against Christ, their hands not cleansed from the blood they shed when they crucified the world’s Redeemer. They found the apostles fearless and filled with the Spirit, proclaiming that Jesus of Nazareth is divine, declaring boldly that the One whom cruel hands had so recently humiliated and crucified is the Prince of life, exalted to the right hand of God. 4TC 23.1

Some who listened had taken part in Christ’s condemnation and death, their voices having called for His crucifixion. When Pilate asked, “Whom do you want me to release to you?” they had shouted, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” When Pilate delivered Christ to them, they had called out, “His blood be on us and on our children.” (Matthew 27:17; John 18:40; Matthew 27:25.) 4TC 23.2

Now they heard the disciples proclaiming that it was the Son of God they had crucified. Priests and rulers trembled. Conviction and anguish seized the people. They said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” The power that accompanied the speaker convinced them that Jesus was truly the Messiah. 4TC 23.3

“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” 4TC 23.4

Thousands in Jerusalem Converted

Peter urged the guilt-stricken people to recognize that they had rejected Christ because the priests and rulers had deceived them, and that if they continued to look to these men they would never accept Christ. These powerful men were ambitious for earthly glory. They were not willing to come to Christ to receive light. 4TC 23.5

The scriptures that Christ had explained to the disciples stood out in their minds with the luster of perfect truth. The veil was now removed, and they understood with perfect clarity the purpose of Christ’s mission and the nature of His kingdom. As they opened the plan of salvation to their hearers, many were convicted and convinced. Traditions and superstitions were swept away, and they accepted the teachings of the Savior. 4TC 23.6

“Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” In Jerusalem, the stronghold of Judaism, thousands of people openly declared their faith in Jesus as the Messiah. 4TC 24.1

The disciples were astonished and overjoyed. They did not think of this as the result of their own efforts; they realized that they were building on the work of others. Christ had sown the seed of truth and watered it with His blood. The conversions on the Day of Pentecost were the harvest of His work. 4TC 24.2

The apostles’ arguments alone would not have removed prejudice. But the Holy Spirit sent the words of the apostles to their targets like sharp arrows of the Almighty, convicting the people of their terrible guilt in rejecting the Lord of glory. 4TC 24.3

The disciples were no longer ignorant and uncultured, a collection of independent, conflicting interests. They were of “one accord,” “of one heart and one soul.” They had become like their Master in mind and character, and others recognized that “they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 2:46; 4:32, 13.) The truths they could not understand while Christ was with them now became clear. No longer was it only a matter of faith with them that Christ was the Son of God. They knew that He truly was the Messiah, and they told their experience with a confidence that carried with it the conviction that God was with them. 4TC 24.4

Brought into close fellowship with Christ, the disciples sat with Him “in heavenly places.” A love that was full, deep, and far-reaching drove them to go to the ends of the earth, filled with an intense longing to carry forward the work He had begun. The Spirit gave them power and spoke through them. The peace of Christ radiated from their faces. They had devoted their lives to Him, and their faces themselves witnessed to the surrender they had made. 4TC 24.5