Acts 2
(1) God’s Spirit Poured Out
When the Pentecost holiday came, they were all together in the same place. All of a sudden, a noise came from above that sounded like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house they were sitting in. Then they saw something like flames of fire appear and be distributed to each of them. It rested on them, and they were all filled with the Special Spirit and began saying things in other languages. They said whatever the Spirit gave them the ability to say.
(5) God’s People Heard in All Languages
There were plenty of devout Jews living in Jerusalem from all over the world, and when this sound was made, a crowd of people gathered—and they were bewildered because they could all hear the disciples speaking in their native languages. They were astonished and amazed, saying,
“But aren’t these people from Galilee? How can we all be hearing them talk in our own languages from our home countries? Represented here are: Parthians, Medes, and Elamites… people from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia… Pontus and Asia… Phrygia and Pamphylia… Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene… visitors from Rome… both Jews and converts, Cretans and Arabians—and we all hear them talking in our own languages about how magnificent God is!”
Completely dumbfounded, everyone was at a loss for words, asking themselves,
“What does this mean?”
But there were others who mocked them, saying,
“Oh, those guys must just be drunk on some new wine!”
(14) Joel Predicted God’s Spirit would Come
But Peter took a stand with the 11 and loudly said,
“People of Judea and Jerusalem, listen to what I’m about to say. Know that these guys aren’t drunk like you’re suggesting—it’s only 9am! But this is what God said through the prophet Joel:
‘In the last days I’ll pour out My Spirit/breath on everyone’s physical bodies. Your sons and daughters will speak on My behalf [prophesy]. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I’ll even pour our My Spirit on My slaves (both male and female), and they’ll also speak on My behalf. I’ll produce marvels in the sky above and signs on the earth below—there will be blood, fire, and smoke. The sun will turn dark, and the moon will turn blood red before the Existing One’s intense and remarkable day comes. Everyone who calls on the Existing One will be rescued.’
—Joel 2:28–32
(22) Jesus was Legit
“People of Israel, listen to what I’m about to say about Jesus the Nazarene. God proved Jesus’s authenticity to you by doing powerful miracles, signs, and marvels right in front of you—as you’ve already seen. According to God’s predetermined plan and His foreknowledge, Jesus was handed over to you, and godless people crucified Him and killed Him. But God raised Him back up, dissolving the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held under its power.
(25) David Predicted a Resurrection
“And here’s what David said about Jesus:
‘I can always see the Master with me through everything. After all, He’s at my right hand, preventing me from being rattled. That’s why my heart is glad and my mouth rejoices. On top of that, my fleshly body also lives with hopeful expectations of the future. You won’t leave my soul behind in Hades [the realm of the dead]. You won’t take Your Upright One and give Him over to decay. You opened my eyes to the ways of life. You fill me with happiness that comes just from being with You.’
—Psalm 16:8–11
(29) Jesus is the One Causing Languages to Flow
“Friends, I can confidently tell you that the patriarch David both died and was buried—his tomb is still here today. But he was a prophet who knew that God promised to seat one of his descendants on the throne. That’s why he looked ahead and talked about the Chosen One’s resurrection, saying that the He wouldn’t be abandoned to Hades and that His body wouldn’t suffer decay. God raised up Jesus, and we’re all eyewitnesses of that! Jesus was elevated to God’s right hand and received the promised Special Spirit from the Father! And now He’s pouring out all this that you’re seeing and hearing now! David didn’t ascend into the sky, but he said,
‘The Existing One told my Master: “Sit at My right hand until I turn your enemies into a footstool for your feet.”’
—Psalm 100:1“So let the entire family of Israel know for sure that God has made Jesus both the Master and the Chosen One. It’s all talking about the Jesus who you crucified!”
(37) Come to God
When the crowd heard that, they were pierced to the heart. They asked Peter and the rest of the apostles,
“Brothers, what should we do?”
Peter told them,
“You guys need to change your mindsets and become immersed [baptized] in the way of Jesus the Chosen One. Then your shortcomings will be forgiven, and you’ll receive the gift of the Special Spirit. After all, the promise is for you and your kids! It’s for the people who are far away—as many people as the Ruler our God will invite to Himself.”
(40) 3,000 People Join Team Jesus
Then Peter earnestly kept telling them lots of other things and encouraged them, saying,
“Break free from this convoluted society!”
Lots of people ended up taking his message to heart and were immersed. About 3,000 souls joined them that day, and they devoted themselves to: the apostles’ teachings, living in close community, sharing meals together, and praying.
(43) God’s People Lived in Unity
Each of them felt a sense of awe, and lots of marvels and confirming miracles kept taking place through the apostles. Everyone banking on Jesus together had everything in common. They started selling their possessions and property and sharing them with everyone else—whoever was in need. As the days went on, they kept operating under a unified mentality, going to church and eating together in their various homes. They did these things with simple motives and were full of happiness. As they did so, they raved about God, and everyone who interacted with them only had good things to say about them. Every day the Ruler added more people to their group, increasing the number of people who were being rescued.
