Acts 2:33 – The Outpouring of the Spirit
Acts 2:33 – The Outpouring of the Spirit
Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
Acts 2:33
The book of Acts is the second book Luke wrote and is unmistakably a sequel to his first book, the gospel according to Luke. In order to understand the book of Acts, we must pay close attention to the first two verses. Luke writes, “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up....” By this introduction Luke clearly connects his gospel and the book of Acts. In both books it is all about Jesus Christ. Both books preach Christ. In his gospel, as Luke himself says, he deals with the beginning of what Jesus did and taught. In the book of Acts he gives us the continuation. In this second book he proclaims the words and deeds of Christ who has ascended into heaven.
Whoever wants to understand the events of Pentecost in Jerusalem correctly, may not forget this framework of the book of Acts. What Luke tells us in Acts 2 is clearly in the Christological framework. Pentecost is not first of all the feast of the Holy Spirit, but the feast of the exalted Christ. He sent the promise of his Father upon the apostles (cf. Lk 24:49) and baptizes them with the Holy Spirit and with fire (cf. Mt 3:11).
It should strike us that Luke at the end of his gospel as well as at the beginning of his second book, relates what Jesus said about “the promise of his Father.” By doing this, Luke relates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the light of the Old Testament prophecy. What Joel and Ezekiel spoke about, is now being fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. Christ, who ascended into heaven, now fulfills the ancient promise to which John the Baptist referred in his preaching regarding Jesus. Finally it happens: Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire!
That the pouring out of the Holy Spirit is indeed an act of the exalted Savior is also evident from Luke’s report of Peter’s Pentecost sermon.
When we read that report in Acts 2, we notice that Peter in his sermon does not proclaim the Person and work of the Holy Spirit, but preaches very intensely Jesus the Christ. Peter too starts with the prophecy of the Old Testament: “this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel.” Peter does not preach the fulfillment of this prophecy as an act of the Holy Spirit but as an act of Jesus. The apostle speaks about Christ’s suffering, his resurrection and exaltation. Doing this he repeatedly quotes the Old Testament. For the “men of Israel” have to know that in Jesus of Nazareth the Scriptures have been fulfilled. This Jesus whom they delivered and killed, is truly the Christ. This was apparent already in the powers and miracles Jesus performed. It was especially apparent when God raised him from the dead. But most of all it becomes apparent in what now happens in Jerusalem: the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is exactly the outpouring of the Spirit that is the undeniable proof that Jesus is truly the Christ, and that God has made him Lord.
This is how Peter’s sermon on Pentecost is concentrated in our text: “Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.”
It took indeed a long time before the prophecy of the outpouring of the Spirit could be fulfilled. The way was long and necessary. It was a way of suffering, glorification and exaltation (cf. Jn 7:39). The Bearer of the Spirit could not be the Sender of the Spirit unless he completed the great work the Father had given him to do. But when it was finished and Jesus had entered the heavenly sanctuary with his blood (cf. Heb 9:11, 12) the time had come for the Spirit to be poured out.
Jesus received the promised Spirit from his Father as the reward for his toilsome labor, and so could pour out this Spirit on those who belonged to him.
Indeed, amazing things are happening in the house where the disciples are together. We can understand that the bystanders are beside themselves in amazement and ask: “What does this mean?”
For the coming of the Spirit is attended with no less than three very special signs. First there is suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind. Then a miraculous fire, tongues as of fire that separate and come to rest on each of them. Finally, there is the speaking in other tongues.
All three are signs that testify to the theophany, the coming of God to man.
These three signs are a clear reminder of the appearance of the LORD at Mount Sinai. That appearance too was attended with a storm wind (cf. Heb 12:18), with fire (cf. Ex 19:18), and with a voice (cf. Dt 4:12).
The coming of the Spirit on Pentecost was accompanied with signs that the Jews could know from the history of salvation. They were the typical signs of the theophany. When these signs appeared, Israel would know: God is present, God is in our midst!
In light of the history of salvation the signs of Pentecost are a powerful proclamation. Jesus sends not just a heavenly power to earth but the Holy Spirit him self, the eternal, almighty God. He sends the Spirit who renews human hearts and gives life to the dead. It is through this Spirit that Christ continues his work here on earth. The book of Acts is indeed the sequel to Luke’s gospel. In this second book Luke tells us how Christ continues his work through the preaching of the apostles. This preaching is living and powerful and works faith, because the Spirit has come, because from heaven Jesus has baptized with the Holy Spirit.
All those who obey this Word may share in this gift of the Spirit. We no longer have privileged church members, as in the old covenant. It is the congregation that receives the Spirit: there is a fire that comes to rest on each of them (cf. Acts 2:3). As a member of the congregation of believers I share the riches of Pentecost. Peter proclaims emphatically that the promise of Joel’s prophecy is now for all (cf. Acts 2:39).
Pentecost is the feast of Christ. This is how Luke proclaims it in Acts 1 and 2. This is how we should keep it. Anyone who separates the Spirit from Jesus Christ will never obtain the assurance of faith. But anyone who sees the Spirit of Pentecost as the Spirit of Christ, as the great Gift he obtained for his people, may know: in Christ the Spirit has also been given to me, to comfort me and to remain with me forever.
To belong to Christ is at the same time belonging to God the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom 8:9b). For it is Christ who on Pentecost has poured out what they saw and heard.
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