Acts 2: 1 15 Pentecost

Target year level: Year Five, Year Seven, Year Eight

Scripture text

Introduction

The Acts of the Apostles is the second part of a larger work, Luke-Acts, attributed to a common author, Luke, whose sophisticated and elegant Greek writing is much admired by scholars. Book One, the Gospel of Luke, has as its primary focus the ministry of Jesus to the Jews culminating in Jerusalem, the centre of Judaism. Book Two, the Acts of the Apostles, has as its primary focus the ministry of Jesus’ disciples beginning in Jerusalem and moving out to the Gentile world culminating in Rome, the centre of the Roman Empire.

For further information, see the Teacher Background information, Who wrote the Gospels and when? and the The New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE),Introduction to Acts .

World behind the text

The book of The Acts of the Apostles was written by the same author as that of the Gospel of Luke. Both books are addressed to ‘Theophilus’, which in Greek means friend of God or (be)loved by God or loving God. The Gospel of Luke was probably written between 80 and 90 CE and The Acts of the Apostles probably in the decade following.

The text originates from an event. It links /aligns with the Jewish festival Shavout (or the Feast of Weeks) which refers to the fifty days after the Passover. The Pentecost events also aligns with the handing down of the Ten Commandments to Moses marking the gathering of Israel (delivery to the promised land after the Exodus from Egypt).

This text was written to signify the importance of the mission of Jesus and that Jesus was the new covenant and is specifically linked to the Jewish Festival of Weeks. This is the foundation event for the modern Christian Church and its evangelising mission.

World of the text

The day of Pentecost (‘the fiftieth day’) is the name used by Greek-speaking Jews for the harvest festival, the ‘Feast of Weeks’, celebrating the conclusion of the grain harvest. The fifty days were counted from the day after the Sabbath following the Passover and the eating of the unleavened bread (Leviticus 23:15-16).

The disciples are still together, gathered in prayer (see 1:14), awaiting the baptism of the Holy Spirit promised them by Jesus (see 1:5). ‘Suddenly from heaven’ the gift is given. Moses ascended Mount Sinai in response to God’s call (Exodus 19:20), and returned with the Torah, sharing with the assembled people what he had received. So it is that Jesus, ‘taken up into heaven’ (1:2), now gives to his assembled disciples the Spirit which he has received from the Father.

Miracle of tongues: The Pentecost tradition may be taken to express the belief that the miracle of the tongues inaugurated the discourse of the heavenly kyrios through his witnesses. Where speaking ‘in tongues’ is equated with prophesying and Luke’s reinterpreting the ‘tongues’ prompted by the Spirit in terms of inspired and intelligible preaching.

Jews from every nation: The reference is to foreign born Jews who have returned to reside in Jerusalem.

They were bewildered: The miracle of the tongues is not understood as one of hearing, the Spirit is in the speakers. At the centre of assembled Israel is the community of Jesus’ disciples, filled with his Spirit ‘and speaking about God’s deeds of power’ in a way that transcends the limits of human communication.

Luke borrows from the dramatic and symbolic language of the Book of Exodus to highlight the connection between the outpouring of the Spirit and the revelation on Mount Sinai: On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, as well as a thick cloud on the mountain, and a blast of a trumpet so loud that all the people who were in the camp trembled. Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord had descended upon it in fire … while the whole mountain shook violently. – Exodus 19:16-18

We might recall also the words of Deuteronomy: On earth he showed you his great fire, while you heard his words coming out of the fire. – Deuteronomy 4:36

Inspired by the Spirit, they were able to speak ‘in other languages.’ The gift given here is precisely in view of intelligible communication. God is reversing the divisions brought about by human pride at Babel (see Genesis 11:7-9). The words of the Spirit transcend the boundaries of human languages and bring together into a communion of love all the peoples of the earth

Key Symbols of Pentecost:

Wind/ Thunder: Perhaps this was a kind of thunder, accompanied with a great wind, which filled the whole company with terror and awe, and disposed them to receive the gift of heaven with humility and fervour. This noise appears to have been heard over a great part of the city, and to have gathered together a great crowd, who came to learn the cause. This noise and wind were symbols of the divinity. It was the same as the manifestation on Mount Sinai - thunder and lightning, the dark cloud, the smoking mountain, etc. - that marked the majesty of God.
Tongues of Fire: A fiery tongue or a flame in shape of a tongue. (see Isaiah 5:24) The expression, therefore, in this place, may mean nothing more than sparks, or rather flames, which appeared above all who were in the house.
Speaking in Tongues: Began to speak diverse tongues. Perhaps the apostles spoke only their own tongue, and the miracle consisted in each one's understanding it as if they spoke it in his language. The author of this text is aiming to make the connection between the first covenant between God and the Israelites at Mount Sinai and the new covenant in Jesus’ re-interpretation of the Jewish Law.

World in front of the text

Church goers and people involved in Christian Studies would be the audience of this text today. Much of the importance of the symbolism of the Pentecost event is misunderstood or lost in the misinterpretation of the symbols of the Holy Spirit and what it is the author is trying to get across to the audience. It is acknowledged as the founding of the Christian Church and its evangelising mission but needs to be understood also in light of Jewish tradition and subsequent feasts of the Passover and ‘The Feast of Weeks’.

The understanding of the Holy Spirit and the associated symbols of the Spirit will be something that will need to be interpreted as the audience may struggle with the concept.

This text would be used at the celebration of Pentecost, and at the Sacrament of Confirmation. It could also be used in spiritual reflection and to inspire social action (namely evangelisation) and a willingness to share the teachings of Jesus. This text could be used to focus on the modern interpretation of the Ten Commandments, a re-interpretation of the school’s rules, vision or mission statement. Students could look for ways to live out the school mission or vision in practical ways in the everyday.

This text needs to be understood in its entirety and is an opportunity for students to understand that the foundation of the Christian Church is deeply rooted in the Jewish tradition and makes links directly to the Law of Moses and the first covenant which sets the scene for the new and everlasting covenant which Jesus entered into. The Pentecost events is at the core of Jesus’ mission as he came not to start something new but to reinvigorate the original interpretation of the Law – The Ten Commandments. The apostles understood this which is what inspired them to spread this message. And the Feast of Weeks in the Holy city of Jerusalem was the perfect opportunity to begin this.