Acts 2:1-21 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
The Day of Pentecost Sunday, June 8, 2025 “God Pours Out His Spirit”
They were surprised, but they should have known. That’s true of many people in Palestine early in the first century. People were surprised at the popularity of Jesus. They wondered aloud about anything good coming from Nazareth, but they should have known the prophecies that foretold his being called a Nazarene. They could have learned about his birth in Bethlehem and associated that with other important prophecies, too. The disciples should have known about the betrayal and suffering and death of Jesus. He told them more than once about these things, but they were still surprised when they happened. They were surprised again when they saw Jesus alive, even though he predicted that for himself and even though the Scriptures had foretold it. And then, ten days after Jesus ascended into heaven, another surprise. Again, it was a surprise that Jesus had told his disciples about. He had told them it was coming. He had been promising (you heard and example of one of these promises today), promising to send the Counselor, his Holy Spirit. He had promised to baptize the disciples with power. Did other people know about these promises? The crowds were surprised, too. Did the disciples know the day when things would happen? Maybe not. Here’s how Jesus had it happen. The day was Pentecost, a special festival that the people had long been celebrating. In Jerusalem was a crowd from all over the place. That list of place names is one of those parts of the Bible that you don’t want to get called on for reading out loud, because there are some big words and some strange words. But those were the places in almost a big circle around Judea and Jerusalem. The people were in the city for the festival. And this time, it was no ordinary Pentecost. On that day, Jesus did what he had promised. He poured out his Holy Spirit on his disciples. It may have surprised those men, exactly how it happened. It certainly surprised the crowds for a number of reasons. The whole event started with the sound of a mighty wind. Jesus once told Nicodemus that the Spirit of God was like the wind. You don’t know where it comes from or where it goes, but you see what happens when it gusts. That day, it wasn’t a wind that the people noticed. It was the sound of a wind, a violent wind. It gave a sound to something that otherwise would not have it. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit came with a unique sight as well. Tongues of fire that came down and rested over the head of each disciple. There was no mistaking this sign and appearance. Something unique and special was going on. These men were singled out for it. And then they began to speak. And people from all around that world heard them speaking their own native languages. The disciples had not taken any classes. They were not working on language-learning apps. They were given a gift to be able to speak in an instant a language they had never learned before. They witnessed Babel in reverse. Suddenly, there was no barrier to them sharing wonderful news. That’s what they did. As the crowd noted, they were sharing the wonderful works of God. That was enough to get some attention. Actually, it got a lot of attention. And that was the goal. That was the purpose of the flames and the wind-sound. That was the goal of proclaiming news in not just a language that people could understand, but in the language of their hearts and of their experience and of their comfort level. They heard their very own language. These men were talking to them. Of course they wanted to hear what they had to say. On the other hand, it turns out that not everyone was impressed. Some made fun of the disciples and claimed they were drunk, as if that were a valid explanation of what was happening early that morning. No, what was happening was exactly what Jesus had promised. What was happening was he was pouring out his Spirit on his chosen disciples and apostles. On so many occasions previous, they had been scared and hesitant. So many times even while Jesus was with them, they missed the point of what he was saying and teaching. But the Holy Spirit was providing the power they needed. We heard Jesus tell his disciples in our Gospel last week: “stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high”