sign in sign up
<<
Home , Pentecost

Pentecost Study

Gospel :1-21 The comes on Pentecost

When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided , as of fire, appeared among them, and a rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in . And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, , Elamites, and residents of , and , and , and , and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from , both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs-- in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power." All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine."

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet :

`In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' " Questions to Wonder with kids:  What do you suppose the disciples were doing on Pentecost, that day when the Holy Spirit showed up? Do you think they were expecting that?

 What did it sound like when the Spirit showed up? What did it look like? I wonder what you would do if you saw that happen in church one …

 What did the Spirit do to the disciples?

 Who heard the disciples talking? Why do you suppose they were so surprised to hear the disciples speaking their own languages?

 Have you ever been somewhere where they spoke a different language than what you speak? What was that like?

 What would you think if you were there as one of the bystanders?

 What did the bystanders think about what they were hearing? Did they believe the disciples?

 Peter quotes from one of the Old Testament prophets, a man of God named Joel who spoke God’s words and declared God’s will. Joel predicts that God will “pour out his Spirit” on all kinds of people. I wonder what that would be like, what it would feel like…Would that be something you’d want to happen to you?

 The prophet Joel also predicts some pretty scary sounding things will happen afterwards— sun turned to darkness, moon turning blood . But Joel assures us that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” I wonder what he meant by that…Is that a promise you think you should hold on to?

Adults 1. This passage takes place on Pentecost, which for the Jews is known as the Feast of Weeks or . One of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals of , Shavuot is marks the all-important wheat harvest in the Land of Israel (Ex 34:22), and it commemorates the anniversary of the day when God gave the to the nation of Israel assembled at Mount Sinai. It comes 50 days after , and the two are connected theologically as well: On Passover, the people of Israel were freed from their enslavement to Pharaoh; on Shavuot, they were given the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God. How might we compare and contrast the Jewish Shavuot and Christian Pentecost?

2. How does the Holy Spirit manifest itself on Pentecost? How does the Spirit appear at other points in Scripture? What theological significance can we make of the way the Spirit appears here, i.e. How is the Spirit related to fire, rushing wind, etc? What other symbols are there for the Holy Spirit?

3. What is the effect of the Spirit on the gathered (huddled?) disciples?

4. Why are the bystanders outside attracted to the Spirit-bearing disciples?

5. Have you ever seen or heard someone “”? How is what happened on Pentecost different from “speaking in tongues” practiced in Pentecostal churches (cf. 1 Cor 13:1)?

6. Luke (the author of Acts) lists a number of names for the places of origin of the bystanders. Why would all these different ethnicities be in Jerusalem at this point? Here’s a map of the nations that are listed:

7. One way to understand what God is doing here is to say that God is undoing the story of the (Genesis 11:1-9). What do you think about that interpretation?

8. Another scriptural connection that can be made is to the story of Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14). The connection is not as immediate, but what linkages can you make between Ezekiel’s vision of God resuscitating the dead and what is happening here at Pentecost?

9. How do these bystanders make sense of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit among the disciples? What is Peter’s reaction?

10. What passage does Peter quote as his interpretation of what they are experiencing? What does that scripture say will come after the “pouring out of the Spirit on all flesh”? Does that sound like something you would be excited about, or something you would fear?

11. The prophet Joel also predicts some pretty scary sounding things will happen afterwards—sun turned to darkness, moon turning blood red. But Joel assures us that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” That promise is repeated three times in the : here, :31, and Romans 10:13. How do you understand this promise?

12. What would you think if someone starting speaking in a foreign language during one of our worship services? Would you see that as a manifestation of God, or of a mental illness? Why?

13. During the time of the Anglican revivalist John Wesley (1700s), the people of and leadership of the Church took a suspicious view of religious “enthusiasm” and did everything they could to squash Wesley’s renewal efforts. Do you think that happens today? If so, where do you see it? Would you support such efforts, or would you support the “enthusiasts”? Would you work to renew the church?

14. Where do you see “Pentecost” happening today? Here in Richmond? In our country? Around the world?