5/31/17
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
I have made comments about this passage from Acts 2 in other contexts. I’d like to observe today that the witnesses of God’s outpouring of the Spirit were from many nations. They had a wide variety of backgrounds. However, something we should be aware of is that they were all Jewish. They had come to Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. Though some were born into Jewish families, many were proselytes. They were converts to Judaism.
Why had these people from all around the Mediterranean world come to Jerusalem? They came to bring their offerings for the time of celebration that God gives a harvest. They had come to recognize God’s loving provision for his people. The feast of Pentecost was the offering of the first fruits of a year’s harvest. If there is no harvest, the people starve.
What did the people find? They found God giving them an offering of the first fruits. He was pouring out His Spirit. He was speaking, through the apostles, of His glory. It is God’s glory to care for his people in need. This is exactly what Pentecost is all about.
We also notice that God was using the apostles to speak in languages they didn’t know. The communication was meaningful to the hearers but not to the speakers. We benefit greatly from hearing in our own language how God has been merciful. However, we notice that when it is explained, it is in the common language, known to all the community. Peter speaks in Greek, the international language of the day. While God may use special gifts to gain our attention, he does not always rely on those gifts. He communicates in a way that is easily understood by the crowd. We do not simply depend on a special gift at all times. Most of the time, we listen carefully and hear God’s Word. This is also to the glory of God, as He draws people from all nations together into one body, the Church. Thanks be to God for his great mercy.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
I have made comments about this passage from Acts 2 in other contexts. I’d like to observe today that the witnesses of God’s outpouring of the Spirit were from many nations. They had a wide variety of backgrounds. However, something we should be aware of is that they were all Jewish. They had come to Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. Though some were born into Jewish families, many were proselytes. They were converts to Judaism.
Why had these people from all around the Mediterranean world come to Jerusalem? They came to bring their offerings for the time of celebration that God gives a harvest. They had come to recognize God’s loving provision for his people. The feast of Pentecost was the offering of the first fruits of a year’s harvest. If there is no harvest, the people starve.
What did the people find? They found God giving them an offering of the first fruits. He was pouring out His Spirit. He was speaking, through the apostles, of His glory. It is God’s glory to care for his people in need. This is exactly what Pentecost is all about.
We also notice that God was using the apostles to speak in languages they didn’t know. The communication was meaningful to the hearers but not to the speakers. We benefit greatly from hearing in our own language how God has been merciful. However, we notice that when it is explained, it is in the common language, known to all the community. Peter speaks in Greek, the international language of the day. While God may use special gifts to gain our attention, he does not always rely on those gifts. He communicates in a way that is easily understood by the crowd. We do not simply depend on a special gift at all times. Most of the time, we listen carefully and hear God’s Word. This is also to the glory of God, as He draws people from all nations together into one body, the Church. Thanks be to God for his great mercy.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
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