“Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret to his servants the prophets. The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?” (Amos 3:7, 8) 

That scripture appeals to me as expressing the very essence of God’s salvation work because, from the beginning, it has been a gradual revealing of secrets. (Eph. 3:9-11). The Bible shows us that the progress of that work, although signposted from time to time by certain dramatic events, is demonstrated by what God has added to man’s understanding.

The pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost following Jesus’ ascension was an astonishing thing to those who witnessed it: a sign from heaven, not merely to amaze, but to draw attention to the revealing of a great secret, and to lend God’s authority to what His prophets were now saying: that men might be saved through repentance and remission of sins in the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

Israel’s advantage 

The Bible tells us, that of all the people on earth at that time, the Israelite was in a unique position to respond to this revelation. Everything that God had done with Israel had been with a view to preparing a people to receive the promised Messiah, a people to whom God would show His salvation. As Jesus said to the Samaritan woman: “salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22; Zech. 9:9).

“What advantage then hath the Jew?” wrote Paul, “or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because unto them were committed the oracles of God.” (Rom. 3:1-2; KJV).

Even though Jesus after His resurrection commanded his disciples in broad terms to go forth and make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19), we know that it was not His intention for a worldwide ministry to begin at that time. Jesus Himself had said, “I am not sent, but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 15:24; Rom. 15:8-9), and with very few exceptions ministered only to His own nation. He had also instructed 

His disciples accordingly (Matt. 10:5-6). And although Israel nationally reached its crisis point with the rejection and murder of Christ (“Behold, your house is left unto you desolate” - Matt. 23:28), yet the hope of the Kingdom of God continued to pertain exclusively to the descendants of Jacob for some time afterward. Why?

I believe part of the answer is contained in Paul’s emotional reference in Romans 9:1-5 . . . my kinsmen according to the flesh: who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

God’s relationship with Israel stemmed directly from His friendship with and His promises to, Abraham. The Israelites were “beloved for the fathers’ sakes” (Rom. 11:28), and the ultimate blessings of both Abrahamic and Law Covenants were intended in the first instance for the sons and daughters of Israel. Why was that privileged position not forfeited at the crucifixion?

It would seem that God, having committed to them alone His “oracles” (that is, His word) up to the time of Messiah’s appearance, did not fail to complete that commitment, and at the time of Christ’s death the witness of God to this people was not finished. The evidence was not all in. 

It is hard for us to put ourselves in the position of a Jew at that time. We live in a country of mixed heritage, and a poorly defined culture which is almost totally secular in nature. A religious life, if one has it, is personal and separate from the life of our nation. Most of us could not imagine what it would be like to be brought up in surroundings where cultural and religious life were totally bound up together, finding their basis in the divine revelation of the Law and the prophets, in which God’s very words were blended with the history of one’s own people. It was clearly God’s intention in creating such an environment to develop individuals whose conscience and hopes could be touched by appealing to what they themselves acknowledged as the source of wisdom, that is, the Holy Scriptures.

Without the testimony and proof that Christ had risen from the dead, the fulfillment of Old Testament scripture concerning the Messiah could not be demonstrated. Without that scriptural evidence, the devout Jew could not be expected to connect the apostles’ testimony with his religious beliefs, and without that connection he would not be responsible to make this crucial decision of faith.

God having intended that the Israelite mind should be prepared in this way to receive the Gospel, we can understand that He wisely allowed time for the process to come to fruition. 

It would have been inappropriate at that point for the message to be taken to the Gentiles.

Pentecost

The Day of Pentecost following Christ’s resurrection must therefore be looked upon as a climax in God’s dealings with Israel, and I would like to discuss some aspects of it that were of special relevance to the nation. Acts 2:1-18 and when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy 

Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speaking in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own language wherein we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, in Judaea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia, in Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and sojourners from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we do hear them speaking in our tongues the mighty works of God. And they were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying to one another, what meaneth this? But others mocking said, they are filled with new wine. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spake forth unto them, saying, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and give ear unto my words. For these are not drunken, as ye suppose; seeing it is but the third hour of the day; But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of 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: Yea and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days Will I pour forth of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.

Peter pointed to the linguistic phenomenon that was occurring among the followers of Jesus as the fulfilment of Joel 2:28 & 29. If that was so, then the “last days” (or “afterward”, as it says in Joel) had arrived. From the preceding verses in Joel, we can see that the prophet was speaking of Israel: Joel 2:27 and ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel and that I am the Lord your God, and there is none else, and my people shall never be ashamed, and then comes the part that Peter quoted. So, the pronoun “your”, as in “your sons and daughters”, “your young men”, “your old men” refers back to Israel; it identifies those upon whom God would pour out His spirit as Israelites. “Upon all flesh” -- This kind of operation of the Holy Spirit was not without precedent. In the past God had given miraculous gifts to certain individuals as it suited His purpose at the time; Moses, Samson, Elijah, spring readily to mind; even an unsuspecting King Saul. (1 Sam. 10:10; 19:23-24). 

But “upon all flesh” draws a distinction between the previous, very selective operation of the Spirit of God and this Pentecostal outpouring. The Holy Spirit was now being given far more liberally, not as before to one or a few in a generation.

However, as time showed, “all flesh” did not mean the whole world, or even all of Israel, but referred only to the believers in Jesus Christ. They alone are identified from Joel’s prophecy as God’s “servants and handmaids”, simply because of their obedience to a new commandment: Acts 2:38 Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy [Spirit].

The tongues

What was the purpose of the gift of tongues? This gift, though ranked under other gifts by Paul (1 Cor. 14:4-5), is prominent in the New Testament and is described on two later occasions as the first manifestation of the Spirit in new believers (Acts 10:46; 19:6). Because this manifestation of the Spirit later appeared among the Gentile believers, we have tended to attribute to it some universal function in the Church. I have come to the conclusion, however, that such was not the case.

From the various nationalities listed there in Acts 2, it seems clear that the Spirit motivated the disciples to speak in languages of the world of which they had no previous knowledge; to one disciple a particular foreign tongue, to another a different language, so that the Jews from abroad said, “we do hear them speaking in our tongues the mighty works of God”. And the reaction was one of amazement and perplexity at the linguistic powers of these Galileans. Yet it would appear that the many languages were not necessary for communication, for although Peter stood up “with the eleven” as the leaders of the disciples, he alone spoke. And he was understood, so it would seem that Peter addressed the Jews in a language with which he was familiar, and which all present could understand. 

The Scripture always associates the gift of tongues with spontaneous praise or prayer, the possessors of the gift being motivated to speak “as the Spirit gave them utterance”, suggesting that not only was the language a gift of the Spirit, but also the message itself. From Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians 14 concerning the use of this gift in the congregation, it appears that although the things spoken were of no common benefit without interpretation, such interpretation was not always available, implying that the speaker himself did not necessarily understand what he was saying. The undisciplined use of this gift had actually made it counter-productive, to the extent that Paul wrote, 1 Cor.14:23: If therefore the whole church be assembled together, and all speak with tongues, and there come in men unlearned, or unbelieving, will they not say that ye are mad?

A distinct purpose

Light is shed on the true purpose of the gift of tongues by the apostle in the same chapter. He quoted the prophet Isaiah in 1 Cor. 14:21: by men of strange tongues, and by the lips of strangers will I speak unto this people, and not even thus will they hear me, saith the Lord. [Cited from Isaiah 28:11-12] And Paul explained, 1 Cor. 14:22 wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to the unbelieving. From the context in Isaiah 28, we can see that “this people” was Israel. The tongues were not intended as a sign to the believer in Jesus Christ. Having already been convinced and made the decision of faith, such a person required no sign. 

The sign was meant to register with those of Israel who had not yet believed, and in that manner we see it used on the day of Pentecost. The Jews from far-flung lands who heard their various native languages being spoken by the disciples were stunned, and sought an explanation, giving Peter the cue to begin.

What was the message? While the fact that these unlearned men were speaking foreign languages amazed the hearers, it was the message so given that connected the gift of tongues with God. No specific utterance has been recorded, but we can glean something from what the Jews who were present said, “We do hear them speaking in our tongues the mighty works of God”. They readily recognized what they heard and showed no trace of offence, which means to me that the “mighty works of God” were things recorded in the Law and the Prophets, things with which they were comfortable, acceptable things which they would identify with God.

It is only my opinion, but I feel that had the Spirit preached Jesus, their reaction would have been quite different. We must remember that signs from God were to aid belief, not to hinder; therefore, this Spirit-inspired praise of God had the potential to act as a stepping-stone to the Gospel for the Jew who understood the particular language being spoken, recommending his attention to the apostle’s words which followed.

Two witnesses

So, we can distinguish between the contribution made by the Holy Spirit in this direct way, and its assistance of the apostles in their preaching. These eleven Galileans had been with Jesus while He had spoken the word of God to Israel, and to them privately; they had heard His wisdom and had seen the miraculous works that He did, yet that was not enough to equip them for the task that lay ahead. Jesus told them, “But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, [which] the Father will send in my name, [it] shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you” (John 14:26). “It shall teach you”; “it shall bring to your remembrance”: these functions of the Spirit were to be directed exclusively toward the apostles, assisting their own understanding, thereby making them able ministers of the Gospel.

The witness of the Holy Spirit

But then Jesus spoke specially about witnessing: “[it] shall bear witness of me. And ye also bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning” (John 15:26-27). This is very important to our understanding of the Holy Spirit’s contribution as a witness before Israel, because in saying this, Jesus distinguished the witness of the Holy Spirit from the witness of the apostles. This is supported by Peter and John’s testimony before the Sanhedrin:Acts 5:32 and we are witnesses of these things; and so also is the Holy [Spirit, which] God hath given to them that obey him.

And in Hebrews, Heb. 2:4 God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the Holy [Spirit], according to his own will. (See also John 5:27-37; Acts 15:8; 1 John 5:7).

Therefore, it was not the gifts of the Holy Spirit which would constitute the apostles as witnesses, but their firsthand experience with Christ: “for we cannot but speak the things which we saw and heard.” (Acts 4:20). And the miraculous evidence of the Holy Spirit was to be a witness in its own right, a testimony not from men but from God, and we are reminded of the necessity under the Law of two witnesses to establish the truth. (Deut.17:6; John 8:17-18).

Convicting the world

Jesus also expanded on this witnessing work of the Holy Spirit: John 16:8-11 And [it], when [it] is come, will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and ye behold me no more; of judgement, because the prince of this world hath been judged.

Christ assigned this ‘convicting’ work to the Spirit itself, which suggests something proven not by words but by the very presence of the miraculous Holy Spirit. And that was so, because Peter later pointed to the appearance among the believers of the gift of tongues as proof that Jesus had ascended to the Father: Acts 2:33 Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy [Spirit], he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. The gift of the Holy Spirit to His disciples was tangible proof that Jesus was now sitting on the right hand of God, and that fact alone, as (1) a vindication of Christ personally, (2) a judgement upon those who had not believed, and (3) an as-surance of Satan’s eventual demise, fulfilled Jesus’ words in John 16:8-10.

Paul W. Brownlow
New Covenant News
Australia