Slices
Prepare
The events we celebrate today were preceded by an extended time of waiting. Take a few minutes to wait silently on God.
Bible passage
The Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost
2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs – we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!’ 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, ‘What does this mean?’
13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine.’
Peter addresses the crowd
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: ‘Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 ‘“In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Explore
Who would have dreamed that Joel’s prophecy would be fulfilled like this? Joel would have been content with the rebuilding of his shattered country, the restoration of its ecosystem and justice for its enemies. And yet, in Joel 2:28–32, he glimpses something much greater. I wonder whether the prophet himself could make sense of what he wrote. Maybe he was thinking of Moses, who did not want spiritual gifts to be restricted to a chosen few (Numbers 11:29).
In the Jewish calendar, the day of Pentecost was like a harvest festival – a time to thank God for the autumn and spring rains, full threshing floors and vats overflowing with new wine and olive oil (Joel 2:23,24). And yet, on the day we have come to know as Pentecost, God did so much more! The heavens opened and poured down not just rain, but the Holy Spirit. And this gift was not just for the Jewish people, but truly for ‘all people’ regardless of race, sex or age. This all began in Jerusalem, but travelled all around the world in a chain reaction of mini-Pentecosts (see Acts 8:17; 10:44; 19:6). The dwelling place of God was no longer a city, as Joel had envisaged, but a global community of people.
Respond
Pray: ‘Lord, help me to see further, and to trust you for more than I have yet received. Fill me again with your Holy Spirit, abundantly generous Father.’
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: 1 Chronicles 1–3; 2 Corinthians 10
Pray for Scripture Union
Scripture Union Zimbabwe held a national teachers’ camp last month. Pray that this will have a lasting impact and that it will strengthen the work of SU in schools.
