Note: Audio is not available for this sermon.
The day of Pentecost had arrived. The disciples were gathered together in Jerusalem, just as Jesus had commanded them. They waited for the promise of the Father. They waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Then suddenly it happened. There came a sound of a mighty rushing wind. Tongues as of fire rested upon the apostles. And the apostles were able to speak the Gospel in people’s own native language. About three thousand people were baptized that day.
This was no ordinary day. It was the fulfillment of prophecy. The prophet Joel and others predicted that this day would come. This was the day the risen and ascended Christ poured out His Spirit upon His people. Pentecost was the birth of the New Testament Church.
On Pentecost, many people had gathered in Jerusalem for the Jewish harvest festival. They had come from every nation under heaven. Acts chapter 2 lists people from 12 different regions many of them speaking different languages. With all these people gathered in Jerusalem, there could be no better time for the Gospel to spread.
But how did God accomplish this? The Holy Spirit gave the apostles the ability to speak the Gospel in languages they had not learned—a wonderful miracle.
They proclaimed “the mighty works of God.” They preached Jesus Christ crucified for sinners and risen from the dead. They announced forgiveness in His name. People from every nation heard the Gospel in their own language. Jesus did not die only for one tribe or one nation. He died for the whole world. The Gospel is for all nations. Salvation is for everyone.
On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit did not glorify Himself, but Jesus. The Spirit did not draw attention to Himself, but to Jesus. The Spirit bore witness about Jesus. The Spirit proclaims Christ crucified and risen for sinners. He comes to bring forgiveness, life, and salvation. The Spirit takes what belongs to Jesus and delivers it to people.
The people wondered and asked how these men could speak in this way. The answer is that God did it. God made it happen. God used the apostles to spread the Gospel. To God be all the glory.
Many people today want to take us back to Acts chapter 2. They believe the Church has somehow gone off course. They insist that we need to imitate the experiences of the early Christians using wind, fire, and tongues. They conclude that all Christians should speak in tongues or prophesy as described in Acts chapter 2.
The miraculous gifts given to the apostles, such as speaking other languages, served to authenticate the apostolic preaching. Today, we do not need new revelations or ecstatic tongues. We need the Holy Spirit working through the Word and Sacraments. The true meaning of Pentecost and even today is the simple preaching of God’s Word and baptism using the word and water.
There are many misconceptions about the Holy Spirit today. Some imagine the Holy Spirit merely as a source of emotional power or religious excitement. Many think Pentecost is mainly about miracles or speaking in tongues. Others seek visions, direct revelations, or spiritual experiences. This is all sought after while neglecting the objective gifts of Gospel and Sacraments.
It’s easy for us to get caught up in a “theology of glory” – a theology focused on the subjective and on numbers. Our sinful flesh looks at a large church and becomes envious. Their auditorium is filled with people. The preacher seems dynamic and powerful. Some preachers even claim miraculous powers.
It’s also easy to think that the Holy Spirit working through God’s Word is not sufficient to grow the Church. To attract people, we may be tempted by our sinful flesh to conform to our culture, to minimize baptism and the Lord’s Supper, to make worship merely entertaining and emotionally appealing. But these things are not faithful to Scripture or to our confession of Christ.
God does not call us to follow the way of worldly success. He calls us to be faithful to His Word and Gospel. And when we are faithful, then God will bless in His own way and time.
On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit worked through God’s Word and through Baptism for the sake of God’s people. And He continues to do the same today.
So, are we missing something this morning? No! The blessings of the cross and resurrection do not come to us through wind, fire, or tongues, but through God’s Word and Sacraments. The miraculous signs of Pentecost served to draw attention to the Gospel and to Baptism. These signs were unique and temporary. God’s Word’s and Sacraments were present in the early church and they remain with us today.
Acts chapter 2 records Peter preaching to those gathered in Jerusalem. After hearing his sermon, the people were cut to the heart and asked, “What shall we do?” Peter answered, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” And so over 3,000 people believed in Christ and were baptized, clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness.
On Pentecost God gathered His people around the Word and around the water of Holy Baptism. The early church devoted itself to the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and in prayers (Acts 2:42).
So also today. You were baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was active in your baptism giving you faith in Christ. You hear the word of Absolution—the forgiveness of sins. You hear God’s Word taught and preached in your own language. You receive the Sacrament of the Altar—the true body and blood of Christ. These means of grace strengthen the faith given to you in baptism and they produce the fruits of love in your life serving your family and neighbors.
Some claim that faith is something we create ourselves. But nothing could be further from the truth. Rather, the Holy Spirit gave you saving faith in Christ as a gift. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God.
Others say that we can come to God on our own without the Word or Sacraments. But again, nothing could be further from the truth. Salvation does not begin from within us, from our emotions or desires. Salvation comes from the outside of us, namely, the water and the word in Baptism, the Word put into our ears, and the body and blood of Christ put into our mouth.
Still others claim that we can earn God’s favor by our own deeds. But nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus alone pleased the Father through His righteous sacrifice upon the cross. He earned favor for us through His blood shed for our salvation. Faith trusts in Jesus as our one and only Savior.
Our sinful flesh wants to be famous. It wants glory for itself. It wants to control you and me. It wants us to make idols out of the things of this world. It wants to convince us that we do not need God.
After Peter preached on Pentecost, the people were cut to the heart. They heard the law and cried out, “What shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized.” And also for us.
When the Holy Spirit uses the law to show us our sin, then, what should we do? By God’s grace, we should repent and believe the Gospel. We should by daily contrition and repentance drown our sins and evil desires. Then a new man emerges and arises to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. In other words, we daily return to our Baptism.
The Holy Spirit called you by the Gospel. He has enlightened you with His gifts of salvation. He sanctified you and He keeps you in the one true faith.
The Holy Spirit works to kill your sin and to raise you to new life in Christ. The Holy Spirit works to drown your sin in repentance and to give you faith in the forgiveness of sins. The Holy Spirit changes your will, attitude, and desire, so that you strive to serve your neighbor in love. The Holy Spirit fills you with the fruits of love, joy, and peace.
So, are we missing something this morning? No! The blessings of the cross and resurrection do not come in the wind or the fire, but they come through God’s Word and Sacrament. He comes through the font, the pulpit, and the altar. He works salvation for you through the water of baptism, through the preached Word, and through the body and blood in the Lord’s Supper.
These gifts may not look spectacular or flashy. Yet they are the way through which the Holy Spirit works for your salvation. They are the way in which the Holy Spirit keeps you in the faith. They are the way in which the Holy Spirit helps to you faithfully live out your life in the world.
Therefore, what happens here this morning is the very same thing God has been doing since Pentecost and throughout the Church for over 2,000 years.
Do not be ashamed of the Gospel and Sacrament. Rather, rejoice in them and give thanks to God for the gift of salvation. May God use us as lights in a dark world. May God use us to proclaim the Gospel to those who do not yet know Him. To God be all the glory. Amen.
