Pentecost B, 2024

Text: Acts 2:1-21

Title: 50 Days

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It’s been 50 days since Easter. That’s what the word “Pentecost” means. 50. 

And it’s been amazing to watch the change in the disciples over the course of these 50 days.

On Easter evening there was fear and hiding.  Locked doors. Thomas didn’t even show up.

But then Jesus came and breathed life into them.

And then Jesus came back just for Thomas, and showed that He was truly risen from the dead.

Then there was the ascension, one more trip through the Old Testament, Jesus opening the minds of the disciples to understand the Scriptures.  Even then they were asking if Jesus was going to restore the kingdom.

50 days ago, the disciples were scared, confused, disorganized, all over the place.

If you were to entrust the kingdom of God to anyone, it would not have been these guys.

But these disciples today on Pentecost are not the same men that they were 50 days ago.  Since then they’ve seen the risen Jesus, talked with Him, eaten with Him.  He has showed them His scars, breathed on them, and opened their minds.

And today they are out in public, preaching and baptizing.  Peter, who was having trouble putting two sentences together without putting his foot in his mouth, Peter, who three times denied even knowing Jesus, this same Peter is now quoting from the Old Testament and proclaiming Jesus Christ before a huge crowd numbering in the thousands.

The folks in Jerusalem can’t believe that this is the same crew.  They think that they’ve gone crazy, or that they’ve been hitting the wine a little early.

So what changed?  Did the disciples have a bit of a strategy session? Did they attend a leadership seminar or read the most popular motivational books on the market?

What’s the reason for the change?

Peter gives us a clue as to what’s going on, what’s the reason for these strange events.

It’s all about the Holy Spirit.

Jesus had promised to send His Holy Spirit and now He keeps His promise in a big way.

There’s the sound of the rushing wind, there’s the tongues of fire, and there’s the speaking in different languages.  All of this is evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Have the disciples received the Holy Spirit before?  Sure they have.  But the Holy Spirit is not something that you can hold onto or possess.  It’s like breath.  You don’t really possess the air in your lungs, but it is something that flows in and out of you.

Today the disciples get a big dose of the Holy Spirit.  It’s like breathing pure oxygen.

The Holy Spirit is the reason why the disciples are acting so differently.  The Holy Spirit is what takes them from hiding in fear to shouting from the rooftops the word of Jesus.

The threats did not change. The disciples had as much to be afraid of on the day of Pentecost as before.  In fact, of those twelve disciples who stood up at Pentecost 11 of them would be killed for preaching the good news. 

The threats did not change. The disciples themselves were changed. They went from being afraid to being fearless in their witness to Jesus Christ.  And what caused the change was the Holy Spirit.

We live in scary times, too. 

Our world is getting more and more hostile to the message of Jesus Christ.  Many of you grew up in a world where most of your friends and neighbors at least claimed to be Christians, and many of them probably went to church most every week.  That’s not the world that we live in any more.  More and more often Jesus’ words are not even tolerated as one option among many.  More and more Christians are assumed to be close-minded bigots who should not even have a voice in the public sphere.

Now we could huddle in fear. Keep the doors locked.  Try to just wait out the clock until our Lord returns.

But you have received the Holy Spirit.

You were baptized.  You have been forgiven.  You have heard the Gospel proclaimed.

At the end of his sermon, Peter says, “Repent and be baptized every one of you, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

You have received the same Holy Spirit that the disciples have.  There’s only one Spirit, and He has been breathed into you.

Just as you breathe in, so you breathe out.  Just as you listen, so you speak.  Just as you receive, so you give.

The people at Pentecost said that they heard each of those speaking “Telling the mighty works of God.”

No, you may not be called to speak publically the way that Peter did.  You may not have the opportunity to stand before thousands.  But you can still “Tell the mighty works of God” to your family, your neighbors, your coworkers and classmates.

Don’t talk about yourself. The disciples had nothing to brag about and neither do you.  But all that they did was to tell the mighty works of God.  What has God done for you?  What do we praise Him for.

As you talk to your people in your life, here’s two real simple things to remember.

First, stay positive.  The disciples didn’t complain at Pentecost. They didn’t talk about the bad things in their life, their troubles and difficulties of the past few years.  They talked about all the good things.

Second, connect those good things to God.

All of the blessings that you have in your life come from Him. 

So let people know it.  Talk about all the good that you have received and connect that to God.

It’s that simple.  Take a look at all the blessings that you have received, think about all the good things that God has done for you, and then talk about them with the people that God has put in your life.

Talk about Jesus- His life, death, and resurrection.  You know the story, right?  More and more people in your life don’t even know the basic facts of who Jesus is.

Talk about how you have forgiveness from Him, and you don’t live in guilt and shame.

Talk about how you find strength in Him to meet the challenges of daily life.

Talk about how you have the hope of eternal life with Him in Paradise, so that, went life gets bad, there’s something better to look forward to.

And then people will want these same good things in their lives and they will want to know this God who has blessed you in this way.

And as you speak, the Holy Spirit will be working through you.

Breathe in- listen, receive; breathe out- speak, give.

Listen here to what God has done for you; speak out there what God has done for you.

If you are afraid or unsure, keep listening, keep receiving that Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is the one who changed the disciples, who turned them from fearful to fearless, from faithless to faithful.

Faith is not something that you can create in yourself, but it’s a gift through the Holy Spirit.  Look at how the disciples were changed in those 50 short days between Easter and Pentecost.  And trust that God can change you in the same way, too.