Acts 2:1–4

Context

After the ascension of Jesus, the disciples gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem, devoting themselves to prayer as they waited for the promised Holy Spirit (1:13–14). Pentecost is a Jewish festival held on the fiftieth day after Passover. It corresponds to the Old Testament Feast of Weeks, which gave thanks for the wheat harvest (Leviticus 23:15–21). On this day "there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind," and "there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them." All were filled with the Holy Spirit and "began to speak with other tongues." Jews who had come from many nations for the festival were amazed to hear them, each in his own native language (vv. 6–11). Peter's sermon follows.

Interpretation

• The birth of the church: Most denominations regard this event as the day the New Testament church began. It is seen as the fulfillment of Joel 2:28–32 (see 2:16–21). Some also interpret it as a scene in which the languages scattered at the Tower of Babel are gathered together again in the gospel.
• The tongues on this occasion: On the basis of 2:6–11, many interpreters hold that the disciples spoke actual foreign languages they had never learned. Others see it as a miracle of hearing, in which each listener understood the disciples' speech in his own language. Opinions differ on whether this is the same phenomenon as the speaking in tongues described in 1 Corinthians 12–14, which requires interpretation.

Controversies and Issues

Pentecostalism views this event as the model of the baptism in the Holy Spirit that every believer may experience subsequent to conversion, and several denominations, including the Assemblies of God, teach that speaking in tongues is the "initial evidence" of Spirit baptism. The Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles in 1906 is regarded as the event that spread this understanding.

Many in the Reformed tradition and some Baptists regard the events of Pentecost as a once-for-all occurrence in redemptive history and hold that believers since then receive the Holy Spirit at conversion. Within this camp there is a further division between cessationism, which holds that sign gifts such as tongues ceased with the apostolic age, and continuationism, which holds that such gifts may still be given today but are not a required evidence for all believers. For details, see the article Cessationism and Continuationism. Calling the site of the event "Mark's upper room" follows tradition; the text itself does not name the location.

In the Korean Church

This is the principal text for Pentecost Sunday services, and in Full Gospel churches it is the central text for prayer meetings seeking the fullness of the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues.

Related Passages

• Joel 2:28–29
• Acts 1:4–5
• Acts 10:44–46
• 1 Corinthians 14:1–5