The coming of the Holy Spirit
1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
2 And suddenly out of the sky came a sound like a strong rushing wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. There ap peared
3 tongues as if of fire which parted and came to rest upon each one of them.
4 All were filled with Holy Spirit and began to speak other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.
5 Staying in Jerusalem were religious Jews from every nation under heaven.
6 When they heard this sound, a crowd gathered, all excited because each heard them speaking in his own language.
7 Full of amaze ment and wonder, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Gali leans?
8 How is it that we hear them in our own native language?
9 Here are Parthians, Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopo tamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10 Phry gia, Pam phylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cy rene, and visitors from Rome,
11 both Jews and foreigners who accept Jewish beliefs, Cretians and Arabians; and all of us hear them proclaiming in our own language what God, the Savior, does.
12 They were amazed and greatly confused, and they kept as k ing one another, “What does this mean?”
13 But others laughed and said, “These people are drunk.”
Peter addresses the crowd
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven and, with a loud voice, ad dressed them, “Fellow Jews and all foreigners now staying in Jeru salem, listen to what I have to say.
15 These people are not drunk as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.
16 Indeed what the proph et Joel spoke about has happened:
17 In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on every mortal. Your sons and daughters will speak through the Holy Spirit; your young men will see visions and your old men will have dreams.
18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants, both men and women, and they will be prophets.
19 I will perform miracles in the sky above and wonders on the earth below.
20 The sun will be darkened and the moon will turn red as blood, before the great and glorious Day of the Lord comes.
21 And then, whoever calls upon the Name of the Lord will be saved.
22 Fellow Israelites, listen to what I am going to tell you about Jesus of Nazareth. God accredited him and through him did powerful deeds and wonders and signs in your midst, as you well know.
23 You delivered him to sinners to be crucified and killed, and in this way the purpose of God from all times was fulfilled.
24 But God raised him to life and released him from the pain of death, because it was impossible for him to be held in the power of death.
25 David spoke of him when he said: I saw the Lord before me at all times; he is by my side, that I may not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced; my body too will live in hope.
27 Because you will not forsake me in the abode of the dead, nor allow your Holy One to experience corruption.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life, and your presence will fill me with joy.
29 Friends, I don’t need to prove that the patriarch David died and was buried; his tomb is with us to this day.
30 But he knew that God had sworn to him that one of his descendants would sit upon his throne and,
31 as he was a prophet, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah. So he said that he would not be left in the region of the dead, nor would his body experience corruption.
32 This Messiah is Jesus and we are all witnesses that God raised him to life.
33 He has been exalted at God’s right side and the Father has entrusted the Holy Spirit to him; this Spirit he has just poured upon us as you now see and hear.
34 And look: David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself said: The Lord said to my Lord: sit at my right side
35 until I make your enemies a stool for your feet.
36 Let Israel then know for sure that God has made Lord and Christ this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37 When they heard this, they were deeply troubled. And they asked Peter and the other apostles, “What shall we do, brothers?”
38 Peter answered: “Each of you must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins may be forgiven. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the prom ise of God was made to you and your chil dren, and to all those from afar whom our God may call.”
40 With many other words Peter gave the message and appealed to them saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”
41 So those who accepted his word were baptized; some three thousand persons were added to their number that day.
The first community
42 They were faithful to the teaching of the apostles, the common life of sharing, the breaking of bread and the prayers.
43 A holy fear came upon all the people, for many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
44 Now all the believers lived together and shared all their belongings.
45 They would sell their property and all they had and distribute the proceeds to others ac cording to their need.
46 Each day they met together in the Temple area; they broke bread in their homes; they shared their food with great joy and simplicity of heart;
47 they praised God and won the people’s favor. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
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Comments Acts, Chapter 2
• 2.1 Pentecost was one of the greatest feasts of the Jewish calendar. Originally an agricultural feast, in the latter centuries of the Old Testament it became the celebration of the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. For this occasion, like for the Passover, many Jews from the countries around the Mediterranean came on pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
It was during the Jewish Passover, which commemorated the liberation from slavery in Egypt, that Jesus, by his own death and resurrection, offered the world freedom from death and sin; it is on the day when the gift of the Law on Sinai is celebrated, the day when God made his covenant with the chosen people, that God now gives his Spirit to the “Israel of God” (Gal 6:16).
That very day the baptism of fire an nounced by John (Lk 3:16) takes place. God sends the Spirit of his Son and, with this, the Church is born. For the Church is not a human institution, or the work of a group of believers; it comes from God’s initiative, and God wills that individuals of every nation witness this event.
What happened at Pentecost was as unique as what was ac complished by the resurrection. Nevertheless it follows the pattern of other interventions of God in history. On one hand, the Spir it con stantly brings about our apostolic renewals, religious awakenings, and dynamic communities that become the new blood of the Church, which constantly grows old and constantly needs renewal.
The Spirit comes to give life to the Church. It also comes to confirm or affirm the believers. The baptism of fire that the apostles re ceive is normally conferred on us through confirmation (see commentary on 8:9).
The rushing wind is a sign, because spirit means both breath and wind in the Hebrew culture. Inspired by the Spirit, Peter speaks up. He now knows the truth and believes, and this is why he can boldly proclaim it (Jn 15:26 and 16:13).
Each one heard them speaking in his own language. The repetition of this expression on three occasions (verses 6, 8, 11) is an indication to us that here is a key for understanding this passage. The miracle of Pentecost is not really in the fact that the apostles, all of Palestinian origin, began to speak in foreign languages, but in the fact that all the foreigners heard the proclamation of God’s wonderful deeds in their own language: that is the miracle of Pentecost. Many other New Testament texts refer to the “gift of tongues” (Acts 10:46; 19:6; 1 Cor 12; 14:2-19) but here in the Pentecostal text God outlines the basis of all evangelization: those who are called to have faith in Jesus, to become members of the Church, are not required to renounce their language and their culture, as the Jewish proselytes of old were expected to. On the contrary, God wishes to be praised and blessed by people of all languages and cultures: in this way the diversity of the members in the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:12-13) will be clearly visible for all to see, likewise the gathering together through Jesus and his Spirit of God’s scattered children will also be visible (Jn 11:52).
Throughout her history, the Church has tended to forget the miracle of Pentecost when she imposed her language and her culture while evangelizing new peoples. Throughout her history, the Holy Spirit has also warned the Church against such temptations in the persons of apostles who live by the spirit of Pentecost.
• 14. This is the first proclamation of Jesus’ resurrection. Peter, once again, aware of his responsibility in the group of the Twelve, speaks on behalf of all. He cites the texts of the Old Testament: Joel, the Psalms, etc. and demonstrates their fulfillment in Jesus and in the nascent Church.
I will pour out my Spirit. The Father sends the Spirit of Jesus to all people; he makes of all people his prophets, his witnesses.
I will perform miracles in the sky… Peter continues quoting the prophet Joel who announces the day of Yahweh, that is to say, in the Old Testament, the day of God’s judgement. According to Joel it appears that the people of Israel alone will escape punishment; but Peter expands the text and affirms (v. 39), at the end of his speech, that the salvation which comes from God is promised to all, to those who are near and to those who are afar, to all those represented here by the foreigners of diverse nationality.
God raised him to life. Peter recalls how Jesus showed many signs of love during his public life: in spite of that, or more precisely, because of that, he was delivered into the hands of pagans: how mysterious it is that people reject God’s love. More than 700 years before the coming of Jesus, the prophet Hosea was already familiar with this rejection of God’s love (Hos 11:1-4) and Jesus, himself, announces it in the parable of the murderous vineyard tenants (Mt 21:33-39). However, God, whose love is more powerful than our sins (Rom 5:20), raised him from the dead and made him the source of salvation for all (vv. 33 and 36).
Repent. Peter uses these words of Jesus at the beginning of his speech (Mt 4:17) – the Church is beginning to fall into the steps of Jesus – now it is no longer a question of receiving the baptism of John the Baptist, which was only a ritual of purification, highlighting the desire to repent. We must receive baptism “in the Name of Jesus.”
What shall we do?… Repent. In those days, to repent and to be converted meant to share the life of the infant Church which showed to the nation the way of sal vation taught by Jesus. The Church did not appear as a new religion opposed to Judaism, but as a center of more authentic life.
Save yourselves from this crooked generation (v. 40). This means that the entire generation was missing the unique opportunity they were given. For God asked them to take the most decisive step in Sacred History; even Roman oppression could be overcome by a people able to put the Gospel into practice. At the same time Jesus made them discover the love of God the Father for which the whole Bible had prepared them.
Some three thousand were added to their number (v. 41). They already knew of Jesus, but were not committed to him. They were converted by the common action of the Holy Spirit and the apostles. A church in which signs of the Spirit acting could not be seen could not say that Jesus lives in her midst.
• 42. Those who have been baptized feel strongly united by the new faith and long for a communal life. As they gather in private houses and the communities are not too big, they can know each other and share everything.
Luke tells us what they did and we must note the order of priorities:
– first the teaching of the apostles
– then comes Christian fellowship, with more attention to the weak (chap. 4)
– only then may the breaking of bread, that is, the Eucharist, be celebrated
– finally common pray ers of thanksgiving to prolong the Eucharist.
In some communities today life is lacking because the first point, which is the basis for all the rest, is not given priority.
The Spirit of Jesus comes to us through the Word and the Eucharist: these are the sources of the Church’s dynamism. By the word, we do not mean the study of the Bible merely to know the Bible. The Bible helps us realize how God continues to speak to us through the actual achievements of our life, the community and the world.
The expression breaking of the bread could mean any Jew ish meal that began with a blessing. But very early the Christians reserved this word for reference to the Eucharist that they celebrated remembering the last supper of the Lord (Acts 20:7; 1Cor 10:16).
Joy and simplicity of heart gave witness to the change in their lives and the authenticity of their fraternal sharing. They were deeply reconciled per sons.
It was not the naive joy that is easily found in Christian groups who have no thought for the problems of the world. Neither they nor their enemies could ignore that Jesus had taken on the prob lems of national reconciliation. They were enjoying the favor of the peo ple who considered them to be concerned and responsible persons.